“There is nothing AEGEE cannot do!” At a press conference in the town hall of Cagliari this morning, Agora Chairman Alberto Cuesta Noriega described very enthusiastically the power, impact and importance of the Autumn Agora of AEGEE-Europe. The statutory event will take place from Wednesday, 29th of October, until Saturday in the capital of Sardinia. 800 participants will attend the biggest AEGEE event ever in Cagliari.
Damiano Deidda, President of AEGEE-Cagliari, stressed in his opening words that his antenna is one of the biggest intercultural associations on the island. Simone Ruscica, main organiser of the Agora, looked back how his antenna got inspired to apply for this event. “We were at the Agora in Zaragoza one year ago when we got the idea. Many people motivated us to apply and with a few days we created an application of more than 60 pages”, he remembered. “Everyone told us that we should not get scared – and here we are!”
AEGEE’s biggest event returns to Italy eight years after Agora Napoli in November 2006 – and 25 years after the Agora in Salerno opened AEGEE to students in Central and Eastern Europe. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without our many partners and sponsors, such as the fair of Cagliari, where the event will take place”, explained Simone Ruscica. He was also happy that his team received a letter with “very personal greetings” from Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament.
Also Enrica Puggioni, who is in charge of youth affairs at the city administration of Cagliari, praised the work of the antenna. “We are in contact for 11 months every year, AEGEE-Cagliari is a wonderful organisation”, she said. “I am proud for our city to have the Agora here.” It is very important for students to express their opinions regarding topics such as students’ mobility, Enrica Puggioni continued. “The event is also a great example for this kind of tourism, which connects this city with education.”
Finally Agora Chairman Alberto Cuesta Noriega gave an outlook what the content of the Agora will be. “We will not only have elections, change the statutes and develop projects. Since we have 800 participants with a very different background, the Agora offers also trainings and thematic sessions.” Two of these sessions will deal with the Italian presidency of the European Union. Alberto: “We will also have workshops about the history of the association and involve the participants in creating the future of the association.”
The Chairman added that at the core of the Agora are discussions, how AEGEE can make an impact in Europe. “Many people say that students don’t care about anything anymore. When I hear this, I just laugh at them. They should see how our participants dedicate 14 hours every day to the Agora and work very hard every day – from 7 in the morning till 9 o’clock at night.” For Alberto, AEGEE is like the United Nations. “Everyone is discussing everything with everyone. These students manage something that the politicians cannot achieve!”
Check the Agora photos here!
