key to europe 2003/2004

Index

1Key to Europe 2003/2004

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oductionKey to Europe 2003 / 2004AEGEE - European Students' Forum

Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l'Europe

CONTENT

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Index 1

Forewords 2

What is AEGEE? 5

Chapter contains general information about AEGEE, itsstructure and history as well as information aboutAEGEE bodies

Fields of Action 17

Descriptions of AEGEE activities within the four fieldsof action: Active Citizenship, Higher Education, Pieceand Stability, Cultural Exchange

Focus on Training 41

Information about Internal Education in AEGEE

What AEGEE means to me? 51

Informal insight into AEGEE

Calendar of events 56

Outlook into 2004 58

Key to Europe Team 60

Günter Verheugen

EU Commissioner, responsible for Enlargement

2 Key to Europe 2003/2004 3Key to Europe 2003/2004

2004 - The Year of Enlargement - a historic milestone for Europe

The year 2004 will be an unprecedented milestone of theEuropean Union, when on May 1st the EU will realise the

most ambitious enlargement in its history. We are under-taking the unification of the European continent, divided inthe aftermath of the second world war, thus extendingpeace, stability and prosperity to 10 new Member States,and possibly more in the years to come. With 75 millionmore inhabitants, the EU's Single Market will increase toover 450 million people and will become the biggest eco-nomic area in the world.

This enlargement wave will not happen overnight. We havebeen working towards this historic moment over the pastdecade or so. At its Summit in 1993, the European Counciladopted three solid enlargement criteria based on stabilityand rule of law, the existence of a functioning market econ-omy and the ability to take on the obligations of member-ship. Tough and at times difficult negotiations have takenplace to ensure that the new Member States will be able toadopt the EU policies and rules so that they can play theirfull part. All this demanded for changes which still need tobe managed very carefully in order to ensure that our jointexercise will become a success.

In this context - but of course much beyond this hugeamount of technical work when implementing legal texts,achieving various standards in various policy areas andbuilding up the respective administrative structures - it isthe integration of the different peoples from the west andthe east remaining the primary need, interest and objectiveof Enlargement and everyone who had been involved in thisprocess. And here it is, among others, the international stu-dents community playing a major role; all the more, asquite probably many of the current students will soon beworking for this new Europe in the one or the other func-tion and context.

The AEGEE therefore rightly points out to the internationalstudents community as a "Key to Europe". I very muchappreciate the interest in Europe, the commitment andyour strong engagement to build up bridges between theEuropean countries and your contribution to enhance inte-gration among the European Nations.

Wishing you all the best for your future,

2003 - The year of new challenges

Ambitious and challenging ideas and projects made the year2003 a special one for AEGEE. Numerous highlights filled the

calendar of events of the past year, following the ambitious aimto build a stronger civic society in student cities across Europe.

The results of the Convention and the start of the IGC allowedEuropean Integration to make another huge leap foreward. Theparticipation of young people as involved citizens and keystakeholders of the future of Europe has found a new impetusin the final draft of the Constitution, where education and voca-tional training are recognized as areas for co-operation amongMember States.

Social cohesion in Europe, as reflected in two of our main fieldsof action, Peace and Stability and Active Citizenship, was pro-moted within the framework of the Turkish - Greek CivicDialogue, where the KayaFest Festival provided an open spacefor communication and cultural interaction between more than5,000 students.

The Conference organised by AEGEE-Europe in the buffer zoneon Cyprus gave the participants, students from all over Europe,a chance to actively state their wish for a united Cyprus to jointhe EU in 2004, in a context of co-operation and mutual respectfor each other's cultures.

The Yearplan Topic for 2003, "Europe in the World," opened adiscussion of our role outside the traditionally perceived bordersof Europe. The World Youth Summit on Globalisation held inBrussels on 10-12 December 2003 was the most significantevent organised by AEGEE that year, and marked the openingof our events to students outside Europe, allowing them toshare their views and ideas on issues of international interest.

AEGEE’s involvement in the final stage of the UN World Summiton the Information Society, which was supported by our activeparticipation throughout the preparatory phase, brought us tothe conclusion that AEGEE can have a meaningful impact onprocesses and conferences that address global issues, goingbeyond the European topics we have traditionally dealt with.The marking of 15 years of successful activities within theSummer University framework, the Case Study Trip to theCaucasus, the Spring AGORA in Bucuresti and the famous"AEGEE train", created numerous memorable experiences forour members, offering the inspiration of the European idea.

Last but not least, following the activities of the past year, I gladly note that the scope of actions and activities of AEGEEwent for the first time beyond the European continent,strengthening our role not only as bringers of change in Europe,but also as actors on the global scale, bridging the gap betweenus and our overseas neighbours, and creating a framework forglobal international co-operation.

With warm regards,

Adrian Pintilie

President of AEGEE-Europe

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4 Key to Europe 2003/2004

Words of support

Turkey's commitment to joining the European Union is

clear for all to see. Our reforms to bring Turkey's laws in

line with the Copenhagen Criteria are in place and full imple-

mentation is under way. We share the same objectives and

values as all the other Member States of the EU, and we are

ready to accept the same obligations. Our policy is already of

great benefit to Turkey and it is a credible basis for our even-

tual membership of the European Union.

Since it is a programme for the future it is of paramount impor-

tance that it is supported by the younger people of our socie-

ty, not only of Turkey, but also of her future partners in the EU.

I am glad to say that not only we are sure of this support, we

are inspired by it. We also, therefore, owe it to our young

people to achieve our goals so as to ensure an irreversibly

democratic, safe, prosperous and equitable future for them

and their children.

This future will be based on certain universal values which lie

at the heart of the United Nations and the European Union:

Democracy, the rule of law, human rights, the care and pro-

tection of minorities, the outlawing of all forms of discrimina-

tion based on race, ethnic background, religion, or gender

and a transparent, market economy. Such values are the

bedrock of our society.

In pursuing these goals Turkey has come under the interna-

tional spotlight as seldom before. In the past much of the

attention focussed on Turkey has been because of deviation

from these norms. No one country fulfils its obligations per-

fectly. Turkey, for a variety of reasons, had special difficulties

in matching these values. But with its intense desire to see

change at home and integration with the EU, and with wide-

spread domestic and international support, Turkey has

embraced these universal values. In my view they are both

irrefutable and irreversible. They can become an inspiration

to our neighbouring Moslem societies when they see the

proof that these values are of real, practical value in securing

peace, prosperity and social equity.

The success of Turkey's economic and financial reforms will

depend increasingly on our younger men and women becom-

ing even better educated, finding modern jobs in new fields of

skill and discipline, and broadening our middle-class, con-

sumer society that is the hard core of democracy.

Those who are members of AEGEE are already showing

leadership by their very activity in this excellent organisation.

Within a very few years they will be in positions of middle

management. They will be among the new decision-makers.

Their support for Turkey's aspiration to become a full member

of the European Union is a huge asset today and will be a

guarantee to the existing EU of their devotion to our common

values in the future.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan


AEGEE - structure

One of the factors distinguishing AEGEE from other stu-dent associations is its unique structure. It is character-

ized by the lack of a national level, going directly from theEuropean to the local level (an academic city where AEGEE ispresent). This structure gives AEGEE a truly Europeandimension, reflecting our ideas of a borderless European con-tinent, open for all its people to travel freely and feel them-selves citizens of one common Europe, free of prejudice.

Members

AEGEE members are incredibly motivated young people, whowork for what they believe in, getting in return personal sat-isfaction and the hope that they have influenced the courseof things they have touched. In short, the European mindedfinds in AEGEE an almost perfect environment to learn andact as an European.

Antennae

Antenna is the name of an AEGEE local group. An antennausually organises at least one European event per year aswell as any number of local activities. Currently there areover 260 antennae and contact groups in AEGEE in 42European countries.

Agora

The Agora, the General Assembly of AEGEE, meetstwice a year. Almost 1000 AEGEE members gather forthree days in order to discuss proposals, projects,strategies and policies for the following severalmonths. It is also the meeting at which allimportant decisions concerning the future of AEGEE aretaken.

Planning Meeting

The Planning Meeting is the association's think tank. Itserves to give orientation for AEGEE's thematic work andtakes place twice a year: in March under the title "ThinkEurope!" and in September as the "Action Europe!" meeting.

Comité Directeur

The Comité Directeur, or board of directors, consists of up to

of nine AEGEE members from at least four countries. EveryCD member has a particular area of responsibility. As a team,the CD is the chief administrative and representative body ofAEGEE, with responsibility for contact with the EuropeanUnion Institutions and The Council of Europe.

Working Groups

Working Groups are the thematic and specialist backbone ofAEGEE. They are international groups of AEGEE memberswho are interested a particular field. Some focus on a partic-ular theme, such as Human Rights, and others offer supportin a particular discipline, such as Public Relations.

Commissions

The Commissions are elected to support and monitor thework of the CD. There are currently four commissions: theAudit Commission, the Members Commission, the Juridical

Commission and the Network Commission.

Project Teams

International project teams manage the Europe-wide proj-ects of AEGEE. These projects are composed of multiple co-ordinated activities in different places intended to achievespecific goals, either in the long term, or over a set period.

Liaison officers

Liaison officers are appointed by the CD and to be points ofcontact between AEGEE and other organisations, institutionsand companies, on the European and national levels. Theirwork is co-ordinated by the Liaison Office.

AEGEE, in which all students feel at home...

AEGEE stands for Association des EtatsGénéraux des Etudiants de l'Europe. It takes

its name from one of the birthplaces of democracy:the Aegean Sea, and from the first parliament estab-lished at the dawn of the French Revolution, LesEtats Généraux.

AEGEE is represented in 260 academic cities, in 42countries and by 17.000 students, and is thereforethe largest interdisciplinary student association inEurope. Its activity, not linked to any political party,is secular, and characterised by the voluntarism andnon-profitability of all projects.

AEGEE promotes a unified Europe without preju-dices, striving to create an open and tolerant societyof today and tomorrow by involving students andyoung graduates in valuable projects and discussionson topics of importance for the societies young peo-ple find themselves in. It promotes communicationand integration in academic environments acrossEurope, and at the same time forms a network ofEuropean friends.

Being truly European, AEGEE does not recognize thenational level and does not use national administra-tive structures. The two levels officially recognized inAEGEE’s structure are: the local level, providing thecore for all activities and an opportunity for regularsocial meetings; and the European level, offering abasis for intercultural knowledge sharing by involve-ment in working groups and international projectteams. AEGEE members work for what they believein. In return they get personal satisfaction and atrust that they will have a say in the course ofevents. The European-minded find in AEGEE a per-fect environment to learn and act as a European cit-izen.

Europe of colourful experiences

Traditional flamenco nights inBarcelona, limoncello tasting inNapoli, tango in the shadows of theCastle of Heidelberg, sauna inHelsinki - our continent's culturaldiversity opens its doors thanks toAEGEE. Our events are truly multi-cultural experiences, presenting thescale of Europe's national cultures attheir best, with participants comingfrom all overEurope andthus creatingthe environ-ment full ofmutual curiosi-ty and stimu-lated interest.

A Living Dream

Ethical and idealistic val-ues give a clear directionto all our activities. Thedream of Europe withoutborders has inspired andcontinues to inspire gen-erations of students fromthe Caucasus to theAtlantic. EuropeanIntegration throughActive Citizenship, proj-ects promoting Peaceand Stability, HigherEducation conferencesand cultural exchangesare means to reach thisdream. AEGEE,an organisationwith only localand Europeanstructures andhaving nonational level,has influencedhistory in thespirit of a bor-derless Europe,where nationalidentities areshared ratherthan protected,creating a spacewhere we all canlive our dreams.

Non-Formal EducationPromoter

Active debates and dis-cussions find fertileground among open-minded students. Beingan interdisciplinary stu-dent organisation, ourevents deal with a widevariety of topics, allowingmeaningful expression ofour ideals throughAEGEE's main fields ofaction. Thanks to highlyprofessional InternalEducation events, as wellas the opportunity toorganise their ownevents and carry intoeffect their own projects,AEGEE offers its mem-bers access to a widevariety of tools for devel-oping various personalskills and complementingtheir education with lifeexperience.

A Model for Democracy

With a core structure evolved over morethan 15 years into an example for anydemocratic organisation, AEGEE hasalways enabled students to make deci-sions for themselves and develop theirpotential as active citizens, now and inthe future. With the JuridicalCommission supervising the statutesand their application, the NetworkCommission improving co-operationwithin the network, and a range of othercommissions and working groups, a widevariety of options allow every student tofind a place within the organisation.

A Strong Voice for Ideals

AEGEE, as a student organisation notlinked to any political party, providesprompt reactions to the needs arisingin student environments, creating aninterdisciplinary platform among stu-dents, enabling them to exchangeand share their ideas directly withEuropean as well as national decisionmaking institutions.

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Working groups in AEGEE

International Politics Working Group

IPWG is an association of AEGEE members all over Europeinterested in international relations and politics. Since itsfoundation in 1997, IPWG has become an important pillar ofAEGEE activities by organising a wide variety of conferences,seminars and workshops on political topics. IPWG also pro-vides speakers and workshop leaders for events with politi-cal themes, and advises AEGEE-Europe on political issues.

Human Rights Working Group

HRWG represents the conscience of AEGEE and bringshuman rights violations to public notice. It addresses a widerange of issues such as civil society in South Eastern Europe,migration, prisoners of conscience, and crimes againsthumanity. It organises conferences on current human rightsissues, and its members campaign against human rights vio-lations in Europe and beyond.

Cultural Working Group

CWG aims to enhance knowledge, understanding andrespect for the wide variety of cultures in Europe. It worksfor a natural development of cultural and artistic diversityand seeks to contribute to a vision of a common peace cul-ture for humanity. As such it supports antennae organisingcultural and artistic events, and promotes better mutualunderstanding between cultures within AEGEE.

Education Working Group

EWG is the meeting point for students who are interested inEuropean integration in the field of Higher Education, andwho would like to contribute to its development. It cam-paigns for the creation of a European Higher Education Area,promotes and suggests improvements to the Socrates pro-gramme, and disseminates information about universityexchange programmes.

East-West Working Group

EWWG went into a period of flux after the successful inte-gration of a large part of Central Eastern Europe in AEGEE.One ongoing challenge is the further integration of the east-ernmost antennae in the network. Meanwhile AEGEE'sexpansion to the Caucasus presents a huge new challenge inEast-West relations. EWWG is looking for a fresh generationof highly motivated members to overcome the barriers thatremain between East and West in AEGEE.

AEGEE Academy

The Academy provides strategic support for the work of theorganisation on all levels by training and motivating mem-bers for AEGEE work. It organises a range of training semi-nars throughout the year all over Europe, provides trainersfor a variety of other events including local training courses,and maintains a large database of teaching materials. TheAcademy also advises AEGEE-Europe on Human Resourcesdevelopment and co-operates closely with the NetworkCommission.

Public Relations Working Group

PRWG supports the Comité Directeur, Working Groups andLocal Antennae in PR activities. Twice a year it organisesPublic Relations European Schools in co-operation with theAcademy, to teach and motivate new AEGEE members to putPR theory into practice. It also develops strategies forattracting and involving members at all levels of AEGEE, andaims to develop and improve methods of communicationbetween AEGEE-Europe and the Network.

Information Technology Working Group

ITWG deals with all Information Technology matters withinAEGEE. It is a group of AEGEE members, who have expert-ise in different fields of Information Technology. Divided intodifferent taskforces, they manage the IT infrastructure ofAEGEE-Europe, train AEGEE-Europe staff to use the technol-ogy available, and, in co-operation with the Academy, organ-ise IT European Schools to pass on IT knowledge.

Visa Freedom Fighters

VFF campaign for the removal of all restrictions on people'smobility within Europe, including the abolition of visas with-in Europe for all Europeans. They regularly publish an on-line booklet on visa regulations, and aim to help AEGEEmembers get the visas they need.

Bobigosa Working Group

Bobigosa is a virtual forum where people with commonideals meet to create new and useful proposals, and spreadtheir own visions of what AEGEE should be but it is not. Pastinitiatives include informal limits on fees for events, a shortintroduction to AEGEE at every summer university, the sin-gle Year Plan Topic, and promoting transparency and democ-racy in AEGEE. It is now seeking fresh people with freshideas to further develop its work.

Dance Working Group

DWG believes that knowing and appreciating the historicvalues and traditions of other cultures is crucial in forging atruly unified Europe in the future. Dance is seen as animportant and effective way for people to discover andappreciate their own roots and others'.

Voyage Working Group

VWG is the youngest Working Group in AEGEE. It wasestablished during the Agora Zaragoza in 2003 with theaim of gathering and disseminating information about trav-el by AEGEE members. This will help members to find thetravel advice they need as well as providing global statis-tics about travel within AEGEE.


Key moments in AEGEE history

16th April 1985

The birth of AEGEE was a huge youth conferencecalled "EGEE", held in Paris. With this event,under the leadership of Franck Biancheri, fiveGrand Ecoles in the French capital create a plat-form for 700 young Europeans from all EuropeanUnion countries, with the aim of influencingEuropean policy in favour of students. Starting inParis, the Association is soon present in Munich,Milan, Leiden, London and Madrid. In 1988 thename is changed from EGEE to AEGEE.

April 1986

The first Agora in Munichsets up the structure ofthe association, com-prising the AGORA,Presidents' Meeting(since 2001 PlanningMeeting), ComitéDirecteur and WorkingGroups.

15th March 1987

Dinner with FrancoisMitterand and suc-cessful lobbying forimplementation ofthe Erasmus MobilityScheme.

1989

The Berlin Wall falls, and the Agora in Salernodecides to open AEGEE to interested students inCentral and Eastern Europe. The East-West WorkingGroup starts their actions to establish AEGEE localsthere.

AEGEE-Europe supports the development in Centraland Eastern Europe, especially by transferringmajor events to Eastern Europe, like the Agoras inBudapest (November 1991) and Praha (April 1993),and the Presidents' Meeting in Kraków (March1992). The extensive growth of the network in theEast changed the character of the network as wellas all members’ understanding of Europe.

1993

An attempt torevive the idealis-tic AEGEE underthe motto Mobilitywith a purpose.The introduction ofthe Yearplan. Atthe time the CDoffice is still hostedby the Universityof Delft.

1994

In the year of the cre-ation of Netscape,AEGEE-Europe alreadyhas its first homepage.In March 1997 AEGEEregisters its ownInternet domain,aegee.org. In the sameyear Lotus Notes getsintroduced to adminis-ter the databases of theNetwork.

November 1995

The Agora in Budapestdecides to move thehead office to Brussels,closer to the EuropeanInstitutions, for theEuropean board to beable to focus morestrongly on PR andEuropean-wide thematicprojects, seminars andother actions.

November 1996

Agora in Athens, atwhich the number of CDmembers is reduced tonine. At the sameassembly the NetworkCommission is created,to improve communica-tion between antennaeand AEGEE-Europe, todevelop the networkand to support smalland new antennae.

1996

The event cycle Find Your Way educated sev-eral hundred youth NGO leaders. AEGEE isinvited to a round-table talk on the Euro inBrussels, and as a result the 1997 projectEurope & Euro raises students’ awareness ofthe new European currency. In 1999 the PeaceAcademy promotes tolerance and understand-ing through more than 20 Europe-wide events.Actions like the Day of Europe and theSocrates Action Day were developed, where50 or more antennae organised actions on thesame day.

April 1999

The AEGEE Academyis founded at theAgora in Barcelona.Also called theHuman ResourcesWorking Group, theAcademy co-ordi-nates training inAEGEE, greatlyimproving AEGEE’sefficiency in thisarea.

2000 - 2002

New successful projects are born: Education forDemocracy; Borderless Europe, with its highlight,the Borderless Europe Rally; Eureca, a contribu-tion to the design of a new education programmefor the enlarging European Union; Quo VadisEurope; and the European Day of Languages.

New tools are introduced - the Main Fields ofAction and the Strategy Plan, which respectivelydefine the main foci of AEGEE’s activities, and thework and development of AEGEE-Europe as awhole over a four-year period.

2003

AEGEE decides toexpand its activitiesbeyond the traditionalborders of Europe,introducing the Europein the World year plantopic, organising theCaucasus Case StudyTrip in August 2003 andthe World Youth Summiton Globalisation inDecember 2003. W

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Network


Network

A Great Variety

AEGEE is active in over 260 academic cities, where its localbranches are situated, bringing together students and

young graduates from 42 European countries. Our Networkis extensive and widespread, covering the whole continentfrom Alicante to Moskva and from Lund to Istanbul.

"It's fascinating to see how different each local is, having itsown traditions and highlight events, but it also remains cap-tivating to see all those European people actively workingtogether on the realisation of our common vision. Thisensemble of personalities, experiences and cultures createsa unique fusion, which provides enriching energy for allAEGEE projects" says Karolina Wysocka, Human Resourcesand Network Development Director in the Comité Directeur.

Development of the Network

Initiation

Starting in Paris in 1985, the association was soon presentin Munich, Milan, Leiden, London and Madrid. In the first

four years of its existence, AEGEE focused primarily on theEuropean Community member states. In this early periodAEGEE's biggest political success took place: successful lob-bying for the implementation of the Erasmus MobilityScheme in March 1987. As early as 1988, AEGEE was estab-lished in 40 university cities and began to open up to theEFTA countries.

Nevertheless, opening to students on the other side of theIron Curtain was not yet possible. It was only after the fallof the Berlin Wall in 1989, at the Agora in Salerno, that thedoor was opened to interested students in Central andEastern Europe. The Bonn Agora in 1990 officially welcomedthe first new “Eastern” locals and set expansion of theNetwork to the East as a priority for the years to come. Thefirst antenna to be founded outside the EC was AEGEE-Leipzig, quickly followed by local groups in Cluj-Napoca,Prague and Warsaw.

Present

The Central and Eastern European part of the Network hasdeveloped at a rapid pace and played a key role in theAssociation. It must also be noted that the level of involve-ment and range of activities of antennae in Turkey andRomania has always been impressive! Nonetheless, itremains a fact that the majority of AEGEE Members are EUcitizens, and that more than half of our antennae are locat-

ed within the EU. In fact, the Netherlands alone is home to23% of AEGEE members, making it the strongest point inthe Network even if the general increase can be observedprimarily in Italy, Slovenia, Serbia and Russia.

It has been only four months since the Agora in Zaragoza inOctober 2003, and already twelve requests to join AEGEEhave been accepted. Among the new contact-locals, thereare Flori (Italy), Fribourg (Switzerland) and Tarragona(Spain), each showing an outstanding immediate involve-ment and interest in AEGEE activities.

Future

The successful Case Study Trip to the Caucasus in August2003 resulted in the establishment of AEGEE contact groupsin Tbilisi and Kutaisi in Georgia. Our Georgian partners areeager to gain experience in working with European organi-sations and to learn more about the European educationsystem whilst keeping a close relationship with foreign stu-dents. AEGEE is focusing on providing opportunities foryoung people from the Caucasus, whose involvement pro-vides an inspiring challenge to other members, who cansimultaneously learn about one of the oldest European cul-tures! In fact, a subsequent Caucasus Case Study Trip cou-pled with a series of common training seminars is alreadybeing planned, thanks to the great dedication of AlikiLouvrou, the CST Project Manager.

Our next challenge is to increase the involvement of Frenchstudents in AEGEE activities, in collaboration with our strate-gic partner Animafac, the umbrella organisation for Frenchstudent NGOs. Other areas where the AEGEE network isexpected to grow in the near future include Bosnia, GreatBritain and Scandinavia.

Use of Information Technology

During 19 years of its existence AEGEE has proven that itis possible to successfully manage such a widespread

Network without a national level. Developing IT tools haspermitted smooth communication within the AEGEENetwork, and allowed the Comité Directeur to maintain aproper overview on the crucial aspects of our locals' work.

Already in 1994, the year when Netscape was introduced,AEGEE-Europe had its first homepage. In March 1997,AEGEE registered its own domain aegee.org, and LotusNotes was introduced to administer internal databases. Oneof the most valuable achievements remains our VirtualOffice, which holds a significant pool of information with dif-ferent levels of access. It is the use of common documents,databases and archives that helps AEGEE’s 17 000 mem-bers to work effectively together. International workinggroups, project teams and commissions exchange hundredsof e-mails via our internal mailing-lists. Moreover, AEGEE isalready developing means of cheap voice communication.

Once a year every local submits an Activity and FinancialReport, which are processed in Lotus Notes in order to pro-vide the Comité Directeur with an overview of all operations.This can be very useful, particularly in assessing theNetwork and developing strategies for its development.However, initiating AEGEE activities is most effective whenbased on personal communication, and here a vital role isperformed by the Network Commission.

International Co-operation - the Network Commission

Ateam of ten international co-ordinators called NetworkCommissioners, supported by about 70 subcommission-

ers, works to strengthen AEGEE locals and the bondsbetween them. Network Commissioners recruitvolunteers from among the most experiencedAEGEE members, in order to live up to theirmotto - "to serve and protect the Network."This team provides a bridge between the Localand European levels in AEGEE.

Alexey Korostelev, the NetworkCommissioner in the “North-West” Region andthe co-ordinator for strengthening the AEGEEnetwork in France, emphasises the importanceof keeping an overview of the Network, whichought to be based on good communication so asto successfully manage an interesting anddiverse collection of locals in a region. He fur-ther stresses that: "An overview not only aboutyour field, but also about the work of yourneighbours and everything beyond your level.Only considering the whole context, can youstart thinking strategically and be able to actlocally in an effective way."

Dana Lungu from AEGEE-Bucuresti was elect-ed the Speaker of the Network Commission atthe Autumn Agora 2003. She has been involved in NetComwork for three years. "The three years I have spent workingin the NetCom taught me one important thing: it is mucheasier to work as a team! Moreover, collaboration with otherbodies, Commissions and regional teams is essential. Thekey word for me in the Network Commission is CO-OPERA-TION."

The fundamental importance of team work was also high-lighted by Darya Tafintseva from AEGEE-Kiev, Vice-Speaker of the NetCom, in her experience as a NetworkCommissioner in the Spirit Region. She adds, "Only by doinga lot myself, can I count on feedback and motivation fromthe other side. Sometimes my efforts as a NetCommie seemto be so minor and futile, but with time, one can see someindirect signs proving that nothing is in vain, and this givesa lot of satisfaction!"

Vaggelis Monoguos from AEGEE-Athina, NetworkCommissioner for the “Balkania” Region, remarks, "Thanksto being a member of the Netcom team, I have experiencedhow open-minded AEGEE members can be. Personal contactwith people who are always eager to learn, and that "serveand protect" feeling, give us the motivation to work harderto expand the Network and make it more knowledgeable. Itmakes me very happy seeing more and more people gettingto know AEGEE, making the Network growing constantly!"

AEGEE means a lot of different things.Meeting new people, making European

friends, opening up my mind to different cul-tures, and very unexpectedly: getting to knowmyself from a different point of view.

Simon de Hartog (AEGEE-Enschede)

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Comité Directeur - the HeadquartersThe House at Rue Nestor de Tière 15

Comité Directeur - who are they?


Every six months at the AGORA (General Assembly ofAEGEE), new members of the Board of AEGEE-Europe

(Comité Directeur) are elected. The international team lead-ing the Association consists of up to nine people comingfrom not fewer than four countries, carrying out differenttasks and taking care of different responsibilities. They usu-ally take a break from their studies for six months to oneyear, and move to Brussels to steer the Association. The CDis composed of the President, the secretary, the treasurerand up to six additional members charged with specifictasks, among them up to three Vice-Presidents. They areassisted by AEGEE-Europe’s working groups, project teams,and commissions.

CD May 2003 - October 2003

PRESIDENT:Diana Filip (AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca)

SECRETARY GENERAL:Adrian Pintilie (AEGEE-Bucuresti)

FINANCIAL DIRECTOR:Nicola Rega (AEGEE-Torino)

PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR:Alexander Taylor (AEGEE-Leiden)

EXTERNAL RELATIONS DIRECTOR:Malin Kaiser (AEGEE-Helsinki)

EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS:Emrah Kurt (AEGEE-Ankara)

NETWORK DEVELOPMENT:Eric Nael (AEGEE-Lyon)

INTERNAL EDUCATION DIRECTOR:Sena Latif (AEGEE-Bucuresti)

PROJECTS DIRECTOR:Aniko Vass (AEGEE-Delft)

CD October 2003 - April 2004

At the Agora in Zaragoza only seven people wereelected to the CD, combining the positions of

Human Resources and Network directors, and shar-ing the Institutions tasks among the rest of the CDmembers.

PRESIDENT:Adrian Pintilie (AEGEE-Bucuresti)

SECRETARY GENERAL:Wiebke Hahn (AEGEE-Mannheim)

FINANCIAL DIRECTOR:Nicola Rega (AEGEE-Torino)

PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR / Vice-President:Ewa Solarczyk (AEGEE-Krakow)

EXTERNAL RELATIONS DIRECTOR:Horea Crisan (AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca)

NETWORK DEVELOPMENT and INTERNALEDUCATION DIRECTOR:Karolina Wysocka (AEGEE-Zielona Gora)

PROJECTS DIRECTOR:Risana Shytou (AEGEE-Odessa)

Living together in a multicultural environment, in one big three-floor house, is a real challenge.

Seven different people means seven different personalities, habits,wishes, ideas, approaches, seven different solutions to the sameproblems and seven different working styles. But, it also meansdifferent cooking skills, senses of humour and cultural back-grounds. Building an efficient team out of this exceptional mixturerequires a lot of patience and tolerance, but once common successcomes along, the effort proves to be extremely rewarding.

The Comite Directeur is like a family, spending most of the timetogether, whether working, going to see a film, cooking, fighting,running, having endless meetings, or brainstorming.

These individuals learn how to complement each other, and whathelps them in this is the common goal they share and believe in…AEGEE. This gives sufficient basis for finding a common languageand bridging all the difficulties which come their way.

The atmosphere in the office is something you quickly get used to;the sound of the fax, clicking at the keyboard, answering dozensof e-mails every day, and the general atmosphere of hard workthat pervades the office. But in fact no one day is a typical officeday. Although theoretically all CD members include checking e-mail, sending faxes and making phone calls in their daily sched-ules, every day brings new surprises, new challenges to face and

new problems to solve. Everynew day is filled with new ideasand discussions about how tocarry them into effect. CDmeetings are the ground onwhich the most crucial organi-sational matters are tackledtogather, making every effortto influence the course ofevents in the Association.

CD members have a chance torealize how rewarding it can beto overcome difficulties andremove obstacles together.Successful meetings, seeingarticles in papers, the friendlyand smiling faces of AEGEEmembers all over Europe andthe awareness that whereveryou turn your head, you'll findyour friends, gives a lot of sat-isfaction. It is not at all easy totake the decision to move toBrussels for at least 6 monthsand become a part of theteam, but at some point everyactive AEGEE member consid-ers the challenge that the

European level brings. The bravest and luckiest ones take thisgiant step to change their life. The truth is that this changes yourlife not only for a year or six months, but leaves a mark on yourpersonality, and provides a learning experience that you will prob-ably carry with you for the rest of your life.

Being a CD member teaches you what it means to be an uncondi-tional volunteer, teaches you how to handle disappointment, suc-cess, difficulties, and work together in a multicultural team, findways of efficient communication, count on each other and helpeach other whenever needed. It teaches how to accept other peo-ples' faults, exchange ideas, appreciate tolerance, and cherish dif-ferences.

Linda Baan, 29, grew up in Hoek vanHolland, a village at the seaside. She

studied Human Geography and Planning atthe University of Groningen. She wasDirector for European Institutions in theComite Directeur and Vice President ofAEGEE-Europe from May 1999-May 2000.After her CD term she was the LiaisonOfficer to the European Youth Foundationand coordinator of the Youth ForSoutheast Europe project until she leftAEGEE in 2002. Currently she works forReed Business Information as a projectmanager.

You are remembered as a very hard workingand successful fundraiser; what was the secretof your great achievements?

I wore very short skirts when visiting theEuropean Commission and the European YouthFoundation! I'm kidding, of course, but I don'tthink there was a secret. It's not difficult to besuccessful as a fundraiser if you enjoy 'match-making' between projects and subvention pro-grams, if you understand the importance ofreliability and know (or learn) about projectfinances.

Do you think that AEGEE can be recognized asan important partner by companies and institu-tions?

Absolutely. Partnerships are formed when thereis a shared interest. In its projects AEGEE hasthe possibility of matching its aims and goalswith those of a great variety of interesting part-ners.

What is your greatest memory from the timeswhen you were active in AEGEE?

My greatest memory is not of one moment orone event, it is of my year as a CD member.And it's not the travels, the visits to theParliament and the Commission that I remem-ber, but life in the office. It was a great time,with a great team. When I think about it, I missthem all - including the chicken.

These people live and work together in one house, sharingthe incredible energy that gives them strength to travelmany days without sleep, spend long hours working behinda computer, make phone calls, meet with external partners,but also party with AEGEE members and assist them in theiractivities on the local level as much as possible. They try todo their best in order to keep the Association alive and kick-ing, and in return receive satisfaction that they have influ-enced the course AEGEE takes. The fact of their diverse cul-tural and educational backgrounds constitutes a real chal-lenge in establishing good and fruitful co-operation, and isdefinitely the adventure of a lifetime for CD members.

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Les Anciens d'AEGEE-Europe Janina Victor & Peter Ginser


Patrons & Partners of AEGEE-Europe

The AEGEE-virus will never let go of you, they say. Butwhat can you do about your addiction when you gradu-

ate? Luckily, AEGEE-Europe has an alumni-organisation. It'scalled "Les Anciens d'AEGEE-Europe" and about 300 ex-AEGEEans are currently its members.

The foremost objective of Les Anciens is to help formermembers to keep track of each other. What is happening tothe old AEGEE friends, in what jobs and with how many chil-dren did they end up? Where to send the Christmas card?

Where to meet up inorder to indulge oldmemories? As it'spretty difficult forevery individual tokeep track of thesedynamic peoplespread all overEurope, Les Anciensmaintains a centraldatabase with a list ofmembers.

But Les Anciens doesnot only look back-wards. It also acts asa pool of experiencefor the current gener-

ation of active AEGEE members. If any specific advice isneeded, there is usually someone available in the network ofLes Anciens who has dealt with a similar problem before.Several Alumni have also been able to support the activeorganisation with their business contacts. Making the firstcontact with enterprises or finding support in finance and inkind are often easier through internal contacts.

"I'm so young!" was what one CD member thought whenentering the room where the general meeting of Les Ancienstook place in 2003 in Brussels. One doesn't stay a studentforever (unfortunately?); most members of Les Anciens arefully immersed in working life. The Les Anciens members donot only support AEGEE-Europe with good advice, but alsowith financial help. A 'Continuity Fund' was created in 1997.CD members or CD assistants, who are in a financially tightposition, can get financial support from this fund, in order tomake it possible for them to stay on for a second or eventhird term in the board. A number of members of LesAnciens havemade dona-tions intothis fund andsince its cre-ation, sever-al thousandeuros havebeen collect-ed.

Last year abulletin waslaunched byformer AEGEE star reporter Gunnar Erth, the "Golden Oldie".This newsletter is made by and for members of Les Anciens.The editors have their own mailing list, Gossip-L, which col-lects news items about the doings of Les Anciens members.They keep track of new 'AEGEE-babies', of drastic careerdevelopments ("Egens in New York"), and there is even aquiz in which blunders in long-gone AEGEE-publications areremembered.

In 2003, Les Anciens took a great step towards more coor-dinated activity, when the board was extended with an activ-

Les Anciens MeetingBrussels

Michiel van Hees

Les Anciens. For some reason I don't like the way this

name sounds. It makes me feelold. It also makes me feel wiseand respected, but most of allold. So what on earth am Igoing to do in Brussels? Whyam I going to get stuck in aroom full of oldies talking about the great things wehad in AEGEE? This is what I was thinking as I wasdriving to Brussels on a Friday night. Fortunately, Idecided to stay in the home of the CD, so at least Iwould be the younger part of Anciens.

After a short look around, I found the place wherethe meeting was and it was just as I had expected:a lot of old friends discussing the things we did inthe past and the things we're doing now. But, to mysurprise, it felt great! Seeing all the people I knewpersonally and seeing so many others, whom I onlyknew from stories. And the atmosphere! It wasamazing. Before I even knew it, I was wonderingwhich sightseeing Brussels tour I should choose:the comic's tour, the beer tour or the tourist tour.The organising team made a real effort to entertainall 100 participants. As the time passed by, the sto-ries and tales became crazier and funnier. The his-tory of AEGEE is full of great events, which one candescribe to his or her grandchildren. I could go onwith the details of this meeting but the most impor-tant for me was the fact, that I realised I will neverquit AEGEE because, no matter what happens, thespirit of AEGEE lives in Les Anciens.

Partners

As a non-governmental organisation, AEGEE is completely dependent on external funding sources. These are receivedfrom Institutions and companies.

United Nations

AEGEE has ObserverStatus at the UnitedNations and takes anactive part in UN eventsand projects, such as theWorld Summit on theInformation Society in2003.

BMBF

BMB+F (the GermanMinistry of Educationand Research) is animportant grant-award-ing Institution for vari-ous German and interna-tional projects promot-ing the European dimen-sion in higher education.

European

Commission

Cooperation with theEuropean Commission,especially DG Educationand Culture, is an impor-tant factor in AEGEE’sactivities, both from athematic and financialperspective.

UNESCO

AEGEE enjoys ObserverStatus with UNESCO andregularly attendsUNESCO activities relat-ed especially to HigherEducation and Youth,benefiting from variousgrants in support ofYouth activities.

Council of Europe

AEGEE enjoysParticipatory Status inthe activities of theCouncil of Europe. Thisallows AEGEE, as anInternational NGO, toactively and directly par-ticipate in the work ofCoE and offer its expert-ise according to its fieldsof competence.

ities co-ordinator: Michiel van Hees, the well-known founderof AEGEE TV. Michiel seems to know how to coax people intoorganizing activities despite their busy working lives, andMichiel himself regularly makes sure that the sportive typescan flex their muscles at the twice-yearly 'Open AEGEE/LesAnciens Squash Tournament'.

The yearly highlight of Les Anciens is the general meeting.In 2003, the best-visited general meeting ever took place inBrussels, with almost 90 participants. Organizer Tanguy deLestré and his team set a high standard in terms of superbatmosphere and memorable parties. But whilst in Athina in2004 there will not be any possibility for a AEGEE-Europehead office party, the new year's general meeting will becomplemented by a Sailing regatta in the AEGEEan Sea!

AEGEE-Europe enjoys the Honorary Patronage of:

Vaclav Havel Former President of the Czech RepublicCatherine Lalumiére Former President of the European Commission, MEPDaniel Tarschys Former Secretary General of the Council of EuropeJacques Santer Former President of the European Commission, MEPBronislaw Geremek Former Chairman of the OCSEEric Froment President of the European University AssociationWolfgang Thierse President of the BundestagRita Sussmüth Former President of the BundestagKenneth J. Edwards Former President of the Conference of European RectorsArpad Göncz Former President of the Republic of HungaryMikhail Gorbachev Former President of the Soviet Union, Peace Nobel Prize winner

The World Bank

Various activities ofAEGEE, especially thosefocusing on the topics ofGlobalisation andEurope’s role in theworld meet the thematicand financial support ofthe World Bank.

College of Europe

Particularly in the field ofHigher Education, AEGEEenjoys the continuingsupport of the College ofEurope and its authori-ties. This results instronger recognition ofAEGEE initiatives in itsgreatest field of expert-ise.

Would

YOUliketo

co-operate withAEGEE?

In 2003 AEGEE also received support for its projects...

European Festival EUROPALIA - April - May 2003

Günter Verheugen Commissoner for Enlargement, European Commission Aleksander Kwasniewski President of the Republic of Poland

World Youth Summit on Globalisation: 10-12 December 2003

Baroness Emma Nicholson Member of the European Parliament

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Active Citizenship

AEGEE is characterized by great responsiveness to events taking place in different fields in Europe. By closely fol-lowing events we take the opportunity to express our opinion as active young people. Keeping up to date with the

current situation on our continent, we put hot social and political topics on the agenda of our discussions and addresstopics such as globalisation, disabilities, white papers of the European Commission and ethnic conflicts, taking everyopportunity to influence the course of development of the societies we live in.

Higher education

The activities of AEGEE in the field of Higher Education focus on attempts to influ-ence the educational policies drafted by the European Commission and the Council

of Europe. Since 1999 AEGEE has taken an active role in promoting student mobility,as well as drafting, by means of the European Education Campaign, a new higher edu-cation programme for Europe. With the numerous activities of the European Day ofLanguages, AEGEE expresses another key interest: linguistic diversity.

Cultural exchange

One of the mainstays of AEGEE’s life is cultural exchange. Due to the organisation’s genuinely international charac-ter, this ideal is reflected in every activity it undertakes. It constitutes the main goal of our most successful proj-

ect, Summer University, and is also the basis of the new Find Europe project. Every year more than 5000 students applyfor around 100 Summer Universities taking place all over Europe, to satisfy their curiosity about the history, languageand people of the country of their summer destination.

Peace and stability

Spreading knowledge of democracy, tolerance and open mindedness, AEGEE hasalways had a role to play in the field of Peace and Stability. One project in this field

in 2003 was the hugely successful Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue. Another major proj-ect, Education for Democracy, aims to allow an exchange of students from conflict-rid-den areas into EU countries to study and develop an objective view of the issues thatthey face in their everyday lives.

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Members

European integration

AEGEE strives to foster European integration, democracy, human rights, tolerance, cross-border co-operation, mobil-ity and a European dimension in education.

seemed at stake, where gloomy shadows overpowered andinterfered in the preparation process, and there were momentswhere this ambitious project faced collapse. The Project Teamitself changed significantly in the course of the project, and inAugust, upon the departure of Nicolas to the United States, Itook over as manager. Nonetheless, in these peculiar momentsand with each difficult experience, the Project Team gainedstrength, courage and confidence which fuelled the great deter-mination that stayed with us all throughout. However, all thiscould not be possible were it not for the network of friends whoconstantly kept believing and making sure that our burningenthusiasm never ran out. It was thanks to the great supportfrom our friends that the Team could overcome the difficultiesand successfully complete our mission.

Having gone so deep into such an important and complex issue,it is important for the globalisation debate to be extended, so theYouth & Globalisation Project will continue in the year 2004. Anew concept focusing on our proactive role as young Europeansvis-à-vis the growing globalisation gap in the world is currentlybeing worked out. The 2004 debates will concentrate on civicengagement, cross-cultural dialogue, sustainable developmentand democratisation.

grating into a new, democratic, global political infrastruc-ture. Discussions were held as to how Europe should ensurethe stability of its political institutions and spread this sta-bility beyond itself. Izmir hosted the participants for theCivil Society Study Meeting. Invited to brainstorm aboutthe ideal environment for political participation, the partic-ipants sought to envisage one which enjoys an ideal bal-ance between civil engagement and government.

The conclusions drawn in Bayreuth, Paris, Riga, Cluj-Napoca and Izmir by the end of October were formulatedinto a single Working Document on globalisation. TheWorking Document was prepared at the Joint StudyMeeting held in Udine and Trieste. This Working Documentgathers the results achieved at the five study meetings,outlining policy recommendations in politics, economics,culture, geo-communications and civil society vis-à-vis theglobalisation process. This Working Document served as astarting point for discussion at the World Youth Summit onGlobalisation, which took place at the European Parliamentin Brussels in December 2003.

Beyond our European ShoresThe Youth & Globalisation Year Plan project 2003

Alexianne Galea


Looking back and thinking of the year just gone by, van-ished are all the hardships, tension and nervous out-

breaks endured throughout the course of the Youth &Globalisation Project. All that lies inside, in my deepestmemories are sensations of sheer bliss. In truth, for me themanagement of this project remains tied to the most pleas-urable voyage of discovery of my life, a transforming expe-rience of living close to the edge and testing the limits ofone's abilities.

It all started as a late summer dream back in September2002, when I participated at the nine-hour workshop at theCagliari Planning Meeting, the first ideas behind the pro-posed year plan topic of 'Europe in the World'. The actualpreparations began with the development of the ProjectTeam under the direction of Aniko Vass, then Projects Co-ordinator of AEGEE-Europe, right after the Agora in Athina inlate autumn 2002. Having prepared the full concept with its

Commencing with an online survey, theproject gave us immediate satisfactionin that the response was simply incredi-ble: nearly a thousand submissions. Thisgave us a very useful basis for discus-sion at the subsequent study meetings.In fact, throughout the summer months,five intimate gatherings of around twen-ty participants took place in Bayreuth,Paris, Riga, Cluj-Napoca and Izmir, at

each of which the group thoroughly analysed one of thethematic pillars of the project. The position papers fromeach Study Meeting were all re-evaluated at the Joint StudyMeeting hosted by Udine and Trieste, so as to produce theWorking Document for the World Youth Summit onGlobalisation. This was the culmination of the project, gath-ering young delegates from all across the world in theEuropean Parliament building, to formulate the finalStrategy Paper on Globalisation, a paper with really burningdebates as its main ingredients.

However, the Youth & Globalisation Project was never a bedof roses. There were far too many times where everything

Global Study Meetings flaming the AEGEE summer Alexianne Galea

2003 was a summer with a difference! Besides the usualSummer Universities, the AEGEE summer was defined

by a series of Study Meetings, in Bayreuth, Paris, Riga,Cluj-Napoca and Izmir, scheduled within the framework ofthe year plan project 'Youth & Globalisation.' This was thesetting for heated discussions all through summer on theburning challenges raised by globalisation at the dawn ofthe 21st century.

Given the huge scope of the subject matter, globalisationwas analysed from five distinct but related angles; politics,economics, culture, geo-communications and civil society.This five-fold approach catered for a holistic look at thishotly debated matter through four actions, starting with anonline survey and culminating in the World Youth Summiton Globalisation.

The indications emerging from the online survey served asa basis for further investigation and analysis at the fiveStudy Meetings. The Summer Globalisation Tour started offin Bayreuth in July with the geo-communications StudyMeeting entitled 'Communication as a Privilege,' wherequestions were raised relating to the sources of power andaccess to information content in an information society.Another issue debated was whether the advanced means ofcommunications available today in certain parts of theworld have a real value in the new social formation. Laterthat same month, the World Bank building in Paris hostedthe Study Meeting on Economics: "The rich get richer andthe poor get poorer." The meeting enquired whether exten-sive freedom of movement is desirable in this world, whateffect it has in practice and what should be done in futureto either promote or amend free mobility whilst combatingpoverty and promoting sustainability.

The Study Meeting on Culture in the Latvian capital Rigaquestioned the processes of cultural integration set inmotion by the breakdown of physical, mental and socialborders, in view of the future of the so-called European val-ues that will be endorsed in the Draft Constitution forEurope. Under the title of "Europe the Mediator, Europe theSuperpower," the participants assembled in Cluj-Napocatried to envision a European government capable of inte-

five thematic pillars and the accompanying implementationprogramme at the Planning Meeting in Enschede, the proj-ect was named 'Youth & Globalisation' with NicolasMildenstein as manager.

This Project was a breakthrough for AEGEE in that its mainfield of interest extended far beyond our European shores.The Youth & Globalisation project attempted to encompassone of the most challenging issues of our time, the phe-nomenon of globalisation. Having the possibility to raisetheir concerns, young people were given the opportunity todevise an action strategy addressing the difficult questionsassociated with the issue. However, owing to the scope ofthe topic under discussion, we analysed globalisationthrough a five-fold approach, thus ensuring an all-encom-passing perspective by devoting special interest separatelyto politics, economics, culture, geo-communications and civilsociety.

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AEGEE-Riga

This year AEGEE-Riga willblow out the 3rd candle on

our birthday cake. Although weare only 40 people and all in ourearly childhood, we are active,mobile and enthusiastic: totalAEGEE addicts.

In the last three years wehave organised a numberof educational and enter-taining events; first, ofcourse, our famousSummer Universities. Themost recent one was full of(un)expected experi-ences with a crazy,rainy boat tourand the AEGEE-Riga trademark survivalgame. In December we alsohad our first winter University,'(sp)ICE matters', with a lot of(sp)icy feelings!

AEGEE-Riga already has manyunique traditions. Our dance, "Ijust can't get AEGEE out of myhead" (in corporation with KylieMinogue), chocolate cake,sauna parties and much more.

We made Europe see, noticeand accept us; now, come tothe place in the northern cornerof Europe where you are alwaysdearly welcome! We want tosee your happy, shiny face!

Starring

Antenna Egita Aizsilniece, 23, is a founder member ofAEGEE Riga. She was president of this, the onlyLatvian antenna, for 2 years. After organisingmany successful events on a local level shejoined the Youth and Globalisation Project Teamand went to Brussels to work on the project withthe support of the European Commission’s EVSprogramme. She was the first person everaccepted to this programme to work for AEGEE.While staying in Brussels, she co-ordinated the

Study Meetings and the Creativity Contest of the Y&G project, aswell as a large part of this year plan's final conference: the WorldYouth Summit.

You have been actively involved in AEGEE for quite some time already,and you still keep your positive attitude; how is that possible?

Two years for some members would only be the start. I have always takenAEGEE seriously, and I believe it’s AEGEE magic to gather interesting peo-ple. I value this charm and attraction in AEGEE, and I am truly convincedthat it is the people I work with that bring me this positive attitude. It’s

rather important what kind of people I reach results with for our dearAEGEE.

Working on the Y&G project must have been quite a challenge; didyou find this experience valuable?

Yes, for sure! This project was a challenge for both the association whenthe Agora voted for the concept, and for the international team. I’m satis-fied with the results: experience in making administrative arrangements fora global event, intercultural communication, friends for a lifetime and onememorable conclusion; there is no problem without a solution.

Living and working in the CD house in Brussels gives you a great picture ofAEGEE in general; where do you see yourself next year?

Oh yes! The peculiarity is that you picture your world in one way, then youget into AEGEE and see the same world varicoloured with broader horizons.After all the experience in the CD house, I came to the conclusion thatAEGEE is really an independent world where you meet strangers, findfriends, and come across serious challenges. You simply find yourself inplaces you wouldn’t have imagined before. Now I feel ready to help futurestrivers reach their goals. As things stand now, I’m ready to give the flourto the next generation. But where will I be next year? Who knows…

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Caucasus Case Study Trip: "Building Bridges to Europe"Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan 13-31 August 2003

Aliki Louvrou


Hidden behind the veil of the Soviet era for most of the20th century, the Caucasus region is situated at the

crossroads of Europe and Asia, of the West and East, of theold world and the new. History's oldest vineyards are foundin Georgia; Armenia was the first country to embraceChristianity in the fourth century; the Silk Route linkingChina with Italy passed through the Caucasus mountains.The Caucasus region, despite its small size, is extremelyrich in culture and history. Yet, most of us know this regiononly because of its oil, its natural resources and the ongo-ing conflicts.

But, what about its culture, its people or its students? Howdoes student life look like over there? What is the everydayreality of young Georgians, Armenians, Azeris? How does local

civil society look like? Are there studentsinterested in the AEGEE principles? Thesewere few of the questions that a bunch ofmotivated AEGEE members set out to dis-cover with the three main goals: to raiseawareness in AEGEE about the Caucasus, toestablish links with local students, and topromote the AEGEE principles in theSouthern Caucasus region.

What exactly happened during these twoweeks? After months of preparations a group of 15 AEGEEmembers flew to the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. Accompaniedby six students from Georgia and five from Armenia we spentthe first week travelling all over the astonishing country ofGeorgia, then we separated: one group went to Armenia andthe other to Azerbaijan. After one week, the team reunited inTbilisi for exchanging experience, findings, reaching final con-clusions and making plans for follow-up. Through a series ofmeetings, workshops, presentations and other activities wehad the chance to get first-hand information on the currentsituation in the area, and also to share the AEGEE spirit withour hosts.

This unique experience definitely opened the door to AEGEE

for expansion furthertowards the East. Itexpanded our knowl-edge on this particularregion, now enablingfurther co-operationand having a concreteidea of what to expect.It raised the interest ofour network, so the fol-

low-up team is already being set up. It unveiled a lack of co-operational platforms between the Caucasus countries andthe European Union higher education institutions, as well asthe European Commission. It created a challenge for AEGEEto help fellow students in a region where NGOs like AEGEEare mostly needed.

Therefore, following all the work we have done after the casestudy trip, the next step we will all take at the Agora inSkopje (April 2004) where the first Georgian locals will joinofficially our network.

In terms of projects, priority will be given to projects sup-porting the mobility of our new friends towards Europe, suchas scholarship competitions, financial support for participa-tion in AEGEE events, and of course lobbying the EuropeanInstitutions to include the three Caucasus republics into theirfuture education programmes. In our immediate plans, weare envisaging a European School in Tbilisi, offering thepractical knowledge needed to run locals in a successful way,adapted to the local reality. There is also the idea to organ-ise another case study trip, this time concentrating onAzerbaijan or Armenia. And of course, we wish to supportany initiatives for exchanges between locals.

In a nutshell, I believe this was definitely a very interactiveexperience, rich in cultural education and in deeper under-standing of how International politics interlink and influencethe lives of millions of people.

Aliki Louvrou was the Project Manager for the CST.

Zsuzsa Kigyos is a 32-year-oldgraduate of the BudapestUniversity of Economics, major-ing in Marketing, EuropeanStudies and Finance. She wasamong the founders of AEGEE-Budapest and later on a memberof the Board for a year. After thatshe was elected a member of theCD of AEGEE-Europe betweenNovember 1992 and 1993,

responsible for the student mobility program (TEM-PUS), then for half a year she was a President ofAEGEE-Europe (11/93 - 4/94).

You were the first woman to become President of AEGEE-Europe, and what’s more, originating from CEE; how didyou feel when you were elected?

I think it was a very interesting period for us as AEGEEmembers, since it was during the time when the EuropeanCommission gradually opened up for Central and EasternEurope and the CEE societies and economies entered a newera of transformation.

I felt very much honored that the Agora elected mePresident and trusted that I could manage the organizationtogether with my fellow CD members.

Did AEGEE experience change your attitude towards thewestern world?

I think the "AEGEE experience" thought me how to workwith an international team, including people with diversebackgrounds, rather than changing my attitude towards thewestern world.

How would you encourage AEGEE members to play anactive role in a civil society?

I believe that everybody has his or her basic characteristicsto start with, but that we are different. Since we are mem-bers of society we have some external or social obligationsas well. Everybody needs to become active in civil societyonly based on the internal obligation s/he feels, consider-ing at the same time the needs of the society. When youthink about whether to play an active role or not I wouldsuggest thinking about these types of obligations and act inaccordance with your own conclusion. I think I am fairlyliberal and would strongly encourage someone only if Iknow the person and the task s/he needs to take.

Fleur, AEGEE-UtrechtLogistics Team Member

Logistics. Hmmm … Definitely notto be neglected at any kind ofevent. The logistics team naturallyalways stays a bit in the shadows,compared with the rest. However,running around, picking partici-pants up from the airport, leadingthem to their hostels, preparinglunches, making coffee and tea, waking them up in themorning, guiding them around and in the meanwhilejust enjoying their company made it worthwhile for meto volunteer for this Summit. To see things once fromanother, non-participant's point of view.

And what made this event even more special (apartfrom the fact it was my first big European event, beingan AEGEE member for only less than a year) was theoverseas participants, as they understand the processof globalisation from an entirely different perspective. Irealised during these three days that in fact I was notonly a staff member, but rather found myself in themiddle of integration once more. After all, that's whatAEGEE is about.

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This world has taken on a melancholic strain, seeing thatnot everything is going as well as it should be and sens-

ing our dream of making this world a better place growingmore and more distant is, to say the least, distressing.However, the feeling that in our own way, as young commit-ted citizens, we can somehow do something, motivated allthe delegates assembled at the European Parliament for theWorld Youth Summit on Globalisation.

All the four corners of the world were represented at theGrand Closure of the 2003 Year plan Project, an event whichby itself marked a breakthrough for AEGEE. In fact, for thevery first time, AEGEE hosted other international NGOs andyouth activists from over 30 countries all across the world,ranging from pacific Australia to exotic Costa Rica; from cos-mopolitan America to charming Zambia and from delightfulAzerbaijan to remarkable Britain! Indeed, only a truly multi-cultural youth debate could produce such a bold and enrich-ing Final Strategy Paper on Globalisation.

The World Youth Summit transcended mere talk and discus-sions, primarily through its working methodology. Aimed atobtaining concrete, sustainable results, the three-day longsummit included thematic workshops and alternating forumdiscussions and open dialogues. The delegates couldaddress major issues of our time with illustrious personali-ties such as Haleh Bridi, World Bank Special Representativeto the EU, and Brigita Schmognerova, Executive Secretary ofUNECE, as well as Joao Vale de Almeida representing theEuropean Commission, Christophe Ersnt from theInternational Labour Organisation, and many others.

Despite the cloudy Brussels weather and the public transportstrike, after lengthy and sometimes heated discussions, thedelegates eventually managed to produce a bold FinalStrategy Paper on Globalisation! Opening with a finely tuneddefinition of globalisation as a 'dynamic multi-dimensionaland interconnected process that generates intertwined linksaffecting all aspects of contemporary life', the delegatesadvocated the importance of adopting free and fair trade,thus permitting developing countries to have equal bargain-ing power in international trade. Apprehension was showntowards the current status of International Organisations,and recommendations included enhanced accountability andenabling nation states to develop in line with their indige-nous political culture. A global civil society endorsing cultur-al diversity was cherished, while general acclamation wel-comed the assertion that globalisation remains an opportu-nity to reduce insularity and eradicate prejudice, thusenhancing deeper cultural knowledge and leading to com-mon understanding in a global context.

The World Youth Summit on Globalisation enjoyed thePatronage of Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne,Member of the European Parliament, and of the College ofEurope, and received support from the World Bank.Euractiv.com and Foreign Policy Magazine were the officialmedia partners, while the International Youth Parliamenthad observer status throughout the working sessions.

World Youth Summit on Globalisation Brussels, 10-12.12.03

Alexianne Galea

ZAMBIA IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE

Presley ChiyesuExecutive Director, Zambia Youth Promotions

Yes, the World Youth Summit proved to be a per-fect platform to realize that we are not alone in

Africa. AEGEE gave a beginning to a small networkof young people striving for the same goals all overthe world. And as a result: advocacy and action-based strategies drawn up by nearly 200 young-sters who do care about the future direction ofglobalization. Young people generally share thesame ideas and are eager to help Africa in perti-nent matters. To demonstrate our determination,we, Zambian Youth Promotions, are organizing afollow-up to this magnificent Summit. In the formof a conference we will try to convene Zambianyouth and call them to act to create a Pan-AfricanYouth Network, to raise awareness and to cry forhelp.

Thank you, AEGEE, for a Summit of this magni-tude. And we truly hope for further co-operation,the realisation of our joint efforts and to be furtherpart of the global village.

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Spring AgoraBucuresti 28.02 - 02.03.2003

Andrei Popescu

Action Europe Planning MeetingMagusa 12-14.09.03

Betina Szkudlarek


Autumn AgoraZaragoza 22-26.10.03

In Autumn 2003, the European Students' Forum AEGEEheld its twice yearly General Assembly in Zaragoza, Spain.

Almost 800 delegates and envoys from all over Europe gath-ered together again in order to make another important stepforward regarding the Association's future. AEGEE’s GeneralAssemblies focus on long-term planning and the futuredevelopment of the Association.

Subjects of discussion centred on AEGEE's projects andactivities for the coming months. The revised proposal of theFind Europe Project was discussed once again and voted on,attracting a lot of new people to the project team. Another

proposal dealt with creating the Liaison Office, setting itsgoals, and making it more organised and co-ordinated. TheYearplan Topic European Identity for the year 2004 was alsodiscussed, and new ideas about its implementation weregenerated. Another significant aspect of the Agora agendawas marked by the elections for the European representa-

tives: members of commissions, boards of working groups,and the European Board of Directors (Comite Directeur).

During such events it is easy to notice that the members ofAEGEE change and AEGEE spirit and people's motives forjoining the association change as well.

In order to make the Agora in Zaragoza happen, eightyAEGEE members dedicated an entire week of their time toensure the success of the event. However, the preparations,such as fundraising, contacts with institutions and logisticalplanning, had already taken a whole year. During the eventitself organisers were seen waking up at 7 am, preparingbreakfast, going to work at the registration desk, then clean-ing the hall, moving right afterwards to the lunch prepara-tion team, resting for less than 2 hours, then coming backto prepare dinner, and after all that, still joining the partyand having fun with their friends from all around Europe.

David Barco, the local co-ordinator of the Agora, waspleased. "Despite some organizational difficulties, we havedone an extremely rewarding and satisfying job. We havedone something that most people of AEGEE haven't had achance to do," he explained. "There is one reason above allwhy I’m happy that I took part in the organisation of thisevent. Now I have no problems answering when somebodyasks me about the AEGEE spirit".

Think Europe Planning MeetingEnschede 28.02 - 02.03.2003

Leonoor Brouwer

Spring of 2003 marked another challenging statutoryevent in the AEGEE Calendar: the Think Europe Planning

Meeting organised by AEGEE-Enschede. More than 250AEGEE members from all over Europe found their way to theNetherlands for the event. As it is the case with everySpring "Think Europe" Planning Meeting, the contentremained focused on extended brainstorming: generatingideas about the direction the association should follow andassessment of AEGEE's policies and activities in the light ofgeneral tendencies in society and the policies of theEuropean Union. The plans for activities and AEGEE involve-ment reached as far and were as bold as organising theCaucasus Case Study Trip, and the discussions over thepolitical role of AEGEE and the extent to which AEGEE should

be involved in creat-ing political state-ments.

Eight different work-shops tackled eightdifferent topics, andthe participants couldchoose which one toattend. On Sundaythe results of all thediscussions were pre-sented to the Plenaryand indeed the work-shops generated a lot

from Constanta was quite OK. Calming down the rectorthreating one day before the event that he is withdrawingeverything because a press article did not mention his uni-versity (which proved to be a false rumor after all) or find-ing out in the middle of the night that 200 promised accom-modation places simply vanished when all organizers werealready sleeping in the hall of the hotel that night were notthe happiest moments in our lives.

But all this is over by now. The event was definitely differentfrom the one many people pictured only few weeks beforethe Agora actually took place. It was definitely an experi-ence, but life goes on and soon it will be forgotten by many.For others it may even remain a good story for their grand-children. The important thing is that it is a true story, madereal by some people who, when hope was more like some-thing to be dreamed of and when everything seemed to fallapart, were still too stubborn to lose faith.

Some loved it. Some hated it. Agony and Ecstasy. Onething is for sure: everyone felt it. We are talking of

course about the ultimate extreme experience of AEGEEBucuresti when it comes to the Spring Agora 2003.

The mission statement of the event was short and simplefrom the very beginning: to organize the coolest Agora ever.Seminar rooms in the Parliament House, hotel accommoda-

tion, and a great socialprogramme with partieseach night. Some said thatwe were out of our minds,others just called us abunch of incorrigibledreamers. Some just saidwe were pushing our luck.And the moment of truthwas soon to come...

After all, pushing our luck was probably the best description.How much chance remains when one month before theevent things start to collapse one by one? First you are toldthat the Parliament House is going to be closed when youneed it. Then the accommodation money dissolves in theheat of your anger. OH BOY! You are not only an extremedreamer, but also in deep trouble!

So... take a deep breath, then another one, and start every-thing all over again. And do not forget to keep the faith!

There are lots of details that are invisible for the audience.Those two weeks proved to be the most intense in the livesof many. To create basic conditions such as accommodation,seminar rooms and food for 850 people in Constanta provednot to be the most challenging task. Having a train to and

Bart Pegge, Organising Team

What made the PM organisa-tion so special to me? Maybe

it was the wonderful time that wespent at the registration desk,meeting old friends after 'longtime no see'? Or maybe it was thegreat experience of waking up250 people in a gym at 7am? Alsoseeing over 300 people dancingat the European Night and then celebrating my ownbirthday gave me a warm feeling. But the best werethe 'thank-you-mails' that were sent afterwards.Sorry... it is too difficult to explain, being Europeanlyyours is a feeling, and it's a special one.

It is a historical occasion forus to hold such an extraordi-

nary PM here in Magusa. Weare not always aware of thefact that we are living throughmajor historical changes.Sometimes, however, historycrystallises into a single, over-whelming event - those wordscould be found in the preambleto the Planning Meeting inMagusa written by the mem-bers of the Comité Directeur.One of the main reasons toorganise the Planning Meetingin Magusa was the willingness of AEGEE members to mani-fest that the united continent should not have any bordersfor Europeans. And this dream became reality for at least fewdays.

The autumn Planning Meeting gives AEGEE members anopportunity to meet and actively shape the future of theassociation. In Magusa young people from all around Europe

discussed the practical prospects ofAEGEE development. The partici-pants evaluated the 2003 Yearplanproject "Youth and Globalisation"and discussed the details of the2004 Yearplan project: "EuropeanIdentity".

The PM became also a starting pointfor another project initiated withinAEGEE: "Immigrants andRefugees", which focuses on theconsequences of migration inEuropean societies.

The participants had a chance notonly to work hard but also to enjoy the richness of attractionsthe organisers prepared. "With its culture, traditions, history,warmth, hospitality and beautiful landscape, Cyprus isunique in many aspects," explained the organisers, “and thatis why these couple of days spent in Magusa were an unfor-gettable experience for our guests”.

Aniko Vass, former CD (AEGEE-Delft)

Agora Zaragoza? Not as warm asone could expect. And many

sandwiches. I had a fever too, so Imissed the most importantSaturday afternoon with all thecandidatures. But well ... Spaingenerally has a certain bewitchedcharm, and so do the Agoras.

Leaving the CD behind, enriched emotionally and inexperience, however, eventuate in heavy-heartedness.Zaragoza brought about my time to say good-bye, toleave Brussels and the friends behind and to succumbto the natural course of live: move on to live in thecharm that captured me under the Dutch summer sun.

of different opinions and ideas for developing and initiatingAEGEE activities. But the participants had not only come tothink and brainstorm. That's why the organisation had takencare that the social program was also of a good quality!There were some fantastic parties, especially the Europeannight on Saturday, which took place in Asterion, the famouspub of AEGEE-Enschede, with excellent music, great drinksand a lot of socialising.

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Niels Hoffmann

Niels Hoffmann is a 28-year-oldmember of AEGEE Groningen,AEGEE Utrecht and a honorarymember of AEGEE-Beograd. Hejoined AEGEE in 1997 and fromthe very beginning he's beenactively involved in organisingevents, such as PRES and anexchange with AEGEE-Beograd. Afterwards, he wasbriefly involved in the Education for Democracyproject before joining the CD as Director for HumanResources. During his CD term he was the liaisoncontact for the OSCE and the UN, as well as CDmember for the Academy and the Members’Commission. After 6 months, he left the CD andbecame the manager for the ES II in Utrecht in thesummer of 2001. Then he joined the GlobalEmployee project team and when the project wasover, he joined Les Anciens. Currently, following hisengineering degree, he is doing a Masters degree inEuropean Cultures.

You are known as Niels "important" Erikson Hoffmann.Where does the nickname come from?

I honestly don't remember who started this, but indeed itis an often-used nickname. I think it originates in the factthat I have this tendency to use also my second name

Erikson, so suddenly my friends started annoying me byreplacing this with "important", hence the result: NielsImportant Hoffmann.

The BIG Exchange, Education for Democracy and Balkantemptation must have made you one of the most activecitizens in this field a few years ago.

Whether I was one of the most active citizens in this fieldI don't know, but it's true I was doing numerous thingsand was involved in many Balkan-related projects. In1998, AEGEE-Groningen had an exchange with AEGEE-Beograd, and this was the beginning of several visits tothis beautiful region in Europe called the Balkans. I haveto admit it was the combination of the very friendly andkind people, the beautiful country, the delicious cuisine,enjoyable music, brilliant parties, the special plum brandy,and let's not forget the Balkan girls who can still bringback good times. The Balkans is a complicated, troubledregion, often misunderstood in other parts of Europe.Especially the position of students in Serbia underMilosevic was something that we tried to bring to theattention of "Western" Europe. Through the exchanges weoffered them the opportunity to travel, which wasextremely difficult at that time due to the harsh visaregime. Unfortunately nowadays, due to my studies, Ihave far less time to travel to this fascinating region, andI must say that I miss it a lot. It became a kind of secondhome for me during the years.

Human Resources - Human ImportPassau 27-30.11.03

Youth for South Eastern Europe Bojana Sobot and Dimitrije Stamenkovic


THE PAST

The Youth for South Eastern Europe initiative started in2001 as a project aiming to promote co-operation and

activism among young people in this region. To date theproject has included numerous events, starting with the twintraining course in Belgrade and Istanbul (2001) and contin-uing with the training course in Novi Sad in 2002. More than200 young people were educated this way. Far more tookpart in fulfilling this mission, thus keeping in contact witheach other, strengthening links between AEGEE locals, aswell as with other NGOs in the region, and promoting theideals, aims and achievements of AEGEE wherever the ini-tiative took place.

THE FUTURE

A look at the current situation shows that though makingremarkable progress, the region has not yet achieved stabil-ity, and certainly not integration. The Y4SEE initiative clear-ly still has a contribution to make by promoting youthactivism in all fields of interest, since it is for young people,carried out by young people, and the needs of the region arenot so distant or unachievable.

THE PRESENT

The next year will see training courses and events focusingon burning problems. There will be a web forum and websiteto improve communication and enable an exchange of ideasamong young people in South East Europe.

"Human Resources - Human Import" was the firstconference of the On the Move: The Migration Project,which forms a part of the Human Rights Yearplan forthe year 2004.

The event was organized by the Human Rights WorkingGroup of AEGEE-Europe and AEGEE-Passau. The focus of

the conference was mainly on human trafficking and smug-gling from Eastern into Western Europe. Therefore the vic-tims, the traffickers, their routes and the people who com-bat the traffic were separately analysed in order to gain bet-ter understanding of the motives and consequences ofHuman Trafficking and Smuggling.

This issue deserves special attention, especially in the lightof the accession of eight Central and Eastern EuropeanCountries to the EU in 2004. To find solutions it is absolute-ly necessary to raiseconsciousness andawareness of thisproblem, especiallyin the WesternEuropean countries.

The congress inPassau was aimedat analysing anddiscussing themotives and originsof the currenthuman traffickingand smuggling. In order to achieve these goals, it provideda plurality of perspectives, which were delivered in variouspresentations, as well as through real-life experiences.

Due to the depth of the problem it was impossible to treatall aspects in detail. Because of that, each participant had tochoose a workshop which was of most interest to them. Thisway everyone could concentrate on the field he or she con-sidered of major importance. There were four groups of thir-teen people, each group carrying out a set of tasks in orderto prepare a presentation for the other participants on thelast day of the congress.

By the end of the project the Human Rights Working Groupmembers wanted to fulfil the three goals - raising aware-ness, promoting activism, and lobbying with the results inthe European Institutions' units dealing with Human Rightsissues.

Alistair de Gaetano, 21, is aboard member of AEGEE-

Valletta. He is one of the initia-tors of the rebirth of the HumanRights Working Group, of whichhe is now the speaker. He hasbeen actively involved in thelocal activities of AEGEE-Valetta,as well as a very active partici-pant in several AEGEE events.

We all know you as a passionate speaker and greatdiscussion participant; do you think that AEGEE givesyou possibilities to express yourself?

At high school I was into this stuff, but then AEGEEmakes you see the other side of the coin, and youthink - what's the use of "bla bla" without stuff toback it up? This is why it was so tempting to getinvolved. OK, what makes it initially attractive is thetravel abroad, meeting people, and the possibility ofcombining the two. It's one thing just saying 'Ithink/belive in X/Y/Z', it's another thing saying it at aStatutory Meeting and then following it up with aproject... My main interest has always been humanrights. With AEGEE, you can express yourself to thefull - not just by saying it, but also by doing it and byacting with people.

Your current activities in AEGEE are strongly connect-ed with working in multinational teams; have youalready experienced any cases of cultural differences?

Cultural differences… Well… Dutchies do drive memad at times. (smile) I mean, when you're from theSouth you have different ideas about how to go aboutthings. For example I was never used to getting a to-do list prepared, with individual tasks listed, and soon. But then it all boils down to the art of compro-mise. In the end, you work out a system that willmore or less work for all. But still I find that it's real-ly all about the person rather than the culture, whichis more of a stereotype than anything. Just to give anexample, I have worked with both Swiss and MalteseSecretaries in the Working Group, but their work-rateand dedication were still second to none, even thoughthey are culturally supposed to be totally opposite!!!

What will you be doing in one year’s time?

Well... people have been asking me about my futurein AEGEE, but it all depends on how things go thisyear, especially in the HR Working Group. I havelearnt a lot, both on the technical and personal level,and AEGEE has given me a lot, so I definitely can't

see myself out of AEGEE. How will I beinvolved?...That still remains to be seen.

And yes, I have my final exams this year, andalso have to pass them, so hopefully I'll also hold a

degree in a year's time. But let's say that I'll hopeful-ly be happy with my achievements up to now, anddefinitely they have motivated me to go a bit fur-ther...

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Diplomatic SeminarBucharest, 5-11.05.03

Ioana Muresan & Olivier Genkin


The Diplomatic Seminar was a one-week training courseorganized by AEGEE-Bucuresti and the International

Politics Working Group of AEGEE-Europe (IPWG), under thehigh patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romaniaand with the support of the Central European Initiative. Inaddition to support from the Belgian Embassy and the BritishCouncil, which enabled the event to take place, diplomaticinsiders such as István Ijgyártó, the Hungarian Ambassadorto Romania, and Petre Roman, former Prime Minister ofRomania, made substantial contributions to the seminar.

The Diplomatic Seminar was an original project designed togive participants a glimpse of the complexity of moderndiplomacy and provide them with the tools to work success-fully in this field. It also sought to show those currentlyworking in the diplomatic arena the potential of students formeaningful involvement in the field of diplomacy. The pro-

gramme includedlectures and discus-sions on modernchallenges in inter-national relationsand the theory ofdiplomacy, work-shops on the essen-tial skills needed bydiplomats, and sim-ulations of a rangeof key diplomaticactivities.

C o l l a b o r a t i o nbetween an AEGEE antenna and a Working Group in organ-ising an event is itself a demanding but rewarding challenge

in intercultural communication and diplomacy.In the case of AEGEE-Bucuresti and the IPWGthis was a great success, as can be seen in thedecision made by both participants and organis-ers to have a second edition of the DiplomaticSeminar in 2004 in Beograd.

All ways to EuropeUtrecht 15-18.05.03

Marieke de Groot

All Ways to Europe: a conference on transport. More than 50students from all over Europe arrived in Utrecht by a variety

of transport means so as to learn everything about this topic.Completely in line with the theme, they spend the nights on aboat in one of the famous canals of Utrecht.

Participants were greeted by lectures delivered from Membersof the European Parliament and the Dutch ministry while theworkshops were conducted by representatives from transportcompanies. Particularly interesting aspects included a boat tripto the biggest harbour of Europe in Rotterdam, and a visit to theRailway museum in Utrecht. A spectacular social programmeaccompanied the event, culminating in a marvelous EuropeanNight in Love Boat style.

Eight members of AEGEE-Utrecht spent one year ofpreparation to makethese four days unforget-table for all the partici-pants. They even promot-ed the event by dancingin front of 800 partici-pants at AEGEE's statuto-ry meeting in Athens.Definitely, this was worthit!

Year Plan Topic 2004 - European Identity

Eric Nael - Project Team member

European Identity. What comes to your mind when youhear this phrase? Does European Identity as such existor is it artificially created? Is there one common identi-ty in Europe or are we living through many faces of it?

In line with the general concept of AEGEE's year-plantopics, we are once again placing this year's most rele-vant and highly-debated issue into spotlight: thebiggest enlargement step of the European Union. Thehistoric expansion of 1 May 2004 inspired AEGEE tochoose its new year-plan topic accordingly. The mainaim of the projects within the topic European Identity isto gather opinions from young people all over Europeabout the enlargement, in order to understand betterhow it works and participate more actively in buildingits future. The year plan projects in 2004 look at theEuropean identity from three angles: political,analysing the diverse attitudes particularly in non-EUstates in Europe; human rights, tackling especially theissue of human trafficking, asylum policies and immi-gration; and cultural, questioning the notion of identityand considering its future developments in Europe.These will help us to compose a complete picture of thediversity of identities that young Europeans live.

Europe's (Torn?) Identity

International conference organised by AEGEE-Ljubljana and IPWG

From 12-19 October 2003, 42 participants from 20European countries gathered in Ljubljana, Slovenia,

where the seminar "Europe's (Torn ?) Identity" took placeunder the honorary patronage of Mr Milan Kucan, formerPresident of the Republic of Slovenia, the Major of Ljubljana,the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission inSlovenia and the Rector of the University of Ljubljana. The

conference wasorganised by amultinational teamfrom AEGEE-Ljubljana and theInternational PoliticsWorking Group ofA E G E E - E u r o p e(IPWG), with sup-port from theCouncil of Europe.

Throughout theweek Slovenian andforeign professorsdelivered lectures ontopics connected

with European integration, identity and future. Even thoughthe schedule was very busy, the participants were activelyinvolved in discussions and simulated negotiations.

The main focus of discussions was the dilemma of a commonEuropean Identity. If one looks from geographical, historical,political, economical, religious or cultural perspective, in allthese dimensions we notice how diverse European countriesare. The citizens of Europe are the ones who will be capable(or not) of building up some kind of common EuropeanIdentity and in the same time maintaining our national iden-tities.

For most of the participants it was their first time inSlovenia, so sightseeing tour of Ljubljana we accompaniedby two afternoon excursions to Bled and Novo mesto, wherethe participants had the chance to try a typical Sloveniandessert "blejske kremsnite", dance to Slovenian folk musicand taste Slovenian wine named "cvicek". In this way theorganisers were also able to proudly show the participants asmall piece of Slovenia and its culture.

The last days of the event took place in Kobarid, near theItalian border. This different environment created an excel-lent opportunity for the participants to strengthen friendlyrelations that were struck up in the week in Ljubljana as wellas to experience European integration in practice through alot of informal contacts. In addition, valuable input wasgiven for the 2004 IPWG Yearplan Project "EU & Europe", towhich "Europe's (Torn?) Identity" in Ljubljana was the open-ing conference. The show will go on...

EU & Europe - discover your neighbours!

The 2004 EU enlargement has a major impact on therelationships between differ-ent European countriesand the EU within its new borders. AEGEE's YearplanProject "EU & Europe" aims at discussing questions ofidentity both for the countries that remain outsidethese new borders and for the EU. This project is co-ordinated by the International Politics Working Group ofAEGEE-Europe (IPWG) within the 2004 Yearplan Topic"European Identity".

Throughout the year, the multinational project teamwill conduct numerous activities to analyse differentaspects of identity with reference to particular coun-tries or regions (put together due to their similar rela-tions with the EU) such as the Balkans, EFTA, Russia orTurkey.

The project consists of a series of seminars taking placein different parts of Europe, accompanied by prepara-tory activities, a survey / knowledge contest about theEuropean Union, additional workshops and publica-tions.

About 300 participants in total will acquire a deeperknowledge and understanding of the target regions anddevelop more positive attitudes towards the EU,European integration and international co-operation.Through this project, AEGEE wants to contribute to theshaping of a European identity that is not limited to theterritory of the European Union.

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Socrates Erasmus in Turkey!AEGEE Victory in Turkey

Onur MetinBologna-Prague-Berlin Project


What is the Bologna Process according to the ProjectTeam members?

Matina Magkou: "Getting rid of another obstacle to studentmobility!"

Adrian Pintilie: “the Bologna Process is an unique oppor-tunity to promote advances in education and training policiesall over Europe.”

Tomek HelbinFormer President of AEGEE Europe

Bologna Process: illusion or reality?

Reality. And necessity for Europe. It'aall about making a top-class HigherEducation system in Europe and making 'one Europe' inthe field of Higher Education. A great idea and chal-lenge.

You have been involved in quite many thing on differ-ent levels in AEGEE. How much do personal life andwork intervene?

Depends on the project you are running. I found it eas-ier to divide personal life and work matters, whendoing local projects. In the CD it is simply impossibleto keep these two apart - on the one hand it makesyour work much more exciting, on the other it createsmany difficulties, especially when the relations get outof control. If you know what I mean.

How does the current situation of the Bologna Processinfluence the future of the project?

In the last years the Bologna Process has been receiv-ing more recognition and understanding among stu-dents, media, the acamic circles.... Once when youmentioned the "Bologna Process" at a student gather-ing nobody had a clue, it was pretty much an “insiders’thing”. Now people start to have some ideas about thewhole issue. This is also due to the fact that finally theProcess is having some tangible visible impact on stu-dent life and the society in general. One of the mostvisible changes is the introduction of Bachelor level incountries where this had not existed prior to theProcess.

And in the context of AEGEE this is a good thing-as itis much easier to run projects about topics which peo-ple actually understand or want to know more about.

Enter European Education System

Maribor 21-23.02.03

Andra Lujic (AEGEE-Ljubljana)

This was the first conference within the framework ofthe Bologna-Prague-Berlin project. It was organised

by AEGEE-Maribor in co-operation with two other proj-ects: Education for Democracy, and Youth for SouthEast Europe, under the patronage of the University ofMaribor and the Slovenian Minister of European Affairs.It tackled the ques-tions of Europeanhigher education,focusing on the com-parisons drawn withYugoslavian andSlovenian higher edu-cation systems. Mostof the participantswere young activists,not only from AEGEE,but also from otherstudent organisations.First, the theoretical background was outlined by dis-tinguished professors, and afterwards, students couldexpress their opinion in the form of lively workshopsand heated panel discussions lead by young activistsfrom Slovenia as well as from abroad.

Mag. Karin Riegler from the European UniversityAssociation presented the present status of the BolognaProcess. The significant involvement of non-govern-mental organisations in the harmonisation process wasalso highlighted. As it is AEGEE's duty and responsibil-

ity to make well-con-sidered contributionsto the on-goingreforms, an essentialpart of the conferencewas to expose, defineand offer solutions toactivists from theBalkans. An interest-ing presentation bythe Deputy Minister ofHigher Education in

Serbia shed light on the fact that all the republics in theformer Yugoslavia, including Slovenia, used to sharethe same education system, but it is the Slovenian sys-tem that has undergone the broadest changes since thecountry`s independence in 1991, ad it could serve as amodel for countries in transition.

Informative and creative workshop sessions invitedparticipants to consider the various obstacles to mobil-ity as well as the role of students in shaping education-al systems and influencing educational reforms in vari-ous countries, and in Europe in general.

Being aware that the Bologna declaration is still not wellenough known among European students, the confer-ence offered a deeper insight in the current situation,programmes, projects and action lines in the Europeanhigher education area. The results of the Maribor con-ference will be used productively in the participants'countries.

Everything started at the Ankara AGORA in October 1997where the AEGEE network took the courageous decision

to spread the spirit of mobility and diversity of cultures andeducation to an area beyond the already existing bound-aries. Since then, AEGEE antennae in Turkey have been pro-moting the European Commission's Socrates Programmewith a special focus on the Erasmus higher education oppor-tunities, and have been lobbying in all the forums where thevoice of young people is heard to be accepted in the pro-gramme, consolidating this process with the firm support ofAEGEE Europe.

Before 2001, AEGEE Ankara already gave briefings to bothgovernmental and non-governmental organisations inTurkey and organised case study trips observing theErasmus programme in numerous countries all aroundEurope. Then AEGEE Istanbul came along and joined AEGEEAnkara on this noble path, while all the AEGEE antennaebeing founded in Turkey in the meanwhile also started to puta huge effort into promotion and lobbying activities to realisethis goal. AEGEE Istanbul remained involved also after-wards, and they even published a book together on theirjoint researches.

"The reason for promoting this programme in Turkey since1997 and the interest in being deeply involved lies in thelife-long experience of several volunteers," explained oneSocrates promoter in Turkey. "When we are asked aboutworking in a voluntary organisation, and the eye-opening

buzz that encompasses activities likethis, we may offer any number of expla-nations. The excitement, however,comes when we see the change in theeyes of the people we have providedwith an opportunity to find their ownway."

"For me it's exchanging cultures and liv-ing the diversity," adds another. "It'smuch more important than knowledgetransfer in different academic fields, it's about shaping a bet-ter future by knowing your neighbours with all their cultural& religious activities, and enjoying this difference by learn-ing and showing your respect for it".

Today, Turkish AEGEE antennae and AEGEE in general ishappy to have the results of their dedicated efforts through-out all these years. Turkey has now been accepted in theSocrates programme, the national agency has already beenfounded, AEGEE antennae have started giving orientationtraining for future Erasmus students in Turkey, Turkish uni-versities are ready for the exchanges, and the country start-ed pilot projects last term, in which 15 Turkish universitiesare involved. Today it is not a dream anymore, but reality,starting in the academic year 04/05 and embracing all uni-versities in Turkey.

We did it!

For a long time, scattered and soaringyouth structures and initiatives in Turkey

have been in need of institutionalised co-operation. Several attempts to establish aNational Youth Council (NYC) were leftunfinished until the real initiative was takenby some youth NGOs in February 2003. Thebasic reasons for their demands were toensure a co-ordination structure for theTurkish youth's common interests; to devel-op strategies for youth work and to represent the memberorganizations at an international level.

On the agenda of the first meeting was a discussion aboutthe reports of 10 randomly selected National Youth Council(NYC) countries. The reports included aims and objectives,structure, financial resources and statutes for the NYCs.Creative forgetting was the magic attitude we needed inorder to avoid the bad experience of the past; an inclusiveapproach was adopted in order to create a collaborativeatmosphere. Establishing a weekly team meeting and creat-ing synergy between the different NGOs was crucial in thebeginning. Not surprisingly, even the location of the firstmeetings was a matter of some negotiations. We decided tovisit the each other's offices in turn, so finally an agreementwas reached. After analysing the previous attempts, our firstimportant priority was to avoid a power struggle betweenthe NGOs. We managed it to a remarkable extent.Eventually, the team spirit formed between the representa-tives and we started socialising together.

The sensitive balance was strengthened by the formation ofthe monitoring committee that was responsible for organis-ing the meetings. For five representatives it was supposed tobe easier to meet weekly, and from a practical perspective

this move gave us a quicker decision-making process.

In July 2003, the first national meeting was organised inSamsun with the participation of 40 different NGOs from 13different Turkish cities. A wide range of NGOs was repre-sented, from bird-watchers to disabled youth. After two daysof tough discussions, our aims and objectives were unani-mously accepted. In November 2003, another meeting washeld in Eskisehir, organized by AEGEE Eskisehir and the localauthorities. This time, political parties and university studentcouncils were also included. 125 participants from all overTurkey were present at this second national meeting. To givesome examples of the youth organisations, they includedAEGEE, AIESEC, GSM (Youth Services Centre), ELSA, the AriMovement, Generation for Democracy, ASA (The Scouts)and TGBDER (Turkish Youth Union Association). Apart fromthese youth NGOs, public authorities, such as the Ministry ofEducation, the Ministry of Youth & Sports, the TurkishNational Agency and the General Secretariat for EU Affairs,have also been observing and supporting the process.

After one meeting in Istanbul and another in Gaziantep, wenow aim to declare the establishment of the Turkish NationalYouth Council by May 2004. AEGEE Ankara was in the driv-ing group from the beginning, and the other AEGEE localsjoined in as the process progressed. For me there can be nodoubt of the crucial role of AEGEE in this long but ambitiousprocess. We all firmly believe that this grassroots initiativewill have important effects on the future of young people inTurkey, as well as in the development of a New Europe.

Establishing the national Youth Council in Turkey Hakan Gumus

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European Day of Languages Ewa Romankiewicz

30 Key to Europe 2003/2004 31

Wroclaw25 November 2003

AEGEE-Wroclaw's celebration of the European Day ofLanguages took place in one of the best known clubs

in Wroclaw, “Dziewiata Brama”. This pub, located in thevery centre of the city, gathered a number of students,teenagers, and other people attracted by the large logoof AEGEE and EDL, and by plenty of leaflets distributedby AEGEE members a few days before the event.

The presentations of four languages (French, Dutch,Hebrew, Spanish) as well as the countries associatedwith them, took place in the very warm and cosyatmosphere of the club. During the five-hour gathering,everyone tried to learn some Hebrew poems, singFrench songs or have their first conversation inSpanish. In the meantime a group of young dancersgave a great performance of flamenco. Some time lateranother group presented traditional Hebrew dances. Inthe final part of the event there was a multimedia pres-entation of the Netherlands prepared by the guestsfrom the Consulate of the Netherlands. During thebreaks there were opportunities to participate in vari-ous competitions and win plenty of nice gifts.

The people not interested in conversation or singingcould drink beer and eat French food whilst readingbrochures, leaflets and other material about a variety ofcultures. The EDL Wroclaw enjoyed the patronage ofthe Consuls of France and the Netherlands, and thesupport of the Rector of the Wroclaw College ofEconomics.

The European Day of Languages (EDL) is a project thataims to raise awareness of linguistic diversity among

young Europeans. Initiated by the European Parliament andthe Council of Europe, it was organised for the first time in2001, the year declared "European Year of Languages."

EDL in AEGEE consists of various activities, among them theBest Teaching Methods Manual, Language Speed Courses,the AEGEE Travel Dictionary, the Language Teaching Projectand, for the first time this year, a photography contest enti-tled 'My language, my country, my people'. The price was forthe winner was very attractive: a two-week English courseand up to eight weeks vocational training sponsored by theEuropean Languages Centre in Liverpool.

EDL was celebrated by AEGEE on the 19th of November2003 in 32 antennae, with a great variety of events such asconferences and lectures organised throughout Europe.

Malgorzata Wojdas

Marcus Khoury, comesfrom Beirut, Lebanon,

where he was born on July31st, 1972. Being half-German he moved toGermany in '86 where hegraduated, first began study-ing in Köln and got to knowAEGEE. He was a president ofAEGEE Köln, but one of hisbest AEGEE experiences was being a member ofthe organizing team of the conference "Europeand the Islamic cultures" in Köln in May 1993.Eventually he moved to München in Bavaria,became more active on the European level byjoining the Human Rights Working Group andbecoming its speaker. In 1999 at the SpringAgora in Barcelona he was elected a CD mem-ber, where his tasks were public relations inparticular, but also the working groups and con-tact with UNESCO. Marcus now works as alawyer in Brussels.

Have you observed any changes in AEGEE's identityover the last few years?

Yes, obviously there have been changes even in theself-understanding of the association. There is a cer-tain tendency towards more fun, away from definingEuropean identity in spite of the challenges withTurkey knocking at the door of the European Union.Nevertheless I have the impression that AEGEE earlyon developed a certain subculture, a certain chaoticbut friendly, inspired and outgoing spirit, which isunique for AEGEE and AEGEE members. And that hasactually remained more or less unchanged.

Do you think that AEGEE can play a role in Europeanpolicy-making and represent European students?

In the long run it depends on what current AEGEEmembers want. AEGEE is very flexible, sometimes toits own disadvantage - if you can speak of disadvan-tages, eventually they are very valuable learningexperiences that deserve their right to be. The ques-tion is, do AEGEE members actually want AEGEE tofor example lobby in Brussels, develop an opinionthat in some cases might contradict those of otherorganizations or institutions and even be hard todevelop within the association considering the diver-sity of backgrounds of members. Can AEGEE repre-sent European students without a stable and wide-spread presence in countries such as the UnitedKingdom, France, but also Portugal and Ireland,Sweden and Denmark? Probably not. However, whatdoes it mean to represent and what is the point ofclaiming to represent? AEGEE's strength lies in theunique experiences students can have, most of all ininternational or multicultural surroundings, be it asummer university, the Borderless Europe Rally, orenabling in a workshop students from Zambia andIndonesia to meet a Bulgarian studying in Oxford ora German student studying in Italy after having livedfor a while in New Zealand, and a Finnish student("the most talkative Finn I have met in my life,” asone participant said in the workshop) who grew up inVietnam. It is these experiences and the knowledgegained through them that are of great interest for theoutside world.

Key to Europe 2003/2004

Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue

AEGEE, as a youth organization having a peace and sta-bility pillar, has manifested its interest in this field

by organizing the demonstrative project Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue. This hallmark project coveringthe years 2003-2004 is funded by the EuropeanCommission and has so far been successfully carriedout by AEGEE-Ankara. The projects main objective isto foster networking and partnership between youthinitiatives in Greece and Turkey. This large-scaleproject raised supports and interests of universitiesand non-governmental organizations in both countriesas well as Greece Embassy to Turkey, Ministry of ForeignAffairs of Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece,Hellenic National Tourism Organization, Middle EastTechnical University.

The project officially launched with the "RebuildingCommunication" event organized in partnership withAEGEE-Ankara and AEGEE-Sakarya between 20-23 March2003 in Sakarya. Around 100 young participants fromTurkey and Greece gathered to discuss the dialogue betweenGreek and Turkish communities, earthquakes, media, gov-ernments, education and historywriting under the leadershipof distinguished academics and experts. The event, whichwelcomed Ismail Cem-Former Minister of Foreign Affairs ofTurkey, yielded a declaration prepared by the participants tocondemn War on Iraq.

The landmark event of the overall project was the unforgot-table Kayaköy Youth and Culture Festival KayaFest (28

July-3 August 2003) organized by a highly enthusiastic teamfrom AEGEE-Ankara and penetrated into the souls of thou-sands of youngsters and villagers. The Festival is the biggestinternational youth organization to take place in Turkey with4000 participants. One of the most important attributes ofthe festival was its location Kayaköy, which is a migration vil-

lage with its tremendous artefacts and rock houses. Thanksto the brilliant dance theather, photography, music,

psychology, documentary workshops, shadowtheather, dance performances, concerts by

amateur and professional bands andthe magical lights shed on the dark

facets of the deserted housesturned the village into a fairy

tale hero and resulted inmagnificent outcomes ofyouth cooperation in thefield of art and culture.The NGO fair where

around 60 initiatives fromGreece and Turkey were pres-

ent already materialized partner-ship projects in the future.

The third event of the project"Exchange of Population

Symposium" took place in Istanbul between 7-8 November2003 in the 80th anniversary of Turkish-Greek PopulationExchange and organized by AEGEE-Ankara in partnershipwith the Foundation of Lausanne Treaty Emigrants. Theevent rendered quite impor-tant results thanks to thesessions on literature, cultur-al heritage, minorities in par-ticipation with well-noted fig-ures and academics and 250attendees.

While the project isapproaching its final stage,the current project team isworking on the preparation ofan NGO database, an essaycontest and the official FinalConference of the projectscheduled to take place inAnkara between 2-4 April2004 and to include trainingcourses on project manage-ment and fundraising fromEuropean institutions, workshops and peace training andstereotypes.

The project was a nice platform for AEGEE to open its doorsto other NGOs to cooperate. "The overall project addressedthousands of university students and thanks to its concreteoutcomes it already achieved its objective, it is one of thebiggest projects of AEGEE" said the project manager BurcuBecermen. Sophia Kompotiati, who worked hard for thecoordination of the project from AEGEE-Athina said " Wehave once again seen that cooperation in arts and culturecan be powerfultools in eliminat-ing prejudices".

Burcu Becermen

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32 33Key to Europe 2003/2004

Europe and the IntifadaGroningen, 7 May 2003

The Middle East has been in the spotlight the last fewyears, and not only due to the war in Iraq, but also due

to the ongoing conflict between Israel and the PalestinianAuthority. Violence is still happening daily, and since thebeginning of the Second Intifada and the election of Sharon,stable peace seems to be impossible to accomplish.

At the beginning of the conflict Europe played a significantrole, mainly due to the holocaust and the English mandate,but has kept itself relatively silent afterwards. What shouldits role be in the future? During the discussion, led by Mr.Bosscher, former Rector of the University of Groningen andprofessor in Contemporary History, three questions wereposed:

- Is Europe strong enough to play the role of mediator inthe conflict, or is it too divided itself? Does Europe havethe obligation to play an active role?

- What are the means the European Union could use toimprove the situation in the Middle East?

- To what extent should the European Union cooperate withthe United States?

Among the speakers there were the Secretary General of theInterchurch Peace Council of the Netherlands, a Middle Eastreporter from a national newspaper and a professor in thefield of politics. After each panel discussion the audience wasable to ask questions leading to heated discussions, whichbrought about excellent results.

IPWG goes Den Haag

This is the name of the international event that theInternational Politics Working Group of AEGEE-Europe

(IPWG) organised for the third time in March 2003. In co-operation with AEGEE-Leiden, a challenging programme wasprepared, dealing with the establishment and work of inter-national institutions in one of the most important capitals ofinternational diplomatic, political and legal affairs - DenHaag.

After the event’s opening session on 15 March and a citytour of Leiden on Sunday 16 March, Mr. Jürgen Kappenmann(international lawyer at Konstanz University, IPWGKonstanz) gave a lecture on international law and justice,including an introduction to the Milosevic trial. This was aperfect preparation for one of the highlights of the event:attending one of the sessions of the trial against Mr.Milosevic, held in front of the International Criminal Tribunalfor the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

At the ICTY, the participants had also an opportunity to meetMr. Stefan Wäspi, Associate Legal Officer at the Office of theProsecutor Carla del Ponte. The day continued with guidedtours of the International Court of Justice, the Peace Palaceand the city of Den Haag, and ended with discussions of thelooming war in Iraq.

On Tuesday, 18 March, the group were among the first visi-tors ever to meet the representatives of the newly estab-lished International Criminal Court, and visited the DutchParliament at the Binnenhof. After a concluding review of theevent, the participants were ready for the legendary"European Night" in Leiden.

Burcu Becermen is a 23-years-old active member ofAEGEE-Ankara. For morethan 2 years she's been nowworking as a manager of thevery challenging Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue Project.She was also one of the coor-dinators of the FALL AGORA2001 in Ankara.

You have been a manager of a very successful, yetdemanding and time consuming project, how did youmanage to keep your motivation and optimism?

This is the question which I still fail to answer prop-erly. Even today, when I have a flashback of the lasttwo years, I can see that this project dominated mylife as the prior agenda with its merits and perils.There have been times when I could feel that I reallyHIT THE BOOM, feeling that I try in vain. But once Ihave seen the amazement in the eyes of project par-ticipants I thought I would not be able to attain thesame level of happiness and satisfaction in the rest ofmy life. The answer may be my idealism, satisfaction,precious friends. But the thing is my faith in the proj-ect objectives. I was excited organising other types ofevents as well, but this project means something sub-lime for me, more than just an organization.

Do you think that AEGEE has the power to changelives?

I strongly believe that AEGEE has the power tochange lives, as long as you know how to employ itand benefit from it sincerely and wisely. To be honest,before I met AEGEE world, I was conflicting withmany cliches, which I considered quite empty andunrealistic. But it was the experience I gained inAEGEE that made me believe some of them makesense. In the festival, you should have seen all theGreeks, who immigrated from Kayakoy-Levissi yearsago and visiting the village for the first time and thevillagers witnessing youngsters of both communitiesperforming a quite modern concept for the village,let’s say dance theater... and the unlikely combina-tions of magical conversations between all of thesepeople. AEGEE did change my life! As well as the livesof those people.

How do you see your future in AEGEE?

I am in my fourth year in AEGEE and once this verysuccessful yet time consuming and demanding proj-ect officially ends within this year, I will take a deepbreath first and a go for a crazy party; and then domy best to transfer my knowledge and experience toAEGEE friends, no matter where I am and what I amdoing.

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The story of a Presidency Rob Tesh


An interview with Diana Filip, former President of

AEGEE-Europe, on NGOs and society.

What is the point of organizations like AEGEE?

Young people acting through NGOs are a voice for civilsociety. NGOs like ours are a platform for young people

to discuss and articulate common visions of our world and itsfuture. And as we interact with the people in charge of ourworld and our future, we can make a real difference.

As globalisation continues to present new challenges fordemocracy, it is increasingly clear that NGOs have a vitalrole to play. Globalization has creat-ed international issues that weaddress and international communi-ties of interest that we represent.National governments cannot doeither task as effectively or as legit-imately. In the globalizing world ofthe twenty-first century, NGOs willhave a growing international calling.

But if our vision is a blueprint forsociety, it will be us who make itreal. Many of us will take up realleadership positions in public serv-ice, in civil society and in the privatesector. In the words of Kofi Annan,"we need, more than ever before,dedicated and talented individualsto enter public service. More thanever before, we need young people to make the choice ofservice to humankind." NGOs have a very important role infinding and forming this people.

We lobby a number of high-powered organisations:the European Commission; the World Bank; the UN.Do they really listen to us?

If we have something to say, if we bring them somethingnew, if we speak for civil society, then I would say they do

listen to us. But this of course depends absolutely on us, theway we approach them and the way we present our ideas.Many NGOs are approaching these institutions with very out-dated or unfocused information, and then of course the levelof listening is very low.

In order to make ourselves heard we have to know how tolobby, when to lobby and with what. What works in one placeor in a particular set of circumstances will not work in anoth-er, and you can sometimes lose an opportunity because youhave used the wrong strategy. Lobbying high-poweredorganisations is very different to grassroots activism, andusually you have to lobby at many different levels in orderto get results. Lobbying at this level is an exercise in diplo-macy, and our diplomacy depends only on us.

Tell us something about the conference you organizedon Cyprus. What kind of difficulties did you face?

On 12 September 2003, AEGEE-Europe organised theconference "Cyprus in Europe - Europe in Cyprus" in the

Buffer Zone in Nicosia, the last divided capital in the world.The conference gave young people from both Cypriot com-munities, as well as other European students, the opportu-nity to engage in an open dialogue about the situation on theisland. Discussions on the current situation in Cyprus as wellas on its future were conducted with input from speakersworking in Cyprus.

Being such a delicate topic, it was very difficult to managethis, and there were many obstacles throughout the prepa-ration of the conference. For example, at the very last

minute, due to "political implica-tions of the event" some speakerscancelled their participation, andsome of our main partners droppedout as well. This included the with-drawal of a substantial grant wehad been promised by one majorinstitution. It was quite amazing tosee what happened with this grant:one moment we had it, then wedidn't! Two days before the confer-ence they called us to sign the con-

tract, then on the dayof the event they toldus we couldn't have it any more. Similarly, oneother organisation, which had supported us fromthe beginning with rooms for the conference,"changed their mind," so that on this same lastday we had to find another location.

Did the pressure ever get too extreme?How did you deal with it?

Of course there were a lot of extreme situa-tions and the most important point is to be

calm and work rationally. I remember the daysand nights of discussions and strategy meetings,the phone calls ringing from Cyprus, the pres-sure that was put on us to take one decision oranother. It is more easy to speak than to actindeed, but in my case I was very lucky. I had a

team who supported me from beginning to end and kept myspirits up. I will never forget one particular occasion. I hada very difficult moment when one Government put a lot ofpressure on us; I did not know how we would cope, how tocontinue... the others saw me looking very sad and theybought me a very nice present and Turkish delights to keepme going.

I would like to thank to my friends from the CD for the greatcooperation we had, and to all those believed in our ideasand supported us all the way: Les Anciens of AEGEE Europe,especially Peter Ginser, Paolo Balistieri, and MarkusSchonherr; Koen Berden and Calin Haiduc; AEGEE Magusa;the Network Commission; and all those who attended theevent.

In the end, what difference do you think it made?

The conference brought together youth from both Cypriotcommunities alongside other young Europeans. This was

the difference! I think that the people who attended the con-ference have a better and clearer picture of the situation inCyprus. They managed to see and meet people from bothcommunities, to talk with them and to understand theirpoint of view.

AEGEE is a living example of overcoming prejudices and act-ing. It is in the power of the people to change the future ofthe island. If people see the perspective of the others, andnot only the justice and injustice on their own side, thenCyprus can find a solution and look to the future. The oppor-tunity presents itself before the accession of Cyprus to theEuropean Union on 1 May 2004. If we wish for it and workfor it, a reunited Cyprus can join the Union. Together, butonly together, we can make the difference.

N o n - G o v e r n m e n t a lOrganisations, or NGOs, areprimarily a modern phenome-non. With the extension of cit-izenship rights in Europe andthe Americas in the eigh-teenth and nineteenth cen-turies, people foundedincreasing numbers of theseorganizations, as instrumentsto meet community needs,defend interests or promotenew policies.


34 35Key to Europe 2003/2004

Javier Irastorza

This was alsothe name

given to anotherconference organ-ised by AEGEEMadrid in 1990. Inthose early years of theantenna the level of activitywas high enough to encourageAEGEE-Madrid members 13 years later to follow up the stepstheir predecessors had taken.

Gathering more than 120 participants was achallenge AEGEE-Madrid had not faced inyears. The way to succeed with this was toprepare a programme according to the con-cept 'the richer the better'. The approach toLatin America would be made in differentways. The bridge that was built between thetwo cultures consisted of a visit to the Houseof America, where a view on the everydaylife of Latin American citizens was present-ed, either directly by them, by watching amovie ("Kamtchatka," Argentina) or by fol-lowing dance lectures. There was also a con-ference at the EU office in Madrid.Professors, students from both continentsand representatives of different associa-tions, shared their different understandingsof the link between Latin America andEurope.

IsE u r o p e

forgetting about LatinAmerica? We are living in a time

of unification, enlargement of theEuropean Union and the creation ofits constitution. Focusing on unifica-tion within Europe, aren't we for-getting about the rest of the

world? Isn't it time to build abridge to Latin

America?

Being in Madrid made it compulsory to fill in the social partof the programme with visits to the Royal Palace of Faro deMoncloa, guided tours, three never ending parties and evena visit to a live football match of the stars of Real Madrid.Participants would never have forgiven the organisers if they hadn't provided them with this part of theevent as well.

Jesus, a member of the AEGEE-Madrid organising team,remarked, "A dream has come true with the organisation ofthis event. We hope that we stimulated our participants,future decision makers, to dig deeper into this topic, to crit-ically assess the current situation and to come up with newideas. This will allow us to keep on building and strengthen-ing the bridges between Europe and the rest of the world."

AEGEE Madrid wasestablished at the

beginning of 1986. Itwas one of the firstsix antennae in theNetwork, and in thoseyears, manyEuropean conferenceswere organised inMadrid. In 1988 the

Summer University Project waslaunched and again our anten-na was there to organise thefirst event within it. Hundredsof members, high quality publi-cations and the idea of aEuropean School, of which thefirst two were held in Madrid,are some of the details fromthose years.

Today AEGEE-Madrid is still oneof the biggest antennae, withmore than 200 members. Sincelast year our board is focusingon a return to the achievementsof those early years. Stepstaken in this direction include alocal conference we organisedto celebrate the ninth May Dayof Europe, a Summer Universitydealing with the EU enlarge-ment, three differentexchanges within the YouthProgramme and a recent suc-cessful conference before theAgora to discuss relationsbetween Europe and LatinAmerica. Many more stepsremain for us to take, but themotto of our local, "FromMadrid to Heaven," shows thatnothing will stop us.

It was July, the last night of our Summer University. Some participants and staffmembers were tired, but full of great emotions. They thought that the one year

wait for the next Summer University was too long, and then someone said: "Let'shave a Winter University!"

So in the winter of 2003 twenty-eight participants from all over Europe came toAEGEE-Riga country, to take a part in the first Winter University in AEGEE-Riga his-tory. The main attraction had to be snow; at least, snow is supposed to be the mainand most important reason to come to Latvia. But the person responsible for thesnow turned out to be irresponsible, and didn't arrange any. Instead, there was lotsof ice, and spice!

About fifty (sp)icy people started their New Year's celebration in the northern part ofLatvia with the traditional carnival 'Kekatas', a loud, joyful and magical procession tothe nearest house, which brings lots of blessings for the coming year. The main ideais to make a mask so that nobody can be recognised. And what an endless imagi-nation people have! Weird forest creatures with even Christmas trees on their heads,singing "Kekata, lekata" hundreds of times!

With a culturally diverse group of people, the New Year was celebrated in many dif-ferent ways. There was a Russian vodka-boom New Year, the Latvian celebration withhuge amounts of kisses, hugs and special wishes, the Danish jumping from tableswith full glasses of Latvian sangria straight into 2004, the Swedish with charmingpoetry, the Dutch with power hugs, and many more!

(Sp)ICE matters!Riga 28.12.03 - 3.01.04

Arta Zakse, Asnate Kalnina & Arvis Ermins

Bridge to latin AmericaMadrid 20-23.10.03

Starring

Antenna


Let’s talk about sexWarszawa 14-16.02.03

Bianka Kuchcinska

The international guests enjoyed their first moments inPoland so much that moderate means of persuasion were

needed to gather them in the conference room. Fortunately,distractions were not much of a problem, as the opening lec-ture delivered by Wieslaw Sokoluk overwhelmed us withintriguing and engaging stories on how the attitude and cul-ture of sexuality evolved over the past centuries. It seemsthat quite astonishing 'contraceptives' were used in formertimes. The same night it was time for St Valentine's day cel-ebrations at the 'Qult' club, where participants ruled thedance floor almost until dawn!

Saturday started with a lecture on "How much we reallyknow about sex." Surprisingly enough, the answer showsthat we are still in the dark here. Fortunately this conferencebrought some enlightenment.

A special moment for the par-ticipants came next in the formof workshops, where theylearned how to talk about sex,and what strategies humansadopt when picking partners.The night brought anothergreat party at the Ground Zeroclub with about 500 people.

After the conference was overand it was time for the partici-pants to move back to theircorners of Europe, all of themwere planning how to put whatthey had learned at the confer-ence into practice.

Jose Gutierrez (AEGEE-Zaragoza), participant

The lectures were great but thebest part of the conference were

the workshops. Putting the knowl-edge into practice, you think? Notexactly. The first sexologist askedus which words we associated withsex, and afterwards we analysed it,which was quite an interestingexperience. In the next workshop we were divided intocouples and we had to touch the other person's handfor one minute without talking. Boring? Never! You can-not imagine how confident we became in each couple.The feeling was as if we had been talking to each otherfor hours! We learnt also to interpret the non-verbalsignals of the opposite sex and what we expect fromour partner and our relationship. But overall, the bestwas making jokes about sex all the time. The group wassimply amazingly open-minded and friendly!Logistically, the 3 person bedrooms didn't help us to putour newly gained knowledge into practice, but all of uscan assure you that this event was quite incredible,with a great atmosphere from the very beginning.

Come to us on the Wies'n: OktoberfestMünchen 26-28.10.03

Victor Czenter

Why do we drink beer?What's the meaning of

mass consumption of it? Whydo people become friendswhen they drink beer? Andabove all, is there somethinglike a European tradition offlush and myth?

These were the questions thatcaught the minds of a smallgroup of members of AEGEE-München. But how could theyget closer to this object of sci-entific interest? Scientific lec-tures, definitely; ethnological insight into the topic could bevery illuminating. A case study, of course; AEGEE's'European Night' Parties all over Europe are a great exampleof ecstatic crowds celebrating the spirit of Europe. But forstudents living in München, the world capital of beer, andfascinated by celebration rituals in multicultural contexts,there seems to be no better example of many people fromdifferent countries and cultures coming together thanMünchen's Oktoberfest: the world's biggest beer festival.

At this point the idea was born of bringing together studentsinspired by the spirit of Europe with others honouring tradi-

tional ways of celebrating the joy of community. Finally, theparticipants of "Come to us on the Wies'n" were given theopportunity to get a glimpse of why and how contemporaryEuropeans celebrate.

There was a lecture on "Oktoberfest: Myth, Crowds, Ecstasyand Flush" by the famous Oktoberfest expert Brigitte Veiz.She explained that mass events aimed at ecstatic spheres ofconsciousness already took place in ancient times. Very lit-tle has changed since then, as can be seen with a look atOktoberfest and the rituals that go with it. As for EuropeanNight Parties, maybe there too it is a kind of goddess thatthe people celebrate.

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Exchange Sofia - Istanbul10-16.02.03 & 1-6.4.02

Blagovesta Cholova & Nil Ergun

In snowy Sofia, the internationaltrain came to a halt. About ten

young people gazed at the doors tosee the Turkish group coming. Mostof them didn't know any young peo-ple from that country. They werethrilled and a little bit scared. Thenthey came, ten boys and three girlsfrom Istanbul: the exchange hadbegun.

After some ice-breaking games toget to know one another, the pro-gramme began with a lecture aboutBulgaria to provide some basic infor-mation about the country and its regions, history andeconomy, with a special focus on the country's ethnicdiversity. A tour around Sofia, followed by an amazingparty, where the Turkish people showed that they candance limbo and salsa!

The skiing day in Vitosha Mountain was especially enjoy-able. As most of the Turkish guests didn't know how to ski,some lessons were needed. The wonderful view of the cityfrom the mountain made it into just a perfect day so thatthe group will never forget skiing for the first time inBulgaria.

The visit to Rila monastery, the biggest monastery in theBalkans, proved very interesting for the Turkish guests in

terms of getting acquainted with Orthodox Christianityand Bulgarian tradition. They learned about

famous historic moments and therole of the monastery in the

' B u l g a r i a nRevival;'

joined discussions aboutthe similarities and differ-ences between Islam andChristianity and the waythey affect the culture ofour countries, with theboys saying they didn'tunderstand how peoplecan stand in a church withso many eyes looking atthem.

In co-operation with theSofia-Bucuresti sociologi-cal working group, the

lecture and seminar about minorities in Bulgaria, especial-ly the Turkish minority, and their present situation, werethe central focus of the exchange. This proved to be veryinteresting. The dis-cussions led to con-sideration of theminorities in bothcountries and howtheir integration insociety can behelped, with a specialfocus on Europeanintegration and thefuture possibilities forbetter interculturalrelations in theregion. In theevening, as it was St.Valentine's day as well as St. Triffon (a Bulgarian saint whois believed to be our wine protector), we had an enormous'Wine & Love' party.

It was sad saying goodbye to each other at theend. But not for long; the second part of

the exchange was already totake place soon.

After 24hours on the train,some long-awaited youngBulgarians arrived early in the morningat Sirkeci train station. After arranging accommo-dation with their hosts, they visited AEGEE-Istanbul office.Here there was a short talk about Istanbul followed by asmall tour of the city centre, Rumeli Castle and Sariyer.

On the next day the guests were able to explore the treas-ures of Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia and Sultanahmet dis-trict. In the evening all participants were invited to a cul-tural night at the home of onemember of AEGEE-Istanbul. Thehost and participants prepared themeal together, and for the firsttime all contributors to thisexchange came together again torenew fond memories of Sofia.

The fourth day was a totalexchange of cultures day. All par-ticipants and organizers met in theAEGEE-Istanbul office. First therewas some brainstorming about thedifferences between the two coun-tries in performing arts, dances and musical instruments.With the help of two participants, traditional dances of bothcountries were taught. The day ended with the guests par-ticipating in AEGEE-Istanbul's regular Friday evening meet-ing, ending with a special party in Taksim.

Saturday,5 April, was theday of 'InterculturalLearning Activities,' organized onPrincess Island. Intercultural learning games

such as 'act your name,' 'createyour choice' and 'discuss pros andcons' were played. Apart from beinga lot of fun, these games created abetter understanding of the differ-ent cultures, even if in this casethey are particularly close becausethe common history. After a smallisland tour the group took the boatand returned to the office, where agreat week came to an end.

In conclusion, the results of theexchange exceeded expectations.

During a great time spent together the participants had thechance to learn from each other's cultures and traditions,and to discuss some important problems in the two coun-tries. Even now, one year later, they are still close friendsand will never forget one another.

Exchange Gdansk - Enschede2-9.05.03 & 2-9.11.03


22:30 on 2nd May 2003 was a moment of great excitementfor AEGEE-Gdansk. Founded in 1996, they had only one

exchange before, with AEGEE-Amsterdam. Ever since theyhave been eager to meet Dutch people again, and at last thedream was to become a reality.

The group of students from Enschede became acquainted withthe Polish way of life, sleeping at the houses of AEGEE- Gdañsk

members and tryingthe Polish cuisine.Through talkingabout stereotypes ofPolish and Dutchpeople, the partici-pants learned a lotof interesting andamusing new thingsabout each other'scultures. The Dutch

got to know the history of Poland when they paid a visit to themuseum of communism. They experienced the boat trip toWesterplatte where the Second World War began. Luckily theywere there at the time the 'Cutty Sark' event took place; thebiggest ships gathered from all over the world in Gdynia, a cityclose to Gdañsk.

On the 2nd of November the Polish group arrived in Enschedefor the second part of the exchange. Especially during interac-tive activities like folk dancing and a karaoke night, integrationrose to a higher level. Besides these activities, the participantswere shown the city and the university, and they were takenfor a tour of the famous Grolsch beer brewery. During a bicy-cle ride through the beautiful Twentsch landscape they cameacross more Dutch culture in the form of a windmill and acheese farm. "That integration doesn't always run smoothlybecomes clear when no less than three Dutch bicycles aren'table to handle the strength of the big Polish guys riding them.And for some it is even too difficult to stay seated..." as one ofthe Dutch organisers com-mented.

The participants also got aquick impression of the restof the Netherlands. It ledthem to the parliament inThe Hague where they alsovisited Madurodam; a parkwhere they built a minia-ture version of TheNetherlands. In theevening it was time for theInternational Party ofAEGEE-Utrecht and on thenext day it was time for Amsterdam! The famousRijksmuseum, a coffee shop, Anne Frank's house, the RedLight District and a boat tour through the canals during whicheveryone could catch up on some sleep.

When asked whether there was there still room for improve-ment, one Polish participant replied: “We visited theParliament, actually the only thing that was missing was ameeting with the Queen. I hope that next time AEGEE-Enschede will improve this part of the project. But for the resteverything was perfect. And I will never forget those deliciouscookies, which I had never eaten before: Stropwafels, ofcourse!”

Enschede also looks back with fond memories. “All in all it wasa very successful exchange. An exchange is a great way to getto know a different AEGEE local and to get acquainted with adifferent culture. We can surely recommend it!”

Wim van Ravestijn is a 22-years-old member ofAEGEE-Enschede andAEGEE-Gdansk. During hisAEGEE career he was aSecretary of the Spring PM2003 and a participant atT4T Enschede in 2002, aswell as creating mainAEGEE IT tools, such as

the photo page and Agora/PM applications.What's more, Wim has been an administra-tor for several AEGEE servers. Currently heis the speaker of the ITWG.

Having the possibility of choosing among manystudent organisations, which are traditionallyestablished in the student culture of theNetherlands, why did you select AEGEE?

In Enschede we don't really have those tradition-al student organisations, as our University is notthat old yet, only 40 years. From the very begin-ning of my studies I was looking for some valu-able and interesting ways of spending my freetime, as the culture of only drinking beer was def-initely not the thing I would be satisfied with.What especially makes me like AEGEE is its open-minded and friendly atmosphere and the possibil-ity to express yourself the way you wish. I've cho-sen being active on the European level, althoughat the beginning I was not paying too much atten-tion to it due to the great local events we wereorganising in Enschede. However, as soon as I gotto know how the European level works, I immedi-ately "escaped" from Enschede to explore Europe.

What makes you want to go further in AEGEE?

First and foremost this is all about friends I haveall over Europe. It's great to meet them at everyevent you visit. One of the main reasons why Ijoined AEGEE was to get to know other cultures.Wherever you go you discover that people havedistinct original traditions, extremely interestingto explore. The food is different everywhere, buteverywhere it's tasty. New things that weapproach are always tempting, and the truth isthat the more you get to know them, the moreaddicted you become to exploring the unknownculture. Last but not least, there is this AEGEEspirit, well known by all real members, thatmakes you go on, even in the hardest times.

What are your plans for the future?

Future? That is the unknown part of life. Of courseI have some plans, but I don't know if I'll manageto realise them. I'm currently thinking about aninternship close to Brussels for a few months andhope to spend my time also in the Head Office,working on the IT systems and developing themfor AEGEE together with other people enthusias-tic about IT matters. It is also very likely that inabout a year's time I'll stand on stage at theAgora, candidating for a Comite Directeur mem-ber.

Katarzyna Koziol & Nicolette Kupper

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It is also nothing new that the majority of the applicants arenew AEGEE members. Of those who sent in an application,62% had become members in the same year, whereas oldermembers represent a small minority.

An interesting aspect is that Italians do not only lead in thenumber of applicants, but with 16 Summer Universities Italy

remains the most diligent organising country, fol-lowed by Germany (11), the Netherlands andRomania (both 9) and Poland (8).

Analysing the evaluations sent by SU partici-pants, the best Summer Universities 2003were Salerno, Utrecht, Gliwice, Mainz-Wiesbaden, Zaragoza, Groningen, Maastrichtand Helsinki, to mention just a few. They allreceived an average rating between 1.0 and1.2 (1.0 excellent, 2.0 very good) by the par-

ticipants. 70% of all courses were evaluatedbetween 1.0 and 2.5, which is a very good aver-

age!


Travelling Summer University "Russian SUrprise"26.07 - 08.08.03

Olga Bronnikova & Katerina Karpova

Russia is a mysterious countrybuilt out of logic and common

rules. The 35 participants of theTravelling Summer University"Russian Surprise" organized byAEGEE-Sankt Peterburg andAEGEE-Moskva did not expect tosee bears on the streets (as thereindeed were not), but they also didnot expect to see 2 big moderncities with an extraordinary mix-ture of European and traditionalRussian architecture, crazy traffic,and all signboards not in the Latin alphabet, but in theCyrillic.

It is really hard to travel in Russia andwill always be an extreme journey. Thehelp of local people is necessary tounderstand the country's spirit andcharm. Despite the fact that the par-ticipants were ready for the challenge,it was not all that easy. They got lostin the huge Moskva metro that resem-bles a palace with its marble stationsand crystal chandeliers; they had tofight fearlessly against mosquitoes inthe forest of Pskov, survive an all nightlong drinking party in a Russian train,

spend hours and hours trying not to get lost in SanktPeterburg's Hermitage, try a special Russian sauna andbecome true specialists in various types of Russian vodka.

The nights were full of contrasts too, from night clubs in bigtowns to a firelit retelling of ancient fairy-tales by a lakesidein the Pskov region, an international song contest and theilluminated drawbridges of Sankt Petersburg.

One organiser remarked, "it was wonderful to see partici-pants and organizers sing songs with a guitar in front of theKremlin in Moskva, to hear "Wow!" when participants cameto the centre of Sankt Peterburg, to hear "in spite of all thedifficulties I felt in love with your country I want to comeback"

That was our Russian SUrprise, we hope a pleasant one."

Niels Vegter (AEGEE-Delft), participant

And there I was, standing with my backpackstrapped on at Pulkova airport, Sankt Peterburg. I

had arrived in Russia and had no clue where to go.Only something like AEGEE could get me here. LuckilyI had brought my mobile, so soon Veronika was onher way to fetch me and guide me on my first stepsin Russia. I was lodged at her 'babooshka' where I gotacquainted with wearing slippers in the house, eatingstrawberries with cream and having a tea with bis-cuits while having conversations sitting in the kitchenat night.

Summer University Project 2003

One of the best ways to promote the idea of Europeanintegration among young people is to participate in or

organise a Summer University. It is the best way to help oth-ers get to know your country, culture and language. Whilemost AEGEE events last only 3-4 days, the participants andorganisers of a Summer University stay together for twowhole weeks or even longer. This rather long duration is anadditional motivation for people to go to places onewould usually not visit for just three days, as thetravel costs might be too high. Consequently, anten-nae organising a Summer University will find moredifferent nationalities among the participants thanwhen organising a simple three-day event.Another very strong reason to participate in theSummer University Project is the fact that it is themost effective tool to gather new members. Justcheck out following statistics and you will under-stand:

In its 16th year the Summer University Project underlinedits outstanding story of success: with 87 SUs organised inmore than 20 countries, it remains the largest project with-in AEGEE.

In total, more than 120 AEGEE locals participated as organ-isers and offered courses with about 2800 places. With 5000people from more than 40 countries applying, this amountstays more or less constant in relation to previous years.


Summer University "Non solo Sole”Salerno 20.07-03.08.03

Mimmo LosassoSU Coordination Team

In the dreamscape of Amalfi, Capri, Ravello andPalinuro, AEGEE-Salerno saw the outcome of

the long and hard work of a group of friends whoat a crazy moment decided to do something fan-tastic. Both staff and participants had the samedesire: to have the time of their lives and tomake friends with everybody. Hence the mixtureof desires exploded!

The challenge of spending five days campingproved formidable, with dancing, singing anddrinking until sunrise, and AEGEE-Salernoproved themselves a 'bag of nuts' whose onlypurpose is to enjoy entertaining people. A themesong and dance were prepared for the occasion,which the participants never stopped dancing orsinging, even at the railway station on the sadday of departure. It all reflects the success towhich everyone contributed.

AEGEE-Salerno

Fifteen years ago, on 3 February 1989, anew baby was born: AEGEE-Salerno!

Since that time it has grown up healthy andproved able to organize events importantfor the whole AEGEE Network: an Agora(1989), a European School (1991), 14Summer Universities, the first SummerUniversity & Fund Raising Training Course(2002) and a Regional Meeting (2003), inaddition to several social and culturalexchanges with other associations andantennae of the AEGEE network.

The efforts we made towards the integra-tion of foreign students who study at theUniversity of Salerno gave our new Antennathe chance to improve our relationship withthe University and other Patrons. AEGEE-Salerno is also famous for our unforgettableparties: fireworks, free drinks and music allnight long. Together with our outstandinghospitality, these are some of the thingsthat helped us to be awarded the prize for'Best Summer University of 2003'!

AEGEE-Salerno is involved in a number ofdifferent issues, such as disability rights.We raised the problem of the involvementof disabled people in AEGEE and now we arehelping to promote a new project called'AEGEE and disability'. We strongly believethat disabled people should have thechance to take part in all AEGEE events, notonly Summer Universities. Most of all we doour best to feel part of the network andovercome the long distance; we have beenworking on this for about 3 years, and nowat last we're reaching our aims!

So AEGEE people, remember: if you happento pass by Salerno, come along; there willalways be a place, a warm welcome and asmile for you.

Paolo Balistieri is a 33-years-old Italian,who joined AEGEE in 1995. He's beenactive both on local and European levelsof AEGEE. In 1996 he became President ofAEGEE-Milano and co-founded theNetwork Commission. The year after,elected as Network Responsible in the CD,introduced the concept of Network Trips,coordinating the AEGEE campaigns inFrance and the UK, as well as the projecton Cyprus. Later he became member ofthe MemCom and helped in organising many AEGEE events.Currently he is a member of AEGEE Alumni organisation - LesAnciens. He graduated in political science and is currentlyCoordinator for the Southern European operations of aDutch non-profit coalition in Milan.

Apart from being a hard working CD member, you were known asa fun loving person. How did you manage to combine those 2things?

AEGEE is a student association and students like to party. Theunique opportunity to socialise with young people coming from allover Europe is also a great added value of AEGEE. All active AEGEEmembers started with a joyful and less serious approach andindeed everybody in his or her first events wasn't so involved inorganisation and working. After few events, one was coming backhome and starting to help AEGEE people at the local level. Then,step by step, we all became more and more involved.

I believe socialising doesn't necessary mean working less: I'velearnt how to work and be organised in AEGEE and I worked a lot,besides having fun, because I put all my enthusiasm and commit-ment in both things. It was particularly important for me, being incharge of the Network matters, to know "all" our members and toinvolve them in the association. I remember Agoras' and PMs'European Nights as the best places for lobbying for AEGEE projects(sometimes "party" meant mainly "working"!)

What was AEGEE's influence on your current life style and life ide-ology?

Travelling was already one of my passions before knowing AEGEE.Ever since I joined AEGEE, it has become a lifestyle rather than aholiday planning. Thanks to AEGEE, I acquired a very big networkof friends, contacts and experiences useful either to travel for myown pleasure or to develop an internationally inclined professionalprofile.

AEGEE helped me in discovering the consciousness of a realEuropean Identity. Now, I feel a citizen of Europe besides beingItalian. I lived in Belgium working for AEGEE; in Barcelona workingon a Leonardo Pilot Project on Vocational Training Schools; aftergetting involved in AEGEE project in Cyprus I decided to write mythesis on the political problems of the Mediterranean island, whereI stayed for a period of research. When I graduated, my AEGEEbackground certainly helped me to find a job in Amsterdam, whereI stayed for almost three years. All the above wouldn't be possiblewithout AEGEE. Of course AEGEE may not be the only way for a stu-dent to travel, get internationally minded and professionally skilled,but it is certainly a perfect tool to have it all and even more: greatnumber of European friends.

Real international friendships are after all what I value the most ofmy AEGEE experience. Active AEGEE members have been meetingso many times during their AEGEE life that unique friendships couldnaturally grow.

It is not easy to get away from AEGEE. I am still visiting Agorassometimes but my latest and future events are actually weddingsof the above-mentioned AEGEE friends. Times change but AEGEEremains alive and kicking in our lives for a long time

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SU "Building Bridges"Delft 06-20.07.03

Pepijn de Jong

Agreat event combined with the most amazing group ofparticipants resulted in a strong bridge in the broadest

sense of the word. This bridge made connections all overEurope, even as far as from Slovenia to Spain!

Since Delft has a University of Technology it is not difficult toguess that one of the ways bridges are built is for real, insmaller versions. So the participants built their own conceptsof the Tower Bridge or Golden Gate Bridge, after which thecreations were tested by loading them with weights. Soonsome particularities were discovered among the group. First,there is the 'architect type'. He thinks simply wiring and nail-ing together a few pieces of wood gets you a bridge, whichas a bonus has an interesting 'minimalist' style. Second,there are the not-so-technical but enthusiastic participants.They come in various sorts. They create wonderful struc-tures, which however do not necessarily obey all simpleforces of nature. Finally there is the total technical nitwit.Further explanations are not necessary; the bridge collaps-es merely by pointing a finger at it. For Delft technicians itis difficult to accept that in the end the 'minimalist architect'built the most efficient design.

After this exercise in technical matters, participants weregiven a more authentically Dutch experience. This includeda visit to a cheese farm, complete with authentic Dutchcheese and our famous wooden shoes; a bicycle tour to adistillery making Jenever, a very strong Dutch liquor, whichmakes the route back a little more interesting; a sailingweekend (an authentic Dutch hobby); and of course a visitto Amsterdam with authentic Dutch enterprises such asCoffee Shops (ask your parents if you do not know what theysell here apart from coffee) and the Red Light District.

AEGEE-Delft was founded in 1986. Our antenna soonpresented itself as being very active. This resulted in

organising big conferences such as Energy II, Space andTransport. These conferences had engineering as a topic,because most AEGEE-Delft members study at DelftUniversity of Technology. In 1989 the first SummerUniversity was organised. This learning and relaxing holi-day was a great success and nowadays is organised year-ly.

AEGEE-Delft also has a long record of organising statutorymeetings. But ever since Poland joined AEGEE there havebeen difficulties. In 1999 it was the first Agora ever to beorganised in the East; in Poznan, Poland. And not in Delft.Now, in 2004, Delft finds itself in the same unfortunate sit-uation. The Planning Meeting being organised in Wroclaw,Poland. And not in Delft.

Of course, being AEGEE-Delft, the most famous local with-in AEGEE, is not always easy. To keep up our reputation asfrustrated and arrogant young men is difficult. But we tryour best. As an expression of our respect to the ComitéDirecteur (CD) we are also proud to keep the tradition of

being present at every statutory meeting, neatly dressedin suits, sitting in the front row. During those long plenarysessions we are more than pleased to give our belovedpresident, juridical commission and chair team somethingnice to look at.

At the European level there have been several activeAEGEE-Delft members over the years. Since 1991 therehave been many AEGEE-Delft members who went into theComité Directeur. The last few years AEGEE-Delft changedtactics. In a moment of clarity the 01/02 board realised:"Why travel if you can stay at home?" Ever since membersof the CD are kindly requested to come to Delft instead ofthe other way around. So far our tactics have proven suc-cessful only on temporary basis in the form of CD mem-bers coming over for the General Mailing (check your peri-odical AEGEE envelope). Nonetheless the first case of per-manent settlement is in process. We are certain that thesuccess ratio will rise further in the future. One day thewhole CD will be back where they belong.... DELFT!

AEGEE-Delft: We aim to please (We aim, you please! Youplease, we aim:)

A sailing weekend is aperfect example ofbuilding cultural, orperhaps liquid,bridges. After a fineday of sailing, andsome great watersplashing and swim-ming, all bottles werecollected for the all-important NationalDrinking Party. "It isgreat! We are like oneclose family after avery, very short while.Of course occasionallysome people are lost in the surrounding woods of the camp-ing place (whether for throwing up or for more amorousactivities is not always certain). And then that Rakia! It getsme on my knees for at least two hours. Those Macedoniansmust really have an armored stomach" commented thepresident of the SU committee. But a Summer Universitycontains much much more: parties, international food and ofcourse the Dutch course: "Lekker belangrijk, boeien!"

The vibrant history of AEGEE-Delft Niels VegterStarring

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From Internal Education to Human Resources Development Bernhard Müller

Writing about the Academy, its foundation and its devel-opment over time is a special pleasure. It reminds me

of outstanding experiences and meeting great people. It wasa time of overcoming major challenges with splendidachievements.

The critical incident

In April 1999 there was a criti-cal incident: the EuropeanSchool in Giessen. Once againthere was a new staff, and onceagain most of the documentsand lectures that had beenused before were no longeravailable. So the staff workedday and night before the kick-off to complete all the materi-als. The ES went very well, butwith a lot of feedback for fur-ther improvement. A great staffhad been assembled and hadgrown into a strong team. Wewere ready to go for more...

AEGEE-Europe, being a student organization run by stu-dents, faces the challenge of short and ever shorteningmembership durations (usually max. two years, caused byshortening study durations). Thus, there is a need for accel-erated learning and transfer of knowledge and experience.This process needs to be facilitated by what we call 'InternalEducation'.

The birth of the Academy

The idea of a three-level concept for Internal Education wasborn, introduced by Oleh Kyrienko, at the end of 1998. Theidea of forming a separate Working Group dealing withInternal Education on a steadier basis was not favored bythe Comité Directeur at that time. So right after the ES inGiessen I decided to candidate for the CD myself. For manyreasons the CD changed completely at the Agora inBarcelona, May 1999. On the same occasion the new work-ing group, consisting of renowned 'oldies' and experiencedactive members, was formed. I think it was Michiel vanHees who came up with the name: the Academy.

To cut a long story short, by the end of 2000, the Academywas able to provide far more events in quantity and varietythan ever before, e.g. the Public Relations European Schoolwith the PR Working Group, Information TechnologyEuropean School with the ITWG, Training for Trainers, theEuropean School II and others. The trainers' database andmaterials database were built up and since then they havebeen regularly updated and improved. The idea is to facili-tate the current work of active members and prepare themfor future tasks, especially on the European level. A fewthings have changed, have become more sophisticated overtime, but the original goals are still the same.

Beyond Internal Education

I would say that we were successful in providing a high levelof Internal Education. However, to me it seems that thetransformation of Internal Education into real HumanResources development is the crucial driver for the sustain-able success of AEGEE-Europe. Only by more pro-activeselection and development of the right high-potential peoplefor the top jobs on the European level will it be possible tocounter the negative effects of increased fluctuation andever shorter tenure of members. As a consequence the bestEuropean School is to some extent a waste of time, effortand money if there is no follow-up and tracking of partici-

pant performance. The strongest candidates must be identi-fied in time and their further development actively plannedand executed.

AEGEE-Europe and its happy endings

Through all these years AEGEE-Europe went through manyups and downs, usually with breath-taking speed. Havingseen AEGEE evolving and rejuvenating again and againmakes me confident that AEGEE and its Academy will copewith the new challenges.

Bernhard Müller was Human Resources Director in 1999 andSpeaker of the Academy in 2000.

Tine Bader

Tine is a 24-year-old memberof AEGEE Passau. After she

became the President of herlocal and later on devoted her-self to the work of the NetworkCommission, she became aspeaker of that body in January 2003. Currentlyshe is responsible for Public Relations in theAcademy board.

What is your biggest passion in AEGEE?

Internal Education! I became active in AEGEE when Idiscovered that this association suits me quite well. Itis the most tolerant, open and flexible one I haveencountered. An association that allows me to followmy interests and to grow with my work and the peopleI meet, that stimulates self-realisation. What could bemore rewarding than granting the same possibilities toothers? To help them get the best out of AEGEE, andvice versa?

Optimism, smile and professionalism - that's howAEGEE people see you. How do you manage to combinethese?

There's no need to try to combine them; they go handin hand. It's all a matter of attitude. Whatever I did inAEGEE, I tried to do it right, meaning: professionalismis nice, but not a goal in itself. Perfect organisation isworth nothing without a human touch. A good exampleis the situation in my antenna when I started off withAEGEE. Before ever thinking of joining the board orbecoming president, I felt the wish and need to estab-lish a closer relationship between our older membersand the new generation who individually were greatworkers. I made it my goal during my presidency, andit became reality. That we consequently had a betterand more natural exchange of knowledge was a niceside effect. Observing this was an eye-opener thatshaped my way of working. And of course others noticeif you put your heart into your work, and if this work isat the same time a joy.


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42 43Key to Europe 2003/2004

Internal Education in AEGEE

Where do we start from?

How does a fresh member find one’s way around inAEGEE?

Difficulties start from the very beginning with internal AEGEEterms like "Agora", "antenna" or "CD", they continue withthe first click on our complex website and certainly do notend when it comes to the 'hows' of event organisation, pub-lic relations and fund raising.

At the same time, due to the fast turnover of people withinAEGEE, a lot of knowledge, experience and expertise arelikely to get lost without a mechanism to pass them on.

Many locals have developed their own systems for transfer-ring knowledge to new members, but that is notall. The Academy, the Human Resources WorkingGroup, operates at a European level to take care ofAEGEE knowledge by developing, coordinating andimplementing training all around Europe. Thetraining offered allows members to experience theessence of AEGEE.

What do we do?

The European School, the mainstay of AEGEE'sinternal education, is not only an event giving freshmembers the opportunity to get a glimpse of thework and people at the European level, but also toestablish contact with other young Europeans, tobuilt a network of friends from all over the conti-nent. In other words, to live out the cultural inte-gration and understanding that can be seen sooften on paper, but that will remain abstract with-out some first-hand experience.

But this is only the beginning. Besides the European School,the Academy offers specialised training dealing in depth withpublic relations, fund raising, media, project managementand many other topics. All this, to make sure that AEGEE's

members are perfectly prepared to run the association andcreate successful projects.

These events were initially designed to meet the needs ofAEGEE, but participants often say that our association andits internal education events are training for life, an impor-tant supplement to the theory taught at university, and animmense boost to their personal development.

Where do we go from here?

The Academy is defined as the Human Resources WorkingGroup of AEGEE. Yet, as AEGEE is an association in perpet-ual flow, its bodies have to adapt to the development of thenetwork and its changing needs. The Academy is constantlylooking ahead into how AEGEE is changing and where AEGEE

will and should be ina few years' time. Itis a group that initi-ates change, work-ing with new mem-bers who will shapethe association foryears to come, andwhose members,the trainers, areaware of being acrucial part of thed e v e l o p m e n tprocess.

That's why theAcademy continu-ously aims to

change from a rather inward-looking body into one thathelps members to find their place in AEGEE; that not onlyeducates members once they have joined the association,but elaborates strategies to help students find their way intothe association; that focuses not only on internal education,but on human resources.

Grzegorz Stanisz

Grzegorz Stanisz is a 25-years-old honorary member of

AEGEE-Poznan. During his "AEGEEtimes" he was a Speaker of theAEGEE Academy and at the laterstage main coordinator of theEuropean School 2 in Aachen,when the new concept of ES2 wasdeveloped. Prior to that he heldpositions of a Chief Editor of theKey to Europe and NetworkCommissioner of the Central Region. Currently he isworking for the Marketing Department in theCustomer Electronics division of SAMSUNGElectronics Poland.

What was your biggest challenge in AEGEE?

Coordinating the ESII in Aachen, without any question. Itwas a brand new concept that we worked on for many

months, including the special brainstorming session organ-ized in Munich. It took lots of energy, almost exclusive ded-ication to that project, a bit of lobbying, tons of consultingwith oldies and external bodies, hours on the phone andfinally two weeks in Brussels to button up the whole struc-ture. In the end it was a breakthrough in the trainingoffered by the Academy. Even after all of the planning, theESII concept contained quite a lot of mistakes that wereeliminated during the ESII in Berlin.

How did AEGEE influence your personal development?

Without AEGEE I would not be where I am today. At thebeginning it was meant to be an extra activity alongsidemy studies but quickly it became a priority in my studentlife. AEGEE gave me the opportunity to learn how to workin international teams, practice my management skills,negotiate, prioritise my objectives, practice languages andlearn the things I would never have had a chance to learnat my university. Apart from that, AEGEE gave me a chanceto make close friends that I stay in touch with even now,meet the most beautiful girls ever, and travel through thewhole continent.

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European School I


The European School (ES) is the event for people who want to discover AEGEE and learn how to run an antenna. A balancedmixture of lectures and casework in multinational teams offers the participants the chance to gain hard skills such as event

organisation, public relations and fundraising as well as soft skills such as teamwork and intercultural communication.

Tartu8-16 March 2003

Betina Szkudlarek (AEGEE-Katowice), Manager

What was your biggest concern during the preparationphase of the ES?

Managing an international group of trainers who were alsomy good friends was a big challenge. I was very much

aware of cultural differences and thefact that we had a lot of work to dowith a lot of stress and time pressure.I knew one thing - whatever happenedI did not want to lose those people asfriends. I think this friendship amongthe staff members made this event sospecial; we worked together, laughedtogether and we tried to solve all theproblems together. It was not alwayseasy, but I think at the end of the day

it was not only the participants whose motivation andenthusiasm increased but also we, the staff team, who gotan even bigger drive to work for AEGEE, and for theAcademy in particular.

What was the most rewarding about organising the ES?

I think that the answer to this question cannot beexpressed in the past tense. The rewarding part of theEuropean School is coming to me every day that I seeanother participant becoming a member of a local board,project team, Working Group board, a Commission or eventhe Comité Directeur; or when I see another trainerbecome a manager of another Internal Education event.These are the moments that show me that several monthsof work on the European School made sense, and that I ampretty lucky to be able to be, in some sense, a small partof people's happiness and success. That's an experiencethat nothing else can replace.

Alistair de Gaetano (AEGEE-Valletta), participant

What was the biggest challenge of theevent?

What do you do when you suddenlyfind yourself in a team of people, fromdifferent nationalities, with mentalitiesdifferent from yours? When you aretold that you are the board of anantenna, and have to create andorganize an event, within strict dead-lines?

It was quite an experience - rough but enriching. Whatkind of hierarchy there should be, if any; what a deadlinemeans to different people; who is good at what and who isgoing to do what. At the end of one tough week, one hasto learn what it means to survive with different peopledoing things slightly different from what you originallyexpected, and take in the art of compromise: to achieveyour goals, within the deadlines, and avoid falling behind!

What was the funniest moment of the European School?

Remember when at school they used to tell you to keepserious when someone is talking? Stand up straight, haverespect?

We were presenting our 'event programme' to the rest ofthe ES. One member was making the presentation, while Iwas holding up a chart with another person. Suddenly, theother person turned to me and said something. I saidsomething. Innocent. We tried to hold back our laughter,but after a few moments it was impossible. People werewondering, but the person doing the presentationremained dead serious. No one seems to have understood.Nervous laughing fits... thankfully, neither me, nor theother person holding the chart (Wiebke Hahn, nowSecretary-General of AEGEE-Europe) have repeated thescene at an Agora - at least until now...

Torino16-24 April 2003

Jaap Commijs (AEGEE-Rotterdam), Manager

What makes the concept of the European School so spe-cial?

The ES concept embodies the entire philosophy of theAcademy, lifting individual members to a higher level andmotivating them to use their newly acquired knowledge inthe framework of AEGEE. The ES concept gives the partic-ipants insight into all aspects of voluntary work in the

organisation, and confronts them with thechallenges as well as with the pleasures oforganising, which will help them in theiryears in AEGEE and beyond.

The ES concept is not fixed, but is a learn-ing process; not only for participants, butalso for staff. The outcome of a ES istherefore threefold. Not only do we createa tightly bonded group of participants thatwill "grow" into the association, and traintrainers to be of high value in terms of Human Resources,but also in all respects we try to improve the concept; byevaluating and retrying it carefully, we strive for perfec-tion.

The European School in Torino took place in a monastery.Did it cause any difficulties?

There was one difficult moment during the EuropeanSchool in Torino: the choice of the back office location. Theback office is the place where the staff works for the entireweek. There was only one room left: a little chapel. Forme, having an atheistic background, this didn't cause aproblem, but half of the staff was Catholic, as were manyparticipants and also the local organizers. After a lot ofinternal debates, discussions with the local monk and therelocation of certain sacred articles, we decided to haveour back office there. On my chimney there is still a pic-ture of Ennio Legrottaglie, the president of AEGEE-Torinoat that time, and me, together with the almighty whosupervised us during the entire week.

Annette Maier (AEGEE-Mainz/Wiesbaden), partici-pant

What was the most unexpected problem you had to faceduring the ES?

The things I least expected from the event were the sim-ple everyday problems, which I found staggering. To com-plete the assignments on time and become a team whileworking together was my favourite challenge. Havingworked with foreign students many times already, Ithought myself open-minded enough, but during feedback

rounds with our tutors, who assisted every team duringthe casework, they and other participants revealed smalldetails that I had never thought to be a problem.

As we learned more theory and became more aware of theobstacles, we managed our tasks more easily, and afterthis work we could really feel how a group of totally differ-ent people could come to work, everyone in their own way,but efficiently and above all successfully in the team tasks.

Why a European School?

During a European School you can learn a lot aboutAEGEE, about yourself and others, and there is a specialatmosphere when you work and have fun together withmore than 20 European students younever saw before: the AEGEE spiritalive. It is not always easy, but it ispossible because people give theirbest. I learned how to deal with mis-understandings, and how to be sensi-tive, because everyone is right insome sense and conflicts always neednew "out-of-the box" solutions.Diversity is the key! It might be a longway to travel to those places whereInternal Education events take place, but the lectures,smiles and enthusiasm of staff, local organisers and par-ticipants leave their message and will also spice up yourlife!


Istanbul20-28 September 2003

Sena Latif (AEGEE-Bucuresti),Manager

What was the most unusual aspect ofthe ES in Istanbul?

I guess a big surprise for everyone wasthe very distinctive way we werelodged: half of the building assigned for girls and half forboys, without the possibility of crossing to the other side.This of course challenged the mischievous tendencies ineach of us, so that we were always trying to pass theboundary, either with a nice smile to the guardians, or try-ing to get past unnoticed. The best part came in theevenings, after the "very integrating" parties: the image ofcouples saying good-bye over the line was heartbreaking,real Romeo and Juliet stories.

Is the European School only about serious lectures andworkshops?

Of course not! Let me give an example. During the ES wetry to invent some fictional new antennae. We try to makethem as funny as possible, and I think the new antenna inES Istanbul was one of the most original: AEGEE-Hamam.If you don't know what Hamam is, then ask a Turkishfriend, or better go there: you will enjoy a completelyrelaxing Turkish bath. Some of our staff and participantscould not resist this temptation during the ES, and havingexperienced its wonders, they established AEGEE-Hamam!When they pretended to sign the Convention d'Adhesion,

they also gave a small presentation of how this originallocal functions: it was absolutely amazing and made every-body laugh tears to see two members of our staff halfnaked, just with a towel around their waists, playing anddancing to the delight of the spectators.

Joanna Piskunowicz (AEGEE-Poznan), participant

What was the most surprising thing about the ES?

I was surprised with the fact that people can be so open,friendly and enthusiastic about meeting others! Webecame close to each other very fast and created a greatteam. It was astonishing for me that after spending only afew days with these people I could call some of them mytrue friends, when in other situations I needed at least ayear for that. And although we cannot see each other toooften, and our contact is rather limited, whenever we meetsomewhere in Europe we feel as if we have been apart foronly a short moment: it feels as if we were back inIstanbul.

Would you advise other people to takepart in this event?

Maybe I'd put it this way: If you wantto lead a quiet, slow life, stay in oneplace and let your dreams stay dreamsforever, then don't ever go to aEuropean School. Otherwise, don'tthink twice: just apply! Why? Becauseit will, most probably, be the beginningof a totally new period in your life, the best learning expe-rience ever. You will discover a world that you neverthought could exist, a world of young idealistic people whobelieve they can change things, then go out and do it!

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46 47Key to Europe 2003/2004

European School II

The European School II (ESII) is the most advanced level of the internal education programme. It prepares its participants towork at the European level of the association. These have to show a certain level of knowledge and skills, for example hav-

ing already participated in a European School or been in the board of their local antenna. The program focuses on advancedaspects of management in AEGEE and on 'soft skills' such as teamwork and communication skills.

Berlin17-25 May 2003

Koen Berden (AEGEE-Rotterdam), Manager

What was your motivation for manag-ing the ESII?

Since my own participation at theEuropean School in Praha in 2000, theAEGEE-Academy has been somethingI have always enjoyed being a part of.In Aachen, the European School II2002, I was very impressed by theconcept that was being developed andI felt that I could try to contribute andfurther develop it for the following year. I saw theEuropean School II as the ultimate challenge of organisa-tion within the Academy, all the more since it trains theactive enthusiasts from the local level of AEGEE to becomeactive at the European level, determining the future of ourassociation in the years to come.

What makes the ESII concept different from the EuropeanSchool?

One of the most difficult aspects of the ESII is the suc-cessful integration of external speakers into the pro-gramme. For the ESII in Berlin, there were several exter-nal parts: a panel discussion during the opening day; atwo-day programme by Mr. Zepuntke and Mrs. Rummel,two invited psychologists; a morning programme by Mr.Duursma and Mr. Roelfs from the Erasmus DebatingSociety and Mr. Kruell from the Siemens GraduateProgramme. The two invited psychologists, Mr. Zepuntkeand Mrs. Rummel, presented a great two-day programmethat was highly relevant for the participants. They dis-cussed leadership issues as well as creativity and intercul-tural communication.

In his evaluation of theparticipants, Mr. Zepuntkesaid: "Thanks again forthe opportunity to workfor AEGEE and to meet allthe students. What wasabsolutely fascinating toobserve was the opennessof all the students tolearning new ideas andways of looking at leader-ship. Even the studentswho considered them-selves a bit sceptical in the beginning told us at the end ofour session yesterday that we made them think. Well,what more can you ask for?"

ESII was an advanced project management training schoolrun by one of the most experienced AEGEE members. Wasthere no slip?

The event management went really perfectly. But there isone morning I will never forget. Imagine what happened toa certain European School II Manager at 09.30 onSaturday morning when, after a long and tiring journeyfrom Rotterdam to Berlin, he walks to another cabin to getthe keys to the car where his suit is stored. Walking therewithout glasses, wearing sexy pyjamas with Bugs Bunnyon them, he suddenly hears "Good morning, Mr. Berden!"coming from Mr. Outrata, the Czech senator. "I decided todrive myself here from Prague which meant I made itmuch faster," he explained. Within one second I was fullyawake. Besides the embarrassment of the moment, theworst was that two great friends, Betina and Jaap, had wit-nessed this remarkable episode. A beautiful opening storyfor the 'Berlin Newsbear', the gossip paper, in its first edi-tion!

Klaas Brantjes (AEGEE-Groningen), participant

What did the ESII change in your life?

I have to admit that the ESII influenced me more thanmany other events had before.Besides teaching practical things likegroup dynamics, time management,long-distance teamwork and structur-ing my work, all of which I still profitfrom today in every field of interest Ipursue, it left me with a change ofmentality that allows me to do things Iwouldn't have done before in a way Iwouldn't have done them before. Italso left me with a network of friends

that had the same experiences as I did and now are equal-ly motivated in their lives and in their interests.

Why would you advise other people to take part in ESII?

When answering this question I had a look at all the pic-tures again, and all the memories came backto life. This event was so special, not onlybecause all of us learned so much and the par-ties were great, but mainly because the groupwas so unique. The program was diverse andchallenging, we never had any rest but thisdefinitely made it worth the time. So if youhave the required motivation this event is thebest there is. Besides teaching all kinds ofpractical things it gives you a fantastic experi-ence to look back upon. Especially the latenight swimming is a good team building exer-cise! AEGEE is a society in itself, its membersbeing open-minded, yet closely connected toone another. They are joined together by their

cooperative ideals and achievements. The ESII offers theopportunity to become part of that society. It teaches theskills needed to become an unprejudiced and internation-ally orientated individual, capable of pulling off the difficultachievements AEGEE stands for.


Training for Trainers

Poznan8-16 November 2003

Dominika Klimek (AEGEE-Poznan),Manager

How did managing T4T influence yourpersonal development?

First of all, T4T gave me confidence Ididn't have before. I became moreaware of the fact that everything Idreamed of can come true. The process of organising theevent also helped me identify the main priorities in my life.While working on T4T I applied many aspects of projectmanagement, which helps me in everyday life as well as inmy current working place. T4T also showed me the impor-tance of good communication between team members, andhow hard it is to sustain atthe necessary level. Itsharpened my awarenessof how important the peo-ple are in any project.

Are there any fun ele-ments in the serious T4Tconcept?

During the LTC came thetime when we had to saygoodbye to each otherand relax a bit, and thiswas also the time whenthe T4T participants hadtheir chance to get‘revenge’ on the staffmembers. The high pointof the evening was to get into another person's shoes andexchange roles for one hour. The participants became lec-turers for a while and we, the staff members, were obligedto act as participants. The effect was stunning! What I amtrying to say here is that the funniest thing and at thesame time the most relaxing one was to see people afterthe whole exhausting week, still able to make fun of them-selves.

Else-Marije Boss (AEGEE-Utrecht), participant

Why did you want to take part in T4T?

Ever since my first encounter withAEGEE I have loved the atmosphere,the people, the AEGEE spirit. I haveorganised several events, and spent alot of time creating occasions for peo-ple to meet and 'live' the ideals we areall dedicated to. And the Academy is aworking group that helps to maintaincontinuity inside AEGEE, by sharingknowledge on how to organise events,how to bring people together, and how to spread the"AEGEE virus." To me it seemed the place where I couldwork most effectively to pass on the knowledge I havegained from my own experience. We have to make surethat we won't have to keep inventing the wheel over andover again, by creating a solid 'wheelbarrow' to carry our

knowledge through Europe. Forme the Academy is a place whereI can motivate people and bemotivated at the same time.

What did you think of your firstteaching experience?

It was not that easy. I had to givea lecture about IT, a subject thatI'm not really familiar with.During my board year in Utrecht Itried to avoid any responsibilityfor web pages, mailing lists andrelated items, and now I had totell an interesting, convincingstory about the website of AEGEEand its possibilities. And the worstthing: there wasn't any way toshow people what I was talking

about, because we had no computers and no internet.Becoming a trainer, I found, was mainly about adapting tothe situation you're confronted with, and starting workfrom there. And in the end, I like to think I did quite well.It may have been a change to talk about InformationTechnology without using the actual technology, but I nowknow that it can be done.

In order to sustain the quality of our training events, Training for Trainers (T4T) prepares experienced AEGEE members to jointhe Academy and become trainers at European Schools and Local Training Courses. During this event, the participants become

familiar with lecturing techniques, managing casework, tutoring, leading workshops and other elements of the art of teaching.The last two days of the event are devoted to a Local Training Course for the organising antenna, during which the new train-ers have a chance to use their knowledge in practice.

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48 49Key to Europe 2003/2004

Public Relations European School Project School

The Project School (PS) is a completely new event in 2003,which aims to teach its participants how to manage a

complex international project. The goal is to maintain thequality of European projects within AEGEE. The trainingranges from the choice of a suitable topic and establishing aproject structure, to communication between the projectteam and the participating local antennae.

At the Public Relations European School (PRES), partici-pants are taught the secrets of public relations with a

focus on journalistic skills, presentation techniques and cre-ative approaches to work. Participants get to know the worknot only of the PR director in a board but also the work ofjournalists and the other media people they have to cooper-ate with. The majority of the PRES participants have hadprevious experience with public relations.

Komárno30.11 - 07.12.03

Sandro D'Onofrio (AEGEE-Termoli), participant

What was the biggest difficulty you had to overcome?

In the middle of the week, whenthe first set of simulated projectscame to life, we had a very difficultmoment. The huge amount of workbegan to show on the trainers:they were tired. At the samemoment the participants didn'tseem to take the projects serious-ly enough, and it was only thanksto the incredibly strong will of thetrainers that everything becamevery interesting again. They managed to overcome thefatigue and found the same motivation that they hadhad at the start, giving us a great example of how tobe a professional and responsible trainer.

What was the most unforgettable moment of theevent?

If I have to choose one moment, it would be the lastgeneral feedback round. We did our best to cooperatewith the trainers, helping them to understand what hadworked well and what needed to be improved. The finalfeedback round was very emotional, being together asa group for the last time, talking together and recallingeverything we had done. But even more special wasthe open discussion about the training programme. Thetrainers were clear and honest with us, explaining whatthey saw as problems, and the participants did theirbest to speak in a concrete way, to analyse the situa-tions deeply and to find possible solutions.

Sibiu25.04 - 01.05.03

Cristina Martus (AEGEE-Passau), participant

What was your motivation for tak-ing part in the PRES?

On the one hand, my main motiva-tion for taking part in this event was the wish to get toknow the techniques of effective and professional PRwork. This knowledge was urgently needed in myantenna, as our local board planned to establish aPublic Relations Working Group. On the other hand, Ireally wanted to experience a European School. Forme, the Public Relations European School representedan ideal combination: the chance to gain a lot of knowl-edge, meet AEGEE people, and to work and party withthem (as in every European School) whilst getting adeeper knowledge of the field of public relations.

How successful was the implementation of the plansyou had before the PRES?

The PRES motivated me to work in the field of PR:together with the PR person in the board, we built upthe local Public Relations Working Group. With knowl-edge of a range of PR methods, we could develop anew promotion strategy. We attracted new membersand motivated more of our existing members to getactive. We also started to pay more attention to ourpatrons, and to inform them and the media about ourfuture plans. The PRES gave me a lot of motivation forthe work in my local board and gave me the will tokeep on elaborating our PR strategy.

Gunnar Erth (Former CD member), manager PRESand Project School

You are probably the most experienced Internal Educationevents manager in the history of AEGEE. What was yourmotivation for becoming a manager once again?

The biggest motivation and challenge at the same time wasto reform the concept of the PRES. I suggested the firstPRES myself, back in 1998, which was conducted by thePRWG board at the time. When Bert Rösch,manager of the second PRES in Karlsruhe inOctober 1999, needed a new case managerat short notice, I created a completely newcase, which also contained several elementsthat became standard for every EuropeanSchool. The reformed PRES concept, whichwe developed in 1999, was also copied forthe next three editions of the event.However, I was never really happy with it, Ithought it could be a lot better, especiallyseeing how well the European School concept developed inthese years. So, when I was asked to be manager of thePRES in Sibiu, I saw this as a chance to create a completelynew event, which would cater much better for the needs ofAEGEE members in terms of quality and quantity.

The concept of the Project School was used for the first

time. What were the difficulties you had to face?

The idea of the PS was born in May 2003, and the mainchallenge consisted was to create the concept for thisevent totally from scratch and organise it within sevenmonths. While writing a programme proved to be easierthan expected, finding enough good trainers who knowabout project management both in theory and in practice,proved to be quite hard. I was very happy to get a lot of

support from the AEGEE Academy and from very expe-rienced active and former members, who helped a lot increating the event. At the same time we had to over-come also the scepticism of some people.

After all those internal education events you managed,what was most special about the Project School?

After a normal European School, usually one or two peo-ple join the Comité Directeur but I am sure the ProjectSchool will have a higher output. I really loved the waythe participants acted and interacted, the solutions theyfound for the problems we gave them. This Project

School did not change anything in particular in my life, butit marked the end of a period in my life: it will be the lastevent I ever organise in AEGEE, and therefore it was a niceconclusion to my active AEGEE career. I sincerely hope thatthe Project School will be a constant element of the annu-al calendar of training events.


Fundraising European SchoolUtrecht, 4-9.10.03

The Fund Raising European School (FRES) is designed to train new fundraisers to work at the European level, especially infundraising for projects on a European scale. For this reason, previous experience in fundraising is one of the requirements

for FRES applicants. Topics covered by the FRES include networking, lobbying, SWOT analysis and interview techniques.

Kim Zwitserloot (AEGEE-Maastricht), Case manager

The FRES took place for only the second time in Utrecht.What was the biggest challenge for themanager?

The Fund Raising European Schoolthat took place in Utrecht was a com-pletely new concept. Developing it wasa time-consuming process thatinvolved a number of people. After theevent, the new concept turned out tobe quite successful, although we ofcourse also found some things thatcan be improved. These were incorpo-rated in the new programme, so that the next time theevent takes place, its results will be even more impressive.

Being a case manager and preparing the new case took alot of your time. Now the event is over, what was the bestpart of the experience for you?

During the week we saw people improving tremendously.The most rewarding moment is when you see this certain"click" in people's heads, when they start to come up withideas for what they could do, and more importantly, theystart to believe that they can realise them. During thepanel discussion with sponsors and fundraisers and also atthe meeting we had with a professional lobbyist, the par-ticipants soaked up the experts' advice like sponges.Hearing people talk during the lunch breaks about settingup FR teams in their locals and seeing their enthusiasmgrow each day was invaluable.

Diego Fernandez Parra (AEGEE-Madrid), participant

What did you find most challengingduring the FRES?

It was the cocktail party on the fourthday of the FRES, at the Tower Dome,in a great medieval environment. Allthe participants had to approach sev-eral "important people" such as mem-bers of the European Parliament, senior representativesfrom banks, institutions, foundations, mayors of the citieswe represented ('Naelville,' 'Pintilion,' 'Filipolis,''Kaiserstadt') and even a European Commissioner. All ofthese were portrayed outstandingly well by members ofthe Academy and local organizers.

Everything was set up for the participants to implement allthe knowledge of networking and lobbying they had gainedin the preceding days.

What would you say to the people that are interested inFR, but do not know much about the FRES concept?

If you want to learn more about FR in the short or longterm, lobbying, SWOT analysis, find out how to build awide network and develop a strategy, or improve yournegotiation skills, then this event is for you. If you want tomeet friends to keep in touch for the rest of your life - bril-liant people, from whom you can learn lots of things andsee the European Parliament office, do not hesitate toapply for the next FRES.

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Local Training Courses Francesca Fedrizzi

LTC stands for Local Training Course: a training courseorganized for one or a few neighbouring antennae, which

gives basic knowledge about AEGEE, possible activities inthe association at the local level, and other issues importantfor members. Last year one manager co-organized two LocalTraining Courses, one in Roma and one in Bologna, andsome people loved the first one so much that they took thetrain and travelled for the entire night to be able to attendthe second one as well.

The programme of the Local Training Course is createdaccording to the needs of the antennae involved. The train-ers make sure that the advice is easily applicable, so it isreally important that the staff know the current situation aswell as future challenges and opportunities for the hostantenna.

The theory is followed by the practical casework. Participantsworked very hard on all the letters, posters and flyers thatthey had to produce, trying to find some time to get to thefundraising interviews with the "representatives" of differentbanks, hotels and companies played by the trainers. The dayfinished late in the evening with people exhausted, but stilleager to share feedback and evaluate the day's work.

What made these events so amazing was the fact that eventhough they had only one day to get to know each other bet-ter, staff and participants felt as if they had known eachother for years.

Francesca Fedrizzi, 24, is afounder member and the first(now former) president ofAEGEE-Trento. From 2001 until2003 she was a member of the"Rainbow" NetworkCommission Team. At themoment she is the secretary ofthe AEGEE Academy board anda Members' Commissioner. She

recently joined the governing board of theFoundation AEGEE Trust Fund.

You are a very hard working and dedicated person; howdo you find time for fun?

Sometime is difficult when you are so devoted to thework. But AEGEE is still fun and a pleasure when youhave the possibility to work with friends. And if you talkabout going to the gym or going out with friends, trustme: I always find the time to do everything, and afterthis interview I will do exactly that!

Being so actively involved in Internal Education inAEGEE at the moment, do you see yourself working inother fields in the future?

In AEGEE I worked in different fields, and just as theNetwork Commission is what motivated me to getinvolved on the European level, internal education iswhat will make me stay for longer. What could be bet-ter than pass on motivation and knowledge, especiallyfor something that means so much?

Media SchoolNijmegen, 23-28 February 2003

Wieger Rottier

In February 2003, Nijmegen was the scene of the MediaSchool, organised by AEGEE-TV. In five days, participants

learned the basics of making an internet television item.

Dominika Stecyk a participant from AEGEE-Lublin, wasenthralled. "Is a two-minute result worth 24 hours of work?Well, generally no, but... this 'but' is called the MediaSchool," she explained. "To be honest, I knew nothing aboutAEGEE TV when I came to the Netherlands, but I have fall-en in love. Who wouldn't?"

Betina Szkudlarek (AEGEE-TV) explained that any goodtelevision item starts with a good idea. Just a good idea,however, is only part of the work. The important part is turn-ing the good idea into an item that your audience wants tosee. To help in this process, the basics of scriptwriting andmaking storyboards were amongst the most important toolsstudents learned.

Once the storyboard is ready, the item still has to be shot.As most participants had little or no experience with cam-eras, Stephan van der Feest was invited to give a work-shop. Stephan, who works as a freelance cameraman forPrince Productions, showed students what to do, and moreimportantly what not to do, in shooting video.

Needless to say, simply shooting film does not give you a fin-ished end product. Even with the best camera operators, alot of material has to be cut away. Material is also sometimes

shot out of sequence. To show the participants how to turnvideotape into a finished AEGEE TV item, Bart Camp gavea workshop on how to use AEGEE TV's state-of-the-art edit-ing suite.

On the last day, the participants were split up into differentteams. After a short general brainstorm on possible sub-jects, each team chose an item and went its separate way.

In only six hours, the teams put all their energy into com-bining what they'd learned and seen with the ideas for theiritems. The results were masterful; one item even won aprize at last year's AEGEE-TV Awards.

Wieger Rottier was the manager of the Media School inNijmegen.



What AEGEE means to me

AEGEE is the perfect organization to make won-derful trips to wonderful places all over Europe,

to meet wonderful people and to learn a lot aboutyourself and other cultures. During AEGEE-activitiesI had a wonderful time! I met a lot of nice, interest-ing people who became friends. And friends mean alot to me :-)

Agna van Dijk (AEGEE-Utrecht)

AEGEE is a playground, where not so small boys and girlsfrom all over Europe try to make their ideas come true.

Adam Kucza (AEGEE-Zielona Góra)

AEGEE is not just a travel agency! It is consideredas the best way of student traveling and meeting

people around Europe but it is not just this! AEGEEis the only way to overcome our differences andwork for a united Europe but with respect to cultur-al and historical background of the differentEuropean Nations! This is AEGEE for me!

Vangelis Antonakis (AEGEE-Peiraias)

AEGEE is the guarantee of finding people to supportand make happen your boldest initiatives and the courage to make

mistakes knowing that the lessons will be for life; maybe just otherwords for the unwritten primary goal of AEGEE: personal develop-ment.

Ioana Muresan (AEGEE-Bucuresti)

More than friendship...more than ideals...morethan culture and fun...since 1997 AEGEE in my

life means... FAMILY!!!"

Paolo Santoni (AEGEE-Firenze & AEGEE-Pisa)

It can be summer or spring.It can be warm or cold. Anything.

Anywhere. In any mood. With flyingcolours or not. High spirits or not.But, sure, it's friends. Not alone, notlonely, not lonesome. Aegee isfriends. Friends that may not speakyour language, friends with whomyou may only communicate withbody language. Friends that keep uwarm...

Stella Parascha (AEGEE-Athina)

When I was hanging around the Key toEurope team, which was working in the

AEGEE-Eindhoven office, somebody asked mewhat AEGEE means to me. And what does itmean to me? Well… this… A weekend in theoffice; many international friends around -some sleeping on the couch, others chattingabout future AEGEE plans; coffee; chocolate…and most of all, it all seems to be the most nor-mal things to be happening. So AEGEE showedme once more it is a frame for meeting themost interesting people you can imagine in themost incredible circumstances you can wish for.AEGEE is an extra world, an opportunity forpersonal development. AEGEE is what youmake out of it yourself and that's what it exact-ly means to me.

Mirjam Kibbeling (AEGEE-Eindhoven)

AEGEE has been an enormous experience for me for fouryears... Every person I met in every event,made me con-

nect strongly to this lovely network. Briefly, I love AEGEE :)

Ozan Cakmak (AEGEE-Ankara)

AEGEE is a way of living for me. The spirit ofAegee inspires me every day! Young people

have the chance to travel around Europe and reallybecome European citizens by understanding theculture-spirit of all countries. I like that people sodifferent in many aspects have something in com-mon, AEGEE!!!

Nicholas Sakellarios (AEGEE-Rodos)

And whatAEGEE means

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52 53Key to Europe 2003/2004

It was a cold winter night and I was attending the usuallocal agora, but something in the eyes of the President

told me that this agora wouldn't be so usual for me. My feel-ing was confirmed when he asked me to organize the 10thanniversary celebrations for AEGEE-Napoli. I was not sure Iwas the right person, but something made me accept. I did-n't realise that one of the most exciting, beautiful andexhausting experiences of my life was just beginning.

At first I was very unsure about how to structure the event,but soon, through a million phone calls, a thousand new con-tacts and one hundred nightmares about food, lodging andthoughts of losing the participants somewhere in the city,the event started to take shape.

When the long expected arrival day came, I felt somethingwas wrong. It was: Napoli, the sunniest city of Italy, wascold and completely wet, to the great delight of umbrellasellers. I felt depressed and disappointed, but when I sawthe first enthusiastic participants' faces, I understood thatwe already had all we needed to make the atmospherewarmer. The first day of the event was mainly cultural and,as the participants were lodged in the very heart of the oldtown, we decided they should smell all the history they weresurrounded by. So, among puddles and umbrellas (the rainhadn't left us yet), our trip into the Neapolitan labyrinthsbegan. We visited the most important and ancient churches,saw the site of the ancient Greek Agora, and walked throughthe street of hand-crafted shepherds and Christmas cribs.The cultural tour hadn't finished yet: it continued at nightunder the red lights of a jazz club and in the streets adjoin-ing the Royal Palace.

Then it was time to party all day long; it was "Time to makeNoise." The truth is that we had already partied every night,but this special occasion required more. It was our 10thanniversary, and we felt we had to celebrate it by relaxingand partying. So we moved from Napoli to a paradise ofgreen grass near Avellino. On the way there, we thought ourparticipants would appreciate some good wine; so we

stopped in Taurasi to visit its famous cellars and taste some-thing that would make the atmosphere warmer and happier.And it did! When we arrived at our lodging place the partyhad already started, with singing and dancing in the bus...

Many months have now passed since that magical celebra-tion, and I wonder why all the feelings attached to that eventare still so fresh and alive. Well, my answer is that our 10thanniversary was so exciting just because AEGEE is exciting.We didn't need a brilliant idea or some special effects, wejust had to focus our attention on what AEGEE really is: cul-ture, laughter, nature, music, friendship and most of all peo-ple. These are the elements that make all AEGEE eventssimilar and unique at the same time, and these are theingredients we put into our formula.

It's time to make noise! Claudia Moretti

Food or isn’t it?

Bas van Rijnberk

Whether you are an experiencedtraveller or a beginner, there is

always one thing that you should keepin mind when you are on the road:never expect to eat WHAT you like orWHEN you like. During my many trips in and outside ofAEGEE, I noticed a lot of major differences between peo-ples' eating habits.

Let me give you an example: the Dutch, me being one ofthem, like to have a scarcely filled sandwich sometimearound noon. However, after spending few months in theUnited States, I noticed a completely different attitudetowards lunch. If it doesn't say "Hamburger and fries",don't eat it! Obligatory is having lots of ketchup and yourdiet coke! The Mexicans again eat only a sandwich butone topped with everything they can find in the refriger-ator: lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, mustard, mayonnaise,pickles, some onions, a little left over chicken from yes-terday, some rice and to top it all a nice piece of cheese.Yes, we are talking about one sandwich here.

Some years ago, within AEGEE-Eindhoven, we had thepleasure of hosting exchange students from a big city inthe middle of Spain. We, in Holland, enjoy the pleasure ofhaving a pancake party for dinner and therefore we werevery happy to present this tradition to our new friends.Being in Spain however, for the second half of theexchange, members of AEGEE-Eindhoven had to suffer anentire night without any dinner, as a retribution for thepancake party.

While walking down a street with a Polish girl, be pre-pared that one might make remarks about the local ani-mals, like: "Look, tasty dog!" On the other hand, when Iwas visiting Poland I was forced to eat a very traditionalPolish dish, namely blood soup. Main ingredient: theblood of a duck. Being really proud of the fact that I hadfinished a whole bowl of it, after having the serving moth-er admiringly for my heroic act, I told every Polish personI met afterwards of my new found knowledge of thesecret Polish culinary traditions. Secret indeed, cause Inever found another person who even heard of the soup.And thank you very much!

Is it possible to be able to categorise people by the waythey eat? Let's just take a look at the evidence we havegathered. Mexicans (and Spanish) like the good life. Youcan't find an empty bar or an empty glass in the weekendthere and they're certainly always in for a party or two.This explains the rich sandwich, being it another case oftasting the good life. Americans like it big, fast and aboveall, they like it all! No comments needed here, I guess.Most of the Polish people I've met like the traditional val-ues, whether they're just made up or for real. And, moreimportant, they're not ashamed to share it with otherpeople. And finally, the Dutch: they may be typecast aseither really cheap or really sober.

All in all, we might conclude that someone's eating habitsare a direct consequence of the way someone lives. So,next time you're packing up your suitcases for an AEGEEtrip, remember that the best way you're gonna learn whosomebody is, is to watch what, when and how they arehaving dinner.

54 55

WARNING: Eating apples in Poland

Koen Berden (AEGEE-Rotterdam)

How do you eat an apple? Ever thought of it? Someof us eat the whole apple and some take off the

peel first, but did you ever think of the specific way ofeating it? I never did … until being in a bus in the southof Poland opened my eyes on this issue. I eat an appleby taking bites in the middle of the apple, goingaround, until basically you have an apple, which iseaten in the middle but still has on its left and rightsides two pieces left that I then sub-sequently eat.

I ask you: 'Is this a strange wayof eating an apple?'

I thought not when sitting in thisbus, but why then was this smallchild (around 5 years old) staringat me as if I were a dragon?! Yes,it was the way I was eating theapple: it was shocking for the smallchild and it caused me to ask my girl-friend what was the problem. She explained that theway to eat an apple is to eat it around completely inone go, not leaving those two pieces on left and right.This is how the child was taught and seeing me eat itso strangely caused her stare. After getting over thisshock I decided to only eat oranges in public in Polandwhile working on my Polish-style apple eating in pri-vate…!

Cultural differences? Examples! Natalie Kolbe & Francesca Fedrizzi


Year 2015, during a Les Anciens Meeting.

Francesca and Natalie, two old AEGEE friends are sit-ting together….

Francesca: My goodness, time is flying by; it seems likeyesterday that we met for the first time!

Natalie: It’s already 15 years ago, during the EuropeanSchool in Praha. … the good old days… we both had thesame goal: to start our own local.

Francesca: But we were quite different from each other...you were already active for 2 years and had no problem tocommunicate with the others in English, where I was actingtypically Italian, using hands and facial expression to makemyself understood. I also remember that you were so organ-ised: backpack, right amount of clothes for the week, littlemedical bag in case of emergency, etc. I bet you also bookedyour flight 3 months in advance!

Natalie (laughing): Well, don't forget I'm half French, espe-cially when it comes to organising my travels, it usually hap-pens last minute.

Francesca: Cultural differences can be so much fun! Do youremember when I wanted to buy a ticket for the train? Youwere following the rules and stood in the queue, I simplyjumped the queue and got my ticket very fast - you wereshocked and I was proud.

Natalie: I guess these are the typical situations AEGEEmembers experience when they meet people from differentcultures for the first time.

Francesca: There are so many small things. Some peoplethink they’re obstacles, but I can’t help it, I think they spiceup our lives. For example, an Italian asks for a small coffeein a big cup with milk but without sugar and a German justasks for a COFFEE!

Natalie: Germans are more goal-oriented (the final resultcounts) and Italians are more process-oriented (the way theresult is achieved is important), you can even see that dur-ing our lunch breaks: German, time efficient 30 minutes,sandwich. Italian, socialising 3 hours, pasta, dessert, coffeeand siesta.

Francesca: Yes, food is very important. Italians can leavethe house forgetting half of what they need and in generalthe most important things, like tickets or passport but theyneeeeeeeeeeeeeever forget the Italian pasta in a plastic boxto eat during the trip. "Food comes before sons!" A motherwill never forget about food but about her children...some-times, yes…. that can happen (laughing)

Natalie: Talking about lifestyle…. you always take care ofyour appearance; very stylish clothes, elegant shoes andfashionable haircut. Germans however, seem to like wearingordinary T-shirts, shorts, and no matter the weather, sandalswith white socks.

Francesca: It is not only the way of clothing, Italians alsodiscuss in a different way…. Germans chose a chair personand respect everyone's turn to speak. In Italy the one winswho speaks up the loudest.

Natalie: Well, but when I think of the times when we wereworking together in the Academy board, I can not remem-ber that we had any problems…. In contrary, we had lots offun!

Francesca: True! I also enjoyed that time a lot. It was funnyto see though, that you liked deadlines a lot and also want-ed to plan everything before starting to work on it. Italians

usually consider this as a waste of timeand prefer to adapt along the way. ButI have to say that you didn't panicwhen a problem came up destroyingyour plan, you also could adapt quitequickly. So you also have some Italianin you.

Natalie(laughing): In this case youalso have some German in you, asyou've always been very organised inyour work, did not only respect thedeadlines but also put a lot of them yourself. This is the bestexample: no matter how many differences we had, thanksto AEGEE we learned to work with them, adapt to them andenjoy the diversity.

Francesca: Let's have a drink!

Natalie: A glass of red wine please.

Francesca: And a beer for me.


In the Ukrainian train... Koen Berden

Sitting in a train after thegreat ski-trip in L'viv

(Tysovets), Koen and Dirk,two typical AEGEE-mem-bers from the WISEN-region were getting readynot only for the long hoursawaiting them before get-ting to Amsterdam Schipolbut also in trying to catchup on two weeks’ lack ofsleep. Right at departuretime, the compartmentdoor opened and a bigRussian-speaking Ukrainianarmy officer entered with afriendly 'Privit'. Little didthey know that they wereto embark on a noteworthyexperience about cultureclash and lack of sleep!

Right after having made himself comfortable, Dimitriengaged in a full-fledge conversation in fluent Russian,ignoring the fact that K. & D. were both illiterate in thatbeautiful language and on top of everything else, they weretotally exhausted. On the other hand, he lacked speakingexperience in Dutch, German, English, French or Spanish.The best strategy to follow seemed to be nodding positivelyand saying: 'ah, eh, hmmm' especially after hearing nouns,names and other recognisable words in the waterfall ofRussian. Despite the tiredness, this strategy worked fineenough until it was time to eat! Out of an old newspapercame: jerkins, eggs, bread, and (half) roasted chicken, allwaiting to be shared! Definitely not hungry, K. & D. decidedto politely refuse the offered food, not realising that a friend-ly refusal would be taken as a gravest insult! But no worries,soon they were to know! His facial expression and strongreaction left us no doubt that he was intending 'Njet, youhave to and will eat with me!' So, after five more minutes ofdiscussing, all three participated in a 'friendly' and solidmeal.

Now how strongly does oneexpresses hospitality by insist-ing strangers to join in on ameal? In our country of cheese,windmills and clogs, maybeonce or twice and then it's stilla free choice matter but defi-nitely not in this train inUkraine!

An even more obvious gesturecame when Dimitri moved on to'stage two', taking a glass bot-tle out of his shopping bags,together with three glasses.Honestly, K. & D. do both enjoya good wodka or two, but thislooked very challenging indeed,especially after already havingspent two weeks with great

friends in L'viv! Once again, the Calvin Klein motto alsoapplied here - No Escape! It was not only imperative to drinkbut better still, to keep up with the same rate as our friend-ly host in drinking his self-made wodka! So, no fat chance oftrying the 'nipping the glass' tactic nor was accepted drink-ing half the glass. This was not for men! After two hours ofmore talking and drinking, K. & D. must have thought it wasbedtime, having abandoned all conscious realisation of time!

Until six o'clock they were right butwhen D. was lucky enough to wakeup first, he was treated with morediscussions and wodka. When theconductor came in, it was not to'save' those badly looking foreign-ers but rather to rejoice and jointhem for yet another glass more!'Nazdrovje! Budmo! Mir!' This couldbe the beginning of a great friend-ship!

When arriving in Kyiv at seven inthe morning, two drunken AEGEE-members exited the train accompa-nied by a tipsy Ukrainian officer anda happy-looking conductor! All thisto the great surprise and amuse-ment of the local AEGEE-Kyivreceiving party. What a trip, defi-nitely for both to repeat it rightaway!

The morale of the story I: Never refuse the hospitality of adrunken Ukrainian army officer. That's a (relatively!!)healthy strategy!

The morale of the story II: 'To insist or not to insist becomesthe cultural question!'

The morale of the story III: Koen and Dirk had had theirsmall share of cultural difference for which they were payingthe price later on during the day when throbbing headachesarrived! They stood open for these differences, maybe toomuch so that night, but thank heavens not for the last timein their AEGEE-lives.

Koen Berden (AEGEE-Rotterdam)

WARNING: How many flowers do you give?

When you want to make a nice gesture in reply toa hospitable invitation it is always a good idea tobring flowers for the lady of the house. If you havebeen raised in some countries in Europe you focuson the type of flowers and their colour, but not somuch on the number of them. What difference doesit make when giving 20 or 21 white roses to say'thank you'? For some this is a real question that iscompletely irrelevant but for others it must be acomplete disbelief that I could possibly ask this! Ofcourse, you give an odd number of flowers, neveran even one, since that is for funerals and burials.Not exactly the impression you want to give,right?! So how can this situation be avoided? Inany case give an odd number of flowers since if thereceiving person does not care it is OK and if theperson does strictly follow this etiquette, it is alsoOK. The nicest way I saw this cultural differencesolved after an even number had been given is thatone rose was put in a vase in the guestroom andthe other nine roses were put in the kitchen ... oddtwice?!

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56 57

Odessa, UABeograd Grza, YUCopenhagen, DKBeograd, Gucha YUIzmir, TRRiga, LVHamburg, DEindhoven, NLRijeka, HRSouth West Region Alicante, EZielona Góra, PLSzeged, Budapest, H

Efficient Team Management CourseAll you should know, but you forgot to askEU&Israeli-Palestinian ConflictGucha Trumpet Festival 2003European Civil SocietyEuropean CultureCanoeing tour: pack your swimming suit Mediaschool EindhovenRainbow Regional Meeting in RijekaUnited we standFootloose!Born to be alive!!!!

02.08.200307.08.200310.08.200312.08.200310.08.200324.08.200331.08.200304.04.200330.03.200330.03.200330.03.200304.04.2003

01.08.200301.08.2003 04.08.200307.08.200308.08.200322.08.200327.08.200328.03.200328.03.200328.03.200328.03.200330.03.2003

August

Start End Event Location

Calendar of events - 2003


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Sarande, ALCagliari, IBayreuth, DKyiv, UAParis, FRKayakoy-Fethiye, TR

Tiranë Summer SchoolY&G Debate in CagliariEuropean GeocommunicationsMilleniumEuropean EconomicsKayaFest

16.07.200303.07.200306.07.200308.07.200325.07.200303.08.2003

01.07.200303.07.2003 03.07.200303.07.200322.07.200328.07.2003

July


Genova, IEindhoven, NLCluj-Napoca, ROBuffer Zone Cyprus, BMagusa, CYSubotica,YU; Szeged, HUVias-Plage, FSalerno, IIstanbul, BMoskva, RUMünchen, D

Cultural week in GenovaRegional board meetingEuropean Politics and GlobalisationCyprus in Europe - Europe in CyprusAction Europe Planning Meeting 2003Carpathian RM 2003Weekend on the beachSomewhere under the Rainbow - RMEuropean School 1 IstanbulSPIRITual SabbathOktoberfest in Munich - Come with us on the Wiesn!

09.09.200307.09.200313.09.200312.09.200314.09.200321.09.200321.09.200321.09.200328.09.200328.09.200328.09.2003

02.09.200306.09.2003 11.09.200312.09.200312.09.200317.09.200319.09.200319.09.200320.09.200326.09.200326.09.2003

Septe

mber


Izmir, TR Izmir, TR Garda, IUtrecht, NLUrla, TRUrla, TRVarna, BGLjubljana, SIWarszawa, PLMadrid, EZaragoza, EBarcelona, E

European Civil Society and GlobalisationRise Of The BalkaniaJuliet's land Verona - LakeFundraising European SchoolBalkania RM Post EventTEARS OF WINE IN AEGEE-URLA(How) We SEE Balkans and the Black seaEurope's (Torn?) IdentityAEGEE-Warszawa 12th AnniversaryPRE AGORA Event: BRIDGE TO LATIN AMERICAFall Agora 2003Fent Amics - Agora Post Event

06.10.200305.10.200305.10.200310.10.200308.10.200308.10.200313.10.200318.10.200317.10.200323.10.200326.10.200330.10.2003

02.10.200302.10.2003 03.10.200304.10.200305.10.200305.10.200309.10.200312.10.200317.10.200320.10.200322.10.200327.10.2003

Octo

ber


Tarcento, I Poznan, PL Odessa, UATekirdag, TRVARIOUS CITIES AROUND EUROPEAthína, GRPassau, DSibiu, ROOdessa, UAKomarno, SK

The JSM-Joint Study MeetingT4T - Training for TrainersE-Ukraine'2003 in OdessaLiving European Languages in ThraceEDL 2003Music Voyagers-A journey beyond noise!Human Resources- Human ImportLanguages-Passport to a Borderless EUOdessa Model UNProject School

09.11.200316.11.200316.11.200322.11.200319.11.200323.11.200330.11.200301.12.200330.11.200307.12.2003

06.11.200308.11.2003 14.11.200317.11.200319.11.200320.11.200327.11.200328.11.200329.11.200330.11.2003

Novem

ber


Beograd, YU Thessaloníki, GR Innsbruck, ACastle Schney, DBrussels, BZgornje Gorje, SIBergamo, IValletta, MLTRiga, LVSibiu, Capraret, RORoma, ITilburg, NLZagreb, HRKharkiv, UAPärnu, EEBeograd, YU

BBB Exchange (Beograd-Bucuresti-Budapest)The European future...Wintersport in AustriaWhat's a sustainable Europe?World Youth SummitTraditional Slovenian Drinks & Habits BledPolenta week-endreStarring Malta 2003(sp)ICE matters!TIME-OUT: Santa needs you!Santa Claus never did it!!! Come 2 Holland 4 NY !!QUIT HIBERNATION, JOIN THE HAPPY NATIONATTENTION! Real Ukrainian winter!WHITE SPIRIT feat. BACK-UP-PICK Tallinn2004 Ultimate Experiences

07.12.200307.12.200307.12.200307.12.200312.12.200314.12.200314.12.200304.01.200303.01.200304.01.200302.01.200301.01.200302.01.200305.01.200301.01.200303.01.2003

03.12.200305.12.2003 05.12.200305.12.200310.12.200312.12.200312.12.200327.12.200328.12.200329.12.200329.12.200329.12.200329.12.200329.12.200330.12.200330.12.2003

Decem

ber


Rodos, GRBologna, IAdana, Mersin, TRNapoli, IBudapest, HBlagoevgrad, BGPadova, IHelsinki, FINStuttgart, DKyïv, Crimea, Odessa, Iv.-Frankivsk, Lviv, UAKraków, PLTorino, IZagreb, HRIstanbul, TR Venice, ISibiu, ROArad, RO

Balkania Regional Meeting 2003Higher Education in a Globalized WorldEast & West : Intercultural DialogueNapoli10thAnniversary.TimeToMakeNoise!Belgrade-Bucharest-Budapest (BBB)SEE between EU Enlargement & War in IraqBologna Post Event- Padova SpringtimeNorthern Region Meeting Spring 2003Salsa EventBud'mo!REGMET CentralTogether in Europe - Let's take action!European School 1Rainbow Natural Experience - 3rd part Eko seloFeel It InsideCultural exchanges, a strong point for an European identityPRES 6ATV Media School

03.04.200311.04.200313.04.200314.04.200314.04.200313.04.200313.04.200313.04.200313.04.200323.04.200313.04.200324.04.200320.04.200322.04.200327.04.200301.05.200330.04.2003

01.04.200307.04.200308.04.200309.04.200309.04.200311.04.200311.04.200311.04.200311.04.200311.04.200311.04.200316.04.200318.04.200318.04.200325.04.200325.04.200326.04.2003

April

Maastricht, NLKayseri, TRBeaujolais, FKharkiv, UATartu, EEKonya, TRLeiden, Den Haag, NLSakarya, TRKaliningrad, RUSLondon/Paris, GBEindhoven, NLRijeka, HRAlicante, EZielona Góra, PLSzeged, Budapest, H

PM Post EventWinter University -II-Rencontre FrancophoneUkrainian cultureEuropean School 1Come as you are!IPWG goes Den Haag IIIRebuilding CommunicationKaliningrad again!!! One week for free!London-Paris ConnectionMediaschool EindhovenRainbow Regional Meeting in RijekaUnited we stand, South West RegionFootloose!Born to be alive!!!!

05.03.200310.03.200309.03.200314.03.200316.03.200312.03.200319.03.200323.03.200331.03.200331.03.200304.04.200330.03.200330.03.200330.03.200304.04.2003

03.03.200306.03.200307.03.200307.03.200308.03.200311.03.200315.03.200320.03.200323.03.200327.03.200328.03.200328.03.200328.03.200328.03.200330.03.2003

Marc

h

Kaliningrad, RUSHelsinki, FINSankt-Peterburg, RUSKyïv, UAMaribor, SI

AEGEE-Kaliningrad BirthdayEducation in the CottageWarm hugs of Cold WinterSHAPE EUROPE, SHAKE EUROPEADRENALINE ADDICTS

07.01.200312.01.200301.02.200302.02.200302.02.2003

05.01.200311.01.200325.01.200331.01.200331.01.2003

Calendar of events - 2003


January

Ivano-Frankivs’k, UASofia, BGSofia, BGWarszawa, PLMaribor, SICambridge, GBNijmegen, NLHofgeismar, Kassel, DEnschede, NL

SKI-WEEK-END in CARPATHIANSExchange Sofia-IstanbulMinorities in Bulgaria and RomaniaLet's talk about sexENTER EUROPEAN EDUCATION SYSTEMMODEL EUROPEAN COUNCIL 2003PM Pre Event - ATV Media SchoolEU& the Israeli-Palestinian ConflictPlanning Meeting Think Europe 2003

10.02.200316.02.200314.02.200316.02.200323.02.200323.02.200328.02.200328.02.200302.03.2003

06.02.200310.02.200314.02.200314.02.200321.02.200321.02.200323.02.200324.02.200328.02.2003

Febru

ary





Pavia, IErlangen, DKyiv, UACap d'Antibes, FRFerrara, IUkrained UAKøbenhavn, DK

The Atomic EventanREGendget involvedOn the beach... The Solstice DayBUD'MO: get ukrainedRoskilde Music Festival

09.06.200309.06.200308.06.200322.06.200322.06.200303.07.200301.07.2003

05.06.200306.06.2003 07.06.200320.06.200320.06.200321.06.200323.06.2003

June


Bucuresti, ROBeograd, YUTimisoara, ROChisinau, MDBucharest, ROTrier, DHamburg, DUtrecht, NLKaiserstuhl, DIzmir, TRBerlin, DAstrio, Brescia, IBrescia, IWroclaw, PLOsnabrück, D

Spring Agora 2003Wisdom of DancePicture Cultural DiversityMoldova in 5 DaysDiplomatic SeminarOld town, young peopleInfluence of Media on Politics & SocietyAll ways to EuropeIn vino veritas-the real wine experienceCHARM OF THE RYTHMEuropean School II BerlinASTRIONAUTSErasmus WeekendCitizen of the European UnionE[YOU]rope - Let's get closer!

04.05.200309.05.200311.05.200310.05.200311.05.200311.05.200318.05.200318.05.200318.05.200322.05.200325.05.200325.05.200325.05.200325.05.200301.06.2003

01.05.200305.05.200305.05.200305.05.200305.05.200309.05.200315.05.200315.05.200316.05.200317.05.200317.05.200323.05.200323.05.200323.05.200329.05.2003

May



The Art ofExpression

Enschede2-4 April 2004

The Art of Expression is a conference about how to express-ing oneself in different aspects of Art. The focus hereby isnot only listening but doing!About 100 students will focus on three different subjects ofart; photography, painting and theatre. Each day will be splitinto two parts: in the morning there is time for lectures onthe subject and a visit to a museum. In the afternoon therewill be time for expression! On each day participants willproduce a final work of art, that will be shown at the end ofthe day.The main goal of this conference is to give the participantsa broader view in theworld of art by think-ing and workingtogether with peoplefrom different cul-tures. The partici-pants should work alltogether to make apiece of art. Forexample, they can allmake a piece of apainting or makephotographs, whichform together anexposition. The pro-gram as well as theambience will con-tribute to an optimalsurrounding forEuropean integrationand artistic expres-sion.

Final Conference: Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue

Ankara2-4 April 2004

As the last step of Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue Project, theFinal Conference aims to announce the results of the projectand to encourage Turkish, Greek and Cypriot youth organi-zations for new common future projects by establishing anetwork within them.This conference will include a wide range of activities andinvolve non-governmental organizations, university studentsand academics from Greece and Turkey. In line with theobjectives of the overall project, NGOs from Turkey andGreece will have the opportunity to open stands and presenttheir associations and relevant projects to each other, whichwill help to initiate future partnerships. Apart from the assessment and conference sesssions to beled by respected academics, workshops are planned onpeace training and stereotypes. There will also be small-scale training on project management and fund-raising fromEuropean institutions, which is to be delivered by experts inthe field, and will address the participating Turkish andGreek youth organizations.Within the framework of the conference, the participants will

also have the opportunity to have a better understanding ofeach other and will enjoy the social programme includingconcerts by Turkish and Greek bands as well as some moviesand documentaries.

Europe Maj Love

Gdansk28 April - 2 May 2004

The project aims to celebrate the historic moment, which isthe enlargement of European Union. This distinctive holidayof joy and youth enthusiasm will also have a wider perspec-tive. One hundred young people from all over Europe, themembers of the European Students' Forum, will be invited todiscuss ideas for the future shape of Europe during a con-ference and a film-review of European cinematography. Itwill be an opportunity to share views on the subject ofEuropean identity; the result being an answer to the ques-tion: "Who are we, Young Europeans?" The questionbecomes more important as on the 1st of May 2004, theEuropean Union will enter a new chapter in its history. Wewill try to provide our participants with the knowledge ofwhat the European identity is and what constitutes it, andalso, what way the European project will go.

The main goals are: to celebrate the biggest enlargement ofthe EU ever, to increase knowledge about the EuropeanUnion, to join Young people into discussion about Future ofEurope, to improve our understanding of European Identity.

The project is called: "Europe MAJ Love. Festival of ReunitedEurope." This is supposed to emphasise that we are living ona continent which is not only a geographical category, butalso constitutes a distinctive idea, with which people areemotionally connected, with which they identify themselves,and whose exceptional qualities they appreciate. For thisreason a rich cultural programme will be presented to theyoung participants and the people of Gdansk. It was agreedthat those 3 days of celebrations of Poland's entry to the EUare worthy of being called a festival. The play on words usedin the title is to, for one thing, highlight the name of themonth, in which the whole thing will take place, and for thesecond thing, the Polish pronunciation of "maj" sounds iden-tical to the English pronunciation of "my" [m?I], whichmeans "mój, moja". Thus, the title may also stand for"Europa moja mi?o??." May is also a month, which hasalready been the month of historic events, like the PolishConstitution of the 3rd of May.

Outlook 2004

58 59Key to Europe 2003/2004

IT EuropeanSchool

Zielona Gora2-7 May 2004

"Your only limitation is your imagination!"

Are you always looking amazed at other people achievingmost incredible things on their computer screens? Andwhenever they offer to help you, you don't really know whatto ask for and where to start? IT is like speaking a different language. It happens veryoften that you want a website that functions for PR and FRpurposes, you ask an expert to work on it, and in the end itturns out that you have a tool not really reaching the goalthat you were aiming for. In IT your only limitation is your imagination!!! During 5days of extremely interesting workshops not only will weshow you what are the possibilities in AEGEE-IT to help youand your project trigger off and develop, but we will go fur-ther! We are going to give you insights into new technolo-gies that will enable you to simplify the organization of con-ferences, panel discussions, etc. We will teach you what toask for and how to achieve brilliant results, making sure thatyou can also do it all yourself afterwards ;-).Information Technology European School is another innova-tive type of Internal Education event that AEGEE offers to itsmembers in order to equip them with skills necessary to effi-ciently run projects within our association.

During these couple of days you will be given variousinsights into Windows, Networking, Internet telephoning,web design, mailing lists, functional databases, privacy pol-icy, new technologies, viruses, etc. But there is much moreto it... AEGEE Zielona Gora people are waiting in anticipationto welcome you to their city and spend 5 incredible days andwild nights full of fun, crazy parties and romance!!!This ITES is meant for those currently working on theEuropean level (or having aspiration to join it): ProjectManagers, Commission and Working Group members. It willgive you all the insights you need to successfully communi-cate with IT experts in order to maximize PR, FR and proj-ect management efforts during your work in AEGEE.

Future of Europe

Athina14-16 May 2004

Have you ever wondered what does the European Unionmean to you? Have you ever wondered where we are head-ing to? The European Union has recently embraced 10 newMember States. What does this mean for us, citizens ofEurope, and which are the expectations and the potentialproblems deriving from this change? In a Union of about 450 million citizens the need for sys-tematic integration has become imperative. Could the adop-tion of a common European Constitution satisfy this need? Ifthis is so, then why has there been such a lack of consensustill now? What more needs to be done?In the framework of this year plan project "EuropeanIdentity-EUa and EUROPE" AEGEE-Athina, in cooperationwith AEGEE Europe's IPWG and JEF invites you to join itsconference titled the "Future of Europe" and help you shedmore light on two of the hottest issues concerning theEuropean Union and Europe nowadays: 1. The European Constitution [update, perspectives: do wereally need a European constitution and under which terms?]2. EU and Enlargement :[ EU of 25 member states: whatdoes this practically mean? What's the next step in theenlargement process ? - Balkans in the EU]

Aims of the Conference

-Inform and make participants realize the real impact andimportance of the EU enlargement process so far and exam-ine its perspectives for the future, with special orientation toSouth Eastern European countries.-Inform in-depth participants about all the main issues andevolutions concerning the process of creating a commonEuropean Constitution-Productive opinions' and views' exchange through interac-tive discussion

Outlook 2004

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Working on the Key to Europe Eindhoven 20-22.02.04

Bas van Rijnberk

How lucky can you be? Producing the Key to Europe mayactually be one of the most frustrating jobs in AEGEE.

When you finally think you had everything planned, all hellbreaks loose. You find yourself without the articles youneed, without the team you initially selected, and facing afast-approaching deadline. These are make-or-breakmoments for a project, when the "men" (and women) areseparated from the "boys" (and members of AEGEE-Delft).How can you turn the tide and make the best of the prob-lems?

First of all, you decide on the place and time. Where bet-ter to go than to Eindhoven during the carnival to get yourteam in the right spirit? Carnival is, without a doubt, thebest time to find inspiration and be creative, and as aresult to make the Key to Europe that AEGEE deserves.

Carnival in the Netherlands starts on 11 November eachyear, this being the eleventh day of the eleventh month.On this day, every carnival association elects their newprince of carnival and his entourage. In total there willalways be eleven people exactly. It will already be clear bynow that eleven is the carnival's lucky number, also calledthe number of insanity!

So, to replace the fallen comrades of the KtE team, theexcellent decision was made to enlarge the KtE entourage toeleven members, with some local help. Is this just lucky?

At last everything was in place and the perfect conditionswere created. Where once there had been doubt, thethought of unity prospered. We hope you will enjoy ourresults and maybe find in these pages a little taste of theAEGEE spirit!

The Key to Europe Team 2003/2004

Editor in Chief

Megi Chudzik . . . . . . . .AEGEE-Rzeszow /Eindhoven

Editors

Aniko Vass....................AEGEE-DelftBetina Szkudlarek ........AEGEE-KatowiceEwa Solarczyk ..............AEGEE-KrakowNiels Vegter..................AEGEE-DelftRob Tesh ......................AEGEE-Münster / Riga

Lay-out

Alfred Klomp ................AEGEE-Delft

Team members

Peter Luschen ..............AEGEE-Utrecht

Local Support

Bas van Rijnberk ..........AEGEE-EindhovenWard Venrooij ..............AEGEE-Eindhoven

At different stages of the realisation of the Key toEurope project the team received support fromgreat AEGEE friends:

Loes Kendle . . . . . . . . .AEGEE-GroningenMonica Zarna . . . . . . . .AEGEE-BucurestiEva Steinhorst . . . . . . .AEGEE-BerlinMark de Beer . . . . . . . .AEGEE-EnschedeSarah Khalil . . . . . . . . AEGEE-Münster

The Key to Europe has been polished and pub-lished by Qual Design.

Thank you

It has been my pleasure and honour to work on this issueof the Key to Europe and I am aware of the fact that com-pletion of this publication would not be possible withoutjoint efforts of many AEGEE members. Hereby I would liketo express my gratitude to ALL the people who have con-tributed to this year’s edition of AEGEE’s yearbook. THANK YOU!

Furthermore, special thanks go to:

Gunnar Erth and Grzegorz Stanisz, former Editors inChief of the K2E for their constant support and goodadvice.

Parcifal van Overbeek, Koen Berden, Jaap Commijs,Mark de Beer, Nicola Rega, Wiebke Hahn and Basvan Rijnberk for their great feedback and active partici-pation in creating this K2E.

Grasas, Karina, Bart, Simon, Pieter, Jorien, Ward,Mirjam, Bartek, Aliki, Wim, Miguel and all the others,who were there for us when we needed little favors andcheer-up!

AEGEE-Eindhoven members, who made us feel likehome during our Key working weekend!

and to MY TEAM! You are the best!

On personal behalf

Megi Chudzik

key to europe 2003/2004

Documents