AEGEE-Catania reveals the ingredients for a perfect Summer University

Being awarded the best Summer University is never an easy task, due to the big amount of contenders. Being awarded twice with such a distinction is something to be proud of. Well… in Autumn Agora Cagliari, AEGEE-Catania received this award for the third time in a row! We were wondering what the secret of the organisers of AEGEE-Catania is to organise what some might consider the perfect Summer University. The AEGEEan interviewed the members of the antenna located in Sicily, and discovered some of the ingredients for a wonderful SU!

The AEGEEan: First of all, congratulations! How did you feel when the awards were announced and you were up on stage in Cagliari?
AEGEE-Catania: Well, actually we were optimistic regarding the result, and this is not a matter of presumption, but of good feelings, even if we knew it would not be a piece of cake this year. We were there, all together, sixteen members of AEGEE Catania and around fifteen partycipants, fingers crossed and ready to celebrate… The proclamation was an explosion of joy and happiness and up on the stage we felt so proud: the dream came true once again!

Can you tell us briefly about the main activities you had during your Summer University?
We planned a series of activities, fun games and interesting workshops (theater, sand castles, city tour, photography, body painting) and neverending parties, from early in the morning until late in the night, related to the winning theme of the Pirates. We carefully divided our 45 piratecipants in six crews and let them live a fairytale in the treasure island (our beloved Sicily) thanks to an exciting tournament.
We had the chance to bring our participants on top of the volcano Etna during a wonderful eruption, and we found a restaurant which perfectly matched with the theme of our SU for a special dinner.

How many organisers and helpers did you have?
Actually there were many organisers and helpers this year, around 25 in total. We decided for this big group in order to involve new members of AEGEE-Catania, let them understand our philosoply and teach the new generation of orgasmisers.

And which are, according to you, the ingredients for the perfect Summer University?
The perfect Summer University has to be planned at least three months in advance, and needs a group of friends organising it rather than a team of organisers; in Catania we use to define ourselves as “the family”! Regarding the magic ingredients: passion, love for the own country, willingness to let the participants live a fairytale, integration among the participants and between participants and organisers are the key.

What about AEGEE-Catania, how many members do you have, and which are your main activities every year?
AEGEE-Catania was born in 2003. In 2004 it organized its first Summer Event. From 2005 untill 2014 our Antenna has been organising Summer Universities that have become famous for their high quality (according to the evaluations of participants) and we recently achieved the third Best Summer University prize in a row! The success of these events depends, in our opinion, on the perfect mix between shared experiences and strong motivation which characterizes our antenna.

Next to Summer University, AEGEE-Catania has also organised a NWM and European and local events. Our antenna is active in local activities connected to the Erasmus project; from 2004 up to this semester we have been organising the so-called Anfitrione Project. Trusted members and students that we involve in this project give logistic support to Erasmus students and participate in organising several activities (such as trips, courses, meetings, linguistic aperitif and parties).

AEGEE-Catania consists of 80 members, who form a close-knit group that has being working hard on a lot of activities and initiatives for eleven years. This way, it has earned the esteem of many associations and institutions in Catania.

How do you motivate members to be active?
Every year, AEGEE Catania organises Local Training Courses for its members and weekly meetings to spread the knowledge of AEGEE among young students and motivate them to join our intercultural activities. But I am sure that the Erasmus activities are the main attraction for new members.

And what about AEGEE-Catania’s future plans – any foreseen events soon?
We applied for the next Spring NWM and we also applied for AEGEE’s 30th Anniversary. We hope to be able to organise both events!

Do you have any ideas already for next year’s SU?
There are some members that want to organize the best crazy TSU ever, but it’s a secret and we can’t reveal it yet. However, we can say that there will be three different antennae in two different countries involved!

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona