16th September 2012
Report on the 69th International Session of the European Youth Parliament in Istanbul, 23rd March – 1st April 2012 By the Governing Body (GB) Introduction This is the 2nd Governing Body report on the International Sessions (IS) of EYP. This report reviews the 69th International Session of the European Youth Parliament, held in Istanbul, from 23rd March to 1st April 2012. The session was high acclaimed and appreciated by delegates, officials, sponsors, the GB and the many VIP visitors. The organisers are to be congratulated for holding such a successful session. The GB considers overall information on the IS important for the wider EYP community and wishes to use this series of reports as a means to show its appreciation of the work done by all groups of active alumni committed to the success of our IS. The report is intended to be a review, and also to be constructive and forward looking, so as to be a useful reference document for future officials’ teams and also the Governing Body. To facilitate this, a summary is provided which lists: 1) Successes and Good Practices 2) Matters Recommended for Future Consideration or Attention
The aspects identified may not cover all those which those associated with the Session might consider merit reference. This report is, necessarily, written from the limited perspective of the GB members who were at the Session. Given the exclusion of GB members from many of the session management and organisational processes the report is limited in its perspective of those aspects of the session, and so is mainly a review of outcomes observable by GB members, and of informal comments by delegates and members of the officials’ team. Responses to the session questionnaires have been taken into account in compiling this report. This report has been reviewed by the Head Organisers and some officials to ensure no major errors or omissions.
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1. Summary of Conclusions 1.1 – Successes and Good Practices Programme elements dedicated to introducing delegates to aspects of the local (Turkish) culture, including musical entertainment, a carnival, and a tourism visit to central Istanbul. Successful engagement of sponsors, with 22 organisations or companies identified and publicised as providing specific assistance to the 69th IS in Istanbul. Production of a series of three humorous video entertainments, shown late evening or after the GA on Saturday evening, and very well produced to be enjoyable, entertaining and acceptable to a pan-European audience Good communication to delegates and most teachers prior to the session, including distribution of informative teachers’ and delegates’ information booklets, and rapid responses to e-mail enquiries prior to the session. High quality comfortable and secure accommodation both at the team building resort and in Istanbul, with teachers and delegates at the same location. All standard meals provided a large buffet selection which catered for a wide variety of diets and tastes, which enabled relatively speedy self-service and minimised food wastage. Overt promulgation of the EYP Alcohol and Drugs Policy, to teachers and delegates, by the organisers. Engagement of National Politicians to speak at the Opening Ceremony and of European Politicians, leading EYP sponsors and International Experts to speak at the Opening of the General Assembly. Use of simultaneous translation, transmitted to individual headsets, when any visiting speaker’s speech was delivered in a language other than English or French. Prompt and supportive handling of medical emergencies by the organising team. Production of a series of five well presented session news magazines, containing a good balance of general interest and session specific articles.
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A session web-site ( www.istanbul12.org ) available pre-session, and postsession and which now contains the resolution booklet, copies of the session newspaper and links to the video products “ Clash TV “. Production of the resolution booklet in time to allow preparation for GA on Thursday evening and night, prior to GA, and by implementing quality assurance checks which ensured an excellent standard of English and consistent layout and style throughout. A GA with well structured and creative responses to the topics leading to a high quality of debate, and a commendably frequent use of “direct response” fostering effective debate.
1.2 Matters Recommended for Future Consideration or Attention
The following are matters which are intended to assist future NOCs, session officials and GB members, with international session planning. Some of the items referenced listed here have become recurrent issues at recent International Sessions. Some of these recommendations are intended as risk minimisation measures and do not necessarily refer to deficiencies at the Istanbul session. Management structure of the organisation team. Consideration should be given to devolving areas of responsibility from Head Organisers to team leaders with as much autonomous decision making empowerment as is compatible with over-arching financial control and programme coordination. Attention to inclusion and role of international organisers. Review of logistics, and particularly transport planning methodologies, aimed at retaining a flexible response to events during the session whilst minimising late changes to logistics, were possible. Inclusion of at least some teachers in the pre-session teachers’ programme planning process. Dissemination of the proposed programme to teachers with an invitation for teachers’ comments prior to arriving at the session. Presence of host country teacher(s) to act as host(s) and a contact point, amongst the teachers/chaperones, with the organisers. 3
Methodology of implementation and monitoring of adherence to the alcohol policy Balance of time spent at a rural teambuilding location to that spent at the main session city location. (This is recognised to be a GB matter, and for this session the extended time at the teambuilding location was approved by the GB due to financial constraints and the cost consequences of secure accommodation in Istanbul. This is a matter for GB consideration at the time when bids for sessions are being considered.) Extent of opportunity for informal exposure to the local environment, e.g. by walking to venues, use of public transport. Role of GB member(s) at sessions and consideration of fully effective use of GB member(s) presence and how their role in relation to “quality” can be implemented at sessions. Arrangements for production of a French version of the resolution booklet. Mechanisms to encourage or further develop collegiality of all the three officials groups, GB and EYP-SF staff. ( These five groups necessarily have a range of levels of collegial interaction, or team spirit between them. Whilst the GB recognises the effective collegiality of EYP-SF staff with all the groups, this is not always found between all of these groups, in particular between the chairs and organisers.)
2. Discussion 2.1
Organisation
The National Organising Committee (NOC) was headed by Ezgi Teksoy and Ogulcan Torun. They are to be commended for being the Head Organisers of a session which was much appreciated by the vast majority of delegates and teachers. The organisers were divided into five sub-teams who facilitated various aspects of the programm. These were as follows:- , 1- Venues & Activities, 2- Accommodation & Transportation, 3- Information & Communications, 4- Finances & Fundraising, 5- Technical & Audiovisual. Detailed information about the sub-teams can be found at: http://istanbul12.org/?page_id=115. Organisational decisions during the session were reported by several organisers to be highly centred round the Head Organisers. They worked hard, and often through the preceding night during the session, to provide detailed daily plans for the organising
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team. However, on at least some days these plans were promulgated only early in the morning of implementation. The organisers are to be commended for exercising considerable flexibility over the changes requested by the teachers to their programme, including arranging special bus travel, from the teambuilding venue to Istanbul, at only one day’s notice, and for making a speedy response to an absence of expected catering at one evening event in Istanbul. The accommodation was of very high quality and carefully chosen to maximise the safety and security of all participants. However the distance between the accommodation and the venues in Istanbul meant a lot of time spent in bus transit due to the outer city location of the accommodation and inner city location of the venues. One of the areas of most concern to teachers, as expressed in their questionnaire returns was poor logistics which lead to delays or programme rescheduling. Examples of this which teachers referenced in their questionnaires was the departure arrangements for teachers on the Wednesday morning, which was changed at short notice on that morning, the amount of time made available for sightseeing on the Thursday, and the impact on the delegates’ arrival times for rehearsal at Euroconcert. Here “Logistics” includes making allowances for specific local delays which are well known, considering the mode of transport to optimise travel times, and managing departures so as to minimise waiting times. This is a recurrent theme in teacher feedback from earlier sessions, and merits attention for forthcoming sessions.
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2.2
Guest Speakers, Media Coverage and General Attention
The NOC, together with the EYP-SF staff, were able to invite prominent guests and speakers for both the opening ceremony and the opening of the General Assembly. The opening ceremony was held at Bahcesehir University, and the guest speakers appropriately included Professor Burak Kuntay, who is President of the University’s Government and Leadership School. Other guest speakers included the Chairperson of the Turkish PACE delegation and Turkish Parliamentarian - Ms Nursana Memecan, Deputy Undersecretary of the Turkish Ministry for EU Affairs - Dr. F.H. Burak Erden and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu – Turkish Parliamentarian and former President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly These guests all gave a highly informed insight into the international political role of Turkey. The GA opening ceremony was held in the main assembly chamber of the Istanbul Special Provincial Administration. Together with our Schwarzkopf Foundation Chairperson, Andre Schmitz-Schwarzkopf, speakers included the leading German banker, Heinrich Haasis, who presented as the keynote GA speech a detailed and very illuminating exposition on the current banking crisis, delivered in German but with
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simultaneous translation through radio headphones. The Chair of the Council of Europe’s Education, Youth and Sport Sub-committee, the British MP Mr Michael Connerty also spoke, along with representatives of diplomatic missions in Istanbul. The Istanbul Administration Assembly was represented at the GA opening ceremony by Dr Hande Özsan Bozatli, who as well as being Vice-President of the Special Provincial Administration of Istanbul is also President of the Assembly of European Regions Committee on culture, education, youth and international cooperation. The NOC is to be commended for working with EYP-SF staff to host such a prominent and appropriate set of guest speakers. This, in part, contributed to the NOC being very successful in reaching out to Turkish media and providing a remarkable coverage in print, online and broadcast media, including large roadside posters advertising the session in parts of Istanbul. An impressive array of 76 billboards all around Istanbul. and 3 electronic billboards at the Atatürk Airport, ensured that few in Istanbul could be unaware the session was happening. An excellent number of local sponsors were identified. The 22 sponsors were well served with publicity of a much more extensive public nature than only their logos on the session newspapers and resolution booklet.
2.3
Teachers and Chaperones
Of the 31 countries represented at the session, 19 had teachers present and 12 had delegations with accompanying or assigned chaperones. Many of the chaperones had other functions at the session and hence could not participate in the teachers’ programme despite this participation being stated as “expected” in EYP Policy. At teacher workshop sessions there were usually 21 countries represented out of the 31 present at the session. The host country did not have a teacher presence at the session. In the absence of such a host the one GB member who was present throughout the session became the surrogate “teacher host” and thus the main contact point for teachers over issues to be communicated to the “teacher support” organisers (e.g. meeting room organisation, transportation arrangements for teachers, requests for collective meetings with head organisers). This should be avoided in future due to the inevitable tensions which such a role can create if any problems arise, and in this case led to criticism of the actions of the GB member being stated in the session questionnaires by some chaperones and teachers. The teachers had four scheduled meeting sessions in the programme, two of which were rescheduled by the majority request of the teachers. One short meeting was arranged in addition to this by the GB member, for those who wished further information
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about taking on an “expert” role within EYP, possibly to assist the GB. Three teachers attended this 30 minute meeting. These rearrangements, and possibly this additional meeting also led to further criticism, of the GB member by a small minority of the teacher/chaperone group in written feedback statements that he arranged too many unwanted meetings and led an “exhausting” programme. Teachers also contacted the Head Organisers, President of the Session as well as the executive Director on this matter. It is recommended that, in future, organisers should try to have a host country teacher participate in most events with the teacher group, and that there be more liaison between GB, NOC and teachers over developing their programme prior to the session, to avoid any criticism of “overloading”. The teachers were very satisfied with the accommodation arrangements which placed them at the same location as the delegates and so they felt they could easily fulfil their legal responsibility of watching after, or being accessible for, their delegates. This enabled a full awareness of the accommodation environment by teachers. Many teachers expressed concern on the Monday morning about overnight noise, and delegates being disturbed in the night by others arriving back in their sleeping accommodation during the night. The Head Organisers were made aware of this concern but very little intervention was possible for the remaining two nights at the teambuilding resort. A detailed review has been made of all comments made by the teachers and chaperones in the 19 questionnaires which were returned (out of 31 teachers and chaperones who formed the “teachers group”). The most common concerns raised were 1. That the session could be shorter, - 7 or 8 days duration were frequently referenced. One teacher noted the benefit of a Saturday to Sunday event which would avoid interruption of teaching over two weeks. 2. That session logistics, and in particular transport arrangements should be made to minimise travel and waiting time (This is a comment which has arisen frequently in recent sessions, and so the GB has decided to implement a logistics review procedure, prior to forthcoming sessions.)
2.4
Alcohol Policy
The organisers were proactive in promulgating the alcohol policy, and on the Saturday morning the Head Organisers held a briefing for the teachers about the policy. However policy promotion and acceptance only leads to adherence if there is adequate implementation, including careful monitoring of any venue bars. Very little supervision
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was evident in the late night bar areas, which led to the alcohol policy being broken by some delegates. However when this was drawn to the attention of organisers on the one occasion witnessed by the GB member present, organisers responded quickly and stopped any further spirits purchases at the bar that night. The organisers have stated that after this there was no further violation of the alcohol policy.
2.5 French Translations No French language versions of the resolution booklet were produced. This is now the second successive session when no French version was produced. This has arisen due to no clearly defined responsibility for this task. In future the Session Board should take responsibility for the production of the French language resolution booklet. It is recommended that future session Presidents liaise with the EYP-SF staff, and GB over possible candidates who would facilitate the French translation work and assemble a French translation working group who would support the session.
3. Roles and Responsibilities of the Participants The ZAGREB GB REPORT stated:Along with the issues mentioned concerning the teachers, it is of high importance and valuable for the sustainability of the EYP to further define and communicate the roles and responsibilities of the participants of our IS. We need to re-define the tasks of the Session President in what concerns operative decisions during the session and representation of the EYP. Whilst it is undebatable that the President is representing EYP to the delegates and is their duty to lead the Chairs’ team, we need to look into his or her participation in legal discussions with e.g. teachers and chaperones. As a matter of fact, legal responsibilities remain with the NOC and EYP-SF but not with the participants (including Officials). .......discussion with the teachers about risk management for example, does not necessarily need the attendance of the Session President as it concerns legal issues mainly and details of the organisation of the session. The GB will foster the preparation of IS Presidents with regards to role and responsibility and, most notably, the alcohol policy.
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Many of the points identified in the Zagreb autumn 2011 session GB report were addressed for Istanbul, e.g. the NOC’s responsibility for Alcohol Policy implementation, and dialogue with the teachers was conducted in Istanbul by the Head Organisers. The issue of identifying an effective and engaged role for any GB member who is present at the session remains to be resolved. Whilst there are certain formal parts of the programme where presence of a GB member is appropriate, there are, at present, lengthy periods during an IS where the GB member has no identified role, despite being an experienced teacher or Alumnus in the EYP community. There was no formal chairs’ or organisers’ meeting at which the GB members’ presence was requested, and advice sought, in order to deal with an issue at the session. In future sessions the NOC and officials should give consideration as to how to maximise the benefit of presence of a GB member at the Session. Guidance on this matter should be developed by the GB.
4.General Statements and Conclusions
The areas of good practice listed above are commended to future session organisers and officials. The NOC and Officials team are congratulated on their implementation at the Istanbul Spring 2012 international session. The GB has overall responsibility for international session quality. Hence, in addition to considerations related to this report (whose draft form led to follow-up actions after the June 2012 GB meeting) there are identified herein several issues either for policy review, or ongoing continuous monitoring by the GB. These, follow-up actions by the GB include:1. To review the length of international sessions, in response to requests from teachers for the length to be reduced. A decision popular amongst teachers would be to commence the session with arrivals on the Saturday and reduce the teambuilding element, with the current arrangements for the final weekend being retained. 2. To request all future NOCs to ensure at least one host country teacher is present with the host country delegation and attends or facilitates the teachers’ group throughout the entire session. 3. To ensure procedures are in place to confirm that all teachers and chaperones have received the full set of session advanced information documents prior to the session. 4. To engage a small group of the attending teachers in developing, and/or providing feedback on, the teachers’ programme.
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5. To review the role of the GB member(s) present at international sessions, including enhancing opportunities for collegial engagement between the GB and all officials teams. 6. To select session locations, or to ensure the selection of accommodation venues, which minimise travel times between accommodation and venues. 7. To require a logistics audit prior to each session, to ensure appropriate timescales had been determined for all transportation movements of the session participants. 8. To require NOCs to advise the GB, prior to each international session, of their methodology for promulgation of the alcohol and narcotics policy, together with a statement on their proposed implementation methodology (e.g. guarantees of pro-active presence of organisers in session bar areas, and at all session events where alcohol is served). 9. To review the NOC’s organisational structure, including the nature of responsibilities delegated to members of the organising team, it being encouraged to widely delegate responsibilities, with particular attention to providing international organisers with roles that will best prepare them for future session organisation. 10. To assign one GB member to each forthcoming international session to take responsibility for implementation of current international session policy and any procedural or policy changes decided by the GB arising from this report.
Comments are welcome from all Alumni on any of the above issues and proposals, to help inform GB decision making on the above matters, and to widen the contributions of ideas how to enhance international session quality. These may be sent to the report main author Dr Alan Flowers at flowfis@yahoo.co.uk .
Final Version 16-09-2012
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