AEGEE-Könyv.qx
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20 years, 20 people
Facts and myths from the north
about tariffs and economics, and says that AEGEE has to replace this attitude with the spirit of Europe. AEGEE in the North seems to be too political for fun-seekers, but not political enough for those who want to influence European affairs. Scandinavian students are extreme in their political activities; either there is no interest or they are very active, but then AEGEE is not influential enough for them. “Northern countries are in the periphery of Europe” is another argument. In fact, Nordic students do not have that much money to do weekend trips around Europe. However, nowadays it is easier to get new friends abroad, for example through organisations or just travelling by yourself – also due to the new low-cost airlines. As a conclusion, I think the way that we promote AEGEE could be more visionary. Also more co-operation with organisations and student unions could be a solution - we can get synergy by using the resources, knowledge and networks of all organisations. Susanna Ritala
Northern Europe is more than just polar bears or legends about Santa. It is home to a small and very special region of our network. The story of AEGEE in the North began in 1990, after the network was opened to EFTA countries in 1989. Finland became the first country to host an antenna. “Turku with its three universities was a perfect place for this,” recalls Paula Kinnunen, who was one of the 15 founding members of AEGEE-Turku/Abo in February 1990. “The name created some confusion, there were many members in Central Europe who in vain tried to locate Abo on their maps. The explanation: Abo is the Swedish name of Turku”. In April 2001, Paula Kinnunen joined the CD in order to take care of the development of AEGEE in the Nordic countries. However, progress was slow, because the travel distance was AUTHOR large. “In addition, the AEGEE logo was connected with the European Community at a time when there was a lot of suspiSusanna Ritala, born in July 1976, cion towards European integration all over Scandinavia”, Paula joined AEGEE in 1998. From 1999 until adds. The following year meant a breakthrough, when January 2005 she was board member of AEGEE-Turku hosted a Presidents’ Meeting. In 1994 a tradiAEGEE-Helsinki, for two periods being president. In 2002/3 Susanna was Secretion was established which still proves extremely popular tary General of AEGEE-Europe. Nowatoday: the first Traveling Summer University in Scandinavia days she is coordinator of the AEGEE took place, showing off culture in Aalborg, Copenhagen, Address Book. She is currently finishing her studies in International Business. Lund and Turku over three weeks. Yet, today less than five percent of all AEGEE members are living in the “Northern Region”, which includes Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, a part of Russia and Northern Germany. The number of members has been steadily decreasing – from 575 in 1996 down to 426 in 2004. At present, there are 11 branches in the region. AEGEE-Helsinki organised the spring Planning Meeting in 2002 as the last statutory event held in the North so far. Unfortunately, through the last years there haven’t been more than five big thematic events, and there is still hardly any active participation in AEGEE-Europe or its events. There are many myths and explanations for AEGEE being weak in the North, such as “Northern people are too individual”. This is clearly wrong, as Finnish people are seen to be the most organised people in the world. In my university there are about 50 clubs for 2000 active students. However, student unions in Scandinavian countries play a big role in student life. AEGEE cannot compete with their services and budgets. “European issues are not interesting for Nordic students” is another myth. “This is nonsense,” says Lars Russian church in Helsinki. Nautrup from Uppsala. He thinks that the common Scandinavian wrongfully considers Europe to be
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AEGEE-Europe