THE SLOTH.
This newspaper is brought to you by: (From left to right) Adam Borowski (Video Editor), Catherine Noonan, Aleksandra Bieluk, Alex Coates, Mara Balasa,Sara Jasionowska, Zuzana Kustkova, Magdalena Wilford, Onur Can Ucarer, Aaron Graham and Luke Thomas (Editorial Assistant)
Tabel of content:
15. Session Memories
2. Editorial
17. Euro Concert 2.0
3. The Diversity of the Human Mind
19. Traditions Europe Version
4. Diary of a Sloth 5. How to Stay in Touch with EYP 7. EYP Poland 8. Film Workshop 9.Photo Workshop 10. Music Workshop 11. A Culinary Exchange 13. Equal Opportunities for All 14. Media Workshop 1
EDITORIAL Dear Delegates, This is me. No make up, hair not done, at 9.30 in the morning. I have just finished editing the final issue of THE SLOTH. Despite looking horrible in that photo, I quite like it, because it has the “Mona Lisa” smile. The kind of, “Oh God, I am so tired, but I am so happy” smile - which is exactly what I am. I’ve been up all night (to be fair, I had a 2 hour nap) editing this paper. Today is the final day of the International Youth Forum of EYP Poland in Wrocław, which also leads us to the I guess this leads me to goodbye for now. The end of THE SLOTH. Have I enjoyed editing? Yes and no. great thing about EYP is that somewhere, Let me start with no. somehow you will always see each other again. If not in real life, then on Facebook. Once again, let I have not been much around where all the fun has been me remind you of THE SLOTH.’s Facebook page, happening, because I have been so busy editing. This where will will be uploading all the photos, videos has kept a distance between me and you - the delegates and issues of this Session (also never before - and I really miss you guys! Yes; because it has been s e e n f o o t a g e ! ) . Y o u ’ l l fi n d u s a t worth every second. It is worth it when I see everyone www.facebook.com/thewroclawsloths standing with the newspaper, in almost complete silence at the Eurovillage venue. It’s worth it when a Delegate Yours as always, tells me that she will save the newspaper for her first-born child. It is worth it when someone looks me in Christina Daubjerg Newman (a.k.a Slothmamma) the eye and tells me that I, along with my Journos, have done an amazing job. Every single grain of frustration (there actually has not been many) has been worth it. I always feel emotional when a Session is coming to an end, but this time is very different from the rest. This time, I am prouder than I have ever been in my life. Proud of the Organising team, proud of you, proud of the Chairsteam, Proud of Richard, so incredibly proud of my Journos and especially, proud of my Editorial Assistant Luke Thomas.
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THE DIVERSITY OF THE HUMAN MIND BY ALEX COATES To be fully multicultural, one must first realise that Earth is an entire planet full of humans. Humans are the most diverse species on this planet. This diversity comes with extremely bright positives but also depressing negatives. Within the human psyche there is a large competitive part. I believe that this may be one of the main reasons of why most people cannot get along or cope with other cultures. As a human one is constantly trying to better oneself and naturally, if you grow up in one type of culture then you will think that that culture is paramount and should be respected the most. Unfortunately, there are millions of different personal, educational, physical and professional cultures in the world and naturally, they clash. They clash on many levels, be it physical violence, ideological power shifts or even a simple argument between two members of the public. Even if a person is experienced in many different cultures and counts themselves as a member of many, this still often does not give them any advantage because humans are still stubborn. However, if there is someone who shares multiple cultures this allows them to be able to understand and further learn other cultures. Another of the key problems of the growing cultural uniformity is education. Often, the people who are against further diversity are ones who may be scared of it because they do not understand. However, education takes a long time and a lot of effort. The best way to increase multiculturalism in my personal view is language learning. The most basic of human necessities is speech; therefore every human wants the ability to speak with another. One of the most basic forms of diversity there is is differing accents in a country. With language comes the ability to learn other factors in a culture, and thus becomes the basis for all further progress. This does not necessarily mean that you need to know another language to consider yourself multicultural, however, if is one of the key elements to network yourself properly. Should you ever become a multi-lingual professional you have a mighty opportunity to become a multicultural master in the future.
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DIARY OF A SLOTH BY MARA BALASA Dear Diary, I have been a foreign sloth for almost a week now. In this time I have been surrounded by youth, written articles, taken pictures and made interesting, new friends. You probably know that, in the ancient times, I used to be the youngsters’ symbol, so I have to admit that I was in my element at this session. A lot of things happened only in a few days and I do not want to lose the memory of them, thus I have decided to share some of my thoughts with you. I want to apologise in advance for my forthcoming incoherence. Bear in mind the fact that I normally sleep more than 12 hours per day. Now divide this number by four, in order to find out how much sleep I got ever since I left my comfy rainforest and arrived in Wroclaw. Moreover, since I am a sloth that does not, under any circumstances, drink coffee, how clearly could I express myself after all? Then, I don’t know if you remember, but a couple of days ago I told you that I had to find a tree, in order to get some rest. I am an eccentric sloth, therefore I have chosen to sleep (well, sort of…) on the top bunk bed (Oups! I meant tree), since I really enjoy climbing the trunks. Although there were other noisy sloths in the same area and although one of them was constantly hitting my tree, I can fortunately say that I was able to cope with everything and even to have fun! As you may already be aware of the fact that the sloths live in RAINforests, you can imagine how frustrated most of them felt. The heat was unbearable, even for the bravest ones. However, when I woke up this morning, something weird happened: it started dripping. And then raining. Hence, there were two general reactions. Some of us (actually, the ones that came from the warmer part of the forest) started complaining and opening their “waterproof” umbrellas, whilst the others started jumping around, savoring the water. Furthermore, we have taken pleasure in eating traditional stuff brought from other parts of the forest and also in listening to high quality performances. Regarding the newspapers, everyone was truly satisfied with the fact that, until now, they were cherished (save the trees, guys!) and, additionally, some sloths were even asked to put their fingerprints on a few of them. I think that I will have to leave soon for Committee Work and for stalking the delegates. But, before I do, I have one more things to say and it is about my biggest surprise. The thing is that I have met here someone (no, he is not a sloth) whose origins are almost the same as mine. It is really nice to talk to a person who has a connection with your part of the forest, don’t you think? Oh! The editor is coming. See you later!
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HOW TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH EYP BY AARON GRAHAM Wrocław International Youth Forum is coming to it's end, every by the time you get this article, you will probably begin to realize it and slowly fall into a semi PED state. I think I can comfort you a little bit, by reminding you, that you can always attend another session or other EYP event, almost whenever and wherever you want. This article is addressed to those of you guys who want to live through this incredible experience again. I am going to present you few sources, where you can find info concerning upcoming sessions, official calls etc. I am sure everyone here has a Facebook profile, surprisingly for once it can be used to do something constructive. Just type in European Youth Parliament in the site's search engine and click the first result. You will enter the awesome EYP page with not only photos from the most important events, but also shares with upcoming ones, organized by individual national committees. It's so easy and clear that it doesn't leave anything more to do, than just scroll the page enter the link and apply. You should also “like” your national committee page, I am sure you can find lots of interesting and useful stuff there. The European Youth Parliament official website is another great way to get info about whats is happening in the EYP world. Probably dedicated to people that want to get a bit more precise knowledge about the whole organization. On the page we can find a list o f all confirmed forthcoming sessions, forums and so called “other EYP events”. Additionally, in left corner of the page, we can find a brilliant calendar which has starting dates of the sessions, highlighted in light orange color. But that’s not all! If you want to get a a grasp of what is our beloved organization actually all about and how it functions, simply click on “About EYP”. That overlap contains all the crucial information in a nutshell. You wont find long and boring academic thesis, rather short, but informative EYP overview, description of aims & impact, profiles of the key people and even reference to some successful alumnus. The site also publishes results and comments to the Youth Pools, which are surveys concerning current European issues. I also advice you to check out your national committees websites, there you can get to know, what
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events are going to take place in your home country, how you can help with organizing them and probably some gossip from the ranks. Another fantastic way is the alumni portal, where every single call is posted. Go in, make a profile, and expierence how easy it is to go to another session! The last but not least way to stay in touch is with help of EYP newsletters. If you are to lazy to check the websites and Facebook page, you should at least check your email. Thankfully, from time to time international office of EYP sends an email with information about the hottest news concerning the organization and info about events and calls. After reading this article you are no longer entitled to use the excuse “I didn't know about the session�, to justify lack of your presence. You are now aware of all the necessary sources you need to became an ultimate EYPer, so seize the opportunity and do it.
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EYP POLAND BY ONUR CAN UCARER EYP is a very big international organisation, which involves thousands of young Europeans. Have you ever thought about how this organisation works in Poland? EYP is run by the Governing Body, a group of people chosen by the international Alumni, in Berlin ın a cooperation with Schwarzkopf Foundation. The Governing Body gives authorization to National Committees to organize events and make people in their country get involved in EYP. EYP Poland is also one of the 36 members of the Board of National Committees. I had the opportunity to have a chat with Weronika Myck, President of EYP Poland about how the organization works. EYP Poland was formally established in 2006 however, has been working and organizing sessions for 10 years. The Board of the EYP Poland consists of 6 people who are chosen by the alumni. The President is Weronika Myck. Kaja Chrenkoff is the Vice President for Human Resources and Emelda Mashingo is the Vice President for Finances. There are also 3 other board members, Magda Pietras for External Affairs, Krzysztof Ignaciuk for Project Management and Stawomir Pelczar for Public Relations. These people are the ones who give loads of time on this organisation, so be sure that you know their names! EYP Poland’s most important event is the National Sessions. They organize one per year and the one in 2013 will be in this fall. The session will be the 10th National Selection Conference of EYP Poland and will take place between 4th and 8th September in Krakow. It will be Head Organised by the Vice President Kaja Chrenkoff. There will be more than 20 delegations from the schools all over the country, as well as 2 international Delegations and the session will focus on the theme ‘Security of Energy and Environmental Protection’. For the ones who would like to continue
their EYP career, I strongly encourage you to apply for this session until June 28th, as the delegations to the most prestigious sessions of EYP, the International Sessions in Riga and Tblisi will be selected at this conference. Keep in mind that you need to participate as a school delegation, so if you want to join, inform your teacher about it! Membership of EYP Poland offers many opportunities such as monthly presidential newsletters from Weronika about what’s going on in the EYP world, access to the Facebook group, the chance to apply for a Wild Card for International Sessions, take part in the elections and discounts on the participation fees. There are currently over 70 members of EYP Poland, and being a member is really easy! If you have participated at one EYP session before, all you need to do is to fill in the application form. There are alumni events, which are planned for the winter such as Christmas Dinner. Also, every new member can take part in the yearly officials’ training organised by EYP Poland for free! EYP Poland is eagerly looking forward to have new members, so do not hesitate to join them! The National Committee is open for new ideas and opinions, they’d like to support new projects so feel free join in and participate! If you have any questions to the National Committee: info@eyppoland.com
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FILM WORKSHOP The delegates were invited to create a stop motion movie based on classic fairy tale of their choice, which was the “Red Riding Hood”. To specify their task, it should be mentioned that the story was meant to be the modern interpretation of the tale. The creativity of the delegates was stunning, as they came up with suggestions ranging from junkie grandmothers to batman. The focus of the workshop was on stop motion films, a highly dedicated and work-intensive movie making process. It involves taking thousands of pictures of objects/human figures, moving them ever so slightly each time. When put together, they form a unique motion picture experience. At the beginning of the workshop, the delegates were shown two stop motion films; “Her Morning Elegance” and “Gulp”, and taught the basics of creating such works of art. After break, and with renewed vigour, they picked one final version of the story. Once that was decided, they began drawing up storyboards and writing scripts. Tests were performed with a camera and tripod to make sure the delegate in charge of taking the pictures was fully capable of dealing with such a difficult task. Different roles were distributed amongst the delegates, from actors to prop makers. The props were creating with great care and creativity, ranging from rainbows to their very own brand of alcohol – “Sloth Vodka”! The props were simple, yet effective; a beautiful example of the delegates’ imagination and the pragmatic art of minimalism. The floor was covered with paper, markers and delegates. Given the hive of activity, time passed extremely quickly for everyone and everyone was surprised when the time for the final shoot was suddenly upon them. Under the watchful eyes of the instructors, we saw the delegates come to life as they slowly but surely acted out their story in front of us. It was surprising how such an innocent, traditional fairy tale could emerge as such a raw, cruel story of human foolishness. However, sticking to its traditional roots, the story acted out had a happy ending. You have all been lucky enough to witness the finished masterpiece; a truly intriguing, vibrant cinematic experience at the Euro Concert. We can only hope that the delegates will continue to practice and use their newly found skills and wish them all the best in the future.
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PHOTO WORKSHOP
One of the special opportunities that this session offers to us, workshops took place on Friday. Our workshop was photography, and this was not only an interesting course but also a brief journey to the history of photography. Our lovely trainer, Michal Sierakowski, has firstly shown us some wonderful and interesting pictures with different effects. After having a look at them, learning that he took those pictures with a camera that he made himself with a can was a shock for us. Than, we divided to groups of five, and took a picture with his DIY cameras. When we came back inside, we turned the toilet into a dark room to develop the pictures that we took. We used this dark room to learn how to develop the pictures. The technique that we used to take pictures is called ‘pinhole photography’. This technique is the first way to capture an image in our history. The first known notes about the principles behind the pinhole camera, or camera obscura goes even back to 400 BC. Although this technique was thought thousands of years before, the working examples of it were made in 18th century. How the camera works is very simple. You take a box that doesn’t leak light inside, and than make a hole on a side of it. That’s it! The light that gets into the box when you open the hole reflects to the photography
paper. The light makes some chemical changes on the photography paper and that’s how you get the image. The first known picture was taken with a pinhole camera in France in 1826. After having learnt how to make a pinhole camera and the dark room procedure, it was the time to try! In the beginning, everybody made their own camera with the can that’s given to us and used to the dark room to put a photography paper inside the can. Than, we got out, took a picture around the market square and came back to see how we’ve done! For me, the most interesting part was when we developed our photos in the dark room. We were in total darkness, trying to take the paper out of the can and put it in developer and fixer. This is absolutely a unique experience. When this step is done, you finally get the chance to see the photo you’ve made! However, don’t be very excited, this generally ends with frustration as your first tries end up with either over-exposed or under-exposed photos but after a few times, we figured out how to do it properly and get the picture from the camera we’ve prepared on our own!
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MUSIC WORKSHOP Defining what exactly beat boxing is, is quite a tricky question. But luckily, Wikipedia is helpful as always: Beat boxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. So the basics of this craft were the content of the music workshop, which took place on Friday. The host gained sympathies right from the beginning. Apart from jumping, wild arms' movements and weird noises and shouts, the best icebreaker was the transformation of all participants into rap singers yelling at each other. After everyone loosened up a bit, the real lesson started. The first sound was an imitation of a kick drum (the pronounced letter was somewhere between B and P). The room was immediately filled with fart noises, but everyone soon caught on. The second sound wasn't any easier - the letter K with your fingers on (not IN!) your mouth, making turntable scratching sounds. In a short while, everyone was able to make several sounds (or rather noises) and the real deal was on the schedule - every group (consisting of three to four people) jammed at the stage, accompanied by the rest fiercely dancing. As creativity is one of the virtues of every EYPer, together with the host of workshop delegates organized spontaneous performance. Having learned how to beat box perfectly, Music group gathered together and sang one of Snoop Dogg’s songs. It occurred that making weird noises, which delegates were trying to learn, when put together gave an impression of being almost as good as the original song. After the official part of the workshop ended delegates together with Chairs and Journalists created their very own and unique jam session. Some of our session member got very involved and for thirty minutes we felt as if we were on the rap concert. Everyone managed to get accustomed with the secrets of professional beat boxing thanks to our charismatic host and lovely officials. Not only all the participants had a good time but also figured out how the professional beat boxers work.
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A CULINARY EXCHANGE BY CATHERINE NOONAN Delegates, officials and mosquitos alike gathered on Friday to celebrate the culinary diversity of Europe. From tic tacs to spaghetti, and even some samples of rain, delegates brought and cooked native meals from far and wide. Italy maintained its foodie reputation by feeding the masses with pots of pasta and soup, while crossing borders and providing crepes for desert. Poland provided a range of local delicacies, from beer to biscuits, with plenty of meat in between. The UK had more of a conceptual take on the evening, providing their visitors with a customised UK map and a sampling of their local weather, i.e.: rain. Embarrassingly, I had what I will refer to as an ‘Irish moment’ as Luke (Editorial Assistant) dipped his fingers in the water and flicked it. Some ancient Gaelic reflex kicked in, and I leapt back, terrified. The first thought that came to my mind was ‘They’re trying to make me a Protestant!’ The fact that I’m not actually Catholic only added the ridiculousness of the fact that I felt the need to run away from a British person with a cup of water. Fortunately, such cultural faux pas were avoided at the other tables, as even the most ‘unique’ native products were tried and tested by delegates and officials alike. Sweden’s unique looking cheese product was sceptically tried by passers-bys who
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looked surprised when they found it rather tasty. Such scepticism was nowhere to be seen, however, when it came to their chocolate bars or jellies. Ireland’s table was full of suspicious items, from boiled sweets to illegal fizzy drinks. Many were surprised to discover that tic tacs were an Irish delicacy, although we would’ve thought that the colours, (green, ecstasy and orange), would have given it away. Note to delegates; while the Tanora fizzy drink is delicious, drinking too much can have severe, yet hilarious side effects, including hysterical and uncontrollable laughter. Morgan, Christina and I can testify to that, as can anyone who was around us. The Eurovillage once again proved itself a treat for all the senses. Laughter and conversation flourished over plates filled with pasta, chocolate, jellies, and some foods that I struggle to define. Mosquitoes and EYP-ers alike feasted to their hearts content, and it’s sure to be a night never forgotten, never to fade (unlike the mosquito bites).
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EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL BY MAGDALENA WILFORT Across Europe, access to education varies between young people with migrant backgrounds and native students. It is very important to try to improve the current situation, especially considering two out of three immigrants in Europe come from non-EU countries. However, the European Union cannot influence non-EU countries' educational policies. Some actions have already been implemented, such as the Lifelong Learning Programme that is issued by the European Commission and allows people of different ages and backgrounds to enjoy different learning experiences. However, immigrant students still need to pay higher tuition fees plus they need to face higher requirements for special documents, such as visas. The problem with visas is that the requests to study abroad are very complicated. What is typical for both immigrant students and their parents is a lack of knowledge of the host country's language which is an obstacle for their education and further social integration. Language and cultural differences can result in a communication gap between teachers and parents of migrant background students. Due to these profound disadvantages, many ghetto-like ethnic communities are being formed where the level of schooling is very poor, thus affecting the educational development of migrant youths.
bright students leave their own country without having any intention of joining its labour force later on. In order to improve this brain-drain, countries less often visited by students should be presented in a way to encourage them to study there as well. As we can see, the disparity in level of educational opportunities provided for immigrant students and native students varies greatly. Non-natives suffer from being isolated, excluded and unable to make sufficient educational progress, which consequently leaves high level social integration with natives very hard to achieve. To improve the current trend, various policies have been proven to be effective, including; employment of highly qualified teachers to raise the standard of education, limiting the fees for non-EU students and making them similar or equal to the fees natives have to pay, and making sure that the host countries will provide immigrants with additional support, such as workshops and events. These and many other policy reforms can really make a difference.
Another layer of separation between immigrants and native students is xenophobia, and this can discourage immigrants from attending school altogether. This subsequently causes wide academic gaps between natives and non-natives. What is more, foreign students find the integration process very hard which causes a further negative impact on their education. The number of unqualified people in developing countries is ever-increasing due to two main factors. Firstly, many students with migrant backgrounds leave school without having gained any kind of qualification, resulting in them undertaking unskilled menial jobs only. Secondly, many
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MEDIA WORKSHOP As some of you may have already heard, the International Youth Forum of EYP Poland revolves around multiculturalism – a highly debated and highly interesting topic. With this in mind, four Workshops were organized, in order to offer the Delegates the chance to experience culture in every form. After traveling by tram for almost half an hour, we finally arrived at TVP Wroclaw, which is a well-known TV station in Poland. Once there, we were greeted by an experienced employee who started giving us more details about how the television system works and what jobs in the television industry are like.
Secondly, the host who was guiding us in the centre was just hilarious. Apart from his slight difficulties with the English language, he was courageous enough to give the whole tour in English, which was further complicated by the information he was providing being related to highly specialist and technical terms One of the best moments was when he told us that “television is a magical place” with voice full of passion and a funny accent. I think that everyone will have very good memories connected to this tour and remember our guide for a long time to come.
Of the four available, the Media Workshop was a really great choice because of two reasons. Firstly we were able to gain knowledge in a very up to date filed-media. The lessons we learnt are prevalent in every surrounding. Everywhere we go we see adverts, every time we turn on either our TV or computer we are overwhelmed by the vast amount of media 'products'. Due to this availability we need to know how adverts work, so that we don't end up believing everything the author is try to sell to us, as many ads affect our subconscious.
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SESSION MEMORIES BY ZUZANA KUSTKOVA THE SESSION IS SOON TO BE OVER, BUT OUR MEMORIES WILL REMAIN. AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THE MEMORIES DON’T FADE AWAY TOO QUICKLY, SOME OF YOU WERE ASKED ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS AND HERE YOU HAVE A FEW EXAMPLES. THE QUESTION WAS VERY SIMPLE - WHAT WAS THE BEST/FUNNIEST/MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF THE SESSION FOR YOU?
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Delegates
Officials
• The guy at the Media Workshop spoke quite bad English, so when he wanted to say “stay, don't go”, he said something like “stadant, go”. It was really funny at the time.
•
•
Definitely the Italian food at Eurovillage!
• Euroconcert – at the end, when all of us were singing together. • It was a joke I made: “Are you Hungary?” “Yes, I would eat a whole Turkey.” • Got trolled at the cafeteria. Two forks instead of one fork and one knife.
The unexpected bikes and song.
• The end of ‘Alele’, when everyone was down on his/her knees, facing the sky. •
Every moment I'm not bitten by a mosquito.
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Nathan being completely random.
• Cycling around the main square with ice-cream and asking Delegates to do scary faces. •
Seeing the Session video.
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Socialising with the officials.
• When Ada (AFET) won the first game of ‘Mafia’.
• Eurovillage – so much effort and delicious sausages and cheese.
• “What animals do you have in Luxembourg?” “Rich pigs.”
•
• The Euroconcert. It was halfway through the Session and everyone knew each other and we felt that we had made a contribution. • The first day, when we played ‘Alele’. (This moment was mentioned at least three times!) •
The Irish officials' song, it was awesome!
• Sleeping. And meeting my new plastic girl, Alex. • Rapping on the stage on the beat boxing workshop with other Officials. • Being in a crowded bus and sweating. And sweating in general.
Finding solutions for all the problems.
• I liked the beat boxing. And the Officials were really good and funny. •
The Journo performance!
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‘Big Fat Pony’.
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For me it was the GA preparation.
• Definitely “form the circle, form, form the circle”. Every time.
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EUROCONCERT 2.0 BY CATHERINE NOONAN From Grease to Phantom of the Opera, and everything in between, the Euro Concert worked its wonders in bringing out the talented, the funny and the just plain bizarre. LIBE were the first to the stage, dragging everyone into their version of The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love”. A heart-warming start to what ended up being an exceptionally odd evening. Secret talents were revealed amongst the usually modest delegates, featuring vocal talents galore. Our very own journo, Sara took to the stage, performing an off-the-cuff “Bang Bang” with piano accompaniment. This mellow start took a strange turn in the form of the talents displayed by George and Luke rapping “Juicy” by Notorious B.I.G, spontaneously joined by video editor Adam, who hit the high notes, or at least somewhere in their vicinity. Guitar skills joined vocal ones as Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love”, bringing the tone back down to one of emotional sophistication. This theme was continued through the performance of a beautiful song that, unfortunately for my complete lack of multilingual skills, had a foreign name.
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Even as I crouched in front of each performer, struggling to take pictures that were anything other than a black blur, the endless musical talent was mindblowing. A stunningly heartfelt performance of “Turning Tables” earned a standing ovation, which could not have helped the inevitable nerves of the following performer.
our performance of “Cheap Flights’ tugged at the heartstrings of all in attendance. With secret talents revealed and memories made, Euro Concert ended, leaving everyone to walk away humming “Feckidyfeckidyfeckidy…”
The classical vocal skills seen in the rendition of “Think Of Me” from Phantom of the Opera, however, held true and emotion seeped through every note. The amps were tested by a blasting rendition of “Feeling Good”, undoubtedly the most passionate song of the night, rocking eardrums throughout the room. A hectic night ensued, as singing was followed by a “mysterious” performance. The only “mystery” visible once Nathan and George took to the stage was how George had managed to fit into his skirt and bra. With a little help from the audience, “You’re the One That I Want” scrambled across the stage in a confusingly amusing manner. The open mic offered the floor for more comedy, mostly seen in the highly cultural and sophisticated rendition of “Boom Shaka”, complete with some impressively interpretive dancing. Ukuleles joined duets, and a jamming session provided an intermission of sorts before a ‘Battle of the Officials’ commenced, featuring the Chairs, Officials and Journos, each battling for the love and respect of the audience. Even the Vice President vied for the title, following a spontaneous vocal performance Naturally, the highlight of the night was the Irish performance. Featuring the true musical talents of Christina, (Editor Supreme), myself, and the uniquely styled cripple dancing talent of Morgan, 18
TRADITIONS EUROPE VERSION BY SARA JASIONOWSKA Some people might say that culture is defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits to music and arts but I prefer to think about culture as everything created by humans without the purpose of prolonging their existence. Culture is what remains despite the ever-accelerating changes of the world, the only remembrance of the past, on which all that we know had been built. Endangered by the fact that with time we become similar, culture is what keeps us aware of our own diversity. Despite the globalisation and constant progress, tradition of some countries still remains almost unchangeable and serves to underline their uniqueness. Apparently, some of national traditions are so bizarre that they make delegate’s blood run cold. We are all probably used to the fact that British people drink their five o’clock tea and that Italians make the best pizza in the world. However, there is much more to explore about national traditions.
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ROMANIA - In 1970s Romanian government banned the cartoon Mickey Mouse because the main character’s face was perceived to be too scary for c h i l d re n . T h e re i s a l s o a Romanian tradition of bride “stealing” during the wedding by groom’s best friend. ESTONIA- Apart from eating German sausages Estonian people spend part of their Christmas Eve dinner together, surprisingly, in sauna. UNITED KINGDOM- Have you ever heard about the Cheese rolling in Gloucestershire? Basically, thousands of people gather together on the very top of the hill and run after the camembert cheese. In fact this looks more like people literally rolling down in order to catch the rolling cheese. Dangerous enough. CZECH REPUBLIC- Do you know tradition of tossing a bouquet during the wedding? Czech people are going further. They have a tradition of tossing a shoe during Christmas Eve. If it points towards the doors young lady will have a year of perfect romance. That is pretty innovative. TURKEY- Majority of you probably worships Turkey for its coffee and kebab. What is interesting about this country is that due to the dangerous accidents involving children pretending to be dragons with superpower the cartoon Pokémon was banned there.
DENMARK – You have probably heard about the Irish tradition of burning witches. Surprisingly, Danish people bonfire with the traditional burning of witches during the midsummer. Apart from that, on the Christmas Eve in Denmark people dance around the Christmas tree and cheerfully sing about eating it. I have also asked foreign delegates about the original Polish traditions and surprisingly I found out about the one that I didn’t know before: POLAND – There is a belief in Poland, at Easter if you swallow a willow catkin from a branch that has been consecrated by a priest, it would bestow good health upon you. Tasty?
ITALY- Italians usually kiss when they meet, irrespectively of their sex. They have to kiss each other exactly two times on the cheek which has to be accompanied by kissing noises. CHILE – Chilean people have this specific tradition of creating Judas marionette which is then filled with coins and burned on Good Friday. After the marionette is burned every member of family receives some of coins that were inside. SWEDEN – Unexpectedly, Swedish people tend to spend their Christmas Eve each and every year on watching Donald Duck cartoons.
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