With 13,000 members in over 200 university cities in 40 countries, AEGEE offers a unique opportunity to explore Europe
AEGEE (Association des États Généraux des Étudiants de l’Europe) was founded in Paris in 1985 to bring together students with different cultural backgrounds.
“It is a network of young people who want to cooperate and get to know each other,” says Martijn van der Sar. “As a network we stand for tolerance, equal rights and a Europe without borders.” Van der Sar is the current AEGEE-Delft Commissioner of External Relations & European Affairs. He explains that the European body of AEGEE tries to represent the voices of young people throughout Europe through political activism. “On the local level here in Delft,” he says,”we are more a student association which loves to travel and meet new people throughout Europe.”
Kollol Aguan, a Master’s student from India, is head of the AEGEE-Delft travel committee. “We decide a place we want to go and then we contact the local AEGEE group there,” he says. They try to arrange places to stay with local students. This means there is often no cost for housing and it gives the travelers a personal perspective on the city and the culture. When other AEGEE members visit Delft Aguan says, “We host, show them the city and learn about each other.”
Trips can be near or far from Delft and normally take place on weekends or during holidays. During the first week of December AEGEE-Delft will be making a trip to Cologne to visit Christmas markets. At the end of December the destination is Prague. Though the organization does often use trains and planes for transport, they are also known for their adventurous hitchhiking competitions. Teams of two race their way to the chosen destination by getting a lift from strangers on the road. According to Aguan, the most recent competition took them all the way to Budapest.
Traveling on a student friendly budget is not the only thing AEGEE-Delft does. They also host a weekly dinner and drinks event in the center of Delft. This event normally takes place on Tuesdays at 19:00. They regularly organize game nights, movie nights, workshops and other social activities.
For more information on membership and upcoming events visit http://aegee-delft.nl.
This is part of our ongoing series Meet The Society which highlights different student groups and societies at TU Delft. If you’d like to suggest an organziation for us to cover, please email us at deltainternational@tudelft.nl.
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