Between the 7th and 10th of April 2022, the EGM (Erasmus Generation Meeting) took place in Porto, Portugal with about 800 participants from ESN sections all throughout Europe, along with various organisations such as Western Balkans Alumni Association (WBAA), OCEANS Network, Erasmus Mundus Students and Alumni Association (EMA) and garagErasmus. ASAF had the pleasure of being a part of this event and actively participated through various sessions and constant networking.

 

Europe-Africa Mobility Panel Session:

The first session in which ASAF took part in on Friday was a panel discussion on Europe-Africa mobility facilitated by Yassin Khalil, that also involved Yasser Haddad, president of ESN Switzerland, who is Lebanese, and Esmee Vanthuijl who is part of ESN Netherlands and has been on a mobility to Egypt. Thanks to the various perspectives and backgrounds of the panel participants, refreshing and inspiring ideas were exchanged between us and the audience, who were very curious about mobility opportunities between both continents, along with the barriers that make it difficult to have Africa-Europe mobilities from both sides and how to overcome them.

 

Erasmus Generation Talk – Personal Mobility Journey and ASAF’s Core:

The second session Imane Benrabiaa representing ASAF participated in on Saturday was a 20-minute-long Erasmus Generation talk that revolved around how mobility touched Imane as a person and what makes ASAF an important organisation that bridges not only between African countries, students and staff, but also between Africa and Europe. This session was fruitful because it touched on a more personal level of mobility and how it affects us, and how ASAF is a forum that is also about personal connections and bringing people together.

 

Mobility Fair and Poster Session:

In parallel on Saturday, ASAF along with its cousin organisations took part in the mobility fair, where participants would approach us and we would explain what our organisation is about and what our mission is, this was a particularly beneficial session as a lot of people heard of ASAF for the first time and got the opportunity to learn about it, while displaying genuine interest. To add to this, a poster session took place where participants would approach each organisation’s poster to inquire about its activities and vision/mission, which was also quite informative for many who found out about ASAF for the first time.

ESAA Project Brainstorming Session:

The final session ASAF took part in on Sunday was a session where ASAF and its cousin organisations had a discussion with participants about how they could ace their ESAA projects, this session involved a good deal of brainstorming on which types of projects would be beneficial, and how to structure them most efficiently.

 

Aside from the sessions Imane took part in representing ASAF, she also attended other sessions and networked with various partners of ESN and participants both in the event itself and during the social activities organised afterwards, it was a joy to be a part of this and she felt it truly benefited ASAF's visibility and knowledge of other organisations and how they operate. It also was wonderful to make new connections which will surely open doors for collaboration in the future!

 

Imane Benrabiaa

Hungary, Budapest, 12 April 2022