Laura Garcia Rueda is a very energic and positive girl from AEGEE-A Coruña, she has a lot of experience on the local level ( she is currently the secretary of her local) and she has already worked with SUCT becaming a SUpporter for it this past year.

The AEGEEan : Can you introduce yourself for those who don’t know you?

Laura : I’m Laura from A Coruña, a beautiful city in the northwest of Spain. I studied oceanography and now I’m going to start my masters’ in environmental management. I really love music: Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Blur, The Beatles… Brit pop and alternative music in general (also Spanish music). I like to go to music festivals and enjoy the beauty of music having a good time with friends. I’m a cinema lover, a supporter of my Deportivo de La Coruña, always with a smile in my face, positive, and someone who never gives up. Contact me if you are interested to know more about me.

What valuable lessons did studying the ocean give you, that you would apply in your work for SUCT?

After several years studying, I think I have acquired a working methodology that is very necessary when you have to get involved in a project like this. Not only the habit of studying and working that the bachelors’ can give you, but it’s the amount of teamwork that I have done which has prepared me to know how to work on a team. Taking care of the ocean, of the animals, the samples to make measurements is like taking care of all our organisers, you have to be concentrated, be very careful in order to have the best response from them.

Why did you apply for SUCT? Especially, can you tell us why did you decide to run as Project Manager?

I’ve applied for SUCT because for me the SU project has a lot of potential to make the association more known, get and motivate members. A unique experience which brings the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and, finally, develop more skills once you’re involved in AEGEE. I have chosen project manager because I consider that my experience (being main organiser, helper and participant of different SUs) has gave me a clear understanding of the project. Furthermore, after being participant in some training events (such as Develop Yourself 3 and SUPS in Skopje, among others), I have gained the necessary skills to be a good leader, be able to work within a team and manage it and also to solve conflicts.

In your programme you said that you want to improve the collaboration between SUCT and AEGEE-Academy, in which way?

As main organiser of a SU and having contact with many experienced members from my local and others, I could learn that there is a lack of good trainers and, for this reason, trainings in the Summer Universities. So, I would like to keep more in touch with them and, as much as we can, try to have some agreements to motivate more locals to ask for trainers and, also, more trainers to attend SUs and deliver sessions. We can also work together in the compulsory content for the SUs to make it more attractive for everyone and be able to give content and fun to the participants and organisers. If we are able to give that, the result will be that more people will want to join AEGEE after their SU.

How do you envision the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of SU? Not every day is the 30th aniversary of someone, so why not celebrate it?

I think is a good opportunity to make a great tribute to the Summer University Project and we all know that the current SUCT is preparing something special, so wait a bit and give me the opportunity to surprise you a bit! I can promise that it will be something unforgettable!

If you could choose just one big aim to improve SUCT, what would you choose and why?

The most important thing that SUCT needs to improve is being closer to the locals and other European bodies, in order to help them in a better way, and have more comunication with the European Bodies in order to have more quality in the Summer Universities. They were improving a lot in this sense but, as main organiser this year, I can say that there is room for more improvement.

What are your aims and hopes for SUCT?

I hope that we can continue doing a very good job inside SUCT, rather improving it, achieving all the proposals in ours programmes, or at least letting them have a start. Combining the knowledge, experience, motivation and good relation that we will have in our team, I think that we’ll be able to make a huge work, to contribute a lot in this project and to help organising, once again, the summer of the life of hundreds of young people.

Questions from the Network

You said in your application that you want to keep SUpporters and activate them more. Do you have a programme for that? What exactly, and how can they support you? In your opinion, why right now SUpporters are not so active?

About SUpporters, I was thinking about some improvents to include in our programme: organise more Skype meetings with them, use the survey to the Network that I also want to implement to make guidelines and useful documents in order to make those task more easy. They can support us in a different ways. Working as a team, sharing tasks, or they could even contribute with their own experience and knowledge, in case they have it. If they won’t have enough yet, the knowledge transfer will be fundamental in order to involve them in our work with more confidence. I think that now they are not very active because they are not enough motivated. We should motivate them more, being more communicative and interactive with them.

You can read her full candidature here.

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari

Being part of the big AEGEE family makes you want to discover more, learn and share as much as you can. The same happened with Dermanşah, from AEGEE-Istanbul, and he is taking his knowledge to the next step by being a candidate for SUCT. We asked him some questions, and below you can find out more about his candidature.

The AEGEEan: Dermanşah, describe yourself in 4 words, using the SUCT initials. 

Dermanşah Hazar Ersoy Yalin: Solution oriented, Upstanding, Challenge oriented, Tolerant.

What does the Summer University Project mean to you?

For me the Summer University Project is something – does not matter if you are a participant or an organiser – that makes you leave your comfort zone sometimes by going to a country that you never imagined you could visit, by communicating with a mayor that you never thought yourself talking to or being the only one speaking your language in a group of people who are close to your age. For me the Summer University Project is an opportunity to learn a lot of things that you can never learn in any university, plus there’s no other way to learn things by having that much fun.

You’ve been organiser of the SUs of your local for the past four years. What gives you motivation now to be part of SUCT?

First of all in the past four summers, I always tried to take on different responsibilities in our SU every year and I always worked for organising a better SU. And apart from being an organiser I also wanted to be a participant in order to see this project from a “participant”’s point of view [he smiles, ed.]. And for me it would have been a miss if I didn’t see the “helper” point of view, which is between being an organiser and a participant: thanks to AEGEE-Beograd, last summer I also had opportunity to try that experience. At the end I felt like there are few things left that I haven’t done for this project and there is a lot of knowledge and experience I have gained so far. So when I connected these two facts I realised that member of SUCT is the position where I should be.

You mentioned in your programme feedback meetings with local organisers of SUs. How do you see this happening? How much time do you think it will take and what is the actual idea behind these meetings?

Dermanşah: It will happen directly and indirectly. Directly – we will have Skype meetings and also we might contact locals individually according to the evaluation forms. And indirectly – since locals in the same areas have usually similar issues, we might collect feedbacks through Network Commissioners. The reason is of course to help the locals in order to improve their SUs and it will take maximum until the beginning of application period of SUs for the organisers.

Tell us more about the increasing of number of participants on SUs.

Dermanşah: I think if thematic parts are properly implemented on SUs it will bring better fundraising opportunities to the locals and as a result of this we will have SUs with either lower fees or better facilities. As a candidate for member of SUCT I am planning to help the locals in the cases – which I stated above – with the whole team.

You mentioned the visibility of the SU Project and the cooperation with other student organisations. In your opinion, how will that be beneficial for the development of the SU project?

Dermanşah: Different student organisations have different perspectives. In this case with the cooperation by sharing best practices, contacts, different thematic contents etc. And increasing visibility of the SU Project among private companies will create better fundraising opportunities for the locals, because from my experience with local companies, they are quite interested in our work, on cultural integration and also having members from different kinds of disciplines.

Why should you be a member of SUCT and members should vote for you?

Dermanşah: As I stated on your third question, I have been very active on the local level and now I feel like it’s time for a new challenge for me, which is working on the European Level for the SU Project. On the other hand I always try to be a good team member and what I mean is that I never insist on titles, names, positions or anything but I am always focused on tasks, always try to help achieving team’s goals. Last but not least in the past three and a half years, after organising and attending many events, especially after being part of eight SUs, having several golden moments, feeling almost every emotion, now I feel like I gained a lot of experience and it’s time to pay back for the things I gained and that’s why I would like to help the locals and to offer the members the possibility to enjoy this project and experience as I did.

You can read his full candidature here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

As the time passes, we are getting closer and closer to Autumn Agora Catania. The candidates are getting ready and of course we would like to know more about them and the reason why they want to represent us. Lorenzo Ligas is one of the candidates for SUCT, this being his second time to candidate, but he says that “the decision to candidate again was quite natural”, so below you can find out more about his plans.

The AEGEEan: Lorenzo, describe yourself in four words, using the SUCT initials.

Lorenzo: Supportive – I am always willing to support and help team mates.

Unique – Can you find another #PRbear in the Network?

Creative – Writing, designing, managing social media is my daily bread. I can’t imagine my life without it.

Tenacious – Being a candidate for the second time, after the result of Autumn Agora Chișinău, and after a very active year in the association, it’s the proof that no matter how hard it could be, no matter the failures, I run for my goals.

What does Summer University Project mean to you?

Lorenzo: Summer University is love and passion for me. Being an organiser twice in Cagliari as PR Responsible and Content Manager gave me countless emotions, thanks both to my amazing antenna and to the incredible participants we had. I really think that through the Summer University Project young people can experience freedom. Especially for youngsters, it’s a playground where you have fun, get to know people in a very friendly and respectful environment.

You are no stranger to the Summer University Project, but tell us, why do you want to continue in this field and what gives you motivation?

Lorenzo: When I decided in 2016 to candidate at Autumn Agora Chișinău, I knew chances to be elected were low. At that time I had been in AEGEE for about eight months. Current SUCTies were really supporting, and I decided, even before the voting rounds, that in case of ‘’negative’’ results I would become a SUpporter. During this year thanks to Claudio, Lucia, Philipp and Ralitsa I had the chance to be involved in the project with graphics, PR tasks and being trainer in SUPS Skopje 2017. The decision to candidate again was quite natural I would say!

You mentioned in your programme that you would create viral contents. How do you see that helping in increasing the participation of members to the SU?

Lorenzo: As for any brand or company, the Summer University project needs to be more active into social networks. This could be done by both increasing the amount of contents in Summer University social networks and encouraging antennae and bodies to share and create their own contents. The more people you reach, the higher is the possibility to attract new members and to increase the participation to the events.

Tell us more about how would you motivate antennae to promote the SU Project.

Lorenzo: By increasing the understanding that thanks to the Summer University antennae could recruit a higher number of new members, as well as activate more members that are mostly active locally. I would like to share my experience as PR Responsible of two Summer Universities, create specific guidelines on how to promote the project during the different stages of the event: preparation, application period, during the event, after the event. Having an active promotion during the whole stage leads to visible results.

How do you foresee your cooperation with CD to promote SU as a project to possible interested companies (like Small Medium Enterprises or Start-Ups eager to have a large European project to promote their products/services)?

Lorenzo: As I also wrote in my programme, I would collaborate with CIRC for global fundraising and with the Netcom for local fundraising. My goal is to create a network of partners which could provide materials and goods to the antennae, as well as discount codes and services, depending on the partner. Agorae as well could be a good opportunity for partners of the project to distribute their sponsored goods.

Questions from the Network

In your programme you refer to a new format about the collaboration with SUpporters. How can they support you? In our opinion, why SUpporters are not so active right now? Can you explain to us how your new system will resemble the one of the subcommies?

Lorenzo: I think that it’s difficult to be active for the SUpporters because the current system doesn’t include higher responsibilities, or somehow an official position. My idea is to have a subcommies-like task force, with SUpporters divided into expertise (Project Management – PR – FR – Content) supervised by the SUCTies. In my opinion, giving tasks, deadlines, and higher responsibilities such as “mandatory” participation to the SUpporters work could lead to higher results as well as empowering possible future SUCTies.

You can read his candidature here.

Written by Raluca Radu – AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

Vasiliki Andrioti, member of AEGEE-Ioannina, main organiser of a Winter University and of a NWM, is one of the most active members of her Antenna. She also collaborated as SubCommie with Network Commissioner Spyros Papadatos.  Now she wants to share her passion for the SU project and improve it. Furthermore, Vasiliki shares some proposals about the 30th anniversary of the SU. We interviewed her about her candidature and her programme. 

The AEGEEan: Why did you decide to run for a position in the Summer University Coordination team?

Vasiliki: Summer University is the project that changed my life. Even if it sounds cliché for an AEGEEan to say so, this is the truth. I consider myself a totally different person before and after Summer 2016. Using this SU’s title BBS, I am Bigger, Better, Stronger after it. I am very passionate about SU. So my will to get involved on the European level (other than The AEGEEan, that matches my academic interests) is an absolute extension to my passion for Summer University. Through this year that I have become actually active by organising and participating to various events (SUPS, SU, NWM, Agora, etc.), I have gained skills and I have come up with ideas that I can see now visualised in the Summer University Project. This is my main motivation for running for Fundraiser and Content Manager. I would like to give back to AEGEE and SU, specifically, what I have been gifted on experience and knowledge. I would consider myself really proud to be part of this team.

You are in the board of AEGEE-Ioannina, appointed main organiser for upcoming events, already active at the European level. How do you plan to balance your committments with SUCT?

The last year I admit that it has been very active for me. As I usually say, my life is all about AEGEE now. Actually I owe this motivation that keeps me moving to Summer University. It wasn’t hard for me to decide that I wanted to involve myself on the local and, after a while, on the European level, as I was seeking a medium to express myself. Until now, I have managed to cooperate very well and to live up to the expectations in every position. I am the perfectionist type of person [she laughs]. I always give 100%+1 of myself in everything I am involved. And this is what I am planning to do with SUCT as well. I am very passionate about this project and I am absolutely ready to be devoted and work for it. As for my other commitments, on the local level I am only busy on a demanding level up to the 5th of November, that NWM-Ioannina finishes its circle.

Other than this, my fellow board members and NetCom Spyros Papadatos are aware of my decision and they support me with any potentially increased duties. My first priorities this year are two: SUCT and The AEGEEan. I am finding myself to have ideas that I would really like to put in practice for both projects. This year I feel the need to create and give back to the association the knowledge and competences I have gained all this time. To conclude, I do not believe in neither quitting nor over-taking responsibilities. I believe on being able to put duties in hierarchy and trust me, I know this well. If it is on stake, SUCT will never come second.

What is your most relevant experience when it comes to Summer University?

In the last two years I have participated in four Summer Universities (Ioannina 2016- helper, Cagliari 2016- participant, Ioannina 2017- organiser & trainer, Cagliari 2017- helper). Ioannina-Cagliari, 2-2 [she laughs]. I have covered pretty much every position available in a Summer University project and I am really thankful for the experience of getting to know this amazing AEGEE spirit. Other than this though, I have gained a series of competences and skills, such as project management, public speaking and communication, risk assessment, delivering sessions, leadership, FR, being the ever happy reader of the gossip box, cooking for fifty people [she laughs], etc. But above all, I would put teamwork. A SU is a teamwork project, from whichever point you may see it, and I consider this my most valuable gain from it.

Your application is very focused on content. Do you have any idea on how to develop a fundraising strategy for SUs?

My application is mainly focused on content, because my primary interest in SUCT is Content Manager. In my years in AEGEE I have mostly worked on this direction on the local and European level. In my local, AEGEE-Ioannina, I have been working as main organiser or organiser for events, meetings, presentations being mainly responsible for the content. I believe that content is what builds the basis on which every activity can be further developed. As for the European level, I have been a member of The AEGEEan for almost a year now and I have gained experience on communicating with various people across the Network for interviews, writing interviews and getting involved with a wide range of subjects that concern AEGEE. Lastly, since Agora Enschede I have been a SubCommie to NetCom Spyros Papadatos (on the field of Thematic Events). I think that quality should be a priority when it comes to a project like Summer University, and I am in the position to offer this quality as Content Manager with my knowledge and experience.

Despite this, being a main organiser twice (“Our Big Fat Greek Winter University”, on behalf of my antenna, and NWM-Ioannina), I also have experience on Budgeting and Corporate Fundraising, which is the strategy that we mainly follow in AEGEE-Ioannina. Therefore, I have realised that, on the field of Corporate Fundraising, it is easier for a company to offer funds to a contentful event or project that means to have an impact. This is the reason why I am insisting that much on content and I am running for the position of Fundraiser as well.

If I am going to be elected, I would like mostly to collaborate with CIRC, the European Body responsible for this. My aim is to bring locals closer to an actual assistance on fundraising, other than providing them only with models, that sometimes can be proven unrealistic or difficult to be adopted. I feel very challenged to achieve this composition between Fundraiser and Content Manager, even if I believe deeply that fundraising for SUCT is the product of teamwork among all SUCTies.

Do you have previous experience in fundraising for associations? As Main Organiser of the upcoming Autumn NWM Ioannina 2017 (main organiser) and “My Big Fat Greek” Winter University 2017 (main organiser for AEGEE-Ioannina), did you use some sort of fundraising strategy (i.e. for goods, gadgets, funds or grants)?

The experience I have on Fundraising is mainly focused, as I have said, on Corporate Fundraising. In AEGEE-Ioannina we mostly follow this strategy because it is more realistic on its goals and more suitable to the current economic situation in Greece. For the upcoming NWM-Ioannina, for which I am the main coordinator, I have chosen this strategy, in collaboration with the Fundraising Director of AEGEE-Ioannina, asking for goods that cover all requirements (meals, logistics, transportation expenses, etc.) of a four days event as NWM is. As for Institutional Fundraising, during “Winter University” we managed to make some steps by contacting and establishing a potentially fruitful relationship with the Municipality of Ioannina.

What would you like to organise for the event for celebrating the 30th anniversary of Summer University Project and why?

Summer University is the biggest and longest running project in AEGEE. As this year is celebrating its 30th anniversary, I believe it should be honoured with a celebration that will recognise and pay its respects to all organisers, participants, SUCTies and every person that has contributed to it. I have two ideas right now in my mind. The first proposal would be an exhibition with the history, photos and memoirs from all year’s of Summer University Project in next Agora. My second thought would be to contact The AEGEEan’s Editor-In-Chief and begin a new section, which will be dedicated to the 30th anniversary. Of course though, if I am going to be elected, I would like to cooperate with current SUCT and CD about the work that has already be done and the aspirations that they both have on the anniversary.

Questions from the Network

During the SUs we ask organisers with no previous experience on how to deliver a session to deliver workshops. Could you elaborate on how you would like to develop the booklet with interactive ways for delivering the compulsory sessions?

I share the same concern about what you are refering to. I have participated in four SUs (and many other events) and if I have to be honest, I have rarely seen organisers or participants enjoying or getting the most out of the knowledge they are being provided with. This is from where I got my idea about the booklet of interactive ways to deliver a session. I would like to mostly work with SUpporters and European Bodies for creating and publishing it.

In extent, I would like to hold an open call for the Network, so that people with relevant experience on delivering sessions in both formal or interactive way can share their knowledge or experience. This booklet is going to involve specific guidelines and examples on how to deliver a workshop (compulsory or of any other subject). Having participated in Erasmus+ projects, which develop in a large scale this system, I have witnessed that non-formal education can be more efficient than traditional ways of knowledge transfer.

Other than this, I am of the opinion that an organiser who has never delivered a session will find it easier to adapt an interactive way to their personality, enrich it with their own experience and therefore, be able to hold the workshop successfully. Make it theirs! Professional trainers or even experienced ones are not always a solution for every local, and besides this everybody starts from somewhere. Moreover, such sessions can be held at any time and any place, which is a big advantage to the overall result. This booklet will be available before SUs and even explained and introduced in the SUPS.

In your programme you refer to a forum/session in the SUs that will aim to provoke discussion on everyday issues. What exactly are you aiming with this?

Thank you for making this question to me, as this is one of the most challenging aspects of my programme. The idea begins from the Open Space that already exists in NWMs. I have participated in two NWMs (Cagliari 2016 and Thessaloniki 2017) and I have been inspired the most during this specific session. This is the reason why I would like to see it implemented in a SU.

SU is the most successful and recognisable project in AEGEE, which attracts hundreds of participants every year. Therefore, I think it is fit to have a forum/session that matches the ever moving world we are living in. The current political, social and economical situation in Europe provokes a sense of instability among every citizen, let alone young people like us. The very successful title of last year’s EPM, “Populism: Europe Under Siege”, describes in the best way possible the reality we are living. In this forum/session young people (participants and organisers) will have the space to express their thoughts and fears regarding AEGEE and beyond AEGEE issues. For me this is a form of public discussion and communication.

Other than compulsory workshops on what AEGEE is and the Focus Areas, we need to listen to the voice of our Network. My aim is to achieve a wider integration to society’s issues and to prepare young people to face the challenges of our era. Finally… IDEAS. Ideas that will lead to future projects/groups in AEGEE and will transfer these problematics from theory to practice. Summer University inspires us all and I believe it is the right place for such a forum/session (whichever the name) to exist.

What do you hope to achieve through the collaboration with European bodies and external partners?

I can only sum it up in two words. Rich content. Through a close collaboration between European bodies and external partners, locals can have an efficient assistance on finding and establishing the core, the basis, around which they can organise their SU. As an organiser, I know that it can be proven difficult to come up with an idea about a SU.

As a potential Content Manager, I would like to help this become easier and also, taking it one step further, support and motivate locals to get out of their comfort zone and create a SU that will challenge them. Moreover, locals can also cooperate with European bodies by asking trainers on that specific theme they choose as content. Content is not to be feared by organisers or participants. It can offer a solid structure to the SU and help with all aspects (FR,PR, etc.). It can be implemented in various ways and have different forms that will appeal on organisers and participants.

We do not share all of the same interest, but we need to make our own the project we are organising. I am very willing to help locals through this process and achieve a wide range of Summer Universities for every interest.

You said in your application that you want to keep SUpporters and activate them more. Do you have programme for that? What exactly and how they can support you? In our opinion, why right now SUpporters are not so active?

I am absolutely in favour of the idea of SUpporters, as I can see a good potential in it. Even if I have not been part of SUpporters this year, I have been informed about the advantages and disadvantages regarding the team and I believe that it was mainly the lack of a certain delegation of tasks, that has prevented SUpporters from working on their full possibilities. This is the reason I would like to establish a more concrete format and activate SUpporters further. Specifically, my intention is to reorganise the team and delegate positions for SUpporters. Through this I would like to achieve creating a team around each SUCTie, which will work close with them on reference to their various and particular responsibilities.

You can read her full candidature here.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

The Charlemagne Youth Prize is one of the most prestigious European Prizes. It has been awarded annually since 1950 by the city οf Aachen, Germany, to people who contributed to the ideals upon which it has been founded. It commemorates Charlemagne, ruler of the Frankish Empire, who resided and is buried in Aachen. Traditionally the award is given to the recipient on Ascension Day in a ceremony in the town hall of Aachen. In April 2008, the organisers of the Charlemagne Prize and the European Parliament jointly created a new European Charlemagne Youth Prize, which recognises contributions by young people towards the process of European integration.

This year AEGEE has the honour to have not one, but two projects that won the national round in Romania and Slovakia, respectively: “Faces of Europe” and “Summer University”.

Faces of Europe is a photo blog launched by Your Vision for EUrope, a project of AEGEE-Europe. Inspired by the famous Humans of New York, the photoblog aims at making Europe more personal and exploring the human diversity of our continent. They want to collect and spread the faces and voices of people from different social, cultural and national backgrounds.

The first edition of Faces of Europe, running from January until June 2016, was already a success. In the first edition, the team consisted of 16 committed reporters from seven different nationalities. As a result of their works, they published more than 100 stories of many Europeans on Facebook, collected more than 2,500 likes and many messages of support and positive feedbacks from readers. The second edition is currently ongoing.

Summer University, one of the most successful, if not the most successful, project of AEGEE, has proven its value to all of us through the years. The Summer University is an event that takes place in the summer between two to four weeks. Usually, 20 to 50 participants are hosted in different parts of Europe, and they have the chance to learn by travelling, meeting new people, integrating with the culture of their hosting country and as a result they broaden horizons.
Specifically, in 2016 it gave the opportunity to over 4000 Europeans to see different parts of the continent, meet other youngsters and learn new skills and abilities together. Since 1988 more than 100,000 people participated in Summer Universities, which took place in over 260 cities in more than 40 European countries, making it the biggest volunteer-based mobility project in Europe.

In 2013, Europe On Track, another project, which was inspired by the current president of AEGEE-Europe, Reka Salamon, was awarded with the Charlemagne Youth Prize.

This month, from the 22^nd to the 24^th of May, the Charlemagne Youth Prize Winners’ ceremony will be held in Aachen. AEGEE will participate with these two nominations that were received from Romania and Slovakia. Due to the fact that AEGEE has already been a laureate in the past, apart from the winner projects, the CD also received some invitations. So our association will have represantitives who will attend several events, including the Youth Prize Award Ceremony, which always takes place two days before the Ascension Day, the day on which the prestigious International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen is awarded.

Written by Vasiliki Andrioti, AEGEE-Ioannina

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne_Prize

https://www.projects.aegee.org/suct/su2017/cyp2017.php

http://www.zeus.aegee.org/portal/

Summer Universities… it all began in 1988 when AEGEE had the intention to promote the European integration. The project promotes cultural exchange, exploring the diversity of cultures in Europe, fighting for tolerance and guiding you in order to become an open-minded citizen.

Every year, more than 2000 young Europeans take part in Summer Universities from all over Europe, organised by more than 100 antennas. The project can be different in each antenna: It can be Summer Course, Summer Course Plus or Travelling Summer University. Summer Course is where the youngsters have about 14 hours of courses per week about specific topics like language, environment, politics. Summer Course Plus is pretty much the same as Summer Course, the only thing that changes is the hours of received courses, and for this one is about 20 hours per week. Travelling Summer University is the one that attracts a lot of young Europeans. It is more like a cultural trip to at least four different parts of Europe and it combines different cultures from the places visited with courses.

The project itself is one of the best ways to promote multiculturalism in Europe. Every year, hundreds of young people join AEGEE just because of Summer University. They enjoy the idea of spending two or more weeks somewhere they have never been before, with people they will meet for the first time, coming from different cultures, with different perspectives and new ideas.

This year, in 2017, the Summer University project is celebrating 29 years of thousands and thousands of happy people, great friendships, awesome memories and unforgettable summers. Every year, before all the work begins in organising this amazing project, main coordinators and people who want to get involved in organising this event are taking part in Summer University Projects Schools. This is an event to learn how to be the best SU organiser. This year not one, but five SUPS are being held around the Network. They already took place in Berlin, Las Palmas, Voronezh, Tartu and the last one will take place in Skopje between 23rd and 26th of March.

The people that are working for this project in order to make it great are the members of the Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT): Project Manager & Treasurer – Lucia Gavulová (AEGEE-Bratislava), Content Manager – Claudio Gennaro (AEGEE-Agrigento), Public Relations – Ralitsa Mihaylova (AEGEE-Berlin), IT Responsible – Philipp Blum (AEGEE-Aachen) and the appointed CD member – Joanna Pankowska (AEGEE-Warszawa).

This year, 5 smaller SUPS were organised, and the SUCT told us that it was a risk they took “because we saw the decrease in the number of participants, high price, lots of time needed to be taken from daily schedule. Therefore, we made 5 SUPS all over the Network so that people could be flexible with travelling. It is also cheaper and in general more reachable. We have trained 75 future organisers and there is still one more SUPS to go, so we believe the impact is pretty big. With each participant that brings at least a tiny bit of knowledge back to its organisers’ team or decides to become a valuable helper, we have fulfilled our goals.” As for feedback, they said they got a really amazing response and “that is all thanks to amazing teams of trainers and local organisers who made it possible”.

This year you will have 65 chances to discover the AEGEE Spirit, to make new friends, to have an amazing summer and the time of your life! You can choose any of 23 Travelling Summer Universities from Castelló to Moscow, and 29 Summer Courses from Las Palmas to Samara and Tartu to Mağusa, in addition to three Summer Courses+. Check them here and choose your destination!

Even if there is a decrease in the number of SUs, it is not seen as a problem “since the number of organising locals is not significantly decreasing and since we still have more applicants than places available. This should change. Otherwise, the SU Project would face difficult times. The reasons behind this can be compared to almost all activities in AEGEE – less active members willing to organise, missing knowledge transfer and also the unstable political situation in some parts of Europe is not making things easier”.

Next year, the Summer University Project will celebrate its 30th birthday. There is already a team who is working for it and is going to prepare a programme for the next year. Lucia Gavulová told us that “we are starting very slowly, getting to know each other, observing what we want and what our ideas are. The SUCT and the CD had a live meeting to find the balance between our plans and to set up some initial timeline. We have to admit that at the moment this project team is not the most active in AEGEE and we would still welcome some help, so if you are interested, let us know”.

You can read more about the SUPS in the article written by Golden Times here.

You can find the Summer University on Facebook here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

During the Agorae, there are many candidatures for elected offices, for which you can vote. It is expected that the delegates of the Agora have been properly instructed about who they can vote for, and why these functions are important to AEGEE. Nevertheless, two out of every five participants of the Agora have never been to one before, and AEGEE is a large and multifaceted organisation that can be hard to dissect. That is why we have a short list of all the candidatures for all the functions that could theoretically be voted for at the Agora. So, here is something you can share with everyone who would like to refresh his or her memory of what they are actually voting for.

Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Agora and EPM

The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson are two vital people at an Agora and EPM in order to streamline the event. Telling everyone when everything is happening, how long everyone can talk, when everyone can ask questions and to whom, and moreover, they are crucial to prevent a cacophony or even a complete derailment of the meeting. Without a (vice-)chairperson, these meetings might very well take ten times longer, while accomplishing the exact same thing.

Member of the Audit Commission

The members of the Audit commission help by checking the bookkeeping of AEGEE-Europe, and locals of AEGEE, and that of Working Groups, and even of events that are hosted by AEGEE-Europe. To top that, they also need to approve the financial reports of all these aforementioned institutions, except for locals. So, if you ever had to fill in a financial report, it was, in part, for these guys.

If you think these financial detectives are finally done after checking and approving  all of this, you’d be wrong. Afterwards, they need to present all of their findings at each Agora, for which there isn’t, as of yet, any reimbursements for their travel costs.

Member of the Mediation Commission

The Mediation Commission, formerly the Members Commission, is basically like your old primary school councellor on steroids. They are mediators, as the name suggests, between any people or bodies of AEGEE, should this be necessary, and, when they mediate, they can also give requested or unrequested advise.

However, what many members may not realise, is that they are also part of the juridical branch of AEGEE; chiefly operating as its judges. Instead of mediating a dispute, they are also allowed to settle it. In extreme cases this can result to the suggestion of disciplinary sanctions as draconic as the expulsion of an entire local from the network. In short, just like for any other function, it is pretty important to elect the right people for this job.

Member of the Network Commission

At first glance, the Network Commission might seem like that collection of big umbrellas under the even bigger umbrella of the CD; a sort of ‘super board’ of your local and its neighbouring ones. The NetCom actually has mostly to do with communication, furthering cooperation between, and giving support to locals.

The Network Commission was established at Autumn Agora Athina approximately twenty years ago, because by then, AEGEE had become so large that it had become hard to organise it as efficiently as in the decade before. Imagine that, if AEGEE did not decide to create the NetCom, nowadays all of its almost two hundred locals had to be managed and supported by a single person; the Network Director of AEGEE-Europe.

The Network Commission takes a vital role, as each of its members supports only a handful of locals, and thus becomes an important link between the locals themselves and AEGEE(-Europe) as a whole. The decision to break the network down into smaller, more manageable bits  in 1996, allowed it to continue efficiently. It, furthermore, allowed the CD to be reduced that same year from twelve to only nine people. For an ever expanding network, it is important for the NetCom to remain functioning.

Member of the Summer University Coordination Team

The Summer University Coordination Team, or SUCT in short, is pretty much exactly what you would picture, when hearing its name: it is a team of four people who coordinate the Summer Universities. There are a lot of intricate details about the responsibilities of the SUCT, but to keep things simple, one can say that the SUCT is a necessary hub that can aid, advise, encourage, and oversee all teams that are going to organise Summer Universities.

The importance of the SUCT also comes from other factors, such as the fact that the Summer Universities are, currently, one of the most, if not, the most significant recruitment events of AEGEE. Another factor, that ties into this, is the programme of the SUs. Summer Universities can fall victim of becoming ‘cheap holidays’, and students could only join AEGEE as a ‘necessary evil’ to go on this ‘cheap holiday’, without the intention of trying anything else in AEGEE. Members of the SUCT, therefore, always have to remain vigilant that the programmes of the Summer Universities include life changing experiences that contribute to the vision of AEGEE, without being boring or losing popularity.

Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe

The role Secretary General, however, might not be what you thought at first glance; at least, if you imagined it as the highest executive office of the Union of Europtimistic AEGEE Locals. The tasks of the Secretary General can most easily be explained by comparing it to the tasks of your local’s secretary; taking minutes, keeping the archive, be present at board meetings, etcetera. Except for that fact, this secretary is also the secretary of the board that represents the entire association. Hence the suffix ‘general’, in order to clarify that it is the secretary with the highest function.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Even if you are not from AEGEE-Cagliari, you might have already come across the name ‘Claudio Gennaro’; albeit from either policy proposals or one of the handful of Summer Universities that he already organised. With his involvement in a lot of SUs, it comes to no surprise that he is now running for the highest organ coordinating them.

The AEGEEan: Could you briefly introduce yourself?

Claudio: I am Claudio Gennaro, you might remember me from movies like “Three years in the JC” or “Let’s change all the commas in the CIA”. I am 24, a law student for some more months and AEGEEan since 2011. I live in Agrigento, Sicily, and I am member of AEGEE-Cagliari, Sardinia.

Why did you decide to run for member of the SUCT?

Thoreau would say “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life”; this would easily represent my relationship with AEGEE and its educational possibilities. Moreover, it would be an amazing opportunity to repay AEGEE with and for the skills I gained from it.

What is your past experience with organising or coordinating Summer Universities?

I have been main organiser, co-main organiser and member of the core team of five SUs. I have also been (the best) participant in one (wonderful Break Bad in Madrid) in 2014. Since 2012, I cannot imagine calling this season of the year only “summer” without “university”.

What are your plans to improve or maintain the quality of the SUCT and of Summer Universities?

For what it would concern my tasks, I will focus on a clear communication with local organisers. My previous AEGEE experience taught me how to clearly explain a set of rules contained in the CIA to people who approach it for the first time. Constant availability will also be a priority.

Do you already have plans of cooperating with other bodies of AEGEE as the SUCT?

Cooperation with other bodies of AEGEE is surely crucial to improve the content of SUs (such as better PowerPoint presentations or material for trainers), and I will do my best to strengthen the relationship of the SUCT with them, being proactive with new ideas. Anyway, realistically, I would not only rely on that. This will have to be discussed by the entire new team to come up with a common strategy.

What would you encourage locals to incorporate into their Summer University Programme?

Life changing experiences. Undoubtedly SUs represent our main source of new members and must be appealing to catch as many of them as possible, but we also need to differentiate them from “normal” holidays to maintain their special status of “life changing” events. I would encourage local organisers to let their participants meet the diversities of their cities: a day spent listening to the story of a refugee or a young entrepreneur counts more than a day spent at the beach. Make it count!

How would you propose to make the less applied for Summer Universities become more appealing?

I believe it is impossible to determine a common path for ALL the locals. We need to consider their dimension as association, city, budget, HR and many other variables. Our locals are extremely heterogeneous and it would be a terrible mistake to consider them all in the same way. Being a member of two locals of different shape and having organised SUs with both of them, I believe myself to be in a position of understanding better the functioning of different locals. I would focus on knowing better each local organiser who needs particular help for the preparation of their SU and on how to boost the content of their programme according to their strengths and weaknesses. PR will definitely play a key role for them (but I am the wrong candidate to answer that).

You can read his full candidature here.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

He loves PR and Social Media and you can tell by reading his candidature. Lorenzo Ligas is 23 years old and he is from AEGEE-Cagliari, where he covers the role of PR responsible for the Italian local. He has been working on Social Media and Public Relations for three years now and he is a student of Communication Science at the University of Cagliari. After having covered the task of PR responsible of Cagliari Summer University, he aims to take the next step by managing the PR of the Summer University Coordination Team.

The AEGEEan: Why did you decide to run for a position in the Summer University Coordination Team?

Lorenzo: I want to challenge myself in a great project such as Summer University.

The current team started a sort of Interest Group about Summer University (Supporters)б in which people helped the SUCT. Would you like to keep it alive?

Yes, having supporters for the SUCT can help the team as well as let more AEGEEans be active at the European Level.

You do not have much experience in European bodies, but your working experience outside of AEGEE is impressive. What are the best assets you can bring to the SUCT, provided you are going to be elected?

Thank you! Yes it is true, I do not have so much experience in European bodies, but I could use my years of experience developed outside of AEGEE for the project. I am a Social Media enthusiast and I love creating PR strategies. This year AEGEE-Cagliari socials had an impressive growth: plus 850 on Facebook and plus 300 on Instagram since I started. I’m confident that the experience I gained as PR Responsible, as well as my non-AEGEE experience into festivals, clubs, cultural events and writing, could be helpful for SUCT.

How would you help locals respect Visual Identity?

Giving them the Visual Identity booklet, as well as to provide instructions on how to add the SU watermark to their pictures. Of course I will also respect the Visual Identity for both local and SUCT materials myself.

You were PR responsible for the last Summer University of AEGEE-Cagliari. What was your strategy? Do you think it was successful? Do you think that it can be applied (with the due changes) to all Summer Universities?

I created infographics for the promotion. Sharing them both on Facebook and Instagram with a weekly schedule, using trend hashtags for AEGEE, Summer University and AEGEE-Cagliari. During the event, I used Instagram and Facebook for images. I used Facebook streams for most of the activities. After the event I edited the photos our photographer made, using Lightroom.

I think it was definitely successful, but of course there’s always something to improve. Since I started promoting the Summer University, our social media had a big increase, and we were pretty satisfied about the number of applications. This PR strategy could definitely be applied to the SUCT.

This is a recurring question when it comes to Summer Universities: the decreasing number of applications and local organisers. What do you think about this issues? 

Cheap travelling has become a trend in the last years since the introduction of tools as Hostelworld and Airbnb in Europe. Therefore offering “low cost travelling” is no longer a selling point for a Summer University. I think that personal development has to be an area to focus on, with the same importance of the social programme and entertainment. And we have to spread the AEGEE-spirit more. We should share the idea that being part of a Summer University is a mind-blowing experience, and being an AEGEEan is a lifestyle.

I think that the reason behind the decrease of local organisers could be found behind many aspects: less active members, weak HR and PR strategies, difficulty to contact local istitutions, lack of funds. These aspects scare locals to challenge themselves into organising a Summer University. A possible solution could be creating Facebook working groups in order to share best practices and webseminars to locals. Creating guidelines on how to organise a Summer University, how to fundraise, promote etc. I think SUCT has to become a strong presence in locals’ lives.

In the application process we often see that certain locals are very popular, while others even struggle to find participants and (in extreme cases) are forced to cancel the Summer University. What are your thoughts on that? Do you have any idea to try to level this phenomenon?

Yes, promotion is a problem for some antennae. Some Summer Universities look more interesting than others, maybe because they build a good promotion or because they are settled in more famous locations. It would be useful to work side by side with the PR Responsibles of the SUs in order to give them advice and look at how to promote the Summer University. As SUCT, you can prepare general guidelines for all the locals and then customise them in case of special needs. Every Summer University has strong points and something interesting to offer, you just have to find the best way to show them.

You can read his full candidature here.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Lucia Gavulová is a candidate for one of the positions of Member of the Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT), the preferred tasks being Project Manager and Treasurer. She is 26 years old and has joined the organisation little over four years ago. She has been the President of AEGEE-Bratislava for two years, but nowadays she is Project Manager in the SUCT and is willing to stay in office for a second term, but with much more experience. Check out her interview!

The AEGEEan: Do you think becoming a member of the SUCT again can get you more experience in AEGEE?

Lucia: Every single day as a person and as an AEGEE member gives me the experiences and skills I need to develop myself. I try not to go to sleep before I learn something small which will enrich my life. Being a SUCT member gave me a lot. I am sure that extending this term for one more year will not only be beneficial for me, but mainly for the team and the project, since we can skip the learning period and just continue working.

Can you tell us something more about your SUCT trip?
In July, I visited six SUs in total and I co-organised the one in Berlin, since I unexpectedly moved there. I had an amazing time with organisers and participants in Warszawa, Magusa, Beograd, Novi Sad, Ljubljana and Udine, and I have to say that I felt really welcomed and involved everywhere. I helped them with the integration of participants, provided a few tips and suggestions, participated in workshops and asked different questions to improve the project and to understand which challenges each organising team faces. Thanks to all the involved people who made this happen!

What are the tasks of the SUCT Project Manager?
The main one is obvious: coordinate the project and other three members to ensure the smooth development of the project. Furthermore, the Project Manager has to create and fulfil all deadlines, lead meetings, communicate with the Comité Directeur and all European bodies, represent the project and solve all problems. The Project Manager should be informed about everything that is happening (but ideally, all members are) and be able to help all members if they cannot fulfil their tasks.

How are you going to work on improving content of SUs? How will you select the trainers for SUs?
It is very important here to involve WGs, ACT and other European Bodies so we can all work on this together. We already started promoting contentful SUs this year, gave several workshops and hangouts on this topic, focused SUPS on this and reimbursed all trainers who asked us for support. For next year, since there is no aim in Action Agenda involving SUs, my plan would be to create special bonus points for really contentful SUs that prove us their high quality content. Therefore, I would also like to organise a number of supporting activities to show how content can be fun and enjoyable. Trainers are selected based on their experiences and our budget. This year we reimbursed everyone who sent us a reimbursement form.

Can you tell us something about the 30th anniversary of the SU Project in advance? How will you celebrate it?
The SU project will celebrate its 30th birthday in 2018 and therefore, we have already started to think about organising something epic. Since it will be in 2018, we will not be able to have much influence since a different SUCT will be in charge in that year, but at least we started to put some money from the budget apart. I cannot say anything particular yet as nothing has been set yet, and we are just collecting ideas. But it will definitely include sun, summer, positive energy and it will be the #YearOfMyLife!

How do you want to increase visibility of the project?
We all observed how influencial social media are and therefore I wouldn’t mind investing some finances into campaigns. It is also important to involve universities and their Erasmus offices as this is usually the group that attracts most of our potential members. I also believe that with our new official SU video – wait to see it during the Agora – this will be easier [she smiles, ed.].

In your application you mentioned Charlemagne Youth Prize. What is it and what are your plans regarding this Prize?

The European Charlemagne Youth Prize aims to encourage the development of European consciousness among young people, as well as their participation in European integration projects. The Prize is awarded to projects undertaken by young people which foster understanding, promote the development of a shared sense of European identity, and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community.

The European Charlemagne Youth Prize is awarded jointly and annually by the European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen. Last year we applied with SUs as we believe it majorly fulfilled all criteria, and this year I want to do it again. Once, we will have to win!

Does the SU Project enjoy help of partnerships at the moment?
This year, we enjoyed three Interrail passes which we used for SUCT trips and we are working on more!

How can SUs contribute to AEGEE’s Impact Measurement?
Every year, the SU Project involves about 4000 members and they all get special questionnaire to fill in, which contributes to the overall impact measurement of AEGEE on its members.

Do you think AEGEE became famous for the Summer Universities?
For sure it contributed, but I don’t think it is the only reason for the success of an organisation as big as AEGEE.

According to you, why were there less applications for the SUs this year, than last year?
This year, we had only about 100 applications less, so it is not so tragic. We still have way more applicants than available places and that is important. As I already mentioned several times, this trend can be caused by availability of cheap travelling and services like Skyscanner, Couchsurfing, free city tours and such, which lower the need for travellers to include third parties in their summer travel plans.
Therefore, we have to raise the content again so we distinguish ourselves from travel agencies and offer some added value to travels.

You can read her full candidature here.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari