HUMAN
Dearest session participants, Finally it is complete: the session issue of Kauniainen 2015. We know you all have waited far too long for this to be published, and we thank you for your patience. Creating this 30-page collection of articles and other creative output of our wonderful journalists has been a tough journey, but also a very rewarding one; collaborating so closely with a team of eight inspiring EYP alumni was a truly enlightening experience for us and we truly hope they feel the same way. We have one request of all of you, delegates and officials alike: please use this opportunity that has been given to you and become more involved in EYP. We would love to see you all developing yourselves further, learning from good as well as bad experiences in the same way we did, growing as a person and broadening your knowledge. Until you do, enjoy the hard work of our journalists that is finalised in this issue, reminisce about the life-changing three days you have spent in Kauniainen, and take yet another look at the session video that has been uploaded to Facebook recently. All the best, Kimberly and Leo
Table of Contents “What makes us human” Impersonations Kauniainen Haiku Collection Interviews: What makes them human Don’t Tell Anyone / Found On Post-Its The Value of Mistakes WE. ARE. ONE. It’s All In Our Minds Motion for a Resolution on Committee Selection The Little Boy Human Interaction Amnesty International - 54 years in the name of justice and freedom Delegate Interviews
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6 Guess which terms related to the theme “What makes us human�, the participants are impersonating! 1: excitement. 2: knowledge. 3: love. 4: speech. 5: mercy. 6: mind. 7: pity.
Anthem paused oh no This is too long and awkward Piotr stop laughing now
No vegetarian pizza Vegetarian no cheese What’s the difference
Night shift: “Did the Heads allow you to sleep in here?” Patrol locking doors
Get out of my house Get the fuck out of my house Please, now make it stop
Orgas I adore Kauniainen I’m currently in Coffee break I crave
What are we looking for? We are looking for friends, good time We went to find EYP
How do you balance being a friend I do not. If it is something that has been planned beforehand I present myself as a superior. For the rest of the time, I am a friend. That counts as balance, right?
What makes Our ability to feel and to fight over useless topic. Furthermore, the social complexity of use gives us the skill to understand each other’s intent without expression and interact in so many different ways. Moreover, our deep love for discovery and creativity that can’t be found among any other species. These are all ways we reflect on life in different ways.
What were your childhood dream
Leo SjĂśberg, Editor
As a child I wanted to be a policeman. However, I find past dreams irrelevant because dreams and goals change all the time. I do not believe in dreams anymore. I set goals for myself around the core ideas on my life, improve myself and impress others. EYP or studying computer science were never dreams. EYP happened and computer science was goal of mine.
How do you balance being a friend Mutual respect is essential for differentiating between the two. Everyone in the team should be on the same page and understand their roles to keep the work efficient. This kind of attitude also results in good communication and high team spirit. That is the reason why we are so close as a team.
What makes Being conscious about where you are and what you do is what defines you as a human. When you are aware of why you are doing certain things and know the people around you, empathy comes naturally.
What were your childhood dream I always wanted to be something very straightforward, like an actress or a teacher. Now that I have grown up it is not that black and white anymore, I rather go with the flow. I like to seize amazing opportunities that interest me and aspire to be happy where I am.
Anna Anttila, Head Organiser
and an authority at the same time? Like the other organisers, I am experiencing a learning curve in my work. That’s why it is essential to be able to analyse situations and know what kind of a role to take and when. Since I have been friends with many of the organisers for a long time, the line between authority and friendship is blurred at times. Practically we are all equals, even though there are authority positions.
s us human? I think it is all about being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses. These qualities make you who you are and and knowing your strengths helps you develop as a human. This of course applies not only in EYP, but to life in general.
ms and how have they changed? When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a firefighter! I thought that their physical strength and the assertivity that comes with the job were the essentials of being a strong leader. Nowadays I understand that that is not what is most important about leadership - teamwork skills can take you much further than your ego.
and an authority at the same time? Linda Turpeinen, Head Organiser With a new team I try to admittedly establish a connection with the team I am working with. Consequently, everyone should feel like they have had the chance to contribute. I never put myself above people, we are all the same! How this works? It remains a complete mystery for me.
s us human? This is a tricky question. It is not just about distinguishing ourselves from other species, but being equal, open and respecting each other. It is about what is inside us.
ms and how have they changed? I cannot recall my childhood dream. Present-day I do not have a long term plan for life. I started working recently and it has brought me to the crossroads of life. I am not sure wether I would like to continue or proceed in my career. In the end life comes down to the friends around you and it was EYP that has given me so many friends lift me back up.
Julia Pustovoitova, President
Kimberly van der Laan, Editor
Teresa Artjoki, Head Organiser How do you balance being a friend and an authority at the same time? To get the friendly aspect to your leading role it is important to teach through your own experiences to ensure the things you are saying are relatable. After all, all of us have been in the shoes of a delegate or a ‘lower ranked’ official. I would say that being an editor is like being a mentor, a combination of a friend and an authority. Everyone has a different way of doing that, but at the end of the day nothing should be too official. After all we all just are young adults who want to have a great time.
Let me think... Many of the organisers are my friends which could have developed to be a problem. However, we have all been able to separate work from chill time. A good leader encourages honesty and active communication in both directions.
What makes us human? I believe that you can’t be recognised or defined as a human without interacting with others, as acknowledgement by others is the only thing that really confirms our humanity. Interaction can take many different forms, anything from conversations to art to
Contact/interaction with people in our daily lives, our family, BFF, the stranger we meet in the store. These are the people we affect the most, and the ones that shape us the greatest.
What were your childhood dreams and how have they changed? As a kid I had multiple different interests. All of these were rather practical, like being an artist or horseback rider. Now that I’m older my perspective on that has changed, as over the course of growing up you start to notice that there all these human made systems, like economics or law instead that a child would never understand, and that a career or a passion can take various forms within society.
As a child I wanted to do something exciting, a dolphin trainer or an explorer. Today I find law, international relations and current affairs exciting. What “exciting” means to me has changed as I have grown. The dream is to feel satisfied and be useful to the people around us.
HALUATKO YLIOPISTOON? TUTKITUSTI PARAS VALMENNUSKURSSIJÄRJESTÄJÄ Riippumaton tutkimus 2014
Valmennuskurssit yliopistoon - 09 2727 130 - www.eximia.fi Abikurssit Ammattikorkeakoulut Biologia DI-osastot Englanti Farmasia
Kasvatustieteet Kauppatieteet Liikuntatiede Lääketiede Maantiede Maatalous-metsätieteet
Oikeustiede Psykologia Ravisemustiede Teologia Valtiotieteet Yhteiskuntatieteet
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“Don’t tell anyone, but...”
“Osmo, my knees start shaking when I see you!”
“The orgas are hot at this session.” “I love the president! Session crush<3”
“Tim is the best person to cuddle, 100% legit info.”
Found on post-its. «
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ot how n ’s t a h “T nounce o r p u o y Union, n a e p o Eur right?”
“We e h t e v lo ” chairs
best 2 E B “LI ittee m m co ” ever!!
S. “S.O. EMM F from: tes” a deleg
journo h c t u “D e sick m o s had oves!” m e c dan
The Value of Mistakes When hearing the word ‘mistake’, mainly negative thoughts are triggered in everyone’s minds. This due to the fact that the memories that arise are mostly embarrassing ones, or regrets. What we do not consider is the fact that we are able to achieve our goals thanks to our mistakes. We tend to despair after failure and to give up. However, it is a great teacher and if one recovers from them, one really has something to share. “Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.”, Oscar Wilde once said. If the topic is indeed approached from this point of view, the close similarity between the two is easily seen. A ‘mistake’ is defined as an error in action, opinion or judgment caused by poor reasoning, insufficient knowledge and an experience is a knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, countered or undergone. Hence, making mistakes brings about experiences to take the right steps in the future. Good judgment is developed through experiences and one gains experiences comes from moments of bad judgment. We all have dreams and goals in life which we strive to attain, and ultimately, we would like to be successful and to be appreciated for our efforts. That the opposite could happen is never considered. When we stumble or fail, we instantly feel disappointment, defeat and dispair, while they are actually the tools showing us the way. Life is all about evolution.
What looks like a mistake to others can be a milestone in someone’s life. Even if people betray them, even if their heart is broken, even if people misunderstand or judge them, they will learn from these incidents. We are all human and we make mistakes, but learning from them is what makes the difference. When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Mistakes give you the insights and awareness to move forward toward higher goals and accomplishments. In conclusion: feel free to make mistakes! According to Mahatma Gandhi: “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” Do not feel shame for your mistakes, just embrace them and remind yourself not to repeat it next time. Learn from your mistakes and never forget making mistakes is what makes us human!
- Fulya Akın
WE.
ARE.
ONE.
we are emotions smiles, laughter and the secrets we hide we are the movement the wind that is here there everywhere we are the sky the dark the light the stars in the night we are the colours brave and bright together we are moments thoughts humans
- Katariina Suorsa
It’s All In Our Minds Who am I? What am I doing in this world? What is the meaning of life? If you have ever in your life taken a moment to think about these questions, raise your hand now. Congratulations, you are a philosopher. Philosophy, the ancient science of wondering about our surroundings and looking at all aspects of life critically is far more than a boring school subject taught by silly, grey-haired professors who look like products of ancient Greece themselves. Deriving from the Greek word philosophia, love of wisdom in English, philosophy is most of all a science of burning passion and enthusiasm for knowledge. Philosophy has always been present in our lives, simply because it is so immersive. From the humble caveman’s thoughts about hunting and gathering, to intense debates on the crowd-filled agorae of ancient Greece and Rome, to the marriage of technology and study books in the 21st century classroom: everything builds on the human mind’s will to explore our origin, surroundings and development. There have been countless of influential philosophers who have dedicated their lives to think about the bare essence of human existence. This branch of philosophy, existentialism, is a hot and interesting topic that will certainly keep you awake in bed well after midnight if you happen to overthink its issues. How do we know we exist? What characterises us as individuals? Paradoxically, many philosophers claim that the simple act of thinking about these questions is the very thing that makes us human. “My thought is me: that is why I cannot stop thinking. I exist because I think I cannot keep from thinking.” -Jean-Paul Sartre
Never underestimate the power of thought. Our thoughts and ideas can push us to incredible heights: everything developed by the human race started out as nothing more than an idea. Basic ideas, boring ideas, crazy ideas, ground-breaking ideas…nothing would be possible without our ability to think outside the box, imagine, and communicate to others about our wildest dreams.
At the very heart of philosophy, democracy and human nature lies our ability to express our thoughts to others and develop them through discussion and debate. From the times of Plato, Aristotle and Socrates all the way to the parliamentary democracies of today, sharing our ideas with each other has been and still is the very essence of humanity. Sound familiar? There’s no other way to conclude but to reinvent a classic philosophical quote: “I EYP, therefore I am.”
- Henri Haapanala
FIND OUT WHICH COMMITTEE
TO CHOOSE AT YOUR NEXT SESSION!
(AS DELEGATE, CHAIR, OR JOURNALIST) If you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t figured it out by now, these results are made up. They might reflect your personality or they might not, but the bottom line is that your traits do not affect how you perform in a certain committee, but your engagement and enthusiasm. You shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t choose your committee based on what you like, because you will get the most out of EYP by accepting challenges and going outside of your comfort zone. What do you most value about yourself? 1. My problem solving skills - 1 point 2. My argumentation is always on point - 2 points 3. My ability for empathy - 3 points 4. My organisational skills - 4 points What kind of a conversation would get you most excited? 1. The future of tertiary education - 2 points 2. The success of the youth after education - 3 points 3. How Russia will affect future energy markets - 1 point 4. The development of rural areas - 4 points What will you bring to the session? 1. An air mattress so comfortable that everyone will be jealous - 4 points 2. A notebook for jotting down my ideas - 2 points 3. My netflix account so that everyone can have a movie night - 3 points 4. Vitamins, caffeine pills and smart snacks - 1 point How would you act if there was no coffee at a coffee break? 1. I would find an organiser and ask why is there no coffee - 2 points 2. I would try go into the kitchen by myself and make coffee - 4 points 3. Nothing, I know that there are better ways of getting energised than coffee - 1 point 4. I would have everyone do an energiser together - 3 points
IF YOU GOT...
4 - 7 points: ITRE Your strengths rely on science combined with critical thinking. You love to find out about things by yourself and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not afraid of challenges. The Committee on Energy and Research is the perfect place for you to apply your skills. 7 - 10 points: CULT You are curious about everything around you and view education as a never ending learning process. Your creativity shines through in everything you do and you view the arts as an essential part of the society. Go expand your knowledge about culture and education in CULT! 10 - 13 points: EMPL You carry a large social responsibility and are very involved in the society. Nothing gets you more passionate than the well-being of people, on a local and global level. In EYP, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs is a great place to apply these qualities! 13 - 16 points: AGRI Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re very passionate about supporting the source of livelihood that in a modern society is often neglected - agriculture. Your practicality and abilities of critical thinking will take you far in the future.
The Little Boy
â&#x20AC;&#x153;GAY, GAY, GAAAYYYâ&#x20AC;? a boy yells at me and some others. Just randomly after a short exchange of hellos. It had just been another autumn morning. Just working at a childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s club as their leader. When this happened, a few weeks ago, I simply froze. I was left speechless especially since the mother of the boy was standing right next to me, not interfering, she simply stood there as if nothing had happened. Tonnes of thoughts racing through my mind; Should I speak up? Should I lecture the boy? Should I lecture his mother? The speechless-mode turned into anger and frustrated. I could not wrap my mind around the fact that his mother just stood there and nothing else. A five year-old boy, hardly understanding the meaning of the words he had just said. I could not blame the child but my anger was directed towards his mother. I am pretty sure that comments like these - maybe unintentional and often hardly noticeable for us - and hearing those can be very painful for someone struggling with their identity. This is the complete opposite of what our duty as humans to humanity must be - not to judge. Days went by but I could not stop thinking about it. I wish I would have spoken up, but was lacking the courage at the time. We often stress the importance of moral values, ideals, our aspiration for a better world, but at the same time they turn out to be just words, words and words - the action is absent. I am personally struggling with this too. I have strong values, but when the time to act has arrived, I seldomly do.
Take for example fighting discrimination of any kind. Often it is just about speaking up, whether this person is your teacher, a random guy in the bus, a peer or family. I believe that no legislation, no governmental decisions, will be able to change this, if we are not fighting for it ourselves. As individuals as well as in small communities, in families. It is easy to embrace the life in a bubble thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comfortable and homey, but brace yourselves. Sometimes the bubble bursts and when it hits, it hits hard. Believe me when I write that you might feel down quite often for a while and sometimes for a longer period of time. The childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exclamation popped my bubble which left me exposed, vulnerable. Suddenly I was exposed to the reality and I did not like it at all. At that moment, I lost the hope for a brighter future, it was gone, in a second. Only a range of feelings remained. I always thought and hoped that a newer and younger generation comes with a world more tolerant and accepting, a world I want to live in. A world that everyone is and can be part of and no one is discriminated. This dream was gone, but not for (too) long. Empowering you, the youth, to make a change is crucial. Trying to give you the courage to act, simply preparing you for the battle. EYP-sessions exactly do that. We are preparing you for the fight and inspiring you to speak up, proceed and exceed, no matter what. I still think about the child and that moment and every time I do, a storm of emotions arises inside of me. Now, present day, the child is a reminder, a reminder of the amount of work we have to do, that we have not won the war yet. The little boy is my personal drive, my source of motivation. We need to work and work even harder, to achieve the ideal world we want. A world where everyone feels at home, a world we want to live in. Dear EYP-ers, be my hope for a brighter and better future. Be my hope for a better world.
- Jooa Mustonen
Human Interaction One of the most important aspects in life is the interaction between humans, or it would be extremely difficult for us to do things like communicate. Since the pre-historic period there has been different kind of interaction, but how did these ways of interaction influence our own being? If we would go back to the prehistoric period, when there werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t any languages yet, and the most common way of communication was something many of us still do on a daily basis: dancing. This kind of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;movement-languageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was actually seen as a sacred ritual, but was also used as a way of communication meant for finding love, especially with the urge to survive. It was necessary to cooperate in eras like the Ice Age and most of the tim they did this by dancing. The urge to survive also causes cooperation and competition, which are assumed to be ways of behaviour that are acquired via social interaction. An innate characteristic like aggressiveness may be seen as normal part of the competition, but in that case there should also be ambition to survive. Nowadays, we merely need to speak to cooperate or compete, and our way of survival is of course completely different from the one in the prehistoric period, but the characteristics are still the same. However, in contrast to the prehistoric period, compromises are made much more easily and they are much clearer, which has caused an increase of trust and safety between people.
- Ben van de Ruit
Amnesty International - 54 years in the name of justice How was Amnesty International founded? Amnesty International was founded in 1961 by Peter Benenson, a British lawyer, who was outraged after discovering that two Portuguese students were going to face time in jail solely for raising a glass for freedom. Mr. Benenson decided to voice his opinion and draw attention to this issue by writing an article called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Appeal for Amnestyâ&#x20AC;? for the Observer, a British newspaper. Thus began a campaign, that would form a base for a substantial movement, gain attention worldwide, and initiate the idea of people actually coming together for justice, freedom and humanity.
What does Amnesty International do? Amnesty International strives to achieve total exposure of violations of human rights all over the world. Through lobbying, they try to influence the decision-making process amongst governmental bodies as well as other key actors such as companies. Their work also involves a lot of research and gathering data which is obtained by monitoring local newspapers and other branches of the media. Closed countries do however create an obstacle by denying access to enter the country. In cases like these, research teams are forced to rely on information gathered from outside the country itself, made possible by news reports, refugees, experts, diplomatic representatives and human rights defenders.
How can one become a part of Amnesty International? Amnesty International currently has over 7 million supporters worldwide and the number keeps growing. When people think of organisations of this type, the first thing that comes to mind is usually donations. Although donations are an important financial factor for Amnesty International, there are plenty of other ways to support the organisation and to contribute.
Amnesty International publishes petitions, mostly concerning individual cases of human rights violations. By signing petitions one can be involved in making a change and join the movement. You can also attend events, become a member, volunteer or join a group. There are also campaigns led by a group of activists who strive to educate people about the issues that Amnesty International tries to abolish, such as torture and death penalty.
Who finances Amnesty International’s work? The majority of the income comes from benefactors. Individual donations are vital for the organisation and allow them to maintain independence from the governments, political ideologies, economic interests or religions. Amnesty International however does accept support from certain companies, that have been vetted with care.
What is the story behind the organisation’s logo and what does it represent? In 1963 Peter Benenson wrote a letter to a member of the organisation and an artist, Diana Redhouse, that her design for the organisational logo had been chosen to be printed on the first Christmas card Amnesty International ever published. This particular design was the logo we see today: a candle in barbed wire. What inspired the artist during the designing process was the Chinese proverb, “Better to light a candle than curse the darkness”. The barbed wire represents oppression, as in the candle evokes a sense of hope. The logo was redesigned in 2000 by a man named Simon Endres, but the initial idea behind the design has never been changed.
“Only when the last prisoner of conscience has been freed, when the last torture chamber has been closed, when the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a reality for the world’s people, will our work be done.” - Peter Benenson, Amnesty International founder
- Erenata Kadrolli
Humanity Okeme Osiwa, FEMM When was the last time you helped someone? A few months ago, I was walking my dog at night. Then I came across this guy who seemed drunk. He was also really confused. He had been at a bar near where I was, he didn’t know where he had to go because he was foreign. Then I walked him to the bus station and told him which bus to get on. It took quite some time but, made me feel really good and I thought I should do this more often. What does helping others mean to you? It is about putting their needs above your own. For example, I could have thought this isn’t my problem. But if I was in this situation, I would want someone to come up to me and help me, rather than just ignoring me. If you can say that something is somebody else’s problem, other people can say the same thing. Then that person will not get any help because people just pass it on.
Culture Aarne Nykänen, EMPL
What does culture mean to you?
I probably consider culture as the way some people of a certain area, let’s say western countries, behave and act and what their values are. People in the western world put a lot of worth in material wealth. However in Asia there are many tribes who don’t put any worth in material. The way we put worth and appreciate things, how we look at certain aspects of life. How do you like to express yourself? I’m not completely sure but I like talking, pretty good at expressing myself in that way. How do you feel about languages, communicating with people? It is good to study languages. I can speak four different languages. It opens your mind and opens the world on a whole different level.
Emotions Rita Ristimäki, SEDE
How would you define emotions?
I know where emotions come from physically: they are usually caused by hormones and different kind of activity in the brain. It is difficult to answer why they are there. What would humans be without emotions? We as humans would not really experience life, our lives would be sort of steady. We would not feel happy or sad. We would just be cybermen. We would be like white walls on the inside. How do you motivate yourself? To motivate myself, I think about somethingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relevance and significance for my own life. For example, how much I enjoy things, like studying. In studying, it irritates me when I have to learn things that I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand completely. I want to understand all of it and I motivate myself by thinking that I know, I like to understand this, it is relevant, I can see this in real life.
Personality Veera Saavalainen, SEDE Name one feature that you like about yourself I think I like my ability to get to know other people and to be outgoing. I also really like outgoing people. What has developed you as a human? I was so small when I started so it was a natural process of development, but I lived in Italy as a child. That caused me to have a really openminded view about the rest of the world as I was in an international school. Therefore I met people from all around the world. It really opened my eyes about society and other cultures. That is something I cherish every day even though I live in Finland now. I consider myself international in a sense.
Partners of Kauniainen 2015 the Regional Session of EYP Finland
European Youth Parliament Finland - EYP - Finland ry Uudenmaankatu 15 A 5, 00120 Helsinki www.eypfinland.org info@eypfinland.org