AEGEE in 2020 (Part VII): Maya and Marleen

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 seventh part: read what Maya Tielemann and Marleen Talve said.

Maya Tielemann, AEGEE-Academy

Golden Times: What was your personal AEGEE highlight in 2020?

My personal highlight this year was being a trainer and working on the concept of the first European Bodies European School (EBES). Especially in these critical times the most active members need to be supported with relevant knowledge and reflection about their role in AEGEE as well as personal development. We have built a group of strengthened and more sophisticated AEGEEans who are now more confident in their positions and will be one of the change makers in AEGEE that deliver results, start new collaborations and who have a support system as well as an accountability group.

For me, being a trainer with my fellow trainers’ team was just a really motivating experience and I hope there will be more editions as this event got great feedback and built a strong community.

Which moments of AEGEE-Europe in general in 2020 do you remember most vividly or as outstanding?

The most outstanding moments for me were the countless teambuilding sessions for European bodies that I was honoured to facilitate. It will always warm my heart to see teams grow closer and team members exchange their motivation, personal ticks and work preferences. It is beautiful seeing members of teams connect to things that seem simple at first, but turn out to be unexpected. Thank you all for being part of that experience.

Who was for you the outstanding member in 2020?

I will cheat a bit on this question and will go for two outstanding teams and one person.

1. My own team, the board of AEGEE-Academy, I truly appreciate all of your contributions to the team and AEGEE-Academy. I am proud that we are coping with the pandemic in such a great way and are also overcoming times of limited availability and still show the same level of passion for our work as in the beginning of our term.
2. I am truly impressed with the result that the Europe on Track team shows already. They are not discouraged by the pandemic and show great initiatives. It is inspiring to see and I wish for you to be able to implement fully your plans for the project.
3. Last but not least I would like to mention Veva Chmelarova for her drive for AEGEE and for the impact and positive example she sets in terms of professionalism in her work. She is a power woman and I believe she is one of the people that AEGEE is lucky to have. She has given a lot to AEGEE and may we hope to find someone as capable as her after she decides to lower her engagement in AEGEE.

Which was for you the outstanding antenna in 2020?

AEGEE-Yerevan and AEGEE-Moscow for their willingness to support the network in these hard times for the shrinking network and who are not willing to be defeated by both cancelled Agorae, but instead to be even more willing to organize it anyway one year later. This shows character and massive strength which is so much underappreciated in AEGEE, so I would like to shout out to them.

What was for you the outstanding European project, working group or interest group in 2020?

Europe on Track, as mentioned above.

What is the biggest opportunity for AEGEE in 2021?

Since our members have been deprived of civic engagement I believe we should use the upcoming lockdown release and the times when it is safer again to organize events so that we can strengthen our members’ base, recruit new members and onboard the members that joined during the virtual times. Preparation for this should already start now for every local, so that we are not caught by surprise and miss this golden opportunity.

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?

Since non-formal education is running in my blood I see the importance of training and learning quite clearly. One on the strongest points of AEGEE is the self-development and personal development aspect. All of those members who are incredibly active are where they are because they have been learning so much from being active and contributing and they have been looking for more challenges and more responsibility because they want to grow even more.

The member life cycle basically ends when you feel that you either can’t or don’t want to learn more.

We need to leverage this opportunity and provide our members with relevant training but also create structures that make sure that we lower the chance of not receiving training in AEGEE and being thrown into roles and positions that people are simply not ready for. This might seem very strict as “AEGEE is a playground” but at the same time we are blind to the impact an untrained person in a power position has on an entire generation of AEGEEans – on a local, regional or European level.

 

Marleen Talve, SUCT Treasurer 2019/20, EQAC Member 2019/20, EPM Tartu Main Organiser, AEGEE-Tartu

Golden Times: What was your personal AEGEE highlight in 2020?

For me the highlights were definitely the physical European events that still took place in the beginning of the year. Although travelling has been impossible for most of the year, I managed to attend three events which were all amazing.

Which moments of AEGEE-Europe in general in 2020 do you remember most vividly or as outstanding?

I remember the SUCT meetings we had at the beginning of the pandemic when we didn’t really grasp what was to come. Making the decision of cancelling the SUs and now of cancelling the EPM in Tartu have been devastating, but I think we have managed to do the best we can despite the situation with both projects. One more thing I would like to mention was the Online Agora which turned out to be very convenient and also being one of the candidates for the first time.

Who was for you the outstanding member in 2020?

For me the outstanding member this year was Nicoleta Mihalescu. I would really like to know where she gets her drive and motivation to take on several challenging tasks and manage them all brilliantly. I also can’t leave out the Sucties who were great people to work with and of course the team of Tartunians who I’ve been working with since last February to organise the EPM.

What is the biggest opportunity for AEGEE in 2021?

I think it’s time to look past the pandemic and think about what will have changed so that instead of going back to the way things were, we could come out of the pandemic with fresh directions and ideas.

What are your personal AEGEE plans for 2021?

I plan to finish the project we are working on with AEGEE-Tartu instead of the EPM and I am looking forward to attending events when it is possible again but I don’t plan to take up any new roles in AEGEE right now.