In the heart of Romania, in Cluj-Napoca, an educational event called TNT or Training new Trainers was organised from the 7th to the 14th of December 2016, in collaboration with AEGEE-Academy. For this article, we talked to organisers Antonis Triantafyllakis (AEGEE-Cluj Napoca) and Marina Muşetescu (president of AEGEE-Cluj Napoca), trainers Antonis Triantafyllakis (The AEGEE-Academy) and Danny Memarpour (IFMSA-International Federation of Medical Students Associations) and participants Alejandra Piot (AEGEE-A Coruña), Anna Ziętkiewicz  (AEGEE-Wrocław) Petra Buruzs (AEGEE-Budapest), Markella Moraki and Melissa Carreres (AEGEE-Alicante). Cluj-Napoca really fascinated all of them.

The Training New Trainers (TNT) was an amazing event for young Europeans, through which they learned all the necessary qualities for holding a training in front of an audience. It fulfills the needs of our network: having good and highly motivated trainers who will help our members develop themselves and their skills.

The main aim of the event was to develop the necessary skills of the participants in order for them to be successful trainers in the future, proficient in using non-formal education methodologies to make their sessions memorable, fun and interactive. Since active participation is at the very core of non-formal education, organisers tried to involve the participants through learning-by-doing, one of the pillars of The Academy.

The organisers wanted to bring non-formal education in a students city like Cluj-Napoca, and it was also a good start for the newbies to see how it is to organise an AEGEE event.

In the streets of Cluj-Napoca

The sessions were meant to develop the skills of the participants, or better put, future trainers and some topics were: Non-Formal Education, Training Design and Delivery, Learning Styles, Group Dynamics, Public Speaking, Self Sense, Facilitation, Giving and Receiving Feedback and Evaluation.

Thanks to the help offered by the University of Babes-Bolyai, some meals were served in the canteen, while others (mostly traditional Romanian meals) were home-cooked by the organisers, new and old members of AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca. On its side, AEGEE-Academy was responsible for the sessions, the educational part of the event.

At the University cafeteria

There were also some leisure activities like the city tour, a visit to “Samsara Teahouse” and a Medieval show with local dances and sword fights, although participants did not have a lot of free time.  “It was really nice to have two trainers from outside our AEGEE world; the trainers were there for us, whenever we needed them. The programme was full, the timetable was more or less  strict, but we were there to learn, so mostly we did not mind staying there till 2am and work” says Petra, from AEGEE-Budapest. Some words that can describe the session time, according to the participants, could be: inspiration, creativity, methodologies, brainstorming, sharing and “bullshiting”.

Medieval show

The highlights, also according to attendees, were various: the TNTx session,  to see themselves as trainers and reach their own limits, to handle their expectations and fears and share, give feedback, go with the flow.

Participants learnt a lot of new methods, techniques and theories as a trainer, new ways of approaching future students, to raise their creativity skills but also developed themselves as people. They fell in love with the concept of training, and they discovered that everyone of them has so many things to teach, in every type of learning and every aspect of life. They found a place where they can open their hearts and share their fears, thoughts, happiness.

The trainers were two AEGEE members from AEGEE-Academy, Antonis Triantafyllakis and Ioana Duca, and two from other NGOs, Danny Memarpour from IFMSA (The International Federation of Medical Students Associations) and Zeynep Bostan from EFPSA (European Federation of Psychology Students’ Associations).

Outside the University

The goal of the trainers was to equip the participants with enough knowledge, skills and attitudes for their future as trainers in non-formal education, but also to keep practicing, to learn from new co-Trainers and participants. According to Daniel and Antonis, the greatest thing about being a trainer is observing the self-development of others in real-time and feeling you are somehow contributing to that.

After TNT, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca adquired more active members. These kinds of events are perfect for newbies to understand what AEGEE is all about and how much you can learn -no matter if it is a soft skill or a hard one. Also they had the opportunity to experience a European event in their home town. As a specific outcome for the Romanian local, most of the organisers are now part of the core team for AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca’s Summer University 2017.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

With our organisation more and more focused on training, an event made in March captured our attention: the TnT (Training of new trainers) organised from the 16th to the 23rd by AEGEE-Maribor. After having received a lot of good nomination, we decided to elect the Slovenian Antenna as our Local of the Month. We spoke with Nina Piberčnik and Petra Žula to know something more about this local and its future plans. 

The AEGEEan: Please, introduce your local.

Nina: AEGEE-Maribor is one of the two Slovenian antennae. Even though Slovenia is not very well known in Europe, AEGEE people know our country for it’s beautiful nature and Maribor, our beautiful small city, because of our events (especially for the New Year’s Eve one). On the local level, active members always take time for each other – we prepare monthly dinners, social evening, etc.  Right now, we are also putting effort in getting new active members.

How does it feel to be elected as Local of the Month?

Petra: It is a very strange feeling. We did not expect it! But I can say, that we are very proud. It is the result of our hard work.

You were awarded because of your TnT event. Please describe it. 

Petra and Nina: Three trainers from The Academy came to pass the knowledge to 21 participants from all over Europe.  The event was very, very  intensive –  we had workshops all days, and in the evenings there was a social program. The whole event lasted for eight days. The TnT took place a bit outside of Maribor, in a big house, surrounded by beautiful nature.  We were basically in the middle of nowhere (with some jumps to civilization) and we could really make a training bubble.

Why did you decided to organise such an event?

Petra:  I found out about the AEGEE-Academy during my Summer University in Santander and since then I was thinking about attending a TnT. The last board of AEGEE-Maribor had new ideas and we wanted to take our antenna to a new level. We thought about making events with content, then I got idea about TnT, I contacted AEGEE-Academy even before the application for hosting antenna came out. It was a perfect opportunity to do something new and we went for it.

How was the cooperation with The Academy?

Petra: We had some small problems, because we did not know what to expect, but in general cooperation was very good.

What is the strongest asset of AEGEE-Maribor?

Nina: Experience, but, at the same time, motivation for new things. With so many events organised, some members are already professionals in all the aspects of organisation.New members can add fresh ideas and different opinions. On the other hand we have this motivation and no fear of trying something new. Even if in the beginning we were not totally sure about how exactly we will do it, in the end we managed everything by putting effort, energy and our hearts in it.

Name one positive and one negative aspect of being part of the AEGEE Network. 

Nina: One positive: getting a bigger picture out of experiences. One negative: missing AEGEE friends from abroad.

What are the future plans of AEGEE-Maribor?

Nina: Of course we are – like every year – continuing with Summer University – this year we are organising again a Travel Summer University. We will travel from Maribor to Ptuj, and then to the sea of Croatia. This year’s main theme will be dance!

As we are known as masters of New Year University, of course we will not skip it either. Next winter, old organisers are returning… and we will once again surprise you with a great winter event. Why?  This year NYE will be 10th in a row! So you can expect an awesome anniversary celebrations.

In the future of AEGEE-Maribor we also want to organise more serious, educational events. We also want more exchanges, local trips and workshops. Let’s hope everything goes  according to plan!

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona