ESN LSMU represented at the Annual General Meeting Costa Brava 2018
The Annual General Meeting of the Erasmus Student Network is the largest European student conference focusing on the theme of mobility. In the year 2018 Spain hosted AGM Costa Brava from 15th till 18th March, with 1000 students representing more than 500 Higher Education Institutions from 40 countries to elect a new International Board, debate the future of the network and the broader role of internationally oriented youth in Europe.
ESN LSMU was represented by Abhiyaan Malhotra (President of ESN LSMU) and Simona Adomaviciute (Education Officer of ESN Lithuania) at this conference discussing the future of Europe and the future of our network.
The conference started with the traditional Flag Parade highlighting the diversity and various colours and voices of the countries that are part of ESN. The flag parade concluded with an opening ceremony where we were addressed by dignitaries such as the Mayor of the city and the representative of University of Girona along with partners of ESN such as RyanAir, Hostelling International, Dr. Walter and many more.
The next day we started with plenaries and discussions on the work done in the last year by the board members of ESN International who are elected volunteers and are passionate about making a change to the international student experience. We also witnessed the candidates that aspire to be these elected full time volunteers and help erasmus students by getting policies in place for their integration into host universities.
There were plenty discussions about the possible new logo and the possible structural change within ESN to make our network stronger than it is now and long lasting. Fruitful workshops were held that discussed various topics ranging from things that matter to us on a day to day basis and how things can be made better for Erasmus students at the local level though the local sections such as ESN LSMU to things that mattered and were of interest to ESNers that want to get involved with Erasmus Key Actions, European Voluntary Service project and those that want to apply for internship at the European Commission.
We had the opportunity to get to know 500+ institutions that were represented and different partners present at the infomarket, where ESN LSMU presented their university LSMU and the courses LSMU currently runs, along with various other universities of Lithuania.
The social programme also promoted mobility and cultural experience. We got the true taste of Europe through the International Dinner that presented the national dishes of 40 different countries. Followed by the Spanish Night the next day when we were given the experience of a typical night in Spain while being busy with engaging discussions about our network. We ended the conference with the Gala Dinner that was accompanied by the STARawards, in which ESN LSMU received 2nd Place throughout the network in the logoSTAR category for the logo and the integration of the logo with the faculties at the university and it is a true representation of the courses at the university.
2018 is the European Year of Cultural Heritage - an opportunity to celebrate, share,
embrace, and shape culture. Through our daily events and activities organised on the local, national and international levels, we, the dedicated volunteers, are shaping the cultural heritage we will leave for our children. We are the ones to step into the roles of global leaders. We have to fully realise the power of our potential.
AGM is one of the events that motivates students to keep on doing what they are doing for Erasmus and International students and encourages a dialogue on change and shows them how other students just like them are involved across Europe.
"AGM has come to an end but definitely not the motivation for us to keep going forward."
- João Pinto, President ESN AISBL
In conclusion this event was engaging and had a lot of fruitful discussions in addition to a vote on the action plan of the next year, the logo, the structure of the organisation and the new international board. This shows our true international nature representing ESN LSMU, representing Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and ESN Lithuania and Erasmus Students in general and being a part of the Erasmus Generation.
#THISisESN
#AGMcostabrava
#ESNlsmu
#ESNlithuania
#MobilityisaLifestyle
Abhiyaan Malhotra
President of ESN LSMU
