If you are the type of person who visits The AEGEEan often, then this name will not be new to you: Lucille Rieux is not a journalist for our magazine, but contributes frequently with information for The AEGEEan and the Network, because she is passionate about everything she does. Right now, what she is most passionate about is her candidature for Secretary General of the Comité Directeur (CD). 

She has been president of AEGEE-Toulousse, she has been subcommie for Luis Alvarado Martinez, she is the founder of the Speak Up! project, she is responsible for EVS in AEGEE-Las Palmas, and the list goes on. Yes, we are still talking about only one person, and that one person is Lucille Rieux. She is originally from France, has been living in Belgium and now lives in Spain. But “Who is Lucille Rieux?” you might ask! The AEGEEan took the time to find out and interviewed the very excited French lady who is candidating for Secretary General of the CD.

The AEGEEan: Now you have plenty of experience in AEGEE, but can you tell me a bit about the experience you find most relevant for your candidature, and what it is about AEGEE that you love so much?

Lucille: Indeed, in the last three and a half years, I have multiplied the experiences. I instantly got crazy about AEGEЕ for both local and European level, and I have spent time on different projects and positions! Yet, one of the most enriching and relevant experiences for me is definitely the one of being part of the NetCom. It started two years ago, and after one year taking care of locals, helping them to face difficulties, being the link between the local and European level, developing a strategy for improving communication and cooperation between them, I just could not leave it half done. This is why, since last year, I have been a SubCommie, working in an awesome team of almost ten people, but especially taking care of the French speaking locals.

Being Network Commissioner is the best preparation one can have, especially in my case, as I am applying for Secretary General. Indeed, as a NetCom member, you learn a lot about working in a team, defining priorities, managing your time and tasks, dealing with conflicts in a quick and efficient way, because conflicts arise in locals all the time. You also learn to be a good leader, inspiring locals to go in the right direction. It teaches you to have a non-stop communication flow, being always available to answer any need.

So why didn’t you apply to be Internal Relations Director?

“It is true that it would have been an obvious choice, but if you look harder you will find that, among former NetCom members who decided to apply for CD, I am not the first one with a NetCom background deciding to go for something else than Internal Relations Director,” Lucille says with a smile.

Why so? Being a NetCom member has been the greatest experience, but now I am eager to discover something new and not to continue down the same road. While thinking about the CD, I have realized that I have a lot of the competences a Secretary General needs, and that this might actually be the balance I am looking for. Because being Secretary General is not just about taking minutes. Otherwise, it would be called just “secretary”. It is actually a very challenging position, where you have to keep up on administrative changes, on organizational topics and on group management.

Finally, I have decided to go for this position because Secretary General is actually the person who implements the internal changes, who is transforming the idea into paper, in a more realistic way, and I think I’ll love it.

What made you decide to candidate for secretary of the CD?

Well, after talking to some people, I realized that this position is actually extremely interesting and dynamic, and that it fits my personality really well. I am a person who loves organizing. I love to lead, to manage time, to manage teams and projects. It is what I do best. But I am also someone very interested in the ideas, in what the European youth needs in order to be represented. I have a quite varied background. And I think that in order to be THE person implementing the ideas, THE person managing the team of people in the CD, you need to have both very good organizational qualities, as well as a very good understanding of what AEGEE is, where it is going, which are its main challenges. I believe I am combining these two aspects, having both very good managing qualities and a broad experience in the thematic world of AEGEE.  This is how I perceive the position and also why I decided to apply for it.

You mention in your candidature that the Secretary General has to know AEGEE from the inside. I know that it is a tough question, which many AEGEEans find difficult to answer, but try to describe what AEGEE is to you!

That is a tough question, because as every active member, I have been reflecting a lot about what AEGEE is, and what AEGEE is not. I have read the famous “blue book”, where Franck Bianchieri explains how and why AEGEE was created, and I have had a lot of passionate discussions with AEGEE friends about it. Fortunately, and this is also why I am able to apply for CD, I have come to peace with it. I think AEGEE can be whatever you want it to be. I have decided that it actually is a way to make Europe “happen”: to physically gather young Europeans around common ideas, common values and common concerns, and to defend them together, to feel together what Europe can be. On a very personal level, for me it is also a space where I can develop my ideas and most of all develop myself, as a person and as a European.

A while back, it was published on the announce list that you were applying to do an internship in Brussels, with a Grundtvig Scholarship. Are you still planning to do so, and how would that affect your candidature?

A few months back, I found out about the Grundtvig programme. You have to know I am currently working in an association taking care of European programmes, so I was looking for more information about the Life Long Learning programme, and I found out about Grundtvig. I immediately thought about AEGEE, and how cool it would be to use it for AEGEE purposes. So I contacted the CD, and together we managed the application. Yet, you have to be conscious that getting a Grundtvig grant is no so easy, so nothing is really certain.

However, in the meantime, I have decided to apply for CD, because I want to be there as a CD member, taking part in the decision making process of the association. In the case I am elected and the grant is also accepted (it is announced later, in June/July), I wouldn’t receive it, of course, but I think that together with the rest of the team, we could think about a way to use this money for the sake of AEGEE. It is not a lot, but maybe it could be spent on getting a new assistant for a few months, or something like this.

How do you use your time when you’re not focusing on AEGEE ?

Apart from all those AEGEE stuff, I also have a job, which is however very much linked with youth issues and European projects. As you know, managing free time is not always easy, but it is a question of choice! If you manage your time wisely and efficiently, it is possible. Personally, I like to dedicate my free time toward developing myself. I am just coming back from Training for Trainers (T4T), organized by AEGEE-Warsaw and the AEGEE Academy, and I am sure that I will dedicate a lot of my future free time to actually train and share. In a more day-to-day basis, I love music and playing the guitar, I am crazy about learning Portuguese, and I love cinema and art in general.

You have been living in Toulouse, you have been living in Las Palmas, and now you are heading towards Brussels. What is it that you like so much about living in different countries, and don’t you ever miss home?

Oh! I have been living in many other places in the meantime! I love moving around, discovering new places: I have also lived in Santander (Spain) while doing an internship, and in Madrid – the city that definitely won my heart. I was also an Erasmus student in Sweden, and last year, I did an internship in Brussels already – says the world traveler with a smile. I know it can give you a headache, but I really like to work in different environments. I don’t really miss home, as home has slowly become wherever I am. I like to come back to my parents’ house once in a while, but I am happy to enjoy my youth by living all around Europe.

 To finish of the interview, The AEGEEan felt like asking Lucille a typical cliché question: “If you were to describe yourself in three words, what would those be?”, to which Lucille’s answer was: “focused, energetic, and passionate”. And we have to agree that Lucille sparkles with bubbly energy, for the numerous AEGEE causes that she is both passionate and focused about. The AEGEEan wishes Lucille good luck with her candidature!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

It was a YES! The Speak Up team were hoping for it, longing for the answer from the French National Agency of the Youth in Action Programme, and they said YES, and approved their project! « Speak Up – Bouge ton Europe » is not just any project. It is one which has been built and supported by members coming from all of the French antennae and joining Lucille Rieux, project manager, in this incredible adventure.

How did it all start?

A few months ago, while thinking about the situation in France, the weaknesses of the Network, and the difficulty of having young people get involved, an idea occurred. Lucille decided that what was needed was a huge project which would promote youth participation, and at the same time, would finally give a lot of visibility to AEGEE, in several cities all together.

When considering what the special thing about AEGEE is, what field of expertise they have, and what could catch the attention of French youngsters, Lucille came up with this answer: AEGEE is a learning space and the members believe in the possibility of transforming their ideas into reality, AEGEE people are Europeans and they know that whichever European country they may come from, they share the same values, and they respect each other. Moreover, AEGEE people have an understanding of the importance of raising their voice in order for their needs to be taken into account. They understand that ideas have to be shared, that young Europeans have to express themselves and get involved in what is important for the future of every single one of them, and of each one of us: Europe.

This gave Lucille the idea of making a train tour with a lot of active AEGEE members and go through several French cities, in order to encourage young people to give volunteering a chance, to participate, to get to know a new face of Europe: AEGEE-Europe.

But let us go deeper.

Imagine a train filled with 40 young AEGEEans, coming from a wide range of AEGEE antennae, crossing eight of the biggest French cities in just 15 days. These cities will be Paris, Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Toulouse and Bordeaux and in each city, several activities will be organised  (AEGEE presentations, participation in workshops, visits, street actions, video shooting and more) in collaboration with a local association, in order to encourage young French people to become active, to discover what it means to work in an association, and to live an experience of active participation!

Through this project, which will take place from September 15^th till September 30^th 2012, the Speak Up team hopes that young people will become more aware of the cultural diversity which characterizes Europe, but also that the actions which they will participate in will inspire them to continue to be locally-engaged, whether it is in AEGEE or in another association.

Now, let us go behind the scene and see WHO are those making this possible:

Together with Lucille, quite a few French AEGEE members have signed up for the experience and there is no doubt that you will meet some of the representatives soon, at the upcoming AEGEE fair of Agora Enschede, for example. The team is made up of Léa Charlette from AEGEE-Paris (Social Network Responsible), Thomas Bonnefoy from AEGEE-Lyon (Corporate Relations), Pauline Letard from AEGEE-Toulouse (Local Events Responsible), Marie Chicaud from AEGEE-Paris (PR Responsible), Youness Touzani from AEGEE-Paris (Treasurer),  Nefeli Roubaka from AEGEE-Strasbourg and Mathieu Savary from AEGEE-Bruxelles (Content Development Responsible). Actually, the team keeps growing and growing. Very soon, a French volunteer service (Service Civique) will also be working on this project and helping the team to make it possible.

The team has decided to get hold of YOUTH PARTICIPATION and to increase the knowledge about it. It is one of the most important issues, being among the three thematic topics of the AEGEE strategic plan of last year. Therefore, you can be sure you will be asked for your opinion about youth participation very soon!

And now…

The team is set on working a lot harder, on searching further for funds, on developing the implementation of this very ambitious project, and on giving it some more visibility! This visibility is being increased through their Facebook page, activity on Twitter and they are also working on launching a blog in the near future. Most importantly, if you have any questions and you are one of the lucky ones going to Enschede in less than two weeks, you will have the opportunity to approach the team at the AEGEE fair, where they will have a few surprises for you!

Written by Lucille Rieux, AEGEE-Toulouse & AEGEE-Las Palmas.