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

Workshop I-A: Be water, my friend!

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

Workshop I-B: I was killed by PowerPoint

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

Workshop I-C: Peace it Up!

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

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

Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București

The process of sharing ideas can be quite nitpicky; Socrates experienced this quite grievously, although he was disturbing people on a market while they were doing their shopping. Everyone may have an idea worth spreading, or, if proficiency or ego permitting, a lesson worth sharing. For everyone at Spring Agora in Bergamo who would like to phrase their thoughts, there is the TEDx @ Agora Bergamo.

The Beginning

The TEDx @Agora Bergamo is set to replace the inspirational and motivating AEGEE Inspire talks. According to Anna Gumbau, host of AEGEE Inspire at the EPM in Burgos in 2015, these talks have been organised since they were first adopted at the EBM in Valetta in 2013. The aim of AEGEE Inspire was for the speakers to present a short story, which they would find inspiring, and which would subsequently inspire the audience. Each edition of AEGEE Inspire had a different host and a different set of speakers.

The Change

According to Paolo Corti, Special Activities responsible of Agora Bergamo, his local was thinking about how to make the Spring Agora in Bergamo a special and unforgettable experience for its participants. They then decided to take AEGEE Inspire, and transform it into something that would bring the members of AEGEE even more inspiration for their generation and, if possible, for the association in general. Because of this, they decided to get directly to the platform, on which AEGEE Inspire was built, TED.

The Run-down

At Spring Agora Bergamo things have been shaken up a bit, since AEGEE-Bergamo has come to an agreement with a local licensee of the TED format to organise their own session of TEDx, called the TEDx Salon. During this edition, three professionals will tell their respective stories to the Agora on the 22^nd of May. The event, according to Corti, will be most likely hosted by a local owner of the TEDx format license. Thise is to guarantee the excellence of the content during the TEDx Salon. Unlike at AEGEE Inspire sessions, where the speakers’ only requirement was to provide a summary of their topic for being allowed to speak, and their complete speech afterwards for approval, the TEDx sessions meet additional requirements. Speakers at the TEDx @ Agora Bergamo must be present at rehearsals of and meetings about their speech, speaker releases need to be signed, and speakers must be reputable experts in the topic of their speech.

The Speakers

If you are at the TEDx Salon this year, you can attend a performance by Chiara Luzzana, a Sound Artist and Music Performer, as well as two speeches, one by Simona Biancalana, a Digital Engagement Expert, and one by Hady Ghassabia, an Aerospace Engineer. Lastly, the organisation will play a video of another TED session.
This year, as a TED talk, the criteria for a story have been sharpened, because, at this edition, it is not only about the ideas worth sharing, but also about the ideas worth sharing on the website of TED. Relevance, according to the organisation at the Spring Agora, is therefore the key word. Not every inspiring story in this edition is no longer one to share: both the speech and the speaker need to be authentic yet well rehearsed, it has to be a simply explained concept of grandeur, one is to play upon on people’s emotions, and not show off his or her ego, sell anything, or, if at all possible, not to sell their ego. Yet, if you pulled this off without a hitch, it could be your story that you may pitch.

You have time to book your place until the 8th of May at 23.59 following this link.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen