Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar organizers might be quite busy these days but not too busy to share details about the preparations. This time Amra Sadikovic who is responsible for the social program shares information about how it was prepared.

The AEGEEan: In Valletta the suit up party was very formal and impressive settings. Can you tell us a bit about where the suit up party will take place in Mannheim and how it will be?

Amra: After the Opening Ceremony and the official reception, the suit-up party will take place at “Baton Rouge”, which is well-known as an exclusive club with a strict dresscode. It is located in the centre of the city and has a red carpet at the entrance. Everything will be elegant, as it suits such a party.

Will all the parties be at the same place, or do the locations differ?

The locations differ, but not every evening. The first two parties will take place in the same club (“Baton Rouge”), the third party in another location (“Club Orange”) and the last two parties will be in the “Katakomben”, the catacombes of the castle of Mannheim. We hope that especially this last location will be an unique experience for the participants, something different compared to previous Agorae.

Fitness party is a very innovative idea, how did you come up with it?

To be honest, I don´t really remember. It just came up in a conversation with friends. We were thinking about the mottos for the parties, but in the direction of not complicated costumes and such. So we came up with the idea of having a party to which the participants can come in sports clothes. We thought this would be one of the most comfortable solutions and everyone would have the chance to show his/her athletic body. 

Well, I don´t think it´s that difficult. I think it will be more funny than complicated. Every guy can borrow a dress or elegant top from a girl and I think the girls wouldn´t refuse to do the make-up for them. The girls on the other hand can borrow clothes from the boys. This will lead to an interesting and fun preparation for the party and to a great atmosphere in the gym. Besides, the male organisers are thinking about wearing heels.

Cultural European Night is a very controversial decision. Why did you chose in your team to leave out the drinks and food of the European Night?

We tried to keep the concept of the European Night, but in our locations it was impossible to bring our own food and drinks. Therefore, we are trying to make the best out of the situation. And actually I don´t think that going back to the roots of the European Night is a bad idea, after all.

How are you preparing for the CEN?

We are currently in touch with the Culture Working Group, who is preparing the concept for the performances. I think that the location in the castle is perfectly suitable for such a party. Furthermore, our DJ (dj-jiro@gmx.de) has been collecting music from the participants, in order to create a colorful mix of European contemporary music. So as an additional appeal to the people who have not sent any music yet: You still have the chance to do so and contribute to a unique party atmosphere.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

The AEGEEan Editor-In-Chief Patricia Anthony is already in Mannheim and took the opportunity to talk with the main organiser Alexander Sieber about the preparations for the Agora. We even managed to get some exclusive information about the social program. 

The AEGEEan: How is it going with the preparations for the Agora?

Alexander Sieber: Fine! Most of the core team members arrived in Mannheim on Thursday and we have started equipping our backoffice, preparing the welcome packages and filling our inventory with all the stuff that we will need. Even the fair facilities have already been prepared.

How have the last months been working with a team of people from different German cities? Have there been any difficulties? What have the advantages been?

Of course at first sight things became more difficult: Some of our team members have been working together without knowing each other personally because they had missed some of our meetings. We’ve had one personal meeting per week during the last four months plus several social meetings, which is very little compared to how often other Agora teams met. Of course this was due to the fact that some of us are located more than 100 km away from each other. This mailing-list based communication made our work more time-consuming, so that some decisions took more time compared to personal communication.

On the other hand, the advantage of this team composition was, that, for the most part, the team was made up of very experienced members. We did not have to persuade anybody to join the team because we had enough volunteers from the seven locals. This led to a highly motivated team.

What are you mainly looking forward to?

I’m mostly looking forward to the Agora being successful: Firstly I hope that our work will provide a suitable environment for all the organisational and thematic aspects of the Agora. Secondly I hope that the participants’ stay in Mannheim will be enjoyable, so that everybody returns back home with a smile on their faces next Sunday.

Is there anything that you can announce to us exclusive that will happen at the Agora?

We are going to organise a tombola for which the first 80 participants will be able to fish their own lottery tickets from a small duck pond. The main prizes at the tombola will be two vouchers for German classes by the reputable Goethe Institut (transportation included) with a value of over 1000 euros each. Other small games will take place during the breaks in order to entertain the participants.

The concept of our Easter Party involves the widespread German Easter tradition of egg-hunting. We will hide Easter eggs with small surprises and the participants will have to look for them at the party location.

If you were to describe the process of organising an Agora in three words, what would they be?

Together for Europe!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

Last year, when the Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar was announced, it was also announced that the Agora would take place at a castle. Some might have been under the impression that would be the location for the 500 sleeping bags coming to Mannheim from all over Europe the next week, but this is not the case.

It was not planned to have people lodged in the castle and it was not announced like that. However, the participants will visit the castle of Mannheim – which is the university – as it is where the plenaries will take place. So where will the participants be sleeping? The answer to that question takes us back to school. Literally. Because the initial plan about using seven different gyms could not be provided by the city, Agora participants will be spending the nights in a big part of a school building. The participants will sleep in classrooms. Will that bring the inner child out of some people?

During EBM Valletta participants were split in two places in terms of lodging. One part was in a hotel named Alexandra and the other part in hostel 20-30 minutes from Alexandra. The AEGEE saying that lodging is only used for sleeping and that there are not many hours spent there is always applicable, but still quite a few members stated that they missed the feeling of sleeping in a gym. It might be  a difficult thing to explain to non-AEGEE people, as it is the so hard-to-explain ‘AEGEE spirit’ that causes a large amount of (experienced) AEGEE members to prefer sleeping in a gym.

People singing, people laughing, people creating nice memories, all this happens in a greater extent in the gyms where we are all together. The AEGEEan has before published reasons for choosing a gym and several AEGEE events time and time again confirm the difference it makes to have all the participants under roof.

During Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar we will have one roof all together and it will be interesting to see what happens when AEGEE goes back to school…

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

 Antonija is an English and French student, specialized in translation at the University of  the sunny Zagreb. Read the interview and discover how motivated and passionate she really is about being active within AEGEE and improving the relations between the antennae around Europe.

The AEGEEan: How will your life change if you get elected? Do you think this will affect the way you are active in your antenna?

If I get elected, I suppose AEGEE will take up more of my time than it does now, and I am actually excited about that prospect. Although I have been active in AEGEE from the very start, I never had the time to dedicate myself to it as much as I wanted to. But now I am almost finished with my studies, and I have enough experience in AEGEE to take my work to the next level and to contribute more to the Network.

As for my activity in my local, I am currently vice president and secretary, so I am actively involved in the work of AEGEE-Zadar, but my term will end in June, and from that moment on I intend to take on a more advisory role. AEGEE-Zadar is full of amazing people, and so far I have really enjoyed working with them. I have no doubt that this will continue if I become their Network Commissioner. I will always be invested in their work and be there for them.

How do you think your non AEGEE experience helped you develop your
skills?

I am the kind of person who sees every experience as a chance for self-development. My various experiences outside of AEGEE have helped me develop as a person, and to acquire some skills that I think would help me in my work as a Network Commissioner. Through my studies, extracurricular activities and volunteer work, I have had the chance to cooperate with many different people on various projects, and I have learned to be flexible and to adjust to different working circumstances. I acknowledge that we are all different and I always take those differences into consideration when working with someone, approaching every person in a way that will increase the quality of our work as much as possible. I think this individual approach is important in a Network Commissioner as every antenna is different and deals with different issues. I have become very aware of the world around me, of how society and individuals function. Because of that, people often ask me for all kinds of advice. My friends even jokingly call me “life coach” because I am always helping them deal with different situations in their lives. In my opinion, being a kind of person who is oriented on problem-solving certainly comes in handy in Network Commission.

Many antennae will be deleted in Agora Rhein-Neckar as they do not
fulfil all the criteria, so how do you intend to introduce AEGEE to cities
that are not even aware of its existence?

Well, my priority is definitely strengthening antennae and contact antennae that already exist. I intend to focus on increasing the quality of knowledge transfer, increasing awareness of our members about different opportunities to become active in AEGEE, helping them develop their skills through training, and overall, helping locals grow and become more stable. But through my work as a Subcommissioner, I have seen that an interest in AEGEE also exists in cities where AEGEE is not present, so I would like to try to expand our Network and reach out to people in those cities. While I do focus on quality of antennae rather than quantity, I think that having more locals in the Network would increase the diversity and would bring new ideas to AEGEE. However, I will not try to force making new contacts if there turns out to be no interest whatsoever.

Did your experience in The AEGEEan help you in your studies?

Being a proofreader for The AEGEEan has definitely helped me in my studies. Both in proofreading and translation, there is an emphasis on producing a high-quality text, where all facts have to be checked, the grammar has to be correct, all names have to be written correctly, and every element of the text has to sound like it belongs there. The author of the original text and his/her way of writing also has to be taken into account. Proofreading has helped me become more oriented on those details when I am translating.

Written by Cosmina Bisboaca, AEGEE-Torino