Soon upon my arrival from Passau to Heidelberg, I was welcomed by Viola (from Your Vision For Europe) and Mareike (from the Network Commission). They showed me the beautiful city of Heidelberg, and after having lunch with them, we joined an evening meeting with the members of AEGEE-Heidelberg.

All members that were present at the meeting shared their experiences and impression about AEGEE. They also offered me an insight in the work of AEGEE-Heidelberg. They have around 50 members and they are structured in teams. Their board members are mainly new members in general, but motivated to work in management of the local. Their main work is focused on European events and the work that they do with Erasmus students is their biggest recruitment tool. Also a few of their members are active in European Bodies of AEGEE. They have several planned exchanges (e.g. with AEGEE-Cagliari, their Twin Antenna AEGEE-Budapest and with AEGEE-Kyïv) too.

My last stop on this journey was AEGEE-Düsseldorf. I met Maja and Jonathan, both board members, and during a very interesting city tour, we managed to discuss the situation in their local.

AEGEE-Düsseldorf is a small antenna, but an active one. Currently they have around 15 members, of which half is active. In the last year they managed to organise more activities and they even organised an RTC a few weeks ago, which gave them the insight in event management and gave them ideas for new projects. What is beneficial for this local is that near them, there are several bigger locals that they can cooperate with.

The local is facing some issues with recruitment, which is pretty normal when there is lack of a proper knowledge transfer. Another big problem for this local is the change of generations, which is a problem for all locals, but is mostly visible in the smaller ones. My chat with Maja and Jonathan generated useful food for thought.

My trip ended with AEGEE-Düsseldorf after more than three weeks on track. Thank you all for your hospitality.

Written by Zvonimir Canjuga, Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe

Zvonimir in Passau

After the superbly organised EPM in Zagreb, and a short break with all CD members in my hometown, it was time to move forward with the second part of CD on Track. After eleven hours of train, my first destination was AEGEE-Wien. I spent my short stay in Wien with Bernhard and Christian, current and ex-president of AEGEE-Wien. In the discussion with them I got to understand that AEGEE-Wien is a small, but stable local. They have around 20 members, but they expect to have twice as much after the SU application period. They have around ten active members throughout the year and five former members that are helping when or if needed.  In last years, they organised mostly fun local events, but recently they got involved in meeting events with migrants, and events about environment and sustainability. They also shared their views on AEGEE as an organisation today and concluded that we are focusing on finding the identity and becoming more professional, but AEGEE is still offering more than enough place to have fun and AEGEE is open to everybody.

After a short morning trip from Wien to Passau, I was welcomed by Dominic, president of AEGEE-Passau. We were joined by more members for a nice city tour and we managed to discuss the local context in a nutshell.

I was planning to go to Passau for a long time, as I heard many stories about the local and how well they perform concerning antenna management. AEGEE-Passau has almost 200 members with around 40 active members, working mainly with international students. They have a close and good relation with the International Office of the University from which they receive most of the support. Also, a few members of the local are employed in the office. Dominic arranged the meeting with them where we discussed the collaboration of AEGEE-Passau and the International Office, but also the potential collaboration of the International Office and AEGEE-Europe.

Later in the evening, we had a meeting with the rest of the board and a few more members. They described how they see their local now and what they would like to see in the future. I am happy to see that board is listening to its members and more activities are in plans to be organised.  Also, we discussed the current political situation in Europe and engaged in an interesting discussion after it. After the meeting, we concluded our visit by checking the AEGEE-Passau office, in which I saw nice memories from the past years.

You can check here the interview with Dominic, President of AEGEE-Passau.

Written by Zvonimir Canjuga, Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe

Day 17 – 18 – 19 – Köln, Mainz-Wiesbaden and back to Brussels (3rd – 5th March)

Tekla with AEGEE-Köln

As all good things come to an end, CD on Track is also finishing soon for all of us: for me, the last two stops were in Köln and in Mainz to visit AEGEE-Köln and AEGEE-Mainz-Wiesbaden, which are among the older locals in our Network.

My second to last stop was Köln, where I spent a nice Saturday brunch with the Board and the members of AEGEE-Köln. We mostly focused on how to plan the semester for the members to keep them active and how to participate in Erasmus+ exchanges and trainings as a local. The afternoon continued with a trip to Mainz, where I observed the General Assembly of AEGEE-Mainz-Wiesbaden and introduced who is in CD 54 and what are we doing in Brussels.

Tekla with AEGEE-Mainz-Wiesbaden members

In the evening, I returned to Köln to discover the city a bit and to prepare for my last train ride back to Brussels on Sunday in order to return to office work from Monday.

Even though the trip has ended for me, it brought a lot of experience, memories and things to reflect on for the upcoming months of my term. I would like to thank once again all the locals and AEGEEans who took part in this journey, hosted us, had a meeting with us, showed their cities or just dared to ask questions and be open to know more about AEGEE.

Written by Tekla Hajdu, Network Director

What first thoughts come to your mind when you think of Switzerland? Cheese, watches, banks, chocolate and crazy prizes for everything. Swiss people are also famous for their precision, perfectionism and punctuality. What else would you expect from people who produce watches?

While planning to go to Switzerland many people choose Zürich as number one city worth visiting. In my humble opinion, you might see most of the city in one day, but if you came for a weekend or more, be ready to pay double price for the same accommodation you would find in another European city. Every city has its own atmosphere and Zürich is a city of business. People in suits and expensive shoes with leather bags always seem to run somewhere. You might find a lot of hipsters there too, but even they look perfect and neat. Parks and public places are very clean and seem a bit unnatural for me because of their aristocratic look.

Paying a visit to Zürich, you might like to visit:

#1 Bahnhofstrasse
If you arrived by train, you might want to walk through this street to Old town. There are a lot of brand stores like Rolex and boutiques in here.

#2 Lake Zürich
Follow down the cosy streets of Altstadt (Old town) with a lot of shops to enjoy nice views of Zürichsee (Lake Zürich).

#3 Flea market “Rosenhof” in Weingasse
It is open every Saturday and there are so many nice things to buy as souvenirs. E.g. a real “Viktorinox” Swiss Army knife for five CHF (four euros 50 cents).

#4 Chocolate boutiques
There are plenty of them everywhere and you might do a little experiment comparing a Swiss chocolate from a boutique for 15 CHF with a chocolate from the nearest supermarket for five CHF.

#5 Frau Gerolds Garden
With warm weather, many people come here to chill in BBQ parties, soothing atmosphere and very nice decorations. A good place to try a traditional Swiss cheese fondue.

#6 Churches
Many tourists feel compelled to visit a church in every city. In Zürich, you have three options: Fraumünster, Great Minster Church (Grossmünster) and Wasserkirche. On the promenade, you will find Fraumünster. It was a female monastery for aristocratic ladies possessed considerable power in the city and even they had the privilege of printing money. The two towers which proudly rise in any picture of Zürich belong to the main cathedral – Grossmünster, which was built in the 12th century. According to the legend, the Grossmünster was founded by Charlemagne, whose horse fell to its knees at the tomb of Felix and Regula – patron saints of Zürich. The tower of the Great Minster – it is a great place to take beautiful pictures of the old centre. Close to the lake, the church Wasserkirche was surrounded by water (from whence the name), but the subsequently Limmatquai is connected to the church with the land. In Reformation Times, Wasserkirche was the first public library of Zürich in 1634. Having a “place of knowledge” – the Church- thus made a significant contribution to the formation of the University of Zürich in the 19th century.

#7 Kunsthaus (free on Wednesdays)
If you like art, you might love this museum which contains a collection of classical and contemporary art, including several paintings by Salvador Dali, Monet, Picasso and Marc Chagall.

#8 Thermalbad Zürich: From an old brewery to a bathing sanctuary
After a difficult day and if you have three free hours, you would love this SPA. What is special here is that there is a heated open-air swimming pool on the top of it from where you can enjoy the panorama of Zürich at any time of the year.

You have not seen Switzerland if you were not in mountains!

From Zürich, take a train to Lucerne (40 mins) and you will be surprised by the contrast from business to the romantic city. Lucerne is a city of art. It can indeed inspire you to write a sonnet or paint a picture. Somehow it happens that while most of Europeans and Americans walk the paths of Felix and Regula in Zürich, most, if not all, Asians go to Lucerne. Which might be good for you: follow an Asian person in Lucerne to see all the nicest sightseeings.

#1 Old town
Even without a guide, you discover most of it because there are so many murals or paintings around, narrating about the purpose of a particular building or historical events.

#2 Lion of Lucerne
It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Mark Twain praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.”

#3 Take a ship from Luzern to visit the Swiss Alps, e.g. Mount Rigi.
You can hike, snowboard and ski from up there or enjoy spectacular views of the Alps at 1,800 metres above sea level. The cogwheel railway leaving from Vitznau is Europe’s first mountain railway.

Lifehacks:

• Swiss people speak German, but in a Swiss way. So, when you cannot understand what they are talking about, simply ask “Entschuldigung, könnten Sie bitte langsamer sprechen? Deutsch ist nicht meine Muttersprache” (Sorry, can you please speak a bit slower? German is not my native language). However, everyone can speak English there as well.
•  You should definitely try traditional Swiss Raclette:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWcz73qVel0
  (It is better to see once rather than describe)
• Talk to natives and do not judge a nation by one person. Swiss people might only seem too cold and a bit arrogant, but when you take your time to understand their mentality and try to be polite and courteous, you get to know them better.

And remember a Swiss saying, small is beautiful!

Enjoy your time in Switzerland!

Written by Aliona Sytnyk, AEGEE-Berlin

Day 15 – 16 – 17– München, Stuttgart and Mannheim (1st – 3rd March)

Tekla with the board and members of AEGEE-München

As we tried to cover as many locals as possible, CD on Track continued with three completely different routes after EPM Zagreb, and my first stop was München after spending a day in Zvonimir’s hometown and enjoying his family’s great hospitality. Starting with a very early train (around 5 AM) and a long train ride, I arrived in the early afternoon to the city of München, where we had the meeting with the members and the Board of AEGEE-Münich in their cosy office. Amongst many topics, we mostly focused on recruitment, as München is a very international city with lots of opportunities, and on how to mentor the newly joined members in order to keep them in the organisation.

Tekla with Robert, the President of AEGEE-Stuttgart

The next day continued with two stops in two different cities: in the afternoon, I managed to have a short meeting with Robert, the President of AEGEE-Stuttgart where we mostly discussed the current situation of the local, some of the upcoming plans (including a European event, stay tuned) and how to improve collaboration with nearby locals and with other student organisations.

In the evening, I arrived in Mannheim, where apart from some of the board members and the active members of AEGEE-Mannheim, Mareike Ritter (the Network Commissioner of AEGEE-Mannheim) could also join us for the meeting. We have mostly covered the topic of Erasmus+ and how locals can benefit from the programme, but we also discussed how the policy work and Liaison officers work for AEGEE-Europe.

With members of AEGEE-Mannheim

The evening closed with a short night city tour of Mannheim which included many interesting fun facts – for example, the office of AEGEE-Mannheim is situated in a castle (as the University is using the former castle as the campus), and the welcome events are often held in the catacombs of the building.

The trip is not over yet – on Saturday and Sunday, I’ll pay a visit to AEGEE-Mainz-Wiesbaden and to AEGEE-Köln before travelling back to Brussels and returning to the office.

Written by Tekla Hajdu, Network Director

AEGEEans are usually big travellers, and cross borders do not scare them. No doubt that many of them have had an occasion to go to other continents as well, and they could tell wonderful stories about it. Kimberly Townend, from AEGEE-Valencia, enjoyed a study-trip in Colombia and shared her experience with the readers of The AEGEEan. 

From the 26th of January to the 5th of February I went on a study trip to Colombia with 42 other students and four faculty members of my Master’s Degree in Criminology. Over 13 nationalities from all over the world were represented in our group, a varied mix with different levels of experience in travelling -some people had already visited Latin America on several occasions, for others, like me, it was the first time.

The aim of our trip was to learn more about drug trafficking and transitional justice after the armed conflict in this country. Our programme has a very international orientation and thus, it was great interest for us to approach these topics from a comparative perspective: how different is the situation of drugs in Colombia to that of different European countries? What can we learn about the peace agreement with the FARC, and what could be improved? These and many other questions came up in our academic activities, including lectures with well-known experts and visits to NGOs working on issues such as drug addictions or social exclusion.

Throughout our trip, we spent five days in Bogotá and three days in Medellín. During our time in Bogotá, we participated in a highly interesting graffiti tour, in which we learnt lots of local and national history through tags and murals. Painting graffitis is legal in Colombia, unless the police catch you in the act, and in this case, they sometimes make exceptions. Therefore, neighbourhoods in the capital are basically covered by colourful drawings and messages, independently of their socioeconomic status.

The highlight of our trip to Medellín was our visit to the Comuna 1-Popular. Comuna 1 is a low socioeconomic neighbourhood situated on a hillside on the outskirts of Medellín. It has thousands of brick and cement homes built right by or on top of each other. A cableway connects its inhabitants with the city. This is in contrast with the situation in Bogotá, where inhabitants of the Comunas have to walk sometimes for hours in order to reach the city centre, as there is no infrastructure of this kind yet. Comuna 1 was of particular relevance to our studies due to its long history of gang control, drugs and conflict. First, we had a lecture from the local assembly body, in which we learnt how the Comunas are organised nowadays, their current social problems and the impact the armed conflict has had on them. Then, the same locals that had given us the lecture took us on a tour of the neighbourhood. Comuna 1 still faces many social problems such as the prevalence of drug use, unemployment and lack of higher education; however, it is in a process of ongoing transformation and the atmosphere of fear in which their inhabitants used to live years ago is gradually fading.

On the fourth day of our trip, we went on a day-trip to the beautiful town of Guatapé, in which we climbed the famous Peñón –this was quite a challenging task, but the stunning views that awaited us at the top were surely rewarding. That night some of us went dancing salsa in downtown Medellín –a must-do for anyone visiting Colombia.

With a smaller group, I also visited the very touristic salt cathedral in Zipaquirá, 30 minutes away from Bogotá, and enjoyed a very pleasant lunch with our friendly van driver, who was a person like most people in Colombia that could not speak English very well but still provided us with some very entertaining moments. Food in Colombia is very cheap and tasty. A normal dish consists of fish or meat, some kind of potatoes and lots of salad. Traditional snacks include arepas and empanadas, both made out of bread filled with chicken, beef or vegetables. As much as I enjoyed food, however, the thing I miss the most by far are juices. Everywhere in Colombia, it was possible to get natural juices from the widest variety of fruits –ranging from simple orange juice to ‘no idea, but tasty’ for very reasonable prices.

Overall, my experience in Colombia was amazing and well worth-repeating. People were friendly and welcoming, and it did not take us long to feel at home. Although it is widely different from Europe, cultural differences just added to our experience and we quickly learnt that, despite Colombia’s very real problems, there are many myths surrounding this country and its people.

Written by Kimberly Townend, AEGEE-Valencia

Réka, Tekla and Zvonimir: Day 7 and 8 – Ljubljana (21st – 22nd February)

Having our last stop in Italy in Udine, we continued our journey to Ljubljana, where we got via two night trains and a long waiting period in Villach, so the morning for us started with getting to our host’s place and catching up with some sleep.

After having a traditional Slovenian lunch, we went to the new student centre in the city where we prepared three sessions for AEGEE-Ljubljana: HR, Fundraising and Financial Management. During the sessions, we discussed why their members joined AEGEE and how to build on this, some smaller tips to keep the members active by organising regular activities, how to build on the support from the university or municipality and the fact that last year they were Green capital of the EU. For AEGEE-Ljubljana members, the main reason to join AEGEE is travelling and self-development: we discussed how to take advantage of this factor as the city already offers a wide range of training activities, but there are still some niches where AEGEE could offer something unique. They also got some tips from Zvonimir about how to better control finances, a detailed explanation on Membership fees, and Réka gave a summary about Erasmus+ and how to use these opportunities for the local activities. In the evening we just stayed at our host’s place and tried out some games and we prepared for EPM due to the event coming up within a few days.

The next day Zvonimir and I took the train to Zagreb to be more  involved in the preparations of the EPM, while Réka departed for Maribor, her last stop before EPM. CD on Track will resume after EPM – stay tuned for more articles in March!

Written by Tekla Hajdu, Network Director

After the most romantic city in the world, Firenze, it was time to visit the next city on my route, a city with the oldest university in Europe and the birth place of the current education system, the beautiful Bologna.  Thanks to Interrail I had a chance to take the famous Red Arrow high-speed train, which I could not enjoy more because it was a  35 minutes journey. When I arrived in cold but sun-bathed Bologna, I met with the President of AEGEE-Bologna Kabir. As the meeting with members was planned for the evening, he took me on a city tour and showed me part of the seven secrets of Bologna. If you want to find out what the secrets are, I am inviting you to apply to AEGEE-Bologna’s next events.

Kabir explained to me that AEGEE-Bologna was re-established in 2012, signed the Convention d’Adhésion in 2013 and then they gather around 50 members yearly. Even as a student organisation, AEGEE-Bologna is still not recognised by the University of Bologna, due to the strict rules that organisation need to reach in order to get acknowledgement. The institution that is supporting the local is the municipality, which is offering them support for local activities and logistical support. The Antenna is also a member of one bigger umbrella organisation that is offering additional individual benefits on the base of the membership.

The strongest activity of AEGEE-Bologna is the University Tandem-Language Exchange. They are organising it very often and it is slowly turning into a trademark of the local. In cooperation with the municipality, AEGEE-Bologna will start to organise tandems from the other members of the community. Tandems will happen ten times and every time they will have a different topic to discuss in order to get people active and interested in the project. This year, the local is also organising a Summer University with four more Italian locals, which will give them a new experience.

As for the problems that the local is facing, we discussed the lack of active members and some advice was shared with Kabir. So stay tuned, members of AEGEE-Bologna, as more activities are coming. We also discussed the monthly reports that need to be filled in for the Network Commission. The general opinion is that the form could be simpler, less demanding and that it would be good to receive some concrete feedback from the respective Netcommie. We concluded the day with the social programme with several members of AEGEE-Bologna. I am inviting you to check the interview with Kabir, and check what message he has for you, dear members. My next stop is AEGEE-Udine, so expect the article from there soon.

Hosting an Agora is as much excitement as it is a challenge for any local. In an ideal case, it builds generations together, by offering the chance for a fresh new team to take over the management of the local, and to a team of more experienced members to organise one of the biggest statutory events in AEGEE history. Excitement and challenge it is, but AEGEE-Bergamo managed to face this challenge and has been growing stronger, combining both a strong local presence, Erasmus activities and trust of city officials, and also the opening of the local to hosting thematic projects, international context, a new twin antenna and lots of great ideas.

Even during the too short visit, there was a chance to get a glimpse into AEGEE-Bergamo’s work with Erasmus students during a getaway to the mountains, to remember the spirit of the Erasmus programme and the celebration of 30 years of Erasmus in 2017, and the group was great!

In the following meetings with the board, we discussed the relations between the European level and the local level of AEGEE, and how to increase the number of active members in the local for the realisation of all the great ideas. Great ideas like a career fair, like the new project with high school students and like the Erasmus buddy system. With a new office, an old-new team of hard-working people and lots of great ideas – you will surely hear more from AEGEE-Bergamo, and you should not miss the chance to visit this wonderful city!

Written by Zvonimir Canjuga, Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe, and Réka Salamon, President of AEGEE-Europe

Tekla: Day 5 and 6 – Brescia (18th-19th February)

The next stop in my track was Brescia, where I arrived early Saturday afternoon. As the weather was nice and timing was good, I had the city tour in the afternoon with some members of AEGEE-Brescia who told me many fun facts about their city and their sights – we even managed to bump into a running competition while visiting the castle [She smiles, ed.].

The day continued with the evening meeting in the office of AEGEE-Brescia, when firstly I introduced the work of the Comité Directeur and who is doing which portfolio this year. After the introductory part, we continued with the topic of Summer Universities, the upcoming AEGEE-Brescia Summer University and some tips for compulsory sessions for the SU. We also covered some best practices for recruitment and how to prepare the members for the SU – both for organising and applying to one. The evening was closed with the open space part, where there was interest about Agora reform and a few questions regarding Membership fees. It was very interesting to see how the Summer Universities, as the biggest project of AEGEE, have a significant impression for locals, as for the members of AEGEE-Brescia this is one of the biggest motivations to join the organisation – either as a participant or as a helper.

The night continued at the house of Michele Minuti, former President of AEGEE-Brescia and Treasurer of the Academy, where we spent a nice evening with pizza, pirlo (similar to Aperol Spritz), some nice talks and some games. As a surprise, I also received a T-shirt of AEGEE-Brescia – once again, thank you guys for the nice surprise!

The next stop for all of us is Udine, where I will reunite again with Réka and Zvonimir to have a joint session about the future plans for AEGEE, what has been done by the CD in Brussels so far and about the opportunities AEGEE offers for members and for externals.

Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Written by Tekla Hajdu, Network Director 

Tekla with AEGEE-Milano Members

Tekla Day 4 and 5 – Milano (17th-18th February)

After parting again to continue my journey, my next stop was Milano for the evening after a rather short train ride from Torino. We spent a nice dinner together with some of the Board members and the active members of AEGEE-Milano, when we discussed several topics: first of all, how to manage a local next to having a full-time job, as the majority of the members and the Board are already working in a full-time position, and they organise their events and activities next to their jobs. Second, we also talked about the upcoming Summer University of AEGEE-Milano, with AEGEE-Bologna, AEGEE-Treviso, AEGEE-Pisa and AEGEE-Bari. It will be the first Summer University in Milano after a long time, thus providing an opportunity, but also a challenge at the same time for all the locals, as the SU will cover both the Northern and Southern part of Italy.

Milano by night

We also discussed how recruitment faces challenges in big international cities such as Milano, where there are many opportunities and huge competition regarding students’ organisations and NGOs – again we agreed that the power of people and having a friendly environment can keep the members within AEGEE. Last, but not least, I mentioned some opportunities for Erasmus+ and how the locals can use the programme for their activities.

The evening continued with a special night edition of the city tour in Milano where the guys showed me the city centre in a nutshell – it was a really special experience as I was able to get a less touristic view of the city and more the inhabitants’ perspective of the sights and the nightlife. The next day started with packing and departing as usual for the next stop, Brescia – but not before getting useful tips about how to cook pasta the best way [She smiles, ed.].

Zvonimir Day 5 – Firenze (17th of February)

Zvonimir with AEGEE-Firenze members

After very long travels to Leon and Torino, and after talks and activities with those locals, it is time for shorter travels. The third local  I visited was AEGEE-Firenze. Shortly after I arrived to the city, I met with Marella, president of AEGEE-Firenze. After a conversation with her and a city tour around the beautiful city of Firenze, we met with the rest of the members.

AEGEE-Firenze has around 100 members, but we discussed that not that many members of the local are active. Firstly, we started discussing potential solutions on how to tackle this problem and involve more people, because this is not something that is universal and that is not easy to implement.

Zvonimir with Marella

The local is doing quite a lot activities with Erasmus students in the University, such as parties, trips  and other local activities. In the group there were also Isidora and Nico, presidents of AEGEE-Beograd and AEGEE-Pisa, but two potential members of AEGEE-Firenze, too. We all shared our experiences: why we joined, what motivate us to work in AEGEE, and we manage to get two new members for AEGEE-Firenze. Guys, welcome in our big family!

Lastly, we concluded our meeting with a chat with Marella, Nico and Gabriele about the structure of AEGEE, antenna criteria, and how we can make our structure more flexible regarding decision-making and engaging for members, concerning Network Meetings, European Planning Meeting and Agoras. You can also check the interview with Marella and see what she has to say about AEGEE and what is her message for you!

The next local that I will visit is AEGEE-Bologna, so stay tuned for more information from them.

Written by Tekla Haydu and Zvonimir Canjuga, Comité Directeur