Dear AEGEEans,

we wish you a very happy 2013 and hope that you have had a positive start into the new year.

To kick-start a new year of AEGEE-activities, we have some news for you! Find in the first newsletter 2013 the confirmation of our legend, the fact that AEGEE played a crucial role in the establishment of the ERASMUS programme, by Domenico Lenarduzzi, former head of the DG Eduation and Culture of the European Union.

You can also check out the winners of our InterRail competition, catch a review of AEGEE in 2012 and find many external opportunities.

Have a good reading!

Yours,
Comité Directeur

The origin of the ERASMUS programme: Interview with Domenicco Lenarduzzi

After the passing away of AEGEE’s founder Franck Biancheri in October, we have started researching on his history and the history of our organisation, and particularly the legend around Frank Biancheri convincing François Mitterand, president of France at the time, to support the ERASMUS programme in 1984. At that time, it was vital to convince the members states that ERASMUS was an initiative which students would take ownership of. AEGEE was the student stakeholder who convinced the president of France to invest in this programme.

After France changed its position, also other countries like Germany and the UK gave their support. Find here an interview with Domenicco Lenarduzzi, former Head of the DG Education and Culture of the European Commission, under whose leadership the ERASMUS programme was drafted. In the interview, he confirmes that Franck Biancheri and AEGEE were crucial for setting the ERASMUS programme on its way. This proves that successful cooperation between policy makers and youth organisations can have a powerful positive impact.

Competition Winners: How would you promote sustainable travelling!

In November, InterRail offered two locals the unique opportunity to win 1250€ sponsoring their project or event for their creative video or poster on how to promote sustainable travelling. After careful evaluation of many creative entries, the jury consisting of Willemijn from InterRail, Iris from the Environmental Working Group, and the Comité Directeur, has chosen the two lucky winners! Congratulations and thank you once again to InterRail for offering this opportunity!

1. AEGEE-Helsinki: “Sustainability is to Travel Green”

2. AEGEE-Mannheim: “We would do anything for Green Travelling”

Read More: /competition-winners-how-would-you-promote-sustainable-travelling/

AEGEE in 2012 video

Retrospective video which shows important moments and events of AEGEE-Europe / European Students’ Forum in 2012.

Sustainability on track?

During december, Mathieu Soete, Policy Officer on Sustainability, has been travelling all over Europe through the Europe on Track project. Just back from the tour, he shares with us what people around the continent think on the topics of sustainability.

You can read it here: /sustainability-on-the-track/

Policy Officers need your input!

This month, the Policy Officers of AEGEE-Europe are launching their questionnaires in order to receive your input on the topic chosen.

You can still contribute and give your valuable input on the topic of human rights: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J5XMBRP and on the topic of homophobia: http://goo.gl/R8ek8

Beyond AEGEE

Vote for the changes that would make the most  difference to your world

The United Nations and partners want to hear from YOU! MY World is a global survey asking you to choose your priorities for a better world. Results will be shared with world leaders in setting the next global development agenda.Tell us about the world you want, because your voice matters.

Read more: http://www.myworld2015.org/

European Youth Forum’s Youth Policy Watch

In this first issue of the Youth Policy Watch of 2013, read why 2013 is a crucial year for the youth guarantee and investment in young people. Also in this issue read about the European year of citizens, the Irish Presidency and much more!

Read more: http://intranet.youthforum.org/newsletters/node/45599/ypw

The European Parliament: Why should I care?

Young citizens from EU member states and Croatia are invited to express in an innovative and convincing manner why the European Parliament is important to them, and why there is a need to vote in the next EP elections. They can write, sing, paint, dance, film or use any other creative ways to present their opinions to us by 28 March 2013.

More information: https://www.facebook.com/ep.competition

External Opportunities

Service Civique in Paris

ANIMAFAC, a french network of student organisations, is looking for a young person to carry out a 6-month-mission in their organisation, who has a sufficiant understanding of french (both orally and written), and is free to start working on February 15th 2012.

There is no requierements in terms of education or competencies. We encourage any of our members who is looking for an exciting experience in a youth organisation and who is interested in developing his or her experience in the field of active citizenship and youth issues with a European focus.

As volunteer, you will receive 571,79 EUR a month to cover your costs. The mission is taking place in Paris, France, with possible travels in Europe.

In case you are interested, please send your motivation letter and CV to headoffice@aegee.org as soon as possible and we will forward your application to them.

Model European Union Strasbourg

Every year, MEU brings together a significant number of highly-skilled and motivated young Europeans and gives them the superb opportunity to have a first-hand experience of the functioning of European institutions right on the premises of the European Parliament. The project is thus completely original in the world of simulations and is already extremely popular among young Europeans from diverse backgrounds and studies spanning from Law, International Relations, Political Sciences and European Affairs to History, Media Studies, and Interpreting.

Deadline: 31th January 2013

Read more: http://meu-strasbourg.org/index.php/how-to-participate/application-guide

St Gallen Symposium

Every year, the competition for the St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award offers graduate and postgraduate university students throughout the world the unique opportunity to qualify for an expenses-covered participation as ”Leaders of Tomorrow” in the St. Gallen Symposium.

Competitors are invited to submit their thoughts and visions on the theme of the St. Gallen Symposium. All contributions will be evaluated according to specific criteria by an independent jury, composed of professors, corporate executives, entrepreneurs and politicians.

The authors of the 100 best contributions qualify for a participation in the St. Gallen Symposium. The following highlights await the qualifiers:

• Meet 600 top decision makers and 200 of the world’s brightest young minds
• Expenses for travel, board and lodging covered, travel service provided
• The three winners will present their work in front of the assembled plenum
• The three winners share EUR 20,000 prize money

Read more:http://www.stgallen-symposium.org/

Cash Prizes for Short Films on European Citizenship

The European Economic and Social Committee invites creative young people from 18 to 30 years old to join this video competition and show what means to be European and how it feels about being a citizen of the European Union. This annual challenge encourages video creativity and the use of social networking, within youth across the 28 member states in Europe (including Croatia who will be joining the EU in 2013).Participants have to create a short video clip, between 30 seconds to 1 minute, on the theme “”European citizens”.” The video can use any EU language but should have English subtitles.

Deadline: 20th January 2013

Read more:http://www.eesc.europa.eu/

European Charlemagne Youth Prize

The European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen invite young people from all the EU Member States to participate in a competition on EU  development, integration and European identity issues.  The ‘European Charlemagne Youth Prize’ is awarded to projects, which:

• promote the European and international understanding,
• foster the development of a shared sense of European identity and integration,
• serve as a role model for young people living in Europe and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community.

Applicants should be 16-30 years old.
The prize for the best project is €5000, the second, €3000 and the third, €2000.

Deadline: 28 January 2013
Read more: http://www.charlemagneyouthprize.eu/view/en/rules.html

First, there is good news when it comes to the general awareness of sustainability. Most young people have some notions of sustainability and its main challenges, quoting our societies’ oil dependency, increasing use of resources, and enormous production of waste, as their principal points of concern. Too often, however, it stops here, as they do not know what to do about these problems, beyond using public transportation, sorting their trash, and paying attention to the amounts of energy and water they use. The main barrier to taking further action seems to be a lack of readily accessible, easily understandable, but—with an eye to the growing awareness on the practice of greenwashing—also reliable information on how to live more sustainably. Other obstacles mentioned, include the extra time it takes to pursue more sustainable ways of living and, obviously, the extra cost it still involves—both resources which most students lack.

“It doesn’t make sense that I would have to pay more for sustainable products and services if I don’t see that it changes anything. — Lise (25)

Young people have solutions as well though. One of the most-cited concerns of students is that mainstream formal education pays barely any attention to the topics of sustainability, giving them no tools for a more sustainable lifestyle. This is where non-formal education comes in, teaching young people almost everything they know about sustainability, but across Europe people have been pleading for an increased inclusion of Education for sustainability in curricula from primary school to tertiary education. In Zagreb, for example, we spoke with people at the Croatian Youth Council who took matters into their own hands, and were cooperating with the Ministry of Education to provide this kind of civic education to schools around the country. A second suggestion is for greater support for—but also control of—companies which show and promote sustainable behaviour. Young people clearly recognise the important role the market has to play in the realisation of more sustainable lifestyles, and want companies that make efforts towards this to receive better support in the form of subsidies, so the price for more sustainable products can be lowered in comparison with standard products and services. Being young is not an excuse for stupidity, however, and they are aware of the use of greenwashing—meaning the deceptive use of green marketing to promote the perception that a company’s aims are environmentally friendly. For this, people want also better control of such companies, and a periodic reporting by them on the real efforts they undertake and their impact on the environment and society.

“Educate, educate, educate. We need to change people’s minds from the start. You can make grown-ups recycle, but they will still buy too much stuff in plastic bags. — Daniel (21)

Finally, in connection with our focus on entrepreneurship, we have seen an interest of young people in the development of small start-ups which could trigger a turnaround in society, as they believe existing, well-established companies are too slow to start this necessary shift to sustainability. As such, sustainable or social entrepreneurship—meaning opening a business with the goal to change society for the better—is actually viewed more positively than ‘regular’ entrepreneurship, as it is also giving back to society. But here again, it is argued that the topic needs to receive more attention at school and university, and young entrepreneurs will require more and better support, both financially and by setting up advice structures. And now? Collecting real-life information has only been the first step of course. Already, I have written some first posts on the discussions we had with young people in Berlin and Prague, and more will follow. As Policy Officer, I will soon publish an online survey to collect opinions on the topics of Education for sustainability and Sustainable entrepreneurship—but already now you can answer the questions on sustainability we have asked people during Europe on Track. All of this will then be collected in a position paper and presented to various stakeholders for further action. Want to know more on the process, share your ideas, or get involved?

Then contact me at mathieu.soete@aegee.org.

Mathieu Soete,
Policy Officer on Sustainability of AEGEE-Europe

1. AEGEE-Helsinki: “Sustainability is to Travel Green”

AEGEE-Helsinki says:

We would like to travel green whenever it is possible. Consequently, we find the competition really interesting, for it enables us to promote train travelling. This aspect, especially InterRail and using the vast track networks in Europe, is not so familiar to Finns than to other Europeans. This project would promote green travelling not just among our members but also among their friends and families. We believe that showing example to our other friends not just in AEGEE but in other parts of life would encourage them to use the train more in the future.

We are planning to organize our next Travelling Summer University in three different countries: Finland, Denmark and Sweden. Then, of course, how to travel between these three countries comes into question. We have to figure out how to travel between Denmark and Sweden, and then from Sweden to Finland. We could use the prize money for train travel from Copenhagen, Denmark to Stockholm, Sweden since there is an excellent railway connection between these cities. This way we could also emphasize the importance of choosing the green way of traveling whenever it is possible. From Stockholm to Helsinki we will travel by ferry because it is better option than flying when considering the carbon footprint.

2. AEGEE-Mannheim: “We would do anything for Green Travelling”

AEGEE-Mannheim says:

Our concept is designed to motivate participants to find the ‘greenest way’ to the Spring AGORA Rhein-Neckar. It will reward the ‘greenest travellers’ in a competition.We want to share the idea within the AEGEE network (mailing lists, Facebook, Twitter) before the EBM and AGORA and we plan to distribute the postcards during the EMB. We want to catch the network’s attention, make them aware of this very important topic.

This is the point where we want the participants to get involved themselves and suggest their own ideas on how to reach the Spring AGORA Rhein-Neckar in the ‘greenest way’. The two best ideas will be rewarded during the AGORA with 100€ each. Only those who put their ideas into reality will actually win the price money. Proofs can be videos or  photos.Furthermore we plan to invest the major part of the price money in the thematic structuring of a Green Spring AGORA in Mannheim, by using environmental friendly paper for all printings, reducing plastic waste to the minimum by making use of recyclable cups and eco-friendly packing for food.

Dear AEGEEans,

we would like to welcome you to the last newsletter for this year and invite you to have a look at the latest happenings inside our Network and in the youth world in Europe and to present you events and new initiatives in which you can still take part.

Have a good reading!

Happy Holidays and a good start into 2013!

Yours,

Comité Directeur

Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year 2013!

The Europe on Track project is ending on the 19th-20th December

It has been a challenging and intense experience for Reka and the two Europe on Track teams, but Europe on Track is slowly coming to an end. After meeting the Spanish Youth Council in Madrid and the evaluation of the current situation in Spain, Team Red will spend the last days in Barcelona before leaving home. As for Team Blue, the final stop will be in Istanbul with discussions on visa regulations and EU-Turkish relations with external speakers.

Stay tuned for the results of the project!

Read more: /europeontrack/

http://www.facebook.com/EuropeOnTrack

Promote sustainable traveling: win € 1250 for your local!

We would like to invite you to take part in a competition promoting sustainability and environmental awareness in which two lucky locals will win an award of 1250€, offered by our partner – InterRail!

The money is free for your use!

The topic of the competition is: “Promoting Green Travelling – Sustainable Europe by 2020”.

Think about it:

• Do you care about a sustainable future – and do you want others to get involved?
• How would YOU promote sustainable travelling?

Submit your video, poster or picture!

All ideas will be published on the Europe on Track page.

Deadline: 27th December 2012
Read More: /promote-sustainable-travelling-win-e1250-for-your-local/

Open Call for IT Assistant of Comité Directeur

The Comité Directeur is
issuing an Open Call for IT Assistant who will deal with the development of the Online Membership System (OMS). The period of
time that the Assistant will work depends on the availability of the Assistant. Ideally, the assistant will come to live in Brussels for
three months.

The selected IT Assistant will be working on developing the Online Membership System (OMS) of AEGEE. The OMS uses a custom PHP framework developed by AEGEE, and for the the data storage, it uses LDAP & MySQL. The aim is to launch the OMS during the mandate of the assistant. More information about the system can
be found here: http://oms.aegee.org/wiki/index.php/OMS

Deadline: 10th January 2013

Read more: /open-call-for-it-assistant-of-comite-directeur/

EBM Valletta

The EBM application phase has been closed, and now the selection phase is ongoing. Soon the participants’
list will be announced. In the meanwhile do not forget to check regularly the EBM website (www.ebmvalletta.eu) where more and more updates will be coming soon. And get ready for this conference about “the future of Europe” and the activities of AEGEE in 2013-14!

The participation of AEGEE in the meeting of the European Year of Citizens Alliance

On 17th of December, AEGEE-Europe was represented during the European Years of Citizens Alliance, which gathers for now 51 European networks which will be working together in the framework of the European Year of Citizens 2013, proposed by the European Commission.

Beyond AEGEE

Vote16 TOOL BOX – getting active is so easy!

It is official! The Written Declaration 0027/2012 on ‘Lowering the Voting Age to 16′ has been launched at the European Parliament.

Please visit the official campaign website and look trough the TOOL BOX.

http://www.voteat16.eu/

Good news for the Erasmus programme!

The European Council representing Member States and the European Parliament have made an agreement on the budget saving the Erasmus programme for 2013!
Thanks to the agreement, the Commission will be able to provide around 280 000 Erasmus student grants in the 2013-2014 academic year.

Read more: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/vassiliou/headlines/press-releases/2012/12/20121212-the-eu-averts-funding-crisis-for-erasmus_en.htm

Youth Guarantee

One week ago, on Wednesday Dec 5th, the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Mr László Andor, presented a new package of measures against unemployment. The job market is severely affected by the crisis, and the situation gets worse every month.

Read more: /welcoming-the-european-youth-guarantee/

What Does the Future Hold for the EU Education and Youth Programmes?

Watch this video interview with Doris Pack, Member of the European Parliamant and Chair of the EU Committee on Culture and Education about the
future of the Euroepan Union (EU) education and youth programmes.

European Youth Forum’s Youth Policy Watch

In this issue of Youth Policy Watch of 2012, read about the European Commission’s communication on the youth employment package and the Culture and Education (CULT) Committee vote on the next generation of European Union exchange programmes.

Read more: http://intranet.youthforum.org/newsletters/node/43785/ypw

External Opportunities

Cash Prizes for Short Films on European Citizenship

European Charlemagne Youth Prize

The prize for the best project is €5000, the second, €3000 and the third, €2000.

Deadline: 28 January 2013

Read more: http://www.charlemagneyouthprize.eu/view/en/rules.html

The traineeship aims to give an understanding of the Agency and its role within the activities of the European Union, enables them to acquire practical knowledge in one of the ERA ’s fields of activity and to obtain professional experience in the course of their work.

The programme is mainly addressed to young university graduates, without excluding those who – in the framework of lifelong learning – have recently obtained a university diploma and are at the beginning of a new professional career.

Deadline: 31 December 2012

Read more: http://www.era.europa.eu/The-Agency/Jobs/Pages/Traineeship.aspx

The Entrepreneurship Winter School

The Entrepreneurship Winter School (EWS) is being launched to provide young  Europeans the opportunity to learn about core business values. It moved away from the traditional classroom style of learning to a more practical hands on approach aimed at providing an intense course.

We provide participants’ with the opportunity to visit the European Parliament and engage in debates with MEP’s.

25% discount available for AEGEE members!

More information: http://www.entrepreneurshipwinterschool.com/

Generation Europe Foundation
(GEF) is looking for young volunteers

GEF is a Brussels-based NGO aiming to educate and empower young people to be better informed of their rights and responsibilities as
European citizens in a fast-changing world. In return for their involvement, the Ambassadors have the opportunity to participate in GEF events(in
Brussels or elsewhere) and meet with policy-makers and stakeholders, network with other Ambassadors and enjoy better visibility through our website.

If you have a strong interest in youth-related issues, are a good communicator and come from/live in the following countries, please send your application (CV and a short introductory letter explaining your motivation) to info@generation-europe.eu.

The selected IT Assistant will be working under the supervision of the European Institutions and Communications Director, Pavel Zbornik and, the OMS Development Manager, Manos Valasis in developing the Online Membership System (OMS) of AEGEE. The OMS uses a custom PHP framework developed by AEGEE, and for the the data storage, it uses LDAP & MySQL. The aim is to launch the OMS during the mandate of the assistant. More information about the system can be found here: http://oms.aegee.org/wiki/index.php/OMS

Selected Assistant will have possibility of living in Belgium or work from home. AEGEE-Europe can provide the Assistant with a subsistence of his/her expenses up to 200 Euros per month, working on real IT systems and one of the most challenging IT projects of AEGEE and references.In case of working from Head Office AEGEE-Europe can provide the Assistant partly covered costs of moving in/out, accommodation, unforgettable experiences, possibility of living in Belgium for three months and a warm welcome and atmosphere in our team.

Please, write a motivation letter which will include the following information:

• Name and surname,
• Which programming languages are you fluent in,
• Which databases have you worked with,
• Describe your experience with object oriented PHP.

Send your applications to headoffice@aegee.org, in case of any question you can contact Pavel Zbornik (pavel.zbornik@aegee.org).

Deadline for applications is 10th of January 2013, 23:59 CET!

News from AEGEE

Yours,
Comité Directeur

European Movement adopts AEGEE’s resolution

European Movement Members Council has just adopted by unanimity a resolution written by AEGEE-Europe/European Students’ Forum, Erasmus Student Network and European Students’ Union and supported by Young European Federalists [JEF] demanding a secured funding for education and youth programmes in the budget negotiations under the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020!

Promote sustainable travelling – win €1250 for your local!

We would like to invite you to take part in a competition promoting sustainability and environmental awareness in which two lucky locals will win an award of 1250€, offered by our partner – InterRail!

The topic of the competition is: “Promoting Green Travelling – Sustainable Europe by 2020”. 

Think about it: Do you have creative idea on how to promote sustainable travelling?
Do you care about a sustainable future – and do you want others to get involved?
How would YOU promote sustainable travelling?

You can submit your video, photo, your creative idea, presenting your project!

All ideas will be published on the Europe on Track page.

Follow our ambassadors and Europe on Track!

The 6 young Europeans started their adventure on the 24th of November from Brussels with the first stop Leuven to attend the Network Meeting.

After the NWM, the 6 ambassadors, divided in two teams, Team Red and Team Blue, took two different routes, starting their exciting journey as reporter around Europe

Who are they?Where are they going now?

Follow our ambassadors and Europe on Track!

Read more:
/europeontrack/
http://www.facebook.com/EuropeOnTrack

Miroslaw Krzanik, elected as board member of the European Youth Forum.

Miroslaw Krzanik, former Audit Commissioner, former member of Comité Directeur and Liaison Officer toward the European Youth Forum, has
been elected as board member of the European Youth Forum by its General Assembly in Maribor,  representing AEGEE in the European Board.

The European Youth Forum (YFJ, from Youth Forum Jeunesse) is the biggest representative youth platform in our continent. It strives for youth rights in international institutions. In its daily work the European Youth Forum represents the views and opinions of youth organisations in all relevant policy areas and
promotes the cross-sectoral nature of youth policy towards a variety of institutional actors.

And so, we are incredibly proud of Miroslaw!

Supporting video for Eastern partnership project

We are happy to announce that Mr Štefan Füle, European Commissioner for EU Enlargement and EU Neighbourhood Policy, sent us a video message expressing his support of AEGEE’s Eastern Partnership Project.

It’s great to see that the importance of the topics AEGEE is tackling and our work is recognised by politicians.

This message is a huge support and motivation to everyone working for and with our project!

Beyond AEGEE

European Youth Forum’s General Assembly has elected the new Board for the period 2013-2014

Peter Matjašič, JEF & MSS, President
Guoda Lomanaite, European Liberal Youth, LYMEC, Vice-President
Lloyd Russell-Moyle, British Youth Council, BYC, Vice-President
Maria Dokupilova, FYEG, Board Member
Márcio Barcelos, WOSM, Board Member
Miroslaw Krzanik, AEGEE, Board Member
Jure Stajnbaher, ECOSY, Board Member
Johanna Nyman, Finnish National Youth Council, Allianssi, Board Member
Jerry Den Haan, Dutch National Youth Council, DNYC, Board Member
Elise Drouet, French National Youth Council, CNAJEP, Board Member
Aleksandra Kamilova, Estonian Youth Council, ENL, Board Member

We wish them a fruitful term!

Are you worried about your future?

Do you think Europe should invest more in young people? Follow the Love.Youth.Future. campaign of the European Youth Forum.

Share your ideas with others who believe young people can change the present for a happy future.

Read more:

http://www.loveyouthfuture.eu/

Youth Policy Watch Issue 67

In this issue, read about the outcomes of the European Youth Forum’s General Assembly, European Youth Capital 2015 winner Cluj-Napoca, what happened for youth at the European Summit on the 2014-2020 budget, the new ‘rethinking education’ strategy and much more!

Read more:

http://intranet.youthforum.org/newsletters/node/43061/ypw

External Opportunities

Cash Prizes for Short Films on European Citizenship

The European Economic and Social Committee invites creative young people from 18 to 30 years old to join this video competition and show what means to be European and how it feels about being a citizen of the European Union. This annual challenge encourages video creativity and the use of social networking, within youth across the 28 member states in Europe (including Croatia who will be joining the EU in 2013).Participants have to create a short video clip, between 30 seconds to 1 minute, on the theme “”European citizens”.” The video can use any EU language but should have English subtitles.

Deadline: 20th January 2013

Read more: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/

European Charlemagne Youth Prize

The European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen invite young people from all the EU Member States to participate in a competition  on EU development, integration and European identity issues.The ‘European Charlemagne Youth Prize’ is awarded to projects, which:

The prize for the best project is €5000, the second, €3000 and the third, €2000.

Deadline: 28 January 2013

Read more: http://www.charlemagneyouthprize.eu/view/en/rules.html

ESTIEM invites you to Europe3D

Within a 5-day seminar series the participants should get a basic picture of the hosting country. A special focus thereby lays on national characteristics in politics and economy. For a better understanding of basic local parameters that exist in European states also cultural differences are considered. Lectures given by experts from politics, science and economy shall provide the participants with a theoretical insight. On the other hand our aim is to integrate our guests actively in this seminar.
Read more:
https://www.estiem.org/default.aspx?PageId=542

News from AEGEE

The newsletter will provide you with information about youth issues which are currently discussed in Europe, and get the chance to also get to know about what is going in the youth world besides AEGEE! Announcements about opportunities and training experiences can also be found there.Have a good reading!

Yours,
Comité Directeur

In Memoriam: Frank Biancheri

It is a hard time for AEGEE now. Before the General Assembly in Budapest, a call changed our mood. We were informed that Frank Biancheri, founder of AEGEE-Europe, had passed away on
October 29th.

Read more: http://aegee.org/in-memoriam-frank-biancheri/

Is Europe on the right track? – ‘Europe on Track’ project raises the question

AEGEE-Europe (European Students’ Forum), represented by President Luis Alvarado Martínez, presented its new project ‘Europe on Track’ during a press conference that took place in the morning on 8th November in the European Parliament. Within the framework of this project, in the months of November and December, six young ambassadors from various countries will travel the European continent in order to capture and document the wishes of young people for the year 2020. As the outcome of the project, these opinions will be compiled to create concrete recommendation for policy makers in the youth field.

Read more: http://aegee.org/is-europe-on-the-right-track-europe-on-track-project-raises-the-question/

About Agora Budapest

Between 31st October and 4th November, Budapest, Hungary hosted the General Assembly of AEGEE-Europe, the European Students’ Forum. Within the framework of this event, a wide variety of topics have been addressed from lively discussions on the Europe of tomorrow to how young people can contribute to it. More than 800 students gathered together from more than 40 countries for the Autumn Agora Budapest, to discuss the future of the organisation and AEGEE’s role in contributing to the future of the whole continent. Besides European youth leaders and activists, politicians have also addressed the event and welcomed AEGEE’s new initiatives.

Read more: http://aegee.org/aegee-europe-brings-youth-policy-into-the-agenda-of-its-general-assembly/

AEGEE attends the Non Formal Education Week

From 24th to 26th of October 2012, Lucille Rieux and Jorge Miguel (HED) were present at the Non Formal Education Week, organised by the European Youth Forum. During three days, young people coming from different organisations (european youth organisations and national youth councils) have discussed and exchange good practices regarding the recognition of Non Formal Education. All over Europe, youth organisations and youth workers are trying to pool their resources in order to strive and advocate for a better recognition of Non Formal Education by the different stakeholders (European institutions, labour market, self-recognition…).During this meeting, AEGEE representants have shared the situation in AEGEE and get concrete ideas on tools to develop inside of our network in order to increase the recogntion
of Non Formal Education.

The kick-off meeting of the IEREST project

AEGEE attended the kick-off meeting of the IEREST project, a LLP-funded initiative of some of the most relevant universities in the field of intercultural communication to provide exchange students (mainly within the Erasmus Programme) with real intercultural education, so they have all the tools to get the most out of their stay abroad. The role of AEGEE is mostly to participate in the quality assurance, providing the point of view of students.

A public hearing in the European Parliament

On 13th of November, AEGEE in cooperation with ESU (European Students’ Union) and ESN (Erasmu Student Network) held a public hearing in the European Parliament, urging the national authorities to approve the increase in the European Union’s budget for the programmes for education and youth proposed by the European Commission for the years 2014-2020. With speakers from the European Youth Forum and the European Commission, the message to national authorities is clear: Investment in Education and Youth and programmes like Erasmus is absolutely necessary in the current economic crisis and the increasing Euroscepticism. In times of crisis, youth should be the first priority. Investment here will pay off double the amount in the future.

The kick-off meeting of the EduCoach project

On 8th-9th of November Kathrin Renner and Anna Gots took part in the kick-off meeting of the EduCoach project – last initiative of Study Portals, supported by the European Commission under the Erasmus Mundus Action 3, in Eindhoven.

EduCoach project will help millions of students and PhD Candidates with personal professional advice to improve the quality of their decision on where to study abroad in Europe. To ensure this EduCoach will set up a personal online counselling service for prospective students and PhD Candidates. This service will combine the success of and need for strengthened international student services and personal advice with the effectiveness of modern information and communication technologies- and the outreach and popularity of existing study choice portals.

Beyond AEGEE

European Youth Forum Weekly Courier 14/11/2012

Read new issue of the European Youth Forum’s courier which gathers the weekly information from the Youth Forum to its Member Organisations. AEGEE is also mention there!

Read more: http://intranet.youthforum.org/newsletters/node/42138/courier

Peace, Europe, Future – the Nobel Prize is yours

Are you between 8 and 24? What does peace in Europe mean to you? Tell us. Enter the contest and win a chance to join EU leaders to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo!

Where?: www.loveyouthfuture.eu/peace4eu

The contest is open to all Europeans from 13 to 25 November 2012. You can enter in three categories: 8-12, 13-17 and 18-24.

External Opportunities

Intership Oportunity in the field of International Organisation in Malaysia

World Assembly of Youth (WAY) in Malaysia offers intership opportunity in various departments of the Secretariat including research, fundraising, publication and youth projects.The seletion criteria are: enrollment in the final year of studies or

More information on: Way Headquarters

Business Idea competition at the University in Munich for all students in Europe

Don’t hesitate to participate as you can win up to 6,000€. All you need to do is to submit your idea on three pages in a team of 2-5 people.

Deadline: 30th November, 2012

More information on: www.idea-challenge.de

Internship at Greenpeace International, Amsterdam

Open to candidates with academic background in natural or social sciences and good command of English The Research Unit at Greenpeace International is offering a 6  month internship remunerated position.

Deadline: ongoing

Read more: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/about/jobs/internship-2/

Traineeships at the Council of Europe

The Council of Europe offers two traineeship sessions each year, lasting from eight weeks to five months. Traineeships take place in March/July, September/January.

Deadlines:

30 November 2012 (traineeship session 4 March – 31 July 2013).

30 April 2013 (traineeship session September 2013 – January 2014).

Read more: http://www.coe.int/t/jobs/traineeship_en.asp ]]> /aegee-newsletter-16th-november/feed/ 0 /aegee-newsletter-30th-october/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=aegee-newsletter-30th-october /aegee-newsletter-30th-october/#comments Tue, 30 Oct 2012 08:59:49 +0000 Pavel /?p=1862

News from AEGEE

Have a good reading!

Yours,
Comité Directeur.

Petition – Europe: do not gamble with the future of Erasmus programme!

We would like to inform you that the Comite Directeur, following the announcements of possible shortage of funding for the Erasmus programme for the semesters of 2012-2013 (read more here)  has decided to take action and start this petition, officially asking the European Union to make sure that the youth and especially Erasmus funding be guaranteed.

We would like to have the support of you, our members, as it is in your interests that we are working.

You can find the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/europe-do-not-gamble-with-the-future-of-erasmus-programme#

AGORA Budapest

Our General Assembly Agora Budapest, during which not only will we discuss and vote upon new candidates and update our internal rules, but where also active bodies of our association will share their work and their project, where current campaigns and initiatives will be presented and finally, where you, members, will meet up, and hopefully be inspired to continue acting and developing our network.

Booklets of the Agora, you can find all of the here, and in details:

• The general booklet, with programme and overall information
• The booklets with all the proposals which will be voted upon
• The list of workshops and progress meetings which you can attend
• The presentation of the different candidates for the elections
• The booklet gathering the Activity Reports of the former CD, the Activity Plan of the current CD and the Activity Reports of Working Groups, Commissions and Committees

Invitation to the Press Conference “Europe on Track” project in the European Parliament -8th of November

With this email we want to inform you that on the 8th of November 2012 AEGEE-Europe/European Students’ Forum will organize a Press Conference
in the European Parliament to launch the project ‘Europe on Track’.

The conference will be hosted by Member of European Parliament (MEP), Amelia Andersdotter. We are still waiting for confirmation but hopefully we will have 3 more MEPs
present in the Conference, publicly supporting the project. Our partners from Interrail and the European Youth Forum will also be present.

With this email we want to invite any of you to come to the press conference, and be there while we will be presenting the project to the external world.

Find invitations on this link: http://www.intranet.aegee.org/group_file/view/3/3639

The participation of AEGEE in the Youth Assembly 2012 in Strasbourg and in the World Forum on Democracy.

Last week some AEGEEans participated in the first World Forum for Democracy. In his opening speech of Jean Claude Mignon, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe described it as the Davos of Democracy.

Find more: http://aegee.blogactiv.eu/2012/10/22/missing-democracy-when-found-bring-it-back-to-youth/

We all won the Peace Nobel Prize 2012!

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has announced the Peace Nobel Prize for 2012. The Laureate was a great surprise for all the AEGEE members and all the Europeans, since the prize has been awarded to the European Union “for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe”.

Read more at: http://aegee.blogactiv.eu/2012/10/13/nobel-peace-prize-2012/

Beyond AEGEE

LoveYouthFuture – Get involved!

LoveYouthFuture is a campaign that aims to highlight the need for investments in youth, youth work and youth organisations as well as non-formal education (NFE) policies. The aim of the campaign is to reach out to all level of decision makers from the mayor of the village to the prime minister.

Read more: http://intranet.youthforum.org/newsletters/node/40492

EU Youth Conference of the Cyprus Presidency of the European Union – Summary

A newsletter from the European Youth Forum and the Cyprus Youth Council on the  Cyprus Presidency 2012

Read more: http://intranet.youthforum.org/newsletters/node/40112 

European Youth Forum’s Youth Policy Watch

Read the latest debate on Erasmus for All, the 9th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for youth in St. Petersburg, the conclusions of the University of Youth and Development and much more!

Read more: http://intranet.youthforum.org/newsletters/node/40063

External Oportunities

Internships at the World Bank

The World Bank offers internships to young people interested to learn more about the economic and social issues that affect people’s lives around the world. The programme offers opportunities for study and work that provide hands-on experience.

The Bank Internship Programme offers graduate students an opportunity to improve their skills as well as the experience of working in an international environment.

Deadline is 31. 10. 2012

More info at http://www.eurodesk.org/edesk/SearchDb.do?go=3&progId=EU0010000263&country=EU&show

Internship programme at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

This internship programme is aimed at graduate students and is available at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – OHCHR.

The aim of the internship is to:

• increase the intern’s understanding of current human rights issues at the international level and give an insight into the work of the United Nations and OHCHR in particular;
• provide OHCHR and the United Nations Human Rights mechanisms with the assistance and contribution of outstanding students or graduates.

Closing dates for applications 31 October.

More info http://www.eurodesk.eu/edesk/SearchDb.do?go=2&progId=EU0010000150&country=EU&show

Traineeships at the Council of Europe

The Council of Europe offers two traineeship sessions each year, lasting from eight weeks to five months. Traineeships take place in March/July, September/January.

Trainees undertake research, the preparation of draft reports and studies for meetings of experts and the drafting of minutes. They may also assist with current work. Trainees will be given an opportunity – especially through the induction course arranged for them – to find out about the Council’s structures, activities and international co-operation procedures, including the implementation of the European Convention of Human Rights. They will also have the opportunity of attending lectures given in the Council of its activities, sittings of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament and meetings taking place during their stay in Strasbourg.

Deadlines: 
30 November 2012 (traineeship session 4 March – 31 July 2013).
30 April 2013 (traineeship session September 2013 – January 2014)

More info http://www.eurodesk.org/edesk/SearchDb.do?go=2&progId=EU0010000091&country=EU&show ]]> /aegee-newsletter-30th-october/feed/ 0 /fraternite-2020-europes-first-citizens-initiative/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fraternite-2020-europes-first-citizens-initiative /fraternite-2020-europes-first-citizens-initiative/#comments Sat, 25 Aug 2012 19:24:44 +0000 Pavel /?p=297 Fraternité 2020 is Europe’s very first citizens’ initiative. Its goal is to enhance EU exchange programmes – such as Erasmus or the European Voluntary Service – in order to build a united Europe based on solidarity among citizens.

The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) is one of the major innovations of the Treaty of Lisbon, aimed at increasing direct democracy in the EU. The initiative enables one million EU citizens, who are nationals of at least one quarter of the Member States, to call directly on the European Commission to propose a legal act in an area within the competences of the EU. In order to launch an ECI, citizens must form a citizens’ committee composed of seven EU citizens from seven different member states. The first ever such ECI is Fraternité 2020, which was registered on May 09 (Europe day) this year. The decision was announced one day in advance by Vice-President of the Commission Maroš Šefčovič via his Twitter account. Since then eight more ECIs have been registered by the Commission.

In order for an ECI to start collecting signatures online, it needs to be able to set-up the so called ‘Online Collection System’ (OCS). The OCS basically consists of the necessary software plus the servers and a comprehensive risk assessment proving the security of these servers. The OCS needs to be certified by the competent national authority (usually the Ministry of Interior) in the member state in which the servers are located. Member states have up to four weeks for this certification process.

The software has been developed as an open source programme by the Commission that is made available to ECI organisers free of charge. After perennial problems of ECI organisers to set up the OCS themselves (not a single ECI can be signed online to this day!), the Commission announced to organisers in a letter last week that it will also help with the other components of the OCS. All ECI organisers can rely on the data centre premises in Luxembourg for the servers. Also, the Commission will help all organisers with the preparation of the necessary risk assessment to be submitted to the Luxembourg Certification Authority.

Public authorities were presented by Prof. Dr. Mustafa Akaydın, the Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Region and former Rector of the Mediterranean University, Emir Kır, State Secretary of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for Urban Development and Environmental Maintenance Minister and the youth opinion and highlights from Rio+20 were presented by Mathieu Soete, the speaker of Environmental Working Group of AEGEE-Europe. The roundtable discussion also attended by representatives from NGOs and the European Commission brought together various different opinions and positions for a common interest; ensuring environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet. Following the event, AEGEE-Europe states:

Today, when Europe is standing at a critical moment in its history by virtue of economic struggles, we, the European Students’ Forum, demand a Europe grounded on respect for the nature, human rights and economic justice.

Herein, deeply concerned with the unjust violation of ecosystems through human agency, we call for an action to pave the way for a green economy. In this regard, while declaring our responsibility, we will put our experience forward and support the European Citizens Initiative as a tool for participating directly in the development of EU policies and calling on the European Commission to establish a legislative proposal on this matter; a law of Ecocide.

In this process, while calling for a legislative proposal, AEGEE, a strong supporter and provider of non-formal education, will fulfill its responsibilities by training grass roots on sustainability and clean technologies and consequentially bridge the gap between the grass root and top down approaches that are equally required.

For Further information follow the official Ecocide website.