For the first time in ESN, mention was made about a common corporate identity, to increase visibility and recognition in the network. Early in 2005 the Board set up guidelines for the common application of 4 key graphical elements. The use of the CI became mandatory for ESN International (Board and CNR) through its approval by the CNR in Debrecen, Hungary on 8th of May 2004. It has been adapted at the CNR meeting in Athens on 10th of January 2005 in order to represent Morocco, the new ESN country, on the map background used. Although a visionary first step, the CI was not really implemented due to the low quality of the visual elements used. It wasn’t be before the AGM in Krakow that a solid visual language would be implemented. The first CNR meeting in 2005 was in Athens in January, 10th-11th and it went to history for the heat and beauty of the city, the warmth of Kostas-the-magician – our host - and the sleep-on-the-floor accommodation in a rented two-room flat. As the President, Zsofi, had disappeared, the existence of ESN was ensured and saved by the commitment of those persons. During the ESN year 03/04 four Meetings of the CNR have been organised: 3rd-5th May in Debrecen, Hungary 26th-28th September in Tallinn, Estonia 10th-12th January in Athens, Greece 14th-16th March in Gdansk, Poland AGM Gdansk – March 2005 The chair of the meeting was Luca Laudiero, former President of ESN Italia and Vice-Chair Agnieszka Skraburska, President of ESN Jagellionian University (Krakow). At the AGM in Gdansk, the first one held in Poland and in general in one former communist European country, the following International Board was elected: After Lisa resigned, Hielei Heider (Austria) was elected as Regular Board Member by the CNR in Bratislava in September 2007. From the previous Boards and especially from members of the Reforms Group and from Pascal, Giuseppe, Marilyn and Nick we inherited four crucial actions, ideas or keywords that were already initiated or had to be initiated: ESNc ard Headquarters in Brussels Official and legal basis for the Network Corporate Identity While the leadership of ESN before 2005 has the merit of having launched the aforementioned mainstreams, their accomplishments came in the following two years. The Board elected at AGM Gdansk committed explicitly to move to Brussels the organisation and personally. In the following year, another crucial project was initiated under the leadership of Ewa: the ESNSurvey. Finally but no less important, a new innovative approach to distributed web services was started being implement24 | HB 2014
ed by the webmaster Antonio De Marco: the ESNGalaxy project became a reality in 2006. After the AGM Our wishes were to receive notice to have obtained the operating grant the previous board applied to the European Commission for. Unsurprisingly, one week before our first Board Meeting Pascal received a letter from the responsible office at the EC stating that the grant had not been assigned to ESN due to lack of eligibility criteria. In fact, only registered bodies were eligible to receive support, as we got to know soon after our election. What we wanted to make out of our group was to develop a shared strategy, a project that each of us would consider something personal, for whose success to strive and struggle. The brainstorming Our first Board Meeting was held in Louvain-la-Neuve, a university town near Brussels. The reason why we decided to meet there was for being as close as possible to the city where we were to find a headquarters for ESN and a house where to live. The second goal for our first Board Meeting was to build a team around and for a common strategy. It was extremely important for us to decide together in that occasion at least what to do. On this occasion, we developed: “OUR VISION” In one year we see Erasmus Student Network as the Number 1 “Exchange Student Organisation” in Europe and beyond, officially registered, meaning ESN to be a voice in Europe, visible and known, present at conferences, symposia and regular meetings with the EC Directorate for Education by providing meaningful data and presentations and by meeting once Commissioner Figel’. In our vision, in one year from now ESN will implement projects, will adopt a corporate identity, will have a clear strategy both for long and short planning, with an approved and clear mission statement and a list of patrons, ESN operating within defined areas of intervention, led by happy and relaxed volunteers that do not worry for travel and working expenses, gathered at an office in Brussels living and working full time as a team for ESN and, through this work, for their personal growth. In one year from now we also want ESN to provide sections with a package of services, like e.g. a quality checking and training programmes; we see all National Representatives to be informed by the sections in their countries and most of them being active in working groups and involved in the Network’s life; we want ESN to offer PR materials and different products (mainly through an e-shop) applying and obtaining grants, organizing one big project that would increase the awareness of ESN, being its alumni involved in the network’s life. We wish ESN, in one year from now, can start thinking big, setting up a human network with a 10% increased number of sections and supporting poorer sections and countries, through reimbursements to NRs and differentiated fees, with an advisory board, elected for two years.