* “Verbinden” is a German word that means linking or connecting
Al Akhawayn University’s campus has always been an environment where various cultures and ideologies intertwined. Students since 1995 have always personified this diversity through different initiatives conferences and clubs. The purpose behind this has always been to promote and open the door to people’s interest and curiosity in the different cultures worldwide. We can recall a great number of cultural clubs that were all having a great impact on the “vitality” and activeness of the AUI campus: The Japanese Circle, Italian and Spanish Club, etc.
During Fall 2020, and in order to palliate to the deficit in numbers of active continuous students on campus, the Student Activities Office offered the possibility to Newcomers to take the lead and start creating and fostering new club ideas or reviving old ones. It was in this new and unusual Fall semester that a club that will exponentially become one of the most influential on campus saw the light of day: The German Club.
How it all started
It is with great enthusiasm and a solid action plan that a small board solely constituted of newcomers head to the Student Activities Office (SAO) asking for information on how to revive an old club. It was not without overcoming a great deal of challenges -from the lack of experience to the overwhelming number of new institutions to deal with- that the club could actually start its operations and events. “I spent two years of my life living in Germany. The idea to create this club started with my friends asking me for German classes. Then I thought of introducing the German way to AUI” assured Wiam, the President of the club.
According to the board, The “German” way has at the heart of its operations a number of values such as: inclusiveness and mutual help. These moralities and ethics clearly show in the different events developed since its creation. As a matter of fact, most of their events were collaborations with other clubs: The Fright night with DJ Club at the occasion of Halloween, Ladies Nacht with Gaming Club or the cultural fair with other clubs for Spring 2021’s orientation week.
Besides fun activities and events, the German club offers the possibility to take German classes twice a week. Those classes are split into two groups of maximum 16 students allowed to respect the COVID protocol. All coordinated and assessed by the club’s President, as she holds an C1 proficiency level in the language and was formed by a former German professor.
The Singletine’s Nacht Event
“After 2 hours of releasing the sign-up form for the event, it was completely booked. The number of people interested exceeded our expectations.”
Asmae Nadifi, Vice President of the German Club
If you are a student living on campus it would have been very unlikely for you not to notice the big event that was held on Valentine’s day. Whether it be through emails, flyers, or sometimes Facebook memes, all the AUI Community was waiting for that event. Indeed, the German club touched upon a very “long-awaited” period in February and seized the opportunity to give to the community a chance to have fun and meet each other the “German way”; mainly through “Liebe” song contests, Giant XO games with hearts, or “Worte raten” (word guesses). Judging from the great number of students present in Auditorium 8B that night, the event was definitely a huge success!
” The success of the event is linked to our will to make our events creative, fun, and simple and above all, we keep in mind the interests of students.”
Wiam Dacha, the club’s president
The Clubs will to have an impact
In parallel with the internal collaborations that the club made with other clubs. The German club is having the full support of the German embassy and the German consul. In fact, and during Spring 2021’s orientation week the Club received a large contribution of hats, balloons, pencils, and prospectuses German-themed.
In their hope to improve and include more students in their vision, the club started expanding by incorporating a variety of committees to help setting up events and future projects: COVID, Logistics, and Creativity committees. “We want to offer the possibility for our members to strengthen their soft skills and gain experience” assured Wiam Dacha. For that matter, certificates of recognition signed by both AUI’s President Dr. Bensaid and the Dean of Student Affairs (DSA) Dr. Fatmi were distributed last fall as a recognition to their active members.
“Don’t look at us as a -Newcomers club-, look at our work. All we know we learned by doing. We still have a lot of interesting events coming up for the benefit of the community !”
German Club Board
This Club only proves that with the right guidance, motivation, and a good action plan, newcomers can also strike their leadership positions and positively impact the community. We wish them good luck with their future plans!
