PRinimene

Hugo the Hedgehog: The Story of Our Mascot

12th november 2023 in persona story

In December 2018, we welcomed a new dearly beloved member into our family – a hedgehog named Hugo who became the face of AEGEE-Tartu, representing the values and inherent characteristics of its members. Just like many other AEGEEans, Hugo is adventurous and open-minded, always ready to hop on a train to discover new places and spark an interesting conversation. Although he may at first sight appear a bit quiet and reserved, a closer examination reveals deep wisdom and courage coupled with an industrious yet gentle and fun-loving nature. Having been in the service of AEGEE-Tartu for a number of years already, our mascot has acquired a wealth of experience which aids him in guiding and helping the members of the organisation.

To provide a more personal insight into Hugo’s experience, we asked him to narrate the intriguing story of his AEGEE journey in his own words which he recounts as follows:

“I was born in late June, exactly on Midsummer’s Eve, the magical time of the Northern year when the sun never sets and the air abounds in mystery. Together with my siblings, I spent the first months playing games and exploring the forest. Our undeniable favourite was treasure hunting: we would hide small treasures in the forest which the other three siblings would need to find. In this manner, a whole year passed by until it was again Midsummer’s Eve, our birthday. Since it’s such a mysterious day known for many traditions and legends, we were gifted a book that listed the most important of these, including a story about a special fern blossom which is present only at that night. According to the legend, a creature who finds it becomes instantly rich, acquires a number of skills and masters secret languages. Although my mother said it was only a legend as no one had ever found it, a spark of curiosity had already been lit inside of me. Driven by my natural love of adventure and treasure hunting, I was determined that, take what it may, I will find that mysterious blossom.

“So it was that I embarked on a long journey that led me through the rich greenery of forests and fields but all in vain – I couldn’t find the treasure I was looking for. I was in despair and almost accepting my sad fate until I met an enigmatic being that introduced itself as the Spirit of Tartu. Its wonderful presence beguiled me and I followed its lead. Days filled with heavy walking and changing scenery were crowned with the arrival to our destination – a city named Tartu, the Spirit’s dwelling place. I had never been this far from home, much less in a place swarming with so many people. Having spent most of my life in the deepest depths of a forest, my contact with humans was fairly limited and I was a bit anxious at first. But as it later turned out, my fears were truly unfounded.

“As I followed the steps of the Spirit, who guided me through the city, I eventually discovered myself at the doorstep of a pastel pink building adorned with sky-coloured windows. While observing it with curiosity, an inexplicable feeling of deep connection at heart, I suddenly saw someone standing beside me. He asked me kindly who I was and invited me inside the house where he was just about to go to an event he helped to organise along with other members of a student organisation called AEGEE-Tartu. I had never heard of something of the sort before but I was surely intrigued at once. As I entered the house together with my new friend, he introduced me to the other members of this organisation, all of whom were so lovely and kind. Talking late into the night, we discovered how many things we had in common, and I instantly felt at home.

“From that moment onwards, I became a regular visitor at the events and even some meetings. The life there fascinated me and I longed to be a part of it. One day, I was told that the position of the organisation’s mascot was vacant since the previous one, a squirrel named Säde, had resigned. I felt that this was exactly the opportunity I had been looking for and decided to apply for the position. At first, I was really nervous while delivering my speech after some other candidates at the local Agora, a general meeting for making important organisation-related decisions. To my great relief and happiness, however, I was chosen as the next mascot of AEGEE-Tartu, an occasion to which I always look back with enormous gratitude and joy. From that moment on, although the forest life always retains a special place in my heart, my life of true adventures began.

“Throughout the years, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to visit many incredible countries, such as the Netherlands, Poland, and Italy, and meet uncountable people with hearts of gold. Although these events are full of so much fun, it’s important for me to be extremely careful as I always run the risk of being kidnapped by other antennas. While I’m always treated most kindly at these instances, I eventually start feeling homesick and fortunately am returned to my own local antenna to take part in our events and meetings. I’m incredibly delighted that I have this opportunity to represent and be a member of such a lovely community, full of wonderful people who fill my heart with warm joy whenever I see them. All of this has made me realise I finally found my fern blossom after all – but instead of residing in a plant, it hid itself in this special community.

Certi momenti regalano un’emozione per sempre – a week of unforgettable memories from Italy

1st märts 2023 in Experience story

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,

Healthy, free, the world before me,

The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

(Walt Whitman)

The great American poet Walt Whitman must have surely been inspired by AEGEE when writing these timeless words. For our light-hearted members, the world is really before them, leading them wherever they choose. This time the open road took us to Florence for a cultural exchange with our fellow antenna, AEGEE-Firenze.

Getting lost in Venice

Our first destination was Venice where we decided to stay for two days prior to reaching our main destination, Florence. After a slight moment of anxiety we had experienced because of certain confusion with train tickets, we finally greeted the city of hauntingly beautiful canals and floating gondolas with a ciao (by the way, did you know that this greeting comes from the Venetian dialect with the literal meaning of I am your slave?).

A glimpse into our adventures in Venice, the city which bewitched us with its narrow streets, vibrant markets and glimmering canals

The time spent in this gorgeous corner of the earth went by almost with the blink of an eye, yet was full of so much discovery and excitement. In those two days, we assiduously explored many of the hidden corners of Venice, encountering its innumerable bridges, canals and narrow streets with persistent dead ends. At times, it all felt like being in a royal labyrinth, in which the exit always seems to be just around the next corner but it never is – instead you meet with another dead end, the latter being either a wall or a canal. At moments such as these, we felt like true Gothic heroines surrounded by the dark, the windows of the buildings looking at us with their ominous hollow eyes just as narrow as the streets themselves. But fortunately ours is not a tale of terror but of joy, so such explorations were always full of fun moments and laughter, each dead end igniting a more adventurous spirit inside of us that left no room for frustration. Having additionally caught a glimpse of the famous Rialto Bridge, St. Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace, gondoliers, Venetian masks, bright-coloured vegetable markets, and so much more, it was time to move on to our next destination – Florence.

Discovering the secrets of Florence

On the morning of 18 November, we embarked on a journey to Florence, taking an almost four-hour bus ride from Venice to Florence. Having reached our destination, we were welcomed by a warm gust of wind unimaginable on the Estonian soil in November. The atmosphere around us was truly magical, the light enchantingly playing with colour contrasts and the air almost dancing with glorious joy – an aura very unique to Italy. In this charming autumnal evening atmosphere, we had our first meal in Florence – curiously huge richly-filled sandwiches that would do for several meals. Later on, after exploring the city and settling at the place of our welcoming Italian hosts, we had an European Night (an AEGEE international event where the typical food of each country is served). We had the opportunity to try various Italian specialties such as pizza, different types of meat, limoncello, and more; the Italians could taste, among other things, the Estonian black bread, Kalev chocolate and Vana Tallinn liqueur. If you ever have to introduce Estonian treats to foreigners, we definitely recommend our potato waffles and white chocolate with blueberries – these were real hits! Throughout the night, we also had the chance to discuss various matters, one of the most interesting of which was the difference between nations. To give you an example, it turned out that Estonians and Italians sense colours rather differently. There was a little experiment concerning the amount of blonde people among AEGEE-Tartu members. The results were the following: for the Estonians, there were barely two blonde people while for some Italians the number could be as much as five out of six!

Huge Florentine sandwiches that would merit the title of a giant

The next morning, we were welcomed by a fusion of Italian-Estonian breakfast, including the true Estonian black bread as well as Italian sweets. It was a perfect prelude to the city tour of Florence that was to follow. Our guide, a fellow member of AEGEE-Firenze, led us through the city with admirable diligence, showing us different notable places accompanied by really interesting facts that enabled us to discover the secrets of Florence.

For instance, did you know…

… the decorations of the Duomo are unfinished? Baccio d’Agnolo started a project back in the 1500s, according to which there should have been a balcony surrounding the dome in its entirety. However, after one panel was finished, Michelangelo was not too pleased with it, stating that “it looks like a cricket cage”. After such outright criticism, the initial design was abandoned.
… there are little wine windows (buchette del vino) spread around the city of Florence? They date back to the 16th century when people could simply knock on the little wooden shutters and ask their bottles to be filled with wine through this window.
On the square in front of the church named Santa Croce, four teams from different parts of the city come together to play a rather brutal form of football (a combination of soccer, rugby and wrestling)? It originates from the 16th century and is still played today. In order to recreate the historical air of the game, nowadays the square is specifically covered in dirt, and the players wear historical costumes.
… the river Arno has risen dangerously high a number of times, covering everything in mud?

Fortunately, during our stay the Arno could keep itself calm and collected without turning ferocious. We were affected, however, by the rain that kept pouring down incessantly. While it would have been a tremendous drawback at any other time, the day was full of so much excitement that we defied it without problems. In addition to a most interesting tour, we got to treat ourselves with various Italian specialties – pizza, cannoli, cassata, gelato, etc. A small recommendation: the pistachio flavour in an Italian gelateria is to die for.

Our crew enjoying Florence in all its glory – its lovely people, exceptional food, magnificent architecture and art made it an experience of a lifetime

The following day was yet another one packed with exciting events. The first half of the day was spent in the Uffizi Gallery, a place of some of the most marvellous masterpieces ever created: Caravaggio’s “Medusa”, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Annunciation” and, perhaps most importantly, Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus”. After that, there was a really thrilling event organised by AEGEE-Firenze: City Quest. For that, we had to create mixed groups that included both the Italians and Estonians – this was a great opportunity to get to know more amazing people. Together we had to find different sights in Florence, with which we had to take a selfie. Finding as well as capturing them, however, required quite some creativity. The head of Berta, for example, was built in the highest parts of a building. Imagine fitting four people and a figure hidden somewhere in a high wall into one selfie! But this is precisely what made this event so entertaining. Right after that there was a presentation on Italy and its characteristics. Among other intriguing facts, we were taught typical linguistic expressions in Italian, different hand gestures (a whole sign language, especially when presented by a Sicilian) and which sauce goes with which pasta (a real science on its own!). One of the most important lessons that we learned was that if, as a foreigner, for some food-related mistakes you might be forgiven, then for putting pineapple on pizza you would be banished for life – it is a true crime in the eyes of the Italians!

Now that the official part of the cultural exchange was over, we had free time to explore Florence and its surroundings on our own. One of our definite goals was to hike in the mountains. Although for us, the Estonians, the Big Egg Mountain is a source of national pride as the highest peak in all the Baltic states, in Italy 318 metres simply does not count as a mountain, whatever way you look at it. Even the Fiesole region which was recommended to us is not so greatly mountainous for Italians who take the Alps as their standard. For us, however, if you can already discern the shape of a mountain (which you can’t do in Estonia), then it is a mountain indeed, or at least a great hill. This was most certainly possible in Fiesole where the view was breathtaking: the clouds hung low, scudding across the sky in a seeming rivalry with the sun, both trying to pierce the souls of the evergreen hills that reached up to meet them halfway in restless anticipation. We, too, were pierced by the beauty of it all, the little cobblestone streets and mysterious narrow stairs between pastel-coloured houses taking us further higher to admire the awe-inspiring scenery of Renaissance-styled villas and ancient hilltops. Later on, when we took one of the recommended hiking roads leading directly into the soul of the hills covered in beautiful harmless greenery, we found ourselves in the middle of a fairytale-like forest, an enchanted place where you would expect to find magical creatures such as fairies and giants – very similar to the Estonian forest atmosphere. What was certainly different from Estonia, however, was the incessant rise and fall of the hilly landscape that is not even comparable to the ups and downs of the Southern Estonia region. After such a hike, going to a university building up the Lossi street certainly doesn’t seem so challenging any longer! However, the effort was well worth it since hiking and having a little picnic in such magical surroundings is something that can never be forgotten.

Such were the breathtaking surroundings of Fiesole that charmed us completely with its scenery

On our way back to the wintry Estonia

On our way back home, our hearts are filled with sadness but also undeniable gratefulness and warmth for all the lovely memories and experiences gained during this trip. Wandering on the narrow streets of Venice, exploring the secrets of Florence with locals, admiring the breathtaking view of the mountains, discussions and laughs with the loveliest people – all of these memories flood back to our mind like a hurricane, one which destructs your earlier sense of self and replaces it with a flood of new memories that form the foundation of a reformed self. Looking back at everything I feel safe to say that the members of AEGEE are one of the best people you’ll ever meet and travel with – their ever-present positivity and adventurousness is not easily rivalled by anyone else. The same can be said about the international events – the experiences you gain there are truly special.

Article composed by: Carmen Treu

SUPS Tartu – full of surprises!

29th märts 2017 in Experience story, Koolitused

From 16^th to 19^th of February AEGEE-Tartu had an incredible opportunity to organize Summer University Project School in our lovely hometown. Andrea, the president of AEGEE-Tartu, was happy to share her impressions with us:

16 aegeeans from all over the Europe came to Estonia to get know-how for organizing a Summer University. Through rainy days, intense workshops and long parties, we all – participants, trainers and organizers – shared our experiences, developed and felt the amazing AEGEE spirit float among us.

The aim of the training was to cover topics starting from participant’s management and public speaking to promoting the event and fundraising. And it wasn’t only about the knowledge – real practical skills were delivered to the enthusiastic future organizers. This would have been impossible without our trainers Mayri Tiido, Gerardo Garcia Diaz and Ralitsa Mihhailova – from the character building exercises to case studies about (seriously) everything supported with masterpieces on flip-charts and cute energizers they kept all participants on their toes.

Every day we started at 9 am with the workshops and went on until 7-8 pm planning our own events, learning about managing conflicts and how to use time wisely. The evenings were spent having fun at the sauna night, discovering Tartu during the pub crawl and sharing cultures at the European Night. Although some parties got wild, we managed to pull ourselves together for the next day to take in all the information and knowledge (and an extra large cup of coffee).

Tartuunians purpose in the event was to organize the accommodation, rooms for trainings, all the meals and needed materials plus social part of SUPS. For me it was the first time to be a main organizer to an international event and boy, I got to learn a proper way to organize an event. It sometimes seemed that I even didn’t know what I need to do to bring the event to life. Fortunately, I had experienced people around me. The most important thing that I knew already from the start but what got even clearer was that the key to success is the team you have with you. I want to thank the whole team of 7 people – Hanna, Margus, Valter, Katrina, Kätlin, Mihkel, Merilin – for making it real, always helping out, always being there. The second thing I learned was that AEGEE-Tartu has a privilege to have Mayri and Gerardo in a reachable distance as they are truly inspiring trainers and awesome people! In addition, all the participants were amazingly driven and cool.

Even though the all concept was thought through, the unexpected was bound to happen. There was a visit to the hospital, some things got stolen (but also found!) and we had our little errors due to communication, but it all worked out eventually. I really appreciate the calmness we operated with – again thanks to my team, trainers and participants for trusting us. It meant the world to me.

All in all, the event was (in my modest opinion) a success! I would love to do something like this again here in Tartu and hope that even more people are able to be a part of it.

HRTC – Unleash Unknown Talents! in AEGEE-Passau

25th veebruar 2017 in Experience story, Koolitused

By: Maria Olmann

From 12th to 15th January I was lucky enough to be a participant of a regional training course on human resources delivered by two trainers, Andrea Schmelz and Svenja van der Tol, from AEGEE Human Resources Commitee (HRC).

This was my first european event in AEGEE and also my first time travelling all alone, so naturally I was really nervous and excited about the whole thing. It took two planes, a bus and a train to get to Passau, which is a lovely city in Germany that shares a boarder with Austria. I made the mistake of thinking „Oh, my plane leaves at 5 in the morning, so I’ll just save on cab money and take the last bus to the airport and hang out there for .. 5 hours.“ I came to quickly regret that decision as pulling all-nighters and feeling completely ok the next day is clearly a thing in the past for me. My „hangout time“ and whole journey was full of barely 20-minute nap-teases which only made me even sleepier.

When I arrived as one of the first people, I strongly considered skipping the city tour for early birds for a good 3-hour nap, which thankfully I didn’t, because the tour was amazing (and holy god how slippery, after the rain froze!) I got plenty of beautiful pictures of the city and saw the famous place where the three rivers Danube, Inn and Ilz become one.

The organizers greeted us with colorful muffins and really cute welcome bags full of useful stuff. We had Bavarian themed dinner which was delicious even for a vegetarian-ish person like me and the amazing cooking continued throughout the event. We then played some get-to-know games and visited a student pub.

The next day started off with intense and really inspiring HR trainings, we had a lot of discussions in a big group but were also divided into working groups for case studies. Each working group was given a fictional AEGEE antenna with some HR trouble and we tried to help them with our new HR knowledge after each session. My AEGEE-Kartoffelpuffer team was really thorough with great teamwork and many different ideas, I really enjoyed working on the case studies with my group.

Second night we had European Night and read the gossip box which was already kinda full, as one participant pretty much adopted it and was encouraging everyone to contribute to it. So my first European Night rocked, we had impromptu snow fights in the middle of it and everyone was awesome.

After a long day of trainings by the best trainers and an interesting guest speaker from a successful start-up, we had a 2000’s themed party together with Erasmus students. Needless to say it was amazing dancing with these lovely participants and organizers, many of who took the time to look stunning in their themed outfits. The next day I had to leave earlier than the programme ended, but I received so many nice letters, goodbyes and plans to meet again, I was ecstatic, motivated and deeply sad to leave at the same time. Passau, you were truly so much more than expected ❤.

10 tips on cheap travelling

6th veebruar 2017 in Uncategorised

On October 12th Maret spoke about how to travel cheap. Here are some useful tips you should pay attention to:

1. To buy plane tickets, try different websites. The most popular ones are Momondo and Skyscanner, but you can also buy a license (10€/3months) to Azuon. Quite similar to the previous one is Kiwi.com which is for free, but has less opportunities. Even when you have found a good offer, definitely check if the airline company offers cheaper tickets on their website.

2. Always check if there are any extra fees aka if you want to pay more for insurance, baggage or seating (especially when using cheaper flights).

3. BEFORE buying plane tickets, search out all the other opportunities of transportation and their prices, because plane tickets in your destination country could be much cheaper than bus/train tickets. To find transportation in different countries, try https://www.rome2rio.com/. It shows how to get from point A to point B. Although, it doesn’t pay off in terms of longer distances, it is still an excellent way to find and compare different means of land transportation. ALWAYS check where and what time buses/trains etc leave. Hoping you will somehow manage to catch a bus, for instance, you can end up in a taxi paying an expensive bill.

4. FLIXBUS is a smart way of travelling in Europe by bus. You can see where the cheap buses go from https://www.flixbus.com/bus-routes#/map. Sometimes it is more reasonable to fly to your destination and then take a bus.

5. Night buses save your money. During the bus ride, you can sleep and you don’t have to pay for accommodation.

6. SleepingInAirports is a good website for getting information about opportunities of spending a night at an airport. Look at their tips: http://www.sleepinginairports.net/tips.htm.

7. Collect special offers to your e-mail. When it’s time for travelling, you will have a stack of good offers on hand. It is mostly useful with AirBaltic, LuxExpress and Ecolines.

8. Get your priorities straight! If you really want to travel, you can spare enough money for travelling by changing your everyday activities and habits. For example, you don’t have to eat out as much, you can cook your own meals.

9. If you travel more than once a year, it is useful to get a travel insurance for the whole year.

10. Last, but not least: when travelling with a hand luggage, it is useful to buy Vana Tallinn from the airport. It does not work if you are changing flights in between and want to get on the next plane with the same drink. You can alternatively buy 0,1l drinks, so with the other liquids in your baggage it would fit in 1l bag.

THE MAIN RULE OF CHEAP TRAVELLING: If you want to find the best deals and avoid unpredictable costs during your trip, spare some time for thorough groundwork!

Network Meeting – what kind of an animal is that?

31st detsember 2016 in Experience story

What is the Network Meeting (NWM)?

NWM is a four-day event, which brings together AEGEE-members from all over Europe. As it’s just four days, it’s usually very intense. During the daytime, there are sessions, which are really useful and inspiring. The aim is to develop ourselves, our local antennas, our networks, AEGEE-Europe and last but not least the society in general – because that’s what we work for in AEGEE 😉 Well… and after the sessions the program doesn’t end. During the night time participants have looots of fun as it’s partyyy time! That’s the time to get to know better who are the AEGEEans from other cities and countries. It’s time to just enjoy their international and joyful company. Although participants usually don’t get enough sleep, they don’t mind. Because they know that in a few days they are far away from those amazing people and now is the time to enjoy the NWM at it’s fullest. This autumn two of our members went to Network Meeting. Let’s see how it was…

Anett’s adventures in Manchester, United Kingdom
The aim of Manchester’s Network Meeting was to draw attention to Brexit, analyse if and how this affects AEGEE as an organisation; get to know more about European Bodies and to talk about civic education and its importance. Sessions and workshops were very informative, interesting and mostly done in groups so that people would discuss more and share ideas. The event took place in a lovely English countryside in a hostel which was just ours to enjoy and there was no Wi-Fi so in my opinion it was perfect. We had over 20 young and brilliant minds from all over Europe, whose passion and enthusiasm are the initiatives to make a difference. My whole view of AEGEE changed completely and I’m overwhelmed by all the new information and my opportunities within our organisation. I think the most important thing I learned was that communication is the key to success and it’s important to make my voice heard. It was my first foreign AEGEE event and I’m beyond grateful to have been a part of this amazing adventure of ideas, sharing, laughter and memories.

Maret’s adventures in Cagliari, Italy

If I have to name 3 most memorable things from the NWM they would be inspiring people hospitality by AEGEE-Cagliari and good weather.

At our NWM we had several members who have been or still are leading AEGEE-Europe. They weren’t superior or distant – they were just like us. It made me realize that all of us can make a change, if we only know our possibilities! And during the sessions these were the things we got to know better. We can take an initiative to educate the people at our locals but as well we can collaborate with other 200 antennas from our network and make a change in Europe! If you know what’s the problem that needs to be solved in the society and you have some enthusiasm to make the change then most probably AEGEE will give you the necessary tools and support.

Also it was unique how AEGEE-Cagliari took care of us! We had a really nice hostel, plenty of goood food (even seafood :O It was delicious!), and a lot of alcohoool! Basically, I didn’t spend any money during the NWM and I know that our fee could only cover one night in the hostel, so they must have done a good fundraising!

And the weather!!! If you’re from Estonia and scared of the cold, 23 degrees in November is a dream! Even if you spend a day indoors, it’s still nice to look out of the window and see a nice Mediterranean city on the hill and sun shining out there!

And last but not least I would love to mention AEGEE-people and their spirit! It’s awesome! I’m glad I got a chance to meet those people, to share our experiences and to have this really fun time together! And most awesome thing is that I know that I will meet (at least some of) those people again in my life!

Check out where the next NWM-s are going to take place:

Events Calendar

https://www.facebook.com/Network.Commission.AEGEE/?fref=ts

http://intranet.aegee.org/event/european_events/future

Don’t miss your chance to take part in one of the great events that AEGEE is offering you!

Meie enda Local Training Course

1st märts 2016 in Experience story, Kogemuslugu, Koolitused

Laupäev

Jõudsin LTC algusele natuke hiljem. Teised olid juba end sisse elanud ning mina kui uus liige tundsin alguses end pisut kohmetult. Sellel hetkel kui ma koolitusele saabusin oli liikmete ülesandeks AEGEE ajatelje kronoloogilisse järjestusse paigutamine. Kõik tundus ülimalt segane. Poleks arvanudki, et AEGEE on olnud nii paljude tudengiürituste algataja.
Peale AEGEE ajalooga tutvumist vaatasime AEGEE ametlikku skeemi. Okei, see oli kõige segasem ning raskesti mõistetavam osa terve koolituse jooksul. Tegime gruppides AEGEE struktuuri ning lõpuks sain enam-vähem aru kuidas AEGEE toimib. Peale keeruliste süsteemidega tutvumist olid kõigi energiavarud juba nullis ning seejärel suundusime lõunale Pahadesse Poistesse.

Pärast lõunat jätkus koolitus pisut rahulikumas meeleolus. Nimelt arutlesime AEGEE temaatika ning väärtuste üle. Võrdlesime AEGEE ja enda isiklikke väärtusi ning samastasime neid. Tegelikult on AEGEE väärtused väga sarnased inimesega, kes soovib siia maailma oma panuse anda.
Samuti arutlesime võimaluste üle, mida AEGEE võiks laiendada või muuta. Meie grupp leidis, et tööandjad võiksid noorteorganisatsioonidega tihedamalt koostööd teha. Tudengitel on sellisel juhul võimalik kergemini praktikatel ning tööpõlluga üldisemas plaanis tutvuda.
Seejärel algas ürituste korraldamise ning projekti kirjutamise osa. Kõigepealt rääkisid koolituse läbiviijad vajalikest punktidest, mis on ürituse korraldamisel eriti olulised. See jagunes nelja kronoloogilisse gruppi ning igas osas olid täitmist nõudvad punktid.
Pärast sisulist ülevaadet hakkasime ise projekti kirjutama. Meie mõtlesime, et korraldame Eneli juures saunaõhtu. Kirjutasime ürituse plaani üles ning pärast tutvustasime üksteisele oma projekte. Sattusime küsimuste rahe alla ning mõistsime, et meil on tegelikult päris palju puudujääke. Näiteks saatsime inimesed bussiga Raadile, aga tagasituleku peale me üldse ei mõelnud. Samas meie grupi korraldatud üritus viidi ainukesena läbi. Haha.

Varem projekti kirjutamise või ürituse peale mõeldes on see väga keeruline tundunud. Kuidas kõike nii korraldada, et see ka töötaks? Ilmselt tulebki haarata paber ja pliiats ning ideed paberile seada.
Koolituse esimene päev lõpetati viktoriiniga, mille käigus pidi internetist otsima praktilist teavet AEGEE struktuuri, sümboolika jms kohta.
Õhtu lõppes meeleoluka koosviibimisega lokaalis Säde.

Pühapäev

Uus päev algas uue energiaga. Jää sulamine andis tunda nii olemises kui ka osalejate julguses oma arvamust avaldada.

Esimese teemana käsitlesime meeskonnatööd. Selleks pidime esmalt ruumisolevate toolide üle võitlema. Kuigi olukord muutus vahepeal juba võrdlemisi pingeliseks, jätkasime teema käsitlemist sõbralikult erinevaid graafikuid uurides. Määratlesime enda tavapärast käitumist konflikti olukordades, kirjeldasime unistuste meeskonda ning uurisime Tuckmani meeskonnatöömudelit.
Seejärel tutvusime võimalustega, mis AEGEEs olemine pakub. Tutvustati erinevat liiki koolitusi ja üritusi, mis on rohkem „just for fun“. Nimekiri oli pikk ja mitmekesine. Sain teadmise, et võimalusi jagub küll ja veel. Tuleb lihtsalt ise aktiivne olla ja neist kinni haarata!

Pisut lühema koolituspäeva lõpetasime (kes vähem, kes rohkem) kunstipäraselt enda tuleviku sihte seades. Pidime joonistama enda tulevast teekonda AEGEES. Suurelt unistamine oli kohustuslik! Hiljem üksteise joonistusi vaadates oli märgata, et see tore harjutus sidus meie tulevikuplaane veelgi enam AEGEEga ning muutis võimalikuks ideid, mis seni tundusid kauged.
Sellises motiveeritud õhkkonnas tõmbasimegi otsad kokku. Tänasime oma suurepäraseid koolitajaid Mayrit ja Hannat ning läksime hetkeks omateed. Et siis uue hooga järgmistel AEGEE koosviibimistel kohtuda.

PS! Au ja kiitus ka Joosepile, kes selle vahva koolituse korraldas!

Autorid: Diana ja Maret