Claudio Armandi is back and is once again a candidate. This time it is for Mediation Commission.
The AEGEEan: You said that the work of a Netcommie and Mediation Commisioner are quite similar. Both take care of the locals and protect them. Only the point of view differs. Can you elaborate in what sense will your relationshisp with the locals change?
When you are a Netcommie you are the referral point for all your locals. Every question, every doubt, every request for help is addressed directly to you. It happened more than once that I was facing conflicts in my locals and between them and I tried to solve them or to give advice. I also happened to read the CIA together with my locals many times, that’s why I wrote in my candidature that CIA turned to be my daily bread at some point! You develop an almost daily relationship with your locals. I think I am going to miss this so badly, even if you have to learn to let go and I am happy to know that my locals will be in safe hands next year. I imagine being in the MedCom will decrease the interaction frequency with locals. At least I hope there will not be new conflicts to solve on a daily basis! Still, you have to be there, always ready to give your time, your attention, your point of view to the people that need it. This is the common point I can see. Both Commissions are there to be ready to serve and protect, when needed.
Can you tell us more about your formative experience (university and relevant activities)and what are your hobbies?
I hold a bachelor in Industrial Engineering but I switched to Management for my Master. I am currently in a joint program between the Universities of Berlin and Twente, reason why I happen to live in Enschede now. Funnily enough, all the three candidates for MedCom are living in the same city! I have been working as buyer for a multinational Company between my bachelor and my Master. I am a hungry cinema lover and I like photography and cooking. I like working out in gym and jogging, coupled with a healthy life style. This does not mean that I despise beer and junk food with good friends!
What did you learn while being part of the Netcom and how will you use these skills in the Mediation Commision?
In addition to what I already said in the previous question, I learnt, both in the NetCom and at local level, what are the inner dynamics of group work, what are the key factors to achieve success and how many things can go wrong. Being a Netcommie gave me a deep knowledge on the people and the locals I was assigned to. I will use all of this in case I will be elected.
Here is a question from one of our readers. You applied for the mediation commission which is a body that deals with fraud and disputes among members, locals and bodies. In my memory of Agora Budapest and before, you and your home antenna were twice in a very public argument(online and offline), in which you lost quite your temper.During the argument in Agora Budapest, you ruined a very precious moment for some people which was the signing of a contract for which people work very hard. How do you plan on improving your behaviour, which I believe is very necessary in the mediation commission? Will you be able to research and resolve issues while it is obvious you couldn’t do so yourself?
This question is quite long and articulated, that’s why I am going to reply to its two parts separately. Regarding the first part, my approach to the situation you are talking about has always been clear and linear. As a President of my local, I gave my version of the whole story and my responses to all the allegations you could read on AEGEE-L in front of all my members at a local Agora. I’ve always thought it was not a matter the whole Agora would be interested in, since, in the end, it was my version of the story against someone else’s and a random delegate had no means to state who was right, if someone could ever be right in such a situation. This is the reason why I didn’t reply to the e-mail on AEGEE-L, even if it cost me some self-control. I remember giving a similar answer on stage in Budapest when I had a similar question. Any public reply from my side, except the one I owed to my local, would have created a huge controversy that would have not benefitted the whole Agora. To be honest, I don’t remember losing my temper at all, either in public or in private. I think I have quite a calm and relaxed nature and I can recall just a few situations in my life when I lost control. Budapest was not one of them. I can even say my behavior in that situation proved I am the right person for MedCom, since I managed a difficult situation reducing the damage at the minimum possible level. Luckily I was elected anyway and you can judge yourself the effects on my work on the network during last year. Going to the second part, again, I cannot recall any argument in Budapest that could have ruined the atmosphere, neither I can understand what contracts you are talking about. I was speaking on stage for barely 5 minutes in total and I kept my behavior low-profile for the whole duration of the Agora. It would be nice if you could clarify this point in the Q&A session in Zaragoza though!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
It’s been the best year of my AEGEE career by some margin. I would like to use also this chance to say thank you to the AGORA for giving me the chance to work head-down and prove myself. This would not have been possible without the precious work of all my subcommies. Seeing new locals being born out of your work, seeing your people discovering, learning, improving themselves, having fun, having nice times is just priceless and pays you back all the work you did, with a huge interest.
Written by Cosmina Bisboaca, AEGEE-Torino