During the Agora in Patra there will be elections held for not only new Network Commission and Juridical Commission member, but also for members of the Comité Directeur and the more specific functions of Financial Director, President and Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe. Mayri Tiido from AEGEE-Tartu decided to apply for the function of member of the Comité Directeur, where she would like to focus on the Projects and Working Groups and internal education as Projects Director. The AEGEEan asked her some questions about her motivation, plans and dreams for the upcoming year.
The AEGEEan: First of all, the most important question: why did you decide to apply to be a member of the Comité Directeur?
Mayri: I have been a member for four years and I have done quite some things in AEGEE by now. The want of being a member of the Comité Directeur has been there for years, but somehow it never really fit properly in my life situation. This year I finally have no obstacles on my way and my willingness and motivation to work for AEGEE is still there, therefore I finally applied.
The AEGEEan: You applied just a little before the deadline (at 23:38). Did you have a reason for this or was it just to make the applications a bit more exciting?
Mayri: Actually I didn’t mean to apply that late, but it still happened due to a really easy reason – it just took me a very long time to fill in the application. I was checking it several times, proofreading and filling it in very slow so I would be confident that I have applied with a really good candidature.
The AEGEEan: What is your experience within AEGEE until now?
Mayri: I started off on a local level as an active member and shortly after I became a president. Together with my board we organised a lot of events and built up some traditions that are still ongoing. My European Level experience started in the Planning Team 2011, where I was involved in the process of drafting the Strategic Plan 2011-2014. After that, I have been the speaker of the Action Agenda Coordination Committee, became a trainer of the AEGEE-Academy, initiated and started a new project called Health4Youth, been a member of the Identity Team 2013 etc. All in all, I would say that I have been actively involved in the developments in our association for the past couple of years.
The AEGEEan: What goals do you want to achieve during your year in the CD?
Mayri: As my preferred task is Projects Director, most of my programme is related to thematics. In my candidature you can find more points, but here I would like to emphasize the two following. Firstly I would really like to strengthen the project management in AEGEE. Secondly I would want to continue improving the European Boards’ Meeting. I see a lot of unlocked potential there and I believe that AEGEE could benefit from that event a lot.
The AEGEEan: Since you are a couple with Matthijs Overhaal, what would happen if one of you would not get elected? And what would happen if both of you got elected?
Mayri: I have lived together with Matthijs for two years and since then we worked together in many different teams. We are good with living and working together and this turned out to be beneficial several times. I strongly believe we both are valuable for our organisation and our relationship doesn’t stand in between our potential for the benefit of AEGEE and working with other team members. In case one of us won’t get elected, then this just means that the one not being elected has to find something else to do.
The AEGEEan: Your last local activity was in 2011. Why didn’t you contribute to any local activities in the three years after? Did you miss organizing activities on a local level?
Mayri: I have contributed to local activites also after 2011, but on a smaller scale since I moved to another country. For example, I am currently in the advisory board and also responsible for sharing what is going on the European level. This means that I’m actively involved in my local, unfortunately just not being able to attend events physically. I do miss my dear AEGEE-Tartu, because they all are and do amazing there!
The AEGEEan: In your application you wrote that you want to strengthen the project management. How exactly do you plan to do this?
Mayri: I have some ideas. For example, I would like to explore the options of having a training for project managers. Also, I am seeking opportunities on how to ensure a strong project development in the first place. I believe I can develop a concrete plan after the knowledge transfer process.
The AEGEEan: You also wrote that you want to “develop a better cooperation strategy for the Action Agenda Coordination Committee and Quality Assurance Committee.” Do you have any plans how to do this already? Also, how would you “increase the involvement of ACT members in the process of preparing the EBM and drafting the Action Agenda”?
Mayri: As QAC is responsible for the quality of events and ACT is responsible for the content of events that go under Action Agenda, I see a great chance for cooperation. For the impact we need to deliver quality content and for the fulfillment of our Strategic Plan the cooperation between those two bodies is essential. Firstly I would like to analyse how the cooperation looks at the moment, what is working and what needs to be improved. Then according to the needs and involvement of both bodies I want to develop a proper strategy which contributes to the aims of both bodies.
The Action Agenda and the draft of it is a process with many obstacles, time constraints and difficulties to develop. As ACT is responsible for following the fulfillment of the Action Agenda I believe they also should have more responsibilities in drafting one. There are 11 members in ACT from all over the network, which makes them a good source to get to know the needs of network and to spread the word. In other words I would like to see ACT members facilitating the drafting of Action Agenda and of course the whole network contributing to the process.
The AEGEEan: How will you strengthen the role of the AEGEE-Academy within AEGEE?
Mayri: The Academy is the embodiment of all that AEGEE does: it develops and trains people. One of the most important things is that there are enough qualified people in Academy, who know what they are doing when they give trainings. The new HR strategy in the Academy is a very good start for this, but its implementation will not be easy. Allowing junior trainers to give sessions at Network Meetings as trials is an excellent exercise for them. Also, finalizing some standard forms for all European Schools, especially ES1 and ES2, could really improve our work and continuity. I would like to support the Academy in its work and emphasize the importance of training our members.
The AEGEEan: Are you a team player?
Mayri: I definitely am, because I get a lot of energy and motivation from working in teams. I like the feeling of being part of a team and achieving something together. I find it very motivating and therefore want to work and contribute more and more!
The AEGEEan: What do you expect to be your biggest struggle during your year in Brussels?
Mayri: I would guess that getting used to hearing French outside of the house or having a bit less privacy than I have at the moment.
The AEGEEan: And what would be your favorite aspect about it?
Mayri: Living and working with awesome people!
The AEGEEan: Why should AEGEEans vote for you as a member of the CD?
Mayri: I think I have done a lot of good work in AEGEE and if AEGEEans want to see me around working even harder, then they should vote for me.
The AEGEEan: For which candidates would you vote yourself?
Mayri: I would vote for candidates who are well prepared and have programmes with valuable points.
Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen