How It All Started

Yes it is sentimental melodrama time - and here is my candidature speech from Agora Eskisehir on November 2, 2007. If you find anything stupid, blame it on my youth :-)

Dear Agora,


It is an utmost privilege to stand in front of you today, an honor and experience I will never forget whatever the outcomes will be.


It is an honor rather forgotten, to vote and stand to be elected, to overcome the boundaries, to reach other places and people and let others reach to and within you. To learn and to teach, to ask and to answer. To be informed and curious, critical and constructive, to be young and full of courage yet wise, both patient and persistent. To be competent, competitive yet humble and open-minded, to debate, discuss, tackle the issues but with respect and empathy, to take an action, make a change, however small and hard it may seem and never lose the belief that everything is possible and you are making an impact. To be inspired yet realistic, able to stand high and to stand corrected, self objective and constantly improving. Yes, it is an honor to be a true European citizen, member of AEGEE. And it is an honor as well for Europe to have AEGEE working so hard and so much for its present and its future.


It is a new Europe that we live in today, an ever-changing, open and dynamic. When most of us here were born democracy was just a dream for half of Europe, academic mobility was still a concept waiting for Erasmus to happen, frequent flying was just for businesspeople and mobile phones and internet were still waiting to come about. Peace and stability, based on respect for human rights and rule of law, trade and industry growth through open market economy and social progress based on respect for diversity - all these things that AEGEE has been working for, for more than twenty years, are getting momentum in modern Europe.


It is a challenging time as well, with battle against global terrorism, religious and political extremism, unsustainable European social model, natural resources endanger and immigration.


For AEGEE this is a time of opportunity. Opportunity to redefine ourselves – what we stand for, what we do about it and how we do it. To be better in what we do well, to learn lessons and improve where we are lacking behind. To be new and brave, to lead and push for things that are important and relevant tomorrow rather than today. We should put new efforts to increase quality and attractiveness, widen scope and audience and enhance impact of AEGEE activities and find new ways to promote and support understanding and cooperation among students in Europe and the values of the European unity.


I am standing in front of you today willing to help that change to happen now. Am I the right person to do it is for you to decide. Credentials that I think might help you make that decision are listed in my candidature and I hope you will read them, as I won’t mention any of them here. Instead I will tell you what I plan to do.


1. I want AEGEE to organize a wide scale campaign for young people’s participation at next European Parliament elections with extensive use of online services. It will be a fresh platform aiming to defeat EU democratic deficit by encouraging youngest European democrats to take a stand on issues that concern them the most and bringing their democratic representatives to listen and deliver.


2. I want to promote and support AEGEE true practice of European Citizenship, which is for majority of people still a distant concept rather than set of real policies. Everything that we do to point out the problems and make even smallest contribution for their solutions, from grassroots to European level is important as this is the issue where we can lead the way and advocate for European citizenship to become a political, legal, social and cultural framework for European civil society.


3. I want to support and encourage new and existing AEGEE non-formal learning activities and internal education formats and their constant development to become the brightest examples of educational experience in non-formal settings and our trademark towards both institutions and students, when it comes to generic skills acquirement.


4. I want AEGEE to become a champion caller for recognition of non-formal and informal learning by developing high standards and innovative instruments for quality assessment and quality assurance of all our activities. It is an only way to move things forward to complementary role of formal and non-formal education.


5. I want AEGEE to become vibrant place for exchange of opinions and development of policies. I want to encourage our members to think, discuss and take a stand. I want our working groups to become real and relevant think-tanks on major developments in Europe today.


6. I want AEGEE to influence European policy makers and action takers by delivering results oriented and solutions driven projects and making sure that their outcomes are promoted, understood and recognized.


7. Finally I want our network to regain its thematic focus in whatever we do. In my opinion there are no serious or fun events in AEGEE. Everything that we do is contributing to the big picture. And all our events, especially statutory and summer universities, should have more thematic input.


Dear Agora, I strongly believe that AEGEE is a unique collection of remarkable young people that is doing so much and can do more, just with a little change in practices and attitudes. I hope that we can make this change together. And I hope that we can make it now.


Thank you for this opportunity and your patience.

Are you cat, coffee or wine?

Ivonne, Robin and Tena concluded that there are:

- CAT persons and DOG persons
- COFFEE persons and TEA persons
- BEER persons and WINE persons










When, one year ago, Tena explained her theory about the DOG and CAT people, she was laughed at.

But after one year time, her team mates finally started to understand. Not only they caught the intimate truth of the theory, but they developed two more.

Robin found out that the basic principles of the Cat/Dog theory can be directly applied also to Coffee/Tea.

Ivonne suggested that Wine/Beer might work in the same way. We did not agree totally.

How do you assess if somebody is Dog or Cat, Coffee or Tea or, to a smaller extent, Beer or Wine?
Simple enough. You need not to think. Not more than a second or two in any case - and you'll have the answer. If you are acquainted with the person under exam you should not have any doubts, in the most of the cases.

N.B.: It does not have anything to do with good or bad, funny or boring, cool or uncool! It is just cat or dog, coffee or tea, beer or wine.
Profiles can also match with each other indipendently (even though a Dog-Tea will most probably have a hard time with a Cat-Coffee).

To facilitate your own C/D (Cat/Dog) assessment, we prepared the headoffice overview for you.

CD C/D assessment:
Tena - dog, coffee, wine
Ivonne - cat, coffee, beer
Robin - dog, coffee, wine (although we say BEER, but she's allergic to it)
Dragan - cat, coffee, wine
Percin - dog, tea, beer
Evren - dog, coffee, beer
Anita B. - cat, coffee, beer
Agata - cat, tea, wine
Anita K. - dog, tea, wine
Nico - dog, tea, beer
Agnes - cat, coffee, wine
Denis - dog, tea, wine
Olga - cat, tea, wine

Manage your local on myAEGEE

url: http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=djjt8ns_36k447s526&interval=60&autoStart=true&loop=true

pdf: http://intranet.myaegee.net/group_file/download/3/1133/mylocal.pdf

ppt: http://intranet.myaegee.net/group_file/download/3/1132/myLocal.ppt

Explore the world of myAEGEE

url: http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=djjt8ns_28dc64c2df

pdf: http://intranet.aegee.org/group_file/download/3/1127/myAEGEE.pdf

ppt: http://intranet.aegee.org/group_file/download/3/1128/myAEGEE.ppt

WG speakers meeting in Brussels

WG speakers meeting aims to build a co operation between WG’s of AEGEE, to build common activities, to introduce the WG’s to the new CD and to work on the WG structure.

Finally the WG representatives started arriving to the house, first Verena from HRWG on Thursday, following Panos from IPWG, Simin from ENWG and others.

The present WG’s in this meeting are: EWG, IPWG, EnWG, Academy, HRWG, CWG, DWG and even Bobigosa. Unfortunately ITWG and VFF couldn’t send any delegates. Nadine, the former speaker of PRWG was with us for a while, because she was in Brussels for her holidays.

We have started with expectations of WG’s from this meeting, then every WG introduced itself and its activities to other WG’s and to the incoming CD. Afterwards we continued with analyzing the needs of WG’s in general by me facilitating, where every WG told what can be developed better and gave their solutions to those problems. Then we have discussed how the cooperation shall be during this year between WG’s, by the facilitation of Agata. Then PR girls Agnes & Anita gave their PR plan workshop asking how WG’s can contribute to locals organizing an event and told about their formula on how the PR in AEGEE can be developed.

Today our dear WG delegates, who have woken up by me at 08.00 and worked till 19.00 deserved a nice European ‘ Cultural ‘ Night.

Tomorrow will be a long day again. So let us take some rest now.

P.S. Thanks to Anita for her nice pictures during the day.

And some quotes of today

- What do you fake on a vacation? ( Nadine answering a question of Percin if she is faking to be a PRWG representative )
- I expect to fix the CD house ( Thijs, telling about his expectations from the meeting )
- Publication on Linguistic publications, chief editor Agnija Kapusza ( Verena )
- How can i get to know more about the lesbian film you are making ( Thijs asking to Agnes after she defends lesbian rights )
- When i say ' green 'you dont always perceive it the same as i do ( Nadine giving example of misunderstandings on texts )
Thijs answer to Nadine
- Green is not green?
- Thijs, stop touching and taping girls ( Percin reprimanding Thijs when he catches him taping Irynas arm )
- If no one, its Vedran( Agata's democratic appointment of Vedran )
Vedran's answer
- ' What ?!?! '
- I m afraid that the results of the quiz will lead to ' join DWG ' ( Thijs commenting on Percin's idea for a ' Which WG suits you best ? ' quiz )
-Life after local level ' LALL ' ( Thijs )
- Pop ups in intranet, i m getting hot ( Thijs getting impressed by the new intranets functions )
- What is wrong with you? Why are you so obsessed with lesbians ? ( Percin asking Agnes why is she so stuck with lesbians )
- Come on Vedran, you are an important person. At least we pretend you are so ( Agnes )
- Of course you can ( Agnes )
How ? ( Vedran )
I dont know! ( Agnes )
- OMG Vedran, you are serious! I m going to cry ( Percin )
- Ink and water doesnt match ( Thijs )
- Where Does Marker End? ( Agata referring to Percin's project )
- Percin didnt let me play with the map of EU ( Agnes )
Thats because Turkey is not there ( Percin )

When I took the Academy to a squat

What a week(end)!

NetAca meeting Brussels
Who would have thought that, when I proposed this meeting a couple of months ago, not only it would have encountered big enthusiasm, but it would have actually taken place, in such a short time?
13-14 August 2009, the first 'real' NetCom + Academy meeting outside Agorae I have notice of. We discussed the outcomes of the NetCom meeting related to training needs, coming up with a number of new projects.
The main ones: new concept for ES1, crowdsourcing database, regional trainings, renewing the pool of trainers, furthening the already established LTC coordination.

Academy Board Meeting Paris
Unexpectadly, last minute problems with lodging came up, so we all had to search for a plan B. My friends in Paris were all out of town, no clue who could host us. "The only thing that comes to my mind" - said my friend Giovanni - is an artists squat, but I don't know, the level of cleanness was not properly fabulous, as far as I remember...". No precarious hygenic conditions whatsoever can scare out a CD house habitue', I thought, and got in touch with 'the artists'. Not only they accepted to host me, but extended the invitation to all of us. What a surprise, when we had a room dedicated to us (with AEGEE on the door!), when the last floor had a huge (former) conference room which we used for the meeting, when the terrace on the roof opened itself to Paris and the stars.
And yes, we did also work, a lot.

It's incredible to witness this whole new stream of openness and cooperation built throughout the year, but most of all in the last months. It feels like finally we are all on the same line - assessing what our members need and how are we going to provide the knowledge to them comes so natural and easy.

the Squat
But let me spend a couple of words on our lovely lodging place and the people who hosted us.
Since, if I am inspired as I am now, I owe it to them as well.
Kinda - the violinist, singing along with her on the bridges of the Seine remains my most liberating experience of the weekend
Tom - the IT artist, who built the infrastracture and connected to squat to the outer world (and thus with us as well)
Nathan - who walks on the wire (not that high - he says - only 10 meters from the ground)
the White Bearded Man - who "was born 82 years ago in Brooklyn, and from then it's a long story..."
And Soraya, and Merat, and the Lady Writer... - to you all guys, an enormous thank you!

No Cows Allowed and a Travel through Time

Last Saturday Dragan, Ivonne, Roger (Ivonne's cousin) Robin and I went to Antwerp. It was a beautiful sunny day, which means that the city was packed with people from all over Belgium and Netherlands, and an average age of 99. I really felt the AEGEE spirit, 24 (in my case) and getting younger!!! Really young in comparative terms!

Other than walking through and underwater tunnel and visiting an open air festival where cows were not allowed to enter, we had an amazing time-travel experience!!! We went 50 years in the future and met 2 very well known financial directors of AEGEE-Europe!! It seemed incredible, but we immediately recognized them and tried to ask about the future of our beautiful association, but they spoke a very strange and difficult language... It also sounded like they had a cold and they were trying to get something out of their throat... it must have been Dutch ;)

So, here you have the proof of this amazing time-travel experience!

Best regards,
Vedran, the guest blogger.

PS Visit to Antwerp was of course the chance for the Fashion Police (the latest project of THE Agency, AEGEE Human Relationships Working Group) to capture some must-haves and no-dos for the summer festivals season.

Fashion Police Approves:


All yellow is the outfit of the season, THE Agency is very much into everything Scottish and the skater hat is the ultimate 'getting younger' accessory.

Fashion Police Disapproves:


Piercing overdose, guys with (oversized) jewelry and Dutch guys in kilts passing by while you are having dinner.

THE Agency and the Fashion Police will be monitoring Agora Kiev as well so if you have a sense of style or are in a desperate need to get some - hurry up and apply NOW for the Agora!

Beautiful hero!

Dear ...,

You receive this mail because you are account holder for a website hosted on Zeus.

In a try to get full control of everything, and at the same time trying to get rid of their 'enemies', CD (Robin, Ivonne & Tena) is at the moment on the way to Enschede. I've been informed by people that this is to take down Zeus, and remove the hardware. This will result in your website being unavailable. Obviously CD has no clue what is being hosted on Zeus, or they simply don't care about your websites.

I'll do my best to defend the server, and prevent any hostile actions against the aims of AEGEE, but I cannot guarantee I'll be successful, as these people were elected by Agora, and till now Agora has not taken any step to remove their powers.

To keep your websites, I ask you for your support. Please contact asap the CD to tell them you need your websites. As they are on the way right now, please call/sms them right away:

Ivonne: +31-6-497 471 68 / +32-2-215 47 35
Robin: +32-2-215 40 68
Tena: +32-2-215 47 35

You are responsible for the following websites according to our system:

- ... (alone)
- ... (alone)

Thanks a lot for your support. For questions, feel free to mail me on ...@aegee.org, or call me on +... (I cannot promise though that I can answer all your calls during the day as I'll be at work, but feel free to leave me a message, or call me after 19h00 CEST).

Kind regards,

...

Everybody has their own Knowledge Transfer...

Network/Human Resources
Anita and Tena opened the Knowledge Transfer month on the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of August. Setting: garden table, dominating our beloved & huge map of Europe, re-analysing the needs of the network, while preparing ourselves for the NetAca meeting, coordinating the LTCs, Network-Updating, dealing with new locals and small crises, improving the AEGEE members manual...

President
Agata, poor thing, could not get presidential KT before getting some - equally useful - Brussels-crazy-lifestyle KT. That's how, still half puzzled for the night spent travelling, Ivonne dragged her to an insane Brussels bike trip, returning back home with a very loud laughter at 7 pm. What happened remains a mystery.
But it's not finished here! The night after (one of the most extreme I can recall in the whole year) was spent in Bulex, a great place opening only once a month.
Presidential KT came later... with budgetary, networking, photo-shopping, and - most importantly - starving lessons.

External Relations
The most professional? Usage of PR programs, website developing, fund raising methods, contacts with companies... everything mapped in a calendar for next year. Apart from that, Robin was overwhelmed with finishing the Key to Europe, which took all our efforts and that we can announce now... OFFICIALLY DONE! And breathtakingly beautiful.

Financial Director
Ivonne planned carefully her KT with her successor Nico. Formal education methods are not enough, definitely not. To show real leadership you need to suffer until you make it until the end. That's why Ivonne was training for a month, going jogging every day, and now Nico needs to complete The Big Lap of the park all in one take. Did he manage? Yes sir, from the very first time. The kid is on the right way.

Projects/SecGen
Unfortunately, Denis and Olga still could not join us due to visa problems - Robin is still calling the ministry every day. Too bad! Denis is therefore forced to do e-KT with Percin, likewise Olga is communicating with Evren and Tena.

Other highlights:
- Robin, Ivonne and Tena went hitch-hiking to Enschede and back in 24 hours. The reason was love, but it was misinterpreted as an act of theft. (look up!)
- Paulus from Enschede and two lovely girls from Mannheim paid us a visit on one of the craziest weekends of the month. Enough to mention that it finished with our neighbour appearing on the door in his underwear, and that it involved dancing on the kitchen table with motorbike helmets (among the rest).
- Agnes birthday was celebrated several times, including hangoverish family lunch reunion in the garden, while a fantastic friend of hers came to surprise her from Germany.
- Everybody seems cooking-inspired, except for Dragan. Tomorrow it's him in cooking schedule: "Good luck with that!" - his own comment

On a general line, the CD would hereby like to apologize to the CD-elect if their shameless behaviour caused deep shock in their young minds. However, it is a necessary KT measure: not only it represents a warning how crazy can you become being in the CD, but also stands as a reminder that without a healthy dose of craziness you cannot overcome it.
Not with a HUGE amount of fun, at least!

Which, ladies and gentlemen - believe it or not - is exactly what happens in Rue Nestor de Tiere 15.

Elbasan: new AEGEE Contact

The Comite Directeur approved a new Contact in Albania.
Elton, after having joined AEGEE-Tirana and participated in NWM Thessaloniki, decided that his city also needs an AEGEE antenna. He hopes now to sign the Convension d'Adhesion already at Agora Kiev (October) and make AEGEE-Elbasan come true.

He sends us some pictures to get an idea:


In the meanwhile, AEGEE-Tirane is getting everything ready for an European event maybe already at the end of September... so if you are intrigued by Albania, AEGEE will be once again your Key to Europe :)

AEGEE Headoffice Getting Younger as Well

The Headoffice is getting crowded as the CD elect is arriving to the house for the month of knowledge transfer. The first one to arrive - of course Agata, the President gonnabe, followed by Agnes and Nico, future External Relations and Financial directors.

The first week of knowledge transfer has begun in style as we opened some champagne to celebrate the successful launching of the new aegee.org and myAEGEE. AEGEE is truly getting younger every day :-)

AEGEE sofa babes with a new friend! ;-)

The King is fat - long live the Queen! :-)

Is this SuFu Panda? No, it is our new financial director :-)

Is Ivonne drunk? No, of course not :-)

Sunday morning in the house...

A certain person: "I kissed a Mexican guy last night"

A certain other person: "But what about the Mexican flu?"

A certain person: "D'OH!"