STARawards 2016/2017
STARawards Dear ESNer, Have you heard of the STARawards? The STARawards were born in 2008 to award the best projects, activities, sections, and countries of the ESN network. The STARawards are annually awarded at a ceremony at the Annual General Meeting of ESN. STARland - An award for the best ESN country. STARlight - An award for the best ESN section. STARter - An award for the best new ESN section. eventSTAR - An award for the best ESN international event. educationSTAR - An award for the best National or Local advocacy campaigns/actions in the field of mobility (and youth/student rights), professional and/or personal development or recognition of volunteering. ESNshowcaseSTAR -An award for an ESN section with the best practice in the network. SeCoSTAR - An award for ESN sections with the best section cooperation. campaignSTAR - An award for an ESN section/country with the best campaign. gadgetSTAR - An award for an ESN section/country with the best gadget(s). logoSTAR - An award for an ESN section with the best logo. movieSTAR - An award for an ESN section/country with the best promo movie. webSTAR - An award for an ESN section with the best website. buddySTAR - An award for the best event, organised by a local section, based on the cooperation between local buddies and exchange students. ESNcardSTAR - An award for an ESN section with the best promotion and usage of the ESNcard. inclusionSTAR - An award for the best activity supporting the inclusion of students with disabilities.
mobilitySTAR - An award for the best activity supporting mobility. ResponsiblePartySTAR - An award for the best Responsible Party activity. SocialErasmusSTAR - An award for the best SocialErasmus activity. trainingSTAR - An award for the best national/regional/local training event. Alumni Award - An award for the best actions/ideas to transfer best practices & knowledge from Alumni to active ESNers/sections.
FUN facts:
- In 2016/2017 we’ve received altogether 363 applications for 17 categories of the STARawards. - There were 3 categories without the application round based on the data gathered from the network in a different way. - We’ve received at least one application from 27 ESN countries, with ESN Poland being the most active ESN country with 41 applications. - The most popular category was inclusionSTAR with 45 received applications. - The applications from 21 different ESN countries were awarded as one of the top 3 from each category, with ESN Portugal taking the most of the prizes.
STARland
An Award for the best ESN country
What has been evaluated?
The STARland category was evaluated by the NB Coordinator AndrÊ Lopes based on the performance of the ESN country over the past year. The main criteria were the following:, attendance to International, events, country reports, evaluation of the country wiki page, involvement of the country members in international bodies of ESN, implementation of the Flagship Project ExchangeAbility, implementation of SocialErasmus, iplementation of Mov’in Europe, implementation of Responsible Party, implementation of the ESNcard project, members in the Eduk8 Pools (Eduk8ers, Facilitators, Trainers), grants for the National Level, cooperation with the National Agency or equivalent Existence of a NationalTraining or equivalent, online Communication on the national Facebook pages, if the National Questionnaire was filled in, organisation of International Events (up to 2)
1ST PLACE
ESN CROATIA 2nd PLACE
ESN SPAIN 3rd PLACE
ESN PORTUGAL
STARlight
An Award for the best ESN section
What has been evaluated? The STARlight category was evaluated by all the Committee Chairing Teams, every committee evaluated their respective parts, where they took into account the overall performance of the section, such as: The relation with local stakeholders, personal and professional development of the section members and recognition of their skills, experience with grants applications,section’s ESN team and knowledge transfer, section cooperation, internal events and activities, involvement of the section in ESN projects and national and international level of ESN, the sources of income and the usage of ESNcards, the section communication channels, the remarkable PR materials, the relations with the local media, remarkable IT tools and section website.
1ST PLACE
ESN UEK Cracow How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
ESN UEK section was established in 2003. Over the last 14 year we took care of almost 5,000 of exchange students by turning their stay in Krakow into one unforgettable experience.
ESN UEK Cracow is a perfect example of a section that keeps its high standards over the years. They got the STARlight award at AGM Milan 2014 and they still manage to keep a great work.
We also significantly contributed to the development of the network. In 2006, altogether with other sections from Krakow we organized AGM. It was a great success so we decided to do it together again by hosting CEP Krakow 2011. In December 2013 ESN UEK was announced ‘Section in the Spotlight’. We have also been declared the best ESN section in 2013 and we have received the STARlight prize at the AGM Milano 2014. During the national platform in May 2014 in Krakow, ESN UEK got an award of the best section of ESN Poland for the year 2013/2014. Feeling motivated we decided to apply for organizing international event which was CNR, that indeed took place in Krakow in June 2014. We are constantly keeping our section on the highest level of the organization, which is shown in the well prepared CND of December 2016.
They have a great relation with their local stakeholders is very adequate. They cooperate with University Authorities, International Office, Student Parliament. Many of these stakeholders helped them financially during the organization of Council of National Delegates that took place in Kraków in December, and that they got also grants for from Students’ Parliament. Their flagship project is a Freshman Camp. This camp is aimed at their newbies and it includes trainings and workshops. They invite trainers from their section to improve newbies hard and soft skills and to show them how ESN works, and external trainers for our experienced members. There is also some time for integration amongst newbies and members of ESN UEK.
2ND PLACE
ESN LISBOA How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
Our section was founded in September of 2008 by 9 former Erasmus students. They surprisingly found out that there was no ESN in our beautiful city, so they decided to create ESN Lisboa. Instead of creating several ESN sections in the same city, they decided to create a single section to establish good relations with all universities. The section grew very fast due to the enormous amount of Portuguese students returning every year from Erasmus and flourished within its structure. In less than 6 years we had a legal foundation, statutes, standing orders, a solid hierarchic and democratic structure, strong activities, trips and parties, multiple partnerships, participation in all the international projects, high level network involvement and an extraordinary fast learning curve for all the active members. Through non-formal education, the learning process was facilitated by our members involved in the Eduk8 project (Tiago Costa, Inês Moreira, Inês Cunha and Lério Cunha) and supported by the HR department. Yet, we shouldn’t forget the knowledge that comes from experient older members/Alumni. Sometimes, what we need is a practical answer, a faster and more efficient solution that only can be given by people that experienced the same problem/ situation. In the last three years, ESN Lisboa has grown from 25 to 75 active members, the internal structure expanded to 9 departments and 6 board members, in order to address the workload due to the increasing number of incoming students in Lisbon, currently around 5,000 exchange students per year.
ESN Lisboa is a great example of a well-working section covering all the universities in one city. They do not only collaborate with one HEI, but 40 in a city of Lisbon. Besides that their other stakeholder is Lisbon City Hall, whose platform Study In Lisbon aims to develop and facilitate the different aspects of life in Lisbon. This year they managed to win an ESAA (Erasmus+ Student and Alumni Association) grant with the conference “Erasmus Is For Everyone” in order to promote mobility to students with disabilities. Their flagship project this year was directly connected with the promotion of ESNcard and their biggest commercial partners. They’ve created the Erasmus Pack, which includes the ESNcard, SIM card and pick-up from the airport by a private transportation company (Cabify). This way they are able to promote their partners present in ESNcard.org and also the ESNcard with a very accessible price for the Erasmus students.
3rd PLACE
ESN MINHO How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
Our section started its activity in 2011 and has been working in both camp of the University of Minho in two different cities, Braga and Guimarães. In the last few years, it has also helped with the integration of international students from the IESFafe, in city of Fafe (42 km from Braga).
ESN Minho is another example of a section for the entire city. They cooperate with several associations such as the recreational and cultural association of the university (ARCUM), students organisations, Synergia, European Youth Store, the department of sports and culture of our university, the academic centers of the bachelor degrees and Red Cross (Delegation of Braga) and they also maintains a good relationship with the City Council of Braga as we were able to contribute actively to its already finished project, Braga2016 - Ibero-American Youth Capital.
We have been actively involved within the Network through the organisation of SWEP Minho 2014, CLD Minho’14, ESNOlympics Minho‘16 and we are already working on the next CLD Minho’17 which is scheduled for July 2017. At the AGM Ankara 2015, our section was awarded with the STARlight and STARproject and at the AGM Warsaw 2016 we were awarded with the Mov’inEuropeSTAR. This year we can count on 60 members in three cities. Furthermore, our section is an official Eurodesk InfoPoint and had its EVS accreditation renewed until 2020.
They are using different IT tools, i.e., QR codes for Survival Guides, recruitment process, form filling, they also have QR codes for the Facebook groups and WhatsApp group chat. To organise and communicate within the section, they are using Slack, Trello, Doodle, and other productivity tools.
STARter
An Award for the best new ESN section
What has been evaluated? The STARter category was used for the ESN sections that joined ESN after AGM Warsaw 2016. It was also evaluated by all the Committee Chairing Teams, every committee evaluated their respective parts, where they took into account the overall performance of the section, such as: The relation with local stakeholders, personal and professional development of the section members and recognition of their skills, experience with grants applications., section’s ESN team, section cooperation, internal events and activities, involvement of the section in ESN projects and national and international level of ESN, the sources of income, the section communication channels, the remarkable PR materials, the relations with the local media, remarkable IT tools and section website.
1ST PLACE
ESN Castellón How do they describe their actions? Our section was founded thanks to ESN en UV and ESN Valencia UPV, which motivated us to create a new ESN section in Castellón. In October 2014 HES association (Helping Exchange Students) emerged at Universitat Jaume I. For the next 6 months we were HES, until the Annual National Platform in Murcia (RAFE) in April of 2015 when we were officially named ESN Castellón Candidate Section. In a year we achieved a quick evolution due to our great motivation. This led us to achieve our goal at RAFE Alicante in April 2016 when we were voted to join ESN as an official ESN section. Since then, our involvement has not declined, during 2016 we hosted two events for all Spanish sections: An ESAA event and the Levantine Regional Platform carried out in coordination with other sections.
A few words from the evaluators ESN Castellón is a proof that it doesn’t matter how long should a section be working before becoming really good. Although they are a new section of ESN Spain, they have already managed to do many of the nation-wide activities. They have not only organized the Levantine Regional Platform, but they also managed to get awarded an ESAA grant (Erasmus + Student and Alumni Association) for the Training Event: Turn Your Volunteering Hobby Into Your Future Profession! They have already taken part in some of the international projects of ESN, mostly SocialErasmus and ExchangeAbility but they do already sell their exchange students ESNcards with a complete WelcomePack financed by the university, Castellón’s tourism offices and their partners. They also keep in touch with the local media, since they broadcast their news and they have already published some of their articles.
2ND PLACE ESN HSE University Moscow How do they describe their actions?
ESN HSE Moscow started as HSE Buddies Network in the summer of 2014, when the number of incoming international students became so big that a student support structure was bound to appear. We started as a buddy system, which remains the core activity of our section. Then we started to organize excursions and trips to nearby cities. Then, when the novelty has worn off, and most of the original team stopped being involved in the organisation, we discovered ESN at one of the youth forums in Tyumen, Siberia, which brought a new lease on life of the organisation. We quickly moved through the application process and became the third, the newest, and we think the strongest section of ESN Russia. Having a section in the capital is essential for the expansion and visibility of the Network in Russia.
A few words from the evaluators ESN HSE University Moscow is the newest section of ESN Russia, they are the first section in the capital of Russia Moscow. They haven’t managed to establish a relationship with the stakeholders within Moscow, so their biggest stakeholders are within the university - the Student Council and IRO. Through the Student Council (which is an elected organization of student self-governance, akin to Student Unions) they managed to raise a need into recognizing the international students and they expect the soon-to-be-formed Council of International Students to be one of their main partners in the University, which would be able to take an active stance on the ever-persisting problems of international students in our university. Since their existence they have also managed to acquire a grant through Scheme, that supports big projects by student organisations, for ESN Russia National Platform. As the National Board of ESN Russia is one of the newest ones, their 2 members are the members of it. It is a great example how can a section in small ESN country become top within the year.
3rd PLACE
ESN Freiburg How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
ESN Freiburg was founded in August 2015 (by the name iSN Freiburg) by three students who were abroad by themselves and realised coming back that there wasn’t an ESN section. After contacting the international offices and ESN Germany an e-mail was sent out to returning Erasmus students to join the newly founded organization. The first meeting was attended by more than 40 people and many of them became members of ESN Freiburg. We have always had many members (between 20 and 50). Our first events where already a huge success with amazing numbers (between 20 and 100 people) and great atmosphere. In January 2016 iSN Freiburg was voted in as a candidate section and continued to develop itself, we organized bigger and better events and became more professional. In June 2016 iSN Freiburg finally became part of the network under the name of ESN Freiburg. Since then we have settled down in the network and started to participate more. Several of our members are part of committees and we also applied to host a local platform.
ESN Freiburg is an example of an evolving section. In the last year they have overcome the definition of the section structure and during this process they have also created a new mascot. It is a sectio in Freiburg taking care of exchange students from all the universities in Freiburg that are their biggest stakeholders. Besides them another important stakeholder is the Studierendenwerk, They are also active in some ESN international projects, such as ExchangeAbility and ESNsurvey. Their members are also members of the national committees and also part of the OC for the French-German Section Meeting. Another interesting communication tool is a newsletter, which they send out to their partners, IROs and other interested parties as well as for alumni and of course internationals once a month, where we inform about what was happening within this month.
eventSTAR
An Award for the best ESN event
What has been evaluated? The eventSTAR award category is a category for awarding the OC of the best ESN international events, such as CNR, CND, NBM, Regional Platforms and Eduk8 events. The events were evaluated by the event coordinators of ESN and the evaluation was based on the answers they got from the feedback forms filled in by the participants. Having this in mind and because they verified that the amount of participants answering the forms varies from event to event, they established, that for this year they would not consider events that had less than 10 replies to the feedback form.
1ST PLACE
CNR Huelva 2017
2nd PLACE
CND Krakรณw 2016
3rd PLACE
Eduk8 STARTER Madeira 2017
educationSTAR
An Award for the best National or Local advocacy campaign/action in the field of mobility (and youth/student rights), professional and/ or personal development or recognition of volunteering
What has been evaluated? The following aspects have been taking into account compliance of the objectives with the description of the award; innovation in the theme or approach. comprehensiveness of the event (target group, stakeholders, perspective, etc.), relevance of the topic for ESN (ESNers) and local community. impact of the event for ESNers, ESN country and Erasmus students; and added element (grant application, validation practices, inclusion of different groups).
1ST PLACE Turn your volunteering hobby into your future profession! ESN SPAIN How do they describe their actions? This activity involved a strong cooperation between all levels of the ESN: local, national (ESN Spain) and international. The event took place in one weekend in October 2016 and it included 35 youth volunteers of ESN Spain sections, who had the possibility to professionalise their skills acquired thanks to their volunteering activities and to learn how to talk about those skills with companies and headhunters; and 5 exchange students, who had the opportunity to get to understand the added value of volunteering with views to foster volunteering in their home universities after their exchange. This added an international impact of the project. Besides students, also private companies and representatives from public institutions and the civil society were present at the event. The National Board of ESN Spain and the National Education Officer kept on working together, with the help of EOSG and ICE with the aim of positioning ESN Spain as the top high-quality association regarding international students in terms of education fields. The relationship between ESN Spain and the Erasmus+ National Agency started more than 5 years ago and we have participated in several European-wide projects together, mainly in the field of research and the 25th anniversary celebrationsÍž the collaboration of ESN Spain with the Youth National Agency and Lycamobile started recently and this was one of the first activities held together in the framework of a 2-year collaboration. Therefore, the existing relationship between ESN Spain and its partners helped to ensure the high quality of the event. All in all, the event facilitated a smooth transfer from the volunteering world to the labour
market helping students to realise their skills gained during volunteering and giving them access to a range of companies, raising awareness on society of the professional value of volunteering and making companies’ job opportunities visible. The main activity was the conference. The conference combined roundtables and sessions showcasing employment opportunities. Roundtables aimed at raising awareness on the professional skills related to the abilities which students acquire during volunteering. Showcasing sessions aimed at explaining the portfolio of professionals in the companies and organisations which the Erasmus Student Network works in collaboration with. A few words from the evaluators The conference is designed to boost the employability of ESNers and Erasmus students, with one of a kind approach. It combines different methods to promote volunteering as a way to gain professional skills and achieve a higher self-awareness within the target groups, which is what make it stand up from other applications. The added value of the conference is the involvement of ESNers from all three levels of ESN, each of whom could share their experience, and involvement of stakeholders and private companies who offered their perspective on the matter, which added to the conference’s comprehensive approach to the topic. Finally, we commend the fact conference was supported by the grant and that the conference helped increase the visibility of ESN Spain.
2ND PLACE International Job fair ESN PORTO How do they describe their actions? The “International Job fair” aim was to all the local students, exchange students and alumni in order to provide a possibility of looking for a job in Porto, Portugal. Also, on the 25th of November, at Hard CLub, we gather over 600 people with main stakeholders, including Municipal Hall, all fifteen Universities and Students Associations of Porto in order to gather information about the conditions for students to study and prolong their stay in Porto. Also, it is important to refer that ACM - Migration High Commission from the Portuguese Government - was present during the event, to guarantee all information on visas and paperwork. There were more than 3500 job offers for the next 2 years in this Job Fair. The main activities the action was composed of were: Job Fair - with multi-national companies that are looking for employees in Porto. Think Tank - to evaluate the conditions of studies and connection with universities and faculties. Conferences - with main stakeholders in the city, including Municipal Hall. A few words from the evaluators The event covered a very interesting topic, connecting mobility, the international students, and job market, the employers. What made this application stood up, besides the topic, is its comprehensive approach to the theme. Organisers involved all the relevant stakeholders (from the government to universities to multinational companies) and managed to connect them to ESN project Mov’in Europe. Finally, the event managed to get national media coverage and got new partners for ESN Porto.
2ND PLACE The National Mobility Day ESN ITALY How do they describe their actions? The National Mobility day was a full-day event, organised by ESN Italy on 5th of September 2016 and it consisted of various workshops, a conference and a Feedback/suggestions session between IROs, NA and ESN Italy sections. In the morning ESN Italy organised a conference on EU’s enlargement process, thanks to the funding from The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) to organise activities on the topic.
Right after the morning conference ended, we organized a two-hours networking lunch. The afternoon started with a short introduction of the present participants. That moment was very useful, as most of the IROs present were very thankful towards their local section’s work and proud of having a strong cooperation with ESN; this way, they encouraged some other more reluctant present IROs to open their minds about ESN through a peer-to-peer discussion. Clara Grano, a representative from the National Agency stressed the IROs on the necessity to have a deeper cooperation between them and the ESN sections, motivating them to provide every section of the basic tools (such as an office, a computer) and even a written agreement on funding possibilities. This was followed by Matthew Clemo’s general presentation of ESN to uniform the crowds’ knowledge of the network and Safi Sabuni, who presented the relationship between ESN and the institutions. Before closing the session, Carlo Bitetto from GaragErasmus gave a presentation on the new platform Check-in Europe and Bojana Zimonjić gave a detailed presentation on the ESNsurvey and its importance. These presentations were followed by an executive coach who deliver a workshop on the positive outcomes of cooperation. She designed a presentation called “How to turn goals into achievements” that focused on how to unite synergies to be more productive. Our goal was to have someone external telling the IROs the power of cooperation (with ESN as well!!) and we think it worked.
A few words from the evaluators The conference was designed to improve the cooperation between sections and IROs and raise the visibility of ESN Italy and its work to the wide audience. The event got a lot of attention from HEIs and the National Agency and received media attention, as well. The event itself represented a platform for best practice sharing between different stakeholders, which is highly relevant for the improvement of Erasmus programme in Italy.The added value is the presence of IROs that don’t have ESN sections on their Universities, they got really interested in ESN work, hence the added value for the local community and Erasmus students.
3rd PLACE Training for Local Education Officers of ESN Poland ESN POLAND How do they describe their actions? The event was a 2-days intensive training for the community of polish Local Education Officers. It was organised in cooperation with the National Agency of Erasmus+ in Poland (FRSE) which is our most important institutional partner. They provided venue for the sessions, accommodation, food, materials and specialists. The meeting was composed of 4 main parts/sessions that included presentations, discussions, small sessions and a quiz: Erasmus+ Programme (rules of the programme, Online Linguistic Support, application process, documents and procedures); Passing and recognition of the exchange/internship (Learning Agreement, realisation of the programme, recognition); Other important issues: POWER, students with disabilities on mobilities, cooperation between ESN sections and IROs; and
Brainstorming and future plans: inspirations for “Local Ambassadors of Erasmus+”, making plans for the future work, supporting each other. A few words from the evaluators A specialised training for Local Education Officers represents a very good model of collaboration between ESN and National Agency. It offers ESNers comprehensive training on Erasmus programme and covers different aspects of mobility (from the application, recognition, students with disabilities etc). The training benefits directly both ESN Poland and NA and indirectly Erasmus students, since it also serves as a platform to discuss the improvements of the programme. The training also benefits participating ESNers professionally, since it provides them the knowledge in the field of mobility and help to improve their soft skills.
ESNshowcaseSTAR
An award for the section with the best practice in the Network
What has been evaluated? ESNshowcase aims to highlight and promote the best original and easily-transferrable practices developed by our sections, in order to assist the development, knowledge and experience transfer among the sections in our network. The main aspects of the best practices we used for the evaluation were: the length of usage and the experience of the section with the practice; Improvements and benefits achieved thanks to implementing the practice, inovativeness of the practice, possible usage of the practice by other sections in the network, benefits of the practice for the network. The candidate practices for this award were the regional winners of the ESNshowcase project and the practices were evaluated by the team coordinators and the chairing team of the Network Committee of ESN AISBL.
1ST PLACE
Bedding Kits (ESN Louvain-la-Neuve) How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
Each semester, we offer to rent a Bedding Kit to the incoming exchange students. The kit consists of: 1 pillow, 1 pillow case, 1 duvet, 1 duvet cover and 1 mattress cover. They can rent the whole kit or separated items. We ask for 5₏/item + 5₏/ item of deposit that they receive back when they bring the item washed at the end of their stay in Belgium. The washing costs are otherwise covered by the deposit. The price of the kit is the same, it doesn’t matter if they stay one or two semesters.
An excellent practice with focus on easing the arrival of the exchange students. While the practice might cause a lot of work for the section, especially at the beginning, its benefits are undeniable.
2ND PLACE
Erasmus Account (ESN Porto) How do they describe their actions?
The Erasmus account is a fairly new practice, that we implemented last August. Nevertheless, we have realized by many ways that there was a disconnection between ESN Porto with its exchange students. Searching for an improvement in that sense, it allowed us to project the year, as a new set standard. The account is based on our Satellite ESN website. The practice makes the exchange students to be able to register for any type of activities (social, sports, cultural, etc.), trips organized by us or to check their card balance through our website. Yes, it is also possible to charge the ESNcard at our office, all you need is an account at esnporto.org.
A few words from the evaluators This practice is good and so are the results they got by implementing this practice. This practice adds a layer of professionalism to ESN sections’ daily tasks while making the interaction between the sections and students more fluent and flexible.
3rd PLACE
My Section (ESN CULS Prague) How do they describe their actions? It is an IT tool for pairing international and local students - facilitating the buddy program. It is also a management tool for ESN sections to ease the registration process for events and for communication with students. Additionally, it is a benefit for the IROs, thus it is enhancing the cooperation of ESN sections with universities.
A few words from the evaluators While the practice might not be entirely unique anymore, it is certainly one of the most sophisticated versions around. While simplifying the interaction between the section and their students, this practice also helps ESN to look more professional from the outside.
SeCoSTAR
An award for the sections with the best section cooperation in the Network
What has been evaluated? Section Cooperation team has taken into account the long-term sustainability of applying cooperations, based in strategical values and efficiency when it comes to accomplishment of ESN tasks.
1ST PLACE ESN Barcelona Experience ( ESN BARCELONA UB, ESN BARCELONA UPF, ESN UAB BARCELONA, ESN UPC BARCELONA) How do they describe their actions? It is indeed a long-term cooperation as we have been working together for a long time and we almost feel like a single section. Since our foundation, we have discovered that our Strength resides in Unity, especially against our lucrative concurrence in the city, and when tough times have come to our family. Even when it is not always easy to manage, we are an example of Collaboration, Respect, Dialogue and Negotiation between sections. Unity in Diversity is a reality and our Motto here in Barcelona. We organize different activities together during the whole year. The number of activities changes every year, since some of them are just eventual after an application and others are done weekly. Great events that expose our collaboration like the National Events, National Platforms, and training events for our members that we have prepared together make the Barcelona Experience Union a great diverse group capable of big projects made with great, effort, collaboration and diversity. Barcelona Experience (09-12/03/2017). This year we held the 2nd Spanish National Event in Barcelona. This 4-day event required the most important collaboration of the 4 sections. Not easy to manage, the members of the 4 sections got involved in this project, organizing and receiving the different sections from all around Spain. As a novelty in this kind of events in the first day (09/03/2017) several conferences to celebrate the Erasmus+ Programme 30th Anniversary took place. This event was a Whole Day Conference Event about the professional opportunities and balance we get from the 30th year of the Erasmus Programme. We
had different speakers from higher education institutions, Spain’s national agency, private companies, other associations and former erasmus with a history of professional success. The opening speech was given by The Hon. Raül Romeva, councilor of foreign and institutional affairs and transparency of the Catalan Government. The event was granted financial support by the ESAA.
A few words from the evaluators ESN Barcelona is the perfect example of a well established cooperation in the local level. All four sections work as one, even counting with local inter-section committees, and a strong use of the LR system to let the information flow properly. All international students perceive them as a single big section, as one of the stronger teams in the network right now. They have organised national events, applied for international ESAA grants, there is no challenge they don’t dare to face together.
2ND PLACE ESN ATEITH, ESN AUTH, ESN UOM Thessaloniki How do they describe their actions?
The cooperation of their three sections goes way back, to the day they were founded. ESN UOM was established back in 2009 and one year later ESN AUTH was founded, ever since the two sections worked together to support the exchange students and promote mobility. When in 2012 a team of students from Alexander Technological Institute expressed their interest in creating an ESN section, the two existing sections helped them with their first steps. From 2013 on, the three sections are inseparable. We organise all of our activities together. In Thessaloniki, there is no event that is hosted by only one section. Every single activity is co-hosted by all three sections. From trips and parties to SocialErasmus and Mov’in Europe events to International events, we do all together.
The real number of all the activities is hard to tell since there are too many. But roughly we can calculate one day trip per week, one cultural activity per week, one party per week, one SocialErasmus activity every 10 days, one 2days trip per month, one 3 days trip per semester, 1 or 2 Mov’in Europe events per semester, two welcome weeks per year and one National or International event per year. We have organised altogether 3 National Platforms, 2 International events and we are about to organise our third International event together. We equally share our income and expenses for every event. A few words from the evaluators ESN Thessaloniki is a great example of local cooperation, establishing inter-sections meetings and teams, planning and acting as a whole section.
3rd PLACE
ESN Graz (ESN Uni Graz, ESN TU Graz) How do they describe their actions? The cooperation between ESN TU Graz and ESN Uni Graz started in 2005 – ESN TU Graz is the eldest ESN section of ESN Austria (founded in 1992) and ESN Uni Graz is the second eldest (1993). In the early 2000s ESN Uni Graz was struggling, a lack of motivated active members brought it to the verge of extinction. To avoid the loss of one section in Graz the members of ESN TU Graz decided to help ESN Uni Graz to rebuild itself. Thus, this cooperation was born. Over the course of the years a lot of effort has been put into strengthening of this cooperation. Most active ESNers in Graz have only seen ESN Graz, so it’s the situation of the active, close cooperation. Most of the time, this is convenient and beneficial for both sections but sometimes also a bit challenging - When you are so used to the advantages of a cooperation, you start taking it for granted. Due to the cooperation we were able to build an internal software which covers all the needs of both sections, such as ESNcard registration (including contact details of the ESNcard holders), event sign up, pick up service, mentor programme as well as internal services like a team member list (sortable per section / active / inactive / alumni) or statistics about sold ESNcards and available blank ESNcards (all ESNcards are scanned and registered as blanks at the beginning of the semester) to have an overview if there are still enough ESNcards available in both offices. Within this system, also the money collected in the offices is documented in order to facilitate the work of both treasurers.
One unique feature of the cooperation is our joined board. Both sections elect their president, vice president and treasurer. Additionally the members of both sections vote on one event-manager position as well as IT and PR responsible. Together, those nine people form the board of ESN Graz. This board works on a consensus based decision system, which has the advantage of not having a “losing” side in a vote but also the drawback of additional discussions and compromises. fices no matter at which university they study in Graz. A few words from the evaluators One of the oldest cooperations of the network, they are seen as one. They make decisions together in a daily basis, offering the same services to their erasmus students as one, sharing corporate identity, organizing events together, etc. They also cooperate with more foreign sections, like ESN Maribor or ESN Trieste, and in the national level with ESN Leoben.
campaignSTAR
An Award for the best promotional campaign
What has been evaluated? In evaluating campaignSTAR applications we took into account the purpose of the campaign and what image of ESN does it show. We appreciated well-prepared campaigns with clear goals, target audience and appropriate channels. Finally, we looked at the outcomes of the campaign and how its performance has been measured. The category has been evaluated by ComCom Chairing Team and Social Media Team Coordinator.
1ST PLACE
Go for Erasmus+ (ESN ASE Bucharest)
How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
The main aim of our campaign “Go for Erasmus+” was to promote Erasmus+ mobility to Bucharest University of Economic Studies’ students. We wanted to capture our target group’s attention on given opportunities in order to gain an international experience, to encourage them to apply for an Erasmus+ mobility, not to be afraid of anything as, in this regard, volunteers of ESN ASE Bucharest were open to help with any problems they might be encountered. The campaign was a Mov’in Europe project, where we have tried to merge together promotion of Erasmus+ mobility and Erasmus Student Network, as a link between former and future incoming and outgoing students all over Europe.
The campaign encouraging students of Bucharest University of Economic Studies to go on an exchange beautifully implemented one of ESN’s goals - promotion of mobility. With good planning, wide reach and intensive promotion, the campaign has met its ambitious goal and increased significantly the number of outgoing exchange students.
2ND PLACE #WelcomeDaysESNspain (ESN SPAIN)
How do they describe their actions? This campaign started 2 years ago and it’s done twice a year, at the beginning of each semester. It started to encourage the use of the ESNcard among new students in our country, Spain. That’s why this campaign is done at both national and local level because we want to show to students that we are all one, we work as sections but our image is national. This is the reason why the National Communication Manager and the Treasurer work together with our partners and each campaign to improve the promotion of the ESNcard. Our aims are: - to let international students now what the ESNcard is; - to inform these students who our national partners are; and - to make them register their ESNcard. How does it work? The campaign is divided in 3 different parts: Work with partners: Firstly, the national treasurer contacts every national partner to invite them to participate in our Welcome Days campaign by providing different prizes that will be given to the winner students. Once we have the partners we can start with the second part of the campaign. Communication: The national communication manager and the communication committee work to create the campaign. A common image for the campaign has to be created and once this is done we can start creating the posts. We provide different
materials to sections for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This year we also decided to make a photo contest with the international students in order to make them feel linked with their ESNcard. This photo contest was done during the month of September in the Fan Page of ESNSpain. Dissemination: After everything is prepared it’s time to share all the material with sections and afterwards to share it with our target groups. In order to give a better image and a good coordination of the campaign there’s a posts calendar given to sections so everyone post the same thing at the same time. A few words from the evaluators The Nationwide campaign aiming at the promotion of usage and registration of ESNcard among Erasmus students in Spain is a brilliant example of joint efforts on the National level. The campaign used a variety of channels, photo contest #MyESNcardandI and was coordinated with the Welcome Days for incoming exchange students.
3rd PLACE
#PortugalFriends (ESN Portugal)
How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
Going on Erasmus means being part of a new society, discovering new habits, reeducating ourselves to open our minds, become more tolerant & enjoy life better. It means to rediscover a better version of ourselves. #PortugalFriends was designed to promote the ESN essence and to show that Erasmus is not only reduced to academic success. ESN contributes to this adventure by creating moments, where exchange students can experience the Portuguese culture, break stereotypes about our people and discover the ESN environment.
#PortugalFriends by ESN Portugal puts a big emphasis on the social aspect of social media. Creative and engaging content encourages people to tag their friends and always gets numerous reactions.
gadgetSTAR
An Award for the section(s) or country for the best gadget
What has been evaluated? In evaluating gadgetSTAR applications we took into account the innovativeness and usability of the gadget. We gave additional points for the intensive and creative promotion and wide distribution to many target groups. Finally, we looked at its VIM-compliance. The category has been evaluated by ComCom Chairing Team and Gadgets Team Coordinator.
1ST PLACE
ESN Utrecht How do they describe their gadgets?
A few words from the evaluators
The gadget we’d like to present, is our bike cover. In the Netherlands, there are more bikes than inhabitants, it is the ultimate bike country, and Utrecht is the busiest bike city of the country. Of course we had to do something with that and therefore we came up with the idea of creating an ESN bike cover. The first thing international students do in Utrecht is buying a bike as it is our number one transport vehicle, so it is very useful for them. As the weather isn’t always that great in the Netherlands, the bike cover helps to keep saddle dry and clean. But at the same time it is great promotion as it helps in the brand awareness of our section. And people don’t find it annoying as they really want and need a bike cover. We even use this gadget a lot in the way of spreading the bike covers over all the bikes in the city, the way you would do it with normal flyers.
The orange bike seat covers with ESN Utrecht’s logo combine innovativeness and creativity with the omnipresent mean of transport in the Netherlands - the bikes. Moreover, creative promotional activities such as pimp my bike events or bike workshops, as well as the large scale of this gadget - several thousand pieces! - has to be very appreciated.
2ND PLACE
ESN Portugal How do they describe their gadgets?
A few words from the evaluators
This is a pack of useful gadgets for those who are living the Erasmus adventure in Portugal. We have decided to link the concept of one of our national events at the beach and the Erasmus spirit (mobility). We have produced a towel, a sound amplifier, a travel pillow and a backpack. This pack can be used not only in our event, but also in the daily life of the Erasmus+ participants, especially if they decide to enjoy the Portuguese beaches.
ESN Portugal’s Erasmus Pack contains what’s needed during an Erasmus adventure in Portugal: a towel, a sound amplifier, a travel pillow and a backpack. The pack can be used during Portuguese National Events as well as in the daily life. Usefulness and originality as well as its promotion, which included a video, make it a great ESN gadget!
3rd PLACE
ESN UJ Cracow How do they describe their gadgets?
A few words from the evaluators
Welcome Pack consists of a backpack, a T-shirt, rubber bracelet, a pen and a lanyard. It is supposed to be welcome gift for all incoming students. We decided to produce backpacks instead of bags, because they are more unisex, so our male exchange students can wear them everyday too (and they actually do :)). The rubber band is the most desirable gadget, especially that it says “Once Erasmus, always Erasmus” on it - our students like to identify with this sentence. A pen and a lanyard are a standard gadget, but they are both useful and wanted by everyone who comes to our office.
Welcome Pack sounds too mainstream? How about Welcome Backpacks, which every student arriving at Jagiellonian University in Cracow gets! They contain, among others, T-shirts and rubber bracelets with a powerful motto “Once Erasmus, always Erasmus” motto which travels the world with numerous ESNers and exchange students.
logoSTAR
An Award for the section with the best logo
What has been evaluated? In evaluating logoSTAR applications we focused on visual aspects of the logo. We checked whether it follows all the rules of ESN Corporate Identity. We appreciated good recognizability and readability in monochromatic versions and small sizes, the story behind the logo as well as its internal creation. The category has been evaluated by ComCom Chairing Team and Graphics Team Coordinator.
1ST PLACE
ESN Barcelona UB How do they describe their logo? Our logo is composed by one main graphic and the name of our ESN section. The figure is a graphic representation of Floquet de Neu (Snowflake), who was a white gorilla who lived in the zoo of Barcelona during the 60’s. He became so popular worldwide, that ended up being also an icon for the city of Barcelona. He is the official pet of our section, and we wanted to have him on our logo, so he could be everywhere representing the spirit of ESN Barcelona UB. On the other side, we also wanted to refer to the own art movement of Barcelona, “el Modernisme” whose most known author is Antoni Gaudí. He created, among other masterpieces, the very symbolic pattern of the stone floor tiles of Barcelona. They are unique in the world, as the design was inspired by nature, especially by the undersea world, using different kind of sea animals like a starfish, seaweeds and fishes.
This way, we joined the profile of Flubet (the name of the pet), and the pattern of the stone floor tiles, creating a unique graphic that joins two of the most valuable thing for both the city of Barcelona, and for our section ESN Barcelona UB. A few words from the evaluators Barcelona’s logo combines a white gorilla who lived in the zoo of Barcelona during the 60’s with the symbolic pattern of the stone floor tiles created by Antoni Gaudí, legendary artist of “el Modernisme”. Although not obvious, those elements those elements are deeply rooted and unique for the city. Beautifully detailed, yet easily recognisable even in small sizes, ESN Barcelona UB logo is truly a brilliant design.
2ND PLACE
ESN SUA How do they describe their logo?
A few words from the evaluators
Logo shows the main building of our university (Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra), which is also a national cultural monument in Slovakia since 2014, iconic building of the 60’s and from this year is also on the postmark.
ESN SUA (Slovakia) has decided to use the iconic main building of their university, which also happens to be a national cultural monument. Despite this, the logo is amazingly modern and colourful, embodying the principle of unity in diversity. Creative and well though-through, the logo of ESN SUA proudly represents the section.
Circle shape of the logo is of particular importance, a number of colored triangles means the diversity of our university and a city and also many students from different cultures and different parts of the world. That keeps the continuity of the main goals and helps the hold sustainable growing - leading the new ideas to the future as important is that nowadays mainly in the agriculture.
3rd PLACE
ESN ASP Kraków How do they describe their logo?
A few words from the evaluators
The logo is designed to appear on the first sight as just some geometric shapes, but soon you can read ESN ASP. Using all of the space provided for the emblem, it’s ergonomic solution is visible in every environment. Fitting the content in the square is ergonomic in terms of making patterns, stamps, stickers, and other promo material. It’s great advantage is that it’s very easy to expand by making the whole alphabet out of it. It’s designed on unique geometrical grid, which helps keeping the harmony.
The logo of ESN ASP, the section at Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, proves not only its artistic qualities but also great utility. Using all of the space provided for the emblem, it’s ergonomic solution visible in every environment. Yet, it’s very harmonious, unique and even innovative, earning itself a place among sections with the best logos.
movieSTAR
An Award for the section or country with the best promo movie
What has been evaluated?
In evaluating movieSTAR applications we took the purpose of the video into a count, along with the image of ESN it shows. We appreciated good quality, e gaging plot, careful planning and production by a team of ESNers. The categ ry has been evaluated by the ComCom Chairing Team and the VideoTeam Coordinat
acengotor.
1ST PLACE
ESN ZADAR WATCH THE MOVIE! How do they describe the purpose of the video? Our ExchangeAbility event took place in Zadar and lasted almost a week. We proposed to our Erasmus students to organise Sign Language Workshop where they could learn the basics of the Sign Language and use it to take part in a music video. We picked out the song called “Young as the morning, old as the sea� by Passenger, which, in our opinion, celebrates all the beauty of the world and especially countries where our Erasmus students come from. All together 13 Erasmus students and 5 ESN volunteers were featured in the video and we all learned how to sign the basics of sign language and our parts of the song. We want to help the pink power of ExchangeAbility project shine brighter and raise the awareness about the fact that mobility is open to everyone. Also, we used this event as a team building time for our section and bonding time with our Erasmus. We believe that every experience makes you grow and we are proud of encouraging them to learn something they might never think of on their own and proving them that they can use their Erasmus time for their personal growth. What we wanted to achieve is raising awareness about inclusion, students with disabilities and power of sign language. We also wanted to promote mobility and ESN as an inclusive network. The activity was open to everyone and after we go feedback from a few deaf associations that our message was well received and appreciated. All participants left the activity with a basic knowledge of sign language and a huge motivation to learn more and be more aware about EA project, deaf community and sign language in general.
A few words from the evaluators The video promotes ExchangeAbility project and embodies ESN values in a beautiful, heartwarming way. It is Based on a Sign Language Workshop which allowed exchange students to learn the basics of sign language and raise awareness about inclusive mobility, which can be an example for the Network. Paired with a song which strongly manifests Erasmus spirit and is personally connected to the participants, ESN Zadar’s video is truly inspiring. However, the need for appropriate copyright has to be emphasised in this case for all aspiring video makers in ESN. We want to help the pink power of ExchangeAbility project shine brighter and raise the awareness about the fact that mobility is open to everyone. Also, we used this event as a team building time for our section and bonding time with our Erasmus. We believe that every experience makes you grow and we are proud of encouraging them to learn something they might never think of on their own and proving them that they can use their Erasmus time for their personal growth.
2ND PLACE
ESN Aveiro WATCH THE MOVIE! How do they describe the purpose of the video?
The main purpose of this video is to recruit new members to ESN Aveiro’s team, to show what are the values and mission of ESN, to share the moments that ESNers and international students live together and how it feels to be part of a team that believes in Erasmus as a lifestyle and works with the main purpose of integrating incoming students in Aveiro, as if they were in their home. This video is a trailer for a short movie that will show how an ESNer lives his/her daily life.
A few words from the evaluators ESN Aveiro encourages students to join their section using powerful emotions and sharing our mission. A high quality of production and abundance of beautiful scenes complete this video. It is very well targeted but offers English subtitles as a nice addition. It is a teaser, so the impatient wait for full version begins!
3rd PLACE
ESN ITALY WATCH THE MOVIE! How do they describe the purpose of the video? The purpose of the video is to promote ESN Italy and its activities. It was launched between the National week dedicated to the recruitment and the one dedicated to the Welcome Days, his main goal is to reveal not only to Erasmus but also to all students what are the characteristics, the motivations, the dictates of ESN Italy and how volunteers are operating for our projects and events.
A few words from the evaluators ESN Italy managed to combine many activities and projects of Italian sections in a single video with good flow. Full of great shots and strong messages, it manages to always stay responsible. Relevant not only to Erasmus but also to all students it shows our Network in a way understandable also for externals.
webSTAR
An Award for the section with the best webpage
What has been evaluated?
The webSTAR award was mainly evaluated based on the technical level of the website, main tainability, creativeness and quality of content, the ESN Visual Identity and Feeling and fi nally, related to our flagship project, accessibility of the website. In addition we have award ed points for regular updated content, information for students and extremely cool feature making ITcom jealous (with your cooperation we can include these in the next Satellite
nfides e!).
1ST PLACE
ESN ELTE https://elte.esn.hu How do they describe their actions? The Members page of our website look quite usual just like on any other ESN websites. However, its features have been extended. We’ve created a Member content type, which can include a name, a profile picture, some introduction of the member, and his/her position(s) matched with the mandate and an official email address. For each official position the members page will display the member on the appropriate level (board member, coordinator, chief mentor) the appropriate times. Furthermore, the content type can store the member’s personal e-mail address, skype name and phone number, which can only be seen with the right permissions on a member’s page, so members can quickly get in touch with each other (automatic skype call :)). It can also store information about Alumni, who are valued members of our organization. For them, we simply list their fulfilled tasks and mandates. The registration to our biggest events are also done by the website. We’ve made sure that the students stay up to date, so after registration they get an e-mail containing every data they have registered and about the next steps (where and how to pay). Students have to go to our office after the registration, where our members can check their registration status. After they pay, the member can set the status to paid and confirmed, about which the student gets another notification. Any update to the students’ data will result in another e-mail, because after payment it is important not to change data unless the student says so and the data is incorrect.
Some of our ESNcard partners also asked us for a way to check if an ESNcard is valid, so we provided them with a simple ESNcard checker webform. We’ve also tried to leave the office information in a visible spot on every page. On our contact forms, every single position holding member can be reached via the contact form by selecting the appropriate member. Another cool feature in the website is our Meeting calendar. Members with the right permissions can schedule a meeting. The website then automatically sends a meeting notification to our mailing list with the details of the meeting, so that noone will miss it. Additionally, if the meeting is updated (ie. change of date, or later on we add the minutes to the meeting) a similar notification will be sent. The minutes can only be seen if people are logged in, but in general the meetings are open to public. A few words from the evaluators Our number one is a real winner when it comes to accessibility! Taking into account our flagship project, ESN ELTE implemented various features ensuring accessible content. In addition, we felt the website is very clean and easy to navigate. All the content provided is very detailed and clearly written, providing great information for incoming students. The website clearly does what a section website should do, and it does it well!
2ND PLACE
ESN BUDDY SYSTEM HK http://www.buddyhk.cz How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
What’s so special about our webpage? Instagram feed with photos in the front page one photo added every day; Custom spotlight made from scratch; Mobile responsive version work everywhere by default mobile menu without links did not work; Multilingual content (All in English + ~40% Czech translations - only necessary articles for buddies, university workers, public...); Quality content - tutorials, tips, description of many things; Local partners page with view of all partners shown in map, opening hours, description of local partners in general; +-900 rows of code in CSS.
This website really stands out on the great visuals and high number of customisation. Not only does the site look great, it also includes many innovative features for students. The map of partners is a very nice addition for the visitors, aside from the great content provided on the website. Another example of a section website done right!
3rd PLACE
ESN Algarve www.esnalgarve.org How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
What’s so special about our webpage? All of our events are automatically imported from Facebook, reducing time spent on creating an event on 2 platforms. We have a website chat (lower left corner) so that anyone can always ask us a question at any time.Not only do we have links to our social media pages but also a Facebook like button directly on the website and also a small preview of our instagram.We use the Drupal block (mainly on the front page) to focus users attention on activities and information we want to highlight, such as the scores of the ESN football team (ESN Galaxy), recruitment, partners and promotional videos.
ESN Algarve managed to impress us with their very nice visuals and great quality content. The website looks clean, containing all information students might be looking for. Most ESN projects are represented on the website together with a clear description. The customised chat on the homepage is a nice addition and might come in handy for many visitors!
Under “Surviving @ Faro” we have a map that displays all our local partners and also all the important information about the city (Faro) like the location of the main emergency services, transportation, other medical services and university services. To help students find accommodation we created our own platform called “Home Sweet Home”, where landlords can submit their houses for free. These are some of the main features of our page but we believe that we can always do more. Currently we are working on translating all the information into portuguese, to accommodate for the large number of brazilian students that we get in Faro.
buddySTAR
An Award for the best event, organised by a local section, based on the cooperation between local buddies and exchange students
What has been evaluated? During evaluation ESNbuddy team took into the consideration: set criteria (How many ESN volunteers actively participated in the activity?, how many International Students actively participated in the activity?, how many Locals actively participated in the activity?, did section cooperate with any other ESN section?, graphic material and photographs from the event) description of the event or activity, and does the application refer to the local buddy system and most fundamental value in ESN which is “students helping students�. tremely cool features making ITcom jealous (with your cooperation we can include these in the next Satellite!).
1ST PLACE
Buddy Weekend (ESN UAM Poznan) How do they describe their actions? Since 2015 we have provided a special event dedicated to the Buddies and Erasmus Students - firstly it was only one day of socializing, playing games and enjoying the new friendships but now we developed the idea and we have a whole Buddy Weekend - the first day is the getting-toknow-each-other day and the other is a Eurodinner when the Buddies and exchange students prepare the dish together. For the first semester we always have around 300 incoming students so it gives us around 150 mentors. For the second semester the number is naturally smaller but the event keeps its shape and main goal - to integrate mentors with Erasmus and also with other mentors. When we decided to have a Buddy Day - Buddy Day (Saturday, 25.02.2017) we thought that bringing together exchange students and their Mentors as a part of Orientation Week will serve different purposes. Firstly, for exchange students it will be a great opportunity to meet new people that is very useful at the very beginning of their exchange. And they will meet not only other exchange students - also Mentors and ESN members. During the game evening we had four main games, that gave to students a possibility to learn the names of other people and to work in the groups. We also had a Speed Meeting, where people had a possibility to chat with each other for 2 minutes about different questions. Eurodinner (Sunday, 26.02.2017) Exchange students together with their Mentors cooked traditional meals from either Poland or the country where exchange student came from. It certainly helped to build a closer bond between them. Later, we all gathered during the dinner to share the food and to learn more about other countries. Eurodinner was the last activity of Orientation Week. We all celebrated new friendship by sharing our traditions with each other. This was the second semester, so we made all activities for both new students and the once that stayed from October (and their Mentors as well). We a lso were open not only for students from our university -
we are helping the universities that don’t have an ESN section. A few words from the evaluators ESN UAM Poznań submitted an event called Buddy Weekend for buddySTAR. It’s completely devoted to the Buddies and exchange students. They have plenty opportunities during this time to socialize, play games, and enjoy new friendships. Buddy Weekend is a great project, which activates Erasmus students, their Buddies and ESN UAM Poznań members. It represents very well a local buddy system and phases from ESNbuddy life cycle such as Matching, First Contact, and Engagement. Such event not only integrates Mentors with exchange students but also with other Mentors. Beside that, exchange students become more aware about what ESN does. And also the main goal for ESN members - to ensure that exchange students don’t feel all alone in a city where such a section exists. This event also promotes Erasmus+ as an exchange program and ESN within local students. Part of Buddy Weekend is a Buddy Challenge, during which Mentors has to complete certain tasks and prove it by sharing a picture with their exchnage student on a social media. This challenge motivates Mentors and gives them instructions what they have to do to become the best Mentor ever for their exchange student. Team appreciate initiative and sees a challenge as a something similar to training mentors. It’s important to say, that not many applications we received have been even in some way related to the buddy system. However everyone in ESNbuddy team agreed that this project is the best and completely fulfills all criteria, including the highest number of points for application.
2ND PLACE
Buddy Dinner (ESN Lisboa)
How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
The Buddy Dinner is one of the biggest events in ESN Lisboa, which gathers the local students and International buddies. The dinner happened during our welcome weeks, that is when most of the students arrive so they still haven’t met personally their buddies and this way we promote not only the meeting between buddies, but also the friendship and socializing between other local students, exchange students and ESNers. This way, at the beginning of the dinner we had some ice breakers so they could know each other better and during the dinner there were some games to promote the cooperation between buddies. We had the support of some local partners, so this way we could offer the contestants prizes that they could enjoy together such as surf classes, language courses or discount to our events.
ESN Lisboa submitted an event called The Buddy Dinner for buddySTAR. Event is devoted to Buddies, exchange students and ESN members. They have plenty opportunities during dinner to socialize, play games, and enjoy new friendships. The Buddy Dinner is a great project, which activates exchange students, their Buddies and ESN Lisboa members. It represents very well a local buddy system and phases from ESNbuddy life cycle such as Matching, First Contact, and Engagement. Such event not only integrates Mentors with exchange students but also with other Mentors. Section gained support from some local partners, resulting in many attractive prizes for Mentors and exchange students. This event fulfills most of set criteria.
3rd PLACE
Secret Santa (ESN LSMU)
How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
An event, where students buy a chocolate Santa to surprise their friends from our section and we are giving it to them dressed in festive costumes. Secret Santa sale, where we sell these Small paper messages for a Euro and people can write a personalised but at the same time anonymous message by them and then we attach them to a chocolate Santa and then deliver them to the people during the class in costumes and we do this with the help of our exchange students and Mentors. We do this event in collaboration with International Students Union from last year.
ESN LSMU submitted an event called Secret Santa. Project is very interesting and it is related to the buddy system and phases from ESNbuddy life cycle such as Engagement. Event is aimed at ESN members, exchange students and Mentors. This event fulfills most of set criteria.
ESNcardSTAR
An Award for the best promotion and usage of the ESNcard
What has been evaluated? Three main aspects were taken into account during the evaluation of the applications for the ESNcardSTAR: First, for the successful growth of the performance of a section, it is essential to integrate the ESNcard into local activities. This means adding value to the ESNcard by using in for various local events. Second, it is critical to promote the ESNcard in numerous ways such as presentations during the welcome day, consistent promotion on the social media channels, usage of the materials provided by the International ESNcard team and additional materials created by the sections, and any other innovative ways of promotion. Last, but not least, it is crucial to assign a person who deals with the tasks of the ESNcard coordinator: register the partners/discounts on ESNcard.org; update them on the section website; promote the ESNcard in diverse ways. The above criteria lead us to the following 3 sections
1ST PLACE
ESN Lisboa It is impressive how ESN Lisboa keeps the good performance from previous years. As they say, their close work with their partners helps them build healthy relations and add a supplementary value to the ESNcard. The section fulfills all the requirements to be the ESNcardSTAR.
2nd PLACE
ESN Porto ESN Porto has found its own way to promote the ESNcard by regularly creating contests for students to register on ESNcard.org. This turns out to be a very efficient practice and gives visibility to the platform ESNcard.org.
3rd PLACE
ESN Macerata For a small section, ESN Macerata does a great job in the promotion of the ESNcard and has done interesting partnerships in order to add value to the ESNcard. Furthermore, all partners/discounts of the section are registered on the ESNcard.org. In addition, the section does an active and consistent promotion of the ESNcard during its events.
inclusionSTAR
An award for the best activity supporting the inclusion of students with disabilities
What has been evaluated? With the renaming of the award to inclusionSTAR, this year the ExchangeAbility team awarded events that clearly stated its aim as being one of the four aims of EA and, as the name says, highlighting events aimed at promoting inclusion in general and particularly in Higher Education and within ESN. With this in mind, events that clearly promoted inclusion and/or actively involved students with disabilities had an advantage over all the others, especially if they were original and marked as accessible. Other than the aim and its participants, the way we communicate ExchangeAbility is also very important and therefore events whose promotional materials were in accordance to ESN and ExchangeAbility’s visual identity received a positive mark. All in all, it is important to make events fit clearly under one of the aims of EA, especially promoting mobility which is the core aim of the project. Combining this with a proper promotion before and after the event and with a great participation of students with and without disabilities automatically makes an event a front-runner!
1ST PLACE Inclusive mobility conferences and training ESN SPAIN
How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
Inclusive Mobility conferences are the meetings that ESN Spain organizes in 10 different cities throughout Spain with the cooperation of the ONCE Foundation. The ONCE Foundation is an organization that works for inclusion in all aspects of the lives of people with disabilities. In these conferences we always have a sign language interpreter.
This event by ESN Spain is actually a series of events organised by different sections in 10 different Spanish cities and the aim is clear: to promote mobility to students with disabilities, which already makes it a great event by itself, since this is the core aim of ExchangeAbility. It consisted of numerous conferences organised by the sections under the coordination of the National ExchangeAbility team and that had Universities, including International Relations Offices and Disability Offices, and ONCE Foundation (an organization that works for inclusion in all aspects of the lives of people with disabilities) as partners.
These conferences take place at the universities, with the support of the Office of International Relations, these meetings are introduced within the mobility programs, so that students find different ways of applying for the scholarship, on the other hand we also talk about the different financial support that people with disabilities have. During these talks, ESN volunteers also tell their own experiences so that the children enjoy adventures experienced by the ESNers, in addition from the local sections, with our local coordinator, there is a previous job of looking for people with disabilities that enjoyed or are enjoying the Erasmus so they can participate in the talks, to allow them to explain their previous process of how they have overcome those barrier,s both bureaucratic and personal, but above all teach the public how their life has changed during or after this experience. With these talks, our goal is to motivate all students who are eligible for the Erasmus scholarship, but above all people with disabilities. With this we also intend that students see how ESN is willing to help all international students who need it. In addition, the ONCE Foundation offers some training workshops for ESN volunteers, so that we can resolve our doubts and learn how to work with people with disabilities. This training, also tries to offer the possibility to give the tools to the sections to become more inclusive and adapt the ESN activities for everyone.
They had sign language interpreters in all conferences and had workshops for ESNers on how to approach students with disabilities and how to make their ESN events more inclusive and accessible. And if that wasn’t good enough, amazing promotional materials with the ExchangeAbility logo, different events registered by the sections on the ExchangeAbility website and they not only directly involved students with disabilities but also International Students and ESNers! Altogether it was a perfect ExchangeAbility event!
2ND PLACE Wheelchair Basketball Match ESN YTU, ESN Bahçeşehir
How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
Wheelchair Basketball is a form of basketball usually played by the physically impaired. Participants play on specially designed wheelchairs, built specifically for the sport. The wheelchair is considered a part of the player’s body in relation to establishing responsibility for contact on court in the case of charging, blocking, going out of bounds, and other violations. The athletes may not have the full use of their arms or legs but they are competitors all the same. They have a passion for their sport. The game is played by amateurs and professionals in many countries of the world but unfortunately it does not get the recognition it deserves. So to raise awareness of this sport Yildiz Technical University and Bahcesehir University Erasmus students played a wheelchair basketball match versus professional wheelchair team Istanbul Fatih Yıldızlar Sport Club which competes in Turkish 1. League.
This event results of a cooperation of two sections from ESN Turkey, ESN YTU and ESN Bahcesehir, and shows a great example on how we can organise an event that aims to raise awareness to the topic of disabilities while making it fun, interesting and above all, by actively involving people with disabilities. The sections wanted to raise awareness to this sport in particular, but also disabilities, by showing that athletes with disabilities are as capable of playing in a professional league as any other able-bodied athlete. For this accessible event they cooperated with a professional basketball team, promoted their event on social media and even appeared in the newspaper! Great job!
3rd PLACE
Inclusion is… ESN Minho
How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
During the ExchangeAbility Week 2016, ESN Minho organized an activity called “Inclusion is...”. Through this activity, we challenged all international students, ESNers, and people connected to mobility programs from all over the world to record a video of themselves saying a word in sign language that explained what the concept of “inclusion” was for them. The video would then be uploaded on the event page. At the same time, it was requested to tag someone(s) on the publication to do the same thing. ESN Minho found a website that could help the participants recording the video, a website that teaches sign language. As sign language is not universal, it was asked, if possible, to search the word(s) in Portuguese sign language.
ExchangeAbility events don’t always have to have a physical location. ESN Minho made a raising awareness campaign online and even made it accessible by adding closed captions and using sign language! The main aim of their event was to have international and local students as well as ESNers sharing their view on what is inclusion by explaining it in a video and signing it. They cooperated with the University’s Disability Office in order to have students with disabilities joining as well and they kept on receiving submissions by nominating other ESNers and students to join. The video was then compiled and shared with the world and our network via social media. It is a creative, accessible, fun and engaging way to raise awareness to the importance of inclusion! An example to follow when it comes to raising awareness campaigns!
Through this activity, ESN Minho raised awareness about the cause that ExchangeAbility project advocates, in other words, the existence of students with disabilities who may face inaccessible environments or disability-related stereotypes. The online format of the activity allowed to reach as many people as possible brought a lot of attention to the activity and made the participation practically accessible to everyone.
mobilitySTAR
An Award for the best activity supporting mobility
What has been evaluated? The activities were evaluated based on their target groups, the impact of the activities, the complexity of implementation, as well as integration with the project (using the materials, registering the activity on the Mov’in Europe website, etc.).
1ST PLACE
MEekend -
Mov’in Europe Weekend ESN Zagreb, ESN Split
How do they describe their actions? Young people in Croatia are constantly pointing out the lack of dissemination of information about mobility programs. Although Erasmus+ Studies are fairly popular, only limited number of students is familiar with the application process and all the possibilities that the program offers. Only a few faculties organize presentations on topics connected with Erasmus+ Studies and they are mostly only about specific programs which are offered on those faculties. Young people who are not students are in an even harder situation because the information on mobility programs which do not depend on the institutions of higher education are rather unfamiliar to our local population. Thus, there is a need for projects, educations and workshops which will help familiarize the local students with various possibilities of mobility programs. The main goal of the activity is to inform young local people and students about various possibilities of mobility. The activity consisted of the following: Mov’in Europe - General presentation on mobility programs which are offered to young people. The aim of the presentation was dissemination of information about application process and how to find further, more detailed information about the programs. ME in Europe?! - Open discussion with members of ESN Zagreb, ESN Split and participants on the topic of mobility programs: pros and cons of taking part in mobility programs, what are the personal experiences and general obstacles in the application process, what are possible solutions to the problems, time for Q&A. Live Library - Personal experiences from members of ESN Zagreb and ESN Split who went abroad and current
Erasmus students in Zagreb as well. Each participant had the chance to ask presenters where they went, what was the culture like, what was the application process like and similar. Syncro Synergy Workshop - Examples of Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges. The members of Syncro Synergy Croatia presented examples of exchanges and described the personal gain the participants of those projects can get by taking part. CV and ML workshop - Short workshop with tips and tricks how to write and create the perfect CV and motivation letter with materials prepared in advance so that the participants could try to write their own CV and motivation letter at the spot and ask questions about this part of the application process.
A few words from the evaluators This is an event we would love to be part of ourselve. Strongly focused on informing and motivating the local students and youth through interactive sessions including the current exchange students and EVS volunteers. Organised in SeCo with ESN Split under an ESAA grant. Chapeau!
2ND PLACE The Erasmus Generation 30th Anniversary of professional success ESN Barcelona UB, ESN Barcelona UPF, ESN UAB Barcelona, ESN UPC Barcelona How do they describe their actions? The event consisted of Professional Capacity Building activities facilitating contacts and meetings between young international talents and private sector or civil society. The event took place in Barcelona from the 9th of March to the 10th.It aimed to highlight the impact of Erasmus experience on employment and claiming the relevance to promote the Erasmus+ Programme as a key initiative to stimulate the young employment. While also promoting the 30th Anniversary of the Erasmus+ Programme by creating debates between Spanish National Agency and principal key actors like student organisations, private sector, public sector and civil society sector.In total, more than 1500 people participated in the event including ESN Members from several countries, representatives of ESN AISBL, universities, public institutions, private sector partners, stakeholders and, last but not least, exchange students of Spain and France.It consisted of two parts. First, on Thursday 9th round tables, workshops, networking activities, sessions showcasing development of the Erasmus Programme during its 30 years and employment opportunities take place. It was attended by 150 people, including ESN volunteers, international exchange students, student associations, Higher Education Institutions, professional workers, and representatives from public institutions and the civil society. The Hon. Councillor for Foreign and Institutional Affairs and Transparency of the Catalan Government, RaĂźl Romeva, honoured us with his presence and delivered the opening speech
The activities aimed at: - Raising awareness on the professional skills related
to the abilities which students acquire while studying abroad: assistants can learn how to identify, assess, strengthen and recognise their own professional skills. Showing the different opportunities in order to get an International Experience to the youth society due to Erasmus+ programme: European Volunteering Service (EVS), Erasmus+ studies, Erasmus+ internships, etc. Reflecting about the job opportunities and internships after an international exchange experience facilitating professional contacts to the participants.On Friday 10th in the context of the Erasmus in Schools project, visits to primary schools were organized. Some simultaneous presentations with different classrooms were held with the help of International students from around Spain that come to Barcelona for ESN Spain’s National Event. Relevant topics were explained to the youngest people, as well as the intercultural and interpersonal skills were developed thanks to the activity. Around 100 erasmus participated in the activity and shared their travelling experiences not only by these presentations. Also several activities were organized and the erasmus share their international experiences and culture by games. A few words from the evaluators Massive activity organised as part of the Spanish national event, focusing on the impact of mobility on the employability of youth. Together with external stakeholders, students organisations, and much more, the ESN Barcelona Experience managed to involve 1,500 people at its peak. We love the sheer size of it!
3rd PLACE
Mobility Week ESN Slovakia How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
For the first time ever, ESN Slovakia organised a Mobility Week in October 2016. Since it was a project from the national level, all 12 sections were involved. The campaign consisted of 3 levels. The first one we called the Virtual campaign. We cooperated with an online platform called Startitup with around 70 000 followers, where our article promoting mobilities were published. Besides we ran an FB competition for the best picture of your best trip, where the winning picture got shared 41 times and received 374 likes in total. We also had a promotional banner on the web page of magazine called Týždeň, that currently belongs to one of the biggest and most important magazines in the country.
Week-long promotion of mobility integrating efforts of all 12 Slovak sections, mixing in activities under scopes of different ESN projects, all united for promoting mobility which was very well received by the Slovak press and media. The cooperation is strong with this one.
The second level of our campaign meant cooperation with other ESN projects. That´s why we organised Erasmus in schools or Flag party in Responsible Party style. The third one were Mov’in Europe events like Pub quiz, Language tandem, Nation to Nation and infomarket at a university. Our target group were local students and young people and our goal was to point out the advantages of mobilities and to give the young people the courage to apply. Therefore, we aimed to put the exchange students and the local ones together in most of our activities organised during the Mobility Week. Besides, we wished to have the biggest impact among students as possible, that’s why we asked the online platform with a lot of followers and especially university students for cooperation. The article that got published there was written in an attractive and informal way to catch their attention and motivate them to apply for mobility. We evaluated our first national Mov’in Europe event as highly successful.
ResponsiblePartySTAR
An Award for the best Responsible Party activity
What has been evaluated? The Responsible Party team took into account the application of good practices on implementation of the project, putting special emphasis on the innovation and originality when it comes to settings to implement the project and raise awareness in the most attractive ways.
1ST PLACE Farewell Night Cruise ESN CU Bratislava
How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
As the name suggests, we are talking about a Responsible Party on a boat! It was our goodbye party at the end of the semester and we decided to do so on the river Danube, sailing from the port in the city center to the castle Devin and back, followed by an afterparty; once again on a boat but a not moving one. PartySquad was armed with everything from RP bags, T-shirts, condoms to eyewear and testers and they were ready to give the goodies away after playing some fun games promoting responsible drinking with partygoers (i.e. who can first finish a glass of water). There was an RP photowall ready with some custom made props (speech bubbles with #EnjoyResponsibly etc.). We were also lucky to get a sponsor - Jana Water Slovakia, who provided us with hundreds of bottles of mineral water that the squad was giving out or just free to grab for everyone. We even had some snacks prepared! DJ, a live band, lanterns burning, sparkles, Erasmus awards were given out and even a bachelorette party was on board! The boat was full with 200 people on plus more people coming to the afterparty. Unforgettable night!
ESN Comenius University in Bratislava made an exceptional implementation of the RP project in a boat party. They used many gadgets, and also had DJ, a live band, lanterns burning, sparkles, Erasmus awards were given out and even a bachelorette party was on board! They cooperated with more foreign ESN sections, and made sure all participants had access to water by making a partnership with a water company. Lots of fun and safety were ensured for all international and local students attending!
2ND PLACE Bust the hangover @ YO!Fest ESN Maastricht
How do they describe their actions?
The activity was carried out as part of a bigger youth festival in Maastricht, called the YO!Fest. Around 2600 people attended this, and we organised a simulation game with the theme ‘Bust the hangover’. Participants arrived at our area and were informed by our volunteers about the how and why of the game. Then we explained the route, which they would ‘sober’ and ‘drunk’ (i.e. wearing drunk goggles). They got a key for a bike, walked down in a straight line, then go around 5 hoolahoops, unlocked the bike, cycled 10m and then reached the finish line. Both times, sober and drunk, were recorded and written down on the wall. Afterwards, they got some gadgets (e.g. condoms, information cards or buttons) and we made a picture in front of the RP banner with the hashtag boards. We had several #s: BustTheHangover, ResponsibleIsSexy, StayClassy, I <3 Maastricht, I <3 the Netherlands and ResponsibleParty. We also used the WiseDrinking app, which we could use to give information to people. Even though our RP wasn’t technically a party we think this actually conveyed the message really well. People were open to have a conversation about their drinking behaviour, as they had not already planned in their mind to go completely crazy at a party. Therefore, we could spread the message to almost any of them, without having
to deal with the stereotypes of the ‘sceptical’, ‘’drunk” or “aggressive” as were explained during the training. A few words from the evaluators The activity was carried out as part of a bigger youth festival in Maastricht, called the YO!Fest, as an unusual and external setting to implement this ESN project. ISN Maastricht prepared a stand with bicycles (a really dutch thing) to drive around with drunk goggles, to raise awareness about risks of driving under effects of alcohol. People were open to have a conversation about their drinking behaviour, as it might not be possible when implementing the project in a regular party. They reached a lot of people, not necessarily linked to ESN and exchange students, but lots of locals and youth from all over Europe in different contexts.
3rd PLACE
SPA Party ESN TALINN How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
We organised SPA party in Viimsi SPA, so students get more familiar with Estonian sauna culture and can meet people in a bit different environment. SPA has 9 different saunas, several pools. We had a DJ who played the music, so the atmosphere would be more relaxed. Students could enjoy different snacks.
ESN Talinn organised a party in a unconventional setting, as facilities for spa and sauna. Lots of Party Squad volunteers were around the place approaching participants, and giving prizes and gadgets for participating in the activities they prepare to raise awareness about consumption, in a really relax atmosphere.
Students could take water for free from the bar and we also had a special non-alcoholic cocktail with the discount. As for activities, students could play water gun aiming game where they had to move the plastic cap from one corner of the rope to another using water guns. We also had a competition of water-pong, where students could try throwing ping-pong balls into the floating water cups. For other activities we had sauna rituals every half an hour - smoked sauna ritual, aromatic-salt sauna ritual and ritual in outside sauna. Party lasted for 3 hours. We had Partysquad going around with questionnaire and talking to students about responsible drinking. All together 10 members were in the partysquad. All the participants who participated in the quiz and answered 85% of the questions right, got Responsible Party sunglasses as a prize and also a free massage, as we had an actual masseur doing massage. This way students were more interested in participating Responsible Party questionnaire. All the people from partysquad wore Responsible Party T-shirts, so they would be recognisable to students. We had different Responsible Party posters around SPA on the walls and also RP balloons around the venue. After the party was over on the way out we gave pins, alcohol level measurer and condoms for students as the party gift. We also had a photowall.
SocialErasmusSTAR
An Award for the best SocialErasmus activity
What has been evaluated? The evaluation process includes different areas as listed below: Involved LSECs from ESN section such as being registered on Galaxy with role, and taking part of up-to-date LSEC database; - Social problem, what Erasmus+ participants did and who was impacted with their action should be clearly explained; - The event needs to be registered on SocialErasmus website; - They took photos, branded them with the SocialErasmus logo and promoted them; - Media covarage of the event and promotion of the events are important; - Using the SocialErasmus visual identity (SocialErasmus logo and ESN section/country/ international logo) and respecting the ESN Corporate Identity; - Visual Identity Manual on graphic materials
1ST PLACE
Erasmus Forest (ESN POLAND)
How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
The idea of the Erasmus Forest was born in 2008 with the celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of the Erasmus Program in Poland. The creation of the Erasmus Forest is a symbol of entering into the new decade of the program in Poland and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a symbol of contribution of Erasmus students into Polish society and entry of the program in a new dimension. All above what is the SocialErasmus.
Erasmus Forest project from ESN Poland with cooperation of ESN sections (ESN Poznan United, ESN Krakow United, ESN Lodz United, ESN UW, ESN SGH, ESN ALK, ESN CC, ESN SWPS, ESN PWr) from 5 different cities took the first place of SocialErasmusSTAR with receiving 90 out of 100 points.
Last year our project took place in 5 biggest cities in Poland: Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw, Krakow and Lodz and it was continued this spring as well. Event is an effect of contribution with National Forests, which promotes ecological attitudes among children and adolescents. Erasmus Forest takes the whole day. ESN Sections, all together with exchange Students meet in the Forest with the representatives of the National Forests. First stage is planting the trees - what is the main purpose of the event, in each particular city we plant around 500 to 2000 of them. Second part is short lesson concerning current problems of deforestation and environment, prepared by the Foresters. After all we enjoy the time beside the campfire, play some games and relax after long day with the positive effort. Erasmus Forest has also a symbolic meaning, gives the Students possibility to leave their real mark during their Erasmus adventure in Poland.
ESN sections from different cities got together to plant trees, discussed current problems of deforestation and environment prepared by the Foresters and relaxed after long day with the positive effort which they also celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Erasmus Forest project. The planted trees also have a symbolic meaning, gives the students possibility to leave their real mark during their Erasmus adventure in Poland. - Local SocialErasmus Coordinators from ESN sections (with roles on Galaxy) were involved; It was organised outside of SocialErasmus Week; - The event needs to be registered on SocialErasmus website; - They took photos and promoted them them with the SocialErasmus branding; It involved dedicated cooperation between sections from different cities; - The organisers made graphic materials to promote the event, which respected the SocialErasmus visual identity and the corporate identity of ESN AISBL
2ND PLACE
Erasmus in Action (ESN ATEITH, ESN AUTH, ESN UOM Thessaloniki) How do they describe their actions? “Erasmus In Action” is a long term project launched in March of 2016 and is still in progress. The main aim of this action was to motivate and coordinate the Erasmus students who want to take active role on helping the Refugees In Greece. Since the beginning of the Project the many initiatives have been taken and can be categorized in the following stages: Preparation stage - “How to be a volunteer” - This was a meeting where we invited all the exchange students of Thessaloniki who were interested in supporting the refugees to inform them about the social, political and legal situation of the refugee crisis in Greece. Main action - The result of the above meeting was to create a Facebook Group with all the interested Erasmus students as well as with Coordinators from partner international organizations. The aim of this Group was to work as a communication tool in order to Coordinate our actions. Awareness stage - When the neighboring borders closed and the eastern European countries stopped accepting refugees we realized that raising awareness to the local community was equally important with providing direct support in the Camps. For that reason we organized the following actions “ESN goes to Antiracism Festival” - This festival was organized by Thess-Diktio, a network with 55 different volunteer organizations in Thessaloniki, which the ESN sections of Thessaloniki are part of. “FASI-Festival for Awareness Solidarity and Inclusion” was a festival organized mainly by the ESN sections of Thessaloniki together with AEGEE Thessaloniki, AIESEC Auth, IAESTE Auth, and several other local student organizations. The above effort of involving the exchange students with the refugees was a great success. The impact in the local society was and is still be very big - ESN gained a networking with respective NGOs and important stakeholders which had a result to acquire a lot of visibility in the city; the refugees were directly benefited; and the exchange students had a huge emotional experience and cultural understanding. For these reasons we continued the project also during the winter
semester of 2016 and spring semester 2017 in order to continue the effort of supporting the refugees. A few words from the evaluators Erasmus in Action project from ESN Greece with cooperation of ESN sections (ESN AUTH, ESN UoM Thessaloniki, ESN ATEITH) from Thessaloniki took the second place of SocialErasmusSTAR. ESN sections from Thessaloniki organized “Erasmus In Action” project which is a long term project launched in March of 2016 and it is still in progress. The main aim of this action is to motivate and coordinate the Erasmus students who wants to take active role on helping the Refugees in Greece. They organized “ESN goes to Antiracism” and “FASI-Festival for Awareness Solidarity and Inclusion” with participation of other volunteer organizations. - Local SocialErasmus Coordinators from both ESN Sweden and ESN Turkey (with roles on Galaxy) were involved; - It was organised outside of SocialErasmus Week; - The event needs to be registered on SocialErasmus website; - It involved successful cooperation between ESN sections as well as respective NGOs; - The organisers made graphic materials to promote the event, which respected the SocialErasmus visual identity and the corporate identity of ESN AISBL.
3rd PLACE SocialErasmus Crossing Borders (ESN Kalmar, ESN Izmir United) How do they describe their actions? SocialErasmus Crossing Borders is a project funded by the Erasmus+ Students and Alumni Association (ESAA) that was born from an international cooperation between two ESN countries, Sweden and Turkey. ESN Kalmar and ESN Izmir United developed this project with the aim of raising awareness to the refugee crisis and offering a small contribute to the Aid of refugees that are living in slums in the suburbs of Izmir. We decided to develop a set of activities that not only would help raising awareness and fundraise money to buy goods for refugees but that would inspire other volunteers, countries, nations and individuals to contribute to the aid and the integration of migrants in their communities. With the help of a grant earned from the open call “Go Social with ESAA” we organized three activities throughout our project, that would help us reach our goal. Our project began with a photo campaign named Where Are You Now, that promoted our fundraising webpage, giving emphasis to the high number of students on mobility who are regularly reinterpreting the act of “crossing borders”. More than 70 students, with different nationalities and origins, who were doing their exchange studies in Sweden and Turkey, successfully joined this activity. The second activity of the project - “European Council Simulation”, reunited local and exchange students from Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden, on May 26, in a place where they could discuss and find solutions to the refugee and migrant crisis by simulating the representation of different countries in the European Council.This activity not only helped our students raise awareness for this particular subject but also contributed to an intercultural exchange.
After fundraising almost 700 Euros, ESN Izmir United organised the last activity and final stage in our project - the distribution day. With the help of a local refugee aid organisation, Aegean Refugee Aid, ESN Izmir United and some local have visited Kadifekale and donated boxes of food and other goods to at least 31 families of Syrian refugees, who were at the moment living in slums. A few words from the evaluators SocialErasmus Crossing Borders is a project funded by the Erasmus+ Students and Alumni Association (ESAA) that was born from an international cooperation between two ESN countries, Sweden and Turkey. The project started with “Where are you now?” photo campaign and fundraising event. Second part was the European Council Simulation where students from Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden could discuss and find solutions to the refugee and migrant crisis by simulating the representation of different countries in the European Council. In the end, boxes of food and other goods are donated to at least 31 families of Syrian refugees, who were at the moment living in slums. Local SocialErasmus Coordinators from both ESN Sweden and ESN Turkey (with roles on Galaxy) were involved; It was organised outside of SocialErasmus Week; It is registered on both the SocialErasmus events system and SocialErasmus website system; It involved dedicated cooperation between sections of two countries, and a European NGO; It involved participants in three forms of SocialErasmus activity (collecting goods/fundraising, raising awareness and taking action) and truly showed SocialErasmus spirit; The organisers made graphic materials to promote the event, which respected the SocialErasmus visual identity and the corporate identity of ESN AISBL.
trainingSTAR
An Award for the best national/regional/local training event
What has been evaluated? The following aspects were taken into consideration, for the evaluation process: Existence of a training coordinator for the event; If the event was a standalone activity or part of another one; The agenda of the event (content, flow, originality, difficulty of execution and social programme); Preparation of the event; Follow-up of the event; Participation of Eduk8 community members in the event; Cooperation with other ESN sections/countries and external stakeholders for the organisation of the event; Media & communication coverage of the event.
1ST PLACE
UPGRADE (ESN POLAND) How do they describe their actions? UPGRADE is a national training event for members of ESN Poland. It was firstly implemented in Autumn 2012 as an improved version of the national training event for ESN newbies. The first few editions were organised on the initiative of the former Chair of our HR Committee and the Eduk8 Trainer - Marta Bagińska. It is organised twice a year for more than 120 participants from 42 polish ESN sections and it is dedicated not only to newbies but also to more experienced members - to those people who are ready to develop themselves even further! We insist on the difference between participants and we try to adapt our trainings to them. Each training event consists of at least 4 training tracks on various topics and the level of advancement. Tracks are chosen based on the training needs from an analysis conducted each year by the HR Committee for section members of ESN Poland. The last editions of UPGRADE included: public relations (PR Academy), fundraising, leadership, project management, training for trainers and during every edition there is one track with the basics of various areas for ESN newbies (introduction to ESN, structure of ESN Poland and ESN International, basics of HR, PR, FR, time management, organizing events, development possibilities in ESN). Workshops are mostly conducted by Eduk8ers, experienced ESN members, partners and trainers from other student organizations. Each event is designed to last from Thursday afternoon (arrivals and ice-breaking games) till Sunday with 8-10 rounds of workshops. It depends on the duration of the workshops. On Fridays we always start with the official opening ceremony during which participants receive the information about the organization part of the event like rules, room numbers, places of dinners and so on. The event finishes on Sunday - this is the time for evaluation of the event and certificates for all the trainers and all the participants. What about the participants? One month before the event we open the call for the participants and within 1-2 weeks we choose the best ones recommended by the local presidents of their sections. What is more, each edition of the event is accompanied by some social programme organized by the OC. It is
focused more on teambuilding, having fun and getting to know each other than on the typical parties. There is always one costume party which makes the partici-
pants extremely involved in creating this social programme. During last editions, all the participants had an opportunity to take part in some city tours, city games, icebreaking games, karaoke, bowling, theme parties. The main aim of our training event is to provide self-development opportunities for all the members of ESN Poland. It is an event that inspires to discover a new side of you! We can easily say that each edition of ESN UPGRADE proved to be an amazing motivation boost for its participants, producing leaders of our organization (national coordinators, NB members, international committees’ and project teams’ members). In evaluation forms we can read that participants were given a lot of energy to work and change the world, and that the event made them more self confident and opened their eyes to see different approaches. Thanks to ESN UPGRADE, they discovered competencies inside them that they have never thought they could have. A few words from the evaluators The ESN Upgrade is a well-established training event in ESN Poland, running twice a year since it’s implementation in 2012. Therefore, all aspects of the event (concept, agenda preparation, recruitment of trainers and participants, etc.) have been improved every year and shown to be taken into careful consideration to create the best learning experience possible for its’ participants. Allied to these factors, the number of participants, diversity of tracks (both topic and experience-wise) and bi-annual frequency of the event (which increase its difficulty of execution), have earned it the 1st place of the trainingSTAR.
2ND PLACE Training for trainers AcadéMI (ESN FRANCE) How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
AcadéMI was born due to the lack of trainers on the theme of international mobility in our associative networks. From this point, the three partners which are ESN France and ESN Germany wished to gather around the following objectives: Getting around turnover within our organisation by improving transmission of skills; Training young volunteers to facilitating a training course about international mobility projects (incoming and outgoing mobility); Starting an informal network of young trainers acting towards young actors of international mobility projects with adapting training courses; and Linking skills acquirement in non-profit organisation and employability for youth.
The AcadéMI was a thematic training for trainers event developed by ESN France, with the innovative concept (within ESN countries) of giving its members basic facilitation skills on the topic of international mobility programmes. Although it was a new event, the event was thoroughly prepared and counted on 2 experienced facilitators to design and deliver an agenda adapted to the participants desired learning outcomes desired. Some other important aspects that earned the AcadéMI the 2nd place of this years trainingSTAR were: the inclusion of participants coming from other youth NGOs, the impact of the event on the local level (with participants delivering workshops at NPs and RPs) and the cooperation with external stakeholders as the Region of Ile de France and the Ministry of Youth.
To reach this goal, the training event was organised from the 10th to the 13th of november, and gathered 30 participants including 25 participants from ESN, and other 5 participant from other international association in Paris sharing the same objectives that ESN Sections, interested to discover the network. It took place in Tournan-En-Brie, in Ile-de-France. The participants were trained to be able to facilitate workshops in ESN events local or national event from any country of ESN. The training activity was devised around the principles of non-formal education and following a logic of active teaching. During these six days, a consortium organised workshops on the posture of the trainer, the construction of training tracks, the study of existing trainings on international mobility projects. Two trainers from eduk8 came for three days to run this training. In addition to the exchanges and workshops on the theme of mobility, moments of role-playing were organised, during which the participants had to devise their own workshop and present it to the others.
2nd PLACE Turn your volunteering hobby into your future profession! (ESN SPAIN) How do they describe their actions? The event consisted in one training weekend in October for 52 people (limited by the housing availability), including volunteers, exchange students, professional workers, representatives from public institutions and the civil society. The trainings combined workshops and sessions showcasing employment opportunities. Workshops aimed at raising awareness on the professional skills related to the abilities which students acquire while volunteering: volunteers learned to identify, assess, strengthen and recognise their own professional skills. Showcasing sessions aimed at explaining the portfolio of professionals in the companies and organisations which the Erasmus Student Network works in collaboration with. ESN Spain has a strong relationship with all private and public organisations and desired to reinforce the existing collaboration thanks to this project. Members of the Organising Committee have been working or are studying in the proposed Higher Education Institutions and they have participated in many previous conferences of ESN Spain. The relationship between ESN Spain and the Erasmus+ National Agency started more than 5 years ago and we have participated in several European wide projects together, mainly in the field of research and the 25th anniversary celebrations. Recruiting Erasmus is one of the main commercial partners of ESN Spain and the collaboration deals with a great range of actions aiming at offering better job opportunities to students. The collaboration of ESN Spain with the Youth National Agency and Lycamobile started recently and this will be one of the first activities held together in the framework of a 2 year collaboration. Therefore, the existing relationship between ESN Spain and its partners will help to ensure the high quality of the event. The opening ceremony was held in the Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, 76 km away from Valencia city. The rest of the activity was held in the Youth Camp “Argentina” in Benicassim,
close to Castellón. The facilities were especially designed for training events. All in all, the event facilitated a smooth transfer from the volunteering world to the labour market, helping students realise their skills gained during volunteer and access a range of companies, raising awareness on society of the professional value of volunteering and making companies job opportunities visible. A few words from the evaluators Turn your volunteering hobby into your future profession! was a training event developed by ESN Spain, with the innovative concept (within ESN countries) of raising awareness of the professional skills that students acquire while volunteering. The agenda presented diversified methodologies (panel discussions, workshops, Q&A with partners, etc.) and a plurality of actors (representatives of public and private organisations, corporate partners, students, and volunteers), which presented participants with engaging opportunities to reflect on their skills and acquire new knowledge. Additionally, the adequateness of the social programme and event facilities, the heavy media coverage of the event and the diversity and amount of partners involved also contributed to this event being awarded the 2nd place of this year’s trainingSTAR.
3rd PLACE
Training National Platform of ESN Greece ‘’The ESN Evolution’’ (esn greece) How do they describe their actions? The concept of the Training National Platform in Greece started in 2015 when we introduced the 1st ever training event, aiming to: train our new members (gain soft skills as well as knowledge on ESN); and better prepare the official delegates of our sections at Annual General Meeting. This means that the target group is quite diversified because we are always trying to cover : newbies (experience less than 3 months); and experience members, participating in the Annual General Meeting. We would like to highlight that every single section has 3 spots for the event, 2 for newbies and 1 for the official delegate at AGM. During the second year, the target group was the same but we introduced the role of the National Training Coordinator. According to our standing orders, the NCT is the responsible for: The content, the agenda and the registrations of the National Training Event alongside with the NB responsible; Choosing the trainers (WS & SS Holders) of the event, alongside with the NB responsible; Evaluation of the content of the event & the trainers and publishes the results to the sections of ESN Greece; Keeping an eye if the workshops & small sessions run smoothly in cooperation with the OC; Following the deadlines, alongside with the NB responsible; Communication with the OC. Moreover, during our 2nd Training NP and for the 1st time in our history, we introduced thematic tracks in order to cover different areas of soft skills. The NCT was the one who chose these tracks and the idea behind this was to make our Training NP, an Eduk8 style national training event. Concerning the social programme, we tried to implement more calm, Eduk8 style activities in order to give the chance to the section members to get to know each other. Last but not least, we strongly believe that the concept of our training was unique because we brought Eduk8 elements in our country, trying to adjust them in the needs of our sections. Let’s not forget that we implemented different tracks
and we invited eduk8 trainers, aiming to make our Training NP quite original and different than the rest of the training events. A few words from the evaluators The Training NP of ESN Greece is an event aimed at the training of 2 different audiences: new members of ESN Greece on soft skills as well as knowledge on ESN; and official delegates of the greek sections at Annual General Meeting on the necessary background knowledge for them to take informed decisions at the event. This combination of audiences requires a proper structure to be put in place in order to fulfill both audiences’ objectives and maximise their learning. The usage of a National Training Coordinator with a background in non-formal education who develops the whole process (concept, agenda preparation, recruitment of trainers and participants, etc.) is one of the main factors of success of the event. Additionally, the high number of partners involved, the inclusion of other NGO representatives as trainers and thorough follow-up of the event (which was already applied on the following edition) are the main factors for ESN Greece to be awarded the 3rd place of the trainingSTAR award.
Alumni Award
An Award for the best actions/ideas to transfer best practices & knowledge from Alumni to active ESNers/sections
What has been evaluated? The Alumni board evaluated the applications based on originality of idea, how beneficial the idea is and how well the idea could be duplicated elsewhere. All evaluators ranked the applications in order of preference.
1ST PLACE ESN Spain History Book How do they describe their actions? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Knowing our history will help new generations maintaining ESN values and focus on our future vision.â&#x20AC;? The History Book project has always been an online collaborative work, where active members have relied on knowledge and memories of alumni. Besides, alumni have felt they still have something to share. Also, active members and alumni have kept contact and discovered together old stories and incredible facts about the network loved by both of them. Active members and NB have been in charge of alumni motivation through emails, showing interest about the project with questions in National Platforms and giving alumni confidence about the relevance of the project. A few words from the evaluators The ESN Spain idea is good and the only one with an original idea that produces an artefact.
2ND PLACE Advisory committee of ESN VUB EhB Brussels How do they describe their actions?
A few words from the evaluators
“We have created an advisory committee for our experienced ESNers to stay part of the local section, this is an opportunity for them.”
The ESN VUB EhB Brussels idea good and is something that more or less every section could replicate.
As of late, Slack is our main communication medium. We have set up an ‘advisory committee’ channel in which advisory members can be asked to give advice and feedback on several topics. In the past, we used Facebook Messenger to the same extent. Advisory members keep their access to the section’s Google Drive, which allows them to stay updated with the work of the section. Advisory members are invited to Team meetings and General meetings of the section, during which they can partake in discussions and share their opinions and experiences. Advisory members are invited to our (semestral) team buildings, during which they can be asked to give workshops about topics they have experience with.
3rd PLACE Re-activation of Alumni structure of ESN Poland How do they describe their actions? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Various actions focused on re-engaging alumni in ESN, integrating and building knowledge transfer friendly environment.â&#x20AC;? Tools and actions used for re-engaging alumni: Newsletter - the newsletter presents summary of the most important topics and events for ESN Poland. It is distributed to alumni once a month; Membership - the new declaration of alumni membership status has been implemented. Facebook group - new facebook group for alumni has been created. It is now gathering 170 former ESN members; National meeting invitations - alumni are warmly welcome to contribute to national platforms. Each time there are several spots reserved for alumni representatives. Tools and actions used for integrating alumni and active members: Alumni online campaigns - the alumni community was promoted among active members through two online campaigns (described further in details); Alumni on wiki - the Alumni page on wiki.esn. pl has been reconstructed, so it is easily accessible and more user-friendly. It includes FAQ on alumni structure, as well as the archive or all the alumni initiatives and bios of members of the alumni community; Alumni meetings - another alumni meeting has been organised during winter National Platform in December. The very next one is planned for a National platform in May;
Discussion panel - discussion panel with alumni representatives was organized during National Platform. It was a chance to discuss mutual expectations but also for active members to hear about #myESNcareer from living examples. Tools and actions used for knowledge transfer: Small session - small session on knowledge transfer was conducted on CLR in October. It resulted in guidelines for how the good knowledge transfer process should look like, what to do when you want to pass or get knowledge and how can we contribute to creating KT-friendly organization; Trainers database - the database of the alumni training offers was created. It includes not only the topics they can conduct a training about, but also their time and localization restrictions ; National coordinators archive - the archive of all the national project coordinators includes also their contact info. The database was shared with current national coordinators and NB; National training event - alumni are included in the agenda of national training event to share the knowledge from their field of expertise. A few words from the evaluators The idea of ESN Poland is good, but very country-specific.