Like every year, The AEGEEan is giving a platform to candidates for a position in the European Level boards and commissions of our association to answer to some questions in order to present themselves. This year, we established a cooperation with the Golden Times and, together with his Editor Gunnar Erth, former and current journalists of our magazine will interview the candidates for the upcoming Agora in Krakow. For the very last edition, we present you with the candidates for the position of President of AEGEE-Europe: Matis Joab (AEGEE-Tallinn) and Spyros Papadatos (AEGEE-Ioannina).

One of the two candidates is Matis Joab, former president of AEGEE-Tallinn. The 28yo brings to the elections skills a strong focus on locals and Network management and the goal to reduce bureaucracy in AEGEE.

Know him better with the interview here.

You can read Matis’ full candidature here.

One of the two candidates is Spyros Papadatos, current speaker of the Network Commission. The 23yo member of AEGEE-Ioannina made members the core of his program, wanting to implement the Strategy for Learning and Training of AEGEE (up to approval in Krakow).

Know him better by reading the interview here.

You can read Spyros’ full candidature here.

It’s the closing plenary of Spring Agora Enschede 2017 and the next Spring Agora hosting local has been announced: it is AEGEE-Kraków! We reached out to them and spoke to Magdalena Barwinek, current president of the Polish local, to ask them more about their reaction to the good news and some sneak peeks. 

The AEGEEan: Why did you apply to host Spring Agora 2018?

Autumn Network Meeting 2015 in Kraków

Magdalena: Our local has lately become more and more interested in the topic of European citizenship, so that we have opened up to the international events of AEGEE. Since the moment when 40 members of AEGEE-Kraków attended the Spring Agora Bergamo 2016 (what was the biggest delegation in the history), the idea of organising Agora in Kraków started to go around in the heads of the most experienced members. The topic of hosting the biggest AEGEE event has been present in our local since I remember, but nobody had been brave enough to discuss this issue in detail and to research our logistical potential. Finally, the departing 2016/2017 board made the decision of Open space on the topic of hosting the Agora. Within few hours of discussion, we took into consideration all the pros and cons and the result was surprising. All the 37 members that gathered voted ‘for’, nobody hold off, nobody was against. This result confirmed the Board’s belief, that hosting Agora was a secret dream of all our members.

How did you react when you first heard the news that you were accepted?

With the members who had the input into writing the application form, we have the conversation on Facebook. I remember how excited we were the day before the announcement. “The day” someone woke me up half an hour before the news was supposed to come with the information that the e-mail from CD had been already sent to me. I logged in right away, but there was nothing new, so I started to refresh the page every few seconds, whereas the other people were waiting impatiently on the Facebook conversation. As I finally received the messaged, I shared it immediately with the possible core team and the reactions were more than adorable. People started to shout at their lectures, at work, walking on the street… The witnesses of these reactions could have possibly thought that we are crazy, but this is the quintessence of how badly we wanted to organise Agora!

How would you describe AEGEE-Krakow?

40 AEGEE-Kraków members at Spring Agora Bergamo 2016

AEGEE-Kraków specialises in non-formal education. We annually organise around five local projects related to developing soft and hard skills. One of the most recognisable projects is Free Language Conversations – each semester we give students the opportunity to learn a foreign language on a chosen level, free of charge. The tutors are either philology students, foreigners or any other people who speak a certain language fluently, willing to share their knowledge and gain experience at the same time. Twice a year we organise LTCs, that provide our potential new members with the knowledge about project management. Then, they get the chance to broaden their knowledge at our Management Training Course, the second level of LTC. Mentioning the other projects would take too much space, so anybody who is interested in our local activities – I recommend following our fanpage on Facebook. What I want to add about AEGEE-Kraków is that we are always trying to find a balance between hard work on the projects and the social factor of being AEGEEans. Therefore we often organise trips together to integrate or members, we keep on searching for common activities and we are very open to all kinds of exchanges with other locals. What I really love in our antenna is the Facebook group called ‘SNAP’, which aim is to post your ideas for funny and odd activities. The other members have to make up a quick decision if they want to be your companion. For instance, If I’d had an idea to hitchhike towards Berlin after our General Meeting, I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have to wait more than a few minutes to find several people backing up this idea.

Who will be in the core team of Spring Agora Krakow?

AEGEE-Kraków loves hitchhiking! This time 21 members used this way of transportation to reach Triest in Italy.

As I mentioned before, there is already a group of people who were involved into the preparation of our application form and possibly they will be the members of the core team as well. If it comes to the main coordinator, as the board of AEGEE-Kraków we decided that all our members should have a real influence on this choice. So we announced an open call for this position and the coordinator will be chosen by the Plenary Assembly a few days after Agora. Having regard to the high rank of this event, we came to the common conclusion that this is the most legitimate way to select the leader. Who exactly will take the key positons in the core team is up to the future coordinator – the board will not interfere with her/his decisions. Nevertheless, we have been observing the predispositions of our members, both the experienced and the new, ambitious ones, so that we will be always ready to suggest the candidacies if the coordinator wishes to.

Does AEGEE-Kraków have any past experience in organising an event similar to the Agora?

AEGEE-Kraków has never organised an event as big as Agora, but we succeeded in preparing smaller, international events. In November 2015 we hosted 150 participants of Autumn Network Meeting – Awaken The Dragon. In April 2016 we were responsible for the logistics of 2^nd Youth 2 Youth Summit, the international conference for 100 participants related to the topics of corruption, lack of transparency and accountability and their implications on our lives. We also organised smaller events, as the AEGEE Eastern Partnership Youth Convention in 2015 and Y Vote Convention in 2014.

What do you have in mind for the facilities and the programme?

Current President, Magdalena Barwinek and ex-President, initiator of Spring Agora Kraków, Karolina Lapczyk.

Our aim is to find a place for assemblies at walking distance from the gym, very close to the city centre. We would like to use the public or private transportation as little as possible to let the participants explore the city – walking is the best way to discover the charme of the old streets in Krakow. As I attended few international events of AEGEE, I realized that there are few factors (beyond the substantive value) according to which the participants evaluate the event in general. They expect to eat well, to take a warm shower without standing in a long line and to have a steady access to the sockets and WiFi. The organisers have to bear in mind that if they do not provide the participants with those basics conveniences, even when the content is fine, people will not be fully satisfied. So we will do our best to find the proper facilities that suit these requirements.

What will be your biggest challenges in hosting the Agora?

The biggest challenge will not be organising Agora itself, but planning the activity of our whole local for the period of preparation to this big-scale event. The key to make AEGEE-Kraków still exist after Agora is to preserve the smaller, local projects and let them function within the whole “Agora preparation” period. The challenge therefore will be to divide the workforces wisely between the big, time-consuming project and the smaller, local ones. Thus, we keep in mind that an intensified recruitment process needs to be implemented in order to increase the number of our active members.

What makes Kraków attractive to visit?

Mariacki Church.

Around 20% of the people living in Cracow are students, what makes the city lively 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The historical city centre comes from the XIII century and was successfully developed within the following centuries, so that we can see a variety of architectural examples in one place. One of the most significant ones are Mariacki Church – gothic basilique in the north-eastern corner of the Main Square, Sukiennice – the Cloth Hall in the heart of the square that replaced the wooden market stalls in XIV century and the Wawel Castle, a residence of Polish kings by the Vistula river. Those examples are the absolute must-see, but there are lot more wonderful places to explore. For this reason we recommend to commit to at least one extra day beyond the official timeframe of Agora to explore the city. With a clear conscience we can assure you that in Krakow you can find everything you would expect from the hosting city of Agora – beautiful architecture, friendly people and exciting nightlife without spending a fortune! Moreover, our city is easily accessible from lots of European cities, so there is nothing more to add apart inviting you all to Spring Agora Kraków 2018! You can all feel more than welcome!

Written by Federica Soro, AEGEE-Cagliari and Maria Zwartkruis, AEGEE-Utrecht

For years known as European Level meeting, there is a rendezvous of members of the Agora who are not tired of constructive discussions and spend some time more over the issues and challenges of our organisation. Before Autumn Agora Cagliari, then Human Resource Director Ivan Bielik and Comité Directeur 52 decided to change the original concept opening it to everyone attending the Agora and making it a platform to share best practices. Vice-President and External Director Maarten de Groot recently sent the Open Call for the Spring Agora Enschede edition and we seized the occasion to ask him some questions.

The AEGEEan: What is the SHARE meeting?

Maarten: A SHARE meeting is meant for Agora participants who are eager to continue discussing their ideas for AEGEE in a smaller, more informal setting. It is an open space for you to share your ideas – any ideas – related to AEGEE, and to get direct feedback from other active AEGEE members. The SHARE meeting is open towards both new and more experienced members. We just want you to be motivated to have an active attitude in the meeting.

When and where will it take place?

The SHARE meeting will take place during the departure day of Agora Enschede, on Sunday, May 28th, from approximately 11 am to 6 pm. We are hosted in the pub of AEGEE-Enschede, in the city centre of Enschede. If you are interested in joining, you can still apply through this form.

What were the results of last year’s SHARE meeting?

During the SHARE meeting of Agora Chisinau, we started by evaluating the Agora itself. Afterwards, we discussed challenges and opportunities related to human resources and internal education in AEGEE, also in relation to the freshly adopted Strategic Plan 2017-2020 (Focus Area Youth Development and the Organisational Improvements). Another topic that was tackled is the question of collaboration between European Bodies, and how to make European bodies stronger through enhanced collaboration, especially considering the low-interest in the European Bodies Activity Report sessions during Agora.

What are the topics for Spring Agora Enschede meeting?

We will probably start with a brief evaluation of the Agora, and identify points for improvement, as is usually the case for SHARE meetings. Afterwards, we will go into topics proposed by the participants, and selecting them according to their popularity among the participants. However, this time we will focus the discussion on concrete ideas for change and improvement of AEGEE, and less on analysing problems.

What is done with the things that are discussed at the SHARE Meetings? Can you give us an example?

I must honestly confess that I haven’t managed yet to finalise and publish the minutes of SHARE meeting Chisinau. At the same time, I believe that the most important output of meetings like these is a certain level of bonding among members who are eager to get more active or those who simply want to continue contributing to a better AEGEE. As such it is also a place where newer members can get to know more experienced AEGEE members. While the dissemination of the outcomes is the responsibility of CD (and myself in this case), the follow-up on concrete ideas is really up to the participants of the SHARE meeting themselves. While I am not 100% sure, I believe that the idea for gameification of the Agora has its origin in the SHARE meeting of Agora Chisinau.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Spring Agora Enschede is approaching very fast and there is just one thing between being an applicant and a participant: the application.

The first thing to know is: who is going to read your applications? The Chair Team, in cooperation with the Comité Directeur, is the one in charge of selecting participants. And in case you are wondering, yes, the Chair Team will read ALL your motivation letters. Despite the fact that in the team we speak more or less a dozen languages, ironically none of us is fluent in Dutch. Plus, the working language of the Agora is English, therefore while writing your application remember to use English only. Do not worry if your written English is not the best, as long as you will be able to put a sentence in the right order subject + verb + complement(s), we will definitely understand you.

What to write in it? The application system is helping a bit by giving some outline questions that can help you in drafting the text.

1. Why do you want to participate in this Agora?

2. What do you know about the Agora?

3. How can you contribute to this Agora?

4. What is your AEGEE experience?

5. Since when are you an AEGEE member?

You don’t necessarily have to answer in that order. For example, you can start by describing the highlights of your AEGEE experience and when you joined AEGEE. If you are a new member and you did not have a chance to be active in your local, explain what are your expectations towards the association and the Agora. When asked to explain what you know about the Agora, do not write “enough to attend” or copy and paste what the CIA says about it. Go more in depth and describe what Agora means and is to you, what the General Assembly is for AEGEE. What if you never attend an Agora? Don’t worry, usually up to half of the participants are at their first statutory event. Here you can write how you discovered about Agora, what do you expect the Agora to be. You can also talk with more experienced members, your local boards or even the Network Commissioners and ask what our General Assembly looks like, thus having a better picture of it.

How you can contribute to this Agora is a subjective questions, but in this field you can specify if you are thinking to hold a workshop or a progress meeting, if you are thinking to present something in the plenary, if you would like to help other delegates or visitors with your knowledge or even if you want to run for an elective position. After answering all these questions, why you want to attend the Agora will come easily. And no, eating stroopwafel will not be considered a good motivation, even thought we all love stroopwafel. [she winks, ed.]

Don’t leave it empty, don’t type random words or don’t put just smiles on it. Especially empty applications mean automatical rejection if you are a visitor. Even if you are most likely to be accepted – if you are a delegate or member of a European body – writing a good motivation letter is always a plus. Definitely, it would be perfect to state at least the body you are representing or what you are going to do during the Agora.

Locals’ boards are important too. They have the faculty of creating a ranking for visitors and assign the participant type (when it is not decided by the local agora) and to leave comments. In this cases the best thing to do is to be honest. Do not copy and paste the motivation letter of other applicants from your local, but also do not copy and paste board comments for every single member who applied, especially if you do not make an effort to at least change their gender. If you think that several people are promising and more or less equally good, change the words you use for each one of them, personalise your comment. Indeed it is true that boards do not know personally all the members, especially with big locals. In case this happen, and you do not know the applicants, then find a moment to talk with them in order to understand better their motivation to go to the Agora.

You can apply for Spring Agora Enschede till the 23rd of March here. Locals’ Boards can set a participant type and add board comments until the 25th of March using this link.

For any questions, you can reach the Chair Team here or send an email at chair@aegee.org

Written by Erika Bettin, Interim Vice-Chairwoman of Spring Agora Enschede 2017

The winner of Local of the Month of May is none other than AEGEE-Bergamo! The organiser of the spring Agora 2016 hosted 1000 people, a huge number of participants even for an Agora. We had a talk with the board of AEGEE-Bergamo about the challenges encountered for organising AEGEE’s biggest statutory event, about their antenna and of course, about their next plans! If you attended Spring Agora Bergamo and want to know more from the organisers’ point of view, here you can read all about it.

The AEGEEan: To begin with, congratulations for organising Spring Agora Bergamo! What was your overall impression as organisers?

AEGEE-Bergamo: First of all, it is an honour for all of us to be named Local of the Month. Organising a statutory event is a very complex goal, trying to do it hosting 1000 people is an even bigger challenge. Now that Spring Agora Bergamo 2016 is over, we, as organisers, can only say that it has been a success and we are really proud of what we achieved. We really worked hard last year preparing everything, and then, on arrival day, everything seemed to finish in the blink of an eye. It was great, especially because there were 1000 smiles surrounding us during those days.

What was the biggest challenge you faced before and also during Agora?

While we were organising the Agora, I guess the most difficult part was the FR, and not because our team was not good enough, but because we actually needed a lot of money to guarantee a unique experience for 1000 people. Actually, the FR team did an amazing job and thanks to them we did not have any problem. The problems we faced during the Agora were not enormous; the logistic team had the hardest job, especially by night when they had to deal with 1000 people who wanted to reach the club and were waiting for the buses to come, or during meals, for example.

What could you have managed to do better and why?  

Our team was very focused on small details, thanks to Paolo who did an amazing job as Main Coordinator, and due to that I think we considered all the small things, which can make the difference between a great event and an unforgettable event (which was our goal). Also, there is a thin line which separates an unforgettable event in a positive way from an unforgettable disaster. Anyway, although we did a great job, there is always something that might have been done better.

How many active members does your antenna have?

Actually we have 100 members and 40 of them are active. It is a good number and I am happy we have grown a lot in the past 2 years.

Had your antenna organised a statutory event before; if so, when?

Well, before this Agora we organised a NWM in 2013, but this was the most important event we have ever organised in the history of our Antenna. Will it be the last? We will see, but I am sure it won’t.

What would you say are the strengths and weaknesses of your antenna?

The strength of our Antenna is in the group, we can work together and we are a big family. Nevertheless, the strength and success of our projects is also due to the great help given by the City and the University. Something we can improve is our level of activity, not only at the local level, but also at the European level. We can always work harder, try to improve ourselves and our home: Europe.

What are your next plans for this year? 

After the Agora, we took a little break to relax after a year of hard work, but now AEGEE-Bergamo is coming back to work and has a lot of surprises for you all. Stay tuned, we will demonstrate to you that there is Life after Agora!

What would you recommend to antennae who want to organise a statutory event?

We were a very untrained and small group only a few years ago, but with hard work and perseverance everyone can reach any goal. My suggestion is to work on the cohesion and the strength of the group; skills are important, but unity comes first. If the organisers are well trained and work as a single body, your event can only be successful.

Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București

Fundraising Starts with FUN!

Written by Dariia Kogut, AEGEE-Kyiv

At the upcoming Spring Agora Bergamo, beside plenaries, prytania and workoshops, twelve Progress Meetings (PM) will take place. Excluding a Progress Meeting which will be on Friday afternoon, they will all be on Thursday and Saturday, divided in a morning slot and an afternoon one. Progress Meetings are a very important moment in AEGEE since we all can receive information about the current status of certain issues and our members can present new ideas they want to develop in the medium-long term. So go there and discuss about the future of our organisation!

On the second last session of the Progress Meetings, which will be on Saturday 21st of May from 11:45 – 13:15, two interesting PM will take place: “LGBTQ topics in Europe: what can we do?” and “My AEGEE development & White Paper in IT service”. As the titles of them are announcing, the first will be a thematic one, the second will discuss the progresses about an implementation AEGEE is carrying out for some years now.

LGBTQ topics in Europe: what can we do?

Ander Guerrero Ruiz on behalf of the Comité Directeur is the moderator of this interesting debate which will be on the 21st of May, starting from 11.45 in the “S. Lorenzo” room. The main discussions will be regarding the current situation on LGBTQ rights across Europe, analysing which are the countries recognizing and reducing them. But it is not over, during the debate we have the opportunity to take a look at the current situation within AEGEE and homophobia problems people may have noticed within it. The purpose of this Progress Meeting? Launch a huge European project for our locals about this topic!

My AEGEE development & White Paper in IT service

Pablo Hernandez Rodriguez for the Comité Directeur and Fabrizio Bellicano on behalf of the Information Technology Committee are the hosts of this meeting. It will take place on the 21st of May, starting at 11.45 in the “S. Alessandro” room. The topic is a very important one since it regards the implementation of our new online system which will be updated from a system of the 90s to a system of today. At this Progress Meeting, the implementation results of this issue, which AEGEEans really care about, are going to be shown. What is the aim of the meeting? Gather the most possible inputs to finalise the work and shape the system as AEGEEans would like to see it. For more information about this topic you can also read this interview the AEGEEan took with Fabrizio Bellicano who is the IT person developing the system and our Member of the Month of February 2016.

For more information you can download the Agora Agenda and the Workshops and Progress Meetings booklet.

Written by Mattia Abis, AEGEE-Cagliari

Whether you are a delegate, a visitor or an envoy, you are definitely going to love the workshops planned for the upcoming Spring Agora Bergamo! They are new, they are fresh and interactive, aimed for new members coming as visitors, some of them being for the first time at an Agora, eager to learn valuable things, AEGEE related or not,  from trainers and members with experience. Three of them will briefly be presented in this article and are the following: “Be water, my friend!”, “I was killed by PowerPoint” and last, but not least, “Peace it Up!”. Read more to find out about each one of them and don’t forget to join one during Agora Bergamo! See you there!

Workshop I-A: Be water, my friend!

Held by the Speaker and Vice-Speaker of the Public Relations Committee (PRC), Gerardo Garcia Diaz (AEGEE-Oviedo) and former Comité Directeur (CD) member, Mayri Tiido (AEGEE-Tallin), the workshop will take place on Thursday, 19th May at 12:45 and will end at 14:15. This workshop encourages you to refresh yourself and teaches you how to adapt to different situations, to be like water, as the name suggests, through improvisation theater and role-playing. Although this workshop will be a lot of fun,  a decent level of English is required, so if you are having trouble with that, start revising!

Workshop I-B: I was killed by PowerPoint

As the name suggests, we are all sick and tired of PowerPoint presentations and dull speeches. The means used to spread education & knowledge have changed a lot, the best example for that being TEDx, with events taking place all over, featuring worldwide known trainers, experts and great leaders that inspire us with their speech and stage act. Why shouldn’t you try to be like them? Through tips and tricks presented during this workshop, you will learn how to keep the participant’s attention, leave them speechless and falling in love with your presentation. The workshop will be held by Academy trainer, Ana Potocnik (AEGEE-Ljubljana) and will take place on Thursday, 19th May between 12:45 and 14:15.

Workshop I-C: Peace it Up!

So far, the year of 2016 wasn’t too great when it comes to democracy and peace-making, considering all the terrorist attacks that happened in Paris, Brussels, Istanbul and Ankara. However, it definitely brought us together and motivated us to take our own actions to contribute to a better and more peaceful Europe. The collaboration between the “Democracy in Practice” and the “Your Vision for EUrope”
project has resulted in an interactive and meaningful workshop called “Peace it Up!”, which will offer you this great opportunity to come, share and support your thoughts and feelings about the current situation. It will be held by Noemi Lowy (AEGEE-Debrecen) on behalf of the “Democracy in Practice” project and Adonis Meggos (AEGEE-Peiraias) from the “Your Vision for EUrope” project and it will take place on Thursday, 19th May from 12:45 until 14:15.

For more information you can download the Agora Agenda and the Workshops and Progress Meetings booklet.

Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București

Elisa has been a member of AEGEE-Catania for three years now. The experience that she gained from her antenna and the European bodies that she has been involved with so far, motivated her to take the next step and become a member of the Juridical Commission (JC) for the upcoming term. Here are all the questions the AEGEEan and its readers had for the current JC SubCommissioner: 

The AEGEEan: Can you tell us a few things about yourself?

Elisa: I’m in my last year, studying Law, at the University of Catania and I hope I will be getting my degree this summer, right before the beginning of the term. I’m a very enthusiastic person and, since I like what I study, I want to put my knowledge into practice!  

What is your relevant experience for this position?

As I explained in my candidature I’ve been helping the Juridical Commission as SubCommissioner this year (term 2015/2016). My collaboration with the current members gave me a lot of valuable experience for this position.

Why did you choose to become a candidate for the Juridical Commission?

During this year I came to the conclusion, that I gained the right knowledge to continue and improve the job of the current commissioners, therefore at the moment, I have the right motivation to carry out this mission!

What is the thing that makes the Juridical Commission important according to you?

The thing that makes the JC important, is that AEGEE, beyond an association, is a real community of people, in this case European students. As every community, it needs regulations (in this case, the ones mentioned in the Corpus Iudiricum Aeegense (CIA)), which will always be evolving and be shaped along with the people. So, to me, this European body is supposed to connect students with rules, help them apply them in the right way and take care of their adaptation during the evolution of this big community!

How would you raise awareness about the CIA among the members?

Raising awareness about regulations is hard in every community. Maybe people could be bored in reading all the articles, but the fact that at every Agora there are many members who submit proposals is a proof that not all members ignore the importance of the process. In any case,  it is a reality that many members have not read it once. Maybe, the word could be spread through a brief workshop about the CIA, during a Local Training Course (LTC) or an Regional Training Course (RTC) for example, just to make people aware of the main rules of the association!

Is there something that you would like to improve in the current version (v.26.1)?

I think that CIA is constantly evolving together with the association and the changing of its needs, so yes, there’s always room for improvement.

Do you think that there’s somehow room for collaboration between other European bodies and the Juridical Commission?

Yes of course, and I think that there must be and it has to be reinforced: the JC is always open to give support and advice to every member, local and European body.

If you were elected tomorrow, what would be the first thing that you would do?

Maybe I’ll make the most recent version of the CIA more accessible: some people said that they have not read the CIA once, because they don’t really know where to find it.

What is the thing that makes you the most excited as a candidate?

Probably the challenge of answering all the questions people will ask me. I think this process is really important in order to understand what people want to see from the JC, but I also consider this as a personal feedback for my future job.

Questions from our readers:

Have you read the whole CIA? If so, what is its role in the network?

Yes, I did. The CIA is the Corpus Iuridicum Aegeense, it contains the structure of the association, all the working formats of all bodies, the Agora and all the rules to make the entire association work,  i.e. it’s the main pillar of AEGEE, because without regulations, no community can exist!

In your program, you’re mostly referring to continuing the work of the current Juridical Commission, what are some of your own ideas that could to improve the work of this European body?

Improving the work of the current Commissioners will be hard, but everything can be improved in terms of efficiency on solving issues and so on.  

How do you place yourself towards the proposals about removing the current Comité Directeur from the work of the Commission?

I think that as European bodies, we can continue with the model of “check and balances”, but sometimes more neutrality in the decisions of the Commission is needed, which in my opinion, was the aim of the proposal.

Would you continue with the idea of presenting proposals only during the Autumn Agora?

The proposal was submitted with the intention of avoiding using a lot of the time of both Agorae just for discussion on proposals. But it’s just a proposal, and it has to be voted, so it’s up to the Agora to decide!

Why do you think you’re the most eligible candidate for this position?

Because I know the work, I’m motivated, I’m enthusiastic and I can give all my time to improve and preserve the CIA, as well as, to help whoever is seeking advice. In other words: I’m ready!

You can read the full candidature here. 

Written by Theodora Giakoumelou, AEGEE-Athina

Do you want to discover how the AEGEE Fair will look like at Spring Agora Bergamo? In that case you are reading the right article. The AEGEEan interviewed the organisers to show you how the next fair will look like, its scenario, its protagonists and also what kind of work lies behind all the preparation. To gather all this information two people have been interviewed: Salvo Schillaci, Fair Manager for the Public Relations Committee (PRC) and Lisa Gregis, Agora Fair responsible for AEGEE-Bergamo.

Salvo Schillaci, Member of AEGEE-Catania and PRC Fair Manager.

The AEGEEan: Many participants of Agora Bergamo probably know what the AEGEE Fair is, but not all of them. So, what is a fair and, in your opinion, which are the main reasons of organising it?

Salvo: Can you imagine a place where you’re able to meet the most active AEGEEans? Well, I do and its name is the AEGEE Fair. The fair is the place where you find the actual core of AEGEE with all its projects, committees, coordination teams and working groups. A brand new world of perspectives and possibilities where you can enrich you cultural background. This is the meaning it has to me, since the very first moment I joined the organisation. At my first Agora in Patra, I didn’t know the European greatness that lies behind AEGEE-Europe, but when I saw this world in front of me I was astonished. It was incredible and then when I realised that I could be part of it…Well, you know the rest of the story!

Who is the Fair Manager and the people involved in its organisation?

Salvo: The Fair Manager is the bridge between those who want to join the fair, which means the bodies, and the fair itself, the landmark for all those who want to say something about the fair. The Fair Manager actively collaborates with the Fair Responsible of the hosting antenna, prevents any problem and ensure the success of the event. This year I’ve been lucky, because a lot of people supported my work and I want to thank all of them: Gerardo Garcia Diaz and Mayri Tiido (PRC Speaker and Vice-Speaker), Gabriele Nicotra (PR Manager of AEGEE-Catania) and Lisa Gregis (Fair Responsible of Agora Bergamo). Without their “ausilium et consilium” my work would be way more difficult and nearly impossible.

Lisa Gregis, current Network Commissioner and AEGEE-Bergamo Fair Responsible

The Fair is always a collaboration between local organisers and a body of AEGEE-Europe, in this case the Public Relations Committee. How difficult is it to organise everything from a distance?

Lisa: The fair is just one of the pieces of the collaboration between different bodies, in fact the entire Agora is an event organised by different groups of people. For instance I’m not the only one working on it, since I have two amazing team members: Andrea and Ambra. As you said in this case, the cooperation is between local organisers and the PRC. We are working especially with Salvo who is the Fair Manager and we are very well connected. We are in daily communication and we are also able to have fun while working. I’m very happy we are working together, because I think he really understands the needs of the two sides: local organisers and AEGEE bodies.

The magnificient Donizetti Theatre, in front of which the AEGEE Fair will take place. Inside it Agora Bergamo will begin.

When and where is the fair going to take place?

Lisa: The fair is going to take place at the Bergamo city centre, on the first day of the Agora, May 18th, at 3 pm. It will be the first activity of the Agora. The place is very beautiful and it’s in front of the Donizetti Theatre, where the Opening Plenary and Opening Ceremony will take place. It’s a public open space and we will be enjoying also the city centre while attending the Agora Fair.

The open space where the fair will be held.

 Usually the fair was taking place on the second day of the Agora, this time it will be on the very first day. Why?

Lisa: We wanted to save time and try to do things differently. We thought that it could be a good way to start the event, since the fair is a moment during which people can meet, discuss and share opinions. We didn’t want to put the participants in a closed space since the beginning.

How many AEGEE bodies will be present at the fair? Can you give us a spoiler about what they will organise?

Salvo: There will be around 20 AEGEE bodies, with great projects for all the AEGEEans. I’m not a spoiler guy, I don’t want to be mean, but making a list would take so much time and this article would be a booklet. That’s why we edited one: by downloading it you can get a little preview of what is waiting for you.

AEGEEans participating at Agora Kyiv Fair

What do you expect from it and why should people visit the stands?

Salvo: Like I already said, the fair is to me the fresh start for all the AEGEEans already active on a local level,
but that also want to become even more active on the European one. So, for all the AEGEEans with great expectations and projects, for all the AEGEEans who want to be something more: this fair is addressed to all of you! I feel so lucky because from my point of view I can just see a huge family I joined two years ago, while I was wandering at my first Agora and now I’m giving my best to make all this happen again. My hope is that among you there will be another curious AEGEEan, ready to get close to us, to fall in love with our dream.

Excluding AEGEE bodies, which partners will be there? Why should we visit those stands?

Agora Fair banner. You can see the partnership of the Municipality of Bergamo.

Lisa: There will be the University of Bergamo and some of the sponsors which helped us organise the Agora. The Municipality will be there in order to let you discover all the places you can visit in the surroundings of Bergamo. And last, but not least, something
very cool: ten computers will be there in order to let you play some video games.

Finally, will it be open only to Agora participants?

Lisa: The Agora Fair is open to everyone who wants to take part in it. We also printed some promo materials and we invited all the students of the University of Bergamo.

Here you can find the Facebook Event.

Written by Mattia Abis, AEGEE-Cagliari