Who is the AEGEE member of the year 2020? Which antenna, which project was the best? What were the highlights of the year? And what will 2021 bring? The Golden Times asked more than 50 active AEGEE members. Over the next week you can see what they answered. In this third edition: read what Marlijn Mulder, Chris van Dijk and Natascha Jürgens said.
Marlijn Mulder, Mediation Commission Member, AEGEE-Delft
Golden Times: What was your personal AEGEE highlight in 2020?
It feels weird to say this, but I think the highlight of 2020, or at least where I have the most vivid memories of is the EPM in Barcelona. With a crazy hitchhiking trip first to Bilbao and then by train to Barcelona and seeing all my friends and having good conversations, now feels like another era. My personal online highlight was the first online Safe Person workshop day I did together with Dani, Isabel and Romy. The feedback was really positive and I enjoyed working in this team and talking about an important topic, even in the online environment. Of course, I also really enjoyed being elected as a member of Mediation Commission in both the online Agorae and therefore working in an epic team!
Which moments of AEGEE-Europe in general in 2020 do you remember most vividly or as outstanding?
The first online Agora was definitely something to remember. It was great to see that the second one also was really good and learned from the first!
Who was for you the outstanding member in 2020?
I will have to give my credits to Heiko Kirchner. I feel that he has been the rock that we all needed. Especially during Agorae. For me he is also a very valuable member of the Mediation Commission. Thank you Heiko!
Which was for you the outstanding antenna in 2020?
I just want to say to every local or antenna, doing its best to still survive in these crazy times: Thank you! Stay hopeful and positive and you will see results in the end. I think that is the best thing we can wish for and say to support each other.
What was for you the outstanding European project, working group or interest group in 2020?
The HermainY project that just finished is one that deserves this! A very thoughtful, educational and useful project to talk about gender mainstreaming. Also, when they had to change the project from offline to online, they did a great job in still bringing interesting people together!
What is the biggest opportunity for AEGEE in 2021?
Keeping the network close in a world where we cannot hold, literally, anybody close. This requires a bigger effort of all of us, and I hope we have the patience and willpower till this is all over.
The Corona crisis hit AEGEE hard in 2020. What measures should AEGEE take to overcome the crisis? Maybe you also see some positive examples in the network that you can name?
I really enjoyed the “AEGEEANS in Quarantine” Facebook page where a lot of members from different locals came together. I hope these initiatives will continue throughout the year and that people will join events and most importantly, will create events again for others to join!
What are your personal AEGEE plans for 2021?
I am working on a very interesting project, together with CD and Climate Emergency Working Group that you will hear about in January. Stay tuned!
Chris van Dijk, Mediation Commission Member, Online Autumn Agora Jobshadower, AEGEE-Delft, AEGEE-Maastricht
Golden Times: What was your personal AEGEE highlight in 2020?
I am going to cheat a bit for this question because there are two points I don’t want to choose between. On the one hand, on 31 August my term in the AEGEE-Delft board ended, which was a closure to a very interesting and hectic year. On the other hand there was the Online Autumn Agora, where as a jobshadower of the Chair Team I was part of an amazing team and got elected for the Mediation Commission, another amazing team.
Which moments of AEGEE-Europe in general in 2020 do you remember most vividly or as outstanding?
This would be both ordinary Agorae – I couldn’t attend the extraordinary one – as well as EPM Barcelona, AEGEE’s last physical statutory event so far – but let’s hope another Statutory Event will take this title as soon as possible. I would like to especially highlight the EPM, where we did a great job drafting the first Action Agenda for the new Focus Areas and we could enjoy many outdoor events – I enjoyed the dancing and “canheading” with a group of 40 or so people during the European Night!
Who was for you the outstanding member in 2020?
There are a lot of people contributing to AEGEE in their own way, so I am only mentioning one person who helped me out a lot when I was in trouble: I was on a holiday in Spain and I forgot my house keys in the hostel, luckily Adrián from AEGEE-Málaga picked them up later and mailed them to my home. Being an AEGEE member does come with a few practical advantages.
Which was for you the outstanding antenna in 2020?
A lot of events have been cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic, especially when a lot of work has already been done, but this must have been peculiarly hard when the event you were planning is a statutory event. I would therefore like to mention AEGEE-Yerevan, AEGEE-Moskva and AEGEE-Tartu.
What was for you the outstanding European project, working group or interest group in 2020?
As the overcoupling “European project XXL” I would like to point out CD57, as they did a very good job in transforming AEGEE in an online European Students Forum. Despite not signing up for this when running for CD in Bucuresti, they provided the basis for and coordinated all other bodies to go online and passed it on to CD58.
What is the biggest opportunity for AEGEE in 2021?
With the pandemic going on, online activities have become the standard form. Therefore, it is relatively easy to organise events – such as workshops – with people thousands of kilometres apart.
Keeping in mind a world after the pandemic, we should also focus on advocacy with regard to our world being rebuilt when the situation becomes normal: for example, people have shown that a world with less air travel is very feasible, and we should strive for it also to become the norm. Mental health has also gained a lot of attention, and it is up to us to reach our goals regarding this topic now it’s in the spotlights.
The Corona crisis hit AEGEE hard in 2020. What measures should AEGEE take to overcome the crisis? Maybe you also see some positive examples in the network that you can name?
The world has arguably become more connected: when you have to sit behind a computer screen, the physical distance between two or more screens doesn’t matter. I have seen workshops attended by people from all over Europe and online exchanges, such as a few between AEGEE-Delft and our twin local AEGEE-Passau. However, with everything online it has become harder to connect more personally with other people. This can for instance lead to people feeling unappreciated for the work they did for AEGEE, although it fully goes against our values. We should find a way for us to tackle this.
What are your personal AEGEE plans for 2021?
Although the uncertain situation going on makes this is a hard question to answer, I can say that I am planning to do quite some work for the Mediation Commission. I am also doing a few things on the local level and I hope I can continue doing this as well.
Natascha Jürgens, Mediation Commission Member, AEGEE-Passau
Golden Times: What was your personal AEGEE highlight in 2020?
I feel incredibly lucky that I could attend at least one physical event in the beginning of March! The organisers from AEGEE-Grodno did a really amazing job with the organisation and made all the participants’ dreams come true. The atmosphere was simply perfect throughout the whole event.
Who was for you the outstanding member in 2020?
If I can be so bold, I am going to name even four: Chris van Dijk, Heiko Kirchner, Marlijn Mulder and Paulina Böhm – my colleagues from the Mediation Commission. I am really glad that I am working with people who I can rely on, who support and help in stressful situations and who are amazing, smart and interesting individuals from whom I can learn a lot. Thank you for everything!
What was for you the outstanding European project, working group or interest group in 2020?
I was quite impressed how quickly Europe on Track adapted to the new situation at the beginning of the Corona crisis and managed to convert their workshops to an online version in a very short time, so I think they definitely deserve to be mentioned here.
What are your personal AEGEE plans for 2021?
I will continue my term in the Mediation Commission together with my wonderful team and will work especially on the visibility of the Mediation Commission. Apart from that, I am excited to have joined the Core Team of Agora Moscow 2021.
