eXpress15

the magazine of the erasmus student network

express #15 winter 2012/2013

interview:

katharina ma

m ascots in esn

the key to success?

Innovation!

section partnerships: brno / utrecht / prague / dresden / krakow / skopje

The Key to Success Innovation

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nnovation is the kind of buzz word that never really goes out of fashion. Innovation means doing things in a different and better way - and who doesn’t want to do just that? One of the main obstacles to innovation are long guarded traditions, beliefs and rules. Sometimes these rules are stemming from the basic values of an organisation and should be preserved carefully. Other procedures and ways of doing things are more a result from “we have always been doing it that way”. It is not always easy to identify the difference and that makes bold innovation often face major resistance.

So what does innovation mean for ESN? We have one big advantage in ESN, that is we have always new and enthusiastic people bringing new ideas and methods into ESN. We are also interdisciplinary and can therefore draw upon different fields and ways of thinking to find the best solutions for our challenges. All this creates the dynamic and innovative organisation that we are today.

However, even in an organisation like ESN some traditions and rules develop that have either never been the best choice or have been rendered obsolete by our growth and the changes in our working environment. So it is important to always question why and how we do things. If a new member asks why certain things are not done differently, don’t just say it has always been done so.

It is a good exercise to evaluate whether innovation is needed. Try to convince that person that the current way is the best way to do things. If you do not have good enough arguments to convince them, you should start thinking more thoroughly whether there is no better way of doing things.

It doesn’t matter whether you are very experienced in ESN or just started, you are all part of the innovation process. And innovating is fun and fulfilling because when it works we can see the results and can be proud of our ideas and work. So I invite you all to take part in this process, leave no stone unturned and help make ESN a bit better every day.

Emanuel Alfranseder President of Erasmus Student Network AISBL, 2012/2013

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eXpress #15 Editor Juan Colino Art Director Jirka Matousek Designers Jirka Matousek Juan Colino Contributors Jiri Andrejs Madara Apsalone Marco Cazzola Silvia Crocitta Carla Filetti Dorottya Glatz Marta Guasp Kenny Ho Jerzy Jasielec Jean-Micher Jorissen Oscar Leclere Alicia Macanás Caroline Morand Jesus Escriva Munoz Katerina Novanska Gaffar Rampage Carmen Cuesta Roca Alicia Sanchez Mirka Svabova Julia Svozil Ivona Tasevska Prokop Teper Andrea Wantulova Michaela Zormanova Photographers Tania Berman Thomas Lanvin Martin Lindovsky Matus Macej Jirka Matousek Zoltan Nagymate Samuel Szepetiuk Proofreaders Marco Cazzola Jonathan Jelves Alicia Macanas Sien Monbailliu Gaffar Rampage Carmen Cuesta Roca Erasmus Student Network AISBL Rue Hydraulique 15 B-1210 Brussels Belgium +32 22 567 427 express@esn.org www.esn.org Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in parts without the written permission of the publisher.

The publisher cannot be held responsible for the views and opinions expressed in this magazine by contributors. The publisher is neither responsible for nor endorses the content of published advertisements, nor can the magazine be held responsible for any errors or inaccuracies in the same.

Contents 02

The Key to Success

03 Contributors

04

08 10

11 13 16

18 19 22 24 25

26 29 30 31 32

33 37

Innovative Sections Across Europe

• Berlin Hitchhike Contest • Full Moon Party • Wonder Camp • Glacier Trip • National Boards Buddies SocialErasmus Coordinators Meeting Eduk8

Camp DolomitESN The Person Behind the IB: Katharina Ma New Sections in the ESN Family • ESN Mons • ESN Leuven • Sections in the Spotlight • ESN Tallinn • ESN Firat • ESN Athens AUEB • Responsible Halloween Party Mascots in Our Network ESN & Twitter Advocacy: How ESN Brings Up Quality to Mobility Parma: SWEP 2013 ESN & Facebook Gadgets Time Jumping for Er25mus Section Cooperation Support • Utrecht & Brno Partnership • Section Meeting in Dresden • SECS in Skopje • Comic Strip: Erasmus Tips Happy ESN Snapshots express magazine | 03

A look at innovative s ~~~~~ by Carmen Cuesta Roca & Gaffar Rampage ~~~~~

A look at innovation within ESN is not complete without a look at our beloved sections. After all, they make the network, and with over 400 sections in 36 countries across the continent, ESN is bursting with new and exciting ideas. Here are some sections which embody the innovative spirit of the network!

{01} Berlin Hitchhike Contest ESN-VUniverse Amsterdam The Netherlands 16th - 18th November # of Attendees: 50

O

n the morning of Friday the 16th of November, we will distribute the starting hitchhiking sign for the contest. Everybody gathers at the VU University and we will all leave at the same time. Then the fun starts, who will win this contest? Is it luck, is it enthusiasm or do real hitchhiking skills come into play?

That same night, we will start the weekend by immediately going out to explore Berlin’s never sleeping nightlife. The next morning we will go on a guided tour. Berlin has a very large historic and cultural background which you should definitely know something about while visiting this city. You will have all the time until dinner to do whatever you like (great second-hand shopping opportunities, exploring more culture or just drinking some beers).

We will have dinner with the whole group, after which we will

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start a great pub crawl, before ending in a good club! The next morning we will leave by bus so you can sleep on the way back to Amsterdam.

Inspiration for the event This event has become a tradition within the activities of ESN VUniverse, and we have done it for quite some years now. For this reason, we don’t even know anymore where the idea originally came from, but we do know that Berlin is one of the best cities to hitchhike to! This event is also known to be one of our best activities. We even had a few students who just arrived in Amsterdam and were already asking about it. So we can say it is quite famous already and definitely a success!

ections across Europe {02} Full Moon Party

T

although all Swedish students speak English very well, we had he idea about Full-Moon party was suggested in Swedish advertising and posters which really made the difference!

VIS Activity-Committee and as soon as we worked on the idea to make it practical, a team was assigned Another trick we used to attract people and make everyone to prepare the event. A Full-Moon party, otherwise spread the word was by giving them the taste of fun they would known as a UV party is basically a party that we coordinate in experience little by little. We didn’t reveal all the plans we had for order to try to attract people by the effect and glow of UV light them at the same time. Instead, we started by advertising it like in darkness. A typical practice is to paint people with UV colours, a normal party, and then step by step added new using UV painted decorations, and of course having ESN Växjö things and bonus things. And we kept everyone UV lights as the only light source in the party area. thirsty until the last hour before party! For example, Sweden we first mentioned that they will get free UV paints To make the idea even more interesting, it is included in their tickets, while highlighting that it common to usually include and mix a few more 17th October will cost them twice the price of the ticket itself, themes with UV. We decided on a beach-theme for if they want to shop paints on their own. So they dress code. But based on the location, participant’s # of attendees: 450 realized how cheap our offer was. Secondly, we tried preferences, and budget, you can include more to show them how exciting it could be, having UV themes and additional things to party. It’s also paints on your face, BEFORE THE PARTY. We had a small necessary to consider which music will most suit the event. demo version of UV effect at the VIS office while students were showing up for payment. That also made everyone more interested!

Preparation for the Event Throwing a UV party is not as easy as it looks! We learned that the hard way, but the feedback we got after the party showed that it was totally worth the effort. There are some main elements and requirements for this party. The most important part is the right venue, and proper lights. The darker the party area, the better.

And lots of UV lamps are required. Finally, when it comes to such a theme, you should include a lot of UV paints and colours everywhere.

Last but not least, instead of making people stand in long lines for a party of this scale, we used an online signup system. People signed up online first, and then later showed up for payment in multiple scheduled dates. This also made it easy and smoother to handle loads of students showing up for payment.

None of above mentioned items are cheap, unfortunately. This is problematic if you leave it up to guests to paint themselves, for example, as not everyone likes to spend money on expensive UV paints. This will highly impact the quality of party. So the idea was to indirectly force everyone to follow the theme, by including everything they need in their tickets. This meant trying to provide UV paint with the tickets. The tricky part was to keep the price low. Since we ordered a high amount of paint, it became possible to negotiate with some suppliers and get prices much lower than usual. For UV lamps and paints for example, we have been able to save 25% off price of ordered items, which is a lot of money when it is multiplied by 450.

Compared to other more typical events, or other party-only events, we can say it was a big success for VIS. In most of the aspects, from number of people attending to the quality of the party and level of satisfaction, everything was at a much higher level than previous similar (theme party) events.

Since our exchange students like to party with the local Swedish students, we had to also work on a way to attract Swedish students.

It is rare to have Swedish guests in typical or even big VIS events, but in this event we had about 40% of guests being Swedish students. We negotiated with one Swedish student organization on campus (our sister organization) and asked them to promote the party for us. To create mutual respect and help, we offered ordinary ticket prices for their nation members instead of charging for a temporary membership. We also did something new this time:

How successful was this event compared to other more typical events?

We also gained some good experience from this party that will definitely help us organize other events better. The impact of proper promotion and the power of negotiation are things that we experienced in this event very well!

There were still some more opportunities to improve the party. We had some more ideas that we didn’t have chance to implement for various reasons. Using glowing drinks is an example of missed items that we could not properly negotiate with the club. Better decorations were also among other lacking elements that we believe we could have done much better.

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innovative sections

{03} wonder camp

T

his event was organised for the 4th time this year by ESN Hungary to bring together all the Erasmus students in the country. The camp is the fruit of almost four months of hard work. Although it was not the first time that the event was organised, we had a new location and this meant a lot of new ideas, problems, needs and so on. The organising committee spent months on the preparations: strategising, scouting for locations, discussing the theme and programme, recruiting staff and working out the finances and marketing.

taught some Hungarian folk dance moves to the Erasmus students.

This was followed by a fire show and wine tasting. The day finished with a ‘Nerd party’, where all the participants came dressed in funny costumes. The organisers choreographed a dance which was taught to the Erasmus students, and they were really good at Tacata!

The outcome of the work was 3 days of wonder. On the first day, the staff members picked up the participants from locations in Budapest and other cities and started the journey to Balatonfűzfő, where the event took place. They started to get to know each other on the way to the camp, preparing themselves for the WonderCamp. When they arrived, we split them into 7 groups, named after the 7 famous leaders of Hungarian history. Later, when the participants found their teams, we started with an icebreaking activity, consisting of 7 stations, each with different tasks.

In the evening, all the teams formed small communities within the camp. After dinner, we continued with a flag party and some more games.

Inspiration for the event

After breakfast on the second day, everybody had time to get ready for a competition between the teams in the afternoon. Some relaxed on the beach, while the braver guys went for a swim, as the weather was very hot. The competition was full of hilarious tasks, with the final task being a fashion show in which the groups dressed up as one of the seven leaders. It was one of the funniest parts of the event! After dinner, local folk dancers performed and

On the third and final day, everyone wound down and caught the train back home at around noon. It was really hard to get back to the weekdays after the wonder!

This event is absolutely beneficial for Erasmus students and ESNers as well. Erasmus students have the opportunity to meet other internationals from different universities in the country and have fun, build a team and make friends during the 3 days of the camp.

For the ESNers, it is really efficient to build up the collegial relationships and get to know each other. Generally, only the section board members participate in nationwide events (such as the National Platform). The WonderCamp gives the chance to all ESNers to make friends on the national level and make future cooperation much more easier. The income from the event is the basis of ESN Hungary's budget for the upcoming months.

The event was a big success! The Erasmus students had a lot of fun.

The Hungarian ESNers started to work on new projects such as the ESN Volleyball, getting the inspiration from WonderCamp.

ESN Hungary 21st - 23rd september # of Attendees: 330

innovative sections

ESN Reykjavik iceland 15th - 16th september

{04} glacier trip

W

ith beautiful landscapes full of glaciers, waterfalls and caves, the western part of Iceland is often an overlooked gem by the average foreign visitor coming to Iceland. Wanting to make sure that the Erasmus students would not miss out on the opportunity to visit this area, ESN Reykjavik decided to organise one of its largest trips this winter. This was the first time the section ever organised a trip to this area so the planning had started extra early. There was great excitement in the air.

However, as the event drew closer disaster struck. Four days before departure we were informed that Hlaðir, the community centre we would be staying in for the night, had been double booked. On top of that, our partner company that was taking us to visit Glymur, Iceland’s highest waterfall, decided they would charge us double than they had originally promised. The itinerary for Saturday was ruined. With last minute fixes and reorganisation, the travel plan managed to sort out and with a bus of 85 excited ESNers, off we went early on Saturday morning of September the 15th.

Because of the obstacles we had faced earlier in the week, the trip started out worse than we could ever have imagined. The bus drivers got lost on the way. Driving for almost 7 hours with only a few stops on the way the trip started out to be disaster! It’s fair to say that when the Erasmus students arrived at the first community centre, where we would BBQ and start partying, the excitement was not at its peak. However, with the ESN spirit everyone cheered up and partied away.

The dinner was made up of some good homemade chicken that was prepared the day before by the ESN Reykjavik board and committee members. It was so good that the mood improved instantly. Then we started playing games until we moved to the right community centre. There we hopped into the swimming pool for a pool party and when the Erasmus students got out of the pool a newly baked apple crumble and ice cream awaited them.

Everything started to go as planned.

Early Sunday morning, the fresh crowd left in two separate groups for a day filled with activities. Most importantly we were going to the top of glacier, but we were also going caving and making a few stops on the way such as the waterfall Hraunfossar, which many people like to claim is one of the most beautiful places in Iceland.

Stretching over 955 km2, Langjökull glacier is the second largest ice cap in Europe. To get to the top we went with a monster truck

# of Attendees: 85

named The Ice Explorer. It was built for NATO in the 1980s and is specifically designed to cross difficult terrain. This 30 ton monster can carry 40 people over 1.9 metre-wide gaps and 2 metres depth of water but with its massive tires it touches the ice lighter than a human being. With us came our tour guide and researcher from the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, who would teach us and tell stories about the glacier. We got to learn that the glacier is constantly reshaping, creating new landscapes below its ice cap and that power from the glacial rivers is harnessed to generate electricity.

After dismounting the Ice Explorer we headed out to the 1585m deep cave Víðgelmir. Inside the cave there are rare lava formations or speleotherms which, when broken, can never be restored. For this reason, the cave has been closed off to the public and can only be visitied with the local farmer, Hlöðver, who owns the land in the surrounding area. Hlöðver took us into the cave, deep enough so that not a fraction of light or sound could reach in from the outside. Inside, Hlöðver told us stories about the 1200 year old cave and how it had served multiple purposes since its creation.

In the old days, law breakers would hide there for months or years to keep away from society. The air inside the cave stays at a cool temperature, just above freezing, all year round, which made it suitable for the farmer's parents to use it as a container to store food over the winter. The cave means such a great deal to Hlöðver that when he married the love of his life, the wedding ceremony took place inside the deep cave. It was truly special when the group of ESNers turned off their headlights and enjoyed a moment of complete silence inside the cave.

After a long day the group was at last headed back to Reykjavik.

Though the trip did not start out as planned, looking back over the weekend, everyone agree that it was a success. With the amazing photos and video by our ESN visitor from Slovakia, Matus Macej, we will never forget this amazing weekend and we are excited to make this trip even better next year.

How successful was this event compared to other more typical events?

For a new board, to do the biggest trip the section had ever done was always going to be a challenge. So, a lot of things went really well and there were a lot of things that could have gone better.

Notably, having bus drivers that knew the way! In the end everyone had a great time and we can all agree that next year it will be a bigger success!

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National board buddies

I

buddies?

Yes! Say national boards!

f I asked any member of ESN “What do you like about our organisation?” I am pretty sure I wouldn’t miss answers like ‘the intercultural environment’, ‘discovering new cultures and angles’, ‘meeting new people’ and so on. That is what we like – collaboration, partnerships, and friendships across countries and cultures. And this is exactly what the National Board Buddy System is about. It is a partnership between two national boards (NBs), or as we can say, between two countries.

The project started just before the National Boards’ Meeting (NBM) Dublin 2011, when the first pairing of national boards was performed. Completely new pairings were prepared before NBM Switzerland 2012, creating five successful partnerships: Poland and Italy, Germany and France, Finland and the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria, and Sweden and Norway.

All of them decided to stay buddies for another semester when new pairs were

formed in the lead-up to NBM Skopje 2012. Currently, we have 8 NB Buddy pairs and new ones are being created.

The strategic plan is to have all NBs participating in the NB Buddy System in future.

“The best thing for us is that we can cooperate with another big country, because we have similar problems. Polish organisation is very different, so we can learn a lot from each other,” says Giulia Rosa d’Amico, the NR of Italy. “It is a good thing, because sometimes you can have an external perspective on the problems you are facing,” Giulia adds.

The ex-president of ESN Switzerland Irene Forzoni mentions the exchange of ideas and suggestions between counterparts as important factors: “Maybe you don’t feel comfortable speaking about some issues with your national board, so then you can discuss it with the person having the same position as you in another national board.”

Both of them mention plans for the common project with their partner boards and they also encourage all national boards to participate in the NB Buddy System.

“Don’t be afraid of the word ‘buddy’, we don’t have to take care of each other, it is more like a partnership, twin countries on the same level,” Irene says.

The National Board Buddy System is a good way to learn new things, share ideas and innovate.

Want to know more? contact Michaela Zormanova – our NB Buddy Coordinator at nb-buddycoordinator@esn.org

ESN CZ & ESN SK met at the last slovakian national platform!

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GET READY

TO PARTY!

www.newyorker.eu

socialerasmus coordinators meeting

Innovation by innovators

SocialErasmus Coordinators Meeting-Brussels 2012

I

t was last year when one of the most important projects of ESN, SocialErasmus, won the Civil Society Prize 2011 of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

Since then, hundreds of students have put their shoulder to the wheel and contributed to the aim of the project: they reached higher and used their abilities to educate young people, support the less fortunate with charity events and helped the planet become cleaner by doing environmental work in their host cities; they went further, crossed the boundaries of their countries and did voluntary activities for the first time in their life; and they went social when they shared their culture and spirit with people in the community, which was hosting them on their Erasmus mobility.

Sustainability of the SocialErasmus project was supported at the SocialErasmus Coordinators Meeting (SECM) that was held in Brussels from the 22nd to the 24th of September. The aim of the SECM was to provide a space for national and local coordinators of SocialErasmus from all countries to consider the different aspects of the SocialErasmus activities that had been done in the past twelve months and to share the best practices for the future. More than seventy people participated - national and local coordinators, and supporters of the project. It was a great mix of people, from SocialErasmus “experts” with a lot of experience to absolute newbies, all of them highly motivated.

One of the main goals was to sum up the year and identify ways in which to develop the SocialErasmus project in the next year and in the years to come. What should the structure look like now that the grant is finished? Who should coordinate? What will happen without the support of a grant?

To help participants brainstorm on these important questions, workshops were held by four Eduk8 cadets. Using a non-formal education approach, participants were lead

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to think of SocialErasmus through many points of view and on different aspects.

Plans and ideas were developed in small groups and the best ones were shared and discussed. Through sharing information on how to overcome obstacles, how to make the most of networking through activities, how to motivate oneself and others, many really good and innovative ideas emerged.

Motivation was really high.

The meeting was enriched by the premiere of the official SocialErasmus video that was created during the SocialErasmus Week in May 2012. This video is a great tool for all coordinators to promote SocialErasmus activities in their community. Another tool that was introduced during the meeting was the SocialErasmus Guidebook, which will be published soon.

After seeing this motivation and all the fresh ideas that emerged through discussion and sharing of the best practices, we cannot be anything but confident that the SocialErasmus project will have a bright future ahead of it just through the willpower of these wonderful people who know they can make a difference in their local community: they can give students a chance to fully express themselves and give back, and ultimately they can help foster European integration and a true feeling of being citizens of Europe.

Thanks to all the coordinators who actively contribute to this project and especially to Michel Erlandsen who has dedicated his time to the project the whole year and contributed greatly to the SocialErasmus project. Without them this project could not exist.

Mirka Svabova Marco Cazzola

Eduk8 ~~~ by Dorottya Glatz ~~~

I

And now after the 2nd Eduk8 training event held between the 8th t all started in 2010 in Bulgaria during BEST II training event organised by ESN Bulgaria for ESN members. and the 18th of August in VrĂştky, Slovakia, the project has more During a workshop one of the groups got a supporters than ever before. Fourty-two participants attended from creative task: to come up with a new project fifteen different countries to step on the rocky road to become a for ESN. This was Eduk8. In the very same year trainer. Fourty-two participants who were carefully selected, with at CND Milano, Eduk8 was voted to become an the highest motivation, with the Challenged. Inspired. Motivated. Exhausted. official project of ESN. biggest ESN spirit, with the biggest - Stefan jahnke eagerness to learn and spread knowledge.

The next step was to organise the first Training for Trainers (T4T) event in 2011. A group of Hungarian ESNers still motivated after AGM Budapest decided to apply for the open call During the eight days of Eduk8 participants learnt the basics and were ready to become the OC for the very first Eduk8 event. of preparing and delivering a training. They could peek in three Becoming part of this OC was the moment when I got hopelessly different topics - intercultural learning, section empowerment, and devoted to Eduk8. Despite the lack of funding we still managed management. Also, they practiced how to be a good trainer. Even to organise the event, even though there were only 10 participants. though it was very tiring, everybody attended all the workshops, That week in August was a week full of learning, discovering, self participated actively and contributed to all tasks every day from development, and motivation.

10AM until 7PM or later.

Throughout the past two years, Eduk8 has been developed slowly, This ESN event was not only exceptional because of but surely. It couldn’t happen faster. Developing a training system its length but also because of its social activities. Our from scratch for such a big organisation as ESN with OC managed to create a relaxed environment day after approximately 10 000 members has many challenges. I felt like growing. day and arranged programmes that created numerous - prokop teper After the first Eduk8 event I got the honoured unforgettable memories. Instead of the classic possibility to become the coordinator of this amazing Eurodinner, this time we had EuroCafÊ, meaning project that I happily accepted and since then I am working on that each nationality represented at Eduk8 was responsible for meeting the needs of the network in this project. one coffee break - we will never forget the real Italian tiramisu, the Danish butter cookies, nor the Belgian chocolate waffles! In

express magazine | 11

eduk8 the middle of the week one of the training rooms was transformed into an arabic tea house with fresh tea, lots of pillows, shisha, authentic arabic music and a belly dancer. Yes! A belly dancer in the form of Giulia d’Amico, NR of Italy. We also had the chance to see the traditional Slovak folk dance, hear the traditional Slovak folk songs, and dance and sing them all together. Of course, the gala dinner and party couldn’t miss from our programme. We traveled all the way to Banská Bystrica from Vrútky to celebrate

in a beautiful historic environment in one of the most popular university cities of Slovakia. If you ever visit the city and go to La Bodega de la Habana you will find our signature on the wall.

It was a wonderful event but we shouldn’t forget that there is still a lot to do. The participants are now beginner trainers who have basic trainer knowledge and huge ESN spirit. They spread their wings, now let them fly!

The big fat pony energiser Back to the back to the back to my baby, The participants stand in a circle and the leader of the energiser stands in the Then they turn next to each other, shake middle of it. The group starts to sing their shoulders and sing: meanwhile the leader of the energiser is skipping in the circle: Side to side to side to my baby, Early in the morning!

What shall we do with the big fat pony, What shall we do with the big fat pony, What shall we do with the big fat pony, Then both the leader of the energiser Early in the morning! and the chosen participant start to skip around in the circle singing the song with the group. They both chose a participant The leader of the energiser stops in front and start the little dance and the song of one of the participants in the circle and together they start to shake their shoulders again. Then the four of them start to skip around singing together with the group. and sing: The song and the dance is repeated from the beginning until everybody is skipping Front to the front to the front to my baby, around.

Then they turn back to each other, shake The melody is the same as the song What their shoulders and sing: shall we do with the drunken sailor.

Personal story: Marco Cazzola (ESN Italy) Why I came to Eduk8?

I missed the first call for Eduk8 in 2011 because I was still studying quite hard, so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss this one. I applied, asking my girlfriend to set aside our holidays, because I really wanted to see if this project would be worth concentrating on. I really had my doubts about this, I wasn't sure the people would be qualified, I didn't know what the project was about apart from generally focusing on education, but training for trainers called to me.

I took a risk and I have to say it was one of the best decisions of my life. The main question that I bring home is "Why the hell haven't I been doing this already? This is what ESN should be about. Making people grow and making people better. That's why I joined!"

What I found at Eduk8?

Being an ESN event I was really worried about the kind of participants I would find, hoping I wouldn't find big party people who would keep me up all night, who would be half asleep in the morning sessions, who would fail to see the importance of this project. On the contrary, I found the best group of people I could imagine. Everyone was so motivated, everyone participated,

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everyone was smiling... such an ELE moment! I met some people who I think will have a big influence in my life from now on, I made some really great friends and I hope, one day, colleagues with who I could deliver trainings around Europe, in ESN sections, and to other young people who want to develop their personal skills.

The trainers were great and really prepared, they gave awesome feedback. The coordinators and former participants were great, not showing any superiority. I discovered simple but efficient methods of communicating feelings which I can use at work with kids at my school, at home in my relationship, in my ESN section at the end of a big event.

What I take home?

I take home so many positive feelings, ideas for my future, special people in my heart, professional knowledge and skills, a renovated motivation to carry on the ESN spirit. I want to apply so many of the ideas we had to our normal activities, get people interested in ICL, mentor new members to motivate themselves and others. It's hard to describe all the emotions I got out of this but I think they will really stay with me for a long time and hopefully push me to continue on this path.

The person behind the ib

Camp DolomitESN

by Marco Cazzola

ESN Trento was born in 1992 and is now celebrating its 20th anniversary: what a milestone!

T

his story starts in Trento, a small university city in the middle of the Italian Alps.

Everything here is quiet: students like to study, shops close at seven and bars turn off the lights at eleven not to disturb the neighbours.

It just so happens that this quiet little mountain town is one home to one of the most highly rated universities in Italy and also to one of the first three ESN sections in Italy. We just celebrated our 20th birthday.

The celebrations were great but they weren’t enough, we really wanted to do something that would be seen on larger scale. While preparing for the celebrations we had been going through the archives of the 1990s and saw how from 1992 to 1994

our section had played such an important role in building ESN Italy: we could count several National Platforms, one national president and a national representative all in those two years. Forget the four and five

star hotels of the recent AGMs, the first meeting of ESN Italy was on the living room floor of our president’s house and they were all sleeping in sleeping bags!

We couldn’t help but be proud of what our forerunners had done. So what could we do to even begin to imitate their dedication?

We really wanted to do something to contribute to our country and all the fortynine sections it represents. And that’s when it hit us: Camp DolomitESN. I have been organizing summer camps for children for years so I thought "Why not make a camp for ESNers? Wouldn’t it be great to have a moment to stay together and start talking about international projects together?". So we rounded up an OC of six people and began to organize.

We really wanted to use the beauty of our region to the max. We are surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, the Alps and the Dolomites which are UNESCO World Heritage, we have hundreds of lakes and mountain rivers like the Noce (number one river in Europe for rafting according to National Geographic) where we take our Erasmus

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camp dolomitesn students rafting every spring. So that was it, we wanted to make a mobile camp where we could be outdoors, do sports, have workshops, eat like pigs and have fun. We first presented the project in our National Platform in April in Parma, where we received a lot of appreciation and enthusiasm from the delegates of other sections, and opened registrations after the NP in July in Foggia.

We dedicated a full week to celebrating this great event, including a concert, a city race, a birthday party and a conference on the twenty five years of the Erasmus program in cooperation with the LLP-Erasmus office of our university.

In total we had forty participants from twelve Italian sections, the national SocialErasmus coordinator, three of the national board members came and also a member of the national board of Austria with whom we are good friends. We also collaborated with a new organization called UniStudenti who told a day by day story of the event on their website. We set up a website campdolomitesn.blogspot.it and received well wishes from Emanuel, the president of ESN International, and from Michel, the SocialErasmus coordinator.

The camp lasted three days, from the 31st of August to the 3rd of September though unfortunately we got the only rainy weekend all summer.

members had learnt in the summer camp in Lithuania last summer.

That afternoon, Alessia, the national SE coordinator showed participants the plan to implement a national SocialErasmus project: a scholarship for Congo. It was a great occasion to get feedback and some constructive criticism from local coordinators. The project has just been approved at the last National Platform and we will be providing a university scholarship to a deserving student from Congo who has the will but not the means to provide himself the education he wants.

The second day all the participants went rafting, many for the first time. Lots of them were scared, the rain had made the river quite big and fast but we convinced all of them and it was a great team building experience. Many said they would come back next year just for the rafting.

In the evening we packed our bags and took the train to a lake one hundred kilometres away. We set up a camp, literally.

All the participants slept in tents which were bought for the occasion. Setting up camp was in itself a really good team building exercise and also really funny to watch from the point of view of someone who has experience in mounting tents.

Some city folk really can’t handle living outdoors!

After a rainy night we woke to a nice sunny day ready for the day’s activities.

The day was focused on raising awareness

During the three days we wanted to focus on building national awareness on two projects which we felt we needed to work on: SocialErasmus and ExchangeAbility.

We wanted to do this through workshops and active participation of members, not the usual discussion.

The first day, fresh out of the Eduk8 summer training, me and Giulia Rosa (national representative of Italy) took on a two hour workshop on SocialErasmus, using the methods we learnt during our training. As SocialErasmus is quite new in Italy we started from defining it.

Participants were divided into groups and asked to discuss keywords on their personal definition of Social Erasmus. We then focused on which obstacles a section could come across when organizing a SE activity and we then proceeded to give each other advice and solutions to those problems.

We obviously used some energizers which we learnt this summer or which a few 14 | express magazine • #15 winter 2012

on ExchangeAbility. During the first part of the day we had a sensorial deprivation workshop. Groups were created with members who were all missing one of their senses. One was mute and couldn’t talk, one was deaf and his ears were plugged, one was blind and couldn’t see, one couldn’t move his arms. Each team had to plan an accessible event for each of the members, from organizing a dance course to a theatre show. It was really interesting to see all the creative ideas but also the big difficulties teams had in explaining them to the other participants. We then talked to Matteo,

who went on Erasmus in Utrecht though suffering from visual impairment. He told his story about his experience abroad, the difficulties he had with the university and many other aspects of his stay. We were really glad to have his first person experience and we are also thankful to the section of Trento for covering his fee.

One of the most touching moments was when Maurizio, founder of ESN Trento, told us: “I’m so happy that you invited me here, it made me think of all the wonderful experiences I had twenty years ago”.

In the late morning all the members had their first experience on a dragonboat: a sport originating from Southeast Asia in which twenty people race on large canoe.

The sport is also quite popular in our area

given the great amount of lakes and rivers to practice on. It’s a really good team building sport which shows you that to win you have to row as a team, and that’s exactly what we wanted to achieve and pass on to our sections.

Finally in the afternoon we had an information session with a local organisation which deals with disability and sports. They helped us understand the different types of disabilities, the difficulties which come with dealing with each one and some suggestions to raise our awareness and to urge us to take action and seek out occasions to cooperate with other associations and to provide ESN members with specific knowledge on the topic of disability.

One more night with the last survivors and rise and shine early in the morning.

A good hour to take down the tents and everyone was off, back to normal day life but hopefully with many new ideas and a lot of motivation to start off a great new year of ESN activities.

Thanks to Marco, Susy, Danilo, Laura, Marta and Giulia for all their hard work in making this event come true.

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katharina ma Kenny Ho interviews the vice-president of Erasmus Student Network AISBL

K

atharina Ma is the current Vice President of ESN International, responsible for overlooking the many international events that take place around the ESN network. A former NR and with previous experience in the Finance Committee and experience on all three levels in ESN with her beloved country Austria, it was clearly evident that she was the ideal person for the role in the International Board. I managed to capture her for an interview during her busy schedule and new life in Brussels (where the ESN Office and House is located) where she discussed the innovative direction that ESN and the Erasmus programme is heading and her plans if she ever wins the Euromillions.

What do you study?

I studied economic and social history at the University of Vienna.

Have you ever been on Erasmus?

Hahaha. No. I haven’t been participating in the Erasmus programme as such. I’ve been on school exchange twice and I started with ESN due to a coincidence actually and I stumbled

16 | express magazine • #15 winter 2012

across my international relations office at my university and I became a member and took care of my buddy. I then got more and more involved, got elected into the local board for two years in a row. Somehow my studies came to an end and I never got to go on exchange. But I got a very good insight due to the internationalisation at home so I cannot say I missed a lot. what is your reason behind joining ESN? It was actually not planned, I was already committed in volunteering in another youth organisation and then I ended it there because I became too old. A couple of weeks later, I came across the university office and there was an ESN office and they asked if I wanted to join and become a buddy for an international student. My first two buddies were from Poland and the Netherlands, somehow I got more excited, involved and committed.

Why did you apply to become Vice President of ESN International?

Well, to some extent it was a logical step because last year before

The person behind the ib my mandate as Vice President, I was National Representative of Austria. So I got very much involved on the international level in ESN, the ideas and pros behind it and I was also very close to the former board. So I got a bit of an insight and I wanted to continue the work that my predecessor started. For me personally, it was a nice step to slowly end my “being” in ESN. Since this issue is regarding the topic of innovation what do you consider being innovative?

First I want to say that ESN in such and the work that we do especially in the international level is facing the strive for innovation every day.

Innovation in that sense also means to be able to adapt to the situation. For example, to manage growth of the network and the development within, so innovation in that sense for me also means to deal with what the sections have to face at the moment and broaden what the future will bring and form the future altogether.

Also due to the development of the Erasmus Programme and the Erasmus for All with the potential cut downs of the Erasmus funding, we have to be more than innovative and find solutions to how to deal with it in the future.

in high demand. Same for the increase of awareness of what international students can contribute to the local community, so therefore SocialErasmus is one of our very innovative projects, without any doubt. Bringing up innovation I can name ESNSurvey for example. It is a survey that is valuable for institutions on how they can improve and how they can be innovative themselves.

What new innovations would you like to see for ESN and for the Erasmus Programme?

For ESN as such the innovation in my opinion would be the successful facing of the challenges that we have in terms of expansion and quality development. For the Erasmus programme, well I don‘t want to say too much, but I see the importance of finding a clear line for Erasmus programme in order for a student organisation like us to work with it and also for students to have to trust in further going on exchange. We can hopefully altogether achieve the goals of EU2020.

Finally what advice would you give to ESNers, to encourage them to be innovative?

Analyse the situation, no matter whether it’s on a local or national level and see what went well in the past and adapt to this for the future. Never lose motivation and never forget the development that we have with the sections and international boards.

Always be united.

“

somehow my studies came to an end and i never got to go on exchange

Would you describe the current International Board as innovative?

Haha yes! Especially this year, we face changes within the structure of ESN International. We have a newly structured secretariat; we have a new director that already started working here. That is innovative and also in terms of professionalism. Also with the new strategy that was voted on at the last AGM, we have to be innovative and we are innovative.

We have objectives in the network, in education issues, in finances. But of course in the past years, ESN work and the ESN International board has never been the same, but this year, in my humble opinion, we will continue to strive to be different to our predecessors in innovation.

”

As Vice President, do you have any ideas during your mandate?

I have lots of them but still, we have to see what went well in the past and there is not much of an objection to stick with it, so we stick with the best practices. But of course as I said already, the adaption to the situation works for innovative ideas, such as for example, right now, before you called I was working on the National Boards Coordinator, we have to find a structure for the national boards as well and also with the information provision, what communication tools can we use and what can we use to make the information flow better.

Is there any current ESN project that you consider to be the most innovative?

All of them are very innovative. From a personal opinion, the training programmes in the frame of Eduk8 are innovative and

If you wanted to have coffee for an hour with one famous person (living or dead) in the world, who would it be and why?

Haha, that is a question I’ve never came across. I’d say Mao Zedong, I would like to see and talk with him about his motivation and his personal views on what he has done in China.

If you win the Euromillions lotto, how would you spend it?

Half of it, I would save for the future, one part I would give a donation to alumni for ESN. The other half I would spend making me, my friends and my family happy.

What is your favourite food that you cannot cook?

What I really like but most of the times it goes wrong is a really nice steak. I always overcook it!

Where would you like to go for your next holiday?

I haven’t had that in a long time. I think it would be time for me to go to South America. I want to see the culture and the world there, be able to tick it off my map and to think new innovative in that sense for myself.

What is your favourite movie?

Of course the all time classic is Casablanca, without any doubt.

The final question is if you were trapped on an island and you had to bring one current IB member with you, who would it be?

That’s simple, it would be Fabian! Since he is tall enough to get the coconuts from the palm tree!

express magazine | 17

new esn sections

××× New sections in the ESN family ××× Carmen Cuesta Roca Innovation can be described in a number of ways, one of which specifies the creation of something new. ESN is an ever growing family with new sections sprouting up across Europe at a crazy speed. Just this year and only since the last AGM, ESN has welcomed to its big family, 27 new sections from 13 different

countries. We wanted to find out more about our new sections and share the great news, as many of you may not know of them yet.

Here, eXpress talks to two of the latest sections, ESN Mons and ESN Leuven, to find out about the process of becoming a section and how they are enjoying officially being part of ESN.

××× ESN Mons (Belgium)

E

ESN Mons started last July. We really wanted a section because in Mons, despite the fact that we do not host a lot of Erasmus students (approximately a hundred per semester for all the institutions), there was no association to help them, organise trips or host activities.

Some of us went on an Erasmus and know that an ESN section is really useful to enjoy the experience even more!

The process wasn’t so difficult for us in the end. We’re facing a few little problems like the approval of our statutes for instance but nothing we can’t handle. The reason we need those statutes approved is because our university will support us. In order to get subsidies as student association we need to be officially recognised. It will be easier to organize events once that's done.

The second problem is to contact the other institutions to get in touch with their Erasmus. But it will be worked out by the end of the month. We are sure that we can reach an understanding to build some things together.

We don’t really have a lot of advice to give to other new or potential sections, except being ready and organised because starting

18 | express magazine • #15 winter 2012

a section is a lot of work on top of being a lot of fun too! Preparing a calendar of the activities before the beginning of the semester is also quite important. Indeed we were forced to notice that if you don’t, Erasmus will plan their own trips.

Name: ESN Mons City: Mons Country: Belgium Birth date: July 2012 Erasmus students: 100 Members: 7

Considering that they are not so numerous in our city it can become difficult to organise other trips or activities for them.

The last advice is to develop a successful buddy program because we think it’s really important for exchange students to have someone they can refer to for anything.

For the moment, we have 7 members in the ESN team and we hope that a few more active members will soon join in.

There’s a good atmosphere between us all and everyone is dedicated to his/her task.

We’d like to organise some excursions, perhaps to nearby towns, breweries and distilleries. We’ll also have an international dinner. We also want to set up a contest: “What’s the best picture of your Erasmus experience?”. For Christmas, we plan to go to a Christmas market and organise a Secret Santa. And for the second semester, it could be nice go to Walibi for example!

Off course, there will also be Erasmus parties!

We want to be innovative by participating in the Televie show organised by our university. We think that we’ll get closer with them by doing this and moreover, it’s a good social cause.

Another thing we think could be nice to do is helping also the students of our university who come back or want to go on Erasmus. We’ll organize a meeting between them to share their experience and so that whoever wants to go could ask all the questions they may have.

We really want to keep a spirit of closeness with our Erasmus community. It’s really important for us considering that those interested in Erasmus are not so numerous.

In the end it could be nice to give some visibility to our city in order to have more Erasmus intake. Moreover, Mons will be European Capital of Culture 2015 and what’s more cultural than the cultural mix of all those exchange students studying in our beloved “cité du Doudou”!

new esn sections / section in the spotlight

××× ESN Leuven (Belgium)

E

ESN Leuven as a section organises activities for all international students in the city of Leuven. The start-up of ESN Leuven was thought to be necessary due to a huge amount of international students visiting our city (+/- 5000 every year) and the lack of a student organisation uniting them in a proper way. Becoming an ESN section wasn’t that evident though. Apart from not having a student association uniting the international students, Leuven does have a large amount of student associations, organisations and actors who are in one way or another working for international students.

Since being as diplomatic as possible was one of our priority goals as an organisation, we had meetings with most of these actors. This involved meetings with heads of international departments, presidents

of student associations, the head of the student council, barkeepers and much, much more.

Name: ESN leuven City: leuven Country: Belgium Birth date: july 2012 Erasmus students: 5000 Members: 25

The process of becoming an ESN section for an entire city isn’t evident, but very satisfying. Doing it right from the start isn’t evident. But while staying humble,

we think that we managed to lay the foundation for an ESN section that deserves to carry the beautiful brand name!

In just one month, ESN Leuven has succesfully organized: Ice breaker, International party, Kick-off !, Leuven: the exploration, Picnic, Museum M visit, three times International Saturdays, three times ESN start to run, Fakbar tour, Message party, Belgian Beer & Cheese tasting, Global Party, and 90s party.

With different city trips, football competitions, a Belgian breakfast and much more coming up, we’ll provide the international students with a lot of opportunities to enjoy Belgium at its best.

esn tallinn History of ESN Tallinn dates back to 2003 when the section was established at former Tallinn Pedagogical University. Since then, more and more Erasmus students kept coming to study in Tallinn and today, ESN Tallinn section cooperates with 10 universities in Tallinn. The section consists of 5 board members and around 30 active members.

The section is very active in usage of Google tools and pretty much for every event that is being organised they create an online description with all the steps and things to do and advice for the future.

Erasmus students are often parts of teams organising various ESN activities which does not only provide great promotion among other Erasmus but creates immediate feedback for the board to take into account for future activities.

Scope of activities done by ESN Tallinn is very wide, beginning with regular Orientation Weeks at the beginning of each semester, trips, not only around

jUNE 2012 Section in the Spotlight Estonia, but also to Russia or Lapland, visits of museums, National Opera or ballet performances, Erasmus Quiz, and all kinds of sport events. And awesome parties, of course! =) The section takes active part in Tallinn Student Days, too.

Perhaps the most important activity of all is called ESN Diary. Every semester a booklet of 250 pages full of articles, pictures, and memories of Erasmus is created and given out at the Farewell Party. It makes a perfect piece of memory for every Erasmus student.

SocialErasmus was the flagship project of ESN this year and ESN Tallinn could not miss the opportunity and got involved in the whole project to offer Erasmus in Tallinn a whole new perspective of spending time. The biggest project was called Big Family Day. The purpose of this project was to get together Erasmus

students with less fortunate children from Estonia. Erasmus students played plenty of games, told interesting facts and stories about their home countries, and generally had loads of fun together. The whole project resulted into Big Family Day celebration. The children learnt for example Bollywood dance and everything ended up with a magic show! Every kid even got their own SocialErasmus T-shirt.

The most important thing according to ESN Tallinn is its members - no matter which university they come from they always think of ESN & Erasmus in terms of Tallinn and not their universities. This selfless attitude is what makes ESN Tallinn so strong and creates endless energy for new and better activities to offer to Erasmus students.

prokop teper

express magazine | 19

esn firat ESN FIRAT consists of 50 members, 20 of whom are actively participating in the life of the section and a board of 5 highly motivated ESNers. Their preferred communication channels are e-mail and facebook group, however given the size of Elazig, most things are done via physical meetings. History of ESN FIRAT dates back as long as March 2010 when initial idea arose in a group of students to create something new.

There is always something happening for exchange students in Firat University, if they by any chance get too bored by attending ESN events, they can simply flip the side and join the OC of various events as volunteers to make them even cooler.

october 2012 Section in the Spotlight Every semester starts with Welcome Party, but unlike most sections, welcome parties of ESN FIRAT do not take place in a club, but in someone’s house to create warmer atmosphere and get closer to each other. Of course, plenty of other events like cultural trips, cooking days, karaoke contests, movie nights, and parties are done to ensure Erasmus students are never bored. If we should name one event not to be missed, a MUST to attend when visiting ESN FIRAT, it is without any doubt their Hazar Lake Camp! At the end of each academic year, new & old ESNers gather together with exchange students for 2-3 days on the

shores of probably the most famous lake in Eastern Anatolia where ESN FIRAT prepares a rich program full of fun & training events which can possibly compete with famous survivor programs.

As ESN FIRAT is the most popular student club in Firat University, there is no need for them to encourage local students to take part in their activities - they often want to join anyway. This gives ESN FIRAT very strong recognition towards their International Relations Office.

prokop teper

esn athens aueb ESN Athens AUEB was founded in 1992 by students coming back from their Erasmus exchange. In the same year the section joined ESN and for many years this was the only ESN section in Greece.

They have had the luck to have two of their members to serve as the President of ESN. This section also organized two Cultural Medleys, one International Board Meeting, CND 2009 and they celebrated their 20th birthday by organizing SEEP 2012.

During the introduction week the section involves their international students by having a city race where the students are divided into teams and then organize events themselves in order to achieve certain tasks. A common event to organize by the students themselves is Eurodinner and Info Market. It is then the students’ own responsibility to contact people of their countries and arrange it all. They organize SocialErasmus activities such as

20 | express magazine • #15 winter 2012

november 2012 Section in the Spotlight

Tree Planting, Kissing Booth for a Good Cause and Free Hugs.

The flagship event arranged by the section is Mykonos Trip which has been taking place twice a year for the past 12 years.

Mykonos is one of the most characteristic islands of Greece and still the most famous high class and party island of Greece. During this trip our exchange students have the chance to participate in various games and events. None of the approximately 3000 students that have attended this trip came back the same.

ESN Athens AUEB really focuses on the quality of their members and they try to set their minds free in order to be more motivated, creative and productive.

This way they can build a relation of love

between the section and the members which will keep them motivated. The section itself means that other sections can learn from them on how to bond their members together, make them feel comfortable with each other and work as a strong team in any situation.

As a final event of the semester the section organizes a photo competition which ends with a photo exhibition at the university.

The topic varies from semester to semester, but mostly it is about the experiences of the exchange students.

ESN Athens AUEB does really seem to live up to their words Don't be Boring!!!!! Be Erasmus, Be ESN!!!

caroline morand

fff

responsible halloween party by oscar leclere and Jean-Micher Jorissen

E

ven if the purpose of the Erasmus programme is mainly about cross-cultural discovery, no one can deny that a good party is helpful for meeting new people and sharing life experiences. But all parties aren’t the same. This time, in Liège, we wanted something new, something that had never been done before. Something that would mark Erasmus students’ minds for a life time.

There’s a saying in Liège that Erasmus students know the bars and pubs better than any citizen who has lived in Liège all his life. We believe that it’s probably true.

That’s why we decided to party on a boat.

"Le pays de Liège" is a large boat used for dinners, receptions, or regular sightseeing cruises, but for Halloween, we transformed it into a disco. Three ESN teams working together as one unit, we met on the boat hours before the departure in order to prepare the dance floor, to set the sound systems and to build bars on the boat. We also put a lot of effort into negotiating the best possible prices, and thereby reducing

22 | express magazine • #15 winter 2012

the costs. We also wanted the Erasmus to take part in the cruise easily, not asking them for a lot of money. We also put a small Halloween touch with ornaments, etc.

Finally, 220 Erasmus students in fancy Halloween costumes arrived at 10PM and got into the boat for a 4 hour cruise.

Of course, security was the key. We can all imagine the risks of such a party. We had a special bouncer in order to secure the outdoors. We didn’t want anyone falling into the river. We decided it was not enough. We wanted the presence of the Responsible Party organization.

These people are in charge of furnishing gadgets and water to increase the Erasmus awareness of responsible alcohol consumption.

As mentioned earlier, the Boat party was a cooperation. At ESN HELMo, we like to work in partnership with two other ESN teams in Liège: The ESN HEC and The ESN-ULg. There is a reason for that. In addition to the fact that we really get along together, this gives us the

possibility to combine our resources and experiences to organize massive events for many more Erasmus students than one section itself could gather. If we group these three sections, we can reach a total of 1000 Erasmus. This enables Erasmus from different sections to meet others, rather than stay in a confined group.

It’s not the first common project we have worked on together. Earlier in the year, we organized a city game so the Erasmus could get to know the city center better, also city tours, and one massive theme party. The concept was to paint your face with colours that refer to your relationship status. But it’s not over yet, another Boat party is to be planned, as well as another huge theme party.

It’s often said that cooperation is the most important thing in order to achieve great things, and at ESN in Liège, we all understood it. Organizing common events combining three ESN sections was the best accomplishment of the year and could turn out to be a long-standing partnership throughout the years to come.

Juan uses esncard.org to find his discounts every time he travels around europe!

What about you?

express magazine | 23

mascots in the network

»»————————————————— mascots in our network «« There are many mascots in our network representing our local sections, national boards, and even our committees. We bring you pictures of some of the mascots we have seen this fall at CNr Zagreb.

Pal R. Bear � esn norway �

melvin erasmus � � esn epf lausanne 24 | express magazine • #15 winter 2012

reykja viktor � esn reykjavik �

franz joseph � esn austria �

mascots in the network

@ESN_Int Are you following us on twitter? Follow us to get all esn updates!

pallomerix erasmus � esn france �

hoorney "the ram" � esn UKF nitra �

Got mascots?

Does your section or a country have a nice mascot? Send us a nice picture to photo@esn.org and we'll put it in our gallery!

express magazine | 25

Advocacy! how ESN brings up quality to mobility?

{

Are you crazy about what ESN does but still feel like there are other ways to help future international students? Are you passionate about mobility? Do you believe that intercultural education is a key factor for a better future? Or are you one of those who think that actions for advocacy are just a drop in the ocean? In any case, keep reading; this article has been made for you to discover how innovative ESN can be in terms of bringing up quality to our favourite topic.

}

by International Committee for Education (ICE) members: Alicia Macanás, Madara Apsalone, Julia Svozil, Carla Filetti, Silvia Crocitta, Marta Guasp, Jesús Escrivá Muñoz

/001/ Local Level

C

an the local level do something to promote mobility and increase the quality of exchanges? Surely they do every single day, otherwise the network wouldn’t be so popular amongst the international students. The question is, can they do it towards local stakeholders?

Most of the International Relations Offices are overloaded with work and may not have the time to think of ways in which they could improve their services, so they would be more than happy to collaborate with you guys!

the relations between the International Relations Office and the association increased substantially. Next time, it could be your section that goes off with a bang!

Are you ready?

erasmus As you probably imagine, universities Indeed, collaboration between the staff always try to foster the relations they International Relations Offices mobility have with other university partners and ESN sections result in ESN produces many different tools that weeks as they need each other to create new connections and improve the mutual benefit and in the benefit sections can use to promote both ESN and existing ones in order to be able to of exchange students overall. A its values. You will surely have heard about offer students increasing opportunities further example is the international ESN’s research projects: they bring a lot of to go abroad. That is the objective of the recognition to ESN International but could project ExchangeAbility which, together Erasmus Staff Mobility Weeks. These with ESN sections, Higher Education also bring it to your section! What’s more, events take place in universities once or Institutions and organisations that are the projects are very good ways to improve twice a year and they manage to gather experts in the field, seeks to increase the quality of exchanges at your Higher different Erasmus Mobility Staff in a week the opportunities and support offered Education Institution. filled up with conferences, workshops for students with disabilities to study and intercultural learning activities. Do abroad. With the aim of creating the best The national level has the means to actively not hesitate to contact your International conditions possible for disabled students support each section in its collaboration Relations Office (IRO) to get to know during their study abroad, ESN intends with the respective international office when these events take place and offer to to become a more accessible association. by best practices or even by arranging the present the most up-to-date topics yourself By providing this service, the different contact in the beginning. The coordination universities do not only widen of the Erasmus Exchange: the new updates of international projects such prime from our research projects PRIME or the amount of their potential as PRIME (Problems of ESNSurvey or the current situation of the incoming students but also Recognition in Making esnSURVEY Erasmus for All policy-making process. gain an outstanding extra value.

Erasmus) or ESNSurvey opens up the possibility to collect more National Boards can also participate in Now, let’s put your section into real answers, which is good for our advocacy Erasmus Staff Mobility Weeks, trying to action! How about planning a fair to mix purposes, but also to have a national contact the National Agency and offering incoming students and outgoing ones analysis, that is highly requested by to participate with valuable information. next month? The university could gain international offices. This also gives your National Agencies are normally also prospective Erasmus students and your section more recognition! So ask your NB present in these events or, at least, have an section some prospective ESNers. This if you need help with the contact to your easy way to contact universities about this. activity has potential to increase both the international office or if you are interested It can be of extraordinary help for the NB quality and the quantity of exchanges in education on the national level. You to foster the creation of new sections in at your Higher Education Institution. don’t need to be a member of the NB to non-ESN universities.

We’ve heard that Campus Europae has get involved! successfully organised it in Spain and

26 | express magazine • #15 winter 2012

advocacy

D

/002/ NATIONAL Level

collaborating with the national students Note that in the near future there will be union. national ESN roles in the network named At last, the link with the international ‘Education Officers’ to help with all this level helps to gain valuable input from work (we hope you might be interested other countries, which is highly in being one of them...). education appreciated since the national The Education Officer will officers organs are not always familiar try to be in contact with its with it. In the end, the Education NA and other stakeholders Officer will be regarded as an expert who is dealing with the Erasmus programme.

First of all, we want to make clear that able to overlook local, national and partly Because every country is different, so are national stakeholders are essential in international advocacy in the Erasmus the implementation and monitoring of order to promote the rights and needs of programme. It can also be challenging the Erasmus programme and the ways the international students. Not only that, in other issues you haven’t imagined in which ESN gets involved. It might be they might also support national projects yet; e.g. the current Education Officer difficult to give examples of this but what of ESN and help the integration of the in ESN Switzerland has to deal with is important to stress is that it adds up to sections’ work with international projects. different languages, so she has substantially the importance of the national level and To give you an example of real advocacy, improved her language skills! especially of the education officers to deal in some countries, ESN monitors not with it and to find the best strategy. only the implementation of the Erasmus It all may sound a bit complicated to you at programme but also advocates for the the moment. However, it is important to Along the same lines, the recognition of the soft skills that national keep in mind that a good collaboration representation of ESN in every volunteer achieves when agency with national stakeholders will pay off in different national councils not they partake in ESN activities. the end by invitations to conferences and only provides a face of the programme to This experience tells that every country meetings, by financial support of ESN and administrative organs, used to see numbers should definitely have good relations with by receiving important information directly and money only: it offers the possibility to the reference National Agency (NA). that can help other countries in their influence decisions directly. ESN is usually Other ways that ESN has to influence the advocacy actions. a better expert in the Erasmus programme policy-making process every time there than national students unions are, but is is something related to education in the not that familiar with general national agenda, is through the involvement in policies. For that reason, ESN could National Youth Councils; i.e. ESN Italy learn from that expertise, by meeting and and ESN Poland. oes the concept ‘National Agency’ look familiar to you? What about the Youth Councils? This next part will help clarify some issues, and maybe give you some nice ideas to improve advocacy actions in your ESN country.

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N PROVISLIO Y IT A U Q y 2009 ND In

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Julia Fellinger Luyedan Huang Igor Kalinic Justyna Pisera Julia Trawińska Edona Vinca

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Problems of Recognition

Successful Recognition Student Guidebook

In Making Erasmus

PRIME 2010

PRIME

Problems of Recognition in Making Erasmus

Exchange, employm ent and added value

Research Report of the Emanuel Alfranseder

ESNSurvey 2011

(ed.), Jesús Escrivá , Julia Fellinger, Aimee Haley, Asror Nigmo nov & Marge Taivere

Erasmus Student Netwo

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express magazine | 27

advocacy

/003/ interNATIONAL Level

Y

ou are one of the thousands of volunteers from all over Europe who are members of the network. But do you know that ESN is a key player in advocating for student mobility in higher education? If you have been reading all the way down here, you can imagine that the international level also provides vision, structure and coordination for diverse advocacy initiatives and joins very committed people to make a difference.

Most of advocacy efforts at the international level come under the umbrella of the International Committee for Education (ICE), which has a designated team for ESN position papers. This team follows all new developments in European Higher Education Area and collaborates with the Board when it comes to forming ESN opinions and responses to any major changes and steps taken by the European Commission and other mobility stakeholders.

ICE brings together many different experiences and approaches, and the real added value of our policies is the ESN ability to reach out to over 150,000 Erasmus and international students. To strengthen ESN advocacy across all levels, ICE also includes the coordinating team

28 | express magazine • #15 winter 2012

of Education Officers and other initiatives such as Erasmus in Schools.

Another pillar of ESN advocacy work is our international research projects. On the one hand there is Problems of Recognition in Making Erasmus (PRIME), which focuses on academic aspects of international student mobility; on the other there’s ESNSurvey, which focuses on social aspects. Both projects are amongst the largest of such student run international research initiatives in Europe, and have supported our advocacy work with very important facts, such as strong evidence for the still existant low academic recognition levels of courses studied and competences gained abroad during Erasmus.

Then, ESN has a Liaison Office, which links the network to the European Youth Forum (YFJ), the European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL) and the Informal Forum of International Student Organizations (IFISO). Our work with all three platforms provides a more holistic perspective to international education and helps to coordinate advocacy with other organizations.

Student mobility is quite a cross-sectoral issue – like many other organisations we

call for more investment in education, more cross-border recognition of competences, easier access to visas and more flexible mobility solutions, more support for volunteering and civil-society building initiatives as well as cross-cultural understanding and learning. To give you an example, the Liaison Office is currently involved in the Civil Society Coalition: a joint group of organisations that propose common policy and position papers on the European Commission “Erasmus for All” proposal and the future of the mobility programmes in Europe.

Standing with others we can, of course, achieve more than standing alone.

International advocacy teams are always looking for more people to share our passion!

How to get involved? just get in touch with the ICE chairing team (ice-chair@esn.org) and you’ll discover a world of opportunities!

parma: swep 2013

parma: elected venue for swep 2013

interview with ilona arcadi: OC of SWEP 2013

A

few weeks ago all of the South European ESN countries met in Madrid for an amazing SWEP, where a lot of work was done, as well as team building and networking, but also where the new venue for SWEP 2013 was elected: Parma, Italy.

Alicia Sanchez got a chance to interview Ilona Arcadi, OC member and speaker in the candidacy presentation in SWEP Madrid 2012

Parma was the only one candidate for SWEP 2013.

Which feelings did you have facing the voting procedure?

We known we were the only candidate, but that didn’t meant arriving to Madrid as "the winning horse". ESN is a highly qualified and demanding network. ESN has been present in Parma for a long time, and we have experience in preparing well constructed projects.

We were able to se many members from the OC in Madrid. How many people is the team made of?

What does it mean at National Level that Parma GOT elected as A venue for SWEP 2013?

We are 23 people, ready to go!

It is an honour, and we are very happy and proud of it. We only got one negative vote, and that made us feel very reliable with our project. Milano did not succeed as AGM 2013, so this new opportunity is very important for the whole Italian Network, willing to host an international event. We are really happy and enthusiastic about it.

When did you decide to candidate as OC for SWEP 2013?

Quite a while ago, in April.

Why SWEP? We were enthusiastic about organizing an international event.

Numerous members of the OC have participated in previous SWEPs and we were very motivated because of its characteristics.

An event with a limited number of participants which makes it feel closer and warmer, and where the objective is to share knowledge, experiences, and network. Besides this, Parma is a very well connected city thanks to low cost flight companies, and we think that this will be very positive for our colleagues from Spain, Italy, Portugal and Malta.

Your slogan as candidates was: "So what Else?

Parma". Now you got it, so, what else?

PARMA. We have a lot to offer, new ideas for the participants such as "SocialErasmus aperitif " and many other surprises. SWEP Madrid 2012 has just finished, so from the very first moment we arrive back home, we will start working!

All ESN members are more than welcome to our city! So, see you in SWEP Parma 2013!

express magazine | 29

ESN & Facebook

like us on facebook and get daily updates on esn world!

We just <3 messages from our fans:

30 | express magazine â&#x20AC;˘ #15 winter 2012

esn gadgets

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This stylish lanyard is perfect for name tags for any ESN event!

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express magazine | 31

jumping for er25mus

Jumping for Er25mus breaking DOWN the records

T

wenty-five hours of continuous jumping on a trampoline. That's the way the Exchange Student Club VSB-TUO (ESC VSB-TUO) in Ostrava, Czech Republic celebrated 25th anniversary of Erasmus, breaking the Czech national record for jumping on a trampoline.

September at 5PM and end the next day at 6PM. All this taking place right in front of the student canteen on the campus where most of the exchange students live.

ESC VSB-TUO intended to make something special for the Er25mus celebrations. They wanted to prepare a project that does not just disappear, they wanted to use the symbolism of the number 25 and last, but not least they wanted everybody to have fun! When the idea of breaking one of the Czech records appeared, it seemed to be the best choice.

As the purpose was mainly to gather together and get to know more people (it was the beginning of the semester), they negotiated the permission to have quite loud music, which made people passing by give curious looks, come, and often also jump for a while. Good beer kept them for a bit longer. They thought it could be hard to keep the trampoline in motion during the night but oddly enough, from time to time, there even was a queue of impatient jumpers who kept asking how much time was left before their turn.

After choosing jumping on a trampoline, they started to plan and organise until they finally had the time and place approved, they would start jumping on 26th

In the end, 387 people took part in the new Czech national record in jumping on the trampoline. Their names will be immortalized in the Czech National Book

32 | express magazine â&#x20AC;˘ #15 winter 2012

of Records. It was mainly Czech and foreign students who jumped, but also lecturers and university officials helped.

"Most of them stayed on a trampoline for a couple of minutes, some were coming back several times and one guy was jumping the whole hour," said Erika Remesicova, one of the ESC VSB-TUO members who stayed at the event whole night.

Besides having a lot of fun, they were glad some people came to ask questions about mobility programs and ESN as well. Some students were curious about what ESN was and how it worked, others asked about going on Erasmus, some wondered what other events the ESC VSB-TUO organized. "We dare say the project was successful â&#x20AC;&#x201C; everybody enjoyed and those who wanted got informed, too," agreed the members.

Andrea Wantulova

section cooperation support

Jerzy Jasielec

E

SN is a network of students. The strength of a network depends on the strength of each element in it, as well as on the connections between them. In ESN we have structural connections connecting all sections of each country to form National Platforms. Additionally, National Representatives chosen every year by National Platforms together form a body called the CNR. They are constantly communicating and meet five times a year to discuss the most important issues for the organisation. However, these are not the only links keeping the network together.

Several years ago, sections all over Europe spontaneously started cooperating with each other. In big cities, sections started organising some projects together. With joined forces they can create bigger and more exciting events for international students, as well as exchange the experiences of their members. Sections from different countries also started collaborating with each other and exchanging their know-how. As an interesting example, it is worth to mention sections forming partnerships with those from other cities. Such types of cooperation can sometimes be sponsored by local municipalities as it is often seen by officials as a part of their

own cooperation plans between sister cities. Some of these sections organise regular meetings for their members, which not only helps to exchange knowledge and ideas but also creates a feeling of belonging to one big ESN family.

During CoMeet GdaĹ&#x201E;sk in March 2012, the Network and Events Committee, together with the Communication Committee, decided to promote good cooperation and help sections in creating new forms of collaboration. A new project called the Section Cooperation Support (SeCS) was therefore started. As one of the first results, we would like to present a series of three articles.

The first of them tells of the cooperation between the sister cities of Utrecht and Brno. The second one will give you some insight into the section meetings between sections from Dresden, Prague and Krakow. In the third article youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see how the cooperation of sections within one city can look like, based on the example of Skopje.

If you would also like to write something about the cooperation your section is involved in, do not hesitate to send an e-mail to section-cooperation@esn.org.

utrecht & brno partnership Katerina Novanska

C

ooperation between ESN Utrecht and sections in Brno started in March 2009 as an exchange study-visit of boards, initiated by students from Masaryk University, the city of Brno and the organising committee of AGM Utrecht.

The first idea came from the fact that the cities Brno and Utrecht have shared a partnership since 1993, which made it easier to look for funding for the project.

The partnership was sustained due to the fact that the sections involved share a lot in common, yet have differences that allow them to learn from each other.

The cooperation is based on knowledge sharing. The board of ESN Utrecht and the ESN sections in Brno not only have similar missions, but also share comparable strategies in reaching their goals. However, the activities that are organised in Utrecht and Brno differ a lot in execution styles and final objectives due to local and cultural factors. The exchange of ideas and knowledge and the sharing of best practices is very informative for the students on the

boards of the ESN sections involved.

The sections organise a study trip every half a year, when ESN members from one city visit the other and vice versa.

During the trip the local section(s) prepare a programme for the visitors, including brainstorming sessions and attending activities organised for local exchange students. We also promote this project as a cultural exchange to stimulate interest and open-mindedness towards other cultures and their corresponding differences. The visitors usually eat typical local food, visit local attractions and stay with local students, but not necessarily with other board members. As a result, the visit takes a few days, in order to have enough time to talk and explore the other section properly.

Despite the success of the partnership, we still haven't reached all the goals of the project. We have not organised any activity together yet, but the exchange of knowledge has already proved to be very useful. Every visit brings along with it new members with different ideas, from sections that are constantly evolving. express magazine | 33

section cooperation support

section meeting in dresden jiri andrejs

I

got an amazing opportunity to introduce and tell you about the great cooperation between 5 sections from the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland; namely ISC CTU in Prague, ESN VSE PRAGUE, ESN TU Dresden, Faranto e.V., and ESN UJ Krakow. Nowadays, we use many methods to communicate, such as emails, Google conferences, Facebook groups, section meetings, and Skype calls. The main reason for holding section meetings is to get to know people from other sections, establish new friendships, share know-how, and help each other with organising trips.

Once upon a time, after the AGM Sienna 2003, a group of Czech, German, and Polish friends met at the first Cultural Medley held in Prague. They decided to meet more often and to call their meetings the Section Meeting! So, thanks to people like Ben Zielke, Ewa Misiewicz, Ola Nowak, Ewa Krzaklewska, Pavel Krikl, Michal Mildorf and Barbora Senešová, the tradition has been launched.

The very first Section Meeting was held in May 2004 in Krakow. Every semester it takes place in either Poland, Germany or the Czech Republic, and we switch locations on a regular basis. The cooperation has been going on for many years with its ups and downs – changing structures of the meetings, and setting rules and recommendations for the next generations. The biggest values endured are the lifelong friendships between its

34 | express magazine • #15 winter 2012

members. And we are a living example of its success!

Two of Dresden’s sections happily took over the torch of organising the Section Meeting for this semester. The date was set up for April 20th – 22nd. The preparation usually starts about 3 months before. The important part of the preparations is to find out the venues – where we are going to sleep, eat and work. We try to find a place in or near the city. After that, the OCs have to introduce a theme for the Section Meeting (e.g. Mafia, Caribbean, Hollywood), as well as plan informative workshops and sessions.

The participants arrived on Friday morning in Dresden, where organisers prepared brunch and everybody received a welcome package. Later, each organisation introduced itself and gave a presentation on “What we are proud of ”. Martin from TU Dresden then guided us through the historical quarters of Dresden. The funny end of the tour was the opportunity to ride a bike with 7 seats. After the ride, we had a picnic near the Elbe. Then after unpacking in Oberau, we started with the preparations for a Eurodinner. The first day ended with a small karaoke party.

The second day started with a big breakfast even a 5 star hotel wouldn’t feel embarrassed serving. Then it was time for the first workshop, “Team Building & Group Dynamic”, led by Magdalena. The workshop helped us with communicating

and working within a group of diverse people and run like a well–oiled machine.

After the BBQ lunch there was some time for group activities and fun games, thanks to which we strengthened our newly-formed friendships. Before dinner, we managed to participate in another workshop, this time about SocialErasmus, led by Mirek from ESN VSE Prague. He highlighted some very interesting options on how to promote SocialErasmus among students. For the evening program we had a scary night walk, and after that the theme party “From Dusk Till Dawn”. Everybody put on crazy masks, one of the rooms looked like the bar Titty Twister from the movie by Quentin Tarantino, and music was playing so the party could start.

Another amazing breakfast hit the spot and just one more workshop was waiting for us, “Section Marketing” led by Anja and Martin, on the last day. After that, we smoothly went over to the evaluation of the recent Section Meeting. Then came time to pack our stuff, but not before setting up dates for future meetings, the next of which would be held in Prague. Some of us though, were not ready to say goodbye yet, and so we went to visit the adjacent city of Meissen.

We spent an amazing three days together, made new friends, learnt from each other and gained some new knowledge. We are really looking forward to the upcoming Section Meeting, October 26th – 28th.

Like the Olympic tradition, the torch has been handed to Prague in the Czech Republic.

This article should motivate all ESNers to seize this opportunity to get to know a new section and learn something new. Most important though, is to make new friends!

section cooperation support

secs in skopje Ivona Tasevska

T

hese few lines are dedicated to SeCS practice in Macedonia; all we needed was one very experienced section and a new but enthusiastic one. ESN Skopje is the root of ESN Macedonia and has alumni members always prepared for knowledge transfer and the sharing the best practices and experiences as practically all the members are walking databases. On the other hand, ESN FON University at that time was the new section which had plenty of motivated newbies with brand new ideas, ready to use their creativity and refresh ESN Macedonia.

There are neither secret ingredients in successful cooperation nor special wisdom needed to do it. What is important is the will, positive energy, and the ESN spirit.

We don’t have the perfect recipe to share with all of you and help in the cooperation, but we have very positive experiences which have lasted three years, and doesn’t seem like it will finish anytime soon.

We are a small country, with a small

number of sections and an even smaller number of section members. If we ever tried to raise the competitiveness between the members (or the universities, since one is a private school and the other is public), we would never reach the unity and affiliation which the members feel, not only to their own sections, but to the whole network.

Let’s start from the latest event. The SocialErasmus Week was a local ESN FON University activity, but some members from ESN Skopje also actively participated in the event. The same happens when it comes to ExchangeAbility (EA).

When ESN Skopje organises a workshop or training about the EA, their fellow ESNers from ESN FON University are always invited to join in the local activity.

Apart from the official happenings, the sections also arrange informal meetings, such as Make-A-Cake with ESN Skopje, Eat-A-Cake with ESN FON University (teambuilding night out), karaoke nights

(right before one of the National Platforms, as an ice-breaker), city-park day (lots of ice-cream, games and future plans for the next semester). The Student Guide, a national project by both sections, is also very important for cooperation between the two sections.

Most significant in the support between the sections is their mutual supplementation in every aspect: if one section lacks information the other is ready to provide it; if one has problems with recruiting members, the sections organise info days and recruitment together; if one has financial issues, the other searches for fundraising sources or university support; if one has lack of skills or knowledge, the other is present at the meetings, helping and giving instructions. The main thing is that members from ESN Skopje never exclude the ones from ESN FON University. Rather, they always try to do things together.

Some sections came and went, but ESN Skopje and ESN FON University are here to stay. They’re as good in cooperation and behaving like one as they are in being unique and strong sections on their own.

express magazine | 35

comic strip

comic strip: ERASMUS TIPS

by Pechu Lucas aquihueleacerrao.blogspot.com

express magazine | 37

ESN IN PICTURES

38 | express magazine â&#x20AC;˘ #15 winter 2012

V Eduk8 V SocialErasmus V EUCIS-LLL

we V want you!

Read about:

25th anniversary of Erasmus Ride for your Rights The history of ESN Organising AGM Granada

Read about:

SocialErasmus ESNcard Stereotypes

Social & Green ESN COUNTRIES

:

ESN FRANCE ESN HUNGARY

IN THIS ISSUE:

Y - EXCHANGEABILIT - YOUTH FORUM EEN GR - ESN GOES

ESN COUNTRIES

:

ESN ESTONIA ESN POLAND

13th Edition Spring 2012

European Identity Now & Then 14th Edition Summer 2012

ESN COUNTRIES

:

Erasmus - changing lives, opening minds for 25 years

olunteering

ESN COUNTRIES

:

ESN ROMANIA ESN SLOVAKIA

ESN SWEDEN ESN GREECE

12th Edition - Autumn 2011

countries:

:

ESN MACEDONIA ESN ITALY

May 2011

20 years on the way

www.esn.

writer?

switzerland & turkey

in this issue:

ERASMUS RIGHTS MMITTEES

11th edition

rasmus

new

ESN COUNTRIES

Tim Tra

Making a difference

- exchangeability - bologna 2020 ealogy - erasmus - esn gen

IN THIS EDITION:

ON IN MAKING ERASMUS

PROBLEMS OF RECOGNITI

COUNTRIES: THE

ARIA

NETHERLANDS & BULG

7th edition December 2009

8th edition April 2010

20 years on the way

GET OUTSIDE THE BOX!

1

Got good writing skills? We're looking for skilled ESNers to cover events and write about news in the network! Hit us up at express@esn.org for info!SocialErasmus ESNcard Read about:

Stereotypes

photographer?

Europea 14th Edition Summer 2012

Is photography your passion? We're always in need of high quality pictures for the magazine and general promotion V Eduk8of ESN. Waiting for your awesomeness at V SocialErasmus photo@esn.org V EUCIS-LLL Read about:

proofreader?

Social & Green

ESN COUNTRIES

:

ESN FRANCE ESN HUNGARY

IN THIS ISSUE:

Y - EXCHANGEABILIT - YOUTH FORUM - ESN GOES GREEN

ESN COUNTRIES

:

13th Edition Spring 2012

Then ESN COUNTRIES

:

ESN ROMANIA ESN SLOVAKIA

Volunteering

ESN ESTONIA ESN POLAND

new

:

Are you crazy awesome in English?

We totally need - PRIME 2010 L ERASMUS - NEW ESN PROJECTS you! All English lovers out there, please email-- SOCIA us at YOUTH RIGHTS - ESN COMMITTEES editor@esn.org IN THIS ISSUE:

Making a difference

12th Edition - Autumn 2011

ESN COUNTRIES

ESN SPAIN ESN BELGIUM

11th edition

May 2011

Time Travels

N THIS ISSUE: IN

10th edition January 2011

9th edition September 2010

rasmus 20 years on the way

express magazine | 39 www.esn.org

ESN COUNTRIE

ESN MACEDON ESN ITALY

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.