Every great person has a place that shaped them. Harry Potter had Hogwarts and Luke Skywalker was taught the ways of the force by Yoda himself. Now what about Stefan Jahnke and Safi Sabuni, our very own stars of ESN AISBL? Although they weren’t Harry’s classmates, they did the next best thing. They joined ESN Växjö.
With a board consisting of 12 members, half of which are chosen among international students, you know that these guys mean business. And if this is not enough, there are also four committees which aid the board members in their everyday work. Talking about good cooperation!
Believe it or not, ESN Växjö, also known as Växjö International Students (VIS), was founded in 1991 and they will be celebrating their 25th birthday this year! Over these long years, they have managed to build and expand their organisation into a truly remarkable section. ESN Växjö has proven over and over again they have an unquenchable thirst to do more: they proved this just last month by organising the Swedish National Platform!
So what type of events do they organise? While they effectively deal with standard sports events, trips to neighbouring countries and cultural events, their pièce de résistance is the Welcome Dinner which they organise annually for almost 400 students. This event not only kicks off the semester on a grand note, but it also does a great deal in maintaining a strong relationship with the university authorities.
“Our Higher Education Institution (HEI) has often expressed the value of the fact that we organize this event. It's not only important for us and our students, but it is as well for our university. We have a good connection with our HEI”
Moreover, ESN Växjö focuses a lot on keeping their members motivated. Apart from sending ambitious and deeply involved members to various local and international events, they also hold two team building events for both the board and active members. There is, however, something that motivates ESN Växjö members even more.
"Even though we work 16 hours per day for an event, it's definitely worth it when we see how much they appreciate what we do. Hearing "Thank you for organizing this, it was amazing" makes everything worth it"
ESN Växjö is a perfect example of the ESN flame which will not burn out despite the stacking years. On the contrary, I’m under the impression that each year makes them shine even more. I suggest we raise a glass and celebrate the 25th birthday of the section that just keeps giving. Cheers!
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