Dear friends, this e-mail has a very personal content: it will seem also strange, pathetic, boring. But I must be sincere: I don't take care of this at all. Don't read it, dear Rainbowists, if you think a long thank to a friend don't have to find place on this mailing list. But before deleting this e-mail remember probably you also have a debit with that friend of mine, that's probably also yours,... ...because he is DAVIDE CALENDA. Davide Calenda is a "big" friend, but also a big friend of us. He was the flag of this Region for all the last two years and also one of the most precious and significant members of our Association. His AEGEE spirit is exemplary, and his intellectual honesty when he was at the highest roles of AEGEE is a route for all of us. Be clear: I'm not describing a Saint, but only one of the best AEGEEns was possible to meet. And I'm doing it only for one reason: for sure not because he is dead (this is not an obituary notice at all !!! Davide Calenda is perfectly fine, he's still always hungry and sleepy and he lives always with his big bottle of Venetian wine under his bed !!! ), but because he told me he doesn't want only to leave his task in the NetCom, but he wants to leave also all AEGEE, and I'm trying to persuade him to change his decision, as I did after the Agora in Amsterdam, but I'm not so sure to be able to do it. AEGEE spent almost one hour of the Agora greeting an important AEGEE member who was only changing his task, then permit me to spend a few minutes by e-mail greeting an other important AEGEE member who is leaving all our Association (also if I'll work a lot against it!). I met him the first time here in Napoli, where he took part in our conference "Euroschool - The single currency for United Europe" here in Napoli . I remember a visit we had altogether at the marvellous Museum of Capodimonte, one of the most important painting gallery of Italy (that, forgive me here, means of the World). And I remember him starting to explain to all of us all ( but really all !!!) of the Renaissance paintings, and my best memory is for the long and beautiful part dedicated to the Tiziano's red of the portrait of the Pope Paolo III Farnese. Then I met him again in the Autumn 2000 during the Agora in Udine. There he greeted me and he told me only: "Hi Luca. I candidated for the Network Commission." No one word more! And no more for all the Agora! And in two years it was the only time and the only way I sow and heard him "lobbying" :-)) !!! Then we started to work together... to be honest I started to work with him. He appointed me as SubCommissioner ( this character he invented as first was one of his great and famous intuitions! ) and he motivated me to work in favour of the development of the South of Italy, that at moment was very week and poor of enthusiasm and activities. And also if he's living in Venezia, we percepted always his presence here. I think everybody remembers his incredible NetCom Trip by ship: Bari, Napoli, Palermo, Valletta and some important Contacts. And nobody can forget the incredibly huge quantities of new locals he strongly supported during all his "career": Trento, Messina, Cosenza, Latina, Teramo, Termoli, Sarajevo, Modena, Padova, Macerata. And the Contacts: Catania, Banja Luka, Avellino-Benevento, Parma, Reggio Emilia. In the meantime he was been elected as Speaker of the Network Commission, one of the highest position in AEGEE, and he worked for a new image of the Commission, and also (successfully too!) for the obtainment of more money for the activities of the NetCom, that means for the support of the locals. Then he went to Ankara for the Agora. It was a terrible Agora for us: not more then only two or three representatives from all the Rainbow Region, only a few votes, and of course many candidates from our Region violently defeated (Fabio Rascia, Carletto Fadda ... ). Davide Calenda was the first elected of the Network Commission in Ankara. And of course he was confirmed as Speaker. And it was the time of two important activities: the battle for the transparency and the European School in Rome. Transparency was the password of Davide Calenda for one whole year, and no more today only because, also if the proposal was rejected at the terrible Agora in Amsterdam, now you can see it's one of the main contents in all the programs of AEGEE. The European School in Rome was a big and difficult success: it was the chance for him to involve new people of the Region. He started to call, to send e-mail, to motivate the boards, to lobby ( now yes ! ! ! ) for a big and enthusiastic partecipation from pur Region, but also from all the Network. And that ES (where he was also one of the most important Trainers) was the real beginning of the AEGEE life of the current President of the Juridical Commission (Amedeo Ferrara), of one of the most active protagonists of the Internal Education in AEGEE and now PR of the SUCT (Fabrizio Fantini), of Giselle Spiteri Miggiani (who one month ago was officially appointed by the President Tomek Helbin to represent AEGEE at an international meeting in Italy). But I would like to remember also the "FR and SU Training Course" in Napoli and Salerno, that was an other great intuition, with lots of participants and big improvement and motivation of two locals. And I would like to remember it also because I have the (mis-:-)fortune to divide the room with Davide, and during a long night we spent talking about AEGEE he described me the task of NetCommie, and finally for the first time he asked me ironically if I was disposed to be the next one. There I was scared (don't joke me! It's true! ) and amused by the only idea. And of course I refused smiling. I accepted ( also thank to the support of the other SubCommies ) some months after, when there was a discussion amongst all the Rainbow Team, and Davide officially announced he won't be candidate more. The greatest quality of Davide, as I just told, is the intuition. He's able to understand immediately the chances, the atmospheres, the situations, the people. This is a list of his first SubCommissioners. And remember: almost nobody knows them before. Nicola Rega ( currently President of the Members Commission, Speaker of the HRWG, Member of the Academy , Former-President of AEGEE-Torino ) Giulietta Banzi ( currently President of AEGEE-Pavia, Former-Local Responsible of the PRWG ) Francesca Fedrizzi ( currently President of AEGEE-Trento, Secretary of the Academy ) Chiaretta Benetazzo ( currently ABC Co-ordinator, Case Menager of the "FR and SU TR", Former-President of AEGEE-Treviso ) Sasha Sirca ( currently Board Member of AEGEE-Ljubljana, Co-ordinator of the Slovenian-Croatian Mini-RM in Trebnje ) Tamara Novak ( currently President of AEGEE-Maribor ) Silva Petrovic ( currently Board-Member of the PRWG, Former-Secretary of AEGEE-Zagreb ) Giselle Spiteri Miggiani ( currently Secretary of the VFF, Vice-President of AEGEE-Firenze, Representative of AEGEE-Europe at the EPSA annual general meeting in Firenze ) Fabrizio Fantini ( currently PR Responsible of the SUCT, Member of the Academy, Former-President of AEGEE-Termoli ) Amedeo Ferrara ( currently President of the Juridical Commission, Projects Responsible of the PRWG, PR Responsible of the HRWG, President of AEGEE-Napoli ) Davide was always able to understand the potential of everybody he has with him, obtaining great results. Now, "Daddy" Davide, you leave the Network Commission and you would desire to leave also AEGEE. Probably you are upset, I can understand you. Probably all your big work was not visible enough to be at least remembered in public, for sure recently somebody didn't appreciate all your worth, and you felt bad for this. But I beg you : don't care. Don't care. Your worth was not totally appreciated yet in AEGEE, but it will be. As it always happens in all the communities.Sometimes people are used to see somebody making something, and they understand the real value of it only when that somebody quits his activity. And anyway remember: for all of us you will be always our CALENDONE ! THANK YOU DAVIDE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Luca ---------------------------------------- Luca Falcone RAINBOW Network Commissioner Speaker VFF Board Member HRWG e-mail address: [log in to unmask] ============================================================================= RAINBOW-L is a regional discussion list of AEGEE. Check out http://www.aegee.uni-karlsruhe.de/archives for the archives of public lists. To unsubscribe send 'unsubscribe RAINBOW-L' to [log in to unmask]