..and the journey starts here AEGEE 25: Celebrating Legacies !!

Today officially starts the journey for another unforgettable event taking place this summer in the Maltese islands. The team of AEGEE-Valletta is working hard to make this event another success in the history of AEGEE-Valletta. From time to time we will be updating you about the progress of this event. In this post you can find the the first promotional advert among a series of 3.

AEGEE25: Celebrating Legacies !!

In a time before history even began, something was happening in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea….Something Big….the building of megalithic temples, reincarnation rituals and the tracking of the sun…all done by pre-historic sea-going people on a small island now called Malta….this legacy commenced over 6,000 years ago…

25 years ago, a group of people led by Franck Biancheri in Paris all with ideas of a unified Europe founded EGEE I initiating a European legacy of youth ideals…

A silent city sits on top of a hill…Medina was its name…Full of noblemen houses and families this old capital city was sitting there enjoying the view for more than 5000 years…the nobility legacy started

20 years ago, AEGEE embraced its ideals and opened its doors to students in Central and Eastern Europe directed by the Quo Vadis Group…this legacy has extended up to the western slopes of the Ural Mountains…

On March 28th 1566, the Grandmaster La Vallette laid the first stone of the new capital City Valletta “a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen”… a legacy of Knights, commerce and festivities still lives in the walls of our Capital city for all to view…

14 years ago AEGEE’s Headquarters moved to Brussels…the capital of the EU…from there the legacy became bigger and more serious and huge projects were organised like “find Your Way” project in 1996.

The 1st of May 2004, was the day in which Maltese and Gozitan citizens became citizens of the European Union. This opening of a new chapter brought a legacy of change and advancement in Malta

Today, the AEGEE network has grown rapidly with a legacy active in more than 240 university cities in 43 European countries, making it the biggest European Association ever…

So let’s join these legacies of cultural richness, mind blowing quests and dates to remember and let’s celebrate in Maltese and AEGEEAN style the years of success which made us who we are. Let’s party down AEGEE’s 25 years on sandy beaches in Malta, or explore these years whilst walking down the Gozitan bastions of Cittadella or basking in the sun next to the Blue Lagoon…one may either dream of sunburnt legacies, majestic architectural achievements or else live them by joining us this summer for yet another AEGEE-Valletta unforgettable event.

March Newsletter is out !!

It's time for yet another edition of the monthly AEGEE-Valletta newsletter ! Yep, it's already the end of March ! This means that you have just over one month left to check out the 79 Summer Universities taking place this summer [www.aegee.org/su], choose and apply for a maximum of 3 ! :)

In fact this month's newsletter features info about the Summer University Project - the types of events, links etc etc :) From the theory we then move to the practise, with Antonella Bonavia sharing her experience at previous Summer Universities :)

You can then find information about Upcoming International Events, along with pictures of AEGEE-Valletta Local Events.

Check it out on http://www.aegee-valletta.org/AEGEE-Valletta-March-Newsletter.pdf

AEGEE Week 2010

Following the success of the past 6 years, AEGEE-Valletta is once again organising the annual AEGEE-Week purely intended to make students aware of available European opportunities offered by our association and of the beauty of a borderless Europe. For this reason we intend to organize several events, both on campus and away from campus, spanning over a whole week.

Throughout the whole week there will be an Information Stand in one of the prominent places on campus (University Quadrangle) to promote AEGEE’s local and European activities, both with Maltese and Erasmus/ International students.

Apart from the Information Stand, other tentative activities are the following:

• Info Session: ‘Graduation. . Now What? Careers / Internships in Europe!’

• Info Meetings: Promoting AEGEE Summer University Project

• Cultural Events for Erasmus & International Students: Mdina by Night

So we hope to see you, whether at the Information Stand at the Quad, or at some other activity being organised during the biggest AEGEE-Valletta Annual event for Locals !

For queries about AEGEE Week or AEGEE in general, please email us on info@aegee-valletta.org

Photography Made Easy - International Opportunity

Interested in photography !? Spend a week practicing your photography skills at the Photography Made Easy training course in Kharkiv, Ukraine, between 19.04.10 and 25.04.10 ! You will start with basic photography course moving through landscape, portrait and commercial to conceptual art photography. Several professional photographers will follow along to provide you deep understanding of the subject.

The event will include five key trainings:

• Basic Course: Deals with History of Photography, types and main technical characteristics of modern cameras, and the fundamentals of composition. Workshop is conducted by Yuri Artyukh, member of the Union of Photographers in Ukraine
• Landscape and Nature Photography: Basic technique for landscape photography and photography in extreme conditions. The speaker is Vladimir Ogloblin, member of the Union of Photo Artists of Russia and Ukraine
• Portrait Photography: Types of portrait: classic portrait, business portrait, children portrait, family portrait, group portrait, and usage of light in studio portrait photography. The workshop will be delivered by Vladimir Lelyuk, who has been in photography for over 25 years.
• Advertising and Still Life Photography: Types and equipment for still life photography, how to create a photo studio at your home using expedient means, and a creative approach to still life photography. The speaker is Gennady Udovychenko.
• Photojournalism and Editorial Photography: The historical importance of photojournalism, technique for field photography, media laws and the rights of a photographer. The workshop will be conducted by Sergei Kozlov, a reporter.

Of course in the spare time, you will have a chance to see Kharkiv and its surroundings! You will get to know Ukrainian culture, food and partying :)

The fee for the duration of the event is €120, which covers food, accommodation andprogramme costs.

So are you ready to practise your photography skills? Email AEGEE-Valletta on info@aegee-valletta.org by Thursday 1st April should you be interested ! For more info about AEGEE and AEGEE-Valletta, please visit www.aegee.org and www.aegee-valletta.org.

It's time to GET MOVING !

Come & Join the AEGEE-Valletta Crew this Sunday for a nice little round trip hike, to and from Golden Bay ! After the hike, we'll have a well-deserved stop at Golden Bay where we'll also have a nice little cook-out just with you, AEGEE-Valletta members !

So see you all this Sunday ! It's gonna be an event with a difference, but the usual AEGEE-Valletta fun is guaranteed ! :)


More info? info@aegee-valletta.org :)

Meet AEGEE

What does it mean?

AEGEE stands for Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l’Europe. Is it also sometimes referred to as the EuropeanStudents’ Forum

The main steps

• AEGEE was founded in 1985 in Paris
• AEGEE has lobbied for the initiation of ERASMUS programme in 1987 in Paris
• AEGEE is the biggest interdisciplinary students’ association in Europe The structure and the people
• Today AEGEE has approximately 15.000 members in currently 224 local groups spread all over Europe in 43 countries
• AEGEE’s main pillars are Active Citizenship, Peace and Stability, Higher Education and

Cultural Exchange

AEGEE does not have a national level in its structure. Our members work at local level, directly implementing AEGEE aims in a way that serves best the needs of their local community, and at European level, which gives the great common frame and direction for all local activities and provides a platform for international cooperation on cross border initiatives.

The beliefs

• AEGEE aims to promote European co-operation and integration among young people, especially those in the student world
• AEGEE is a secular, non-profit, financially and ideologically independent organisation
• AEGEE is not linked to any political party, but it carries out pro-European projects with an aim - European integration - that have direct influence on European policies.

The activities

• AEGEE has six Focus Areas: three Thematical and three Organisational
• AEGEE members organise and participate in a wide range of activities such as conferences, seminars, exchanges, training courses, case study trips and street actions, as well as various other types of meetings and the well known Summer Universities
• AEGEE members from local level can get directly involved in the European Working Groups, Project Teams and Commissions.

This content is the sole right of AEGEE Members Manual 2009

AEGEE-Valletta February Newsletter

Check out the recent newsletter published by AEGEE-Valletta on http://www.aegee-valletta.org/AEGEE-Valletta_nl_february.pdf

Summer Universities

Planning to go abroad this summer !? but don't know where yet !? check out the AEGEE Summer Universities taking place all over europe this Summer. For more information click here

AEGEE-Valletta will be also holding two information meetings for those interested. These will take place on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd April. More information will be out soon.

Student Forum Maastricht

I was sitting, waiting and reading when a young lady smiled, checked the seat number and sat next to me. Few seconds passed and I was again lost reading one of the latest publications of AEGEE. But that wasn't meant to be as the young lady asked "Hi, Are you in AEGEE ?" A moment of surprise came in. I was sure she didn't knew me but she recognised the publication, she recognised AEGEE !!

As we went into conversation I smiled at how life can sometimes turnout more interesting than we ever expect. Two secretary generals of AEGEE-Valletta had to meet up on the same plane, book a seat next to each other without even knowing each other.

...And that's how my trip to Maastricht started.

After four and half hours travelling, finally I arrived in Maastricht. The city that saw the birth of the European Union. The city that is the centre of education, tradition, history and culture.

As I got out of the train station and met Lisa, I started orienting myself to this Dutch city. A small city in the south of Holland. I was there to represent AEGEE at the Student Forum Maastricht titled 'Drafting the European Vision'.

..and we actually did. It was an interesting week full of workshops, debates and lectures mixed with cultural tours, beer tasting, partying and amongst all meeting amazing people which now I call friends.

euch.

Magical AEGEE moments

Swish…Swish… was the sound made by my big ballroom skirt whilst I was walking down the majestic stairs of a palace holding on to a handsome Spanish dressed as a general. I could not believe it…I was dressed in a 19th century cream and greenish ball gown with a corset so tight that I could barely breathe, silk elbow length gloves and a matching feathered hat. I felt like cinderella with the only advantage that when the clock strikes midnight the party is still going on. This magical moment was one of the many experienced in this AEGEE Winter University entitled ‘Come on Baby Light my Winter’ held in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The Maltese foursome set off for this wintery paradise with luggages over the 20kilo limit and feeling obese with multiple layers of clothes…this is so since none of us has ever experienced a -21 degrees celcius temperature so we made sure we were prepared. Indeed myself and Jeanella gasped unbelievably when for the very first time we felt the Moscow coldness as soon as we set our foot off the plane, and mind you… we did not set our foot outside but inside a tunnel….so we were terrified at the idea of going outside. However, there we were greeted by Irina, one of the many cute female organisers, who literally packed us like sardines in her car -4 oversized lugagges and 4 oversized handluggages plus 5 people….you can imagine….I still feel sorry for Pierre since he was the one with his leg tangled and me on top of it.

Both in Moscow and in St. Petersburg what we experienced was something out of this world…we could not stop smiling for the whole ten days. First of all, I never saw snow in my life and then suddenly i’m immersed in a white world where everything is frozen and snow flakes are falling…all I wanted to do was throw myself in the snow and roll like a tazmanian devil in it. Moreover the other aegee participants were great and had a good time with them…both when we were out sightseeing and also when we were partying in the hostel or in the club.

Moscow has beautiful buildings such as the famous red square with St. Basil’s chathedral but St. Petersburg also has its share of magnificent buildings amongst them being the Hermitage (Winter Palace), and St. Isaac’s. Moreoever we participated in the carnival festivities called ‘Maslenitsa’ where the ‘cuccelo’ (scarecrow) is burnt as a symbol of the end of winter and the beginning of new life that is spring. In these ten days we felt throughly russian both in traditions, eating habits, drinking habits (voooooodkkkkkaaa- which is extremely cheap from there along with cigarettes for the smokers) as well as enjoying life, the coldness and the partying russian style.

This small story of my experience is just the tip of the ice berg since I believe that one has to go him/herself on such events to truly enjoy the AEGEE spirit…indeed words are failing me now, maybe also because it is 1.00am and I had a long day, but I could not wait to tell my experience which makes me smile involuntarily when I remember about it….I just know i’m going back but this time in Summer!

CU Around in Europe

Liz

Back from the travelling life

Hey

Here I am again ! Finally, phew, exams are over ! It’s been hardly 20 hours since I heaved a huge sigh of relief as I wrote the final full stop of my last exam for this semester. And I still can’t believe it. From my side, I must say that I did quite well. I hope the same goes for all those of you reading this blog :))

I must say I’m in love with the post-exams feeling. That feeling of being able to wake up late after so many weeks of waking up to the horrible sound of the alarm clock early morning. Or of waking up to the smell of coffee to try and get your brain working again in the early hours when half the world is still asleep. I’m in love with the feeling of being able to wake up at any hour without feeling guilty. Of finally being able to go out without any time restrictions or thoughts of the pile of scribbled-on papers waiting for you at home. Of actually devoting some time to yourself to feel and look great. And of finally being able to devote myself fully to AEGEE-Valletta. Yes, I simply love it.

Yet this time round, the post-exam period for me is even greater than ever before. Tomorrow, Friday 5th, barely 36 hours after my last exam, I’ll be on my way to Russia on an AEGEE event !! To be quite frank, I’m viewing it more as a challenge than as a normal ‘holiday’ !! With temperatures currently around -25 degrees in Russia, I think the best thing that can happen in this event is the feeling of satisfaction of having survived through such, well inhumane I must say, temperatures and coming back to Malta alive :))

But of course, I also can’t wait to have a great time not only with the other participants from all over Europe [around 15 countries according to the organisers ], but also with the other 3 AEGEE-Valletta members [Liz - current President, Pierre - ex President, Andrew - Active member] who will all be on their way to Russia in less than 24 hours !!

I will definitely keep you updated with the progress of the Maltese group in Russia ! Goodluck with any remaining exams you might have!

If you’re jealous that I’ll be going to Russia, don’t be. Just check out www.aegee.org/events and you too could be on your way to a great European city sometime soon

Keep well !

Jeanella

TGI Friday !

Wow. I’ve just realised. It’s Thursday !!! I can’t believe another week is nearly over. Phew.

Anyone in his right senses will agree with me that the weekend, in itself, is something to look forward to. Even if there’s nothing planned. Just waking up that tad bit later (or VERY late in my case ) makes one realise that the best things in life really ARE free.

But this weekend for us AEGEEans is special. Tomorrow for the first time we will be celebrating the birthday of someone very very special to all of us - AEGEE-Valletta itself !!! On 2 November AEGEE-Valletta in fact turned 12, and we’ll be celebrating this very special day tomorrow, together the AEGEE-Valletta Alumni who have worked a lot in the past years to make AEGEE-Valletta what it is today!

Mmmm.. can’t wait !!

Jeanella

Trying to get used to the world of blogging !!

Ok, I must admit, I’m totally new to this new blogging era. I never quite got the point of it all; with Facebook taking up a lot of my time (especially during study periods, of course. . ) I always preferred to simply update my status, comment on his and her album or simply read every single status of my 500 or so friends and then gossip about them later !!

So what takes me to the world of blogging? Getting bored of Facebook? Maybe. . or Possibly, rather ! Want you AEGEE-Valletta members to get to know us better? Definitely.

Over the years (not that I’ve been in AEGEE for a decade, so perhaps saying ‘in the 2 years I’ve been in AEGEE’ would be more accurate . . I’ve noticed that communication between the PEOPLE in the board (cos we are real people after all, not mere ‘President’ and ‘Human Resources Responsible’) and the PEOPLE who also happen to be AEGEE-Valletta members (we understand you are real people too has not been quite optimal, to put it nicely. I therefore seriously hope that this blog will help you get to know us just a little bit better, at least.

And after writing these 2 paragraphs or so, I’ve realised that I’m actually starting to enjoy the ‘world’ of blogging !!!

Well I seriously hope this blog will serve the purpose of helping you get to know us better; perhaps we can also keep you company in those never-ending days and weeks just before exams

That’s all for now; I promise I’ll be back soon !!

Happy new blogger,

Jeanella

a couple of hours later.. the result.. my 2nd press release :D

Is it heaven? Is it hell? Where should I go? And the credits, what about them? Are they really transferred? And what about the credits my colleagues will do whilst I am abroad?! And then there is the funding problem: Will they be enough?? Is it safe to go alone, in a country I have never visited before? And for so long?! Sure it will be fun but what if I get lonely?? And the language.. Will I cope if I don’t even speak their language? If you ever thought about ERASMUS, these thoughts have probably crossed your mind… and not just once!

If you are thinking about going for ERASMUS, are simply interested or have already been on an ERASMUS programme, then AEGEE-Valletta would like to invite you for a debate, entitled “Exploring ERASMUS”. Since its foundation, in 1985, AEGEE still considers the foundation of ERASMUS programme in 1987 as one of its largest achievements. As it lobbied for the initiation of the programme back in 1987, AEGEE still fights for the rights of ERASMUS students today.

Hence, this debate was chosen as one of our main events during University of Malta’s Organisation’s week. The debate will be held on Wednesday 11^thNovember at 10am at the University Quadrangle. Whilst being chaired by Ms. Anna Abela, the debate’s panel will include 2 students, one who is currently on an ERASMUS programme in Malta, and another Maltese student who has been on an ERASMUS programme in the past, UOM international Office representatives and Parliament Secretary of Sport Youth and Culture Hon Clyde Puli. Other tentative speakers include representatives from EUPA.

Thus, if you have questions about ERASMUS running through your mind, don’t let them bother you any longer. On the 11^th of November, make sure you will be at the quadrangle at 10am. With people who have experienced ERASMUS and also representatives from the main organisations in charge of the programme, this is the best place to get your answers.

In addition to “Exploring Erasmus”, during Organisation’s week AEGEE-Valletta will also be organising an International night and two info meetings (where you can learn what AEGEE is all about). For further information about AEGEE, and the types of local and international events we organise, please email us on info@aegee-valletta.org.

Nella

just warming up my fingers…

hello everyone.. mm nice to see we have our own blog haha.. some other place for me to write on between press releases, news letters, work reports etc etc hahaha (AEGEE really does get me back in the university spirit. lol )..

anyway, acccidently in the middle of thinking about this thing I have to write and the other… and dreaming about my next flight (which will take me to the Netherlands) the following thought crossed my mind.. esp to liz.. did you realize that the initials PR stand also for Press Release??????

Ps: looking forward for this evening’s interview liz.. i get to take out all my nerves on you.. be prepared.. not all questions are easy :P you guys will get to read them in november’s newsletter

sorry i just needed to get in writing mode before starting some serious stuff.. hehehe

TC all you luvly ppl (with or without, flowers in your hair).. cu tonight

Nella