Dear Network, 

It is time for the first newsletter of the year 2015. New year is going on full speed and network is full of interesting activities and developments, and you can read in this newsletter.

We hope you enjoy reading and we wish you all happy holidays!

Your Comité Directeur 2014-2015

Between 18th and 21st of February we will hold our annual European Planning Meeting (EPM) in Burgos, Spain. This year the topic for the conference is “Europe and Russia: Today’s challenges from youth perspective”. What is more, during the EPM new objectives for the Action Agenda 2015-2016 will be drafted.
Join the online consultation in the Forum and have your say which thematic direction our organisation should take the next academic year.

The antennae that will recreate the historical Night of the 7 Cities have just been selected! This unique event will take place at the weekend of 18th April in the cities of Aachen, Bergamo, Catania, Eskisehir, Kyiv, Leiden and Sofia.
More information will come very soon – meanwhile, save the dates! Get latest updates about the anniversary via Facebook.

Time for the antennae Financial Report submission is approa-ching fast: it will start on the 1st and end the 28th of February. If you have any doubts or need any help now is the time to contact the Audit Commission! 
Approach them via [log in to unmask] and follow their new page on Facebook.

In the website of Europe in Exchange project you can find two important resources for young people interested in mobility programmes and opportunities abroad. One of them is the 'Info about Mobility', with collects in different categories websites and resources with information about mobility. The other one is the 'Mobility Calendar', with deadlines to apply for different programmes. If you know about other resources, share them with us as explained in the website.

Would you like to know how other locals help fulfill AEGEE`s Action Agenda? Recently a Facebook-group has been launched in which you can find examples of Action Agenda related activities, tips on how to organize them and success-stories of other locals.
Join the group and see how AEGEE`s values are being brought into practice.

For the Election Observation Project, 2015 started with a bang! Check their website for all the information about the project. 
On the website you can find plans for 2015. There are a total of 10 missions planned, of which 7 are confirmed. This year we will definitely observe the elections in Estonia, Finland, UK, Turkey, Poland, Spain and Ukraine.
If you're interested in getting involved contact them via [log in to unmask] or follow them on Facebook.

AEGEE-Utrecht is organizing the Self-Development European School (SES) this March in Utrecht, The Netherlands. 
SES is an unique event with 7-days of training revolving around the concept of self-development and the open call for participants is now open!
Are you ready to look within yourself, to recharge and reset, and to form a clear vision of your future? Apply now! Follow SES on Facebook.

AEGEE in cooperation with ELSA is campaigning for the adoption of the new Visa Directive in the Council of the EU. AEGEE supports the scope of the Directive that Volunteers, Students and Young people in training seeking entry into the EU for periods between 3 months and 12 months will be granted easier access to Schengen Visas.

Last November 3 members of AEGEE-Tartu reached out to all AEGEEans with a survey for which they needed nine hundred volunteers in total from European countries. The results for the survey will be used for their bachelor thesis, which deals with the subject of European youth’s perceptions of their body and attitude towards social nudity. The AEGEEan spoke to the them to find out more about the topic and their reasons to choose it as a subject for their bachelor thesis. Read more here.

After several new contacts in Russia and Belgium, on the 19th of December it was announced that AEGEE-Europe is also expanding to England with a new contact in Manchester. The AEGEEan spoke to Pablo Palazón, member of AEGEE-Alicante, to find out more about the newest contact!

Red hair, blue eyed Dutch-German girl with a really positive personality: Guess who? We are talking of course about Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen), in three words: hyperactive happy and caring. No doubt about that! Do you want to know more about her? Check this out!

Global challenges need global answers, in Europe and everywhere. The year 2015 is the European Year of development, and it was kicked off in Riga last week. The focus is beyond Europe's borders for the first time. 2015 is the last year for the development millennium goals international community will agree on the future global framework for poverty eradication and sustainable development. In the past AEGEE was involved in development in several projects, see the results and get inspired!

On 16-19th April 2015 in Vilnius, Lithuania 80 international dele-gates will take part in an International Y2Y Summit ‘’The Role of Youth in Solving Global Challenges and Bridging Gaps Among Nations’’.
The aim of the event is to bring together the brightest students, youth activists, leaders in the society, entrepreneurs, professors and businessman to start a dialogue on global challenges of today and tomorrow and to create specific solutions to address them.
Find more information and apply here.