Cultural festival to promote tolerance

Under the Project 'Univesities to Debate Europe', AEGEE offered students to voice their opinions and concerns regarding the Convention on the Future of Europe at the 'Students' Convention'. The results formed the basis of our policy towards the issue.
We envision a Europe that is more democratic and more transparant. Civil Society must become more involved in the decision-making process, with special attention to youth participation.
Education should become a larger focal point, considering its impact in current and future developments. The acquisition of multilingual competence should be promoted, as this should maintain cultural and linguistic heritage.

From 7-11 April 2003 in Bologna, AEGEE organised the seminar "Higher Education in a Globalised World" within the framework of the Bologna-Prague-Berlin Project. This seminar allowed students from varying backgrounds to discuss student mobility, quality assurance, non-formal education and ICT in higher education.
The seminar compiled a position paper on e-Learning, stating the students' view on the future and the implications of e-Learning in Higher Education, which was ratified at the General Assembly in May.
The position paper draws attention to the fact that e-Learning has to be addressed in the Bologna Process as part of the future of Higher Education Area in Europe.
It also concludes that the use of e-Learning cannot be seen as a substitute to the student mobility or face-to-face communication.
The position paper was accepted as contribution to the World Summit on the Information Society for the Intersessional Meeting in Paris 15-17 July 2003 and will be promoted in the framework of the Bologna Process.

Each year AEGEE organises a Year Plan Project. This year the Project is called 'Youth & Globalisation'. It attempts to approach the issue of globalisation on various levels, and is henceforth organised in successive phases.
The first phase - a questionaire - is underway. The analysis of these questionaires will form the foundation for the second phase: the five Study Seminars in the summer, each specialising on a certain field in which globalisation has a profound influence.
The third and final phase will take place in from 8-10 December in Brussels: the World Youth Summit. Students from every continent will gather to discuss the issues at hand.
Both the second and third phase should produce results, formulating the students' and youth's positions on the issue of globalisation.

The International Politics Working Group (IPWG), together with AEGEE Hamburg, has organised two conferences uner the name 'Palestinians - Israelis - Europeans' (PIE).
The project is based on the fundamental principle of a reverential dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian students. The participants partake in various fervent discourses, considering the underlying questions concerning the current situation. The European participants aim to catalyse the discussions, and how they can assist furthering the peace process.
The next conference ("The European Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Perceptions and Future Possibilities") is to be held in Copenhagen from 4-10 August.

AEGEE Ankara will be hosting a cultural youth festival in Fethiye/Kayakoy (KayaFest). This falls under the Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue Project, which is being organised over a two-year period. The project aims at improving communication and tolerance between the two societies.
With the accession of Cyprus, and the possible future admittance of Turkey, to the European Union, the two cultures face a period of approaching each other, in order to find a swift and peaceful unification of the island state.
AEGEE hopes to facilitate this, by organising the KayaFest, which will be attended by thousands of students. This cultural youth festival will include various workshops on psychology, photography, dance theatre and music, as well as open-air shows and performances. It is aimed at improving the mutual understanding of the two societies, both amongst themselves and toward third parties.

For fifteen years our longest running project has brought together students from all over Europe.
This year over 120 of our antennae will organise a two-week event, bringing together over 1000 students. The organisers are free to determine the central theme.
Each Summer University can select its own participants from the available applicants. Most of them pick 25 students.
The main principle of the project, and the main reason for its continuous success, is that it aims to enhance European integration, by offering a platform opn which students have a chance to interact and discuss on a basis of mutual respect.
Looking back on fifteen years of achievement can be very fulfilling. yet we also look forward to expand the project even more!

• Youth & Globalisation Study Seminars - Throughout the summer, five seminars, each dealing with a specific aspect of globalisation, will be held in Bayreuth (Germany; July), Cluj-Napoca (Romania; July), Paris (France; July), Izmir (Turkey; August) and Riga (Latvia; August). The participants will also assemble in Trieste and Udine (Italy; October) for a Joint Study Seminar, combining the results from the previous five in a general statement. [more]
  
• "The European Role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Perceptions and Future Possibilities" - conference organized by the PIE (joint Palestinian-Israeli-European) student group within the European student organisation AEGEE, in coordination with the International Politics Working Group; will take place from