News from the Krakovian Dragons’ Den: AEGEE-Kraków and Their Activities

Kraków is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Poland and also the home of AEGEE-Kraków, an antenna which hosts so many events, that it was even nominated for the antenna of the month in December last year. Therefore, the AEGEEan had no choice but to question the Krakovians about their projects.

“We are proud of every activity which is made by our antenna. It doesn’t matter if it is a local event or an international one. All of them are important and create our organisation”, says Elżbieta Krótka, the President of the antenna. This approach can clearly be seen in the amount of activities the antenna prepares. In December alone, there was a Management Training Course (MTC), which hosted about 25 young people who came to learn about project management, public relations, fundraising, team building or public speaking. After the intensive three days of workshops, the event was concluded with a simulation of the Dragons’ Den. Only a week after this MTC, another event, the PR Camp, showed students from all over Poland how proper communication with the general public is done.

With such a tough workload on their back, the antenna members also learn a lot themselves. “The projects gave our members new knowledge, and it also showed them how to make good projects on a big scale.” confirms Elżbieta, who also believes the number one thing to mention about the antenna are not the events but rather its ‘expansion’. “This is something that AEGEE-Kraków is famous for. For example during NWM (Network Meeting) Zielona Góra there were about 40 members of our antenna there! And the same situation could be seen during the last two Agorae – in Patra we’ve had about 25 people from AEGEE-Kraków and in Cagliari, there were 16 of us.”

With such an overwhelming amount of active members, it is surely no surprise that the two aforementioned events are not the only ones that the antenna has prepared for the youth of Kraków in December. Others worth mentioning are the Free Language Conversations, which attracted around 400 students speaking 21 different languages to come expand their knowledge, as well as their communication skills, or a series of workshops on Gaining Goals and Self-presentation during job interviews which were organised in cooperation with several companies that ensured high quality of the talks. Seeing the antenna organise several other events, such as a WordPress workshop, an Erasmus + training, a Traditional Christmas Dinner or the antenna’s birthday celebration, one question comes to mind: How do the Krakovians keep going? What would they suggest to other antennae who want to be as active and organise so many events?

Once again, the proud President has the answer: “Development! People! The desire of feeling ‘this’ again! I believe, it is a vicious circle. We have coordinators chosen by the board. The coordinators are the people who want to do something and have the skills to organise big things. Their ideas are announced during our General Meetings when they try to show their passion and convince people to come to their project group. People come because they want to do something good for the organisation, they work hard for a few months but even through all the sleepless nights they see their goal all the time. Later, the event comes and they feel a big satisfaction and ‘this’ is what we call AEGEE spirit! They want to do more and more, with people they like and they want to interact with as well. Our local is a chain of activities – everybody knows what to do, they know whom they can ask if they have any problems. What is very important is that we try to have a good atmosphere inside – and if you sum this up, you have a recipe ”.

And what is the antenna planning for the future? Having read the article so far, you will not be surprised that they have big plans on their mind once again – AEGEE-Kraków organises at least four LTCs (Local Training Course) every year and 2015 should by no means be an exception. Apart from that, there is an Eastern Partnership Convention and model of United Nations conference coming up in May, but right now, the biggest deal is the March RTC (Regional training Course) On the way to financial freedom, which will, as the title suggests, focus on start-ups and investing. In particular, during the five days from the 4th to the 8th of March, the participants will take part in a series of professional training courses in the fields of introduction to entrepreneurship, investment in the capital market, financial intelligence and starting a business. There will be many investors and experienced business practitioners to answer every question the participants may have so as always with AEGEE-Kraków, there is a lot to look forward to. The link to the event can be found here.

Written by Jirka Lhotka, AEGEE-Praha