EMANATE Magazine Issue 1: Winds of Change

the official Erasmus Mundus Association magazine

EMANATE

winds of change Issue #1: May/June 2019

About EMA EMA: the association for all students and graduates of Erasmus Mundus Master and Doctoral Programmes

The Erasmus Mundus Association is an organisation created by EM alumni and students to better serve our EMAzing community!

Our goals: Over 15,000 bright international students took part in the Erasmus Mundus programme already. Almost 9,000 of them are members of our Association! We offer an international professional and personal network for Erasmus Mundus students and graduates. Our members can join our professional networks and service teams to network and become active within the Association. Jobs board and special enterpreneurship section are offered to our members.

EMA members are ambassadors of the Erasmus Mundus.

We share the idea of international education and spread the message around the world. Since its foundation EMA members have initiated or taken part in over 150 fairs, information seminars and promotional activites worldwide, using the promotional materials of EMA. EMA serves as channel of communication for students, alumni, universities and the European Commission.We have established a Course Quality Advisory Board to respond to the suggestions of the students.

Through our Programme Representatives and Country Representatives EMA enables the potential Erasmus Mundus applicants to get in touch with the current students and graduates to receive a piece of advice and recommendations based on the experience of previous generations.

Who can join the Association?

• Newly accepted students of Erasmus Mundus Master or PhD Programmes (only Action 1) who have received an acceptance letter.

• Current students and graduates of Erasmus Mundus Master or PhD Programmes (Action 1) •Alumni of courses which no longer are offered, but retain the Erasmus Mundus brand How to become a member of EMA? Simply register on our website. It’s free of any costs.

Our history: EMA was established in 2006 at the initiative of the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission. The Association was driven by the Erasmus Mundus students from the very start developing into a dynamic and democratic organisation.

In October 2006 the first EMA Liaison Group has met to decide on the statute of the Association, its logo and structure. The Association was ever since goverened by the Steering Committee, a motivated group of dedicated volunteers.

In 2007 the Service Provider for EMA was selected, providing the technical and organisational support to the Association.

In October 2007 the first General Assembly of EMA took place in Brussels, having turned into an annual main event of the Association later hosted by the universities in Perugia, Vilnius, Madrid, Budapest and Prague.

In 2008 a first regional chapter of EMA in India was formed, the other regions followed and by 2012 EMA regional chapters family is complete.

In 2010 EMA members voted on changing the initial structure of the Association. Four service teams are formed, professional networks are emerging at members’ initiatives. Social initiatives followed: in 2011 EMA LGBT network was formed and EMA Women was created in 2012.

letter from your editors We are so excited to bring to you the first issue of EMANATE. When we had a chance to restart the official EMA magazine, we couldn’t turn away from this incredibly fun and fulfilling opportunity.

The theme “winds of change” seemed to be very fitting for our first issue of the new EMANATE magazine. There’s a lot happening now, inside EMA and out, and we’ll try to cover some of it in the next pages. This first issue has some exciting content: we discuss everything from Brexit’s impact on Erasmus+ to the internal changes facing us within the Erasmus Mundus Association.

Gabriella Mikiewicz, Editor-in-Chief

Within the pages of this magazine, we include several articles and photographs from our Winds of Change Writing & Photography Competition. We’d firstly like to congratulate our winners: Writing: 1st Place: Mahanam Bhattacharjee 2nd Place: Julia Soehnholz 3rd Place: Guisell Caballero

Photography: 1st Place: Isabel Casillas-Barragan 2nd Place: Youssef Zeinnedine 3rd Place: Federico Facchin

Estefanía Zárate Angarita, Editor-in-Chief

If you would like to participate in next month’s contest, send your submission on the theme “Does it Matter?” to emanate@em-a.eu by the 17th of June 2019. We are also actively recruiting EMANATE writers, photographers, graphic designers, illustrators, and more. If you’d like to share your skills with EMA, please write to us.

In the making of this first issue, many dedicated EMA volunteers spent hours writing, editing, creating artwork, and designing the pages of this magazine. We would like to wholeheartedly thank all of you for your contributions and we hope you are as proud of your work as we are. Thank you for being part of our EMAzing community.

Sincerely, Your EMANATE Editors.

Oxana Sytnik, Head of Communications

IN THIS ISSUE 3. WRITING COMPETITION 2. CURRENT EVENTS: 1. BACKSTAGE:

Hear from our EMA representatives before the upcoming elections 6 - Turning a New Leaf: Letter from the EMA President Pavan 8 - Spotlight: Faces of the EMA Steering Committee

Stories of changes happening around us every day 12 - Fridays for Future Goes Global

by Aditi Tandon 14 - Briefs

by Fatema Imani 16 - Brexit and Erasmus+

by Aditi Tandon

Find the winners in the Letter from your Editors

18 - Erasmus+ The Wind of Change of my Life

by Lan Hoang Bao 21 - Moments Not Lost

by Beatsam Kwon 22 - Hurricane of Change

by Guisell Caballero 24 - The Wind is Still Whirling

by Dina Mardiana 26 - Bringing change in the life of Rohinga community at Kutupalong Refugee Camp

by Mahanam Bhattacharjee 28 - Winds of Change & Social Change

by Julia Soehnholz

6. FROM THE COMMUNITY

5.INSIDE EMA 4. PHOTO COMPETITION

40 - Good food, good mood

30 - Isabel Casillas-Barragan

42 - Mundus Programme of the Month

by Estefanía Zárate Angarita

32 - Youssef Zeinnedine 34 - Federico Facchin 36 - Dem.Ba

41 - EMA Recipe Book

44 - Get to know the new EMA Strucutre 47 - Chapter’s Impact: From Challenges to Opportunities

by Kate Alyzon Ramil

Columns and articles by members of the EMA Community

48 - EMAbility

by Madina Karsakpayeva 50 - Grape Whims: A Column

by Lyka Caparas 51 - Lets go nuts in the kitchen: A Column

by Katherine Manosalvas

turning over a new leaf A letter from your Erasmus Mundus President at the end of his term.

by Pavan Kumar Sriram, EMA President

Waoh! Where do I start here?

I have been active with EMA on various roles, starting from a programme representative to chapter president to being founder and chair of ESAA for the past 10 years. My mandate as President is probably the one time where EMA has been at its lowest point, financially and even in manpower. That killed the motivation on many occasions, but the passion for EMA and to give back to the community which allowed me to grow beyond my expectations, were way bigger than the setbacks. I don’t know where I channelled the energy from, but I knew only one thing. I was the the EMA Secretariat launch which is still work in leader of an organisation of changemakers! progress for striving EMA to be independent, the

Energy came in the form and shape of co-creation of the ESAA projects scheme and ESAA the understanding and equally hard-working collaboration.

SC members and other active volunteers, who

We launched SPARK Project, established a collectively shifted EMA to a completely different office in Brussels, supported We AfriHug project, level. We did things differently, we were met with organised General assembly in conjunction (some many objections, but we persevered, and today we sessions) with Marie Curie Alumni Association can all proudly say that we are a community of (MCAA), we managed to get over 5,000 euros in changemakers. terms of sponsors

Our journey either products and/or over the past few years services and/or cash, we Amid the roadblocks, various active has not been not. We made a massive change members, and especially the Steering have had our share of to our Statutes since we challenges, including Committee, have worked extremely hard. became a legal entity zero budget until August to support EMA´s quest We managed to achieve many things 2018 -- for almost 12 for its autonomy and for the very first time, such as bringing months. Amid the sustainability. together like-minded EMA members roadblocks, various Over the years, we had and stakeholders, social entrepreneurs, active members, and a number of external especially the Steering innovators, EU policy makers and other speakers inspiring us; Committee, have activists together. we were inclusive and worked extremely accommodated the hard. We managed to special needs of our differently-abled participant achieve many things for the very first time, such as and differently-abled speaker; the head of the bringing together like-minded EMA members and Directorate General addressed the GA; we had stakeholders, social entrepreneurs, innovators, EU many self funded delegates (students, alumni and policy makers and other activists together. coordinators) to attend the GA; established new

We had the first EMA Changemakers selection and election process to elect and select event in Leuven, signed over 20 MOUs with various the new leaders/management board of EMA, relevant partners, launched 2018-2019 Action Plan supporting EU parliament elections, Erasmus and the EMA Survey: Voice of Members for 2017 and 30th year anniversary, establishing a joint Alumni 11th and first ever virtual GA; we have launched engagement strategy with national agencies and major projects including Professionalising EMA, the list of 1st times continue.

Strategy 2025, Structural Change, Action 2

Now the time has come for new Inclusion, Campus Erasmus Mundus, Cultural changemakers to step up and take EMA to a higher Heritage through EMA Day across 110 different level.

I am super confident that EMA will only cities, the launch of the EMA Volunteer Program, foster and shine to be a prime example! the Partnerships and Sponsorships units with first agreements signed, six collaborative EU projects applications and tender written with one granted, 6

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will you be part of the wind of change?

Be the next EMA leader, gain experience and exposure through professional volunteering in a strategic role. Read the information on the opened positions, timeline and process and apply by 10th June for Presidential Roles and 16th June for the Management Units.

Find out more at www.em-a.eu/en/elections2019.html

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1. Backstage

Spotlight: Thank you, Steering Committee As elections are soon approaching, EMANATE asked the Steering Committee to reflect on their roles as SC members, their drivers and inspiration for volunteering with EMA, and some of their achievements. EMANATE would like to thank the Steering Committee for all of their hard work.

Lucia: As the only bridge with the previous SC and the current SC, it started off heavy duty for me.

Other than Pavan and I, there was no other member who served in the SC previously. So just imagine 10 eyes fixating on me and looking up at me for answers!

Needless to say, we had big dreams for EMA. Sometimes that scared us

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all, how we could grow extra hands and heads to do it all. Despite our intense career, we could count on each other to complete or start or give the needful nudge to complete our shared vision. I started off as the mentor, but along the way, we all became equals. It was sometimes black on white or white on black, but we all did see the black and we all did see the white. Clarity of vision brought the pieces together and I believe we can openly say now that we reach our key performance indicators.

We set several new teams and forged new partnerships. We grew strong inside, and outside!

Agegie: When I proposed my candidacy for the position of Professional Development Coordinator, little

did I know what was expected of me. I was just happy to continue what I enjoy doing, that is, enhancing the skills of anyone around me. During our handover meeting in Sep 2017, we had several team building exercises and we burnt the midnight oil planning our activities for the next 2 years. Now that I think of it, all our hard work really paid off.

Less than 2 years down the line, we

have achieved most of the KPIs set and in some cases even beyond.

Being an SC member has not always been easy, it meant working odd hours, at different time zones, recognising each one’s strengths and weaknesses as we grew together, and even recognising changing moods, and appreciate the amount of work and time that we all invest in EMA. Budgetary cuts have definitely had an impact on the whole SC and EMA’s projects and activities. However, I have my team to thank for all their support and in encouraging me to keep going. We together delivered a fantastic GA in conjunction with MCAA for the first time, we learnt a lot, and no need to tell you that I felt like a proud parent when one of my team members bagged the EMA alumnus award, and another 4 members received the President Seal of Excellence during the GA. Now, as Director of the Students & Alumni Unit, which is the largest unit in EMA, I have had my responsibilities quadrupled, since the new unit has merged Professional Development, Community Development, PRNet and part of CQAB activities. I initially felt like I was given a puzzle of 100 000 pieces to solve.

Nonetheless, my passion for EMA is bigger than the responsibilities.

We disagree and acclaim on various occasions, but I could not have asked for better colleagues

in the Steering Committee. Each one of the SC member shares an equal zest for EMA, and will go the extra mile for EMA such that we somehow get to solve the puzzle. I love you EMAzing team!

Kate: Being a Steering Committee member was never on my mind.

I always liked to work quietly and with few people sharing an equal passion. When a vacancy came for Regional Chapters Coordinator (RCC), I was asked if I wanted to take over. Honestly, it was scary.

I knew it was such a big task to take and I was not sure if I could do it especially because EMA was going through the transition phase. However, the prospect of challenging myself to step up and push beyond my known limits was enticing.

I served for less than a year as RCC but I believe that my contribution was to bridge smoothly between SC and the chapter leaders. During my time, over 200 events were organised by different chapters

all over the world despite the lack of financial support. Conflict Management was something I learned and surprised myself. I am not confrontational. I cower at the brewing tension between people. However, the RCC role took me to the heart of it. Respect was maintained and support for each other’s chapter became the product of transition. Leadership may not be perfect and a lot of things need to be solved, but we have to realise that an SC member is no superhero either. We have to take things one at time even if our dream for EMA is big.

Amir: I started off as the Community Development Coordinator in 2017 and a few months down the line I found myself co-leading the newly created IT team. Everyone who is in IT knows how slow bringing technological change can be. I can proudly say, that although many of our volunteers were reticent in the beginning, they all adapted to the changes which we implemented, especially with the introduction of a new management tool and a new webinar platform.

Then parenthood happened, and priorities changed! Although the SC accepted my resignation of CD Coordinator, they would not let go of me. What can I say? I am too good at what I do!

Before Sep 2019, although not part of SC anymore, I wish to reach all targets set for the IT team, that is, revolutionise EMA, with a brand new website and a new Community Portal. That will be

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a major turning point for EMA to have back its community in one place.

Carolina: Not long after I started my master, I realized that many people did not know about the amazing opportunity of studying an Erasmus Mundus. Some did not even know that they could apply for a scholarship. Coming from a country where so many people want to continue their education abroad but have limited resources to do so, I felt responsible to share this opportunity that was given to me. That is why I started volunteering for EMA. I felt that being part of the association would help me to achieve this.

Thus, I decided to become an EMA Programme Representative (PR) of my master PLANET Europe back in 2013. Following that, I became the Programme

Representative Network Team Leader (PRnet Team) and since October 2018 I am part of the Steering Committee of EMA (SC) as the interim leader of the Community Development Team.

My time as an SC member has been short and challenging! However, one of the things I am most proud of is to have convinced more and more coordinators to get involved with the association and self-fund their students and PRs to attend different EMA events. Their participation is essential to ensure that we are helping them to share their programme’s voice and also helping them with their own challenges. This is how we build a strong community and we hope that it keeps growing stronger in the next decades!

Tom: My journey with EMA started in September 2013 when I was selected for the European joint master in Quality in Analytical laboratories. I was so excited to meet so many like-minded progressive, versatile citizens of the world of all ages, races and ethnicities. I started as a program representative while working in the background. As EMA grew, we

decided to become an independent not-for-profit organisation. Being fluent in English and French, I was privileged to participate in the translation of the first official version of the statutes. In 2015, at the general assembly in Ghent, I officially joined the Internal affairs team in which I have served until present. While in the internal affairs team, I have assisted in the organization of elections, modification and updating of the statutes and internal regulations, compilation of the annual report, just to name a few. I became the interim coordinator of the internal affairs team in 2018, at a time when the EMA steering committee and community worldwide decided to become more professional in order to fit into the ever our changing world and create added value for the members

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of our community in line with the United Nations sustainable development goals. With the help of the President and current SC, a new efficient structure, approved by the general assembly earlier this year is gradually coming into place with all the practical and legal implications thereof. I am immensely grateful for these few months in the SC, the life-long ties we have built, the soft and hard skills acquired and the work done by the various teams. The future is bright! The future is EMAzing!

Oxana: As a Head of Communications & IT, and being a part of EMA Steering Committee has opened many doors for me. Not only has the experience enhanced my professional growth and led me to an amazing job in Ireland, but it has had a profound impact on me personally. The Erasmus Mundus experience continued long after my formal education ended and I was able to give back to an

institution that changed my life in many aspects.

As Head of Comms, I am the first line of defence for EMA, so needless to say that I occasionally receive a hoard of redundant emails, many being spams. Nonetheless, I have an efficient buddy system set up in EMA, which was my own personal line of defence.

From little to no budget, we devised new ways of reaching our members. If we could not print magazines anymore, we turned to powdering our SC members and putting them in front of the phone and camera lenses. Our President & Vice-President have become the star of the EMA channel, and we even endeavoured to get few of our active members and coordinators on the show.

We created an environment where every voice is heard, opinions are respected, information is shared and one supports another. I am thankful for these two years of working back to back with my SC colleagues who became friends, and I am proud of what we have achieved together.

The EMA community’s sense of pride and commitment keeps me going and I hope to see this continue with future generations.

will you be part of the wind of change?

by Pavan Sriram, President Why you should stand?

Getting involved in EMA, its governance, projects and sustainability can give you a much needed boost in the competitive graduate market and help you develop skills (interpersonal and professional) working in an intercultural virtual environments which are key help you stand out and be a key enabler to be a “ChangeMaker�.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of becoming more involved in EMA is boosting your employability. The opportunity is unique as there will be consierable growth and development through EMA that are highly desired by employers, such as drive, leadership, influencing, multitasking, organising, communication and negotiating. Having to make decisions that may be unpopular with some of your peers also enhances your resilience :).

The experience is totally unique and expands your horizon, where you will be developing products and services for the community one minute, sat at senior level committees negotiating how students and alumni engagement should be developed at EU and International level, as well as understanding the importance of representation, openness and accountability.

Its not an easy task to give the passion, time and commitment.

But trust me its going to be truly enriching one.

Why you should vote?

No matter if you have been active member or someone who has been disconnected with EMA for the past years. Voting in Elections are very important and its time you pick the fright leader for a better future of EMA. Your vote will determine the outcome of leaders who will strive EMA forward creating positive impact for the community and helping enhance more visibility for the association.

Find out more at www.em-a.eu/en/ elections2019.html

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01 Current Events 2.

GREEN LIVING

‘Fridays for Future’ Goes Global The ‘Fridays for Future’ movement is a world-wide student strike where students and young adults march and demonstrate on Fridays against what they consider ‘failing climate policies’.

by Aditi Tandon, EMANATE Staff Writer What started as an individual action by a Swedish teenager has now snowballed into a global movement, marking a turning point in history. Words like “global warming”, “clean energy” and “climate refugees” are now part of the regular vocabulary of school-going children all over the world, making adults sit up and take notice – maybe even somewhat in awe – given that while adults still debate on the basic existence of climate change, children have rallied to push for action on it.

On May 24, 2019, the Fridays For Future movement had its second global climate strike, after a first successful one earlier in March.

This, in less than a year since the climate strikes began in Sweden in August 2018, where ninth-grader Greta Thunberg skipped school to protest outside the Swedish parliament, every day for a month, and then every Friday.

In a few weeks, students in Netherlands and Germany started their own individual protests simultaneously and in a few months, the movement reached as far as Australia and Canada.

The students were striking against the inaction by their governments on climate change. “School children are required to attend school. But with the worsening Climate Destruction this goal of going to school begins to be pointless,” explains the Fridays For Future website. “Why study for a future, which may not be there? Why spend a lot of effort to become educated, when our governments are not listening to the educated?” the climate strikers ask.

The message initiated by Greta seemed to resonate with children across the world. On March 15, 2019, the movement

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went bigger than ever. Students from around 2000 cities across more than 100 countries skipped school in solidarity and protested locally, urging their governments to take action on climate change.

Even in Asian countries like India and China, where the education culture teaches reverance to the teacher and authority, children have expressed that this global solidarity is now their priority. So far, 148 strikes have taken place in India and nine in China. The two countries are among the top emittors of carbon dioxide in the world.

Following the March success, a second wave of global climate strikes took place on May 24 in even more cities and countries across continents. The pressure was more intense this time round, as these strikes took place, timed with the 2019 European Parliament election.

The next global strike is planned for September 2019.

As the movement gains more young people and momentum, perhaps the first time that school children have had a collective awareness at this scale, it is telling of how urgent the crisis is. Meanwhile, as adults continue to watch the ticking clock, this movement has clearly marked a generational divide – separating the ones who will inherit the Earth and the ones who have ruined it for them. The UN General Secretary even admitted it, saying, “My generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change. This is deeply felt by young people. No wonder they are angry.”

And no wonder they want to claim their future and even risk their education, to save it.

PHOTO © FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE DEUTSCHLAND

“Why should I study for a future that soon may be no more, when no one is doing anything to save that future?”

Greta Thunberg, 16-year-old climate activist on strike

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2. Current Events

Briefs

by Fatema Imani.

EMANATE Staff Writer

Did you know that burnout is now categorised as a medical condition?

Did you know that JK Rowling will release four new Harry Potter e-books?

Given the fast-paced nature of the world that we inhabit, workplaces are more often than not stressful and taxing.

Are you a Potterhead who has secretly nurtured the hope of further Harry Potter installments? It’s happy days as Pottermore has announced four new e-books based on Harry Potter’s universe, which will be based on the Hogwarts’ curriculum.

If you’re feeling run-down and mentally distant at work, know that your condition has now a diagnosis by the World Health Organisation (WHO) called ‘burnout’. Yes, in a first, WHO has added burnout to its International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which is widely used as a benchmark for diagnosis and health insurers.

It said the syndrome was characterised by three dimensions: “1) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; 2) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and 3) reduced professional efficacy.”

“Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life,” according to the classification.

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The books will be “a chance to absorb the colourful characters and curious incidents of the real history of magic in a more compact form,” according to the statement released by the site.

They will be titled A Journey Through Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts, A Journey Through Potions and Herbology, A Journey Through Divination and Astronomy, and A Journey Through Care of Magical Creatures. The first two books of the series will release on June 27.

Did you know the US-China trade war could cost the global economy $600 billion?

Did you know that press freedom is declining all over the world?

The United States and China are currently engaged in a full-scale trade war that has not shown any signs of abating, and poses serious repercussions for the global economy.

Without press freedom, the truth disappears, power cannot be held to account and citizens lose their right to impartial, truthful information. Governments across the world are clamping down on the media and new laws are being enacted to stifle freedom of press.

According to a Bloomberg forecast, the tensions between the two superpowers can cost the global economy $600billion, when the impact reached its peak in 2021.

It started after the United States imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese products, in the wake of an investigation on China’s trade policies, and Beijing retaliated in kind. It then escalated into a technological war as the Trump administration banned Chinese multitechnology company Huawei, claiming that it poses a threat to US interests - an allegation refuted by China.

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2019, Barbara Trionfi, executive director of International Press Institute (IPI) — a global network of editors, journalists and media executives — said. “Press freedom globally is under intense and growing pressure, as illiberalminded governments seek to shut down critical voices and, in many cases, deliberately erode the credibility of independent media.”

“We are witnessing a dangerous combination of tried-andtrue methods of attacking the press — including arbitrary jailing and physical attacks that end in impunity — as well as a new wave of rhetoric and smear campaigns to portray the media and journalism as an enemy of the people so as to undercut the press’s watchdog role,” Ms Trionfi said, adding: “We need a robust response to these developments from governments and international institutions that continue to value fundamental rights; this is not a time to sit on the sidelines.”

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2. Current Events

Brexit and Erasmus+ Brexit withdrawal deadline extended, UK Prime Minister resigns.

by Aditi Tandon, EMANATE Staff Writer The European Parliament election results have reemphasised the United Kingdom’s desire to leave the European Union. The country voted in the Brexit Party to the European Parliament in the elections that took place on May 23 in the U.K. The party is led by Nigel Farage, the politician most prominently supportive of Brexit, the withdrawal of U.K. from the E.U.

Incidently, if Brexit had been carried out as planned, U.K. would not have even been part of the European Parliament elections. The negotiating period from when the U.K. served notice to withdraw from the E.U., began in March 2017 and was to end on March 29 this year. With no agreement within the U.K. Parliament on the provisions of the withdrawal, an extension was finally what was negotiated upon with the E.U. The new withdrawal date is now October 2019.

For three years, since the U.K. voted to withdraw from the E.U., the threat of Brexit has been looming but we seem nowhere closer to getting a clear picture about what this will mean for students, families, tourists, trade and so many aspects of life in Europe that have been aligned with the concept of a single market, the European Union, which came into force in 1993 with the Maastricht Treaty. Stepping up the uncertainity was Prime Minister Theresa May’s resignation from her post, failing any success with a Brexit negotiation.

In the atmosphere of uncertainity though, there is a bit of an undercurrent that this almost expected – the U.K.’s brewing Euroscepticism over the years would have to find an outlet at some point and here it is, it’s Brexit.

X BR E

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IT

The cornerstone of the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme is mobility. And with U.K. on its way out of the union, there are questions galore on what will happen to programmes that include universities in the U.K. The one thing that is certain, stated by the European Commission, is that, “Whatever the outcome of the ongoing negotiations between the EU and the UK, Brexit is expected to lead to many changes for Erasmus+.”

So yes, there will be change. But to what extent, remains unknown. However, a regulation adopted on March 19 this year, provides for ensuring that ongoing Erasmus+ activities are not disrupted should the U.K. leave the E.U. without a deal. It states that, “people who are abroad through an Erasmus+ funded learning mobility activity on the day the UK leaves the European Union will not see their mobility period interrupted.” These measures apply until the activity is completed, “taking into account that these mobility activities can have a duration of up to a maximum of 12 months.”

The current Erasmus+ programme is funded from 2014-2020. The U.K. government has stated that, “If the UK leaves the EU under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, Erasmus+ and ESC funding payments and bids will continue as normal until the end of the programme in 2020.”

After creating a generation of mobile young people, putting the brakes on mobility seems like a step backward. Speculations of all sorts abound in media about the impact of Brexit on students.

From higher tuition fees for E.U. students at U.K. universities to the downfall of U.K. universities and to the unexpectedly positive impacts for Asian students.

“What a view” by Gabriella Mikiewicz

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3. Winds of Change Writing Competition

The Wind of Change of my Life: Erasmus+

by Lan Hoang Bao, Erasmus+ 2016, University of Porto, Portugal

People usually think that wind of change is something that affects a huge number of people, or even a large society, however, I do personally believe that, a wind of change which inspires others in life, could also be about the process how a scholarship changes somebody individual life forever.

Instead of talking about how an Erasmus scholarship has developed me academically, I rather would like to emphasize on how they impacted me positively in terms of personal development.

Born and lived in a small family with little income and studied in a very conservative and traditional city with strong embedded Confucius philosophy, I was taught to live collectively, extremely modestly and extremely responsibly, for even the relatives’ lives. I was thus afraid of doing wrong things and did not dare to think about going abroad. Things went worse to me by time when it comes to my undergraduate graduation because I was conflicted so much with my society and got a bad graduation grade.

It was the time I know that I need to change something, but I did not know what should I do to fix my situation.

I still thought that scholarships are only for the high-scored achievers and academics, and it was not my case with a just-average graduation grade and some working experience.

I then worked as an international cooperation staff in a university in my hometown, where usually people will never go anywhere else due to the sustainability preference of Confucius philosophy, especially

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for women and young people, with disappointment in my mind.

However, Erasmus+ comes and changes my life forever. I do not really know how could my heart was so inspired to apply for the scholarship although before this, I gave up that idea and passed over many other information about scholarships. It was a hard time. It was my first time to apply for a scholarship, or even, to apply to anything out of Vietnam. I get no IELTS, no documents translated or prepared and no experience in application. However, Erasmus + gave me a very special feeling that I should apply for it, no matter how hard it is for me: their application platform and appropriateness to me. Compared to other scholarship platforms, I do believe that the Erasmus + interface is the best in terms of friendliness.

The most amazing thing is it was really appropriate to me. It did not ask for the best people in the academic world as many other scholarships but rather, emphasize on supporting the people who work in international cooperation affairs and especially, the young generation ones. It encouraged me so much as I thought “it must be the God’s intention to bring something so fit as such to me. I was not a good academic at that time and was not a leadership as well to receive specific scholarships for seniority. I then tried to start look for the information from the web page and spend time on the application process. During the time, things proved that it was right that Erasmus + did not ask us to be a highscored achievers simply because it is specifically for the administrative

international cooperation staff, which means experience outweighs academic transcripts. The more amazing thing is that no matter how high your score is, it only took a small part of the total process and I believe all other scholarships in the world should consider their candidate in the same way. I went through almost a two-month process of application and did realized one important key: during the process of application, whatever you are doing to apply for the scholarship such as searching for information, filling forms, looking for recommendation letters, preparing your documents and especially, to write your Statement of Purpose, all of them are the process of becoming a better me, a matured me, whether I will get the scholarship or not. I realized that the most important thing in applying for the Erasmus + scholarship is not about to study some days, some months in another country or another better educational system, but rather, to develop your personal skills, personal maturing, critical thinking, especially can-do attitude, reflecting in both the application process and studying process as well.

To me now, you can do good jobs and receive positive things in life and you do not need to be the best and to know everything in the world, you just need to try your best and find for the appropriate things to you. You do not need to be so modest that you do not even dare to live your own life in your own style. That is what all about Erasmus+, Erasmus and about the secret of life success.

z Gabrie lla Mikie wic

Gabriella Mikiewicz

“Jump in, it’s hot”

by Gabriella Mikiewicz Do you want to showcase your artwork or illustrations in the next EMANATE? Email us at emanate@em-a.eu.

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“Made from mountains”

by Gabriella Mikiewicz

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“Moments not lost”

by Beatsam Kwon We danced on that rooftop beside the lemon tree Under the same sky, so vibrant The wine poured and sparkled How tartly it kissed my tongue A haze of dreams enveloped me I tipped my toes so it would tag me along And savored every color I went so high In the stillness of your eyes A reflection of myself and the panorama of flowers Tender sweetness of ripe pears in the air, all new to me Everything so perfect I wished that spring would never fade But without fail the blossoms would wither This was what I feared The rope I had built of what I had was strong enough to hold me But not long enough to take me to the other side I surrender my tense grip And everything slips past my fingers Recklessly spinning in the wind, I am losing the feel of your touch I tumble all the way down With only the cold dew-sprinkled earth on my skin as solace I am motionless How much time has passed?

I sit up to gaze at the infinite night Which silently jeers at my tattered lornness Even the stars dim their glimmer tonight One by one, as if to walk away from me Where once was filled with color, pallid hollowness blows Ah...

I am smaller than I was yesterday Leaves rustle loudly in the wind now Louder than in my faltering footsteps I run back to seek comfort in your air Only to find nothing is the same, not even me Spring will return to its place but I shall find root in something new So let me take a trip Spin in the wind Let it tickle the twinkles inside me into sparks Where I take with me a dream that wasn’t a dream As not a single moment had escaped me But become one more note to the song that I sing

Beatsam Kwon is from South Korea and is a student in the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Advanced Spectroscopy in Chemistry, 2018-2020. kwonx201@umn.edu.

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01 Winds of Change Writing Competition GREEN LIVING 3.

A Hurricane of Change A portrayal of change through empowered children from the Dominican Republic

by Guisell Caballero, Twitter: @guissellca

After graduating from university in Nicaragua from a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, I began looking for job opportunities. However, the beginning of my career was affected by the sociopolitical crisis that started around the same time I graduated. Therefore, to find a job became challenging. For me, my degree represented one of the many doors leading to success; nonetheless, to my surprise, the door shut without warning.

In light of the quick spread of violence and uncertainty, I decided to embrace change, fear, and all the emotions roaming my mind at the time. So I volunteered for two months at Plan International in the Dominican Republic. Plan International’s wind of change has impacted over 1 million boys and girls in the country.

Plan International is a nonprofit organisation whose early beginnings date back to Spain during World War II. During this troublesome and painful time, two British journalists founded the organisation, now known as Plan International, with the goal to mitigate the harsh conditions stemming from the war that kids were facing. In this context, the war

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was a strong representation of change which in turn catalysed the creation of one of the most relentless organisations advocating for children’s rights. The initiative continued to help a myriad of children throughout the war.

In the 1950s, the organisation expanded to developing countries located in continents such as: Africa, Asia, and Latin America. As of this moment, Plan International is present in over 76 countries worldwide devoted to promoting equality and diversity. The organisation has been present in the Dominican Republic for over thirty years, in more than 120 vulnerable communities. It has five different areas in charge of empowering children through different projects, such as reproductive education, child development, violence protection, economic and social empowerment, and lastly, responses to natural disasters.

The Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, have high teenage pregnancy rates. At this moment, the organisation in the Dominican Republic aims to stop teenage pregnancies because these trigger several

issues. For instance, teenage mothers are more likely to feel deprived of their own youth due to motherhood responsibilities. On top of that, the majority of teenage moms, if not all, are forced to drop out of school and find a way to generate income. Subsequently, the lack of education condemns these mothers to a cycle of poverty comprised of low paid jobs and bad life quality for them and their babies. In addition, there are many health risks associated with teenage pregnancy. To put an end to the poverty cycle, Plan International works with vulnerable girls.

Change is not an unknown word for a country like the Dominican Republic where the weather tends to be unpredictable and the wind can reach up to 8 miles per hour in a regular day. Moreover, this is a country wherein their citizens expect at least 2 natural disasters per year. Dominicans, particularly children, thrive. The implementation of their projects has allowed teenagers to develop their full potential. The recipients have been able to become empowered through educational programs like Crecer Contenta (Growing Up Happy), TUI academy, and many more. Education has become a key to sustainability for many vulnerable individuals.

By definition change means to “become or make something different”. My experience at Plan International in the Dominican Republic allowed me to witness first-hand these winds of change.

Children are by nature a vulnerable demographic;

more often than not, their rights are undermined by leaders and even parents. Pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Rights of the Children, they are entitled to an education. The organisation is changing the current status quo by providing education and empowering seminars to those below the age of 18.

For instance, Crecer Contenta (Growing Up Happy), impacted over 600 girls and boys from the age of 6 to 14 years old. The project trained boys and girls in regards to sexual education. Also, as an effort to prevent early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Up to this day just like in the Scorpion’s song, “the children of tomorrow dream away in the wind of change” but with organisations as devoted as Plan International, their dreams are one mile less away.

In a nutshell, my time at this organisation was eyeopening. It exposed me to the struggles children in developing countries face in their everyday lives.

Although there are laws protecting children’s rights, organisations, the government, and society must work in alliance to guarantee compliance. Plan International has many ways to help vulnerable kids. As a matter of fact, you can help through the sponsorship program.

The program gives you the unique opportunity to help a kid from the developing country get an education and access to clean water. If you want to be part of the “hurricane of change” do not hesitate to look into Plan International.

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3.

01 Winds of Change Writing Competition GREEN LIVING

The wind is still whirling

by Dina Mardiana, EMMCLE Instagram: @dinamars27 Studying and living in Europe indeed had been my dream since I was a little girl. I was so fascinated by the history, the grandeur, the richness of European culture represented in books and movies. My favourite books, which made me become curious of European history and culture, are especially those written by Charles Dickens and Alexandre Dumas, such as Oliver Twist and Count of Monte Cristo. Later on I found out that these stories sounded old-fashioned and boring for European young people (well 11 years ago I could say that I was still younger than now). I discovered this as soon as I arrived in Europe as a student, where my fellows from the Erasmus program, who are mostly European and American, were more attracted to European contemporary writers which I hardly knew.

I was accepted for the European Literary Cultures program in the first batch! Can you imagine, this South East Asian girl entered into the jungle of European literature dominated by the wellliterate students across the globe, (again: mostly European and American) who are keen of reading and discussing the content... and I was just like, “Oh, in my home country, we never had had a long, critical debate of works of literature but just listened to our professors and tried to put down some notes instead.� We just accepted things and were unwilling to reason like the way my Erasmus fellows did in most of classes. Therefore, two years of study in Europe were literally hard times for me, honestly. Not because of the language barrier, 24

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Photo: Dina met Sandy, another EMMCLE alumnus year 2011 accidentally met each other while I had to reschedule my tra by in Poitiers. Sandy is currently pursuing her 1st year of doc wind of change to become a better ourselves, and to be read

not at all, but because of the lack of courage to express myself and the fear of making mistakes.

Those two years were unforgettable for me.

I had the opportunity to travel almost through the whole of Europe by myself. I discovered another culture, another trace of history. I visited remnants of fortresses, temples, concentration camps. I met local people, tasted the local food.

Later I knew what makes some of us afraid of others, because of historical damage caused in the past. In fact, I learnt a lot more outside the normal class by exploring new places by myself.

At that time, social media was not yet quite crowded as it is now, except for Facebook where I posted some of my pictures. So, I sent out the story about my journeys to local magazines and

“



The wind inside me is still whirling, and the engine has now been repaired.

”

1-2013, in Poitiers, on Easter holiday April 2019: “We ain back from La Rochelle to Marseille, and stopped ctorate degree in University of Poitiers. We are the dy making new steps for the future.”

newspapers in my home country. There was also a blog called Multiply where I posted my raw, unpolished travelling stories. I wanted to be a ‘small’ agent of change, so that people from my country, especially from my network, would learn something new. I hoped that along with me, they would open their minds about the world beyond their daily, routine life.

It has been eleven years since my graduation from the Erasmus Mundus program, and thank God I am given the chance to go back to Europe again.

Yeah. After years of waiting, struggling, and being patient, I am back to Europe to continue my travelling story. A lot of things have happened during these years back home, and of course, the reverse culture shock did happen to me. I suffered, I was even depressed and badly sick, but I also learnt much. Going back home for a while is not that bad, though. It was like being reminded

to not forget my roots, my family. Maybe I wasn’t prepared enough the first time I arrived in Europe as a student and that’s why I had to go back to Indonesia. Now, I have returned as an expat with a new, stronger vision.

The wind inside me is still whirling, and the engine has now been repaired.

Dina Mardiana from Indonesia is an Alumni of Erasmus Mundus Master in European Literary Cultures (EMMCLE), year 2008-2010. She is currently working at the Indonesian Consulate in Marseille, France, as local staff since 2018.

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01 3. Winds of Change Writing Competition

GREEN LIVING

Bringing change in the life of Rohinga community at Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh

Simulation of a Disaster Response

by Mahanam Bhattacharjee Mithun, graduate of the European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR) in 2017.

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I completed my Erasmus Mundus master’s course on Migration and Intercultural Relations. As a part of my program I stayed in Germany, Norway and the Czech Republic. I also got the opportunity to visit the refugee camps in those countries.

After I completed my program, I went back to my country (Bangladesh) to work for the refugees. Due to forced displacement of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, Rohingya refugees

Responding to a fire situation

Training on how to respond to fire incidents

(1.2 million people) took refuge in the South East part of Bangladesh. I was working with Danish Refugee Council and UNHCR in the refugee camp in Bangladesh; addressing the protection needs of the people keep in mind the age, gender and diversity approach. As a part of my job I developed and maintained a coherent CCCM strategy across the camp and maintained regular contact with Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) as well as with Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC). In addition to this, I ensured regular site needs assessment and gap analysis with all CCCM stakeholders in the camps. Moreover, I have done mapping and tracking “who is doing what, where, when” (4W) in order to avoid the duplication of services and to ensure proper distribution of services in the camp. I always applied a participatory approach to identify, analyse and prioritize camp needs. I helped persons of concerns (POCs) by providing effective support and linking them to service providers.

in need. Often we had to carry Extreme Vulnerable People (EVIs) in stretchers in order to take them to safe locations.

I was helping UNHCR field team in camp 5, 6, 7 and 17 (where approximately 120,000 people reside) for monitoring of UNHCR funded projects and partner activities. In order to save life before monsoon season I lead UNHCR relocation convoy from one camp to other and to the newly constructed relocated sites (planned camps). Sometimes due to excessive rainfall and landslide the roads were often inaccessible by vehicle.

As a result we had to walk several kilometres in order to provide humanitarian assistance among people

Along with Danish Refugee Council I trained the service providers that are working in the camp setting about how better conduct camp coordination and camp management. Along with implementing partners I facilitate and trained the Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) volunteers for the monsoon season as well as to respond to fire incidents and other hazardous situation. We selected the volunteers from the Rohingya community and trained them other various issues including protection issues. As a result of well-coordinated monsoon preparedness in the camp setting the causality regarding monsoon e.g. flood landslide etc. was nearly zero.

I started my journey while working with refugees in 2017 by starting working with Danish Refugee Council and I completed my assignment with UNHCR early this year. When I look back at the tasks we completed with the help of a well-organized team work I really feel proud. The camp volunteers are still engaged in the camp dealing with various issues and they are very well organized and well trained now. They also bring a positive change in their local community.

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GREEN LIVING 3.01Winds of Change Writing Competition

Winds of Change & Social Change

by Julia Soehnholz, European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations, 2018-2020.

In order to achieve social change, we need to listen to others and understand that human actions are shaped by individual experiences. In this text, I would like to write about my travels in Finland and the Baltic countries; presenting travelling as a means of education and intercultural encounter; by introducing people I met and their migratory stories in order to show that mobility is an inherent and central part of processes of social change.

My travels started in Helsinki where I stayed with Oscar from Nicaragua, a civil engineer with dreadlocks, full of aspirations.

He followed his Finnish girlfriend to Helsinki, but they broke up. Oscar decided to stay and to build up a life. Now, he works as a mailman. Oscar openly talked about the difficulty of finding friends and said: “The Latin American community is very small, but it saved me”. He misses Nicaragua, but the political and economic situation is difficult. Therefore, Oscar is trying to apply for studies in Helsinki. Later, Oscar wishes to live in both Finland and Nicaragua.

After some days, I took a ferry to Tallinn, where I stayed with Izad, a Pakistani data scientist. Izad had applied for studies in Germany and Canada, but his applications had been rejected, so he studied Estonia. He also had the opportunity to do an internship in Cambridge, but his professor made a mistake on his visa application and it got rejected. For Izad, Tallinn is

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too small and too cold and his co-workers “don’t talk to the foreigners, they only talk amongst themselves”. Therefore, in the future, Izad would like to find a job in Germany.

Elise, a young tour guide, explained the negative attitude of Estonians towards foreigners by the historical past of Estonia, marked by wars and occupations, 2019 being only the 29th year of independence. Also, some Estonians feel negative towards refugees because most of the refugees that were accepted to Estonia did not want to stay and left. “How can Estonia be worse than wartorn Syria?”, asked Elise.

I continued my travels to Pärnu, where I stayed

with Alyona. Alyona’s Russian grandparents lived in Pärnu during the Soviet occupation and after. Her mother lived in Siberia and because of the bad living conditions, her mother wanted her to move between Estonia and Siberia. Alyona’s life is still marked by mobility, her children live all over the world and her partner lives in France. But Alyona does not want to live in France, she told me: “I cannot live in a small apartment in France, so I rather prefer to stay at my house in Estonia”.

However, as a native Russian speaker who does not speak fluent Estonian, she complains that “it is difficult to practice Estonian because no one talks to you”. The relationship between the Russian- and Estonian-speaking communities is still difficult.

In Latvia, during a city walk, when asking about the perceiving of the ‘migration-crisis’, Inga, a law student asked: “Which one?

The one within the rest of the world or the one within Latvia?”

According to Inga, during the financial crisis and after, many young Latvians emigrated. “This year for the first time the number of emigrants and immigrants kind of evens out.”

In Riga, I also met Nadeem, a Master student from India.

Nadeem complains that people are not friendly. “Especially Russians are very fierce and unfriendly and that’s how you tell them apart from Latvians because Latvians at least smile a little”, he told me. He applied to 6 universities in Canada but only got accepted to one and the acceptance came late so he did not have

enough time to apply for a visa. After graduation, he would like to find a job in Germany or in Canada, because most of his friends study in Canada.

In Vilnius, Lithuania, I met a programmer from Ukraine who spoke against the regulations imposed by the European Union and said: “I fear that the European Union will become the next Soviet Union. “Furthermore, he criticized the Russian government but also stated: “Do not demonize Russia. It is politics, not the people”. Aleksander also said: “I won’t leave Ukraine; I want to continue living there”.

Dovydas, a historian from Vilnius, told a similar story about refugees as Elise from Estonia: “In Germany, refugees receive 600 Euro per month. This is why they do not want to stay in Lithuania. In Greece, we even have officers who try to convince them to come to Lithuania. But no one wants to come, because of the wages, because of the cold, and because they have no community here. One time, the refugees even rented a bus together, from their own money, to go from Lithuania to Germany”.

On the last day of my travels, I stayed with Nojus from Lithuania.

Nojus lives in his grandmother’s apartment, still from Soviet times. For him, the world is there to explore and to travel. He invited his friend, Paulinus, who in the past had worked in Norway, doing cargo work. “Lithuanians are the second biggest migrant group in Norway”, Paulinus said. “Really?”, I said. “I have heard that Polish are the biggest migrant group, but I have not met any Lithuanians”. Nojus laughed. “I don’t think that you as a student will meet any Lithuanians”, he explained. “They are living different lives”.

I looked at the beer in my hand, sitting there at a small table with two Lithuanian cargo workers in a park in Kaunas, surrounded by former Soviet apartment complexes and realized, that this is why I like to travel. To meet people that I would not normally meet, and to listen to stories that I would not normally hear.

Aren’t the moments in which strangers discuss the world together, the moments in which small changes can take place, through communication across national and cultural borders and the opening of new perspectives and understanding?

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“it’s you” by Gabriella Mikiewicz 29

01 Photography Competition 4.

GREEN LIVING

PHOTO Spencer _ Alex Loup

WINDS OF CHANGE Winds of Change

by Isabel Casillas-Barragan Winds of change photography competition full of challenges Tender as a stroke Sudden as a summer storm From the first push of life To the last sigh We face air currents With different temperature Sometimes mix Sometimes stratify from winds to hurricanes challenging our resilience challenging our adaptation reaching destruction to invite reconstruction free start new born with every wind every wind is a new chance to change the direction and embrace our calm.

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First place: Isabel Casillas-Barragan, PhD Eramus Mundus MsC on Water and Coastal Management, 2009-2011 31

01 Photography Competition 4.

GREEN LIVING

Second place: ‘Beirut’ Youssef Zeinnedine European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR), 2017-2019.

“I am very interested in photography, especially black and white photography. However, for this competition, I chose this photo that I took of Beirut, the city where I lived for 7 years. After the end of the civil war in 1990, the reconstruction of Beirut has unfortunately destroyed more buildings than the war itself did. Now, because of neoliberal policy making and lack of urban planning, Beirut lost its rich architectural heritage and is now full of high buildings. And as you can see in the photo, the building of newer taller buildings never stopped.”

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Third place: Federico Facchin, Erasmus+ Exchange student www.federicofacchin.com; instagram: @fedefac Left: Fratercula arctica (Atlantic puffin) Iceland July 2018. The green ocean of grass in Vestmannaeyjar will mesmerise you. If not, puffins will do! I have been laying more than half an hour on the wet grass to get this picture, close to the edge of the cliff and freezing because of the cold wind. But it has been worth it!

Top left: Trachypithecus obscurus (dusky leaf monkey) Thailand January 2019. Nature is asking for help all around the world, and I could see the struggle in the eyes of this Gusky Leaf Monkey. Even though he was trying to steal my camera!

Top right: Amazona aestiva (turquoise-fronted Amazon) Italy April 2019.

Do you know why this parrot is so angry? Well mostly because he hates paparazzi, but also because he is in captivity! In a (very) close future, if we keep destroying their habitats, there won’t be any wild parrots left.

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01 Photography Competition 4.

GREEN LIVING

Honorable Mention: Dem.Ba (chosing to remain anonymous)

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Do you want to advertise in EMANATE?

The Erasmus Mundus Association is looking for sponsors!

Become an EMA’s official partner and reach +500K talented international students & alumni from over 170 countries.

For more information, contact the EMA Sponsorship Desk at sponsorship@em-a.eu

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02 Photography Competition 4.

SUSTAINABLE FASHION

Through the motto “Let’s build our world together free of stereotypes” the project aims at increasing social inclusion and empowerment by giving voice to marginalised people, facilitating understanding across cultures, religions, and exploiting the wealth of human diversity.

Watch EMA’s video about the ‘Does it Matter?’ project here: https://youtu. be/v3gTJk6Trhw

First, second, and third place prizes for writing and photo competition! Send entries to emanate@em-a.eu by June 17, 2019.

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“Self Love” by Gabriella Mikiewicz

Contribute to the next issue of EMANATE magazine on the theme, “Does it Matter?”

How do you change the world?

One single act of kindness at a time.

Submit photos, fiction, non-fiction, artwork, poetry, and more under the theme “does it matter?” for a chance to win.

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Good food, good mood Here at EMANATE we know how important food can be during the Erasmus Mundus experience. Giang Pham, Mundus Journalism, shares some special moments from her degree that show how we are shaped by these experiences. “I was invited to the Christmas dinner organized by my coordinators in Hamburg. We had a real German Christmas with warm raclette, Christmas tree, familiar songs with lots of laughter around the table.

A true Mundus experience when friends from India, Pakistan, Mexico, Vietnam and Germany gathered to celebrate Christmas, regardless of beliefs.

An unforgettable memory.�

5. Inside EMA

EMA Recipe Book sneak preview: Syrniki from Russia

My grandmother loved to spoil me on the weekends by making something special for breakfast. Syrniki (seer-nee-kee) were one of these treats and I missed them terribly when I moved away from Russia.

Syrniki is a traditional dessert served in Russia and are fritters made from a farmer’s cheese called tvorog (in russian). It’s very similar to cottage cheese and ricotta, but is drier and has a tangy taste. If you have ever attempted to make pancakes, you will manage this recipe with ease.

This syrniki simple recipe is very easy to make even for the laziest students!

Ingredients: 400g cottage cheese or ricotta cheese 100g flour 2 eggs Raisins (if desired) 3 tablespoons sugar 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon salt Topping: Blackcurrant, raspberry, or other berry Sour cear Condensed milk Jam

Instructions: 1. Place together the cottage cheese, eggs, 1.5 tbsp oil, butter, and sugar. Stir slowly, adding flour, raisins (if you want) and work into a soft dough. The mixture will be very sticky, but don’t panic; that’s what it’s supposed to look like!

2. Heat 2.5 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, dust a clean work surface with extra flour. You’ll need to coat both sides of the syrniki in flour fter you form them, before you fry them.

This will make sure they don’t stick to the pan. Cook the fritters for 1-2 minutes until golden.

3. For a truly Russian experience, enjoy with a topping; either sour cream, fresh berries, jam, or sugar.

Recipe by Oxana Sytnik, MACOMA - PHD in Marine and Coastal Management.

There’s still time to submit your own recipes to the EMA Recipe Book: https://forms.gle/ Hc8kcBJHb5siHg6YA

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Erasmus Mundus programme of the month: Mundus Journalism

by Estefanía Zárate Angarita @ZarAngarita Since 2005, more than 500 students have completed the MA in Journalism, Media and Globalisation offered by the Erasmus Mundus Journalism Consortium of five leading European universities and three high profile universities in the USA, Australia and South America.

Aarhus University, located in the northern region of Denmark, is the main University of the Consortium and the heart of the Programme, where every year a new cohort meets. Once in Denmark, the students take courses both in Aarhus University and the Danish School of Media and Journalism during one whole year before splitting into four different groups and four

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different cities. Each city offers its own specialisation: • Journalism and Media across Cultures, Hamburg University.

• Business and Financial Journalism, City, University of London.

• Media and Politics, Amsterdam University.

• War and Conflict, Swansea University.

Some students can choose to study their second semester of the first year at either University of California at Berkeley, University of Technology Sydney, or at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

EMA Recipe Book sneak preview: Syrniki from Russia

5. Inside EMA

The two-year joint master’s degree “combines journalism studies with political science, international relations and media studies.” Alumni’s professional development spans from media outlets worldwide to NGO’s, PhD fellowships and even own businesses in the media industry.

My personal experience It is an honour for me to be able to write about the Mundus Journalism Programme since I am a proud Alumni and currently live in Aarhus. I graduated from the Master in 2018 and I have been closely linked to it ever since I was granted one of the scholarships in 2016.

The Mundus Journalism Programme receives approximately 500 applications per year and accepts between 80 and 90 candidates. At the moment, 25% of the students are granted an excellence scholarship that covers all the expenses during the two years, including tuition fees and travel allowances.

During the past two years, I’ve been invited by Bettina Andersen and Inger Munk (two dedicated women who daily work hard to make the best out of the Mundus Journalism experience) to the Danish School of Media and Journalism in Aarhus to give my warm welcome to the recently arrived Mundusians.

Although academic excellence is the main requirement for admission, “the criteria of journalism experience, the application reflections and life experience” also play an important role in the selection process, as it is stated on the www.mundusjournalism.com website.

According to Bettina Andersen, Programme Coordinator at Aarhus University, “we have more 103 different nationalities represented within the Mundus Journalism Programme if we go all the way back to 2005.” She added that “the Programme has a global approach and it also needs a global mind and a global perspective.”

It is always exciting for me to share my experience with the new students of the Programme. I remember myself how it felt to be sitting in a classroom with 80 other people from 45 different nationalities, discussing global issues and discerning journalism practices across the world.

It has never been more relevant in contemporary history to share knowledge and collaborate across cultures for a global perspective on information and stories. Therefore, the Mundus Journalism Programme has never been more relevant than it is now.

Photos by Giang Pham, Mundus Journalism graduate Left: Just one of the various ways to be “hygge” in Aarhus. Running Dinner was an idea from my German classmates, turned out to be extremely fun! Half of our class ran around Aarhus for food. Despite the endless hills, long bike rides and gloomy weather in Aarhus, all of us had so much fun. This was also my first time making Mexican food and trying German Apfelstrudel! The experience of a common kitchen was also a new thing for me then, we don’t have that in Vietnamese dormitories.

Right: Some of my classmates in Hamburg decided to do a street performance before leaving the city. They had been practiced since the days in Aarhus and finally made their own performance in Hamburg. That is the Mundusian spirit.

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5. Inside EMA

Get to know the new EMA structure The Erasmus Mundus Association has recently undertaken a few structural and fundamental changes in order to achieve more independent decision making and with the aim of becoming a more impactful organisation worldwide.

Since it’s creation in 2006, EMA has been entirely run by volunteers, working remotely from several locations and time zones. Its structure was very functional and fit for the needs of the organisation at that time. In the former structure, there was a Steering Committee, an ESAA Board, Service Teams, Regional Chapters, Networks, Programme Representatives and a Course Quality Team.

The new structure implemented, and approved by the majority of the members of EMA during the General Assembly 2019 in Vienna, reorganised all the members into four Units: • The Strategic Unit includes the President, the Vice President and the International Advisory Board.

• The Working Unit is formed by the Student and Alumni Relations team, the Policy and Quality Assurance team, the Outreach and Capacity Building team and the newly created Research and Innovation team.

• The Support Unit includes Project Support, Communications and IT, and Partnership Development.

• The Admin Unit which involves Legal and Internal Affairs, Finance Management, and Talent Management.

This new structure makes possible a more collaborative approach between teams and Units instead of a topdown strategy. It is also aimed to make the best out of the skill sets of all of the members and provide more opportunities for the developments of projects.

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Questions, comments, concerns?

Send a letter to your editors to be published in next month’s issue of EMANATE: emanate@em-a.eu

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EMA ambassadors promoting Erasmus+ all around the globe

5. Inside EMA

EMA Recipe Book sneak preview: Syrniki from Russia

A note from the EMA Regional Chapters Coordinator

Chapters’ Impact: from challenges to opportunities

by Kate Alyzon Ramil, regional.chapters@em-a.eu Regional chapters are global outreach of EMA ambassadors of the Erasmus Mundus brand on regional level. Their role is to promote cultural and academic cooperation, foster international collaboration and active citizenship.

It is an honour and privilege to have served the Chapters as their Coordinator even for less than a year. I have witnessed great energy and passion from all the local and regional leaders all over the world.

I have to say that Chapters are one of the cornerstones of EMA. I pay tribute to the veteran leaders who stayed put and the new ones who took on the challenge in managing their own region or country. 2018 was the most difficult time in the Chapters because we did not know what was going to happen.

For one year without budget and with lack of active portal to communicate, Chapter leaders and members exercised their creativity and ingenuity to ensure that EMA still made impact all over the world. From North America to South America, from Asia to Europe, from Middle East to Africa and to Eurasia,

Chapter leaders and members contributed, participated, and organized Erasmus+ promotions, education policy dialogues, and SDG fora that benefitted our own community as well as the whole of humanity. All of these fantastic jobs were organized by EMA young professionals; all of these were full volunteer work.

Let’s look at the numbers.

Promotional activities in the span of year were 88; outreach activities 19; activities with different EU Delegation 53; events in partnership with local or foreign governments 25; alumni hang-out 17; alumni relations 15; and a cross-regional activity 1. In total, there were 223 activities managed by Chapters.

The monetary value of Chapters doing activity for EMA, if there were only 5 volunteers and they were paid at a minimum, would account for 89,200 Euros. If we

take their volunteer work to their professional salary, plus the money they spend on transportation and food, this number would be in millions.

Clearly, Chapters have done tremendous job in keeping EMA productive even if some Chapters have lone leaders. Despite the challenges, EMA spirit lives on.

Chapters are ready to take the new structure to a new height. 2018 may have been challenging but starting this 2019, Chapters have turned challenges into opportunities. I feel the excitement and cooperation amongst Chapter leaders and members across regions. Emails come from new members to volunteer. There is no better time to “seize the day” than today onwards.

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03 Inside EMA 5.

TRAVEL

EMAbility

by Mrs. Madina Karsakpayeva: disability activist, EMA aumna 2015-2016.She served as coordinator on work with disabled people at Almaty City Society of People with Disabilities and other disability related NGOs through volunteering, translation and teaching English / computer literacy for children and young adults with disability. During the work in Kazakhstan, Madina conducted several events dedicated to International Day of People with disabilities such as: an introductory seminar for teachers, directors and other professionals of more than 10 schools of Almaty. She also became the first staff member of British Council Kazakhstan organization and worked as an administrative assistant and Equal opportunities coordinator. Currently , she is a PhD student in Budapest, Hungary.

Ms. Karsakpayeva was invited by ResearchABility project from Marie Curie Alumni Association to be a speaker for the following events in France, Paris during May 18-20 2019 FEDEEH 27th national annual meeting. The event was organized

by French Association of Disabled students and Young Specialsits and gathered all the disability organizations across France to collaborate on ideas, projects to include young specialists and disabled students in education and employment. It was Mrs. Karsakpayeva`s very first time in Paris and France.Mrs. Madina Karsakpayeva is a disability activist from Kazakhstan and a PhD student.

Mrs.Karsakpayeva became the first international speaker for that event.

The second event Mrs. Karsakpayeve participated as a speaker was - Career Symposium by MCAA, for post doctoral students and researchers.

For both events Mrs. Karsakpayeva shared her experiences as a student with a motor disability, and how the switch from the medical to the social model of disability got translated into differences in daily life and accessibility in the US, UK and Europe. For example, public transport in London is very well equipped to accommodate persons with a motor disability. She emphasized out that next to family support - organisations such as Erasmus Mundus are crucial

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in enabling mobility for researchers with disabilities.

The ResearchAbility (RA) project was founded in the summer of 2018, by the MCAA’s Vice president Mostafa Moonir Shawrav and Alexandra Nothnagel, to achieve a society that promotes accessibility and inclusion in Europe ensuring equal chances in higher education for everyone. The main goals of the project are below: 1. Individual support through the organisation of Europe-wide activities for inclusion and mentoring for researchers with and without disabilities by MCAA and partner associations. A pilot project is being carried out in collaboration with the French association for young persons with a disability (FEDEEH) starting in March 2018, which consists of workshops and a conference during the three weekends of national meetings of FEDEEH per year (Rencontre Nationales).

2. Research & Expertise by building expert groups, including members with different disabilities, to analyse the different needs of students and researchers with respect to their specific type of disability, to provide the European Commission with data and guidelines.

3. Policy Making: Help the European Commission in their policy making based on demands formulated

during the meetings and workshops, in collaboration with international organizations. Policies can include ensuring European recognition of employees and students with a disability status, the European Mobility Card, and suggestions for better support for persons with disabilities.

The collaboration built during those event provided Mrs.Karsakpayeva an opportunity to join FEDEEH organization and possibility to bring international aspect to French based project for future ideas.

Educational Background: 2006-2011- BA in Foreign languages Turkish and English - Kazakh National University of World Languages and International relations- part time 2013-2014- Fulbright Foreign Student program- MA in Special education, University of Carbondale, Illinois, USA 2015-2016 MA in Special and Inclusive Education -Erasmus Mundus joint degree program: UK, Norway, Czech Republic Currently : Phd in Special education, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest Hungary- Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship program Research interest : higher education access for students with disabilities, transition to employment and mobility/ exchange programs.

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grape whims.

by Lyka Caparas, EMANATE columnist

Wine opens a realisation on how differences can be combined wondrously. We see a world of expansive diversity - languages, cultures, upbringings and tastes – which are created across distance and boundaries. But once a bottle is uncorked, we harmonise something special. We speak the same language through discussions of the stories inside the bottle. There is a commonality in winemaking brought by our histories. There we discover the familiar aromas we grew up with. That explains so much familiarity in the aromas we capture in wine.

Wine will keep on uniting diversities.

Wine can be seen as a creation defined by several lenses to take: art and science, men and nature, past,

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present and future. It is interesting to see numerous stories that surround one consumable product.

It makes those who love stories brave enough to understand even more, at the extent of overcoming limitations.

And among those many courageous ones, I took that step too. I am currently a student of the International Master on Wine Tourism Innovation (WINTOUR).

My program takes me to wine heritage regions in Europe that I will vividly share with you.

Welcome to “Grape Whims”, the column where I will simplify wine stories in easy to drink snippets.

Follow my @wintour_master journey through my Instagram @grapewhims

lets go nuts in the kitchen.

6. Columns

by Katherine Manosalvas, EMANATE columnist Hola mis amig@s =) Bienvenidos to my wellness column. I am a part-time vegan and a healthy foodie who finds joy in tasting new recipes in the kitchen while exercising on a daily basis. I am from Ecuador but first came to Denmark in 2016 to pursue my Master’s Degree in Data Journalism. My second year took place in London where I got enthusiastic about world class food trends. Ever since, I started my personal Instagram account @katemtobar mainly focused on showing the lifestyle of an international postgrad overcoming personal and professional challenges in a foreign land.

When I was living in the USA back in 2013, I used to think that eating a salad topped with ranch dressing, croutons and lots of cheddar cheese accompanied by a small side of French fries was THE healthiest well-deserved dinner. Well, the joke was on ME. No wonder I gained 4 kilos despite running 10 km almost every day as part of the cross country team!

The next year, I cut off all sort of carbohydrates from my diet trying as hard as I could to lose all that weight. Did I mention that at the time I was doing CrossFit every single day of the week? It was not so long ago that I finally overcame the fear of intaking carbs at all.

My friends often say: “Kate time is healthy time.” SI – INDEED. I like to crack the code of healthy living in a SUSTAINABLE but FUN approach.

Hasta la próxima, Kate TobarI, nstagram: @katemtobar

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Winds of Change, EMANATE Issue #1 May/June 2019 Published by the Communications Team of the Erasmus Mundus Association.

Page design by Gabriella Mikiewicz. emanate@em-a.eu