There are many after movies about the Summer Universities that can be watched on the internet. The video clips represent a way to show the SU events to people who could not attend such an event, and give them an idea of what they had missed. We present you the best after movies of 2016 with links, so that you can play and watch each video at your convenience.

6. AEGEE-Alicante: Feel the Mediterranean Soul.

AEGEE-Alicante organised an SU in the cities of Alicante, Elche, and Altea. The AEGEE members participated in cooking and dancing workshops, and they also enjoyed some time in Aqualandia, one of the largest Waterparks in Europe, all of which can be seen in the after movie.

Despite presenting a wide variety of the activities included in its programme, AEGEE-Alicante’s after movie largely consists of panning pictures and a succession of shots of the same landmark that feels rather repetitive. Because of this, we sadly had to put this video in the sixth place of the top. You can watch the video via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHM6WWxTCL4&feature=youtu.be

[The content of the previous paragraphs was, however, accidentally based on an unofficial or the incorrect aftermovie that you can see, here. Our apologies, W.L, E.i.C.]

5. AEGEE-Barcelona BarceYOLOna: The Catalan Adventure (vol. 2).

AEGEE-Barcelona’s SU took place in Barcelona and its surroundings. Elements of their programme, which can be seen in their after movie, are represented by the city tour on a bicycle and the hiking near the sea.

The most amazing items of this after movie are its handheld camera work, which makes you, as a viewer, feel like you are a participant in the SU, despite the fact that the camerawoman, occasionally, turns the camera to herself. The time stamp at the bottom left corner of the video puts emphasis on the feeling of authenticity, while the underwater camera work looks very impressive.

However, one of the major points of criticism towards this video, is related to its size. With a total length of 03:59, the after movie pushes the attention span of a viewer of a trailer. Nevertheless, this is a magnificent after movie. Check it out via the link: https://vimeo.com/176235122

4. AEGEE-Ioannina: BLUEstories II: SUspicious Minds.

AEGEE-Ioannina’s SU, “BLUEstories II: SUspicious Minds”, is the event where the participants felt the vibes of the Greek spirit and collected the clues for “the adventure of their life”, by visiting Ioannina, Lefkada, Kefalonia, Ithaca, Zante. In the after movie, you can see that the participants enjoyed rafting a lot and spent some time in long excursions.

During the event, the AEGEE members also learned some steps of Greek traditional dances. Greece can show not only the beauty of its beaches, but also one of its amazing resorts. The main part of the international event was represented by the boat trip around some of the Greek islands.

This video, however, has one minute dedicated to one activity only, rafting that is, and as for the rest, it displays just a few other activities that were part of the whole programme. It seems like the participants just swam and went rafting for two weeks. That is the reason why we put the video in the fourth place. You can watch the after movie by accessing the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHWsNFJtaZg

3. AEGEE-Las Palmas: 5 continents in 1 island.

AEGEE-Las Palmas organised a Summer Course which lasted from the 20^th of July until the 3rd of August.
The participants admired some breathtaking places, such as: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Agaete, Arucas, Firgas, and Galdar. Moreover, they recharged their batteries with positive energy, attended cultural activities, practiced different sports, and had lots of fun.

The after movie could be really appreciated, as the AEGEE members can see how much fun the participants had at the parties that were taking place on a long motor boat. The most beautiful part is represented by the shooting on the hang-glider, which allows us to see the landscape of the Spanish island from a different point of view.

While the shooting with the GoPro camera shows the bright, light blue sea, the video editor chose to accompany it with a kind of monotomous music that one might find in a dark, dim-lit nightclub. Maybe some variety with ‘Tropical House’ or ‘Dance Hall’ could be suggested? Check it out via the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVkRT7RObaQ

2. AEGEE-Patra: From SUnrise till midnight.

AEGEE-Patra proposed a Travelling Summer University in Peloponnese, Greece, the land where legends and myths were born, and that is fully connected with an important part of the rich Greek history. The video points out several moments of the TSU, by displaying several photos which present not only the Peloponnese beaches, but also a crazy group of people who wanted to have a lot of fun.

Unlike the aforementioned after movies, when it comes to this particular one, the editor added more than one song on the background, in order to draw one’s attention while watching the video. Greece is not just a country where one can admire many famous sites in the history of art, but it is also the right place to be when it comes to parties. The best part of the video, in my opinion, is the moment when the organisers together with the participants dance in the bus.

The intention of the video, particularly, consists of underlining the very good “feeling” among the participants and organisers. During every SU, there are some hours when the organisers need to sleep, and as this SU does not make an exception, the antenna is proud to show us the “human side” of the organising team. More than one minute of the video is filled with footage taken on the bus, but considering that it was a TSU, this aspect can be overlooked. However, the after movie is a bit long, which is the reason why it did not win the top spot. You can watch the video via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-FUl_bFxp4

1. AEGEE-Cagliari: Bigger, Better, Stronger: Sardinian Challenge.

AEGEE-Cagliari organised an SU, based on sport and boat trips, in order to provide twenty-five young people from all over Europe, with an unforgettable, educational vacation. AEGEE-Cagliari’s after movie begins with Nicola Motzo, who walks around the participants during the Ice Breaking games and presents some of them with the help of a selfie stick. This brief, but personal, introduction of the participants is something which distinguishes this after movie from the previous ones.

Everyone can see some of the sport activities that were performed during the event, but also the parties inside the café bars and in front of the sea. Some seconds are reserved to my birthday, accompanied by the soundtrack of “Ghostbusters”. Another moment to point out is the funniest part of the video, when pranks are being played on the participants, the organisers, and also, the President of AEGEE-Cagliari, during the night, when everyone was sleeping, or just before some activities of the social programme.

In the video, it looks like the participants and the organisers have met long before the event. The magnificence of the Sardinian beaches is known all over the world, even though the video does not exalt them so much. The event lasted from the 31st of July until the 11^th of August. The title of the SU was inspired from some words in the song “Stronger” by Kanye West. You can watch the video of Fabian Raab, Drivers Responsible, via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGLZFbdUwo4

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

AEGEE-Cagliari proposed a SU, based on sport and boat trips, to give twenty-five young people from every part of Europe an unforgettable experience. Its entire title was “Bigger, Better, Stronger: Sardinian Challenge”. Thanks to the work of very experienced AEGEE members, the Sardinian Antenna organised an event which made the participants love the island. The journalist Matteo Lai was an organiser of this overwhelming event and told us something about it.

Have you ever thought to unify some of the most beautiful beaches in the world with sports activities? AEGEE-Cagliari proposed a Summer University where participants could enjoy the Sardinian sea with some rare classical and new games, such as Bubble Sumo, Kayak, Military circuit. The participants spent some days at the sea, not only swimming a lot, but also listening to music on a boat, for example. The main organiser and coordinator of the SU was Thomas Muntoni, AEGEE-Cagliari’s Internal Vice-President.

He could count on the contribution given by seventeen organisers, some of them very young members of the Antenna: Alberto Unali, Alessio Usai (Logistics Responsible), Antonio Pintus (External Vicepresident and Games and Activities Responsible), Antonio Cicalese (helper, AEGEE-Salerno member, and Games Responsible), Fabian Raab (Drivers Responsible), Fabio Pilloni (Treasurer), Federico Aru, Francesca Amelia Zorcolo (President), Lorenzo Ligas (PR-Responsible), Marco Augugliaro (Meal Responsible and FR-Responsible), Miriam Muntoni (Games Responsible), Nicola Motzo, Paola Letizia Murru (Secretary and Incoming Responsible), Roberto Perra, Silvia Liciardi (HR-Responsible and Social Programme Responsible), Valentina Atzori (Sessions Responsible), and me, as IT-Responsible, Cagliari City Tour Guide and Driver.

There were often two very experienced members, Sasha Ghorpade and Davide Lecca, essential to cement the group. Already during the second day the participants tried our Military circuit organised by Federico: you can think about some training for soldiers adapted to civilians. The final result was surprising because all guys managed to complete every task ordered by the teacher on the grass of Pitz’ E Serra Park.

The authors of this sports miracle came from every part of Europe: Goran Borovcanski (Macedonia), Dayana Tzvetkova (Bulgaria), Aleksandra Icic (Serbia), Djordje Ristic (Serbia), Kimberly Beijersbergen (the Netherlands), Félix Laencina Escobar (Spain), Albert Podraza (Poland), Olivera Lukic (Serbia), Marian Vavrynchuk (Ukraine), Laura García Rueda (Spain), Santiago Navarro Román (Spain), Furkan Ocak (Turkey), Vasiliki Andrioti (Greece), Valerie Bond (the Netherlands), Elena Barinova (Russia), Fatma Jasmine Hazirlar (Turkey), Valerie Schlickovà (Czech Republic), Ferenc Màthé (Hungary), Edina Marton (Hungary), Mandy De Graaf (the Netherlands), Philip Laeborg (Denmark), Carmen Gálvez Estévez (Spain), Alexandra Kurilova (Russia), Darnel Lloyd (Dominican Republic).

On the same day (Monday 1^st of August), the participants enjoyed an excursion to the Devil’s Saddle with the essential help of Roberto Mastromarino (Mastro, for friends) who accompanied the participants up to the top where there were two tables with lots of cold beers as an aperitif to enjoy the sunset and admire a breathtaking panorama of Cagliari. The day ended with the traditional Pub Crawling at Cagliari’s city centre. Both the organisers and participants had a lot of fun, also thanks to the kind of tasks included in the alcoholic game, like promoting our next Network Meeting with a short video or repeating some embarrassing Italian words [I laugh].

The 2nd of August was my birthday and the day of the City Tour in Cagliari: my international friends followed me through the Roman Amphitheatre, Saint Efisio’s Church, Yenne Square with the statue of Carlo Felice of Savoia, Viceroy Palace, Saint Remy Bastion. They were entertained with some games to make the city tour a bit funny, such as reproducing the word “AEGEE” with their bodies and singing their national anthems where many people passed by. I believed they would be tired after one hour and a half of walking but they were really strong, and Mastro helped me showing them other sides of the historical part of the Sardinian capital.

Then, we had lunch in a restaurant near Saint Remy Bastion, where my birthday was celebrated while eating a cake slice and singing a song “built” with my first and last name. On the evening we moved to Selargius, a town close to Quartu S. Elena (the place of the accommodation), where our friends discovered the Bubble Sumo: you have to push three other people away from a circle, while all the players are inside a huge plastic ball. We organised a Bubble Sumo tournament which was won by Valerie Bond. As we were in a football field, we could not resist the temptation -because we are Italians- to play a football match with two mixed teams of organisers and participants.

After everyone danced in a disco at Poetto beach, named “Lido”, they woke up and went to a place called “Marina Residence” for our Cooking Workshop about “ravioli”, introduced by Sasha and his grandmother. The European students were involved in preparing this kind of pasta and, after two hours, their bodies were covered in flour. We got full of ravioli and we went to a beach ten minutes away from the location of the workshop to attend a lesson in canoeing; even though it was forty degrees in the shadow [I smile]. It seemed that the participants did not feel the high temperature.

Do you think our friends were tired and wanted to sleep? Not in the least! They were ready to get crazy at our Pool party in Borderline, near Cagliari. That party was considered to be the best of the entire Summer University by all the participants: not very often you can drink a cocktail, dive in a swimming pool and dance to cool music with a deejay set by Valentino Poddie (Poddi for friends) until four o’ clock in the morning in an amazing location like the Borderline. On the 4^th of August, it was time for a new sport: Brasilian Ju Jitzu, in a gym of Quartu S. Elena. The teacher explained the basics and some movements of this martial art so that the participants could begin to throw each other on the floor for an hour [I laugh]. Moreover, our friends could not stay in Sardinia for twelve days without visiting one of our best cellars, the one in Dolianova, where they tasted some of the sweetest wines in the island and they ate “malloreddus” (or gnocchi), a Sardinian traditional pasta. They also discovered the best Sardinian beer, Ichnusa.

Have you ever danced reggaeton on commercial music on two connected ships while you sip a spritz? It is possible and our participants did it. Our friends danced a lot at”La Paillotte”, a very famous club close to the Devil’s Saddle, in a place called Calamosca. The European hosts not only visited Cagliari, but also Villasimius and Cuglieri. In particular, they sailed with a touristic ship named “Matilda” along “Donkey Head” beach and Cabbages Island. It was one of the most awesome days in the SU, many people dove from the ship and made a lot of selfies with their mobile phones. In Cuglieri’s wood, organisers and participants celebrated the European Night. It was also an occasion for drivers to relax and not get worried about the lucidity of our participants, because the place of the European Night was only ten minutes away from the accommodation (inside a monastery) walking. In short, we did not need to use any taxis.

On the same day, we spent some hours on the Mari Ermi and S’Archittu beaches. On the last day, the organisers received a real surprise that they would not ever expect: after the votes for “The Best of”, as it normally happens at Summer Universities, Philip handed over a plastic table, on which participants had written the name of the organisers with some messages and congratulations for the hard work in preparing the event or of feelings about our beautiful land. It was a clear signal that they had really appreciated our programme and even, despite my impression [I laugh], Valentina’s lessons about AEGEE structure and Civic Education that were held in the gym. I was with a group that understood the aim of the event: the importance of practising some sports with a right diet (the Mediterranean one). Among those guys I met some really special people that I hope to see again very soon somewhere in Europe. At AEGEE-Cagliari SU there were also some love stories, of course, but the details will remain a secret among the protagonists of this magnificent hot event.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.            

AEGEE-Patra proposed a magnificent TSU showing the best of Peloponnese on the initiative of Flo Fotini Karagrigori, Stavroula Kostakopolou, Secretary of this Greek Antenna, Vasiliki Petrakou, President, and the extraordinary help of an amazing team. Journalist Matteo Lai reports on this international event that was in collaboration with the Democracy in Practice project.

The Summer University of AEGEE-Patra began on the eleventh of July 2016. In Athens, I had already met some participants, Ana and Alvaro, and one organiser, Spyros, who hosted me during the previous weekend, and gave us a small city tour of the Greek capital. With other guys, who were joining the event, we reached Patra very late by bus; about nine p.m. The Greek organisers, however, could not let us miss out on some ice breaking games, so that we at least got to know the name of the other participants.

They came from every corner of Europe: Dario Renna (Italy), Natalya Turun (Ukraine),  Ihor Raynovskyy (Ukraine), David Ferre (Spain), Olga Revilla (Spain), Ana González García (Spain), Robert Bullesfeld (Germany), Joyce Schulte (the Netherlands), Álvaro Alonso Larré (Spain), Anna Zaiats (Ukraine), Strahinja Kocijasevic (Serbia), Enrica Griggio (Italy), Diego Laino Rebollido (Spain), Alessandro Boffa Fasset (Italy), Irene Ballester (Spain), Matteo Delfino (Italy), Adela Hurtikova (Czech Republic), Anna Temerko (Ukraine), Matteo Sberna (Italy), Merli Martin (Estonia), Sophia Talvoysh (Russia), Maria Calin (Austria), Alicia Jiménez Nosti (Spain), Julia Sohu (Spain), Mikel Larra Arca (Spain), Ella Katkova (Russia), Fernando Berniola Cassorán (Spain), Lili Dozsa (Hungary), Arbenita Hasani (Austria), Kagan Kemal Tuna (Turkey) and a girl simply known to us as Burcu (Turkey).

The organisers were: Noemi Lowy (Democracy in Practice Trainer, AEGEE-Debrecen), Vasiliki Petrakou (Main Organiser and President), Petros Spyratos, Spyros Ntouroukis, Fotini Flo Karagrigori (Main Organiser and Secretary), Stavroula Kostakopoulou (Main Organizer and Incoming Responsible), Raphael Angelis, Stavros Vlatakis, Giota Grintzou, Petros Vezos, Katerina Anastasopolou (AEGEE-Athina), Akis Tampachaniotis (AEGEE-Peiraias), Costas Frem, Costantinos Fasourakis, Yiota Mitropoulou, Anastasia Karantza.

After a quick dinner outside the hotel, we all went together to a lounge in a pub, ten minutes away from the hotel that was our accommodation for the first four days. I was really tired after the long trip from Athens to Patra, but I could not wait for the interesting programme that the organisers had crafted for us. Patra is famous for the Rio-Antirrio Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in Europe. In Patra, I also visited the Apollon Theatre, which was designed by the famous German architect Ernst Ziller and completed in 1872. The Apollon is located east of Georgiou I Square, one of Patra’s most popular squares. The theatre is a micrograph of “La Scala” in Milan, and is the oldest existing enclosed theatre of the same era. The Apollon Theatre has been the main stage of the Patras Municipal and Regional Theatre since 1988, and can hold up to three hundred people.

The TSU was in collaboration with the ‘Democracy in Practice’ project. For the newbies in AEGEE, the aim of the project is to raise awareness among young people about the importance of human rights as the basis of a healthy democracy, in order to promote social and political participation of young people at local, national, and European level. This can be achieved in two ways: by means of training, and by means of advocacy. Therefore, the members of Democracy in Practice set some learning objectives and some advocacy objectives. The former required the participants to explain what the interconnections between human rights and democracy are, to develop a campaign for Human Rights, to direct their own learning through the process, and to develop a concrete action plan in order to start a follow-up process. Advocacy objectives are various as well: the participants can identify the local stakeholders for human rights education; the participants are able to advocate for human rights education in their local communities, specially targeting universities and other educational centres.

There have been many sessions that allowed us to know each other better and to discuss about Europe. For example, at the Gythio campsite, Noemi asked us to write down some words that we associate with Europe: peace, freedom, security, human rights, prosperity, language, mobility. She also proposed us to watch a movie titled: “The Untouchables”, which topics were discussed during our stay in Patra.

On the third day, we spent the evening in Plaz, a beach close to Patra’s city centre, where we enjoyed the European Night, a traditional activity in every Summer University. The organisers decided to surprise us by showing their European friends the basics of some popular Greek dances. Then, Stavroula would not be amiss to show us the famous ‘Ouzo’, an alcoholic drink very similar to Sambuca with the flavor of anisette.

On the morning of the day after, we followed a Democracy in Practice session about the structure and organisation of AEGEE. Noemi also talked about several AEGEE projects you can join, such as The AEGEEan. Later, the protagonists of this amazing Greek adventure visited the Achaia Clauss winery where they relaxed, chatted and made some group photos. In the Youth Mobility Workshop, David explained to us the incredible advantages of living on a new planet with his “Apollo Mobility Program”.

The participants were involved in D.i.P. activities almost every day, but we also went to Ancient Olympia, known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times. In the 10th century B.C., Olympia became a centre for the worship of Zeus. The Altis – the sanctuary to the gods – used to contain one of the greatest collections of masterpieces from the ancient Greek world. In addition to temples, we saw the remains of all the sports structures, which had been erected for the Olympic Games that were held in Olympia every four years. The first ever Olympic Games were held in honour of Zeus. After some hours at Kaiafas beach, we visited Kalamata. The city tour was guided by Dimitri Eliopoulos, former director of Alpha Bank, who spoke more Italian than Greek or English. On Sunday, we went to Polylimnio for river trekking. The course ended at a lake and some Spanish guys inaugurated a dive competition from very high rocks. In Methoni, we managed to make some group photos over the rocks near a castle without falling into the water.

The day at Kalamata’s city hall was the best for me. After we were welcomed by the mayor, we made an analysis and comparison of the situation of human and fundamental rights in several European countries. We were divided into small groups on the basis of our country. I still cannot believe it, but I talked in front of forty people in a foreign language about the Italian Constitution, while expressing my opinion about some current problems of Italy without getting nervous. I would have liked to answer some questions, but it was also important to talk about countries where the problem of human rights is probably much more felt, countries such as Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.

In Kardamyli, thirty-five kilometers southeast of Kalamata, in the region of Messenia on the Mani Peninsula, we admired the Mourtzinos Tower and the Church of Ayios Spyridon. After enjoying the sun at Stoupa beach, we reached the third Greek town of this vacation, Gythio, where we celebrated at the Hippie Hippie Shake Party.

One of the places that fascinated me the most was Monemvasia Island. Monemvasia is a town and a municipality in Laconia. The town is located on a small island off the Eastern coast of the Peloponnese. The town’s name derives from two Greek words, “mone” and “emvasia”, collectively meaning “single entrance”. Many of the streets are narrow and can only accommodate pedestrians and donkeys. A small hamlet of about ten houses lies on the northwest. The most interesting aspects of the island were for sure: Christos Elkomenos Square, the church of Agia Sophia, and the fortress. There was a very strong wind around the island, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a wonderful excursion. Another interesting archeological site was Mystras, a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, always in the Peloponnese, situated on the Taygetos mountain, near the ancient Sparta.

In the next chapter of our journey, we arrived in Mycenae (or Mikines). In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilisation. I got petrified when I saw the Lion Gate, because I had only seen it in my history of art text book. On the last two days of the TSU, the accommodation was in a campsite in Napflio. During those couple of days, we went on a cruise discovering the Hydra and Spetses islands. In Hydra there were no cars, but a lot of mules instead. On both islands the water was crystal-clear. At the end of the SU, the organisers brought us to the ancient theatre at Epidauros: among all the ancient theatres, this one was the most beautiful and best preserved. And although it was very hot, I could not resist the temptation to climb up the steps to the top of the theatre.

The organisers of AEGEE-Patra did a really good job; some of them have been very affable with the most shy participants, and they have created and nurtured a group that wanted to have a lot of fun. Sometimes they had to modify the timetable for the evening programme by the request of most of the participants; such as when we asked to include one more party on Gythio beach. In the discos, someone among the organisers could not bare to see you sit on a chair, so they immediately grabbed you by your arms and made you fly on the dance floor. They showed to be very experienced after their Agora in 2014. Not everything  was perfect and there were some aspects that need to be improved for next year, but the organisers were also warm-hearted. When I got sick, guys like Raphael, Vasiliki and Stavros took care of me without hesitation.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.

2016 has officially started! Some people now get ready for Orthodox Christmas or still enjoy the New Year events, it is also the time to think about summer 2016, which appeals to be the SUmmer of your life.

Since 1988, thousands of AEGEEans have been enjoying non-typical, mind-blowing vacations during summertime. Exploring, traveling, parties, fun, love, friends, nature – that may be the top assosiations with the name of the project. We are sure that lots of you have participated in SUs – maybe even more than once – and the spirit of AEGEE and Summer University brings you to the next summer to check a new country, new people, new sights, attractions, captions… And the next summer. And the next. Or maybe not.

Some time ago I talked to one girl with whom we went to the only SU I’ve been participant at. I know for sure that she enjoyed our SU so much that she may be willing to reveal this experience. However, when I asked her which Summer University she was applying to, she answered “none” and told me that she wants to see something focusing more on self-development and getting professional skills, and thus she would like to organise one. I was surprised by her initiative and supported the idea very much.

This year, we as SUCT 2015/16 worked quite a lot to develop this concept. There are so many options to cooperate with AEGEE-bodies (find them on our website) that we want to incorporate in every SU. Can you imagine? – Summer University on climate change, Europe’s history or refugees (such an important topic now), management or entrepreneurship, a language Summer Course, healthy eating and lifestyle or Democracy in Practice Summer University, Summer University which deals with project management in AEGEE or a European School Summer University run by professionals from the Academy! What is more, there is an option to organise a Summer University for journalists or future ones. In this variety of options it seems really hard to choose, but when it is done, we cannot imagine how valuable this experience will turn out to be: you will show the secret or most popular sights of your country, will raise the potential of your motivated participants (since they will want to get the skills you have in SU description), will party and become friends with them – we love all of that so much, but there is even more!

Overall, this project is so loved just because it creates an opportunity for everyone to find something that is needed at the moment. Another atmosphere, climate, new places, long-lasting friends or even the love of your life, new skills, new experiences… It is up to you! Even if you just want to lay on the beach, there is the Leisure category of SU this year. We encourage you to plan the SU of your antenna and submit it until 15th of January to change the lives of 20-50 AEGEEans which may become your new family.

P.S. We will be extremely happy if someone from future participants writes us in some time and tells that due to the best Summer University 2016 he got a job or partner of his dreams. We work for you, people, and wish you all the best in the new year.

Join Hangouts with SUCT on the 10th of January, 18:00 CET, where we will answer all of your questions and share some ideas.

Written by Yevgeniya Gagarkina, Summer University Coordination Team 2015-2016