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Editorial
Exchanging editor Sebastian Hojas
For me, EYP is all about learning. At every session, there is a ridicuolous amount of new ideas I scribble down in my notebook. This expierience is provided by the lively exchange of experiences, cultures and ideas in EYP – something we want to embrace with this magazine. During this session, I learnt about batmanning, hairline fonts (and their printability) and many other wonderful (and less geeky) things, especially from my dear journalists. In the end I had wasted two notebooks, which fully supports Arnolds Eizensmits’ wonderful saying, “this session is so hardcore”.
Contents
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04 kosovo 06 EYP Cooking 07 The idea that changed the world 08 Teambuilding 10 the faces of EYP 12 Questions of time and attentiveness 13 LGBT and the Balkans 14 A stranger in a strange world
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You know, some people smoke, I eat a banana – Arnolds Eizensmits
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Kosovo
Kosovo, the false state? No longer! article Edlira Dede & Chris Bauer graphics Gabriel Oliveira
Amongst international unrest, one country, Kosovo, has been forged from the perseverance of its citizens. Disregarding threats that would topple empires, the Republic of Kosovo is currently ascending upon the shoulders of giants.
Kosovo
Why has Kosovo been fighting Kosovo, as one of the oldest countries in the Balkans, has been fighting tooth and nail to preserve their culture and their rights, which were both consistently denied when the country was considered as part of the Former Yugoslav Republic – to the extent that the native language was outlawed. How was Kosovo able to declare itself independent Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the Kosovan people gained enough of a political and social presence as to spark a revolution, which later escalated into a large-scale war. As a result of the human rights violations directed at the entire population, the United States took the route of introducing NATO forces, rather than drafting a United Nations resolution, as the Russian Federation had been, and is still, siding with Serbia. With the war ending in 2000, Kosovo has come a long way, with the declaration of its independence on the 17th of February, 2008. What’s required for independence Although there are various definitions of what it means to be a country, the United Nations is the de facto body that presides over the recognition of the validity of a nation. As the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China are currently vetoing all resolutions concerning Kosovo, is it very unlikely for the country to join the ranks of the UN. Regardless, Kosovo is currently recognized by 101 countries and may very well be the exception to the standard model of self-determination. The United States of America and Kosovo The United States has been a longstanding ally of the Republic of Kosovo. Keeping in mind democratic ideals, civilian rights, and the potential for self-determination, the USA took the initiative of introducing NATO assistance for the Kosovan people in 1999. Today, Bill Clinton, the man who was responsible for the assistance of the United States, is considered to be a national hero, with
an 11-foot statue of him having been placed on Bill Clinton Boulevard. The question of the Russian Federation and China Currently, the Russian Federation is backing the Republic of Serbia during every United Nations summit. Like an echo from 1914 – the First World War – Russia has been keeping the United States in line concerning any invasion of Serbia. Similarly, China has also neglected to recognize Kosovo, maintaining that Serbia is entitled to legislation emulating the One China policy, in which Kosovo would continually be considered as part of Serbia; this is a reflection of the Taiwan-China dilemma. The 5 EU Member States that do not support the independence of Kosovo Currently, there are five European Member States that do not recognize Kosovo. Spain, Slovakia, and Romania are unwilling to risk the potential for copycat revolutions by the minorities living within their borders, whilst Greece and Cyprus fear the potential creation of a future “Greater Albania” – the union of Albania and Kosovo. The Kosovo flag – how it ensures stability and tolerance As Kosovo has been denied the possibility of uniting with Albania, the country has defaulted to creating a unique flag that represents its people, culture, and newly established borders. The flag consists of a map of Kosovo topped with 6 white stars. These stars represent the 6 ethnic groups living in the country. What is important to note is that, as the flag depicts the current borders of Kosovo, they are not likely to be subject to change. Many consider this element of the flag as a symbolic assurance by the Kosovan government that the country is striving to develop internally, rather than having to depend on its neighbours for assistance – namely Albania.
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Cooking
The EYP Cooking Challenge Article & Photo Vlera Hetemi
Preparation, Step 1: Withdraw up to ₏10 from your bank account. In case you don’t have one, borrow the money from somebody. Preparation, Step 2: Buy all of the necessary ingredients from the closest store. Preparation, Step 3: Motivate yourself, put on a cooking hat, start working, and show your EYP friends what an amazing cook you are. Now, to get the hard part over with, follow the steps below carefully. Step 1: Dough formation Pour the flour into a bowl; add warm water, salt, one egg, and additive. After the flour is moistened, gently press and form the dough into two balls by hand. Step 2: Roll out a pie crust and transfer it to a pie pan. On a flour-covered surface, use the rolling pin to roll the dough flat, starting from the center. Depending on the shape of the pie pan, use the rolling pin to form a pie-
Ingredients - 300g flour - 100ml olive oil - 100ml warm water - 10g additive - 10g salt - 3 eggs - 1/2 kg spinach - 1/2 kg yoghurt
crust around 2mm thick. Wrap the crust around the rolling pin to transfer it to the pie pan. Use a kitchen knife, or any small knife, to trim any excess dough extending beyond the edge of the pie pan. Step 4: Add the filling After frying the spinach, add two eggs and 500g of yoghurt. Next, mix well, and pour the filling into the unbaked pastry shell. Step 5: Prepare the upper piecrust and bake the pie Prepare the second pie crust in the same way you made the first. Roll out the pie crust and place it over the filling. Pinch the edges of the upper and lower crusts gently with your index fingers. Bake at 250°C for 15 to 20 minutes. Step 6: Test for doneness. The last, but far from least important, step; take a picture of your fresh pie and add it to Facebook to show your friends.
idea
The idea that changed the world Article Chris Bauer The world changes, physically, moment-to-moment. Alas, the pen is mightier than the sword, and as such, everything may be changed with just a thought – materialised. Of the one hundred billion people who have walked this Earth, very few have changed it; this does not mean that those who have not lack the qualities needed to do so as well. Locked away in the heart and mind of every individual is a spark. Initially, this spark only ever so slightly illuminates the brain for the briefest of moments, but it has the potential to spread like wildfire. What is important to note, is that there is no single most important idea. The world shall change many times over before the dawn of the homo sapien has run its course. Whether you, as an individual, desire to strive for peace, for fame, fortune, to influence your fellow humans positively, or to their detriment, you must first ignite the spark that will begin the revolution of materialised ideas.
We must remember, though, that humans are social creatures. We speak, we laugh, cry, forgive, forget, remember, grow old, and at the very core, for the better or for the worse, we live for each other. Bearing this in mind, no revolutionist works alone. In this day and age, although we are much more conscious of each other, we do not yet instinctively have the perspective of the grander scheme of things. Initiatives, such as the European Youth Parliament, increasingly provide this much needed bird’s eye view. As countrymen, as Europeans, as Earthlings; no matter the scale, it is when we come together that we generate the flint and tinder that will ignite the idea that shall change the world.
There is little that penetrates the void of the universe. Physicality is singular; no object can be spread throughout the wibbly wobblyness of time and space in all directions. Ideas are infinite, they do not spread; they exist and give meaning to the void and all of its inhabitants
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Photos
And BAM! You start to discover how amazing your committee really is. And another BAM! After great and intense work, dedication, problem solving, and crisis games, socializing becomes even more intriguing and interesting. BAM once again! When, after such a tiring, but amazing time, it is pure pleasure to get such an outstanding and positive outcome from the committee.
Teambuilding
Kosovo welcomes the young ambassadors Article Vlera Hetemi Photos Media Team
The first day of the 1st Balkans Summit was not only productive, but also a heartwarming welcome for many sessions to come. Over 60 delegates and officials from different parts of the world have taken to the skies over Europe and the roads of the Balkans, as all roads lead to the First Balkans Summit in Kosovo. To bring together such a multiethnic session, EYPers have come from far and wide; hitting off from the very northern part of Europe, such as: Estonia, Latvia, and Poland, to having traveled from the southernmost European countries, such as: Portugal, Albania, Macedonia, and Kosovo. And thus the session began with teambuilding, an exercise that unified all of the participants as Europeans. To make the lovely day even more astonishing, the session had been kicked off by an updated Balkans-concentrated version of the EYP game “The train of fantasy and love”.
a variety of responses that were given by EYPers when answering the question of what teambuilding really is about. For the lovely VPs, Pauline and Arnold’s, teambuilding “is nothing more than doing the unusual, attracting the attention of people passing by”… “or even scaring them”, Pauline adds. Meanwhile, from the perspective of the chairpersons, it was a very intense, surprising, exotic and inspirational day. Besides the impressively upbeat attitude of the delegates, chairpersons have also been exceptionally amazed by the knowledge and talent shown. Amongst the chairs, there is faith in the future leaders to take up important missions, and in this way to make a change in Balkans, which is coincidently the theme of the summit.
Never lacking in happiness and joy, the delegates maintained a healthy level of laughter throughout all of teambuilding, not even skipping a beat for their various “problems” that they encountered during their last round, making the games much more interesting and meaningful. Nevertheless, standing hand in hand, with arms locked and smiles broad, these lovely EYPers created the best EYP train of love and fantasy the Balkans have ever seen.
Team building - behind the scenes Regardless of whether you might be eyping for the first time, or your hundredth, teambuilding is considered as one of the most essential parts of the session by the majority of EYP members. With this out of the way, we are free to ask ourselves: “What is the intent of Teambuilding?” To say it in the words of the President of the Summit, Tiago Correia Machado, “Teambuilding is team building”.
Furthermore, the outstanding delegates of this very first Balkans Summit, along with the knowledge they’ve acquired about the situation in the Balkans, have impressed all of us with their exceptional performance in a myriad of ways. Because of the enthusiasm and effort displayed by the delegates and officials, the National Park of Germia was transformed, if only for an afternoon, into the epicenter of creativity, action, and service. However, when seen from different aspects, there was
With games aplenty, no discrimination was shown towards having fun, singing, yelling, problem solving, but especially to taking in new experiences. These are the ingredients required for a proper team building in which the amazing keeps on happening. Over the course of the day, all of the EYPers took part in a series of fun, silly, games; in the end, packed their bags, tied their shoes, and with every step came closer to what it means to be an activist in the European Youth Parliament.
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EYP faces
the faces of EYP Article Gernot ohner & Edlira Dede Photos Media Team
The European Youth Parliament prides itself with being a hive of diversity and – for better or for worse – a melting pot of people of different cultures and ideologies. But how diverse is it really? I wanted to find out and asked three randomly selected people.
EYP Faces I’m not Albanian, I’m Kosovan Fillojeté KONJUHI, 21, has only recently returned to Kosovo after having spent five months in Washington, D.C. preparing for the JESSUP cup. Widely known, this simulation court proceeding of the International Court of Justice is the largest, and maybe the most prestigious, law competition in the world. Surprisingly, “Jete”, as her friends call her, does not even study law, but is in the third year of her political science study. She is currently deciding on whether to do the subsequent masters degree in Austria or in England – which is mostly a question of finances – and intends to return afterwards, since she is already deeply involved in the Democratic League of Kosovo and is contemplating becoming a politician. Nevertheless, Fillojeté also enjoys journalism, which she got a taste of during a training course for Al Jazeera. She was born and raised in Kosovo, but has spent two years of her life in Macedonia – which coincidentally made her miss the war of independence. I’d love to do some energizers Born in Kosovo, Vlera HETEMI was raised in Switzerland, a place she calls “heaven on earth”. She was given a Swiss citizenship, but later lost it when her family moved back to Kosovo; a wrong that she is set on righting sometime down the road. In short it could be said: This woman is extraordinary. At the age of fifteen, this is not her first, but her fifth session, including two in which she held the position of chairperson. Not only did Vlera rock school so hard that she actually skipped a grade, but she also put her knowledge to the test when she participated in “Who wants to be a millionaire” and correctly answered nine of the fifteen questions. Even at her young age, she already speaks Albanian, English, German, and Turkish fluently, and used these skills to translate for the Prime Minister of Kosovo during his meetings with youth from 25 countries. Appropriately, she was awarded the title “Pride of the Generation” by the national television station. Serbs have thicker necks and brighter eyes than us Albanians The First Balkans Summit was the first EYP session for Dren GERBESHI, an 18 year old. He was born and raised in Pristina, but describes himself as Albanian. Still, Dren is a proud Balkan citizen, speaking not only Albanian, but also Serbian. Even at first glance, the background of his iPhone shows where he sees his future: waving proudly, the flag of the United States. His short answer to the question of why he likes the USA: “because they saved our asses” (He is, of course, speaking of donkeys rather than cursing). The longer one showed his appreciation for freedom, democracy, and the well-documented feeling of the badassery that is generally linked to the US. It was also soaked in a willingness to overlook the dark sides of everyone’s favourite contemporary empire.
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Dren is an outspoken deist. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. This has led him to reason that, while he can see no sign of God in the world, there has to be a supernatural entity that created all of the energy in the universe in the first place. I consider Kosovo and Albania one nation Adlum Ramadani, 18, is yet another who had his first taste of EYP here at the First Balkan Summit. As a practicing Muslim, he gets up at 5 a.m. every day to pray and is firm in his values of tolerance, self-improvement, and commitment to his country. He currently studies International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Illyria and would like to add a master degree in economics. He intents to leave Kosovo for this, but is certain to return when he is done with his formal education. I could sense that he was really serious and passionate about “serving the country” and he has already started to do so by working for various NGOs in Kosovo. Free of what we would call “guilty pleasures”, he has harsh words for his contemporaries, saying: “I feel like I am living in the wrong generation”, scolding his peers for indulging in alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs, rather than following his admittedly rather reasonable - values. I could sue you for that Jeta STATOVCI, 19, has lived in Kosovo for all of her life, except during the last school year, which she instead spent finishing high school in Florida. Now, she’s planning on studying Public Policy and IT at the American University, in which she has been elected to serve as a Senator – somebody who represents their generation in the student government. In response to the question of how her two studies are related, she answered that they simply aren’t, and she does it mostly because she can. She has the facts to back her statement: Jeta is a top student, who has won various scholarships. That’s why I was astonished when I heard her say that she does not have any great plans for her life. She just wants to find a job in one of her areas of expertise here in Kosovo. Her allegiance to her country has not always been this strong; only through staying abroad has she found out that Kosovo “just feels like home”.
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CLIMATE
Questions of time and attentiveness Article Emiljo Jazxhi
Questions concerning the protection of the environment should not cease to exist. If these questions did in fact stop, this would bring us to the actual destruction of our environment, which some of us choose to ignore, mostly due to an actual non-belief of how climate change impacts our lives, but also due to a lack of information. The Balkans, as a region, has lately focused on fostering economical and industrial development, therefore causing the possible release of dangerous gases into the atmosphere. Although there are policies and laws that regulate the behavior of industrial companies in this aspect, what we have learned from the Western Europe is that government intervention often leads to discontent and inefficiency in the world of private business. For instance, depending on the size of the company, it has the freedom of emitting amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere without having to pay hugely increased taxes. The fact that the implementation of environmental policy in developing countries is always met with numerous institutional obstacles is probably nothing new to our readers. The lack of seriousness on this issue cannot be explained as just the usual, slow, flow of bureaucratic processes. New is the unwillingness shown by the citizens of the Balkans to make a change. Having been asked three basic questions regarding this topic, more than half of the interviewed delegates admitted that they do not recycle, yet that they are aware of the impact that climate change has on the destruction of natural habitats. Only 1 out of 4 delegates thinks that the activity of local NGOs or government institutions is
efficient in the increasing of public awareness and the undertaking of action at the regional level. They are even pessimistic about the future situation of public awareness in Kosovo, quoting Art Qunaku, delegate of the Committee on Foreign Affairs: “No one cares about that. People pretend to have bigger problems. Remember, habitat loss is considered to be the greatest threat to the variety of life on this planet today� A widely used strategy in the combating of this issue is the trading of carbon emission permits. It was proven to be successful in the reduction of carbon emissions after its implementation in regions that have suffered from such problems in the past. It is also arguable, that carbon emissions allowance trading schemes have lower administrative costs; firms negotiate amongst themselves in order to minimize their costs. There may be hurdles to overcome before such a strategy is successfully implemented in the Balkans, but it is definitely worth a try. Bearing in mind that this issue concerns us all, it is about time we show an interest in it.
LGBT
LGBT and the Balkans Article Emiljo Jazxhi
Does the creation of a new country imply the creation, or at least the change, of a mentality of the region and a will for further development and reforms by the surrounding countries? Not necessarily. This has been proven by Kosovo and its neighbors throughout the past 5 years. No one is denying that progress in the Balkans over the past half decade has been exceptional. There has been quite an obvious change, but taking under consideration the differences characterizing this region in comparison to the other parts of Europe, giant steps will still need to be taken. To say the least, Kosovo is one of the diplomatically fastest growing countries in Europe. What has been keeping this country and its neighbors from reaching their peak progress has not only been the belated making and implementation of laws and policies from the governmental institutions, but also their mixture of the old mentality and the newly reborn youth movement. Finding a common language could at times be hard, but it is apparently something that cannot be postponed any longer. This is a process that has already taken place in the west, a region that has gone through such a transition. In the meantime, as the shift from strategic planning to implementation occurs, governmental support and a broad range of EU-financed initiatives will be much needed; obviously not only in Kosovo. For instance, members of the LGBT community in the Balkans are facing difficulties in having their rights recognized. This problem derives from several different reasons, such as the historical background and religious interventions, good examples being Montenegro and Serbia. Having been in Prishtina, Kosovo for the past few days, I could not help but notice a modern mentality in its culture, starting from the bars and the surroundings, to the mixture of hope and anxiety that is visible in every Kosovar’s eyes. Yet, only a few people in the Balkans make an effort to escape the barriers created by some sort of homophobic point of view. Until now, the status of LGBT rights in Kosovo is still unclear.
Overwhelmed by diversity Keeping in mind that homophobia is basically a subsection of xenophobia, LGBT rights are not the only freedoms being negatively impacted by the current situation. Studies have shown that racism, homophobia, and xenophobia are consequences of one’s brain not processing diversity properly. On the other hand, religious tolerance is what Kosovo and Albania are internationally known for. This would therefore prove that our brains are able to process diversity in a right, and most probably, a time efficient way. What is it then, that is still holding change back? Where is it that you can see the fact that animals and people are really similar? The dominant group usually follows animalistic principles, such as being challenged to think about its dominance when things develop in a rather uncommon way, yet do not become any worse. It is inevitable to notice that the comprehension of homosexuality is being expressed in a totally irrational and rather unpleasant way in the questionnaires and random local “debates” amongst the youth and emotionally stoic patriarchs in the Balkans. Nevertheless, on the bright side, there is Croatia, now a part of the EU. It is leading the recognition of these essential civil liberties. With its presence, coordination, and lectures, I see the future of this issue as having a significantly higher chance of soon seeing the light at the
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EYP
A stranger in a strange world Article Gernot Ohner Revisal Vlera Hetemi
I am not an EYPer. I am not a member of this fascinating and peculiar family. Or at least I was not when the First Balkan Summit started. Despite this, I got the chance to join the Media Team of the First Balkans Summit. Throughout the session, I noticed things‌ things, that struck me as strange or just conspicuous.
EYP
Circle (noun): a shape in which everybody can see everybody without moving their feet. Tomorrow (noun): an imaginary place where 99% of the EYPers’ productivity and energy is stored. Language itself shapes man’s ideas. “Tomorrow on day zero you are going to go teambuilding with the board, chairs, and the rest of the journos. Some icebreakers, some energizers, the usual stuff.” Yes, thank you very much for trying, but can you say that again in English? Apparently, in this EYP world, there are a lot of different creatures - the board who is always in a rush, chairpersons who are very lively and passionately taking care of the other younger beings -- delegates, and last but not least, the so-called journos; People, who are obsessed with taking pictures of everything that moves. I’ve been hearing expressions, which have no real grounding in the meaning of the individual words that make them up, but that EYPers understand and use on a daily basis. I am still searching for an explanation for “Be there, or be square”. A prude is a person who thinks that his own rules of propriety are natural laws. EYP is almost entirely free of this prevalent evil. According to modern psychology, a zone called the “Intimate distance” ranges from touching to being about 46 centimeters apart, and is reserved for lovers, children, family members and very close friends. At EYP, the intimate distance approaches zero. Within hours of meeting the officials, I had the pleasure of actively smelling these people and asking them for the colour of their underwear. These exercises are one of the ways of breaking what is called “false unity” in EYP slang; a state in group dynamics in which people are polite and friendly to each other. Apparently we do not want that. The other way of doing the same is to intentionally create conflict, for example: by giving them unsolvable problems. Another unexpected rule is that you do not knock on doors. You just go in – silently, of course. Do not interrupt. On Friday, the president, Tiago, came into the media room and said “Oh, you’re awake!” to Sebastian, our editor. When Sebastian, who was in a conversation, started to turn, Tiago quickly shut up and waved off – meaning “keep talking”. The morale of the story? At EYP nobody, not even the president, interrupts two people exchanging valuable ideas.
The Chairs, whose courage wasn’t even noticed until they crumpled under their load, My impression about the understanding of punctuality here at EYP is really mixed. After having arrived, Tiago instructed us that “Tomorrow, you are ready to roll at 11, which practically means that you are ready to leave at 10:30.” First thought: What? We can sleep until 10 a.m.? Second though: What? We are supposed to be ready half an hour before we are supposed to be ready? In the end, we left at 11:30. When we came to the Germia National park on the following day, my fellow journalist Chris was exhilarated, saying “Do you feel the freedom?”. Because we were the two journalists assigned to take pictures all day long, so we did not have a schedule. For everybody else, though, it was completely different. Some of the chairpersons I spoke with had the timetable for their committees planned out precisely, down to five minutes. One of them was actually upset when her committee finished one of the problem solving games much faster than anticipated. The universe has variety. Does EYP? The first thing one hears about EYP is: “diversity, diversity, diversity!” And yes, the members are diverse - in a way. The EYP Poland affiliated American who has a story for everything. The French girl that would rather be German and has chaired ten sessions in the last one and a half years. The Romanian fashionista studying in England, who posts pictures of her food on Instagram. Unique people, one and all, but there is ’one problem: They are all students. Some are in high school, most in universities. The number of people studying politics and/or law is astonishing. IT is rare, and so are medicine, chemistry, and biology – or most other areas of study for that matter. But on the other side of the coin, there are no carpenters, masons, or plumbers at EYP sessions. There are no teenage parents. There are no people covered in tattoos or piercings. Extraordinarily big groups of the European population have literally no representation here. For achieving true, honest diversity, there is still a long way to go. Unfortunately, I fear that we are not heading to towards this goal.
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1st Balkans summit
prishtina 2013
UNDER THE HIGH PATRONAGE OF MR MEMLI KRASNIQI MINISTER OF CULTURE, YOUTH AND SPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO