Annual Report of AEGEE-Yerevan 2011
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Transcript of Annual Report of AEGEE-Yerevan 2011
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Dear Reader,
AEGEE-Europe brings together students with a common goal
since 1985: a unified Europe without prejudices, without
borders, a Europe “united in diversity” as the European
Institutions love to define.
One of the unofficial motto is: “Some call it Europe, we call it
home”. These words properly define what AEGEE stands for:
one Europe, from Urals to the Ocean, with several faces and
several stories. One Europe, with several ideas and different
ideals.One Europe, one soul.
In this context, AEGEE-Yerevan has been a discovery.
Besides expanding a bit more the borders of our Europe,
AEGEE-Yerevan,with all the activities realised, created a nice context in which Europe could
be debated in Yerevan, responding to the need of Europe of local students and contributing
to balance the Network increasing the activities and the possibilities for AEGEE members in
Caucasus.
Definitely, this success wouldn’t have been possible without the motivation of our members
that accepted the challenge to create a new structure and successfully managed to
implement it, being nowadays one of the most active locals in our Network.
Concluding, I am proud and happy for the foundation of AEGEE-Yerevan, and I wish all the
best for a long and successful experience in AEGEE.
Alfredo Sellitti,
President of AEGEE-Europe
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Dear Reader,
The year 2011 has been crucial for young people in
Armenia as finally AEGEE local was established in
Yerevan and started its activities. AEGEE is one of the
biggest interdisciplinary student organizations in Europe,
which was founded in 1985 in Paris. Today it counts 13
000 members in 240 cities in 40 European countries.
Already being present in Caucasus for many years finally
it was established in the capital city of Armenia-Yerevan.
In spite of very young age of AEGEE-Yerevan we have
been quite active. Focused on Active Citizenship more
than 30 local and international events have been
organized and around 500 young people already
benefited from these events.
Next year our priority will be Eastern Partnership Project and cooperation of young people
from Eastern Partnership Countries and EU member states.
We are working on boosting the cooperation and communication of young people in order
to build an open and tolerant society.
So enjoy reading our first report about implemented projects and events.
Shushan Khachatryan
Founder and President of AEGEE-Yerevan
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FIRST BOARD OF
AEGEE-YEREVAN
2010-2011
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What is AEGEE?
AEGEE (Association des EtatsGénéraux des
Etudiants de l’Europe / European Students’ Forum)
is youth organisation that promotes co-operation,
communication and integration amongst young
people in Europe. As a non-governmental,
politically independent, secular and non-profit
organisation AEGEE is open to students and young
people from all faculties and disciplines – today it
counts 13.000 members, active in more than 200
university cities in 40 European countries, making it
the biggest interdisciplinary student association in Europe.
AEGEE, which was founded in 1985 in Paris, puts the idea of a unified Europe into practice. A
widely spread student network provides the ideal platform where youth workers and young
volunteers from 40 European countries can work together on cross border activities such as
conferences, seminars, exchanges, training courses, Summer Universities, Case Study trips and
Working Group meetings.
By encouraging traveling and mobility, stimulating discussion and organising common projects
AEGEE attempts to overcome national, cultural and ethnic divisions and to create a vision of young
people’s Europe. The structure is based on an European level (a European Board of Directors
working in Brussels and 4 Commissions, 11 Working Groups and 9 multinational Project Teams) and
on a local level (the over 200 Antennae or local groups, forming the Network).
The association’s main aims are:
o Promoting a unified Europe without prejudices,
o Striving for creating an open and tolerant society of today and tomorrow,
o Fostering democracy, human rights, tolerance, cross boarder cooperation, mobility and
European dimension in education.
All the numerous events and projects run by the organisation are to be focused on our 4 Fields of
Action (Cultural Exchange, Active Citizenship, Higher Education, Peace& Stability) and 3 Focus Areas
(European Citizenship, Global Challenges and Intercultural Dialogue).
Among AEGEE’s most well-known achievements there are the effective lobbying for the Erasmus
Programme, which lead it to develop to its current state of development and recognition, and its
longest running project, the Summer University, gathering each summer thousands of volunteers
who contribute to open a new perspective to the participants over the multicultural dimension of
the European continent, providing high-content, high-quality and low-cost summer courses (ranging
from language courses to seminars about political, cultural, environmental issues).
AEGEE has participatory status in the activities of the Council of Europe, consultative status at the
United Nations, operational status at UNESCO and is at the same time a member of the European
Youth Forum. The organisation has also a number of illustrious personalities amongst its general
partners: Mikhael Gorbatchev, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; Vaclav Havel, former President
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of the Czech Republic; Eric Froment, former President of the European University Association,
Wolfgang Thierse, former President of the Bundestag and Romano Prodi, former Prime Minister of
Italy and President of the European Commission.
COMITE DIRECTEUR 2011-2012
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Official Opening Ceremony of AEGEE-Yerevan
The official start of AEGEE-Yerevan was on November 2010, after signing contract with AEGEE-
Europe. Around 200 guests attended the event, people with various professions and age group. The
opening speech was made by Mrs Lana Karlova-the Tempus National Office Coordinator in Armenia.
She highlighted the importance of establishment of these kind of youth organizations in Armenia as
brilliant way of promoting mobility of young people. The President of European Movement in
Armenia Viktor Yengibaryan, Board Member 2010 of European Youth Forum Hamlet Ohanyan and
ex member of AEGEE-Prague, founder of YERITAC youth NGO Alexander Hakobyan also made
interesting speeches. One of inspiring ones was made by BurcuBecermen- the President of AEGEE-
Europe 2005 and ex member of AEGEE-Ankara. She mentioned AEGEE-Yerevan to be one more way
of cooperation of young people in Armenia and Turkey. After the inspiring opening ceremony
AEGEE-Yerevan started its first steps.
LOCAL PROJECTS
NOVEMBER 2010
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Local Training Course-Project Management
Right after the opening ceremony it was time to train our members. The 3 day training was made
by Anna Yeghoyan, the vice president of AEGEE-Gyumri (Now unfortunately AEGEE-Gyumri is
deactivated). 25 new AEGEE members were selected to participate in the training. Various aspects
of project management were discussed, among them PR and HR management, Fundraising etc. The
non-formal way it was organized helped the participants to be more active and involved.
LOCAL PROJECTS
DECEMBER 2010
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Youth unemployment Action Day
Under the umbrella of Youth Unemployment Project a group of enthusiastic members of AEGEE-
Yerevan undertook the challenge to be involved for the first time in AEGEE European level project.
Nowadays students often have to face a trade-off between their academic and non-academic
commitment. They contribute to the society as volunteers and through being involved in workshops
following the foundations of Non Formal Education. Unfortunately, their work often remains
unrecognised by their University and their future employers.
The Youth UnEmployment project wants to tackle these problems with implementing a series of
activities that will help young people to increase their employability and will lobby for the
recognition of voluntary work and non-formal education as work experience. On 28th of January
“Employment Action Day” a day-long event was organized, which was covering the different
aspects of youth employability and professional growth.
The event was attended by around 200 students and young professionals from the capital and other
cities of the country.
Based on the survey results and positive feedbacks from the participants we can conclude that the
event had a great success and positive impact.
Over 35 media hit on TV, radio youth channels and online news portals highlighted the event.
Thanks to EAD wide public exposure AEGEE-Yerevan have caught the attention of Armenian Youth.
Many of them for the first time learned about AEGEE.
The Action Day was organized also in Barcelona, Sofia, Tbilisi, Moscow, Skopje, Istanbul, Napoli and
many other European cities.
LOCAL PROJECTS
JANUARY 2011
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EU Awareness Action Day
AEGEE-Yerevan together with International Politics Working Group of AEGEE-Europe
organized an event- EU Awareness Action Day which was held on 19 February 2011 at Best
Western Congress Hotel. The workshop was dedicated to the “Overview of EU Institutions
and Opportunities Given by the EU to non-EU Member States”.
AEGEE-Yerevan received more than 180
applications for the participation in this
event. After very hard selection of the
participants, at last there were chosen 50
participants, who together with 30 AEGEE-
Yerevan members took part in this event.
Many officials from different state
institutions attended the event. There were
guests from the Constitutional Court of the
Republic of Armenia, Delegation of the
European Union to Armenia, the National
Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Eurasia International
University and journalists from 10 online newspapers.
During the workshop the speakers presented the history and development of the EU
institutions, functions and activities of the main institutions, as well as cultural, economical
and educational opportunities given by the EU to non-EU member states and Eastern
Partnership program. At the opening of the event Coordinator of the event
ArmenakMinasyants and President of AEGEE-Yerevan ShushanKhachatryan presented the
main purpose of organization of the respective event and made little presentation of
AEGEE.
During the EU Awareness Action Day, Eurasia Partnership Foundation made the presentation
of the book “Hello Europe” and the book was distributed to all participants of the event.
At the end of the workshop participants were divided into 4 groups, political, economic,
educational, cultural, and discussions were made about the advantages and disadvantages
of possible EU Integration. AEGEE-Yerevan would like to thank all the participants for their
active contribution and IPWG of AEGEE-Europe for outstanding support during the
organization of this project. We would also like to thank the EU Delegation to Armenia for
the technical support.
LOCAL PROJECTS
FEBRUARY 2011
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Participation in Youth Job Fairs and Europe Day, Yerevan, Armenia
In May several job fairs were held in Yerevan and AEGEE-Yerevan did its best to participate in all of
them. One of them was organized by Yerevan State Linguistic University after Valery Brusov. There
were presented both Armenian NGOs and representatives of international organizations in Armenia.
That is the first job fair in the history where AEGEE-Yerevan participated and it acquitted all
expectations. Many young people were informed about AEGEE-Yerevan and, later, part of them
became members of AEGEE-Yerevan.
Second fair was held at Armenia Marriott Hotel. There were presented not only non-governmental
organizations but also potential employers from Armenian companies. Too many people attended
this fair as employers and NGOs made presentations on different subjects: volunteering work,
education, entering job market, etc. AEGEE-Yerevan made presentation on “Volunteering in Europe”
and the opportunities it gives the youth.
AEGEE-Yerevan considers important participating in such fairs, as here employee and employer meet
directly, get much information and, it is worth mentioning, that there is a possibility to find a dream
job.
May was a month of youth fairs. In Particular AEGEE had an active participation and partnership
with the following events and job fairs:
Youth Job Fair by USAID at Marriott Hotel
Annual Youth Job Fair organized by the University of Brusov
Europe Day organized by the Delegation of EU in Armenia
LOCAL PROJECTS
MAY 2011
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Higher Education Day
(HED)
On 14th
May, 2011, AEGEE-Yerevan
officially shook its HED...
The project started in the AEGEE–
Education Working Group with the
idea that students should have an
active role in the process of improving
their educational system. So, they
should be offered a platform for
identifying the problems, but, even
more important, they should be
encouraged to find solutions.
So as planned Higher Education Days were implemented in several European cities like Groningen,
Delft, Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest, Bucharest and finally in Yerevan.
The event organized in Yerevan enabled around 100 students to share their ideas on
improving higher education, discuss problems and offer solutions. Any student could find
answers to his/her questions as they were representatives from almost any sphere of higher
education: Tempus National Office in Armenia, Ministry of Education and Science, Union of
Employers of RA, Adult Education and Lifelong Learning Association and ARMACAD
association etc.
The “hottest” topics of HED-Yerevan were internships for Armenian students and
cooperation of the university and potential employers. Students complained about quality
and duration of provided internships. They said that they need an efficient internship, and
not just a stamp on the certificate. Transition from the university to labor market remains
one of the weak-points of our higher education system.
The other concern was implementation of Bologna system in Armenia. There were some
questions whether the implementation of Bologna process is satisfactory, do students have
clear information what and for what Bologna system is.
Also there were discussions about the visibility of European Student exchange programs,
e.g. Erasmus Mundus program, and what should be done to make it more accessible for
students.
So generally the event was successful in terms of creating a common platform for all the
Higher education representatives to discuss the problems of Higher Education and seek for
solutions.
LOCAL PROJECTS
MAY 2011
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European Summer University in Yerevan-City of Rocks, City that
Rocks
The month July was not only significant for its hot…very hot weather in Yerevan, but for AEGEEans
it was a way to new challenges. AEGEE-Yerevan organized the first ever and the famous Summer
The aim of the Summer University was to bring young people from Armenia and Europe closer, do
discuss cultural differences and explore each others’ culture.
The participants came out to be from many different European countries such as the Netherlands,
Greece, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Italy and Finland. The first
day after the arrival started with AEGEE presentation, city tour and character party.
LOCAL PROJECTS
JULY 2011
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During the next days the participants had tours to some of the beautiful places of Armenia-Lake
Sevan, they saw the only preserved pagan temple Garni and Geghard Monastery. The tours followed
also by Etchmiajin-the religious center of Armenia as well as Zvartnots.
One of the important events in frames of the project was the Armenian National evening with
typical Armenian food, music and dances.
The next one was the European Cultural Evening which was an open event at the Youth Foundation
of Armenia hall. Each participant made a presentation of their country, presented national food and
drinks.
Our friend, Sebastiano Perale from AEGEE-Venezia says, "AEGEE-Yerevan has organized a very good
Summer University. But considering the fact that AEGEE-Yerevan was born yesterday, I think they
have organized an excellent Summer University!! The programme was
full but not tiring, the places were interesting and diverse, the lodging was perfect and the
organizers were very helpful and always at our disposal. They never let anybody get lost in town,
anytime a group split in two parts, in both parts there was at least one organizer.
At the moment, I am really missing Armenia and all organizers and participants there!!"
The most and extreme part of the SU was the 2 days trip to Tatev-one of the most amazing places
in Armenia where is located the worlds’ longest ropeway.
On the way to Tatev we visited the Areni Wine Factory and Noravank Monastery. It was already late
evening when we arrived to Tatev and quickly set the tents where we were going to spend all the
night. The multicultural night was very interesting with fire and guitar, nice songs and games. But
after the heavy rain everyone ran to the tents and got wet in the morning :D hopefully nobody
caught cold after this crazy experience!
During the Summer university we did the most different and the first Eastern Partnership team
meeting in the bus from Yerevan to Tatev in the 40C temperature, which was very productive.
The last day as always was not the best one because of saying bye but with the big hope to see
each other soon somewhere in Europe.
For organizing this Summer University we had support from the Youth Foundation of Armenia,
Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia, Ashtarak Kat Company, Hayastan All-Armenia Fund, Tour
Info Magazine and Sima Tours Travel Agency and many thanks for supporting us.
The Summer University Project is going to be annual in Yerevan, so wait for next year!!!
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Birthday of AEGEE-Yerevan!!!
September 16 is a very special day for AEGEE-
Yerevan. On 2010 the first board of AEGEE-
Yerevan was formed so the day is market as
the official start of our activities. On
September 16 all members of AEGEE-Yerevan
gathered in a cozy pub to celebrate the first
anniversary of baby AEGEE-Yerevan with a
huge cake with the logo. The day was special
especially for founders of AEGEE-Yerevan as
after 1 year they could see a really established
organization. AEGEE locals from various
European countries including the Head Office
in Brussels prepared a surprise by
congratulating, recording videos and sending to
our mailing list.
Read more on our blog
www.aegeeyerevan.wordpress.com
Find us on Facebook
http://facebook.com/AEGEE.Yerevan
Follow us on Twitter
http://twitter.com/AEGEE_Yerevan
LOCAL PROJECTS
SEPTEMBER 2011
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Model EU 2011
On 22 October AEGEE-Yerevan Youth NGO and the EU Delegation to Armenia organized the “Model
European Union 2011” (MEU 2011). Around 35 Armenian students were selected to participate in the
event through competitive procedure from various regions of Armenia. The aim of the conference
was to stimulate civic activism and improve EU knowledge among young people.
During the Conference the participants undertook the roles of Heads of State and Government of
the 27 EU Member States as well as the EU high-level officials. The delegates made their decisions in
the context of the current political forces and pressures within the EU member states, taking into
account the national interests of the states they were representing.
Mr. Onno Simons, the Head of the Political, Economic, Press and Information Section of the EU
Delegation to Armenia, who participated in the official opening and closing ceremonies of the
conference, emphasized in his welcoming speech the importance of organizing such kind of events
and asked the participants to be constructive and actively participate in all activities of the
conference. The event was organized in Armenia for the first time and is planned to become
annual.
At the end of the conference the participants were awarded with the certificates of honour for
active participation and contributive work.
LOCAL PROJECTS
OCTOBER 2011
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Local Training Course-Becoming Active in AEGEE
On 20th of November 2011 at the Best Western Congress Hotel AEGEE-Yerevan held a two day LTC
– Local Training Course, a unique event during which 25 newcomers to the Organization got a
unique possibility to get acquainted in details with the internal structure, activities and functions of
AEGEE-Europe. As it is known for each NGO internal awareness of its members about the activities
of the Organization can be a real key to the success. So taking into account this important
statement AEGEE-Yerevan together with the HRC of AEGEE-Europe initiated already for the second
time this important event.
During the LTC participants had a chance to get a lot of new information about AEGEE. The
experienced members of AEGEE-Yerevan, who also hold European level positions in AEGEE
presented the European level of AEGEE, its structure, working groups and project team and ongoing
big projects. All presentations were accompanied with interactive questions and answers.
At the official closing ceremony of the 2 day LTC all participants of the course were awarded with
the certificates of honour for participation in the event.
Culture Action Day-Visit to Parajanov home museum
On 18th of November AEGEE-Yerevan organized CAD - Cultural Action Day - unique action day and
event in the frames of which the members of the Organization got a specific possibility to organize
and participate in a big European action day project of the Cultural Working Group of AEGEE-
Europe.
So, after a long observation and discussions
AEGEE-Yerevan decided to visit the museum
of the one of the greatest film director's of
the 20th century Sergey Paranjov. A good
friend of Fellini and speaker of freedom in
USSR, Sergey Parajanov left unique heritage in
the modern filmography, as even during the
strict years of communism and totalitarian
regime in the USSR he managed to create a
film which got 26 international awards!
He also spent 5 years in the prisons where he
started to paint and made many masterpieces
of art. So cultural events are going to be part
of the activity of AEGEE-Yerevan.
LOCAL PROJECTS
NOVEMBER 2011
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Autumn Agora in Istanbul, Turkey
Agora is the general assembly of
AEGEE gathering 700-1000 young
people for four days which takes
place twice a year (Autumn and
Spring) hosted by different AEGEE
locals every time. This is a place to
ratify reports, make and discuss the
future plans of the association. Each
AEGEE locals have to send delegates
to the Agora. The Autumn Agora
2010 was crucial for AEGEE-Yerevan
as the main document for becoming
AEGEE local-Convensiond’ Adhesion
was signed. Three founders of
AEGEE-Yerevan were present at the
Agora (Shushan Khachatryan-
President, Gayane Merdinyan-Vice President and Gayane Grigoryan-PR Coordinator).
Human Resources European School, Budapest, Hungary
Twice a year AEGEE locals together with AEGEE Academy are organizing European schools-one week
trainings about Fundraising, HR, PR, IT etc. The aim of the training is to train members of AEGEE,
develop project management skills. The human resources coordinator of AEGEE-Yerevan participated
at the European School in Budapest.
PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN EVENTS
OCTOBER 2010
PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN EVENTS
NOVEMBER 2010
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European Board’s Meeting (EBM) in Riga, Latvia
The EBM (200-400 participants) involves AEGEE Antennae in
the projects and activities of the European Bodies of AEGEE,
providing a platform for interaction. At the EBM the Action
Agenda for the whole year is prepared. The activities
contained in the AA, which must relate to at least one of the
Focus Areas, are discussed and finally voted upon in the
plenary session. The president of AEGEE-Yerevan Shushan
Khachatryan and the previous Human Resources coordinator
Nane Mkrtchyan participated at the EBM.
Youth for peace Local Training Course (LTC), Tbilisi, Georgia
Local Training Course is organized by various
AEGEE locals in cooperation with AEGEE
Academy. It is a training addressing various
topics in particular AEGEE structure. 6 AEGEE-
Yerevan members participated in the LTC
organized by AEGEE-Tbilisi together with
participants from AEGEE-Trabzon, AEGEE-Baki
and of course AEGEE-Tbilisi. The training was
about overcoming conflicts.
PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN EVENTS
FEBRUARY 2011
PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN EVENTS
MARCH 2011
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EurPrivacy Symposium
As a representative of AEGEE-Yerevan Artur Grigoryan participated in a EurPrivacy Symposium,
which was a two-day conference on privacy in the digital era. The symposium was organised by
AEGEE-Nijmegen for their 25th anniversary. It took place on the Radboud University campus in
Nijmegen (The Netherlands).
The issue is of an ever-increasing importance due to the growing role that the internet has in our
lives and society as a whole. Technology opened a new era of communication, where a message
may reach millions. Technology has given governments, corporations and individuals alike the
opportunity to express them and society as a whole.
The main goal of symposium was to seek to address the sociological, philosocophical, legal and
cultural aspects of the issue of internet privacy, with participants and speakers from all over Europe.
Summer Universities of AEGEE, everywhere in Europe
The Summer University project is one
of the most successful projects of
AEGEE starting from 1988. Each year
around 80 summer universities are
organized in different European cities
with more than 4000 applicants and
around 2000 participants. The
Summer Universities are organized
addressing various topics and mostly
concentrating on cultural exchange
and foreign languages.
AEGEE-Yerevan members participated
in Summer Universities organized by
AEGEE locals in Spain, Germany,
France, Italy and Ukraine.
PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN EVENTS
JUNE-AUGUST 2011
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EU-Youth Conference, Warsaw, Poland
Around 230 participants from all over Europe gathered in Warsaw from 5 to 7 September for the
next structured dialogue organized by the EU Polish Presidency. The conference is a chance for
young people to make their voice heard in the European Union.
The structured dialogue is a platform for young people to participate in policy making in the EU and
in their respective national governments. Every six months, as the presidency of the EU is passed on
to another EU country, the president takes on the role of organizing and managing the structured
dialogue. The youth conference is a part of this structured dialogue process. It brings together the
input of all youth representatives and a statement with recommendations is formulated, which is
then presented to the Council of the EU, the EU commission and EU parliament.
This year for the first time the topic of the dialogue was “Youth and the World” especially targeting
Eastern Europe and Caucasus. Apart from young people, Commissioner for Education, Culture,
Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth – Androulla Vassiliou, minister of education in Poland –
Katarzyna Hall and Peter Matjašič – president of European Youth Forum, took part. 10
representatives of International NGO-s were present including selected representatives from AEGEE
ShushanKhachatryan (AEGEE-Yerevan) and Rene Janssen (AEGEE-Leuven).
During joint workshops, perspectives on cooperation with targeted countries were discussed. Youth
delegates and Representatives of Commission and Ministries were divided into working groups in
order to discuss various subtopics of Cooperation with Eastern European and Caucasian countries.
Topics of discussion were: barriers and obstacles in youth cooperation between the EU and EU
neighbouring countries, programmes and grant schemes to support mobility and participation and so
on.
The most actively discussed topic was free Schengen visa category for youth worker and a strong
independent youth programme of the EU Youth Conference put forward to the EU and the Member
States.
“I am glad to see youth participation in democratic life in practice, and, indeed flourishing.
Commission will put forward a single programme for reasons of efficiency and cost effectiveness.
But make no mistake, in substance the Commission will propose to continue and develop the actions
of Youth in Action programme in favour of non-formal learning trough the participation and the
mobility of all young people” - stated Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture,
Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth.
AEGEE-the European Students’ Forum, as one of the biggest student organizations which is present
in Eastern European and Caucasus countries as well, strongly encourages the cooperation and
highlighting it even more after selecting Bridging Europe a focus area for the next years.
The next EU Youth Conference will take place in Denmark and we could use your input so we can
represent AEGEE and its members. Stay tuned for more information on this next year!
PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 2011
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II Convention on Volunteering, Brussels, Belgium
As 2011 was declared to be
the “European Year of
Volunteering” by EU, the
European Youth Forum
organized a big event in
Brussels in participation of
around 500 young people.
Most workshops were
about Volunteering. 15
AEGEE members from
different AEGEE locals
including AEGEE-Yerevan
were part of the event.
Various workshops about
volunteering took place, as
well as movie screening of
“Caucasus Triangle” took
place involving young
people from many
European Countries.
September 2011-Event in Alushta, Crimea, Ukraine
Vahagn Keshishyan Head of Public Relations
Committee of AEGEE-Yerevan participated in a
project which took place in Alushta, Ukraine in
September and aimed to promote cultural
exchange. There were participants from Armenia,
Latvia, Russia and Ukraine. Most of them were
rather experienced in NGO work and participated
in different exchange programs. Some of the
participants heard about AEGEE before, some of
them just got acquainted to it and already
expressed their willingness to join us.
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Fostering Civil Society Role in Eastern Partnership Countries, Yerevan,
Armenia
From 20-21 October 2011 society delegates and decision makers from the Eastern Partnership and EU
countries gathered in Yerevan, Armenia at the Congress organized by the European Movement
International (EMI) to discuss the topic “Fostering Civil Society’s role for further European
integration in the Eastern Partnership”. With a strong will to deepen the network and roots of civil
society, Alfredo Sellitti, President of AEGEE Europe, and Eastern Partnership Project team members –
Daryna Skryl (AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk) and Shushan Khachaturyan (AEGEE-Yerevan), as well as Yulia
Barmakova (AEGEE-Kyiv) and AEGEE-Yerevan members participated in the Congress, actively
contributing to working out the conclusions.
Issues related to aims and objectives of Eastern Partnership Project launched by AEGEE members
were intensively discussed during three parallel workshops at the Congress with the following
outcome:
-Non-formal education provided by youth NGOs should be considered as an important
element in bridging the gaps in the formal education system, fully recognized and adequately
supported both financially and legally.
-It was admitted that there are still obstacles during registration of youth NGOs, operation
and expression of their opinions, and the difficulties in generating interest among young people
who have been raised in totally state-led systems. A Possible solution to these problems lies in
alliance-building among NGOs working on similar projects, which would increase their efficiency and
contribute to foster a dialogue with the Government.
-Participants proposed a set of recommendations towards a fight against visa restrictions,
namely encouragement of information exchange on established practices; encouraging youth NGOs
to establish/join alliances advocating visa-free actions; asking the European Union member states to
grant “home student status” to all students coming from the European Partnership countries; asking
Armenia and Azerbaijan to abolish visa restrictions for EU citizens.
During the Congress AEGEE members used this opportunity to inform participants about Eastern
Partnership Project and presented all their prospectives and on-going actions. Meanwhile in
discussions with possible partners and stakeholders it was concluded that Eastern Partnership Project
needs to be a part of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in order to bring more efficiency to
active citizenship development and visa-facilitation for young people. Cooperation with Eastern
Partnership Civil Society Forum could be a great achievement for the Project because of the
opportunity to lobby for its aims and this issue was supposed to be discussed at the third meeting
of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in Poznan, Poland on 28-30th of November 2011.
PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN EVENTS
OCTOBER 2011
27
Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, Poznan, Poland
The third Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum took place in Poznan, Poland from 28 to 30
November. The president of AEGEE-Europe Alfredo Sellitti and the President of AEGEE-Yerevan
Shushan Khachatryan participated in the forum for the first time on behalf of AEGEE.
The Civil Society Forum is an integral part of the Eastern Partnership programme. Every year it is
held in a country currently presiding over the Council of the European Union. The main task of the
event was to discuss problems of non-governmental organisations and civil societies in the Eastern
Partnership countries. The discussion was held in a large circle of activists, community workers,
experts and politicians.
This year the speakers and participants highlighted the importance of the efforts the EU Polish
Presidency invests in Eastern Partnership in general and the respective Civil Society Forum in
particular. Over 300 delegates from 150 organisations
assembled.
Four working groups currently exist in frames of the
forum and they are:
WG 1. Democracy, human rights, good governance and
stability
WG 2. Economic integration and convergence with EU
policies
WG 3. Environment, climate change and energy security
WG 4. Contacts between people
AEGEE was involved in the forth Working Group. One of
the progresses of this working group was the formation
of Youth subgroup, where there have been many
discussions about the future activities mainly addressing
the cooperation of youth in Eastern Partnership Countries
and EU member states.
The forum elected the new steering committee which would coordinate the forum until November
2012.
AEGEE emphasises the importance of participation in this forum as AEGEE locals in Eastern
Partnership Countries are an integral part of our AEGEE network. Furthermore, AEGEE plans a
number of activities to address young people in these countries of its focus area (Bridging Europe)
and the new “Eastern Partnership Project” initiated by AEGEE members. Consequently, as a part of
the forum we think that more youth NGO-s should be given the opportunity to be involved in the
forum and contribute to the discussions of the working group both on local and European level.
PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN EVENTS
NOVEMBER 2011
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Forum "Eastern Dimension of Volunteering"
The member of AEGEE-Yerevan Ani Janyan on behalf of AEGEE-Yerevan took part at the Forum
“Eastern Dimension of Volunteering”. 100 stakeholders of different international volunteering
programmes active in the countries of Eastern Europe and Caucasus (i.e., Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russian Federation and Ukraine) including the representatives of donor
institutions (e.g. European Commission, National Agencies, national governments, non-governmental
institutions etc.) and project beneficiaries (e.g. project coordinators, volunteers) came together to
share their experiences and to discuss together the challenges and opportunities of the Eastern
Dimension of Volunteering.
The Forum "Eastern Dimension of Volunteering" focused on the following objectives:
1. Analysing current practice and resources of different programmes of international volunteering
available for beneficiaries from Eastern Europe and Caucasus
2. Reflecting and discussing different understandings of the international volunteering
3. Exploring the impact of the international volunteering on the different stakeholders involved
4. Highliting challenges for international volunteering specific for the region of the Eastern Europe
and Caucasus
5. Defining the opportunities of development of international volunteering in the Eastern Europe
and Caucasus region
6. Celebrating the International Volunteer Day
Taking into consideration the European Year of Volunteering there was a ceremonial opening of the
EVS Photo Exhibition and after that celebration of the International Volunteer Day.
During a very short time all the participants had a chance to take part in discussions, be aware of
the upcoming projects and have a great time. Workshops and panel discussions aimed to share
experiences of different spheres related to the international volunteering. Participants had
experience in international volunteering issues in context of the Eastern Europe and Caucasus and
contributed actively to discussions in various workshops and working groups.
The Forum was co-organized by Polish National Agency of the Youth in Action (YiA) Programme
together with SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus (SALTO EECA) Resource Centre.
PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN EVENTS
DECEMBER 2011
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Network Meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia
Network Meeting/NWM/ is an event in
AEGEE, which is being organized twice a year
in various cities around Europe. The main aim
is to gather regional AEGEE locals, train the
members, discuss the specific region related
issues and try to find solutions. On December
the first NWM in Caucasus was organized
with the motivational theme “Lights, Camera,
Action!”. AEGEE members from Armenia,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary
and Italy were present at the NWM. The
presentation of Eastern Partnership Project,
Youth unemployment Project as well as Visa
Freedom working group of AEGEE took place. In parallel thematic workshops were carried out. The
NWM was closed by the traditional AEGEEan European Night where the countries presented their
national cuisine, songs and dances.
Youth Project on Volunteering-From Roots to Fruits, Las-Palmas,
Spain
From the 11th
to the 18th
of December 2011 6 members of AEGEE-Yerevan were participating in the
youth exchange programme “Preserving our Future: From the Roots to the Fruits” organized by
AEGEE-Las Palmas. Besides Armenian and Spanish Participants there were Latvian (AEGEE-Riga) and
Greece (AEGEE-Peiraias) delegations.
The project aimed to raise awareness about several types of volunteering, and to create
social awareness and motivate young people to become involved in volunteer projects in their local
communities. Workshops and group discussions about social and economic reality of the
participating countries were included in the agenda of the project.
During the event, representatives of local NGOs explained how to contribute in similar organizations
and gave informative talks about European AEGEE projects related to volunteering.
Activities were focused on three types of volunteering: with people with Down syndrome, with
immigrants and with young people who live in shelters.
Moreover, even the pastime was together with the target group: there were entertaining activities
such as bowling and dancing with Down syndrome children and sport activities with Foster kids.
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AEGEE Contact in Stepanakert
We, a group of like-
minded persons, from
the city of Stepanakert,
decided to begin the
process of establishment
of the AEGEE-Europe`s
contact in Stepanakert.
We find it very
important and necessary
to be involved in the
networking between the
students from all parts
of Europe. Our country,
without being
recognized by any state,
nevertheless is willing to
increase its links with
the outside world at the
civil society level. We are deeply convinced that every person, no matter where he lives, should be
aware of his essential rights and have chance to protect them. That is why we think and hope, that
AEGEE can become a good platform for raising people’s awareness of their rights, by realizing
different kinds of projects and initiatives. I suppose that becoming a member of International
students` forum, we shall have opportunity to get familiar with the European experience in the
sphere of education and particularly in the field of non-formal education and share this experience
with other young people in our country. We are interested in promoting values of democracy,
human rights and tolerance. Speaking honestly, a lot of people in our country still are not able to
get rid of the influence of Soviet era on their mentality, which is actually multiplied by the horrible
memories from the years of war and ongoing blockade of our country by Azerbaijan. That`s why,
overcoming prejudices and stereotypes is another issue which we would like to focus on , in this
respect we think that cooperation with other AEGEE contacts and Antennas in organizing different
kinds of seminars , conferences ,summer camps etc. will foster our progress in the above
mentioned spheres of activity. Besides, we believe that we can really contribute to the successful
realization of the aims and objectives of AEGEE, and we will do our best to correspond its high
criterion.
Tigran Grigoryan
President of AEGEE Contact in Stepanakert
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People do not have equal opportunities in Europe. Young people cannot participate in the European
events simply because of the visa border resulting in frequent rejections. They cannot take part in
European Educational programs because of limited places, there are still frozen conflicts and closed
borders…
Some areas in Europe still suffer from exclusion in many different aspects, and this impedes the
creation of a common, Europe-wide society, in which borders are not barriers.
The Eastern Partnership (EAP) is a project initiated by the European Union to strengthen relations
with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Among the main fields of
cooperation are the reinforcement of common values (human rights, democracy, rule of law), the
improvement of economic relations and the perspective of creating a visa-free area in the future.
The Eastern Partnership was inaugurated in Prague on 7 May 2009.
Taking into account the limited opportunities of young people in the mentioned countries, and
considering that the efforts of the European Union do not sufficiently target these limitations of
young people, we think that AEGEE-Europe as the European Students’ Forum should make a case
for the inclusion of young people from the East – especially since they are already part of AEGEE
network.
So the objectives of the program are to raise awareness in both EU member states and in EAP
countries of the limitations and problems young people have, prepare Position Papers proposing
concrete solutions for the future, promote active participation of young people, and encourage
them to take action.
The activities would be structured according to three main pillars which are identified to be among
the most important issues for young people in EAP countries:
Youth Mobility in Education-Educational is a National Competence of a country. The Bologna
Process aims to create a European Higher Education Area, in which students can choose from a
wide and transparent range of high quality courses and benefit from smooth recognition
procedures. The Bologna Process is already being implemented in EAP countries, but is the current
status of implementation satisfactory? Does this give an opportunity for students from EAP
countries to participate in European Student Exchange Programs without any problem? And from
the other hand are European Exchange Programs visible and accessible enough for students from
EAP countries? And what about the powerful tool called Non-Formal education? Is it recognized in
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these countries? These are the row of questions which this pillar will be addressing and together
with the stakeholders’ try to find possible solutions.
Conflict Resolution- There are still frozen conflicts in the Caucasus region. Furthermore the
interaction stage between young people from conflict sides is very low. The aim of this pillar would
be bringing young people from conflict zones together and try to understand the other sides. That
is why several actions such as cultural exchange projects are planned to promote mutual
understanding and peace. Multiplying the results of such of such meetings will allow the growing
generation to influence the society in the near future and prevent further conflicts with an ethnical
background to rise.
Active Citizenship- The state of development of the Civil Society in each country seems to be
directly interconnected with the level of freedom in each country. Some of the EAP countries has
already made a significant step forward, nevertheless there is still a huge margin for improvement.
We want to promote the idea of active citizenship and the responsibility of youth towards the
society, promoting cooperation in the field and stimulating visa facilitation for active youth,
resulting in following objectives:
The row of the objectives already shows how much work is to be done. A big team of enthusiastic
and motivated members was recently formed who are ready to welcome these challenges. After
long online meetings the concept of the project is finally developed and the project will have its first
outcomes soon.
We should strive for eliminating obstacles, involving every young person in Europe on equal terms,
but also in a wider perspective, building a common Europe.
Team-Currently an international team of 25 members from different countries are working on the
project