In their Facebook Page, you can read that the Network Commission is always open. It is not far from the truth! The NetCom has been established in 1996 and it has been caring and serving our locals for 21 years already. In Autumn Agora Chișinău we elected six new Netcommies, who, together with the Network Director Tekla Hajdu, are working hard to collaborate, protect and look after our locals. We asked them some questions and here are the answers of Aleksandra Mojsova, Alejandra Piot, Alin Georgescu, Pablo Palazon and Spyros Papadatos. 

Aleksandra Mojsova
netcom-aleksandra@aegee.org

The AEGEEan: Please introduce yourself.

Aleksandra: I am Aleksandra Mojsova from AEGEE-Skopje and also a member of AEGEE-Nis. I have been an absolute fan of the association since I joined AEGEE and since day one, I was interested in the Network Commission. I also took all the other opportunities to contribute to the AEGEE life.

Alejandra: Hey! I am Alejandra, a member of AEGEE-A Coruña since September 2013 and the former president of my local. I love photography, books and music. I am totally in love with AEGEE and travelling. It is the most beautiful and amazing thing that I can imagine.

What is the strongest point of your assigned locals? What are your plans for the locals in your area?

Aleksandra: They are passionate and good-spirited. Some of them are good in PR, some of them in FR, some of them have amazing teamwork and great spirit, always offering something to each other! My plans are to work on some tips and tricks files with each area’s expertise – Board functions mostly – to upload them in a common drive, to offer them other tips and tricks for training workshops.

Alin Georgescu
netcom-alingeorgescu@aegee.org

Alejandra: Most of them have a really good relation with the universities and their support, so it’s easy to promote AEGEE there. Also, some of them work a lot with Erasmus students, which is also a good point. I want to promote the idea of following the Action Agenda and Strategic plan more to have more members interested in the main goals of AEGEE, and also promote the idea to be involved in European Bodies.

Alin: Hard to say because geographically, they are very well-connected to each other. There are less active locals, but also very strong and active locals, so there is a balance, a balance which I will use to build up my Network more. As I said, I want to have this legacy of AEGEE, to keep members motivated, focus on locals needs more, fill the gap between local and European bodies. My biggest challenge is to make members work more under Erasmus+ programme.

What is the meaning of the NetCom Motto “To Serve and Protect” for you?

Aleksandra: To literally be on duty 24/7. To be always available for all of my locals, whatever they ask for, whatever they need. It sometimes sounds like exaggerating, (or at least, what I have heard), but indeed a Network Commissioner should be protective and caring!

Alejandra: Basically, that we are there for and with the locals, to help them with everything, literally, give advises and be there for them.

Alejandra Piot
netcom-alejandra@aegee.org

Alin: Exactly as a team, what we are doing are taking care of our locals, answer to their needs, help them to grow and become more and more active.

Spyros: For me, these four words summarise the essence of this commission. The NetCom was created to serve and protect the Network, the locals. We all may have started from a local, but as a NetCommie you feel part of many locals at the same time because your locals feel like parts of you. So for me, the most important thing is not only trying to maintain them but to bring something new, work to achieve the best and generally bring it to the next level.

A day in the NetCom shoes. How does your typical day look like?
Aleksandra: Oh, it is easy to dedicate your day to the Netcom once you start. If you do not have an alarm nearby, you can easily have two. Checking local’s activities, duties, submissions, reminding, answering, helping them with anything (PR, FR, Members Portal, events, etc.). Apart from that, there is the internal Netcom cooperation and the communication with other bodies of AEGEE daily.

Spyros: A lot of work from your computer. You might be talking to five, six people at the same time, writing a lot of emails (especially in the Speaker Team) and living on Skype (or Hangouts sometimes for the change). But all this seems so small when you meet your locals during events or in their cities, which is priceless in my opinion, and fills me with motivation.

Pablo Palazon netcom-palazon@aegee.org

Alejandra: Our day always starts with Podio, some of us love it, others hate it, but it is our day. Skype calls more or less two or three times per week, sometimes more. WhatsApp, Facebook, e-mail… We can not live without that. Questions, suggestions, more questions… Always like this! Sometimes it is crazy, but, I love it!

Alin: A typical day like one of other young people of my age. There is nothing special, just more responsibilities and more deadlines. Maybe more travels, more Skype meetings and AEGEEan lifestyle. [He smiles, ed.]

Why did you decide to run for a place in the Netcom in Autumn Agora Chisinau?

Alejandra: I had this motivation to do it since Agora Bergamo, but I did not feel confident at all until the former NetCom of La Nave and one of my lovely subcommies told me that I was quite good for this. I really love the Network Commission. Being in this body which is in touch with the locals the most. It is amazing, you can learn a lot from the and be able to help them.

Alin: I have joined AEGEE three years ago and I started from the local level step by step, managing a local, learning about AEGEE and its opportunities. It is a path that I decided to follow. I determined that now is the right time for me to move on, make a big step and join this Commission. After all, it is a legacy made by people like me, taking responsibility, one after another. I want to be part of this legacy, maybe this is the strongest reason that keeps me motivated and made me choose to run for the Netcom.

Spyros Papadatos
netcom-spyridon@aegee.org

Spyros and Alejandra have being elected as Speaker and Vice-Speaker of the commission. Why did you decide to run for the speaker team? What are your main tasks?

Spyros: Last term, I decided not to run for speaker team because I wanted first to test the waters as a regular NetCommie and see how I am pulling through. Yet, this term, I decided to run as speaker because it felt like the right thing to do and I wanted to contribute even more to the internal part of NetCom. My main tasks are to organise the internal work of NetCom, coordinate our weekly meetings, keep an overview of our work and our projects. It was a great honour that my fellow team members trusted me. Together with Alejandra, the vice-speaker, we are trying every day to the best. This is also a big thank you for Alejandra because without her it would be impossible!.

Alejandra: I just joined the Network Commission in Chisinau, but for me, it was also a challenge to run for the Vice-Speaker. I was curious about how the work was and also how to be more involved there. My main tasks take minutes during the meetings and accept reimbursements and take care of the budget. We also have weekly meetings and more tasks that Spyros and I shared depending on our availabilities.

You met in Brussels for your team meeting. How did it go? What were the main topics of discussions? Were there funny moments?

Alejandra: It was amazing. As I could not be in Chisinau to present my candidature, I didn’t know most of them in person and I realise that they are really cool as workers and persons. We were discussing many topics, but mostly about Spring NWMs and the State of the Network, how we can improve it and how it is now. Also, about the NetCom projects, more news will come!

Pablo: It went really well! We have a quite good environment among Netcommies and also between Netcommies and CD members so everything was quite good! The “problem” of the Netcom Meetings is that they last reaaaally long, On Saturday we had dinner at 1 in the morning, so you can figure out that we were quite tired! We had a lot of discussions about the state of the network, activity plans, projects and feedbacks from the last term! One of the funny moments is when one of our Netcommies (not giving the name, he smiled. ed) felt asleep on the table during one looong discussion. I guess everybody deserves a little moment to disconnect!

Network Director Tekla Hajdu
network@aegee.org

What is the Netcom Plan for Chisinau-Enschede Term?
Pablo: We are going to be working on a lot of stuff. Emphasis will be put in creating an AEGEEnda with all the events. Locals from the Spanish, Portugues and French Network (or La Nave) have one, we are just going to try to make them share it in a more official way! Twinder will also be working on, Toolkits for contacts, visibility of the NetCom, etc…. Lots of cool projects that you will see the results in the next few months!

How is it to work with the Commissioners?
Tekla: In one word: Awesome! But to explain it a little bit more, I think the team dynamics is going well currently, we put emphasis on bringing up several topics and viewpoints to discuss openly within the team. We also highlight the importance of teamwork within the Commission, as the workload is huge and giving support to each other has a great importance – that’s why we also did a lot of team-building activities during the NetCom Meetings apart from the sessions. I am trying to be transparent to both the Network Commission and CD as my task within the Commission as CD responsible is also to bring the initiatives and the views of the two teams together.

You can read their Activity Plan here. Do not forget you can attend one of the ten Network Meetings that will take place this spring in Thessaloniki, Debrecen, Nijmegen, Torino, Yerevan, Gdansk, Bamberg, Novi-Sad, Heidelberg and Bilbao.  

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Summer seems distant, but AEGEEans, as busy bees, are already in the process to organise Summer Universities. The Summer University Coordination Team gave the future SU organisers the possibility to collaborate with AEGEE bodies and give their Summer Universities a content twist. We asked the bodies involved to give us some more information about how they envision the collaboration. In this second article we will understand more about Drink-wise Project, Language Interest Group, Mediation Commission, Action Agenda Coordination Committee and The AEGEEan.  

Drink-wise is the latest addiction to our pool of projects, and it aims at highlighting the cultural diversity and richness of our drinking traditions, but also promotes healthy drinking habits. And what about the European Night? If you are afraid that collaborationg with them will prevent you from having any form of alcohol in your Summer University, you cannot be further from the truth. Adonis Meggos, the project director, sais that “Drink-wise does not mean that you are forbidden to drink, but to drink with caution. We are a group of drink lovers. But there is not only alcohol. Juices, Smoothies, Coffee and Tea are all welcome! We love to explore all those different tastes all over Europe. To enjoy the traditions of drinking cultures, of course, but also to know our boundaries”.

You can contact them at drinkwiseproject@gmail.com

There are no better places than AEGEE events to test the knowledge of your foreing language(s). The Language Interest Group, a “diverse team of language-enthusiast AEGEEans”, using the words of their PR responsible Eryfili Evangelou, proposes a Summer University related to languages and adds that “the idea of a collaboration with us is easy to implement and can be added to an existing concept”. Not only learning languages, but also speaking about multilingualism in Europe, or the issues related to language policies, minority languages and language diversity. Eryfili continues explaining that the Interest group “can provide you with material and guidelines for the content and cool language related activities during the social programme. The main topics of the SU could be Multilingualism in Europe, courses of the local language or English, and can be adjusted to your needs and wishes!”.

You can contact them at lig@aegee.org. 

The Mediation Commission is the body that helps AEGEE in solving the disputes that may rise. After some successful sessions during NWMs, the commission decided to take them one step further having a Summer University in team management and conflict resolution. Damien Latacz, president of the Mediation Commission, says that the main topic will be “of course conflict solving, but going much deeper than what you would probably think, not just the basic workshop we all did at some point. From the differences in understanding between people and cultures, to how to react in front of conflicts and challenges. We want participants to actively think about emotions and communication. But because introspection is quite demanding… some good fun between session to relax is also needed!”. And if you are looking for yet another reason for choosing the Mediation Commission as “partner in crime” for the Summer University, Damien jokes: “Well… there would not be any trouble organizing something with us, because we would solve conflicts right away!”.

You can contact them at medcom@aegee.org. 

Acties during their team meeting

Act (Action Agenda Coordination Committee) Vice Speaker Miljana Vulevic, when asked why locals should cooperate with them answered: “Because we solemnly swear we are up to no good!”. With this Harry Potter joke premises, resisting them might seem hard, but she continues: “We are cool people, always ready to help and find a solution to whatever. Most importantly – we care. Choosing ACT means having a reliable partner willing to give its best to deliver an unforgettable, life changing SC”.  The main topic of the Summer would be project management, with a little twist: the implementation in an AEGEE context. “As complex as it sounds -Miljana says- it is a quite simple concept really! You have a “layer” of Project Management that teaches you the skills you need to create excellent projects in your local and another “layer” of introducing and discussing Focus Areas they will use as content for their projects. It is actually not a Summer Course, it is an AEGEE cake. Who says NO to a cake? Imagine all those applications!”.

You can contact them at act@aegee.org

Media and press are increasingly important in modern society, thus making more vital to have informed and prepared readers. The AEGEEan proposes local organisers to help their participants to get familiar with the journalism and writing world, by organising workshops about basic writing, editing and proofreading, about the different types of journalism, media platforms, the history of journalism and storytelling. During the leisure time some ad hoc excursions can be organised, for instance to houses of famous writers. Members of The AEGEEan will be there to help you in doing the lectures, but this can be a perfect opportunity to bond and create a network with several youth organisations that deal with press and citizen journalism.

You can contact us at aegeean@aegee.org

You can read about the other bodies you can collaborate with here.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Summer seems distant but AEGEEans, as busy bees, are already in the process to organise Summer Universities. The Summer University Coordination Team gave the future SU organisers the possibility to collaborate with AEGEE bodies and give their Summer Universities a content twist. We asked the bodies involved to give us some more information about how they envision the collaboration. In this first article we will understand more about Civic Education Working Group, Your Vision for Europe, The Academy, Human Resource Committee and Youth Employment working group.  

Even if summer is the season for relaxation, vacations and parties, a content Summer University is still possible. The Civic Education Working Group launched the motto “a SU that matters” last year, and a lot of locals followed them organising a Civic Education-themed Summer University. This year, the Working Group proposes to organise an event related to Civic Education, intercultural communication, environmental sustainability, human rights or active citizenship like LGBT, Democracy, Refugees/immigrants, Green SU, Climate change, Intercultural communication through music, Volunteering, European Citizenship, Debating SU, Sexual Education and much more.

Last year, 17 Summer Universities were organised in collaboration with Civic Education or on a topic related to it. We asked some of those locals to explain why you should think about it. If you think that a SU with content might be boring, you may be thinking it twice if you consider that last year AEGEE-Udine placed its SU in the first place with their The Dark Side of the Boot SU.

AEGEE-Udine Summer University The Dark Side of the Boot

Stefano Dal Farra, main organiser, says that they chose “this topic for our SU last year because we thought that, in order to create an amazing SU, participants had to know the real Italy, the real conditions in which we are living. We did not want them to see and experience Italy perceived from an idyllic point of view, as if they were seeing it from a postcard. They had to experience the reality of our country, and that meant making them realise and see Italy for what it is right now, with all its problems”. One of the problems in Italy is the refugee crisis and a lot of activities were done with refugees, in the places where they are being hosted. “Participants met them, played volleyball with them, had a human library and an open table with them,  learnt Italian with them, volunteered for them. All these activities helped the participants to clear their ideas about the refugee crisis in Europe, to really understand the causes that are behind it and to meet them, to talk with them, and to understand that they are normal and common people like us, who had to leave their countries because of the war or because of the difficult living conditions”, concludes Stefano.

AEGEE-Leuven and AEGEE-Tilburg Summer University Burgundian Bicycles Vol III: Biking through SUmmer

AEGEE-Leuven, together with AEGEE-Tilburg, organised the Summer University Burgundian Bicycles Vol III: Biking through SUmmer. Elinne Mertens from AEGEE-Leuven told us that they collaborated with the Civic Education Working Group “because all people should (learn how to) act as a responsible citizen, which is exactly what civic education is about. Besides, our European Citizen Initiative is about Civic education and a SU on it can help us reaching the goal of one million signatures and will make people aware of what Civic Education is, also raising the understanding about it”.

CrEATe the Peace with your heART was the Summer University organised by AEGEE-Eskişehir last year. Tuğçe Demir, Treasurer and External Relations Manager of the Turkish local, said that “Civic education is a theme that appeals to everyone and it is very common nowadays”. Positive with the previous experience and the active participation of their participants, AEGEE-Eskişehir decided to choose the same path for their Summer University 2017 as well: “This year we will work on the subject of volunteering under the name of green water and Civic Education. One of the biggest reasons is that the NGOs in our country and the world are working on this issue, but can we give a sense of volunteerism at a sufficient level? We have chosen this theme in order to be able to give and to allow participants to look at it from different perspectives”.

You can contact them at su@civiceducation.eu. 

Your Vision For Europe Project team members

Your Vision for Europe is a project which aims at spreading Europtimism in- and outside the AEGEE-Network, but not only. According to Elinne Mertens, member of the project’s team, they give “tools to encourage young Europeans to think about important European topics, to discuss them with others and in that way, to formulate and express their vision for Europe – an informed and critical view on certain European topics”. During the Summer University, with the help of the project’s team who will act as trainers, participants will develop critical thinking stimulating opinion-formation. They proposed a variety of broad topics as explained by Elinne: “We have proposed some broad topics – more specifically bridging Europe, envisioning Europe, peace building and conflict resolution, refugees and policy and advocacy processes – that can be specified more in different sessions according to the wishes of the SU organisers. Other topics can be proposed too, we are very flexible. Just tell us on which topic you want to stimulate ‘visions for Europe’!”

You can contact them at yourvisionforeurope@aegee.org. 

The Youth Employment Working Group works in the frame of our focus area and it aims at providing participants with the necessary skills and trainings to have a smooth transition from the educational system to the job market. To do so, the working group proposes several workshops on entrepreneurship, but also some visits to companies and activities on self-presentations. At the end, participants should acquire the skills to use and present their “AEGEE skills” on a professional level; the process of becoming an entrepreneur; resumé writing, Motivational Letters, Interviews and so on.

You can contact them at yewg@aegee.org.

The Human Resources Committee and their members want to stress the importance of volunteering and  the possibility it gives to people to develop themselves as human beings. Summer Universities represent a perfect opportunity to develop our members’ skills in a friendly and rather unconventional environment. The workshops they propose are studied to push participants out of their comfort zone, to think about their gained skills and experiences and to reflect about the value of volunteering and the importance of its recognition.

You can contact them at hrc@aegee.org.

The Academy is a partner association that “works” as our pool of trainers: for this summer they proposed to the Summer University organisers the HRESSU (Human Resources European School Summer University). The Secretary Eugenia Casariego has no doubt about why a local should choose them: “Training and Non-formal Education are the best choice for this awesome summer: fun, learning, skills development, and workshops delivered by experienced Trainers, so they will not be the typical workshops you have been through in many other events”. The topic, Human Resources, is very important for locals and bodies that rely massively onto that. “Thus, -she continues- developing skills to support, empower, train, motivate and retain members are key in the functioning of a successful local or body”.

You can contact them at board@aegee-academy.org.

Here the other bodies you can collaborate with.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

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

It is September and although this month rewarded us with really great weather and an unexpected late summer, we have to admit that summertime and – even worse – the time of Summer Universities is over. But what comes after those two weeks in which you are surrounded by Aeggeans every minute and forget your everyday life? How can you deal with suddenly being alone again? The AEGEEan asked around to find out how to best deal with Post Event Syndrome (PES).

Agoras, Network Meetings (NWM), Summer Universities (SU), European Schools (ES)… Our international network offers many different and interesting events for everybody who is interested. Especially during the summertime thousands of AEGEEans are travelling through Europe to take part in SUs.

The time shared with others is exciting and offers so much: new experiences, new friends, and so much to learn! It is an exciting ride of a few days or weeks, during which you might experience more new insights than you normally do in months. Most importantly, you get to know people and you get to know them well.

Carolina Alfano from AEGEE-Salarno sums it up as follows:  “Adrenaline! During the event everything happens so fast: a lot of things to do, not much time, a lot of people, friends, parties. In this way the adrenaline is on top“.

After spending days after days together, at first shyly playing some energisers together, but a few days after sharing the most intimate stories – you built friendships that will last a lifetime. But, at the end of every event, stands the dreaded moment of saying good-bye. You see your new friends waving while you step into the bus to the airport. You then come home to your empty flat, where you are alone and where it is just too quiet to deal with.

“When you understand you are at home, no gym, no friends, nothing to do tomorrow, you start to be depressed, you climb up in your bed and the only thing you want to do is start to sleep”, Carolina says.

Tekla Hajdu

Tekla Hajdu, Network Director, has also experienced this feeling. She tells us that it does not matter whether it is a fun or even a serious thematic event, you can always be sad after an event you organised. “Most of the times, I felt kind of depressed and I wanted to go back immediately to be part of the event again and have more adventures with the participants and the organisers”, Tekla says.

Some know that feeling from events outside of AEGEE too. Carolina, for example, experienced something similar after her Erasmus semester. Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona, was an exchange student a while back and had more trouble keeping in touch back then, because Facebook was not yet even a thing. This made the situation even worse.

But what about the worst cases of PES when it comes to AEGEE-events? Tekla shares: “I had some bad PES cases after my Network Meetings as Network Commissioner, but my personal worst was after pre-event EPM Leiden: I’ll be AmsterDamned, as apart from missing the people and the memories from the event I also had to go back to my university for an intensive course instead of proceeding to the EPM, which had me really depressed”. Erika’s personal worst case was after Agora Cagliari in 2014: “Once back home it took me more than two weeks to get back to reality, to start to adapt again to my old routine, to even start sleeping properly“.

Erika Bettin

In the end, while taking part in an event, you live in a “bubble” as Erika calls it: “You feel comfortable, you feel protected and you feel loved”. You meet people who think similarly, discover Europe and dream together about making it an even better place. Suddenly coming home and realising that it was just a time-limited bubble, that reality and daily routine have you back is the reason for feeling so bad afterwards. Because it was just so good before.

Moreover, Tekla already mentioned that people who are a big factor too when it comes to PES. You get to know the other participants so well and you experience a lot together. “When the event ends, I think people start to realise that these moments will never be repeated in the same way with the same people again”. It therefore actually is saying good-bye forever, at least in that group dynamic. The important question remains: is there a way to deal with it?

Carolina shares with us that when she felt bad after the end of an event, she just kept to herself in the house for two or three days. But then she “decided to be strong and go out for a walk, call some friends, restart my normal life”. It is you who has to find the right moment to motivate yourself to get up again. Carolina continues: “There will be other events in the future, time is running out and staying powerless is not a solution“.

Erika has a positive attitude too: “The important thing is to keep in mind that in AEGEE and in life there are only ‘see-you-soons’ and never ‘good-byes’. Eventually everybody is going to see each other one more time. You should sleep, turn off the alarm and then try to come back to your old routine as fast as possible.”

Similarly, Tekla agrees that time heals all wounds. She is sure that after some time your symptoms will decline naturally. Especially of course, if you don’t have a lot of time to be nostalgic since you have to start working again. She gives us a great advise: “Look forward and plan your next adventure to have more awesome memories”!

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

“If my house was on fire and I could only save one thing, it would be my fridge”. How to disagree with Ralitsa “Rali” Mihaylova from AEGEE-Berlin, one of the six candidates for a position in the Summer University Coordination Team. Bulgarian by birth, the 21 years-old Ralitsa joined AEGEE-Berlin in February 2015 and now she is the treasurer (and unofficial mascot – the Bulgarian Bear) of the German local. She is studies Comuputer Science and she works as a motion designer. Within the SUCT, she aims to cover the task of Publications Responsible.

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

Ralitsa: I have the skills, the motivation and the spirit for the job and since my term in the board is coming to an end and I’m definitely not about to stop being active in AEGEE in the near future, I didn’t think twice about candidating again.

You already run in Autumn Agora Kyïv with great competition. What has changed in the past year?

I got to experience the SU project from a lot of new perspectives – I was participant, main organiser and I helped the SUCT with PR materials. I got a better understanding of the current issues and a clearer vision of what Summer Universities are about and how they can reach more of their potential. The only thing that hasn’t changed in the last year is my motivation!

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

Definitely! I think the workload is overwhelming for four people, even if they are insanely productive. It’s also a great way to get more AEGEEans interested in the development of the project.

In your candidature you said you developed a clear idea of how you want to contribute to raising the event quality and getting more new members and non-members interested in participating. What is your idea?

The thing is that today cheap travel with awesome people is something you can find in a lot of places, some even easier and cheaper than Summer Universities, so promoting them in this way is equivalent to saying ”nothing special”. Everyone who has participated in a SU knows that it’s about way more than just travelling, and so should the people who haven’t done it yet. That’s why it all starts by clarifying the meaning of Summer Universities and the participants we want to target. I want to ”cut out” the cliches from the PR materials and social media and concentrate on the self-development, thematic content and of course on AEGEE. To expand the reach of promotion and information, I want to create more interactive content (videos, animations, infographics) and partner with other student organisations with similar member groups and activities. Other improvements I would make are expanding our pool of trainers beyond AEGEE bodies (mainly by cooperating with other students’ organisations), providing help with materials and activities for compulsory sessions and establishing stronger link between organising locals and our WGs and Projects.

How would you foster good communication between locals and Working Group and Projects?

By increasing the visibility of WGs and Projects on the SU communication channels and working on clear guidelines for what the cooperation should consist of, for example setting a minimum for thematic content and activities, and requiring a tangible end result – it could be a common project, publication, etc. That way it’s mutually beneficial and it can be a very effective promotion for future events or initiatives.

How do you envision the cooperation with other students organisations?

AEGEE has great partner organisations like ESN and BEST and I don’t see a reason why we can’t make our SUs more visible to their members and offer their trainers to cooperate with our organising locals. We have a lot in common with other student organisations, but in some areas our vision and approach is completey different, which is why I think a cooperation like this would be an amazing learning experience and should be encouraged more.

This is a recurring question when it comes to Summer Universities: the decreasing number of applications and local organisers. What do you think about these issues?
About the number of applications, I think it’s a natural result of the existence of Ryanair, Tinder and all the student projects you can participate in literally for free. We can’t and we really shouldn’t compete with them based on ”cheap and fun travel” anymore. If we put more effort into reaching people outside the network and do it with the right message and the numbers keep going down, I will personally go count the applications, because that’s impossible! As for the number of organising locals, I don’t think we have a deficiency of SUs. What we should work on is filling the event quality gap, mainly by paying extra attention to smaller and inexperienced organising teams.

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

As for the locals that struggled because of other factors, I think that before organising their next SU, they should think about their weaknesses and work out solutions first. If it is a lack of HR they could ask friends from nearby antennae to join as helpers, or organise a TSU. If their SU didn’t get enough exposure on social media, they can think of more creative ways to promote it than the usual facebook event. If they don’t have anyone who can deliver workshops, they can cooperate with a WG or project and ask for trainer reimbursement. Overall if the team is motivated, a big part of the issues are solvable, and turning to SUCT for help is always a good decision. Quality events are the best PR!

Does this ring a bell? One of the Summer University videos of this year was edited by Ralitsa Mihaylova. Check it out:

You can read her full application here. 

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

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.            

The Summer University Project School is going to take place this year in Catania from the 7th until the13th of March. The participants will learn all they need to know in order to organize the perfect Summer University. We asked Ioana Duca, Main Organizer of SUPS 2016 and Roberto Patanè, president of AEGEE-Catania and SUPS Responsible, about the event, so now you have no excuse not to apply for it.

The AEGEEan: Ioana, you have a rich history in AEGEE. Why Main Organizer for Summer University Project School?

Ioana Duca: It is true, but in AEGEE is never too late to do something. Unfortunately, during my term in the Comité Directeur I didn’t have the opportunity to do as much as I wanted, as there is too much bureaucracy and too many other things to do, but now I’m still trying to do some things. Plus it is my favorite topic in AEGEE: Summer University and how to organize an SU.

The AEGEEan: AEGEE-Catania, winner of the best Summer University in the past years, are the local organizers. How do you think that this will influence the participants of SUPS?

Ioana: I’m happy that AEGEE-Catania will organize SUPS this year. I think we will all have the chance to see the secret behind winning best SU several times in a row. And more important for the participants, they will be able to see, observe and learn from AEGEE-Catania, a very experienced and highly prepared local. And what way is the best in order to learn? To see them in action!

The AEGEEan: Your local has been organizing great Summer Universities for the past years. Why did you choose to organize a Summer University Project School only now?

Roberto: I was the main coordinator of the best SU 2015 and an organizer in 2013 and 2014. So I just took part in the latest best three SUs out of four and as everyone knows, three is the perfect number [he smiles, ed.]. Jokes apart, this year as president I decided, together with some board members, that it is time to organize a memorable SUPS.

The AEGEEan: What is the theme for this year SUPS and why did you choose it?

Ioana: The inspirational theme of this SUPS is South Park. Personally, I’m not very familiar with this TV show. It was a proposal from SUCT (Philipp) and we all agreed that it is a nice idea that can fit with the place and the event; we have students, buses, a school and I think it is a nice and attractive idea.

The AEGEEan: How many participants will there be? Are you looking for someone special, some kind of skills and knowledge from a participant?

Ioana: We will have 25 participants. We are looking for motivated people that really want to learn how to organize the best Summer University, to learn and discover new things and to make some new friends. Skills and knowledge will be gained during this event, they just need to be open and ready to learn and experience.

The AEGEEan: Why do you think that AEGEE members should apply for your event?

Roberto: AEGEEans should apply because everyone can improve their skill such as: Event management, Fund Raising, Team building, Creativity, and so on. Also, they can discover all these along with some experienced trainers and surrounded by the wonderful Sicilian landscapes, in the most awarded as best SU city.

The AEGEEan: Did you already choose the trainers? Who are they?

Ioana: Yes, and it was one of the most difficult decisions ever. We had a lot of applications, around 20, and almost all applications were really good, motivated and experienced members and for this reason, it was very difficult to decide. Unfortunately, we couldn’t select all applicants.

The trainers team of SUPS 2016 is composed by: Lucia Gavulova –  SUCT, Paolo Furia – AEGEE Catania, Ander Guerrero – CD, Carolina Alfano – SUCT and Mateusz Muszalski – AEGEE-Kraków/Audit Commission; best team of trainers!

The AEGEEan: How are the preparations going so far for this event?

Roberto: We are still working in order to organize the accommodations, meals, social program for the participants, and make everything prepared to host the trainers for some high level sessions.

The AEGEEan: What are your expectations for this event?

Ioana: I expect to have the best organized SUPS ever, as we are in Catania! Trainers to be not only amazing (as they already are), but to share their amazingness! Last but not least, participants to be active, motivated and by the end of SUPS, to go home with a bigger luggage, full of knowledge, experience, motivation and friendship (they should pay more for their return luggage). And to show once again that the cooperation between the Academy, SUCT and AEGEE-Catania is perfect.

Here you can find the Facebook event for SUPS and you can apply here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

During Autumn Agora Kyïv a new Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT) was elected. Four people, coming from four corners of Europe, started working with a team meeting in Bruxelles. We asked our fab four some questions to understand how the longest running project of AEGEE will change (and improve) this year.

The AEGEEan: Please present your team.

Yevgeniya: We are a team of four enthusiasts excited about the Summer University project, ready to implement great ideas and enjoy the work. Briefly, these are our tasks and where we come from:

Project Manager (PM) & FR: Lucia Gavulová, AEGEE-Bratislava, AEGEE-Aachen

Content Manager & Treasurer: Carolina Alfano, AEGEE-Salerno

IT & Publications: Philipp Blum, AEGEE-Aachen

PR: Yevgeniya Gagarkina, AEGEE-Kyïv

The appointed Comité Directeurs members, who were appointed to the team this year, are Maryana Semenyak and Ander Guerrero Ruiz. We already find them very helpful and we are glad to work with them.

Project Manager & FR: Lucia Gavulová, AEGEE-Bratislava/Aachen

Lucia and Carolina were elected, and both ran for Project Manager. How did you divide your work?

Lucia: After reviewing all the task SUCT has to do throughout the year, and adding some new ones, we noticed that we needed a Content Manager in order to strengthen the content of SUs, which is a very important position in most projects. Based on this we then decided very fast and easily.

Carolina: We didn’t “fight” for that position, we just looked at the reality. There were a lot of things to do and develop, and in a simple way we decided to divide the hard work of PM in two parts. And the result was the role of Content Manager.

You had a meeting in Brussels earlier this month. How did it go?

Lucia: Very well! We had a really intense and efficient meeting, we planned and timelined the whole year, divided tasks, talked about and implemented new ideas, and of course we had a nice team building as well, since we travelled to Aachen after Brussels and got to know each other better.

Yevgeniya: Apart from that, I didn’t know anyone from the team in person, but from the first moment I knew that working with them would be really comfortable and interesting. This was proved very fast – I hope you will be seeing the results of our productivity throughout the whole year.

IT & Publications: Philipp Blum, AEGEE-Aachen

You launched a feedback form for advice from SU 2015. Why did you decide to start from there? And do you already have some preliminary results?

Lucia: Already after the elections in Kyïv, people started approaching us, either complaining about some issues from last year, or giving us ideas for improvement, so we decided to listen to the actual voice of the members and adjust SUs to the needs of network. We received plenty of interesting and important input and we included those into our to-do list for next year.

What are the highlights of your program for the upcoming year?

Lucia & Philipp: A new application procedure, a new website, new themes and much more! Thanks to the SUpporters Interest Group, we will be able to provide you with better materials, help, checklists and other things that you can use to make organising an SU easier. Also, we will make the open calls for Summer Universities open to all members, regardless of whether they applied in the first round or not. This way we can ensure that all the people who apply on time get their results on time.

PR: Yevgeniya Gagarkina, AEGEE-Kyïv

One of the new aspects will be the SUpporters (the Summer University Interest Group). How does it work? What are its tasks?

Yevgeniya: This is actually a group of people with very different experience, who are interested in SUpporting the SU project. We created several tasks in different areas: design, help with booklets, PR, FR, IT, visa support, translations, training, the presentation of projects… and our SUpporters can choose their own task. Once the tasks are finished, they won’t be given any new task unless the SUpporter himself wants it, and chooses something else, so we have no “slaves” [she laughs, ed.]  Internally, SUpporters are divided into groups according to their tasks and have someone from the SUCT as their group leader. They can also be in different groups at the same time. We already appreciate their work and hope that this idea will be a huge success.

In the past years, we saw the number of SUs and applicants decreasing. What solutions do you have in mind to prevent this from happening this year again?

Lucia: A lot of support from SUCT and AEGEE bodies for organisers, more appealing content, some cool competitions and mainly new guidelines for organisers with another topic focus, which will make organisation easier.

Content Manager & Treasurer: Carolina Alfano, AEGEE-Salerno

Summer University Project School (SUPS) open call is out. Why do you think SUPS will be important to attend and to host?

Yevgeniya: SUPS is the right place to become the best organiser of a SU, to get to know all the insights and realise the strategy of managing a project, to get motivated and inspired, to get practical skills and to exchange experience. We talked to participants and trainers of previous years, and got inspired by their stories, so we are sure that an awesome summer of 2016 is impossible without SUPS.

Don’t miss a perfect chance to have SUmmer starting much earlier, than in your calendar, by hosting SUPS! In my opinion, SUPS is one of the brightest European events, where you will watch a new SU generation  be born. What is more, you will have the chance to show your city and local culture to excited and motivated people, attracting more and more potential participants to your SU. We will tell lots of interesting things, and surely all the efforts will be worth it.
Carolina: Because all the things that a great organiser has to know about SU are concentrated in six intense days with SUCT members, the best trainers and experienced members. This year we will give it our best to give every local the possibility to organise an amazing Summer university.

Check the new website here.
Pictures courtesy of Aysan Yakut “With the planet – 2015”

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

The Member of the Month of October is Alessandro D’Ettorre from AEGEE-Leuven. He was nominated because of his huge contribution to the locals in organising events and the Summer University, although he was a member only from April to December. His genuine enthusiasm impressed us and we interviewed him to know a little bit more about him.
The AEGEEan: Please, introduce yourself!

Alessandro: I am Alessandro, a 24 years old guy from Milan. I came to Leuven to write my master thesis in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology and that was also the reason I became an AEGEE member in the amazing AEGEE-Leuven antenna. I like travelling, getting to know new people, organising events and new experiences…more or less the portrait of the perfect AEGEEan!
How does it feel to be nominated?

Most of all, I feel happy that people appreciate my effort and I’m glad that they took some time of their busy lives to make this superkind present by nominating me.
Who do you think nominated you?

I can not tell, I have met so many amazing people since I became a member in April, but I guess that our new amazing President, Elinne, has something to do with it.
Among the reasons for your nomination was your enthusiasm in doing activities, despite not being a member of the board of AEGEE-Leuven. How important is to make a contribution to your local as a member?

It is very important. For me making my own contribution is more rewarding, than just taking part in events, because it really makes you feel that your contribution is useful, and that you can really make a difference. When you see how successful the event that you helped organise is, you really understand what the AEGEE spirit is.
You will finish your thesis soon and you will be back to your hometown. Are you planning to be active in the local present there?
One of the greatest regrets of my life is not joining AEGEE earlier! So of course I will become a member of AEGEE-Milano (greetings if any of you is reading this) and I hope to be just as useful as I have been in Leuven, and to meet wonderful people, as those I met here.
How is taking a semester abroad and why should people do that?

It is an incredible experience and everybody should use this opportunity at least once in a lifetime.

You change in a way you could have never imagined before leaving, and once you come back home you will never be the same. In a positive way, because you will be more open to new people, to new situations and to life in general.
Last but not least, let’s do a small game. Explain yourself and your personality using the letters that compose your name. 

That’s difficult, I have a really long name.

Altruistic

Laughing

Easy going

Sarcastic

Single

Amazing

Noisy

Daring

Reliable

Optimistic
Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona