EYPeace
The First Issue of the Newspaper The 3d Batumi International Forum 14/08/2011
GEORGIA Despite the fact that EYP Georgia has a short history including only four years, it managed to become one of the most successful youth organizations in the whole of the region. Georgia became the official member of EYP network in 2008 and since then he is actively involved in its activities and never stops being extremely progressive. Everything was started by a small group of motivated, enthusiastic people who are known as “fathers of EYP Georgia”. Afterwards this little group turned into a big friendly family. The main action plan for this team is very simple – Every session - better than the previous one. This “rule” has never been broken and hopefully this tradition will remain this way. During 4 years EYP Georgia had 2 presidents. All of u knows the second one – Teona Lavrelashvili who is also the president of the 3rd Batumi International Forum. She has been presiding Georgian EYP for one year and thanks to her team this period turned out to be the most successful and productive for us. Many sessions were held and the quality of them was progressing too. During this time EYP has given out and spread lots of experience, education, various useful skills and tons of friendship and love in youth. That is why both, school and university students want to participate in EYP events and after each call organizers have tons of applications. All this makes being an EYP-er prestigious. If you are eager to get more information you can see some questions answered by Ms. President – teona Lavrelashvili
- How can u describe the last year for EYP Georgia?
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Well, I might be subjective because of my position, but frankly speaking last year for EYP Georgia was indeed successful. We have arranged international forum with high standards and now we are organizing this forum. I’m more than sure that the 3rd BIF will be the crown of the whole year. We have spread EYP at schools, we conducted sessions and other events in almost every region of Georgia. To my mind, EYP at this moment is a very popular organization due to our intense activities, some TV reporters already joke that they don’t need press-releases any more, as they know by heart what is happening in EYP events.
-What are the main goals for the organization at this stage?
The main goal is to develop the organization, that is why we need well-planned strategy, in order to keep the leading position among youth NGO-s. I think that now we need many devoted people for EYP Georgia, who will work hard, voluntarily and contribute to its progressive development.
-What is the most important problem in the organization, if there is some? Despite our successes, it is logical and natural that EYP Georgia is having problems, namely the lack of diversification of sponsorships. Additionally, EYP Georgia needs more motivated young professionals in executive branch. We have a great potential and we have to guarantee its usage. Hopefully, all Teona’s expectations will be met and EYP Georgia will continue developin
by Erekle Chanchibadze
Dear participants of BIF’11, let me introduce the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, or just ECON, in all its glory. Italian, Spaniard, Ukrainian, Portuguese, American, and 6 Georgians. This international team represents a respond of European youth to challenges of the global economic downturn that hit hard the economies of the European Union. Can you imagine the weight of responsibility lying on those young people in charge of working out and introducing solutions to debt crisis in the PIIGS countries and rapid challenges happening on the competitive global markets? The story of this truly great team began on the first day of Batumi 3rd International Forum. Participants of the Forum, united by the topic “Youth Voting for Peace”, gathered at Batumi Botanical Garden for general teambuilding. Leaded by the President of the session Teona Lavrelashvili and the Vice-Presidents Rodrigo Reis and Krzystof Ignaciuk, delegates experienced some wellknown energizing games as “Alele” and “Funky chicken”. Encouraged by the crazy EYP teambuilding stuff and inspired by the welcoming speeches, the participants had a chance to meet the chairpersons of their committees. That’s how the team of Giorgi Samkharadze came into action f o r y ver y sa to t h e e v a h I reallysomething ant… first rt o p im really to have g in go e w Are ak?! re -b ee a coff idze, it b (Avto Shu ) ia rg eo G We have to nion! be a real U zales n o G a ri (Victo pain) Marquez S
time. At first it took some time to learn each other’s names and some basic information. However, common energizers and name games were nothing more than preparation for real challenges. After some rounds of High Dukening and Tiger Appercotting each other and passing the ball around the circle in the sexiest way ever, the ECONers felt ready for solving more complicated problems. It will not be an overstatement to say that the committee is currently holding a world record in untangling the Human Knot, having done the exercise in least than 10 seconds. Another example of brilliant speed was shown by Avto Shubitidze who managed to guess the name of a famous politician, written on a piece of paper and stuck on his forehead, with a help of only three “Yes/No” questions. Despite rainy weather, the delegates had successfully passed the first and very important stage of socialising. On the next day, the ECONers had a chance to explore their venue for committee work. The second day of the Forum brought plenty of team-building games and socializing exercises, including the introduction of the official battle cry of ECON. It was proved that its loudness reaches 8000 Hz and continues to rise with every round of shouting. The third day brought a round of problemsolving games that appeared to be both challenging and useful for real committee work. While discussing the case with ‘terrorists’ and ‘villagers’, the delegates raised some important questions like a balance between self-preservation and altruism. The remarks appearing during the debates ranged from “Do you want to live?” (Roksolana Pidlasa) and “It’s not your business…You are the third [neutral] party” (David Khosroshvili) to “You ARE involved” (Giacomo Ziani) and “You’re
personally killing them” (Tamta Zaalishvili). The list of amazing suggestions also included the proposal “to leave the emotions aside and think ECONomically” (Giacomo Ziani), and the remark “It’s a question of morality” (Carlos Oliveira) which seems to be the most suitable one for summarizing the discussion. The committee work started with brainstorming on the topic and stating some main basic problems. The delegates showed deep knowledge and broad vision of their topic, taking the problem in its broader sense. In particular, the ECONers discussed some long-term strategies of fighting indebtedness and improving the competitiveness of European products and services on the global market. As we know, the final resolution is about to appear at the end of the second day of discussion. Nevertheless, due to work of the journo team you have an opportunity to know some general ideas that guided today’s discussion at ECON. The delegates started with answering some basic questions e.g. “Why government needs debt?” and “How the borrowed money is spent?” According to Ani Butskhrikidze and David Khosroshvili, such economies as Greece weren’t ready for membership in the European Union, and Chris Hartman even recommended the most indebted countries to leave the Eurozone. However, the ECONers preferred not to implement such radical steps. Instead of this, Ani Butskhrikidze proposed to introduce some changes into EU legislation, as the present system of regulations, recommendations, and sanctions is not efficient (Giacomo Ziani). The delegates also decided that subsidizing the economies of PIIGS countries cannot be an option, as “giving money is not giving a solution” (Carlos Oliveira). Besides, there are too many examples of improper spending of [borrowed] money (Roksolona Pidlasa). Speaking about the Lisbon Strategy, some delegates believe that the strategy itself is not bad at all. The problem is that most member States did not respect its main statements (Roksolona Pidlasa) and, as a result, failed to implement it (Mari Tavdgiridze). As for the solutions, the main ideas were concentrated on using a global approach in providing economic policy, establishing the common fiscal system (Victoria Gonzales Marquez), and fostering competitiveness of the European economy through practical and innovation-oriented educational system (David Khosroshvili).
by Yegor Vlasenko
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Maciek Świder -who is actually from Poland could be mistakenly but quite easily considered Ukrainian because of his affection towards this country - can now be spotted while chairing the committee of foreign affairs 2 in Georgia, leaving locals curious whether he will fall in love with the host country as much as he is attracted to Ukraine or not :) In two months he will move to Krakow to begin his studies on the faculty of law in Uniwersytet Jagielloński. Already having attended 17 sessions, here he is now at Batumi International Forum. When being asked why Batumi? he answered: WHY NOT? Indeed, why not Batumi, where he could meet as enthusiastic people as himself, who are keen on innovations and always trying to learn from the life experiences for personal development! “What a wonderful life” is there for Maciek who drew the symbol of a little heart on the top of the word “peace”. Indeed, no work can be done without love and Maciek definitely loves the job he does- I M SIMPLY IN LOVE WITH EYP he says. We truly hope Georgia will manage to reside in at least a little part of his big and loving heart.
Krystof Ygnaciuk who may even seem too serious for his 20 is the most experienced chairperson of the Batumi International Forum. He has been involved in EYP activities since 2007 and does not even remember the number of sessions he has already attended. Being a vice-president of this particular forum, he actually works as the vicepresident in his home country- Poland. It appears that he is totally obsessed with writing pointlessly long e-mails filled with gibberish about himself- quite seems to be his style. However, he also appeared to be an amateur musician. If you hear someone playing Stoner Rock on the guitar, it definitely should be him.
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PEACE ON
YOU! EYP intelligence service provided me with the information that Mate Gabtsinashvili found his special someone on the forum, of course without the violation of the golden rule. Whoever this girl is, she is really fortunate for having such a suitor! If you sit down and try to write all the positive adjectives that a person can possess, for sure 90 percent of this words would describe this talented Georgian dancer
George
Samkharadze
- as cute as he is, it seems that he is incapable of being strict. However, with a committee like ECON this character trait would be odd anyway, delegates respect their chairperson and the latter is always trying to charge them with positive energy and grin with his truthful smile.
Why would young people from all around Europe gather in Batumi to vote for the peace? Because it is possible! It is possible to make a change A positive change which we believe is in the hands of young people just like them- the runners on the waves- Maciej Swider, Anna Lachykhyna, Rodrigo Reis, Krzysztof Ignaciuk and Magdalena Pietras- who “baywatch” along with Georgian chairpersons Asmati Naskidashvili, Mate Gabitsinashvili, Tiko Janjghava and George Samkaharadze – seagulls who would never be content with just being the target of these changes- what they want is to actually be the ones who make it all happen ! Here are they are- all of them- full of enthusiasm, energy, hope, dreams-briefly saying, full of the SUN inside themselves and they are asking you to let the waves take you to the destination! Some might say they are dreamers- but they are not the only ones! And Batumi International Forum is the event which linked every each of us to make the world live as one! So here we are in white Batumi, smelling the salt of air, speaking of dreams, letting the waves take us away to the times when everything that seems impossible now becomes possible! During the last Three days Batumi has been raining down its love to us! And these are the people who help delegates to catch the sun in the rain! Never doubt that a small group of devoted individuals can change the world, without a doubt it’s the only thing that ever has. Carry on, cause peace is coming ! peace is coming to us all ! Never stop running on the waves! Everything’s possible! Vote for peace!
Asmat Naskidashvili having the committee work at the beach is a must-see. Sea breeze playing with her curly hair and she- playing with her delegates- could be called a harmony. Apart from her hardworking character, she appreciates aesthetics and all the “behind the scenes” of EYP life- learning from the things not only considered in agenda but also from just living it all through.
Anna Lachykhina - Gorgeous girl from Ukraine- first time chairing at the Batumi International Forum. ITRE is very lucky to have her, as even in the rainy weather of Batumi, the committee was not left without the sunshine - sweet, beautiful and positive Anna. attentiongrabbing news for male representatives of EYP! Anna is looking forward to the summer flirts and romances! It’s raining man hallelujah and the girl is much more striking than Gerry Hollywell.
Rodrigo Reis- Brazilian Italian who lives in London. It is already understandable that his characteristics are not going to be banal. I do not advice you to check his facebook as even the most angelic person would feel envious about him having visited surprisingly gigantic number of countries- mostly exotic ones. Taking it into consideration, I was expecting his travel to Georgia to be simply ONE of his MANY trips, however he managed to amaze me with his answer. According to him, it was the movie “5 days of August” which served as the stimulus for visiting Georgia and unexpected invitation to the Batumi Forum appeared to be just on time! The only thing constant in life is changeRodrigo quotes Rochefoucauld and quite reasonably. However, we wish he’ll never have a change of his heart and he will go on with “Rising and rising again until lambs become lions...” © It would be rational to be demanding towards the delegates of afet 3 during the General Assembly as they are chaired by the most experienced young persons. We have already talked about Krystof and now the time has come for gifted Tiko Janjghava who currently is the member of the board of the National Committee of EYP Georgia. Having tried the positions of delegate and organizer during the previous sessions of Batumi International Forum, now she feels certainly comfortable in the position of the chairperson. Her work and Jazz is what she loves, so lets wait and listen to the JAZZ that AFET 3 will play on GA.
Magdalena Pietras from Krakow, Poland was attracted by the stories about Georgian hospitality which inspired her to put Batumi 3rd International Forum in the list of the 27 EYP sessions she has already attended. Being her roommate, I can assure you that she is incredibly amiable person and taking into consideration her calm character, it is really fascinating to observe her work with the committee which she described with the Spanish word “LOCA”:)
by Tatia Dolidze
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BACK TO REALITY
Overview The committee on Human Rights (DROI) discussed situation in Belarus. Anti-democratic processes in this country turning into a sociopolitical crisis: What role can the EU and its civil society play in supporting NGOs and Human Rights Movements in their work in Europe’s Last Dictatorship? Since Belarus became an independent country in 1991, its people have faced massive repression. The country’s current leader, Alexander Lukashenko is named Europe’s last dictator. He has been leading the country since 1994. With election rigging, media censoring and criminalization of the opposition among others, it hardly can be considered as a free country. From direct talks on one side and economic sanctions on the other, the EU and the rest of the international community have tried different tactics to change the situation in the country, ., none of them had much of an effect so far. The civil society is deeply constrained in Belarus by the Lukashenko regime. NGOs have no possibility to work in the country. Bureaucrats often find reasons to influence and limit their operations. In fact, all NGOs are directly or in-directly run by the government. As a result, changing the country from inside is almost impossible. The Belarusian government promised to the European commission free and fair presidential elections in the winter of 2010. Lukashenko broke his promise again. Western observers saw clear violations of basic standards of democratic elections. The elections evening ended up by the orchestrated riots in the streets of Minsk. Almost all opposition figures were arrested and put behind bars without any explanation. A dozen of peaceful demonstrators were send into court because they were, according to the government, involved in the riots. In the last months, the country faced many economic challenges culminating in massive government debt and signs of an economic recession. The United States, calling Lukashenko to take action, imposed
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by Just Hovens Greve
new economic sanctions this week. Committee story The DROI-committee loves discussions. The fun-part, team-building was changed into a serious one in the morning. Although sometimes the mind bubblingpart was balanced by by a small, crazy game to escape to working room, nicknamed ‘Sauna’. At the very start of this day, the group made a list of golden rules. What started as a small list with the usual ‘switch mobile phone off ’things, became a comprehensive list. The most interesting of them is probably ‘don’t be shy’. When sitting in room number 23, nobody can understand why this rule is so important. Delegates fight to get extra time to defend their views. Sofi, already famous for her tennis-skills, was the first person to break one of the golden rules. Somehow she couldn’t find the ‘switch off ’ button on her mobile phone. The Chairperson, Mate,gave her a rather embarrassing punishment for breaking one of the selfmade rules. She had to say sorry by ‘writting’ the word ‘ sorry’ by butt spelling, letter by letter. After this little interrupting the first problems and facts about Belarus, considered to be the last dictatorship in Europe, were discussed. Eventually, the delegates reached a total agreement within the group that Belarus lacks freedom of everything: freedom of expression, freedom of speech, the right to demonstrate, freedom of protest and freedom of press. Define the problems was a war about war, between Vadmin and the rest of the group about just one word ‘human rights’ or ‘fundamental rights’. He resisted group pressure. On certain moments, it was difficult to concentrate on the topic. There were a couple of committee members who couldn’t think about Belarus and its serious problems while Dana was speaking. Instead of Belarus, they thought about her spectacular dance performance during Eurovillage. Some delegates faced the same problem while the chair of DROI, Mate, spoke. Girls were amazed byhis flexible Georgian dance moves. When Dr. Flowers entered the room, they returned to reality. His horrific stories about complex life in Belarus were for most people more than a nightmare to hear.
A F AFEET I
TI
Hot political situation in Egypt reached the peak escalation in January 2011. In the January 2011, . All the informational channels were broadcasting the revolution and its bloody results. Despite being predominantly peaceful in nature, the revolution was not without violent clashes between security forces and protesters, with at least 846 people killed and 6,000 injured. After the de-escalation of Egypt’s situation a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labor strikes started in Libya. The situation began on the 15th of February 2011 as a series of peaceful protests which were met with military force by the Gaddafi regime. The protests escalated into an uprising that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing a government based in Benghazi named the National Transitional Council whose stated goal is to overthrow the Gaddafi-led government and hold democratic elections. Arab world protests, post-revolutionary period, EU-Middle East relations, European foreign policy are not exactly words that would spark much enthusiasm into average teenagers but AFET I are, by no stretch of the imagination, average. They have jumped on the challenge of tackling one Europe’s most prominent issues...Arab Conflicts. With an issue that holds so many different aspects, it was going to be hard to start off and stick to the topic.
by Vass Khurtsilava
With a frantic first few hours of swapping research and basic principles AFET I were soon looking progressively more like an official EU thinks (minus the expensive suits and grey hair). There was the realization that this was a problem needing collective action and a unified stance. The dissection of the issue soon began and the reality of the problems came to the front, with AFET I asking: How should the EU consider its role and policies in the Southern Mediterranean in order to durably support the “new beginning”? So they started hard brainstorming, ensuring that no stone was left unturned The issue that seemed such overwhelming at the start of committee work now seems like child’s play for this well oiled committee, who has all the right parts. They have definitely started the race well but we all know it’s not about how you start the race but how you finish. So I believe in AFET I, I know that their enthusiast will give them possibility to make the best resolution and represent it at GA without any “against”. End
LIBE Hot political situation in Egypt reached the peak escalation in January 2011. In the January 2011, . All the informational channels were broadcasting the revolution and its bloody results. Despite being predominantly peaceful in nature, the revolution was not without violent clashes between security forces and protesters, with at least 846 people killed and 6,000 injured. After the de-escalation of Egypt’s situation a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labor strikes started in Libya. The situation began on the 15th of February 2011 as a series of peaceful protests which were met with military force by the Gaddafi regime. The protests escalated into an uprising that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing a government based in Benghazi named the National Transitional Council whose stated goal is to overthrow the Gaddafi-led government and hold democratic elections. Arab world protests, post-revolutionary period, EU-Middle East relations, European foreign policy are not exactly words that would spark much enthusiasm into average teenagers but AFET I are, by no stretch of the imagination,
average. They have jumped on the challenge of tackling one Europe’s most prominent issues...Arab Conflicts.
With an issue that holds so many different aspects, it was going to be hard to start off and stick to the topic. With a frantic first few hours of swapping research and basic principles AFET I were soon looking progressively more like an official EU thinks (minus the expensive suits and grey hair). There was the realization that this was a problem needing collective action and a unified stance. The dissection of the issue soon began and the reality of the problems came to the front, with AFET I asking: How should the EU consider its role and policies in the Southern Mediterranean in order to durably support the “new beginning”? So they started hard brainstorming, ensuring that no stone was left unturned The issue that seemed such overwhelming at the start of committee work now seems like child’s play for this well oiled committee, who has all the right parts. They have definitely started the race well but we all know it’s not about how you start the race but how you finish. So I believe in AFET I, I know that their enthusiast will give them possibility to make the best resolution and represent it at GA without any “against”. End
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by Erekle Chanchibadze
10 86
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Committee that brings Light to the session! Committee that brings Light to the session! Entering the room number 16 at our committee work venue feels like coming home, where a loving family awaits and welcomes you. Sometimes, it is like one big Italian or Spanish household, where everyone is talking at once loudly and emotionally. Other times it is like the most friendly and united hippie community, in which members are equal and share all experiences together. But, no matter when you approach this room, you feel the ITREspirit there. From the very beginning solidarity and understanding was ITRE’s trademark, but when getting to know them better, you can see the amazing individuals that in a perfect synergy move towards making Europe more productive and safe place provided by energy for every socket in every house. ITRE-committee became a real team from the very beginning. One could expect it to be harder for them, considering the difference in EYP-experience and background, but ITRE found a suiting place for both EYP-newbies, like Rafael and Andrea from Italy, Davit from Georgia, Elshan from Azerbaijan and Maria from Spain, and more experienced delegates, like Kevin, who’s already been to 6 sessions, and Kate and Ana or Ia and Nino, who have a committee reunion of sorts. These fabulous duets found each other at the same committee for the second session in a row. You would never be lost, hungry, cold or bored with ITRE. Brainstorming on the ways of using chock, the first prize for creativity went to Elshan. He suggested mixing chock with water and drinking this “cocktail” in order to get your temperature rice so you can skip school
by Lyubov Dvoretska
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or writing with chock on a glass, just in order to make a weird annoying noise (advisory: don’t try to do it at home, but keep in mind the talent of invention held by EYP- Azerbaijan). When surviving “Plane crash” ITRE also proved to be extraordinary. It is easy for them to survive as they have Maria, who knows how to make almost anything out of snake skin, Ana, who can find a way through the desert orienting only on the Sun and stars, and Kevin, who knows 100 +1 reason, why mirror is the first thing you need to stay alive in the middle of nowhere. All ITRE delegates held the topic of their committee close to heart even during teambuilding. Only people truly concerned with safe and stable energy supply, would take flashlight with batteries, AND matches AND case of emergency flares AND mirror from the crashing plane. ITRE would do anything for keeping the light and warmth. This is exactly the task of the committee. What should constitute an integrated European energy policy in order to ensure safety of the continent’s supply and infrastructure? In the light of resent accident in Fukusima, the question at hand is one of current interest for the European community. During the last decades mankind got very dependent on the technical equipment that needs energy to work, thus, the shortage of energy resources can lead to global catastrophe. Unfortunately, most of energy recourses are not renewable, and every country should find a way out in its own way. One of the obvious solutions is to use nuclear energy, which is not expensive and can stably provide the necessary amount of energy. But the main obstacle is the disposal of nuclear wastes, which according to public opinion, holds great danger not only to the environment, but also to the people living in the surrounding area. Even if it is scientifically proved that nuclear power plants, in case of proper use, are safe for people, public opinion is aimed against them, as the damage in case of breakage is huge. Plus, nuclear waste literally takes ages to recycle and no country wants to serve as the world’s trash bin. The other possible solution is to invest into modern ecological renewable sources of energy, which is the future of our planet. But these sources cannot guarantee the stable provision of energy in necessary amounts. So, the problem is not just about safe energy provision for every household in Europe, but also about finding perfect balance between the present and the future of our technology. We are sure that ITRE will handle it. Working in the committee, listening to each other, respecting each other and giving each and every committee member an opportunity to express his or her thoughts is a challenge. But ITRE takes this challenge and succeeds. Because, as Davit noted, all delegates are teaching each other and learning from each other at the same time. That’s why we can be sure that the future of European energy policy is in capable hands (CAN BE CHANGED TO “safe hands) of ITRE, also known as the Committee that brings the light.
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EUROVILLAGE At every session all participants impatiently wait for the most colorful and tasty international experiences EYP can offer – Eurovillage and Euroconcert. These classic EYP-treats are present at every session, but the thing is, that no matter how many sessions you’ve attended, they are always different and unique. Batumi International Forum immediately caught us into the bright and loud torrent of national costumes, dishes and dances. Now we all know for sure that you don’t need a huge delegation to shine during Eurovillage. No one could match the amazingly beautiful national costume of Kazakhstan, gracefully presented by the only representative of this sunny country, Dana Borumbayeva. And most of us are still dazed by the energy and emotions brought to us by national Georgian dances, performed by the biggest delegation on the session. Looking at Saba Beridadze dancing, wearing national costume, we all wanted to be Georgian at least for a little bit of time. There are no doubts that everyone enjoyed the Eurovillage. And to all of us it means getting one step closer to the erasing the cultural borders within Europe. Thank you all for making this step together!
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by Lyubov Dvoretska and Yegor Vlasenko
E
Here Eurov we are with il th had re lage. At first e results of ally ev , it sho the su rv en u as all t he tab chances of ld be said th ey on BIF’1 les had at all d 1 winni the Tu ng ele th rk as bak ish delegati eir own tru this delicio gations us m la on win th va and Turk prepared s p cards. In p contest, is ome s e articu w la and ra hearts and s h Delight, w hile N eet surprise r, ther sp tomac s o h e rway t Norw s of EY cific b eg ri u P Norw ian experim t still delicio ers with sa ed to usage ay – co ent tur us salt ngratu y choc ned ou at our ola lat E t Forum urovillage!G ions on hav to be succes te. The i s e , n f as kha presented m orgia, the ho g the third ul, so b chapu m a e n st tabl e y cou dish ri, Georg ian wi khakhvi an es of its na ntry of the e tio d ne silver goes to that broug ajapsandaly nal cuisine, h . s H t a rea Georg And, l succe owever, it uch ia was ss. As could finally, let u ! a resu st s lt, our spirit o and a mix o introduce yo f f Ukra u the w vareny inian d Ukrai k i ne! elegati y, salo, swee nner! Nobo dy on, so ts and - Con c gratul heerful ations ,
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AFET III Despite that, the territory of South Caucasus is pretty small, it is one of the most loaded regions in the world with conflict zones. There are three countries and the number of the conflicts is the same. Outcome – thousand s of refugees and unstable situations in the countries, that prevents the proper development, beginning from economics, to the civil society. European Union is already actively involved in the process of regulation, but the problem is remaining burning; there are more measures to be taken, as EU holds huge resources, so his more strict recommendations may have influence, which finally will guide to the breaking of the ice. The conflict in Georgia in August 2008 cast doubt on the EU’s power as a major international stakeholder and demonstrated clearly that the EU’s security begins outside its borders. Taking in consideration geographic proximity, energy resources, pipelines as well as international crime and trafficking make peace in the region of utmost importance to the EU. And yeah, the task for the guys from AFET III isn’t from the easiest, as the “fathers” of EU have been thinking about solving these problems for years, and these ones have only 2-3 days. However, don’t care, difficulties don’t frighten them, because they’re not losers, as it turned out to be at the general teambuilding competition, well maybe not the strongest, but they’re really cool guys, full of enthusiasm, full of brains and sense of humor. And damn, they have amazing chairpersons – one of the most desirable one in EYP Georgia Tiko Janjgava and honored VP, thunderstorm of the organizers, almost perfectionist Krzysztof Ignaciuk. Now about delegates individually. In advance, I’ll say – they are amazing people. Our only westernEuropean delegate is Marian, she bravely faced the challenge, being in a committee with delegates from post Soviet Union countries. Can be said that she is alternative sight of the committee. Yuriy is from Ukraine. He is the most pretentious one, he is unsatisfied by the restrictions, made by organizers. Despitete the fact, that Devi is so young, he is committee’s striking powers, he is one of the mostly
involved delegate in committee work.The same can be said about Eka, school student from beautiful city Zugdidi. Her motto of the life is “Learn on mistakes”, I don’t know if she has any experience yet J Khatia is another striking force, she is alumni of FLEX, and she really justifies this title. She thinks that she is like Reese Witherspoon’s character from the movie “Legally Blonde”, I don’t know why, cu she is nither blond, nor stupid… Nodar is a hilarious school student, who has passion of luxury cars, so let’s wish him well, to own Ferarri, Shelby or Bugatti someday. Gigas would be a perfect delegate, if only he spoke less Georgian, and more English, because he is extremely active and eager to be involved in any kinds of activities at the forum. Alexander is a basketball player, who is very intellectual, not quite common for the sportsman (sorry if there’re any). He likes reading, and “surprisingly” would prefer Ibiza to Batumi; maybe he’s just fed up with his hometown… Tornike is another Batumian delegate, who is one of the most notable faces in the committee. At first, been confused by “silly games”, he disliked the forum, but the sympathies returned when the real working began. Salome is by far the most mysterious persons in the committee, this girl likes Corn Flour, as a food, and dislikes his own committee journo – Andro; Hah, can you imagine this J Fathima, or Olga, call her as you wish, is the calmest delegate, maybe even of the whole forum. In personal relations she is quite open-minded, but at the work, you can barely hear her voice. And the last, but definitely not the least – the Mr. AlwaysSmiley Toghrul, he is from Azerbaijan, and the committee topic concerns his own country, so he is very enthusiastic!! So check them out, know and watch out at the GA – the Committee on Foreign Affairs III.
by Andro Chankvetadze
Europe has always been an important place to civilizations for years. In order to have some land on it, countries have had wars. Considering its unbelievably fascinating nature and strong place on the stage of the world, Europe is a definite attention-grabber. Years after the long-lasting wars, today, Europe sets an intensely successful performance with the union it established. The fact that the European Union reached 2000s, being so far away from its starting point, proves an apparent success. Nowadays, one of the most important issues on the fast-developing union’s agenda happens to be the Eastern Partnership which was founded in Prague in 2009. The Eastern Partnership is meant to complement the Northern Dimension and the Union for the Mediterranean by providing an institutionalized forum for discussing visa agreements, free trade deals and strategic partnership agreements with the EU’s eastern neighbors, while avoiding the controversial topic of accession to the European Union. Its geographical scope is to consist of Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Concerning the fact that the EaP program is not implemented sustainably, the marvelous committee AFET II has been into a deep research to erase the question marks about the topic and to provide sustainable implementation of the Eastern Partnership. I’m looking forward to reading their resolution, just like any of you. From Teambuilding to Team destroying When it comes to teambuilding with AFET II, despite the tremendous effort, things might get really really violent. They, I assume, were the only delegates who were throwing pieces of paper to each other with great ambition and passion during the game Snowball Fight and hitting each other so bad while playing Fruit Salad. You should have seen how satisfied Erdem was when he hit Teimuraz with his ‘paperball’ right in the head. Needless to mention, it was terribly enjoying for Nataliia, Nini, Mariam, Ani and Teimuraz to torture Erdem by sitting on him. On the other hand, they were the most peaceful delegates of the session while deciding on whom to sacrifice in the Plane Crash game. They barely had a fight and, unlike the other committees, they knew how to agree to disagree. Committee Work: We’re a Team After the efficient teambuilding process, the team started to get into some serious work. You could see the distinct changes in committee members’ moods step by step during the committee work. First, they were enthusiastic and curious. Then, they started getting nervous and tensed because of the endless discussions. Afterwards, they were so exhausted that they couldn’t come up with new ideas and stayed rather silent for a while. Finally, they made up their minds -thanks to the great chairing skills of Mr. Swider- and the systematic work started. Dur-
ing the whole process, AFET II delegates have shown the best example of being a team. They experienced everything altogether. They were curious together, they were freaked out together, they were empty together and they were working together. Everything they did and felt reflected being a team. Moreover, AFET II has been honored with the surprise visit of the British professor Dr. Flowers who delivered a speech about the EaP and foreign relations of Europe, informing the delegates about the topic a bit more. Delegates expressed their appreciation for the speech and their hopes for another visit from him.
What was said? “We couldn’t even imagine such a great committee before meeting AFET 2.” The Zulus “A for awesome, F for fantastic, E for ‘erotic’ and T for terrific… No matter from where you look at the precious committee AFET, you’ll definitely see pure joy.” Amy Winehouse “According to the data collected from the research conducted on 16 EYPers, 100% of the participants think that AFET II is the best committee ever.” Swedish scientists “It’s impossible to describe what AFET II is to me. I couldn’t love anything more.” Zeus “AFET 2 is something beyond all.” Lindsay Lohan AFET II Random Facts Mariam and Aysel prefer staying silent. The chair was about to break a bone of his, or two, because Petre pulled him through a deep hole by accident. Nini was torturing Dan during the committee dinner with the weird story of “He was going going going going going…” Ani likes wearing skirts. Eliso likes most animals. Mariam C. might be a serial killer in the future. Teimuraz Bar. and Teimuraz Bas. are having some sort of personality disorders because they have the same name. Ayna speaks English pretty well. Oksana thinks she is old. Nataliia is from Czech Republic. Erdem once was one of the delegates of Maciek’s sister, as well. AFET II has a delegate from each the EaP countries except for Armenia
O T ” E HE “
by Yaprak Damla Yıldırım
“A”
E H T TO
T O T “F”
” T “ THE
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AQUA-MID An artist is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning.
An EYP-er is someone who plays in a pool in the rain and cold hoping to be struck by EYP spirit EYP-ers ALLOWED the rain to fall down on the earth!!! For the first time, the word rain was not being mentioned with the negative sensation Upside down backwards and forwards with the water all around eyp spirit has finally reached us, this time- in the form of the liquid. After thousand of failures delegates did not give up and they finally managed to build a pyramid of friendship - step by step, hand by hand or even foot by foot- they reached the top If you want to see the rainbow you have to put up with the rain`!
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Indeed, at first, being an EYP-er seems to be thorny, then it becomes appealing and to the end just incredible even with back that is quite expectresenting the fundament of
it is the pains in the able for those repthe pyramid
What makes a team work, it makes a community work, a society work, a civilization work and in our case the Europe unite for the cultivation of young generation of active youth for the better future. All the social activities of the session are for being a family, socializing, cooperating, innovating, getting involved and a lot more things like sharing experience and learning about other cultures. One session is enough to make you want more. You will wish it to last forever, in order to stay with your new beloved family. I would like to inform the newcomer EYP delegates about the danger of being an EYP-er, because it is addictive.
by Tatia Dolidze