The official newspaper of the 58th international EYP session in Liverpool
The Liverpudlian 21 July 2008 Issue 2
Eurovillage: triumph for culture
CONTENTS & CONTRIBUTORS
PICTURE OF THE DAY
21 July 2008 Issue 2 3 Chairs and Orgas: Janet Coen Behind the Faces 3 NEWS IN BRIEF 4 Cultural diversity redefined through Tiramisu. Conor Mahon and Michela Candi 5 Scouse cuisine presented at Eurovillage. Ben Woolgar 7 Britain is famous for many things. Phone boxes, post boxes, and double decker buses. Caspar Jansen & Jonáš Jančařík 8 Speaking up for many faces. Maite Karssenberg and Stefan Vandenhende 10 One step forward, one step back? Begüm Erdoğan & Karolina Joensson Living the dream. Ben Woolgar and Leonie Wahjudi 12 Treaty that tore Europe apart. Conor Mahon and Ceyda Erten 13 Who needs teambuilding? Begüm Erdoğan and Pablo Mellado 14 Blogs 16 Session mascot free again. Stan Korshunov and Andris Suvajevs
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Many Faces, Different Spaces. Sunday night at EuroVillage at the LIner Hotel.
EDITORIAL Dear Reader, Yesterday, a fellow EYPer said, teambuilding has become too mild and soppy at sessions. What we need is some conflict, disagreement, people yelling at one another in rage and ready to do anything to win the argument. Straightaway, it is hard to understand how conflict within a group of individuals can be in any way beneficial to the quality of their further work. Especially in an EYP context; a youth organisation which promotes teamwork, compromise, debate as its values would not want one of its main elements promote conflict within a team-to-be. Or would it? It is amazing how different people can become when self-defence overcomes politeness. Often, heated arguments are a feature of the strongest and most long-lasting friendships. The day of the individual is long gone. The efficient way to get quality product today is teamwork. At EYP, we see examples of this everyday –
be it going through a spiderweb, or a team of journalists organising a hamster kidnap game; it takes a team to achieve result. What often has to be sacrificed here is tolerance, politeness, trust. In order to build a strong, reliable and efficient team, a group of individuals have to go through a stage of disagreement and conflict. Only then they can trust one another to speak their minds honestly, correct one another’s mistakes and find more efficient ways of cooperation. After two days of teambuilding, it is hard to find a committee which has not yelled, frowned, shook their heads or cried; and yet, once the disagreements are solved, the bonds within the team become unbreakable. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.
Milda&Edward™
Chairs and Orgas: Janet Coen Behind the Faces
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here are so many chairs and orgas at every EYP session that we sometimes fail to see beyond their buckets and teapots to the people they really are. Our understand-
ing of them is filtered through the pile of rapidly disappearing biscuits at coffee break, our perspective compromised by the immediate fear that we may not win the treasure hunt. Who are these people who hold it all together? We asked them some random questions to see if we could find out. One of the dominant features of your team is that they have a really sentimental streak. Organiser Tony Abladey credits EYP with introducing him to his best friends, while CarlAlexander’s favourite memories include “watching Bentley be himself.” Camaraderie between the Chair and Orga teams is also seen in ITRE Chair Lorenz Muller’s vow that if he controlled the E.U. he would “give it to Richard Royal as a present.” It’s comforting to think that your organisers are capable of running not just this session, but the Union itself! The other outstanding characteristic of Orgas and Chairs is that they are actually a bit mad. Lorenz claims to wear his cowboy hat because it makes him feel “like Indiana Jones,” while TRAN Committee’s Martin says that his favourite thing about EYP is actually reaching the point of exhaustion, where empty minds “can’t deliver answers anymore because they won’t fit.” This mix of caring friendship and chronic insanity is
Orga Ben and chair Effie model Costello frames and Loudhailer.
reflected in their most cherished EYP memories. Splashing around in the fountains of Basel is a fond recollection for many, while AFET’s Anna O’Leary remembers a particularly unique game of Giants, Wizardes & Dwarves “in the Mediterranean Sea, with good friends.” Orga Ben Marshall has a particularly colourful story about an ‘encounter’ he had with a Latvian Security Official on his last night in VERI 2006. It seems that the guard in question was quite happy for Ben to test out his array of non-lethal weapons, but became quite enraged when
he expressed an interest in trying out the handgun. The good news is that despite this occasional tendency towards the bizarre, we are actually in safe hands. The Orgas and Chairs are clearly a very dedicated bunch of people. Ben and Tony say that organising may be tiring and challenging, but that it is also exciting and rewarding. On the Chair side of things, EMPL’s Effie Mantrali summarises things well by saying “I love the spirit that exists at sessions, regardless of where they are and I absolutely love chairing.” ◆
“He became quite enraged when he expressed an interest in trying out the handgun.”
NEWS IN BRIEF Georgia in EYP We’d like to welcome Tanta Ganubia (REGI), officially the first Georgian delegate in an international session of EYP. Georgia was formally recognised as a National Committee last spring during Prague IS. Tanta, aged 19, affirmed: ‘I’m quite nervous because I have the responsibility to break the stereotypes about the Georgians’. She also declared to feel alone at some times, as she is the only member of the Georgian delegation, but as herself added, “It’s very complicated to feel alone in EYP!”
GB Election Results Last Friday, the results of the alumni election to Government Body of EYP were announced. Chris Tripp, Jonas Dreger and Tapio Schrey are selected as new members of the GB. These three experienced EYPers replace Tim Decamp, Marcus Pollard and Danny Vannucchi as alumni representatives in the GB. Congratulations!
Technical Problems The music equipment broke down last Saturday during EYP Café at Head of Steam around 11pm. Night´s DJs Leyland and Ainley were forced to stop the performance and let the party continue without music. Jonny Ainley, one of the protagonists, denominated it as `technical problems´. This is the reason why you couldn’t keep on enjoying the various 80s and 90s hits that were played during the night! More page 5
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Eurovillage Cultural diversity redefined through Tiramisu by Conor Mahon and Michela Candi
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s most slept soundly last Saturday night, two Italians began preparations for Eurovillage. Many may remember the glorious Tiramisu yesterday night, created by the artistic hands of Malthe and Ludovine.
This Tiramisu is no ordinary Tiramisu- it’s EYPs first culturally diverse desert! We had the chance to interview one of the famous cooks, Malthe, while on a bus. Malthe grew up in Denmark but is actually living in Italy now. His idea for the traditionally Italian dish came from when his Danish
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At Eurovillage, common aspects and distinguishing features of di
cousins cooked Tiramisu for him before the session. Then in the true spirit of multiculturalism Malthe decided to bring his idea to Eurovillage. One thing that always seems to stand out amongst all the food and drink of Eurovillage is the odd arrangement of the tables. We took the opportunity to ask delegations what they thought of their new neighbours. When we asked the Irish what they thought of their new border nation, Italy, they glanced over warmly and told me, “It’s great, they’ve really shared their experience with us!” The Italians too, felt that being next to the Irish made them feel really energetic and look good! As many will know the Turk-
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ish table is usually full of sweeties, and this year was no exception, but what was different was the Hungarian table right next door, providing the perfect Yin to the Turkish Yang, with lots of savoury items on show. As a journo, one must put themselves ahead of delegates. Tonight we did just that, and sought out the strangest foods we could find. One of the more unusual dishes we
The legs of that thing stared up at us suckers and all, and, seriously, it looked like it was just cut from the creature
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Scouse cuisine presented at Eurovillage by Ben Woolgar
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ifferent European countries are expressed through traditional cuisines. sampled was the Greek octopus. The legs of that thing stared up at us suckers and all, and, seriously, it looked like it was just cut from the creature! But we have to admit that it was really delicious (with added Turkish raki). Last night really was an expression of our session theme. We could not have had a better night. In one same room, we saw almost thirty different cultures squashed into one room with their traditional costumes and foods, standing table to table. We had fish and meat, sweet and savory, beer, juices and spirits. In the same night we met Santa Claus, little pretty Heidi-style girls, striptease fans and people with gaudy hats.
This year’s Eurovillage really showed off great traditions, as well as the power of cultural diversity. This year at E u r o v i l l a g e , w e saw many faces from different spaces!◆
iramisu from Italy, cider from Ireland, suspicious home-brewed firewater from Serbia; delegates knew they could expect to find them at EuroVillage. However, what they did not anticipate was “Scouse”, a traditional Liverpudlian dish. Having had a metaphorical ‘taste’ of local culture through the people and places, they finally got to try a local delicacy as well. “Scouse”, in spite of initial fears, turned out to be quite delicious; a stew of potatoes, carrots and giant chunks of meat. What many of us were not aware of, however, was that a true Liverpudlian would never have their “Scouse” with rice. (Then again, nor would anybody with common sense…or taste buds.) The local contribution did not stop there. Although it is hard to understand why champagne is a traditional Liverpudlian drink, it was free; we were hardly in a position to complain. As well as feeding our stomachs, the local stall fed our minds with a fascinating array of information about the region. Apparently, port cities, like Liverpool, Istanbul and Gdansk, often share many common features, such as an obsession with football, and a tendency to be politically divergent from the rest of the nation. The presenters at the Liverpool stall were drawn from Liverpool Culture Company and European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. Their enthusiasm for building relationships between cultures translated into a real enthusiasm for EYP as well. “We love it, because, out of our 750 projects, this is the one which sums up intercultural dialogue the best”, said one. We can only hope that future sessions and cities share their enthusiasm. If not, we can look forward to a piping hot plate of “Scouse” at future sessions - regardless of where they take place!◆ 21 July 2008 | The Pool | 5
Photo Essay SEDE
Delegates tentatively learn each other's names DEVE
A delegate navigates their way across the swamp EMPL
EMPL celebrate their success in saving Jimmy
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One big stereotype Britain is famous for many things. Phone boxes, post boxes, and double decker buses. Caspar Jansen & Jonáš Jančařík explain all.
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ngland is a country of bad food, bad weather, bad plumbing and other strange customs, according to most delegates at LivEYP 2008. Around ninety percent of delegates questioned said their first impression of our host country was, it is weird. Why? Apparently, on arrivals day the weather elsewhere in Europe was perfect, but in England it was raining, cold and cloudy. No wonder English weather is unpopular with delegates. At least it is fairly consistent; it is always cold and always rainy. Coming to England for sunshine and 35°C will always remain a dream. Enjoy the session, not the weather! England is not famous for its delicious g ou r m e t food e i -
ther. In the UK ‘Bangers and mash’ and ‘Fish and chips’ are popular favourites. That is why many perceive English food as fat, greasy, bland and not tasty. We, however, have not yet enjoyed typical English meals. So far, breakfasts have been Continental, dinner has a selection of world cuisine, and the rubbery sandwiches are not unique to England either. Our first impression was wrong; we are more alike than we thought we were! Plumbing in England is noticeably different from the continent. Although most of the magic remains hidden deep in the walls, very clear evidence appears above the washbasin. Separate taps for hot and cold water drive continentals crazy. This is allegedly due to differences between hot and cold water pressure. Whether or not we believe this excuse, we have to cope. Edward Warrillow says: “If you turn on the hot water tap, count to seven. You then get five seconds of tepid water to wash your hands”. Apparently this is enough for Englishmen; foreigners can at least enjoy the fact they are saving water by mixing it in the sink. One of the most striking English customs is driving on the left side of the road. England is one of the last countries where people insist on driving on the wrong side. Nobody knows why they are yet to switch sides. In the Czech Republic, the Germans enforced driving on the right during the Second World War, and it never went back. In Sweden, a referendum was held, where despite people voting to drive on the left, the government ignored them and switched over anyway. Maybe there is a lesson here for the British government to learn. As we are guests in England, we do our best to understand their customs and learn to appreciate them. We suggest an old Irish motto to help those delegates still struggling to adjust; “We’ll manage”. ◆
Campbell Price, kilt and a red double decker bus. Anglophiles, eat your heart out.
Speakers’ Corner NEWS IN BRIEF Building a Team in French A committee played teambuilding games in French for the first time in EYP history. DROI, the Committee on Human Rights, is proud to be a part of this whole new experience. The committee members chose to be in this committee, and they said they are very excited to discuss the issue of human rights in China from an EU perspective. Lacina Kone, chairperson, said: “The committee is doing great so far. I am sure there will be many fruitful discussions going on in the next days”.
Fire Alarm Went Off The fire alarm went off in Teresa Hall on Saturday night around 11pm. The alarm was caused by deodorants sprayed close to the sensor. Kathe Yoder from Finland, one of the witnesses of the event, said she would have never expected the alarms to go off just by putting on perfumes. Anna Hardman from the organizing team advised not to spray perfumes inside rooms, and she recommended to use them in bathrooms instead.
Random Egg Throwers
Eggs were thrown at Marco Trummer from Switzerland when he was walking on Liverpool streets on Saturday. The attack was made by local teenagers who were passing by in the car. “I didn’t know how and why it happened”, Marco said, “I was shocked and immediately went to my room to put some clean clothes on.”
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Culture
A space for reflection on session theme “This session theme is the essence of EYP, as we are always coming together as many faces from different spaces, and in the end we are able to agree on serious matters, despite the differences. That's beautiful.” - Michal Marczynski (PL, Chair)
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wo-thousand-eight has been designated the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue; a year in which Europe and Europeans should consider those issues which divide us and how we might bridge that divide. During LivEYP2008, participants will have an opportunity to explore such issues.
According to President, Ian Millar, the essence of the session theme is “Understanding challenges that different cultures pose to society”. His CULT co-chair and multiculturalism expert Michal thinks the keywords here are “dialogue” and “compromise”. By contrast, organisers Oscar and David approach the theme in a more practical way (as organisers tend to). They point out that the aim of the session theme is to bring together the “many faces” of Liverpool with the 28 different cultures
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present at this session, because “The best way to absorb a culture is to meet the people”. “The theme is open to interpretation,” adds David, “It’s meant to be a discussion starter.” So, to start off the debate, we went on a journalistic quest to find out what different participants think of “Many faces, different spaces”. How important do they think culture is in Europe? What role can culture play in uniting Europe? Isn’t “Unity in Diversity” contradictory? Chair, Michal, thinks culture plays one of the primary roles in the European dream, next to economic co-operation and a common foreign policy; “as long as we talk about diversity, and respect each other’s opinions, we keep the dialogue going and are able to work together in the EU”. However, what do the most important people of this session think of it? Talking to delegates Ingrid (Norway), Ulrich (DE) and Eldar (Russia), we found out that they think culture is one of the most important things in the EU. People are reflected in their culture, they say, and culture connects the people. “Unfortunately”, says Eldar, “people are losing their national cultures to a certain degree”, which saddens him. Ulrich disagrees; “In organisations like EYP, you can feel German and European at the same time”. Ian emphasized that the tapestry of cultural differences makes Europe interesting; “People are different anyway, but if you believe in something you can achieve anything”. In addition, he believes, even with its diversity,
“People are different anyway, but if you believe in something, you can achieve anything”
modern Europe has strong common values. This is something that came up many times in our interviews; everyone we spoke to believed in a common set of European values that connects everyone across the continent. Looking at the session, we can see that lots of events have been organised to engage in intercultural dialogue, especially with the local community. These are not the only times that “Many Faces Different Spaces” will play a role in the session, so keep your eyes open and “consider what implications our theme has for your topic and even your life” (Ian). Finally, we posed the question, isn’t ‘Unity in diversity” contradictory?. Every single person disagreed, as Michal pointed out. “After Teambuilding, your committee is still diverse, like you were when you first met, but united as well”. ◆
“The process has made his moods swing between being at the top of Everest to slipping down the Grand Canyon” p11
Speaking up for many faces Maite and Stefan comment on the strengths of having a session theme.
O
ur Session Theme seems the perfect start for a gigantic brainstorm, the interpretations are endless. There is not just one perfect interpretation. When thinking about the cornerstones of EYP, we can usually come up with four:
European, youth, politics and culture. The first two are us, the people here and the next two are why we are here. In essence EYP is a melting pot of cultures where we “The organizers of LivEYP2008 want to ensure that the event has a lasting legacy in the city of Liverpool.” discuss our political opinions. Therefore we think that this session theme touches the core of EYP. However there is a whole other side to
the session theme as well. While previous sessions were focused inwards, this session aims to reach out to the local community. The organizers of LivEYP2008 want to ensure that the event has a lasting legacy in the city of Liverpool. In relation to our journalistic quest, we would like to express our appreciation for this initiative. First of all, we think both EYP and Liverpool benefit from this new interaction, it provides both delegates and Liverpudlians with a new experience. For delegates this will add a new aspect, tied to the City and people of Liverpool, to the general EYP memory. Moreover, delegates are able to get to know the local culture as well. On the other hand, this also applies to the local population, who have the unique opportunity to get in touch with 27 other cultures. In general, we just think that the more people know about EYP, the better! ◆
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Culture Begüm Erdoğan & Karolina Joensson look at the role of the capital of culture, why it was chosen, and what benefits it aims to bring.
One step forward, one step back? P
ride and enthusiasm Liverpudlians express for their city’s European Capital of Culture status is aptly described by Prime Magazine. We ask the important question of whether this zeal can overcome the wealth of social
Super Lamb-bannana’s decorate the city with hope problems Liverpool has. Currently, Liverpool is plagued by knife crime. The past few years has seen an alarming increase in young people being involved in street violence and killings. “(…) this is almost a new phenomenon – younger children carrying knives
and, sadly, using them – they need to broaden what they are looking at,” says Cherie Blair, wife of Tony Blair in an Liverpool Daily Post interview. New statistics definitely prove the urgency of what Liverpool is facing. A breakdown of police records reveals that Liverpool is one
Living the dream
Ben Woolgar & Leonie Wahjudi uncover the story of why we are all here.
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ore than five years ago, in late 2002, Campbell Price (Orga, GB) first came to Rainhill High, our base for teambuilding. Last Thursday, he came back to prepare the venue for the teambuilding phase of LivEYP 2008. All those years ago, Mike Leyland, Anna Hardman and Rachel Roberts (Orgas), were bright-eyed Rainhill students, much like the ones we met on Saturday. The rest, as they say, is history. Or more specifically, the history of LivEYP 2008. Campbell was at Rainhill as part of the
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EYPUK ‘Outreach’ scheme, designed to get a more diverse group of schools involved in EYP. Mike, Anna and Rachel caught the EYP bug, and were selected to represent the UK as delegates at Durham 2004, the last International Session held in the UK. It was at Closing Ceremony, sitting in Durham Cathedral listening to ‘Imagine’, that Mike thought “This is good, but Liverpool could do better”. Apart from being the home of the Beatles, what does Liverpool have to offer? Mike freely admits he is biased, but firmly believes this is a place which offers an unprecedented degree of support. It’s rare for a city of 2 million people to have such a
strong sense of pride about being “Scousers”, and being so eager to give the city a European profile. Mike’s employers, Ariel Trust and the Liverpool Culture Company, have both helped him find funding and contacts in the local community. It’s a twoway street, though; right from the start, a crucial aspect of the LivEYP concept was to make sure that the session left its mark on Liverpool through involving local youngsters. Setting up an international session is no easy task. Our Head Orga admits that. Beyond it affecting his degree and preventing any possibility of a full-time job, the job has also seriously strained his fam-
“And that’s one thing that will strike you from the minute you arrive, with every Liverpudlian that you meet just bursting with the need to extol the virtues of their home city. Give them a chance and they’ll wax lyrical about its museums, galleries, theatres, music and architecture – or at least point you in the direction of the latest cool bar or eatery with a cheerful grin and a cheeky wink.” - Prime Magazine of five UK cities responsible for over 65% of the nations knife crime. The situation is deteriorating day by day. Challenges faced by Liverpool are not limited to violence. Educational problems haunt the citizens of Liverpool, jeopardizing the future of this city’s youth. The Liverpool Echo, a local newspaper, claims ten primary schools are facing closure, affecting more than 2200 pupils. Whilst most recent reports highlight the inadequacy of these schools in providing a robust education, some accuse the local council of shutting down these schools to establish architectural developments in the city. As Liverpool fights to emerge with a vibrant and new identity, Liverpool has recently taken great steps in driving job creation, providing its citizens with employment. Rates of unemployment are
Super Lamb bananas symbolise Liverpool's cultural imports and exports. They resemble both bananas and lambs; Liverpool's most popular imports and exports
steadily declining thanks to expanding opportunities within the city itself, but the future is still unsure. Nobody knows what Liverpool should expect in 2009 when the city will lose its title along with all the investments and attention. Will enough have been done to sustain recent initiatives of change? Doubts are currently cast aside, and inhabitants of Liverpool stand tall with a sense of optimism. They wear the unmistakable look of determination upon their face, committed to reawakening the city more and more. With all the problems the city currently experiences, the same questions still remain; is a positive attitude enough to solve the city’s prayers, or will they simply take that easy step backwards once the glamour of 2008 disappears? ◆
A young Mike Leyland and fellow delegates at Durham 2004
ily relationships. Mike may seem unbelievably calm and collected, but the process has made his moods swing between “being at the top of Everest to slipping down the Grand Canyon”; when you lose £50,000 of
funding, or a venue tries to change a contract that’s been in place for two years, it’s an understandably stressful role! It isn’t often that a 22 year old gets to be in charge of a £120,000 budget and
“10 days of mayhem”. So would Mike do it again? “Absolutely not!” Then again, 280 EYPers started team building on Saturday; clearly Mike is doing something right. ◆ 21 July 2008 | The Pool | 11
Speakers' Corner Treaty that tore Europe apart
isbon Treaty, after being accepted by 26 Member States, was rejected in the referenL dum held in Ireland on June 10th. Are the Irish blocking the European unification process? Are they right to say “No” to a Treaty they do not agree with? How is the EU going to act now? Conor Mahon(IRE) and Ceyda Erten(TUR) are expressing their views on this issue.
"Treaty is not for the public to decide upon"
"We must support what we have created"
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ou may call the Irish ungrateful or arrogant for voting “No” but who can blame them? The media at the time was full of lies and misdirection, caused by initial confusion over the Treaty itself. In last days before the vote, the debate descended into one side of the campaign directly calling the other side liars. We had everything from threats of high taxes to globalization conspiracy theories. Personally, I was terrified by the Lisbon Treaty circus. I study Politics in Scotland, and the Lisbon Treaty was one of my exam topics this year. I studied the Treaty in a country that was not going to vote on it, and was able to get an unbiased view. The Treaty was two days from the ballot when I arrived back in Ireland. The majority of those who voted did so oAll of the big Irish political parties backed the Treaty and asked the Irish people to vote ‘Yes’. However, this was not enough, and the Treaty still failed in spite. French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Ireland last week, trying to evaluate the situation. . He calls for Ireland to vote again, but I disagree. Ireland should not vote on the Treaty; no nation should. All of the Treaty was decided on by the national governments of each Member State, who were elected by their people. The Lisbon Treaty is for experts, not for the general public. I hope that the Irish government will not make the same mistake twice.
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“The Lisbon Treaty is an important step towards European cooperation, and it is a pity to see that not all members agree on it. ”
uropean Union, struggling hard to give the word “union” its meaning, has just lost another chance of moving towards a more united institution after the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. Right after the twenty six Member States accepted the Treaty, the Irish voters decided to say ‘No’ which blocked the until then continuous improvement of European unity. When observed from a non-EU perspective, it is not difficult to see major disagreements between Member States. One issue that needs to be decided upon immediately is the extent of commonality of the EU decision-making policies. Currently, with different countries having different stances and priorities, it is hard to see where this Union is heading to. The Lisbon Treaty is an important step towards European cooperation, and it is a pity to see that not all members agree on it. On the other hand, if people are asked to vote on the Treaty, it is not right to ask them to reconsider their views and afterwards vote in favour. The leaders of EU institutions should fully support the Treaty they have created and inform their people about it. If the aim here is to make Europe more united, it is the responsibility of the politicians to give concise but effective information that the people can understand. Equally, the people of Europe are responsible for accepting that information and thinking about further consequences of their decisions.
Teambuilding, generally considered to be one of the key elements of an EYP session may be seen by some as purposeless children games.
Who needs teambuilding? by Pablo Mellado and Begüm Erdoğan
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s we watch a committee desperately struggle to pass through the spider web, it is impossible not to ponder about the necessity of teambuilding: Is teambuilding really a vital element of EYP? Does it vary in manner depending whether it is a spring, summer or autumn session? Although opinions clash when it comes to discussing the necessity of teambuilding, most of the EYPers, especially the chairpersons, defend the importance of teambuilding games as a method of bringing delegates together. “In my opinion, teambuilding is the most crucial part of
the session. If you achieve your goals during teambuilding, and you conduct it in a proper way, the committee work will eventually be much easier. The committee will be capable of solving each and every problem they come across with,” said Michal Marczynski (Chair, PL). When asked whether there is a distinction between teambuilding in spring or autumn and in summer sessions, Michal was convinced that “Teambuilding in summer sessions means putting extra effort for the chairs team, as the delegates are already experienced EYPers.” Likewise, Helya Houshmand (Chair, SE) believes in the absolute necessity of teambuilding, and its crucial importance for successful committee work. “As a chair, I prefer to be friendly while keeping the bal-
ance at the same time during teambuilding,” she says. “Teambuilding is the best opportunity for the committee to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and to improve upon them if needed.”
terest during teambuilding,” says Francesca Gandini (Delegate, IT). “Especially, the delegates in summer sessions would like to have new and more challenging games as they are more experienced.”
in summer sessions “ Teambuilding means putting extra effort for the chairs team, as the delegates are already experienced EYPers.
The delegates, however, have some doubts about the issue. “I certainly think that teambuilding is of outstanding necessity,” says Kamil Baluk (Delegate, PL). “Still, I am sceptical of the relationship between some teambuilding games and the committee work. It is often quite hard to achieve a strong link between the two.” “It is quite easy to lose in-
”
In the end, even though most EYPers do agree on the necessity of teambuilding, they also think that teambuilding may be time-consuming if the games are not well chosen to contribute to the success of the committee work. When carefully conducted, however, teambuilding is seen as one of the most essential parts of any session, if not the most.◆ 21 July 2008 | The Pool | 13
Blogs CULT
DAY II Day two of teambuilding is a challenge for every committee. The games get more serious and complicated. There is not much time left for the chair to challenge the group before it has to prove its ability to work in a group during CW. IMCO had to solve several tricky problems today. Already early in the morning, they did not only have to go with the „Big Fat Pony“, no, they had to play “Nodo Umano“, the Italien version of “Human Knot“. After one and a half hours of “pasta“, “pizza“, “amico“ and “observatore“ (and with Lorenzo's help “a destra“ and “a sinsitra“, they managed to get into EYP formation number one a.k.a. the circle.
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AFET ReLIVolution Good day my wonderful committee of Foreign Affairs a.k.a AFET. I want every each of you introduce of this completely new thing in history of EYP. Officialy it is called Blog. Informal, creative, perfect for photo posting journalictic style. Unofficialy it is the title of this blog. Although this is just the first day of me seeing you and other way around, and I have left you since game called „Street Fighter�, I know that you as a committee will make a Revolution. You all have signed to this very hard topic and personally I am really much looking forward to Committee work. When I got to know, that I have been assigned to this topic, and after I read it, and after I understood what it is all about, my hands started shaking, my head found ache, which turned out to be head-ache, and I wanted to cancel my participation for this session.
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Mascot Insight
Session mascot free again
Jimmy, the session hamster, has been freed from his kidnappers by EMPL.
by Stan Korshunov and Andris Šuvajevs
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or the first time in EYP history, a pet has been assigned the role of session mascot. Jimmy Mac, also known as Jimmy the Hamster, is spending his days exploring the session and discovering EYP through the bars of his cosy home. The story of Jimmy dates back to pre-session days. In a moment of madness, Mike Leyland demanded a session pet. Cerith Evans, a member of the organising team and Jimmy’s carer, remembered the day he was passing a pet shop in Wales when two wide, innocent eyes, grabbed his attention. The cold and
16 | The Pool | 21 July 2008
calculating organiser’s heart melted, and in just two hours, Jimmy was sitting in a cosy train carriage, excited about his new EYP role. Jimmy the Hamster is eight weeks old (or, to be precise, eight weeks young). His family heritage is quite exotic; he is half-Welsh and half Syrian. All we know about Jimmy’s biological parents is that his father was a well-known Welsh football hooligan, and his mother a charming Syrian housemaid. Trustful and openhearted hamster does not think that he has many enemies, but the exceptional role at the session has proved to be a stressful experience. On Sunday afternoon, as storm clouds were gathering over Rainhill High, Jimmy admits he had an un-
easy feeling that something horrible was about to happen. According to him, the organisers paid no attention to possible threats to Jimmy’s safety and wellbeing. Having foreseen his doom, Jimmy planned an escape, which ended in a failure due to technical complications. His intuition had not let him down to the hamster and at 3.15 pm the session mascot was captured by a stranger wearing a black mask. Luckily, LivEYP delegates plucked up the courage to organise themselves and rescue Jimmy. After twenty minutes of intensive searching, Committee on Employment successfully completed the tasks set by the
kidnappers and regained Jimmy’s freedom. Careth Evans, Jimmy’s carer, expressed deep gratitude towards the rescuers. As a sign of appreciation, Jimmy the Hamster will spend a day together with the Committee on Employment. ◆