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

2016 has just started, but it is time to take a look at 2015 and all the terms you used to find us using a browser through this year. The most common word was Valleta and AEGEE-Valletta, which was digited 746 times, just one more than Aegeean. Youth, the core of our organisation, places itself third with 654 times. A part of these common results, some more singular can appear and they can raise some questions about how AEGEEans find our magazine.

We are ecologist. Among weird search engine terms, we have plastic soup, which was searched 40 times. The plastic soup is the huge expanse of floating marine debris we can find in our seas and oceans. AEGEEans care deeply about the enviroment, and Green Summer Universities proved to be quite popular last year. Nonetheless, we looked into our archives and we spoke about it just once in 2013, but this may be an interesting topic for a future article.

 
Goodbye seems to be the hardest word. Leaving a position or a team is always very hard, especially if you are close to them, but someone was adamant on writing a good mail to them so they look at The AEGEEan for some answers and not once but five times with different terms: goodbye mail to team members (24 times), farewell mail to team members (13), saying goodbye to team members (9), saying goodbye to a team member (8) and goodbye letter to team members (6). In our team, we’ve seen several goodbye moments and we’ve learnt that the best way to leave a team is definitely speaking from heart and your team members will appreciate.

 
0 is the perfect number. 000000000000000 was searched 75 times and this is obscure to us because if you try to digit it on Google, it’s remarkable how you can find us. Maybe some IT person will be so kind to explain us the meaning of 15 zeros and how you can arrive us. Or it is simply a secret code we are still not able to decode. While waiting for some answers, here is The AEGEEan converted in binary code: 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000001 01000101 01000111 01000101 01000101 01100001 01101110.

 
Oui, c’est l’art! Kenny Random is a well known street artist from Padua and he firstly appeared in our magazine in 2012 thanks to an event organised by AEGEE-Treviso. But someone tried to find him 10 times misspelling it with Kenny Randon. James Ensor was a Belgian painter known to paint carnivals, masks, puppetry, skeletons, and fantastic allegories, all well portraited in his most famous painting Christ’s Entry Into Brussels in 1889. We are not quite sure how you can find any of his paintings in The AEGEEan, but 30 people digited James Ensor Les Masques and arrived in the magazine.

 
Moldova, where are thou? AEGEE-Chisinau will be the host of the Autumn Agora 2017 and it will be the first event of that kind in the country. Although the news was very welcomed, not everybody seemed familiar with geography. 15 people asked themselves ‘Where is Moldova?’, and instead of looking it on an atlas, they preferred to look for answers in our magazine. Moldova takes its name from the river Moldova and it borders Romania on the west and Ukraine on the north, east, and south.

 
We are sexy and you know it. In AEGEE, New Year was greeted with some calendars. AEGEE-Moskva and the Cultural calendar by the Culture Working Group, but we never heard of sexy calendars in the network. 16 people arrived in our magazine digiting for sexy calendar, which can be definitely an alternative way to fundraising. Meanwhile, you can see a picture of the Editor-in-Chief in a sexy elf costume.

 
Waiting for new, funny and weird inputs, see you next year.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia, is the new Editor-in-Chief of our webzine (online magazine). Very professional, with a tough working experience in the field, she knows how to get the job done, but she also has a heart (or at least she hopes). And she has big plans for her mandate: among others, to get a permanent newsroom in the AEGEE Head-office in Brussels.

The AEGEEan: Dear Erika, you gave so many interviews in the last few months, that nowadays we know almost everything about you. Now, pretending this is not the case, can you tell us something about yourself (that we still do not know – like your favourite colour for socks, for example)?

Erika: Indeed, I gave a lot of interviews (mostly to you, actually), which is odd, considering the fact that I’m used to asking questions. Something our readers may not know… My favourite colour is green. I give names to objects: my car is Alfio, my laptop is Cleto and my mobile is Baby. I am allergic to a long list of foods, but the most dangerous one is chili pepper that gave me two anaphylactic shocks already. So please, organisers, take notes, otherwise you will have to spend some quality time in the hospital with me. [she laughs]

You are the new Editor-in-Chief of the AEGEEan. You started not so long ago, and thus you are making a lot of changes. What is foreseen to be next? What can we expect? Will you try to take over the CD house to be your newsroom by the end of your mandate?

I think that our aim is to take over from our predecessor and try to add our own special touch. I will change something in the website and a soon-to-be launched subsection is on its way. There were some changes in how we organise our work and two new positions (Vice-Editor-in-Chief and Chief-of-Proofreaders), but they were all ideas we had during the project team meeting we held in Brussels back in October, I just put them in action. I will work a lot on the knowledge transfer within the team, because based on my experience, it is what our association needs the most and I aim for a recognition of the work of my journalists. Especially this last point is the more complex, but I hope to end my term at least with some guidelines for my successor.

I never thought about having a permanent newsroom, but indeed it is a marvelous idea. Right now, working online is quite complicated, can you imagine what The AEGEEan can do with a permanent place to work? I will set a Skype meeting with Comité Directeur to organise the moving. They will be delighted, I’m sure.

 What do you think The AEGEEan should be? A webzine meant to inform our members about our organisation, a tool to communicate with externals, or both?

The AEGEEan should firstly be a tool to inform our members on what’s happening outside their locals. We are a wide network and it’s nice to know what other locals are organising, it can be inspirational. The webzine also covers the European Level part and it can be useful to reduce the gap between local and European Level. Unfortunately, we are a niche, except for the Beyond AEGEE section, and it’s hard to be in touch with externals doing so.

Who is in your team now? And for those who will join: what or whom should they be afraid of?

My team… I am very proud of their work and so far I still didn’t express how happy I am with their approach towards the work we are doing. Where should I start? Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen, European Events and Network Editor) is my brilliant Vice-Editor. We worked so many times together than now she’s basically my little sister. Alfredo Sellitti (AEGEE-Salerno, Beyond AEGEE Editor) with all of his experience is my Jiminy Cricket and he is always reminding me I can be better. Antonija Parat (AEGEE-Zadar, Comité Directeur section Editor) is the ideal link with CD and always very supporting. Katja Sontag (AEGEE-Aachen, People Editor) is extremely professional and a super fast learner. Larisa Smajlagic (AEGEE-Verona, Projects and Working Groups Editor) has a natural gift in doing interviews and her approach towards AEGEE is always an inspiration to me. Sabina Guja (AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca, Chief of Proofreaders) is one of the most consistent and hard working persons I met in this association. Balint Erdosi (AEGEE-Budapest, IT responsible) has the difficult job to deal with my senile knowledge of IT stuffs.

And then my journalists. Anna Gumbau (AEGEE-Barcelona) and Patricia Anthony (AEGEE-Zaragoza), my predecessors and enthusiastic journalists who taught me more than it would seem. Lia Tuska (AEGEE-Sofia) is a super caring and gentle soul with a talent in motivating people. Raluca Radu (AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca) was one of the Key to Europe journalists and we saw her potential immediately. She didn’t let us down and she’s constantly blooming. And Willem Laurentzen (AEGEE-Nijmegen and Anniversary section responsible), one of the few guys we have on the team. I really do love his smart and baroque way to write and he is the right man for the Anniversary section. A special mention to my proofreaders Iliana Koumpli (AEGEE-Thessaloniki), Katharina Krull (AEGEE-Passau) and Maurits Mink (AEGEE-Maastricht). They do a very hidden job, never in the spotlight, but their work is absolutely vital to help us to maintain our high standard. Plus, we have some freelancers who give their contribution, namely Anna Pikhtina (AEGEE-Kyiv), Marije Arentze (AEGEE-Leiden) and Maria Arends (AEGEE-Tarragona).

We are a nice group and after the Open Call we received a lot of valid applicants, who are currently working on their test articles. Who will join should be afraid of my insane worship for deadlines. This causes me to send zillions of reminders that scare people [she laughs], but at the end of the day organising the work of the magazine is my job, so I hope people will understand that I have a heart, too.

AEGEEans have the advantage to have two main information sources: The AEGEEan and the Golden Times. Is there or will there be rivalry between these two webzines or they’re rather focusing each of them on some specific topics?

The rivalry between The AEGEEan and the Golden Times is the urban legend of the association nowadays. Indeed we are the two main information sources, but I firmly believe that it is good. We focus on different topics (even if we sometimes overlap), we have different styles and we have a different approach on the news. In the journalistic world it is very rare to only have one source of information and the fact that our association can rely on two, as I said before, is good because we complement each other. And, why not, some competition is a spur to do better and to learn from what the other is doing better. Moreover, I’m sure we can cooperate to reach a common goal (like we already did during Autumn Agora-Cagliari).

Anything else you would like to add to your interview to make sure that our readers will keep reading The AEGEEan even after this interview?

I’m amused that you are implicitly saying that I will ruin The AEGEEan’s reputation with this interview, but I can assure you that despite the fact that they have me as Editor-in-Chief, all the journalists are very nice and proactive, so don’t be afraid to answer their questions. They don’t bite.

I’d like to add that readers can follow us on Facebook and we still have some vacant positions, you can see them at this link.

Good night and good luck.

Written by Alfredo Sellitti, AEGEE-Salerno

In the past year, The AEGEEan was in the hands of Anna Gumbau Martinez (AEGEE-Barcelona), who was a very caring Editor-in-Chief. Although Erika Bettin (AEGEE-Venezia) was elected to take over, this doesn’t mean Anna will become inactive! While she will stay active for The AEGEEan, she is also a member of the board of AEGEE-Barcelona, the Anniversary Team and the newly founded Election Observation Project. For all these reasons, The AEGEEan thought it was time to get to know more about this active Spanish member who always has a smile ready for everyone.

First of all, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Who are you, and when and why did you join AEGEE?

Hey! My name is Anna, I am 22 years old and I come from Barcelona, where I studied journalism. I think that the most remarkable things about me are that I love beer, cheese and chocolate, I am a bookworm and I collect postcards from all over the world. I joined AEGEE in December 2011, but I didn’t become active until summer 2012, when I attended a Travel Summer University around Belgium and the Netherlands. It was my first experience in AEGEE, I hadn’t even attended any local meetings, so I had no idea what to expect. Then I found myself talking and having fun with a bunch of other students coming from all over Europe. I have always been very shy and, in that moment, I felt so at home that I was sure I had found my place!

In the past year, you were the Editor-in-Chief of The AEGEEan. How do you look back at this year?

It was a very demanding year, especially considering that I was still in my last year of my Bachelor’s degree. It’s not only about the magazine in itself and its content, but it embraces all phases of project management. Of course, there were ups and downs and moments I was even considering giving up, but in the end, if I could go back in time, I would have taken up the challenge again – The AEGEEan is the perfect platform to know and discover by your own means what happens in AEGEE and have a broad picture of the association. We speak with so many interesting people, we report about so many outstanding locals, and publish about so many inspiring projects and initiatives. My highlights are each one of our team achievements, our live meeting in Brussels, and all the times we have given voice to projects and members who have had a positive impact in AEGEE and in Europe.

You are also in the board of AEGEE-Barcelona. What are your plans with AEGEE-Barcelona?

Unfortunately I will be out of the city for a couple of months and my role will be mainly an advisory one meanwhile. But AEGEE-Barcelona has quite some interesting plans! In January we organize a Regional Training Course with AEGEE-Tarragona and AEGEE-Castelló, we are developing the concept of our pre-event for European Planning Meeting Burgos next February and we might be also organizing something for Spring AgorAsturias. I would personally love to organize something for the 30^th Anniversary of AEGEE, perhaps a meeting with current and old members, so we can re-gain contact with our alumni. We are also planning some exchanges, and of course, a Summer University, probably within Catalunya this time.

AEGEE-Barcelona recently became Local of the Month. What makes your local unique in the Network?

Hmm, I don’t know who runs the world, but I know who runs AEGEE-Barcelona – girls! Out of our active members, about 80% is female, while three-four years ago it was completely the opposite. I think our biggest strength is that there is a strong cooperation between newbies and older members, and that we are a big group of friends.

What are your plans for the upcoming months (both AEGEE and personal life)?

My life for the next few months will most likely be devoted to one single topic, since I’m part of the Anniversary Team: the 30^th Anniversary’s final conference. For this, I will be moving to Brussels, in order to assist the Comité Directeur with the preparations. This will also affect my personal life too, since it will mean to adapt myself to another city, even if it will be just for a couple of months. Therefore, at least until May I will be fully focused on this. As I said, I want it to be (nearly) perfect! After that, we will see – I will probably start applying for Masters and internships like crazy. Of course, I will also still write for The AEGEEan and work with my Election Observation Project mates.

What are your dreams when it comes to AEGEE?

That’s a tough question. I think one of the greatest things of AEGEE is that you don’t know which opportunities will be knocking at your door, so I am still up for new challenges as long as AEGEE doesn’t end up becoming my comfort zone. However, if I had more time, I would love to give more trainings. My father is a professional trainer and I always wanted to follow in his steps – I guess AEGEE would be a wonderful platform to start. Anyway, I always say that I won’t retire from AEGEE until: 1) I take part in the Transsiberian TSU, and 2) I see an Agora being organized in Barcelona again (the first and only one so far was in 1999). And none of both things seem feasible to happen within the upcoming months, not even years!

What is the most valuable memory you have of AEGEE?

Oh, I have been asked this question a couple of times already, and every time I talk about a different one. This association has given me too many good moments! The first event will always be something to remember, all Agorae I have been to have been special somehow, the inspirational project team meetings, the times you have been an organizer/trainer and you have seen the smiles on the participants’ faces, the long and crazy bus rides to almost anywhere in Europe. Even the European Nights, despite that from time to time I tend to forget what happened. But, the best memories are always made by the people who have somehow left their footprint.

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen

This month the member selected for the MoM (Member of the Month) award was Erika Bettin, member of AEGEE-Venezia, for her outstanding activities over the last month. From the Election Observation Mission in Ukraine to the interim mandate as Editor-in-Chief of The AEGEEan, check out some curiosities regarding this vulcanic member!

Alfredo: Erika, you have been awarded MoM! How does it feel?

Erika: It was strange, honestly. It was strange to write my own name in the nominees list (as EiC ad Interim, Erika was collecting all the nominations ed.) and it was even more strange to remind people that they were supposed to vote. I am proud, embarassed and happy. Being the editor of the People section and journalist myself, I edited and interviewed many past award recipients and they always had done something remarkable. I’m just doing the job I applied for and it feels very good to see people believing in what I’ve done so far.

Why have you been nominated?

The nomination sums up the activities I have done in the past 40 days or so: I have been in the team taking part in the Election Observation Mission in Ukraine, I am the Editor-in-Chief of the Key to Europe, my term as Editor-in-Chief ad interim in The AEGEEan and the OSCE/ODIHR Youth Forum in Warsaw. But I wasn’t alone in the ride, I always had a team backing me. Regarding Key to Europe, Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen) is a marvellous Co-Editor-in-Chief. Without her, the process of creating such a publication wouldn’t have been so smooth. We are building a solid and sarcastic relationship, telling each other the truth as it is.

The OSCE/ODIHR 2014 Youth Forum in Warsaw was definitely Ermanno Napolitano (AEGEE-Milano)’s fault [she laughs]. Despite my initial doubts, he was right in saying I would not regret. Spending three intense days with people involved in different stages of the youth political scene was very enriching. Clearly the mission in Ukraine was not only a personal achievement, but a lot of people were involved and worked hard to make it happened. Thomas Leszke (AEGEE-Köln), coordinated the mission, Alla Resheten (AEGEE-Kyïv) helped with the Ukranian bureaucracy, Ermanno organised the meeting with the OSCE observers and AEGEE-Kyïv showed  me one more time (as if it was necessary) how a local can be proactive and full of resources.

Last but, for sure, not least I want to mention The AEGEEan team that worked very hard in this month. Thanks to the journalists and proofreaders, we delivered a lot of articles and we were able to involve externals to write for us too.

What did it make so special?

“You are doing a great job, you deserved it”. This sentence made it special. For the past months a lot of people said that, but I’m very skeptical in receiving compliments. It’s special because it marks seven incredible months of my life in AEGEE and it spurs me to work harder in the months to follow. It is even more special because this month, both Local of the Month and Member of the Month are coming from the same area: the Rainbow area (Italian speaking locals, AEGEE-Valletta and the Contact of AEGEE-Europe in Lugano). I am always getting a little bit emotional when it comes to my region, because indeed we are as crazy as horses, but we are living this sort of renaissance, thanks also to the brilliant job of Mattia Abis (AEGEE-Cagliari, Network Commissioner).

 Now that you are Member of the month, what’s your special message to the world?

I always dreamt to give an Oscar acceptance speech. Let’s face the truth, if Leonardo DiCaprio has not been awarded yet, I highly doubt I can win one. So, I would like to use this interview to thank Lisa Gregis (AEGEE-Bergamo) and she knows why, Luis Alvarado Martínez (President of AEGEE-Europe) for adding all my missing S, Alfredo Sellitti (AEGEE-Salerno/Bologna) for the lovely questions, my mother for constantly reminding me I need to get a life, my non AEGEEan friends who still believe I’m in a sort of nerdish secret sect, hashtags that makes my life more interesting, Cleto (my laptop) for being always on my side and all the people I bothered with mails and reminders for not having sued me for harassment (yet).

Ok, now some more questions for those who still don’t know you:

* What was the name of your favourite puppet when you were a child? (assuming you have been a child too)

Indeed I was I child and I still have my teddy bear, Lulù. Now he is 21 years old, as it was a gift from aunt Chiara when my sister was born. The poor guy is squinter, his left arm (where I was holding him while carrying all around) has been sewed up probably seven times and he is missing half of the fur on his nose because, apparently, I was convinced fur would grow again. I was wrong.

* How many times have you said “I hate you”?

On Mondays “I hate you” is the phrase I use the most due to the misanthropy that affects me at the beginning of the week. But in general, hate is a negative and strong emotion and, despite my tendency to complain a lot, I do not feel it very often. The true, felt, angry “I hate you” came out of my mouth only three times.

* Where was the furthest place from home you ever visited? And the one where you felt home?

The northernmost point I ever reached is Ängelholm (Sweden), the southernmost is Malta, the westernmost is Cabo da Roca (Portugal) and the easternmost is Kyïv (Ukraine). The one I felt home was Coimbra in Portugal where I spent my Erasmus. Call me romantic but, I have to find a spot I can call home in every country or city I go. It is not always easy, especially if you don’t have time to visit the place, but I tend to establish a routine to help with my homesickness.

* Where did you eat your best pizza?

Pizza is pizza. I can tell only where I don’t eat it: outside my country. If it happens, it’s always the last resort: or starvation or pizza. I made this decision ten years ago during a one-month exchange in Brussels when I saw pineapples on the pizza. Three heart attacks later, I order a salad and I vowed: never again.

* What’s your favourite recipe?

One part of Prosecco, one part of Aperol, one part of sparkling water served on the rock with a slice of orange and an olive. This is the recipe of spritz, a cocktail that is served as an aperitif in my region. It’s a must try.

Written by Alfredo Sellitti, AEGEE-Salerno

Few weeks ago, The AEGEEan family saw Marije Arentze (AEGEE-Leiden) resigning for her role of Editor of the Network section. After an internal open call, Svenja van der Tol was elected as the new Editor. To keep up with the tradition, she is from the Netherlands too, being a member of AEGEE-Nijmegen.

The AEGEEan: Svenja, describe yourself!

Svenja: I’d love to! As you probably already guessed, my name is Svenja, and I am a 21-year old member of AEGEE-Nijmegen. Currently I am studying Dutch Language, but I prefer to spend my time on AEGEE-related business, writing, being crazy and other fun things. I started at AEGEE-Nijmegen as the Secretary of the board, and it was during this year that I fell in love with the organisation. Therefore, after my boardyear, I stayed active within AEGEE-Nijmegen (being a member of the advisory board and president of two committees) and started to get more involved with the European level by applying as a journalist for the AEGEEan. And I don’t regret a single moment.

The AEGEEan: Why did you apply for the Network section?

I wanted to contribute even more to the AEGEEan than I already did as a Journalist and Proofreader and I got the trust to do it from my lovely teammembers. So, I decided to just go for it and apply – and the rest is history as they say.

The AEGEEan: What is the Network to you?
The Network is like Neverland, where everybody stays young and has the time of their life. On a more serious note: it’s a collection of the most awesome students groups Europe has to offer, and I want to discover all of the cities and countries that are part of it!

The AEGEEan: What do you think can be improved in your section and in The AEGEEan in general?

I would like to have more regular articles within my section, but this will also depend on what the locals are organising (hint, hint: just contact me if you have an awesome activity coming up!) of course. For The AEGEEan, it would basically be the same. Right now, we have great articles with a lot of variety, but I’d love to read even more articles – and I’m sure this counts for all AEGEEans.

The AEGEEan: Are you planning to introduce any changes to your section?

The AEGEEan recently announced the selection of two new members to the Editors team; Erika Bettin and Cosmina Bisboaca. But why did they decide to dedicate even more time to AEGEE’s official online magazine? The AEGEEan interviewed them about this exact question.

Erika at Agora Zaragoza

Erika Bettin, President of AEGEE-Venezia, has become very active in AEGEE even though being close to quitting AEGEE only a few months ago. Today she is a member of different projects such as the Culture Working Group and the Election Observation Project and her most recent position is Editor of the People section in The AEGEEan.

Cosmina Bisboaca is from AEGEE-Torino, which she joined one year ago, and has been trying many ways to get more and more active. The first thing she did in AEGEE was becoming a journalist for The AEGEEan and today she is the new editor of the European Events section.

What made you apply to become an editor?

Erika: I entered The AEGEEan team officially in late November and I tried to be as active as possible. When I saw the open call for the editor position, I was doubtful, because I was very new in the team, but I took the chance and it paid off. You know, “When I grow up” I want to do this for a living and I’m trying to grab every single opportunity to grow and make new experiences.

Cosmina: I was a journalist for one year now, so when I came to know about the vacancy I immediately decided to apply. I felt like it had to be the next step of my AEGEE experience.

Erika, what made you apply for the People’s section?

I applied for the People’s section because it is my favorite. I’m really into storytelling and I truly believe that our Network is full of inspiring stories to tell. So I’d like to implement the storytelling part, besides the Member of the Month interview. One of my dreams is to reach some of the founding members of AEGEE and some pillars of our association as well. I also have some crazy ideas about some radio podcast or video interview to include in the articles.

What do you like about being part of The AEGEEan?

Erika: If The AEGEEan would ever have an actual newsroom, it would be cozy and colorful, that’s what I like. We are a small group that works hard to deliver good articles. Unfortunately we have never met in person, but I like the fact that no matter at what time I send a message to Anna Gumbau Martinez (the Editor in Chief ed.), she’s always more than fast in answering, and so is the team.

Cosmina: Being part of such a team is great and especially rewarding. It has helped a lot to improve my knowledge about our association and to get to know more about what is happening on the European level and  what the projects, aims and values of our association are.

The strategies and ideas we discuss almost every day help us to develop not only as a team, but also to develop ourselves separately. It’s interesting to see how we sometimes disagree on things as a result of our cultural background and different ideas and how this helps us to be a stronger team than before, facing each other and discussing.

How would you like to see the team develop in general?

Cosmina: I think that more cooperation in a communicative sense and more coordination would be nice. But we are working on that as we have strengthened ourselves a lot recently.

Erika: Journalism never sleeps so I really believe that velocity in publishing is the key. Moreover I think that our Network deserves to have an official journalistic point of reference and I find, unluckily and inexplicably, that our magazine is somehow underrated. In certain periods, you always see the usual names who sign the articles so I’d love to see the team grow further.

Erika, in the People’s section there will soon be focus on the candidatures for the Agora. How will you help ensure that all candidates get the same amount of exposure?

As soon as we have all the candidate names we will surely start to approach them, to give us an interview and present them to the Network. Again, the key is the rapidity, so hopefully we will have them ready some weeks before the Agora. I will encourage journalists to have, whenever it is possible, face to face interviews with the candidates, because it’s faster than you can imagine.

Cosmina, in the European Events section there will soon be focus on preparing for the Agora Patra. How will you help ensure that participants will be well prepared for the big event?

As Erika said we will interview candidates for the Comité Directeur, Juridical Commission, Network Commission and the Secretary of the Agora. There will be information about the workshops and the AEGEE Fair. Moreover, there will be an Agora Live Coverage in cooperation with the PRESS team in order to keep those who cannot attend the Agora updated. After the Agora, we will still share information about what has been decided and what has changed.

Also in general it has been difficult to get journalists to write about European Events taking place and thereby we don’t hear about all of them. How do you think that can be changed?

Cosmina: True. This is a common block that prevents people from knowing how many awesome events are being organized around Europe. I think that just asking the participants to write an article could work, I am sure some will dare to share his/her feelings on a screen. All in all, it’s a nice way to thank the organizers for the great job they have done.

What other type of articles would you like to see published in your section?

Cosmina: Every type of European Event of course: from Network Meetings to pre-events. I would like people to focus more on what the event taught them and how the experience changed their way of perceiving AEGEE and its extended range of opportunities.

It will be interesting to see what Erika, Cosmina and the rest of the editors team will come up in the near future hopefully developing the magazine even more.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza

Last month there were elections in all the Working Groups of AEGEE. Anna Gumbau Martínez got elected into the board of the International Politics Working Group and at the same time the super motivated AEGEE-Barcelona member became the editor-in-chief of The AEGEEan Magazine. The former editor-in-chief Patricia Anthony introduces you to the new leading lady of AEGEE’s online magazine. 

You have lots of AEGEE experience, but can you tell us a bit about your favourite experience so far?

I have only been active in AEGEE for a year, but there are already so many experiences that I have learnt from. At the local level it was organising a Summer University with AEGEE-Las Palmas, which was completely challenging and time-consuming, but I have learnt a lot and had a great time. The Agora Budapest was the event that got me interested in the European level of AEGEE, so it will always remain very special for me. And being editor for the Thematics section of The AEGEEan was the starting point of some very good times for me… I just can’t decide on one, and I know there are still so many good experiences to come!

What made you interested in becoming editor-in-chief of The AEGEEan?

I felt extremely motivated to take one step forward, I thought I got the experience in journalism needed for that and I got the feeling I was prepared to take up the position. Besides, I felt very encouraged by other team members of the magazine who gave me lots of support. All in all, I am in love with this project: I just love journalism and I love AEGEEing… so The AEGEEan is the point where my two biggest passions meet! I always answer the same thing, but this is exactly how I feel about it. I want to keep improving it and I feel extremely honoured to be leading the magazine.

The AEGEEan team members in Zagreb

What is special about being part of The AEGEEan?

It is the ideal starting point to understand and have a bigger picture of our organisation. In just a couple of months you can learn so much about it! You manage to meet lots of interesting people and their inspiring stories: I always say that each one of us has a story to be told. Moreover, your English writing skills improve at a high speed, and you learn a lot from each one of the editors, journalists and proofreaders. Each one of us has a very different profile and it becomes a very enriching experience.

What would you like to achieve as editor-in-chief?

First, I want to keep up informing on the stories that happen to our members, locals and European level bodies, thus being committed to have a well-informed Network. I would also like to work on our human resources by giving them opportunities for training and self-development, and to assure that there is a well-prepared new generation of AEGEEan journalists rocking the magazine in the next years. Besides this, I would like to work on new, innovative ways to communicate and to present stories, and especially focus on a good strategy to cover Statutory events.

Recently you were fair manager for the Agora in Zaragoza, how was that experience?

The overall experience was very enriching. I felt very lucky to work with my “fairies” (Dasha Onokhova, Olga Rivero, Kathrin Renner and Madalena Sousa), the previous work before the Agora went almost perfect and I wasn’t as stressed as I expected myself to be. It is true that, once the day arrived, there were a few inconveniences that we did not expect at all. But, despite the circumstances, we were fast addressing these issues and adapted our idea without losing our nerves, so I think we did a good job. Besides, I got very positive feedback about the content that the different bodies provided at the Fair, which made me really happy.

How did it help that it was former fair manager Olga Rivero (AEGEE-Oviedo) who was helping you and Dasha with organising the fair?

Having Olga in our Fair team was definitely a plus. She was helpful from the start: I got lots of advice from her even before applying and afterwards she was our contact person with the local organisers and made our work much smoother. I will never be grateful enough for all the efforts she put on the Fair, it was so easy to work with her that I would love to team up again!

How did it help being two fair managers instead of one?

It helped a lot indeed, especially regarding the task division. Dasha is a really creative soul and did a great job with the visual conception of the Fair, so she was indeed a perfect workmate for me. And it is always better when you have someone else to share your nervousness and stress with!

Why would you encourage others to become fair managers?

I would encourage them because, even if you might look extremely stressed and about to pull someone’s hair on the day of the Fair, it is a very fun and rewarding task. It is a unique experience to get deep into the plans of different European level bodies and engage the participants of the Agora with their activities. I was recently talking to one of the organisers of Spring Agora Patra and told him I had so much fun that I might even take up the challenge and apply as the AEGEE Fair Manager again! Just kidding… or maybe not.

What do you think about the organisation of the Agora in general?

It’s extremely hard to organise an event for more than 800 people, AEGEE-Zaragoza has succeeded and I admire them a lot for that. It was great to have the plenaries and the accommodation at the same location, and they made a great effort when it comes to fundraising… so my overall impression is really good!

You have recently joined the International Politics Working Group (IPWG) board, what made you interested in that?

I was a member of the IPWG for a year because I have always had a strong interest in international politics; I am currently doing my specialisation seminar in International Journalism, and I am planning to obtain a Master’s degree on something related to the field of international affairs once I finish my bachelor’s. I have always followed the world news quite closely, and as PR responsible, I can also take up some tasks related to my current field of studies.

What are your plans with the IPWG?

Our main task will be to keep it alive and rocking! We want to activate our members and I am happy to see that there are ambitious plans. For instance, the IPWG will have a strong role in the upcoming Election Observation Project, which you will hear from very soon in the magazine. There are other projects and actions still to be defined, but I would also like to introduce the topic of nationalisms and separatism in Europe in the agenda of our Working Group.

You are going to Belgium next year on Erasmus, what made you choose that place?

During my first AEGEE event I visited Leuven, the city I chose, and I completely loved it! I still keep in touch with some members from AEGEE-Leuven, and there are some other AEGEE friends around whom I would love to pay a visit during my stay. Besides, my cousin also did her Erasmus there and she was absolutely delighted… and I just love beer, so that is definitely a plus. The only “minus” I see that I absolutely hate the rain, but maybe this is the perfect time for me to overcome it.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

John Eikosidekas is one of the Agora Patra organisers. He is originally from the big land of USA but resides in Greece while his dream is to reside in Denmark in the future. In this article you can get to know more about John’s history and his interest in the European Level of AEGEE.

The AEGEEan: Can you tell us a bit about your background? Studies, interests etc.

John: Well then, I was born close to Chicago, in Illinois of the USA. I moved to Greece in 1999 when I was 10 years old. I moved to Patra in March 2008 to study Accounting. Although accounting turns out to be something that I don’t like as much as I thought, I always found ways to keep myself entertained, and having a hobby is one of them. One of my biggest interests, which I guess doesn’t surprise many AEGEEans, is travelling! I took my shot and went on the Erasmus program, a program I had heard about in High School and I always dreamt of doing this at some point in my future when I would be studying!

For how long have you been in AEGEE?

John: Unofficially, I have been in AEGEE since April of 2011 as a helper for different things (meetings, SU etc). But officially I joined AEGEE that year in September to apply for the Autumn Agora Skopje that would be going on. Since then I have been quite active on the local level. But after giving my services to the board for one year, I needed more! So I spread my wings and took my chances on the European Level.

How did you join AEGEE?

Once my Erasmus was over in February ’11, I became as miserable and depressed as any average Erasmus student when he/she returns to his/her hometown, the so-called “Post-Erasmus Depression”. But then, while I was speaking to a polish friend of mine via Skype, she mentioned this thing called AEGEE, and travelling, and having fun… I didn’t understand much of it, but it sounded good enough for me! So I came in contact with AEGEE-Patra, and my adventurous AEGEE journey began!

You have done an exchange in Denmark, what is it that you like about the North of Europe?

Is there something NOT to like??? Seriously, while living in Herning for my Erasmus I had a great experience. Bikes everywhere! And during any season! Usually in the south of Europe, especially in my region, if there is no sun, it seems to them “ridiculous” to use your bike to go somewhere. Meanwhile in Herning, people biked to go to school, biked to go to work, biked in the rain, biked while it snowed, biked with a briefcase, biked for sport…  PS. Biking when drunk is awesome! The chilly wind in combination with a possible rain or snowfall can really help your senses kick back in again!

What have you done on the European Level of AEGEE?

Well, I was the HR for the Environnmental Working Group (EnWG) for the past term (Budapest-Zaragoza). I am also a member of the Sports WG (SWG) and the Human Rights WG (HRWG). I helped out with proofeading for the SU 25th Anniversary booklet, and am also a writer and proofreader for the new Key2Europe coming out. Finally, I lately joinedThe AEGEEan team of freelance proofreaders. I have much in mind about the future, but it seems that for this year those plans will be taking a ride in the back seat, since I’m trying to finish my courses and find an internship abroad starting in September.

What is the EnWG about?

The EnWG is all about spreading awareness on environmental subjects. This may be the sole aim, but there are many means used to reach this goal. Firstly, we like having social meetings with a specific subject every month. Social meetings are a place where all members meet (via Skype), and discuss environmental issues. Either they have questions, facts or would like to share something about the subject, our social meetings are the place to be.

Secondly we all help out with spreading awareness within and outside of AEGEE. This may be in many different forms, whether it’s an article for our online magazine, or putting up posters at the Agora, even supporting the booth at the AEGEE fair… There are so many things people can do as individuals, and ideas are always welcomed if something innovating hits you!

Finally, as a local there are quite a few things you can do! Organizing a Green SU with your local, or having an environmental Action Day, even creating an EnWG within your local would be great!

Why would you encourage others to join the EnWG?

NWM Thessaloniki

For “Seizing the Day” of course! You can learn so much by joining the EnWG, and everyone learns and adapts other things from it. But what I gained were three things:

a) learning how to work in a different format than what I was used to. My local has a totally different way of working in comparison to the European Level, and that way I managed to bring ideas back to adapt to my local.

b) Meeting new people. Yes, sounds a bit cheesy, but meeting new people can do no one any harm! Like with anything that is done on the European level, you meet people from around Europe, and it brings us all one step closer to unite the people of this continent we all live in.

c) and last but not least, the environment! Daily, you learn new facts and figures about the environment, learn how to keep everything sustainable, and help spread the awareness to other members as well!

Interested in joining the EnWG? Don’t hesitate to send an e-mail showing your interest, or even asking any possible questions that may come to your mind! Contact us at: enwg.aegee@gmail.com

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Koebenhavn.

Originally posted in the Nordic Stars blog