Issue 3 of The Snow Post - National Selection Session Moscow 2013
The Snow Post
facebook.com/pages/European-Youth-Parliament-Russia
1
CONTENT Resolution? What resolution? 4 5 ‘‘Tic – toc’’ or the session never waits for you. Interviewing the President
6
7 You Shall Not Pass!
High ambitions
8
9 Ready, Steady, Eat! 2
eyp-russia.org
http://vk.com/eyp.russia
EDITORIAL
The Equator
T
wo days of the session are already behind. It is time to draw up some preliminary results. You have played the Street Fighter game, sung the Aramzamzam song, crossed the swamp, decided who was right and who was wrong in the Abigail story and went on the treasure hunt in the huge metropolis of Moscow. Right now comes the time to reflect a little upon what you will take with you into the upcoming days. In case you get lost in deep thought, the Media Team brings you issue 3, with its lovely bright articles to charge you up with
positive energy for the hard work that lies ahead of you. Nevertheless, there are two more days left which means more unity, more diversity and more fun. It also means that now comes the time for you to make use of the experience you acquired at Teambuilding to full extent. Do not disappoint your chairpersons and good luck!
Dmitry Vyskrebentsev
Evelina Kuznetsova (RU) Janne Vanhemmens (BE) My Dong (RU) Alexander Guzenko (UA) Anastasia Minakova (RU) Tamer Ă–zgen (TR)
facebook.com/pages/European-Youth-Parliament-Russia
3
Resolution? What resolution? My Dong shares her opinion on the direction that should NOT be taken when drawing up the final resolution.
B
y now every committee must have an idea of what your resolution should be like. However, are you really sure that you are moving in the right direction? Without taking part in the brainstorming and long heated discussions, there is no doubt that someone can randomly understand the situation and write the resolution better than you, delegates, but what is the harm in knowing what mistakes you can make? Even if they sound funny and obvious, take your time and have a little break, sit down, and read this. It even may come in handy somehow, who knows? Com and c i (DE mitte onom ) c E Thi VE) e on e on s (ECON really e s t t i m De v s ir itse com Com tar y Affa ing, it i alance l m elo f i i t b k n a e the pm tee s e i Mon ally spea eate a i ent r fe sim doe an p p r r m e l c r l o i n s o c o l e e a w b G n to of lem i LIBE r stale not fi sia’s ult veryo tim s th m diffic n Rus estors. E ave a n , ma e o h at t but o ate l d v ee n r w i t e k t e e n t i n b e g th find hey s nly th ke refu e the at b forei ting g r o and stands th than let you. If b ishm vern ing th pent a eir bui f r l r e e e l me v f und f yours nt p e way lot the dings. ent trol o afraid o o n o m d c o l E e CO f d ay fo to ho for sur aking panies ar European t r e e t . heir N sho eterio r the oth n com by ties r l l e a a effo uld a rated v i ds Russ taken o an cut rt, p n e i r f c tha plaud t is being rs, we d make eone’s n to m for inves Europe a tries. So easily n with sian cou they are e fine. A b with aid that it should s dad ulated, so p mani , erties b i L l ivi E) on C ffairs (LIB d n e a e t t t n mmi me A committee oyme o l o p C H m d nE e an this me ittee o (EMPL) re Justic legates in nable to co r a m s m n o e u C ze irs ao g” e citi The d ortunately, l Affa ep vis de e k o f Socia e hand, th “disturbin e re, un reement. T ing to deci a h n t a o n y O an ag one hard th le to travel d b w come e job o e t b r b u Ho dist that is ile being a bad, the for th are , t : d o n e n o r i i so wh s, quest ants are h , since sn’t sound there is no citizen , the n r o e g v i i t e if es do and imm , the na reely gument is: funny stori her h happy f t e o w e t r h r t bu very be no bout thei her a t on s t l t l u o n i o B o n w i t ? a ndi are gh s) not here rants orking co e is not visa, t our chair( oing throu e g i m w y n im W eg from ence» whil rt control. n their tus. Since o ployed i o m a with r expe and passp our opinio cial st e he is une ppy to « o s d y an ecaus is not ha rković stoms e to hear b a u h c c d M t e i s w lik er os plea ukan e oth ask them t would please, V ar? h t d an is ot et on th gdalena Pi why n a work, and M ? places Of course, these are the most obvious and it is unlikely for anyone of you to bring up such ideas up in your discussion. Now, since you have had your little break, go back to work and do your best to write the resolution on your topic, and good luck, our dear delegates. 4
eyp-russia.org
http://vk.com/eyp.russia
‘‘Tic – toc’’ or the session never waits for you. Anastasia Minakova looks into different ways of managing one’s time.
T
he time is the only thing you cannot control. The only dream for most of us during the session is to have more sleep and some can even feel like coffee is becoming the only solution. But is coffee the only way to stay cheerful and enthusiastic? Use notes, diaries and organizers. You may say it is rather nerdy and boring, but it is not by chance that the most successful businessmen use them while building a successful career. For the first time, it will be very hard to make a plan and, even harder, to follow it. But after quite a while of getting used to it you will became even more punctual and this way your life will become even easier.
Communicate Your Schedule to Others. If phone calls are proving to be a distraction, tell your friends that you take social calls from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. It may sound silly, but it helps. Eat fruits and chocolate. It sounds funny, but chocolate can save life. It has lots of useful substances, which help your brain work more efficiently. As for fruits and vegetables, we all know that they are full of vitamins. They will make committee work more productive and will help you to stay alert for the whole day. Embrace mistakes. Mistakes mean that action has been taken which, in its turn. Means that you are gaining experience. As you develop time management skills, work your way through the inevitable slip ups. Nobody manages their time perfectly. All we can ever do is keep working at
facebook.com/pages/European-Youth-Parliament-Russia
getting better. You should follow a dress code. If you come to the General Assembly in jeans and a T-shirt, you will feel uncomfortable since you will look like a fly in milk. At the same time, your official suit will only disturb you during team building. By following the dress-code you can save your time, that of your Committee and Chair. Unless you prefer coming back home and changing to look appropriately? This rule applies to day-to-day realities as well. The Preparation kit. There are a billion of books which you should read before the examination. You will never pass your exam without reading them. The same story happens with committee work. Before the session, you’ve got preparation kit which you certainly read. It will help you in having useful discussion with other delegates in order to make the perfect resolution as well as be aware of the work that your fellow delegates have done. Can you see the difference between a billion of books and several web-sources you should look through? You should be prepared for anything in your life! To conclude, please, do not waste your own other people’s time!
5
Interviewing the President Alexander Guzenko was lucky to find Mr. President and have a delightful conversation, while savouring a cup of strong coffee.
E
veryone is so excited and involved in every activity during Teambuilding and Committee Work that never notices who stands behind the session that is running smoothly. If the organizers seem to be more responsible for the good performance of the session, the aspect regarding the atmosphere of the session remained unrevealed. The atmosphere of the whole session is mainly created by Session President Nemanja Predojevic, and is picked up and maintained by the enthusiastic team of chairs, journalists, organizers and delegates. Q. What were your expectations before the session, and did they meet with the reality? A. As it is my first time presiding the session, I did not 6
know what to expect, because this time I will be able to view the session from a completely different perspective. However, I was looking forward to travelling to Moscow, and expected the weather to be a lot colder, and I am very glad my anticipations did not come true. Although, I was impressed by the effort and willingness of the delegates to contribute to the session, as some of them have covered more than 1000 km in order to attend the event. Q. Were there any failures or drawbacks during the session preparation? A. Yes, there are always things you do not expect to happen, but they do. This time, the cancellation of some members of CJO team took place. Nevertheless, we have experienced and very creative officials at the moment and I am very pleased to have them on the team. Q. How much time did it take you to get to Moscow? A. It took me 16 hours, and my journey had started on the 1st of January at 8:30, just after the New Year celebration, so I had two large events in a row. Q. As the president of the National Session, you might have an outstanding EYP carrier. So, would you like to share your experience as a delegate at your first national and international sessions? A. I participated in the National Selection Conference of EYP Serbia, which took place in Belgrade, back in 2008. I found the Teambuilding activities very weird, but still I enjoyed them as much as I could. As for the General Assembly, I was very confident defending the ECON resolution on the floor. This was my first time experience in the eyp-russia.org
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, and I still think it is the best, even five years later, as a president/chair. Q. Which Teambuilding game do you enjoy the most? A. My favourite game is the “Colour Blind�, even though it took me and my committee one hour and 15 minutes to resolve it at the International Session in Frankfurt. A friend of mine fell asleep, while playing it, so a small suggestion for the chairs: make sure your delegates are awake during the whole activity! Unfortunately, every cup of coffee as well as the delightful conversation have to end at some point, and I am looking forward to a new one, and recommend everyone to get to know Namanja from the not-so- far-away Serbia.
http://vk.com/eyp.russia
You Shall Not Pass! Tamer Özgen checks if delegates are wellprepared for the session...In a funny way.
T
he first things to do before an EYP session is to read overviews that were sent by your chairs and do some googling on the internet. Thus, Tamer wanted to make sure that delegates are able to come up with funny resolutions to solve the problem Europe has. Just like in India has casts, we should divide the city into three parts according to people’s social status says DEVE delegate Hien. By doing this, the low-class
people no longer suffer from the traffic jam that rich people create, while those rich people travel in the city with their helicopters. As helicopter producers makes reduction for Christmas, even a delegate can buy one with saving a little amount of money, he declares. Diana, one of the two people who can speak Turkish, thinks that as long as the centre of Russia is Moscow, no preventions could be enough to secure Moscow from potential new slums. Therefore, she offers to move the capital to Kazan and eliminate the cause.
facebook.com/pages/European-Youth-Parliament-Russia
As we understand from what he said, Dan from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs believes, the problem of illegal immigration cannot be solved unless the borders are protected by wizards. He offers the EU to train Gandalf style magicians to say illegal immigrants “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” The most important challenge for Europe is not the financial crisis but the people do not know how to have fun and get relaxed, claims Ilia from the presidential committee. He emphasises the importance of having huge parties as it was in the Project X movie in order to unite people since he believes that unity is the only solution. Considering the fact that a lot of Eastern EYPers agonise from visa regulations of the EU, LIBE delegate Ivana suggests building underwater tunnels to create a secretive framework only for EYPers.
7
High ambitions
about the future early in life is an important issue for people who want to end up in a good job position on the international market. During your student life, you have to make important Janne Vanhemmens decisions that have a big influence finds out the goals on your later life. Studying and gaining experience on different in life the Russian levels is crucial when aiming high. participants of the Furthermore, a decent dose of enthusiasm and entrepreneurial session have. spirit are very useful. Joining the European Youth oung people aiming high appear to be all around Parliament as a delegate can be us. Having conducted a considered as a first step on the survey among 20 persons present, stepladder of social and political all under 23 and living in Russia, initiative. However, there are many I have found out that no less than more possibilities for personal 100% of them would describe development, for example when themselves as ambitious. Thinking you get training as a journalist,
chair or board member in EYP. Furthermore, there are, of course, a lot of opportunities out there in the rest of the world. Seize any opportunity that crosses your path, learn languages, immerse yourself in other cultures, talk to people who are experienced in the areas that you are interested in, attend events that have important guests, get involved in organisations and express your ideas and opinions sharing them with the wider community. Feel, smell, try, experience life to the fullest and grow to become an attractive employee, famous for your skills and sense for innovation. See you in the highest ranks of the career ladder!
Where would you like to live later in life? 1. United States 2. United Kingdom 3. Russia 4. Vietnam 5. Spain 6. Canada 7. Austria 8. Indonesia 9. Switzerland 10. Cuba
What is your dream job?
Y
8
1. Diplomat 2. International Relations 3. Entrepreneur 4. Interpreter 5. Singer/rapper 6. Writer 7. Designer 8. Auditor 9. Film director 10. Actor eyp-russia.org
http://vk.com/eyp.russia
Ready, Steady, Eat! Evelina Kuznetsova uncovers the benefits of the Eurovillage
T
he probability of the Eurovillage being the most anticipated event of the first day of the National Session 2013 is a fact that almost no one can bet against. The Teambuilding was at full swing and all delegates definitely felt dreadfully hungry and the Eurovillage was kind of salvation for them. It started from each delegation preparing their food, some of them cooked buckwheat, someone tried to cook pies and to bake cookies.
The most unexpected dish was probably smoked scomber which was one of the few not sweet things available. The variety of dishes presented was quite diverse due to international participants but there were mostly sweets on each delegation`s table. We could not try any international food from other countries because the delegates came to the session from different parts of Russia where the food is as tasty as it is in Europe. For a better presentation of the national spirit the girls from Kalmykia dressed in native costumes, which they brought to the session. And this made the event more culturally ditinctive. Running between tables with food, looking at tasty snacks, finding out what something consists of, taking beautiful pictures of delegates presenting culinary delights from their country.
facebook.com/pages/European-Youth-Parliament-Russia
However, let us find out which dish participants from other countries enjoyed the most! The journo of EMPL, Yanne, tells that in her opinion, a «hairy» up white sweets, called « Talkysh kaleve» from Kazan are worth praising. The chairperson from LIBE, Vukan, was very excited about a dish of the same delegation from the Volga region which is called Chuck-Chuck. The chairperson of SEDE, Magda from Poland, really loved sticky sweets from Russia. Overall, the Rusvillage went very well with all its food eaten and complements said. It is also worth mentioning that the Eurovillage was gradually turning into a disco-party where not only delegates danced but EYP officials as well. What a perfect start of the Session! Keep on EYPing dear EYPers! 9
10
eyp-russia.org
http://vk.com/eyp.russia