During the Spring Agora Bergamo, the new Comité Directeur will be elected. The candidatures had been submitted and Joanna Pankowska is one of the candidates as regular CD member. We asked her some questions to know more about her and her plans as a candidate for the Comité Directeur.
The AEGEEan: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Joanna: At the moment I am living in a Dutch village called Gameren with four dogs, three turtles, 17 horses, five parrots, three cats, a rooster and 13 people. I am at the 887 level of Candy Crush. I have trypophobia [Proposed name for the phobia of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bump, ed.].
How did AEGEE become part of your life? How did it influence you?
The beginning is not surprising – flyer at the university, informational event, LTC. What happened next is also a rather typical AEGEE story – becoming part of the local board in less than half a year and quickly getting more and more sucked into it. What is maybe not so typical is that I have been active both locally and in European bodies simultaneously from the very beginning. It influenced me hugely by giving me many soft and hard skills but also self-awareness and a clear vision for what I want to do in the future. When I joined AEGEE I had so many ideas what my future job would be like – for a while I was even studying physics. Now I know that social work, non-government organisations and local politics are the way to go for me.
You have been a member of AEGEE for quite some time now. Why are you now eager to candidate for Comité Directeur?
I would not agree with the thesis in the question. I have been a member for over three years and I think that is the minimum time to gain proper understanding of AEGEE’s structure and culture.
Why do you think that you are suitable to be a member of the Comité Directeur?
I have the proper experience and skills but also willingness to cooperate and learn.
One of your ideas for the program is about trainings. In AEGEE there are plenty of ways to train members. What is your idea exactly?
To quote my own program: “Most of the AEGEE projects and working groups faces bigger or smaller human resources issues. I believe this is not connected to a lack of motivation, but rather that of preparation. Internal education in AEGEE has been a neglected part for a long time. However, we are currently experiencing a momentum and some attempts have been made in order to improve it at a local and board level through Local Training Courses and Regional Training Courses. I believe we need to take another step forward and introduce European Training Courses. The idea behind those events would be similar to that of Leadership Trainings, which provide the necessary knowledge to take up responsibilities in the European Bodies of AEGEE. The innovative aspect of my proposal is the sustainable framework of such trainings – I would like to organise weekend long events every two months at the AEGEE house in Brussels. In order to have well functioning Projects and Working Groups we need trained people willing to take up this responsibility”.
Your second idea on the program is about “AEGEE back in high schools”. How do you see this done and how can it benefit our association?
All of us went to high school, which means each of us has at least one school they are familiar with and whose teachers they know and it is probably not such a big deal to convince them to allow some passionate students to talk to the pupils for one or two hours. The biggest asset of this idea is that it is very simple but still very powerful. That is probably why it has been already present in AEGEE before. I would like to establish a sustainable framework for such a project which will allow it to be an annual activity in many parts of the network similarly to Summer University Project. Of course I am not going to force anybody to do it and it might happen that the network proves me wrong and shows little or no interest in such project, but I want to try. What are the benefits? It is practising what we stand for – shaping another generation of young, active Europeans. Furthermore, it can also bring us name recognition and support to our recruiting efforts (high schoolers will soon become university students). Last but not least – if you are explaining something to others you will yourself gain a deeper understanding of the issue. Therefore it is also a learning process for AEGEEans who will not only strengthen their training skills but also their knowledge on complex issues. With such a large-scale project we would also address the never-old issue of AEGEE of being too internally focused.
As you know, there are two candidates for Projects Director. What will you do in case you both get elected?
We have discussed it and both Maarten and I are willing to split the responsibilities of project director between us. What is more, we believe that it will be beneficial for everybody since it is extremely time-consuming for one person to keep track of so many teams. That is why I would like to take up also some other responsibilities, mostly from the communication portfolio.
Do you think that having so many trainings in the CD house is sustainable in terms of finances, space, house maintenance and life for CD members and renter?
Yes. I imagine those events to be rather small with up seven or ten participants maximum, so from the logistic point of view it will not differ much from the project meetings which are happening in the AEGEE house all the time.
Can you, please, point out the most relevant aspects of your candidature?
First of all training for future members of European bodies. Second of all, AEGEEans performing civic education in high schools. And thirdly, the broader cooperation with other NGOs.
And now, some questions from our readers:
How quick do you answer to e-mails?
As quick as possible.
If you could only make one big change in AEGEE’s current state, what would you want it to be and how would you contribute to it in the position you are running for?
IT! I believe many of the ongoing struggles we face in AEGEE are directly or indirectly an effect of the poor IT infrastructure we are having. I am not the expert in the field, but I will definitely support in all possible ways the process of creating myAEGEE and would like to actively work on proper promotion and implementation of AEGEE Wiki. I am also a big fan of the Members Portal but there is always room for improvement and I would like to work on it.
You have a large experience with projects and working groups, what do you think are the main reasons behind the lack of candidates for the positions of Working Group coordinator? Do you have any idea how to implement that in the future? What would you do to ensure that the working groups have the space they deserve?
Rome wasn’t built in a day. The structure is new, the system of electing coordinator is even more new. I believe we need more promotion and clear communication about such opportunities on one hand, and training and preparation for the future coordinator on the other. The first one is pretty easy to tackle and I hope to improve the latter with the European Training Course I am proposing in my program. Please note that the Civic Education Working Group, of which I am part of, is having a candidate for the coordination position. What is more, we recently welcomed three new members to our team which will most probably secure the continuity of the work since all of them wish to apply to be in the team for another year. Raising awareness in the working teams about this responsibility for creating a next generation is as I imagine part of the job of Project Director.
You are running for Project Director. What do you think about the decrease of applications for SUs this year? Why in your opinion is this happening? What would it be the solutions, if we need solutions?
I do believe that the format of the Summer University is a bit outdated. In the times where touristic companies offer student vacation abroad at similar prices to SUs we need to take a moment to redefine the aims of the project a little bit, because mobility is great but it is not good enough anymore. What should be the changes? I don’t claim to know the solution but I would like to take time with the SUCT and other interested AEGEEans to look into the problem. Possibly performing some workshops on design thinking methods and researching students’ views on the matter.
Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca