EFILife JUNE 2010 - d22dvihj4pfop3.cloudfront.net · • EFIL Volunteer Summer Summit 2010- only six weeks to go! • ECTP prep team meets in Brussels • Intercultural Dialogue Day

EFILife NEWSLETTER Edition 82, June 2010

EFIL is the Federation of AFS Organisations in Europe Avenue Emile Max 150, 1030 Brussels, Belgium tel +32 2 5145250 fax +32 2 5142929

E F I L P a r t n e r D i r e c t o r s ( p h o t o : E F I L )

INDEX

� Governance

• Lavender f ie lds and Van Gogh- Directors meet in France

• Four EFIL Board members elected

• EFIL Board meets in Nice � EFIL trainings and projects

• EFIL Volunteer Summer Summit 2010- only six weeks to go!

• ECTP prep team meets in Brussels

• Intercultural Dialogue Day in Germany – a week of act ivit ies

• Kenya hosts third leg in EurAfr ican Partnership project

• Faci l itat ing intergenerat ional learning – Train ing for trainers preparatory meeting

�� Partner news

• Partner news

• On offer : EVS spot in Croatia

• 2010 a specia l year for AFS Hungary

• AFS shows the way forward in Belg ium

�� EFIL news

• EFIL Staf f Day in Leuven

• Newest arrival

• Time to say goodbye

• Goodbye to Laura �� Europe

• Policy developments in Europe

LAVENDER FIELDS AND VAN GOGH

DIRECTORS MEET IN FRANCE

In France, 19 Directors of the EFIL Member Organisat ions met in an extra ordinary sett ing with a cozy atmosphere, excel lent fac i l it ies, and great French cuisine for their f irst of two annual Heads of Off ice meet ings . The event in Sernhac – near Avignon and Nîmes - was a HOO “retreat” rather than a meet ing, because of its sl ight ly d i f ferent focus, and was the f irst of its k ind since the retreat in Sic i ly in May 2006.

H O O r e t r e a t S e r n h a c ( p h o t o s : M a r i t G r o n s k e i )

The HOO retreat succeeded in its main object ive : gett ing to know each other better. Marit Gronskei , National Director of AFS SWE, had introduced the group to a Socia l Styles exercise, which contributed a lot to the success of the retreat , sett ing the r ight tone in the f irst session on Monday morning, the f irst of three days of discussions, group work and qual ity t ime together. It was hard for al l of us to leave behind the French sun and the re laxed

Page 2 EFILife Newsletter, Edition 82


sett ing in Sernhac, and return to our desks, the e-mai ls , the host family search and the dai ly routine of our off ices…☺ A big thank you goes to the members of the Steering Committee, Jatta Erlund (F inland), Marit Gronskei (Sweden) , Johanna Nemeth (Austria) , Ana Fachada (Portugal) and Phi l ippe Peccat ier (France) . AFS Vivre Sans Frontière did a great job taking care of the logist ics and brib ing the weatherman to make sure we had sunshine throughout our stay , while the rest of France (and Europe) was suffer ing from rain and thunderstorms. The excursion on Tuesday afternoon, including the Van Gogh walk , was enjoyed by a l l was and an absolute h ighl ight of our stay in France. The second EFIL HOO meeting of 2010 wi l l take place in Buenos Aires, alongside the AFS World Congress.

FOUR EFIL BOARD MEMBERS ELECTED

E x t r a - o r d i n a r y G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y i n S e r n h a c

( p h o t o : E F I L )

On Monday 7 June, an EFIL extra-ordinary General Assembly took place, alongside the Heads of Off ice meeting in Sernhac, France. Four members for the EFIL Board have been e lected. Roberto Ruff ino ( Italy) , Christ ine Leimgruber (Switzerland) and Michael Rosak (Czech Republic) got re-e lected on the EFIL Board for another term of two years . We welcome Jörn

Lehman (Germany) as a new Board member. Other Board members ( in the middle of their two year term) are Martha E ir iksdott ir ( Iceland), Anett Miklos (Hungary) and Mari Pajunen (Fin land) . At the EFIL Board meeting in Nice (4-6 June), the Board thanked Mete Fanuscu (Turkey), who did not run for re-elect ion after serving for four years on the EFIL Board.

E x t r a - o r d i n a r y G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y i n S e r n h a c

( p h o t o : M a r i t G r o n s k e i )

The e.o.G.A. adopted a number of resolut ions during i ts meeting in Sernhac. A change in the Statutes of EFIL ( inclusion of a new membership status: “af f i l iate member”) was approved with the required majority, leaving the way open for the new partner organisat ions in South Eastern Europe (Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia , Bosnia and Herzegovina) to apply for EFIL membership at the next General Assembly . The proposed changes in the procedures for the EFIL Board elect ions (regarding the two year versus one year mandates, as well as the majority rule) got the required number of votes to be adopted. Elect ion procedures wil l be adjusted accordingly. F inal ly, on the third issue up for voting, the majority of the Member Organisat ions opted for an EFIL membership fee structure with a f loor only (as in the past) , rather than introducing a new fee system with both a f loor and a cei l ing.



EFIL wants to thank al l the Member Organisat ions for their input and cooperat ion in help ing to bui ld up a stronger Federat ion with the support of al l . The next EFIL General Assembly wi l l take p lace in Vienna, Austria, 2-5 June 201.

EFIL BOARD MEETS IN NICE The EFIL Board held its second meeting of the year in Nice, 4 – 6 June 2010. The agenda featured a wide range of topics, inc luding an overview by the Secretary General on recent developments in EFIL and in Europe, and EFIL ’s mid- to long-term act ivity calendar. The auditor’s report 2009 was presented, together with the balance sheet and the f ina l year end results of 2009.

E F I L B o a r d i n N i c e ( p h o t o : E F I L )

Specia l attention was given to the idea of packaging trainings organised by EFIL under one new brand, the “EFIL Academy”, as a brand name for good qual ity train ing opportunit ies within the European AFS network for AFS volunteers and staf f . Whi le discussing the way forward, the Board decided that a simi lar exercise wil l be done for other EFIL act iv ity areas, inc luding external communicat ion, programmes, new partner development, etc. The Board picked up the discuss ion again that was started at the meeting in February, about exploring the expansion of EFIL’s act ivit ies in a number of addit ional countries within the EU (Poland, Greece,

Romania , Bulgar ia) , by looking for partnerships with major corporat ion or mult inat ionals with an interest in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

At the backdrop of a Europe where increased mobil ity is promoted at al l levels , the Board feels there’s an important role to be played by AFS managers, supported by their nat ional Boards. In its discussion, the Board re-confirmed its focus on the f ive corner stones of a healthy organisat ion: inspired leadership ; a strong volunteer network; appeal ing programmes; bui lding school relat ions; fundrais ing and scholarships.

The Chair , Roberto Ruff ino, thanked outgoing Board member Mete Fanuscu (Turkey) for his much appreciated contributions to the discussions of the Board over the past four years. The next EFIL Board meeting is scheduled for October, in Leuven, Belgium.

M e t e F a n u s c u ( p h o t o : E F I L )

EFIL VOLUNTEER SUMMER SUMMIT 2010 ONLY SIX WEEKS TO GO

Preparat ions are stepping up a few gears as the VSS is gett ing closer day by day. As the f inal appl icat ion deadl ine has passed we are happy to announce that we off ic ia l ly have crossed the magical threshold of



more than 200 part ic ipants from 34 dif ferent countries , al l heading for Zanka this summer! This makes the Volunteer Summer Summit 2010 the biggest EFIL event in h istory.

The workshop and room registrat ions start next week online at http:/ /ef i l summersummit.org/ .

The Preparatory

Team is giving its best to ful f i l the needs of al l

part icipants while the local Support Team is making p lans to organise a tour in the Parl iament, a f lashmob in the heart of

Budapest and a community act ivity at Sziget Fest ival . We are a l l working together to achieve one ult imate goal : make it an unforgettable Volunteer Summer Summit for everyone part icipat ing!

V o l u n t e e r S u m m e r S u m m i t i n I s t a n b u l ,

T u r k e y 2 0 0 9 ( p h o t o : E F I L )

ECTP PREP TEAM MEETS IN BRUSSELS

Last weekend, the 7 members of th is year's preparatory team of the European Cit izenship Trimester Programme Brussels Camp, met at the EFIL of f ice in Brussels to start the preparat ions for one of EFIL's biggest annual events : the Camp in Brussels at the end of November.

This year, the Camp wil l welcome 157 students from 14 countries to a venue on the outskirts of Brussels, a 50% increase in numbers as compared to last year's f irst edit ion of the Camp.

Part icipants wi l l be accompanied by a committed team of 30 volunteers who wil l ensure al l needs are taken care of . The agenda wil l inc lude workshops on European topics and act ive part ic ipat ion of young people . Based on the posit ive feedback and lessons learnt from last year’s pi lot edit ion of the programme, the wel l received v is it to the European Parl iament wil l be part of the programme once again. In order to give students more opportunit ies to interact with each other and spend some qual ity t ime in the heart of Europe, a Brussels City Ral ly wil l appear up on this year’s agenda.

Important ly , inspired by a round of Facebook votes, the preparatory team f inal ly selected the logo for

ECTP 2010. The winner of the competit ion is Fabio Vil la from Intercultura Italy! Congratulat ions Fabio , for your great design. We bel ieve it represents in a young and creat ive way the spir it and concept of the ECTP camp. A thank you also goes to Anna Dalbosco, B irgit Fluegge, Lara Svoboda, Nei jra Izmirl i ja and Wim Hofman for their creat ive logo suggest ions, a l l of them valuable contributions.

We are very happy to see the great interest of many volunteers to be part of this project and we hope to



see many of them gett ing involved in some way in the Camp.

Stay tuned for two upcoming cal ls for trainers and support team members! The ECTP Camp counts on your support, enthusiasm and ideas to further develop into a truly European learning experience for everyone involved!

M a r i e k e d e S m e t ( B e l g i u m F l a n d e r s ) , N a t a l i y a

K u l i k ( R u s s i a ) , F l o r i a n A u e ( G e r m a n y ) , K a r i n B i t t e r l i ( S w i t z e r l a n d ) , E l i s a b e t t a C o r n a g o

( I t a l y ) , A l e x a n d e r M u e l l e r , I l y a n a P a n t e l e e v a a n d T h o m a s J u e r g e n s c h e l l e r t ( E F I L )

( p h o t o : E F I L )

INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE DAY IN

GERMANY – A WEEK OF ACTIVITIES

By Chr is toph Br auns ch midt This year’s Intercultural Dialogue Day in Germany wil l be dif ferent: rather than a one day event, AFS Germany wil l launch i ts Intercultural WEEK of Dialogue. This a l lows for more f lexib i l ity not only for our volunteers, but a lso for the part icipat ing schools.

For th is purpose, a new motto has been created, “world wide weg”, accompanied by a logo that wi l l appear on a l l

publ icat ions. The motto plays with dif ferent languages, addressing the desire for intercultural contact . The colours used in the logo are

connected with the colours of the programmes used on the website www.afs.de. Under this motto and logo AFS Germany is p lanning four act ivit ies for the week of intercultural dialogue. A song contest wil l be launched: Sing a song! The song should capture the feel ing of tak ing part in an exchange and generate curiosity about intercultural experience. All contest submissions have to be ready by 10 September and can be voted for during the Intercultural Week on www.afs.de. The winner wil l receive a professional recording of the song. School visits are an essentia l part in promoting the AFS programmes. To add value for teachers to these visits , AFS Germany has created materia ls for intercultural learning modules to be used by teachers or volunteers when v isit ing school classes. To receive media attention and have more part icipants involved, f lashmobs wil l be organised in various cit ies, preferably in places where young people meet, performing an intercultural game with the crowd. The organizers wil l wear special ly designed T-Shirts. Maybe other countries are interested in jo ining th is chal lenge? AFS Germany wi l l present it at EFIL ’s Volunteer Summer Summit in Zanka, Hungary, in August . And last but not least , a longside a l l these act ivit ies , a newly produced image f i lm wil l be launched, capturing the spirit and variety of AFS, its programmes and the diversity of dest inat ions. Al l informat ion about these act ivit ies , handouts , dates, and coverage afterwards can be found on a special ly created homepage www.afs.de/worldwideweg ( in German only) .



I D D i n B o n n 2 0 0 9 ( p h o t o : A F S G e r m a n y )

KENYA HOSTS THIRD LEG IN

EURAFRICAN PARTNERSHIP FOR

CHANGE PROJECT

Ten experienced volunteers

from AFS oganisat ions

in Denmark, Germany,

Finland, Italy , Portugal , Ghana, South Afr ica and Kenya are currently preparing for their much anticipated visit to Kenya in the second half of June, in the framework of the EurAfr ican Partnership for Change project , sponsored by the European Commission. In Kenya, as part of the f irst week’s programme, our local partners of OFIE (Organisat ion for Intercultural Educat ion) have set up appointments with government inst itut ions, the private sector, NGOs and local organisat ions for the part ic ipat ing volunteers to col lect information as part of a feasib i l ity study. The feasib i l ity studies in the EurAfrican Partnership for Change project aim at proposing a framework to help empower youth organisat ions in the Afr ican partner countries and further support them in their organisat ional and volunteer development.

Over the weekend, an intensive training for volunteers wil l take place in three regions in Kenya, this way reaching some 50 local youth workers and mult ipl iers in Nairobi, the coasta l region (Mombasa) and the southern Rift Val ley (Narok). The trainings wil l cover a wide range of topics inc luding intercultural learning, volunteer recruitment and motivat ion, roles and responsibi l it ies of volunteers, host ing aspects and f inding host fami l ies , recruitment and select ion of part icipants , preparat ions and orientat ions, project management modules tai lored for volunteer networks, r isk management , fac i l itat ion and presentat ion ski l l s , communicat ion and reporting competences, act ivity planning, etc .

A f r i c a n p a r t n e r s i n “ E u r A f r i c a n P a r t n e r s h i p f o r

C h a n g e ” p r o j e c t , m e e t i n g a t t h e A F S W o r l d C o n g r e s s i n M a l a y s i a i n 2 0 0 9 ( p h o t o : E F I L )

EFIL’s project ref lects the AFS network’s increased focus on Afr ica as seen in the AFS Vision 2020 and the discussions on network priorit ies at the AFS World Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2009.

FACILITATING INTERGENERATIONAL

LEARNING – TRAINING FOR TRAINERS PREPARATORY MEETING

In between ongoing EFIL train ing events and a staf f transit ion in the



off ice, the preparatory team of the upcoming Training for Trainers “Faci l itat ing intergenerat ional learning” met in Brussels on 21-24 May 2010.

T h e P r e p a r a t o r y T e a m : A n n a - M a r i a H a s s , Y v e s

G h e y s e n , J i t k a C e r n a , I n g a M e n k e a n d J o h n A d l e r ( p h o t o : E F I L )

The event is p lanned to take p lace in Hungary this summer, in synergy with the EFIL Volunteer Summer Summit. The part ic ipants in the training are volunteers a lready act ive as trainers at nat ional level in AFS organisat ions, or planning to become act ive. The intergenerat ional theme of the event wil l be present not only in the train ing content and in the Volunteer Summer Summit fol lowing immediately after the training, but it also shows in the age range of the part icipants and trainers! The preparatory team worked hard during the three-day meeting in Brussels to design a programme that ’s chal lenging for both the trainers and the part icipants. In addit ion to the selected part icipants, the addit ional benef iciaries of the project wil l include a large number of the Summer Summit volunteers, who wi l l part ic ipate in the “pract ice sessions” of the tra ining. Both events in August in Hungary are a great opportunity to put the intergenerat ional issues high on the AFS agenda in the upcoming years .

PARTNER NEWS

In each ed i t ion of EFIL i fe , we dedicate some space to par tner news, inc lud ing

personnel changes as wel l as re levant events that have taken p lace over the past month .

From AFS Iceland came the good news that Snorri Gissurarson has been hired

as the new National Director. Good news from the media front.

AFS Switzerland reported that Swiss nat ional television

broadcasted a 30 minute specia l around the exchange year of a Swiss student in Changzou, China. I f you want to see more, just fol low the l ink : http:/ /v ideoportal .s f .tv/video? id=6c359497-82b2-4fb9-ad5b-367c0fd1c902. Those travel l ing Air Balt ic in the

month of May, were treated to a four page coverage of “AFS

Intercultural Program: Opening up the world”, in the in f l ight magazine Balt ic Outlook, an art ic le provided by AFS Latvia . AFS Russia reported that there was a lot of media attent ion when in June

a group of 24 AFS students hosted in Russia met with the Russian Federat ion

President plenipotentiary Mr. Gregory Rapota. Students shared stories about their experience in Russia, and told about their host fami l ies and schools. Alexander Gal itsk ikh, and some of the AFS staf f and volunteers were present.

S t u d e n t s h o s t e d i n A F S R u s s i a m e e t M r .

G r e g o r y R a p o t a ( p h o t o : A F S R u s s i a )



ON OFFER EVS SPOT IN CROATIA

Are you interested in helping to bui ld up a new and motivated AFS partner organisat ion? Are you excited to get to know more about South Eastern Europe? Are you up for some real p ioneer work? Then this announcement is for you! ☺

I n t e r c u l t u r a l D i a l o g u e D a y i n C r o a t i a i n 2 0 0 9

( p h o t o : G l o b u s )

Our partner organisat ion in Croatia (Globus - Associat ion for Intercultural Learning) is looking for an experienced and motivated volunteer to jo in them in Zagreb for 10 months as from September 2010, sponsored by the European Voluntary Service programme (EVS) . We are looking for an act ive volunteer, who is famil iar with the structure and procedures of AFS. Main task areas would be the development of a volunteer structure and the implementat ion of AFS programmes. Furthermore, the EVS volunteer wil l p lay a key-role in the organisat ion of Intercultural Dialogue Day on 30 September 2010 and wil l get the chance to help organize and part icipate in events at local level , this way experiencing the grassroot Croat ian sp ir it ! Supporting Croat ia’s part ic ipat ion in EFIL ’s "European Cit izenship Trimester Programme" (ECTP) and improving the cooperat ion with simi larly new

AFS organisat ions in Slovenia , Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is another part of the EVS experience that Globus can offer. I f you want to learn more about the project and its condit ions, please contact Adrian at [email protected]!

2010 A SPECIAL YEAR FOR AFS HUNGARY

I n e v e r y i s s u e o f E F I L i f e , w e p u t t h e s p o t l i g h t o n o n e o f E F I L ’ s M e m b e r O r g a n i s a t i o n s . F o c u s w i l l b e m a i n l y o n t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e . T h i s m o n t h w e g i v e t h e f l o o r t o A F S H u n g a r y .

2010 is a big year for AFS Hungary, not only because the organisat ion is host ing the annual EFIL Volunteer Summer Summit in August , but a lso because AFS Hungary is celebrat ing its 20th anniversary! As for the off ice in Budapest , AFS Hungary recently focused on modernizing its of f ice equipment , while the meeting room has been given a face- l i ft . Meanwhile , AFS Hungary has been working on a sl ight strategy change. Over the past ten years , the organisat ion’s pr iorit ies were growth - both in a programme and volunteer perspective - and f inancial health. Now AFS Hungary has started to focus more on qual ity: stakeholder approach, school relat ions and new approaches in volunteer development are in the spotl ight . Currently, the organisat ion is experiencing some temporary shifts between staf f , with the National Director, Anett Miklos (also EFIL Board Member), on a sabbatica l leave for the rest of 2010, while the Chief Problem Solver, Greg Csaba, has been granted a merit-based scholarship to CEIBS, Shanghai , China, as from September. The programme Director, Diana Rosta



(member of EFIL’s Training Advisory Body) wil l act as interim Nat ional Director, while the Host ing Coordinator, Csi l la Fodor, wil l run the Organisat ional Development department in the off ice. The new Hosting Coordinator, Viktória Bedo, is a fresh graduate, but she’s not new to AFS: returnee from Italy, host sister of several students, enthusiast ic AFS volunteer and host fami ly counselor. As for the rest of the people in the off ice: Katal in Kiss , Sending Coordinator, takes care of administrat ion and part ic ipant support; Noémi Horváth deals with f inances; and Timo Peter is a volunteer from Germany (FSJ programme). Margaréta Szepesi is a part t ime volunteer coordinator who wil l be on maternity leave as from July . The changes with in the staf f of AFS Hungary are not expected to cause any d isrupt ions, as the organisat ion’s foundations are strong and the future of the organisat ion is clear ly outl ined.

Greg Csaba, interim National Director AFS HUN

(photo: Marit Gronskei)

AFS SHOWS THE WAY FORWARD IN

BELGIUM

Following the federal elect ions that took place in Belg ium in June, the New York Times publ ished the fol lowing art ic le with a rather extreme view on Belg ian polit ics. . .

= Flem ish S epar at is ts Win in Be lg ium = BRUSSE LS — Th e m o ve to bre ak up Bel g iu m g ath ered pa ce on S un day as a separat is t won an e mphat ic e le ct i on v ictory in Fla nd ers , the mor e prosper ous D utch-sp ea kin g re gi on of the d iv i ded nat io n. Few symbo ls o f Bel g ia n u nity re ma in, other t ha n th e royal f am ily , the ca rtoon ch ara cter Tint in and Brusse ls i t sel f . Th ere is a nat i ona l s occer te am , but i t d id not qua l i fy fo r the W orl d Cup. The picture below is the answer of AFS in Belgium. Or as Anne Sokal , Director of AFS in the French part of Belg ium, puts it : "yes we can" have harmonious relat ionships between a l l Belg ians! :-))

M a r c e l K e r f f ( B F L ) , P a u l C l a e s ( E F I L ) a n d A n n e

S o k a l ( B F R ) , a t t h e H O O m e e t i n g i n F r a n c e l a s t w e e k , r e p r e s e n t i n g A F S i n F l a n d e r s ,

B r u s s e l s a n d W a l l o n i e ( p h o t o : M a r i t G r o n s k e i )

EFIL STAFF DAY IN LEUVEN

On 25 May, the EFIL staf f and volunteers invaded the house of their Secretary General

in Leuven, and spent the day cooking and eat ing . Pranzo al l ’ i ta l iana. Bruschetta , penne tricolore, parmig iana d i melanzane, panna cotta e frutt i d i bosco and more of those unpronounceable del icacies were prepared and enjoyed by al l . The sun didn’t let us down, al lowing us to spend a good part of the day enjoying the Ita l ian cuisine to the ful l , whi le s itt ing in the garden. ☺



s t a f f & v o l u n t e e r s E F I L S e c r e t a r i a t 2 0 1 0

( p h o t o : E F I L )

NEWEST ARRIVAL

EFIL proudly presents its newest fami ly member: l itt le Olaf , 3 .2 kg, born on 16 June 2010 in Brussels . Congratulat ions to the mother, Izabela Jurczik (EFIL's Train ing Coordinator) , and the father, Brian Arnold!

E F I L s t a f f a n d v o l u n t e e r s ( p h o t o : E F I L )

TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

By Alex and er Mül ler My marvel lous and eventfu l t ime in the EFIL off ice in Brussels is unfortunately coming to an end. I arrived at EFIL about 10 months ago, as a volunteer under the German FSJ programme. I continued some of the tasks of my predecessor and yet a lso f ind my own and new responsibi l it ies in the dai ly work of EFIL . As my knowledge and understanding of EFIL and AFS grew larger day by day, I had the opportunity to be involved in

many areas of EFIL’s training and off ice work, from administrat ive and technica l support to layout and design of PR materials, such as EFILi fe and the website. In the f ield of training act iv it ies, I learned a lot from EFIL ’s Training Coordinator, and through the various train ings organised, I had the wonderfu l opportunity to develop my knowledge and v iews about non-formal educat ion and intercultural learning. A personal highl ight of my t ime at EFIL was without any doubt the chance to help create and shape the f irst European Cit izenship Trimester Programme Camp in November 2009. Time a l lowing, I wil l most certainly try to be involved again in this years ’ ECTP team. A great thank you goes to the staf f at EFIL and a l l the AFS volunteers I worked with, who have made this past year a very memorable experience. Over the past year, I also had the great opportunity to experience and explore the truly European and cosmopol itan city of Brussels . Living in the intercultural and internat ional community of the ICA Belgium, and l iv ing together with numerous young people form al l corners of the continent , has turned my FSJ year into a tru ly Eur ope an experience. This summer I wil l start my university and profess ional career in Hamburg at Airbus, taking part in what is ca l led “Duales Studium” in Germany, or a combinat ion of University studies and vocat ional training. But I certa inly intend to stay in touch with EFIL and AFS Germany, as I am planning to continue my path in AFS and hope to meet more AFSers around the globe!



A l e x i n B e l g i u m ( p h o t o : E F I L )

GOODBYE TO LAURA

By Laura Li car i

I remember when I f irst arr ived in Brussels , it was snowing! Meanwhile, four months have passed by so fast . I very much enjoyed my stay in Brussels , a c ity that came across to me as Europe in a nutshel l ! I met a lot of people of several nat ional it ies during my four months in Brussels , and with them I explored Belgium (and the neighbouring countries) .

L a u r a i n A n t w e r p e n , B e l g i u m ( p h o t o : E F I L )

During my stay with EFIL as a volunteer under the European sponsored AMICUS programme (sending organisat ion: ARCI Strauss, based in Italy) , I took over some of the act ivit ies of other interns, inc luding the fol low up of the dai ly “Europolit ics newsletter” and other regular newsletter about policy developments in Europe. I also helped with the monthly edit ing of the EFIL ife newsletter.

Having spent four months with EFIL, back home, I intend to continue my voluntary work with AFS Intercultura, with a bigger awareness and a better intercultural understanding. I ’m leaving EFIL with very good memories of each of my colleagues there, and I hope I wil l be remembered the same way as I remember al l of you. A big ARRIVEDERCI to everybody.

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPE

T h i s c o m p i l a t i o n i s b a s e d o n i n f o r m a t i o n c o l l e c t e d b y E F I L f r o m t h e d a i l y n e w s l e t t e r “ E u r o p o l i t i c s – t h e E u r o p e a n a f f a i r s d a i l y ” a n d f r o m t h e E u r o p e a n Y o u t h F o r u m ' s " Y o u t h P o l i c y W a t c h " , a b i - w e e k l y b u l l e t i n . Y o u c a n s u b s c r i b e t o t h e Y o u t h P o l i c y W a t c h d i r e c t l y f r o m t h e Y o u t h F o r u m w e b s i t e : h t t p : / / w w w . y o u t h f o r u m . o r g a n d p r e s s @ y o u t h f o r u m . o r g

EU ENLARGMENT

The European Union has reassured Western Balkan countries queuing for membership that neither the eurozone crisis nor ‘enlargement fat igue’ would halt their eventual integrat ion.

In a nat ional referendum, Slovenians have narrowly approved their government ’s border arbitrat ion agreement with Croat ia. Commission President Barroso described the result of the 6 June vote as an important signal for the region and the re lat ions between Slovenia and Croatia .

Montenegro has to make progress on implementat ion of the ‘rule of law’ reforms to increase its chances for a posit ive recommendation on its EU membership appl icat ion, the European Commission has said .

After a two-year delay, Serbia has received the green l ight to move a step forward in i ts quest for European Union membership . Having received a posit ive assessment on Belgrade’s cooperat ion with the Internat ional Criminal Tribunal for



the former Yugoslavia , the EU’s foreign ministers decided to unfreeze the process of the rat i f icat ion of the Stabi l i sat ion and Associat ion Agreement – a gateway to EU membership - with Serbia.

The Spanish EU Presidency is confident that the accession ta lks with Turkey wi l l move forward. Commissioner Fuele confirmed that”there is a possib i l ity th is year to open a couple of more chapters” provided Turkey meets the opening benchmarks.

The EU’s foreign ministers rubber stamped, on 10 May, the mandate for the European Commiss ion to launch talks with Armenia , Azerbaijan and Georgia on associat ion agreements, as part of the Eastern Partnership project , launched by the EU a year ago in Prague with the a im of enhancing re lat ions with the six former Soviet republ ics.

VISA REGULATIONS

EU travelers to the US wi l l no longer have to f i l l in the I-94W paper form. The form is being scrapped by the end of summer 2010 in favour of the Electronic System of Travel Authorisat ion (ESTA), an onl ine, pre-travel procedure, mandatory since January 2009. The ESTA appl ies to cit izens from the 23 EU countries on the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) that lets travelers stay up to 90 days without a visa . By 4 September 2010 VWP travel lers must also pay a fee of $15-17 when they apply for their ESTA.

The European Commission adopted, on 27 May, a proposal to enable cit izens of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina with biometric passports to travel up to 90 days in the Schengen area without a visa .

On 14 June, the Schengen zone wil l celebrate its 25th anniversary with its 25 members. Init iated by f ive EU founding countries – France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the

Netherlands – this abol it ion of controls at internal borders is doubtless the most tangible materia l izat ion of the European princip le of free movement. Two EU states have not joined (the United Kingdom and Ireland), but on the other hand three non-EU states - Switzerland, Norway and Ice land - are part of the Schengen area. Bulgar ia, Romania and Cyprus are expected to fol low soon.

EDUCATION

Ministers meeting at the Educat ion, Youth and Culture Counci l in Brussels cal led on the European Commission to turn their proposal into real ity , by the end of 2011, in part icu lar the idea of a personal ski l l s passport. The new passport would make it possib le to more effect ively register and highl ight the knowledge, sk i l ls and qual i f icat ion acquired by c it izens throughout their l ives in a var iety of learning sett ings .

Despite the EU’s ambit ious goals with respect to higher educat ion, European univers it ies are fac ing a wave of cutbacks. A new report by the European Univers ity Associat ion (EUA) shows an increasingly negat ive impact of the economic crisis on nat ional higher educat ion systems.

YOUTH

Intergroup on Youth meets aga in On the 8th June, the

Intergroup on Youth of the

European Parl iament

met for the second

t ime s ince its creat ion in December 2009. Its members discussed the key priorit ies for youth polic ies in the EU. On the agenda is the youth dimension to the EU2020 strategy, which is to be adopted by the June



European Counci l . The “Youth on the Move” init iat ive wil l be a key element of the discuss ions, in view of providing construct ive feedback to the Commission 's proposal . The Intergroup on Youth was establ ished by a decis ion of the Conference of the Presidents on the 10th December 2009. It a l lows the bui ld ing up of a truly cross-sectoral pol icy approach to youth issues, and aims to bridge the gap between young people and the European Union.

Strengthening the coordinat ion of youth organisat ions in Hels inki The Internat ional Coordinat ion Meeting of Youth Organisat ions ( ICMYO) met in Helsinki on 3-6th June. Part icipants from the f ive continents discussed preparat ions for the Mexico World Youth Conference in August , as well as the 2010 Internat ional Year on Youth and the UN Summit for the Review of the Mil lennium Development Goals (MDGs), in September.

Reflect ion group report sees investment in young people as crucia l for future of Europe On the 8th May former Spanish Prime Minister Fel ipe Gonzalez submitted his expert ref lect ion group's f inal report “Project Europe 2030 – Chal lenges and Opportunit ies” to the President of the European Counci l , Herman Van Rompuy. Of part icular interest for young Europeans would be the references in the report to enhance European educat ion systems. It recommends investment in educat ion systems, primary and secondary schools , and strengthening l inks between public educat ion systems, business and society. The necessary precondit ion for upgrading sk i l l s in the EU, according to the report, wil l

be the real isat ion of a f lexib le, l i fe-long learning culture. Reforms should also include measures to increase student mobi l ity.

CALENDER

31 July-7 Aug. Train ing for

trainers, Zanka Hungary

4-9 August EFIL Volunteer Summer Summit, Zanka, Hungary

23-27 August Closing Seminar EurAfr ican Partnership for Change project , Vienna, Austr ia

30 September Intercultural Dialogue Day

8-10 October EFIL Board meeting, Leuven, Belgium

23 October EFIL Heads of Off ice Meeting, Buenos Aires, Argentina

23 October EFIL Regional Meeting, Buenos Aires, Argentina

28 Nov – 2 Dec European Cit izenship Trimester Programme Brussels Camp, Belg ium

2-5 June 2011 EFIL General Assembly, Vienna, Austria

Editor: Paul Claes, Layout: Laura Licari Contributions: Paul Claes, Izabela Jurczik, Ilyana Panteleeva, Laura Licari, Liza Popper, Alexander Müller, Christophe Braunschmidt, Greg Csaba, Adrian Lehne.

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EFILife JUNE 2010 - d22dvihj4pfop3.cloudfront.net · • EFIL Volunteer Summer Summit 2010- only six weeks to go! • ECTP prep team meets in Brussels • Intercultural Dialogue Day