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1. Welcome

Dear ESNCard holders & Dear ESNFriends,

ESN is happy to inform you on many developments that have been going on in the last month:

We are glad that Europe is being celebrated this year: 20 Years of the Erasmus Programme and 50 Years of the EU. Find out in this issue how Erasmus Student Network is celebarting these events. Europocket TV (EU's youth broadcasting) celebrates by offering interesting media projects at Rome, where 50 years ago the first treaty towrads the creation of the EU was signed.

Our partner SkyEurope is also celebrating its five years of existance and offers not less than 555.555 seats for 5€!

Outside of ESN, March is an interesting month, as the first signs of spring remember students of applying for many interestig student festivals starting from May.

Finally, we would like to share with you the story of a brave student, who in 1985 took away the last legislative abstacle towards studying abroad.

Enjoy reading the newsletter. ESN International wishes you a happy 20th/50th Anniversary!

Yours,
Davide, Ewa, Tomaso, Corinne and Jakob

Contact: secretariat@esn.org
ESN c\o CRUI - CNR
Rue du Trone, 98
B-1050 Brussels
BELGIUM
Tel.: +32 (0) 2 2902 271
Fax.: +32 (0) 2 2902 280
Mob.: +32 (0) 485 924 512

For any questions regarding your subscription or to unsubscribe please contact the network administrator at na@esn.org.

2. ESNLive: first winners of the 20 Years of Erasmus Story and Photo Competition.

Here are first winners of Share your 'Erasmus Experience' competition:

FIRST Prize, so the digital camera, goes to Andrea Cantore for the Experience that in the best way described what Erasmus really is
Title: 'We lived our perfect life' read the experience

Then, SkyEurope flights are won by:
Seonaid Mimmo for: We discovered dreams are like snow flakes
Marco Valentini I embraced the world
Victor Hugo I made myself happen
Dj Nash I upgraded myself
Plus for the very nice blue photo to Thomas Tomme! see "You hate it or besotted it!"

5 Guides of Lonely Planet "Gap year" go to:
Miguel L. Mayher for I made a year worth living
Silvia Pareti I will never be the same
Jon Catshoek We dreamt and lived those dreams
Kel She found herself on her way...
Plus for the photo to German see the first photo showing the real enthusiasm of being Erasmus:)

It has been a taught decision, be cause there are many nice Erasmus Experiences shared. If your name is not here do not worry because every 2 months the coolest, nicest, brightest experiences will receive prices.

Next deadline for competition is 1 April 2007 and with that new prizes and new chance for all of those who were Erasmus. Just upload your experience here:

Happy Birthday Erasmus! We lived our perfect lives!

3. Topic of the month: The Erasmus Journey begins in the AGM!

The Erasmus Van is already in Brussels and some members of the Board will arrive to the AGM with the Van. The Van with ESN volunteers will depart from the AGM to Bratislava, Budapest, Pécs and so on visiting as many ESN sections as possible and finishing the journey where ESN was thougt of 17 years ago, in the heart of Europe, Belgium.

As you all know in the year 2007 ESN is celebrating 20 Years of the Erasmus Programme. Local celebrations called Erasmus Days will take place around Europe promoting the Erasmus Programme and international exchange. Conferences, fairs, parades, exhibitions, festivals and many other events will be organised. The Erasmus Van with ESN volunteers will visit the most important of those events gathering opinions of students and local citizens about the Erasmus Programme.

Everyone can celebrate the 20 anniversary of Erasmus during the whole year 2007 without having the van present! We can include your celebrations on the website so everyone is able to know what you're doing.

Do not hesitate to check the website http://www.20erasmus.eu/page/erasmusdays and fill the application form to be a volunteer of the Van and promote Erasmus around Europe and beyond.

If you are a student association, university or group of friends and you want to organise Erasmus Days do not hesitate to contact secretariat@20erasmus.eu. See the Erasmus Days guidelines about how to organise Erasmus Days.
As an official organiser of Erasmus Days, you will receive promotional materials and the information on your event will be included in our website.

More information can be found on http://www.20erasmus.eu

4. Our partners introduce:

SkyEurope

Celebrate our 5th anniversary whole summer!

555.555 seats for 5 €*

Book until Sunday, 25 February 2007!

Travel period: 1 March 2007 - 27 October 2007

Book your flight now at www.skyeurope.com or through our call centre: +421 2 4850 4850.

*One-way. Subject to availability. Taxes and charges excluded. Fares valid for internet bookings only.

ESNCard holders enjoy a 15% discount on all SkyEurope flights.
The discount is valid all year long and involves the flight fare only (and not taxes and surcharges). ESNCards from the last year edition are valid as well.

5. Get Involved: Europocket TV invites you to compete and win a trip to Rome!

Got something to say?

Think you could present Europocket news?
Think of a theme, grab a camera and let your talent do the rest!
Send us a 50 second video clip and take part in Europocket TV

It is the first ever competition: EPK+50. Your video should include a short speech on a theme of your choice and three interviews with anyone you like: friends, politicians or even strangers on the street!

Win a 4 DAY TRIP TO ROME to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. From the 27th to 31st of March, you and a friend will be flown to Italy's capital, put up in a hotel with all expenses paid.

On one condition: that you recreate your video in Rome and include your vision on the celebrations of the Treaty of Rome. We will broadcast it in Europocket News. EPK+50 is open to all young talented Europeans. Go for it, have some fun and who knows, you might even be our next Europocketer Send us your videos before the 12th of March 2007 through the -your videos- section on our web or by email.

To know more about the conditions and requirements on the competition click here

Also, ESN appeared on Europocket TV with the celebrations of 20 Years of Erasmus Programme in Brussels, just click on this link (you need flash player)

6. What's going on in Europe besides ESN?

Spring and early summer are traditionally the time for organising international student festivals. We hope that many of our members and friends will be present. Check them out and find the one that suites you most.

International Culture Week in Pécs (ICWiP): 19 - 29 July An annual thematic youth and student festival in Hungary

This year's themes are education and learning

ICWiP is one of the most important and popular thematic youth and student cultural festivals of East Central Europe and the Alps Adriatic region. The festival is organised in the region of South-Transdanubia (Hungary), in Pécs. For a few years now, every year around 250-300 students from 30 different countries have come to spend their time together

• visa-countries outside Europe: 28 February 2007
• non-visa-countries outside Europe: 31 March 2007
• visa-countries inside Europe: 31 March 2007
• non-visa-countries inside Europe: 31 May 2007

For more information go to http://icwip.hu/htmls/icwip_2007.html

International Student Week in Belgrade 2007: June 28 – July 5 "Update Local to Get Global"

The second International Student Week in Belgrade, ISWiB 2007, will be held from June 28 till July 5 in the capital of Serbia. Heading motto of this year’s meeting is "Update Local to Get Global". More than 130 students and young people from all around Europe will gather in order to take part in various interactive workshops and discussions, and also to hear interesting lectures on some of the current issues.

Check out the workshops, cultural and many more events that will take place. Application deadline is March 15, 2007

For more information go to http://www.iswib.org

International Scientific Conference in Sumy: 3 - 7 May 2007: Sumy, Ukraine "Economics for Ecology"

It's on everyone's lips: global warming, weather change, pollution... ISCS is a "summit" especially for students and NGO's who are concerned with the ecological theme. The Sumy State University is organising this event and bringing together young bright minds from all over Europe. The topics of the conference include theoretical problems, case studies, methodology, cooperation examples, environmental education, NGO activities and so on. Application and payment deadline is March 20

For more information go to http://econ.sumdu.edu.ua/iscs

7. Student mobility?

1985, when the Erasmus Programme was still in an emryonal stage, students were facing tough times when studying abroad. This is the story of F. Gravier, a brave French student who was in Belgium, facing a court case that would open European legislative borders towards the first exchange students. To boldly go where no one has gone before...

Conclusions of the case 293/83:
"...ALTHOUGH EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION AND POLICY ARE NOT AS SUCH INCLUDED IN THE SPHERES WHICH THE TREATY HAS ENTRUSTED TO THE COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS , (...)IT CONSTITUTES , MOREOVER , AN INDISPENSABLE ELEMENT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY , WHOSE OBJECTIVES INCLUDE INTER ALIA THE FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS , THE MOBILITY OF LABOUR AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE LIVING STANDARDS OF WORKERS . IT FOLLOWS THAT THE CONDITIONS OF ACCESS TO VOCATIONAL TRAINING FALL WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE TREATY..."

In short: F. Gravier, being a French student and studying art at the Académie Royal des beaux-Arts in Liège, Belgium, was asked to pay an additional enrolment fee that Belgian students didn't need to pay. As she refused to comply with this rule, the Académie deleted her application for studies, thus also withdrawing her residence permit.

This problem led to a court case where the French spreaking community, the City of Liège and the Académie defended the additional fee, but were faced by the European legislation. This states that the free movement of workers also implies vocational training and that citizens of EU-membership states must have the same admission rights to one country's vocational training and internship programmes as it's own citizens.

It was when the Belgian court decided that the classes F. Gravier was following at the Académie were to be considered as vocational training, that this news spread around and took away one of the last obstacles before launching the Erasmus Programme.

You can check the whole story here