Two cities, a full schedule with a strong thematic side, the usual AEGEE spirit: this is what lies ahead for participants to the conference “Brexit-What next?” jointly held by AEGEE-London, AEGEE-Manchester and AEGEE-Sheffield from the 29th of November to the 4th of December. 25 participants, both AEGEEans and non-AEGEEans, will have the opportunity to tackle the issues arising from Brexit, specifically focusing on youth mobility. We reached Dominik Stengele, president of AEGEE-London, to discover more. 

The AEGEEan: Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Dominik: My name is Dominik Stengele. My enthusiasm about our beautiful continent and passion to travel and explore made me join AEGEE in 2013. I was elected president of AEGEE-London in July 2017 and I am programme responsible of our upcoming event “Brexit – What Next?”.

Why did you decide to organise the event “Brexit – What Next?” with AEGEE-Sheffield and AEGEE-Manchester?

Our European Students’ Network has sadly never been too active within the United Kingdom, even though AEGEE-London was one of the founding antennae in 1985. Furthermore, the result of the Brexit referendum concerns us and adds uncertainty to our future as young Europeans. We therefore decided, for the first time ever, to unite as UK-based AEGEE locals and organise a thematic conference together.

Which will be the contribution of AEGEE-London during the event?

There is a very active and passionate group of young Europeans behind this event that works hard to make it happen. We operate in several teams in parallel to cover all aspects of the event, like thematic content, accomodation, fundraising, PR and others. Members of AEGEE-London are active in each of those teams and will be participating the event as helpers and moderators for panel discussions.

In your experience, what has changed for AEGEE locals in the UK after Brexit?

Everyone in AEGEE was deeply saddened by the Brexit referendum result and we received many messages and had discussions with our fellow Europeans both here and abroad. But every crisis also opens a window of opportunity. While the United Kingdom prepares to leave the European Union, a large number of people, which in fact is majority across opinion polls, stands up and speaks out as pro-European. Due to this new enthusiasm across the society, we as AEGEE-London grew faster than the average of AEGEE in 2017, hence are able to be more active than we used to be. However the uncertainty in the air about the conditions of Brexit also worries many of us. If, for example, citizens of the European Union had to apply for tourist visa after Brexit, then this would certainly hurt our abilities to organise larger events in the future. While our impact on the conditions of Brexit is limited, our enthusiasm and dedication isn’t. And AEGEE can expect the UK-based locals to be actively participating across our entire network.

What are the outcomes you would like to achieve with this event?

Our event will focus on the future of freedom of movement in the United Kingdom and its consequences for young people on both sides of the channel. This advantage, which many of us take for granted, can be drastically limited after Brexit. We will discuss youth mobility in detail, both in workshops and panel discussions with experts, and will also cover related topics such as the future of Erasmus+. With this event we also show our fellow Europeans that the UK-based AEGEE locals are not only alive, but more active than ever before. We also want to take advantage of this new dynamic to organise more events in the future.

Who can participate to the event and how?

Everyone is welcome to apply to our event! Please find more information in the ‘Apply’ section of our event webpage.

You can fill this Google Form to apply. If you’re member of AEGEE you also must fill this other form (click Apply next to the application dates, you must be logged in with your AEGEE account). The deadline is Sunday 15th of October. 

Written by Federica Soro, AEGEE-Cagliari

In the north of Britain, pass the point where Wales breaks off from England and where the River Mersey makes its way to the sea, lies the city of Manchester. It’s a city that was once famous for its textile industry and its factories giving off noxious gases. However, time has changed. The textile mills don’t spin on the scale they once did, and large sections of the city have been demolished or re-developed. And in these new times, an AEGEE-local has sprouted and eagerly looks forward towards the future.

The AEGEEan: Could you tell us who are behind AEGEE-Manchester?

AEGEE-Manchester: The three founding members of AEGEE Manchester are Domitille, Pablo and Bryn, and since December 2015, Claire, Jeremy and John are members of our board. We are an international team, with a third of us being British!

As President, Domitille is a motivating and energising leader who always challenges us to dream big. Pablo is our most experienced AEGEEan bringing knowledge and guidance from his original antenna in Alicante. Being responsible for Human Resources, Bryn keeps in contact with all our members and tries to make them active. For fun and entertainment we have Claire, our party girl and European Youth Parliament member. Jeremy joined our team to help us with our fundraising while John is our treasurer: he’s the one responsible for the money, so make sure you treat him nicely!

What kind of activities or events has AEGEE-Manchester recently organised?

Since signing the convention d’Adhesion in April 2015, as a team in Manchester we have organised:
– a 3 day, 2 night RTC hosting 11 members from across the UK, with 2 international trainers
– various local events such as bar crawls, movie nights, political discussions and European food night

– we’ve also had members attending Agora, NWMs, EPMs and SUs European Night out with other national societies such as Francophone, Italian and Turkish.

In your opinion, what are the appealing qualities of AEGEE in general and AEGEE-Manchester in particular as a student association/forum for students in Britain to join?

AEGEE-Manchester is a small and friendly antenna where it is easy to make new friends from across Europe. In British universities you can join hundreds of societies depending on your degree or your nationality. But AEGEE-Manchester is the only one that brings you the awesome opportunity to go abroad and meet people from other nationalities or other degrees. Life is better if you mix a little bit!

Do you sometimes collaborate with other AEGEE locals, in Britain and beyond?

We keep in good communication with all other antennas in the UK, and have hosted people from different cities.

We enjoy welcoming others to Manchester and have hosted people from Liverpool, Aberdeen, London, Madrid, and Kyiv.

Following our weekend in Leiden for the EPM, we are hoping to see further collaboration with AEGEE-Canterbury and AEGEE-London particularly on the UK’s favourite hot topic of the moment!

Is AEGEE-Manchester engaged, in any capacity, to events, campaigns, and other projects regarding the upcoming EU referendum in the UK?

AEGEE-Manchester is currently working on a 2 day event around the UK-EU relationship which we will be holding in May. This event will be organised with participation from other student societies and EU referendum groups. We would like to offer a different narrative that focuses on the positive relation between the UK and the EU.

Could you tell us something about AEGEE-Manchester’s future plans?

Our immediate plans are to be upgraded to a full antenna in Agora Bergamo and assist in the referendum as we’ve mentioned above. We will continue to be active in sending our members to European events and organising local events to gain and activate new members. For the future we are also looking into hosting a NetWorkMeeting, but nothing can quite be confirmed. And finally, that question people always want to get the answer… a Summer University in the UK…??? Well AEGEE-Manchester doesn’t yet have the strength or the finances but this has always been a personal dream of Bryn’s and he’s said even if he has to stay in AEGEE until he is 50 years old he will make it happen!

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen