The Action Agenda Coordination Committee: AEGEE ACTs!

The Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT) was officially established as a supporting committee of AEGEE-Europe in the Spring Agora Enschede in 2012. ACT’s most important task is to help the Network implement the Action Agenda. The Action Agenda is one of the most important documents created within AEGEE. It contains actions to be taken by locals in order to progress in each of the four thematic areas AEGEE is currently working on -Spreading Europtimism, Youth Employment, Youth Mobility and Civic Education.

act2015Becoming an ACTie is a great way to actively help AEGEE make a greater impact on the aforementioned areas. Marcos Mato from AEGEE-Leon, PR responsible and member of ACT, has had a very fulfilling experience as an ACTie, “I really recommend every member of a local to join a European Project or Body, it’s really nice to work on achieving the same goal with people from different countries” he says.

ACT works in close cooperation with the European Level bodies of the Network, particularly with the Network
Commission. Each member of the Committee is in charge of a part of the Network, working directly with the relevant Network Commissioner to maintain a direct approach to locals. Direct contact with locals is crucial to the fulfillment of ACT’s objectives. “We are trying to establish and maintain a direct contact with locals because we know that nothing beats one-on-one communication. Sometimes locals need some small adjustments to turn their existing activities into ones that fulfill the Action Agenda; we help them with this” explains Miljana Vulevic, ACT’s Vice-Speaker.

ACT is currently working on improving the exchange of best practices among locals. “During our meeting in Brussels, we came up with the idea of making a Best Practices Collection, a publication where all the extraordinary events that do fulfill the Action Agenda will be gathered and sorted. We also have a Facebook group, ACTive AEGEEans, which serves as a platform for discussions, exchanging best practices and seeking advice when needed” Miljana states.12524310_898822523548471_6870151663111726377_n

The Action Agenda Coordination Committee is very optimistic about the upcoming period. According to Marcos Mato, PR responsible and member of ACT, “EPM Leiden is going to be really special for us. There, the Network Commission, working groups and ACTies will meet. We are waiting for it to share ideas and start to work in the same direction. I really feel that after this EPM, AEGEE locals and members will start a new, more efficient age”.

2015 has been a great year for ACT, but there is a lot more coming in 2016, “We’ve recently welcomed three new motivated members into our team. Now that there are 11 of us, we are working full capacity; our team is stronger than ever and anxious to face new challenges. Look out for ACT in 2016, we have many great surprises in store for you!”, Miljana exclaims.

Written by Kimberly Townend (AEGEE-Valencia)