The European Youth Parliament
September 16th 2012
Report on the 70th International Session of the European Youth Parliament in Tallinn, 27th July – 5th August 2012 by the Governing Body (GB) Introduction This is the 3rd Governing Body report on the International Sessions (IS) of EYP. This report reviews the 70th International Session of the European Youth Parliament, held in Tallinn, from 27th July – 5th August 2012. The session captured the essence of a summer IS with relaxed atmosphere complimented by truly professional officials teams and prestigious guests. 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. To facilitate this, a summary is provided which lists: 1) Successes and Good Practices 2) Matters Recommended for Future Consideration or Attention Communication between the different officials teams, the GB and the international EYP office was good and transparent from the beginning of the session onwards. Thus, this report reflects well all the different aspects of the session. The summary has been reviewed by the Head Organisers, the Session President and the Editors to ensure no major omissions. For future reports the reviewing of the report should be completed in a more timely manner in order to enable swift publication.
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1. Summary of Conclusions 1.1 – Successes and Good Practices • Programme included an Estonian culture evening, which was intrepreted by the organisers in a innovative and cool way, showcasing technical prowess instead of the more traditional songs or dances. • Successful engagement of sponsors, with 44 organisations or companies identified and publicised as providing specific assistance to the 70th IS in Tallinn. In-kind gifts helping the session with tight budget. • Press team provided diverse and professional content well before the session via social media (Facebook, twitter, Youtube, blog), at the session (incl. magazine printed in colour) and after. Participants were also encouraged to contribute to the media. The session reached out to the wider EYP community through the different media. Professional videos from Euroconcert and GA showcase the highlights of the session. The editors defined their role at CAT in an innovative way by reporting on CAT and producing video content that was released subsequently before the session to build up a “hype”. • The venues of the session were highly suitable, especially the teambuilding venue, which provided both plenty of room inside and large lawn areas with shade. • Proper meals were provided twice each day with options available to accommodate different diets. Thanks to in-kind sponsoring and efforts by the organisers, coffee breaks were of great quality. • Repetitive communication of session practices and info (incl. the EYP Alcohol and Drugs Policy) to session participants by the organisers and the chairs team. • Efficient organising ensured being on time and following session programme without delays. • Speakers included president of the Republic of Estonia, Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Vice-President of the Commission, Mr. Siim Kallas, a representative of the Council of Europe and several main partners. • Production of the resolution booklet in time to allow preparation for GA on Thursday evening and night, prior to GA. Good communication between the session board and the translators group ensured the production of resolution booklets in French. • Senior Trainers Tapio Schrey and Chris Tripp provided their assistance for teambuilding weekend with new games and different material. EYP Academy member Joanna Kulpa teambuilded the chairs during CAT. • Communication between different teams, the GB and the Office worked well throughout the session. European Youth Parliament, Sophienstraße 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. Tel.: +49 (0)30 97 00 50 95 Fax::+49 (0)30 280 95 150
• Before the session delegates were required to compile a referenced fact sheet and a position paper outlining their view on their respective committee topic so as to facilitate preparation and academic quality. At the session a intercommittee café was organised to illustrate main points of a committee’s resolution to other committees and to already receive feedback on resolution so improvements could be made for GA (in the form of friendly amendments). The quality of the resolutions and of GA debate was remarkably high. • A new element was introduced for the General Assembly, 3-minute ‘New Horizon Speeches’ intended to inspire the debate and broaden the horizons of the Assembly. The speeches had the intended effect. • CAT was organised in Brussels. The programme was complemented with a guided tour through the European Parliament. A majority of the chairs had the opportunity to meet experts on their respective topics prior or after CAT for individual in-depth preparation. • The chairs prepared the session in working groups between CAT and Tallinn. This approach led to training modules being led by members of the chairs team, to a well-planned Euroconcert performance, to the idea of fact sheets and position papers, as well as the ideas on committee interaction. • The topic preparation kit was made available by the chairs well in time and was of commendable quality.
1.2 Matters Recommended for Future Consideration or Attention The following are matters which are intended to assist future NOCs and Officials. Some of the items referenced are listed here because they 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 Tallinn session. • Attention to inclusion and role of international organisers, possibly make the role more that of an observer than an actual session organiser, with rotation between different roles and sectors within the organisers team to benefit the next IS as much as possible. • Minor technical issues affected both the Opening Ceremony and the Opening of the General Assembly. These problems should have easily been avoided with prior testing. • Location of accommodation in relation to other venues affects session schedule, long distance to city centre means spending considerable time in buses. This also reflects in the time of wake-up calls. Although it is clear that the official programme allows 'plenty' of sleep, it is also the reality that the chairs often begin their reflections and preparations for the next day after the official programme is European Youth Parliament, Sophienstraße 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. Tel.: +49 (0)30 97 00 50 95 Fax::+49 (0)30 280 95 150
over; moreover the board tends to have a workload that often leads to staying up until 3AM. • Possibility to have accommodation venue exclusively for the session, in order to avoid disturbances. • Preparing for different weather conditions (ie. rain, heat) with suitable alternative venues and means of transportation. Also, especially for summer sessions, venue air conditioning needs to be checked beforehand – a minor thing than can still make all the difference for the enjoyment of eg. Euroconcert, where people are in formal wear and usually unable to leave the space for long periods of time. • Participants should be reminded to take care of their belongings at all times, possibility to organise safekeeping to avoid theft. • Naming a person responsible in case of emergency and having a list of people with emergency assistance training, guidelines what to do in case of a emergency. Possibility to have a volunteer from eg. Red Cross who is competent in first aid. • Session web-site needs to be updated regurarly before the session. • Communication between the NOC and Office prior to session about such issues as a participant in a wheel chair, the information was available to the organisers only few weeks before the event. The GB or the office should consider making a guide available to organisers as to what requirements a “wheel chair friendly session” needs to fulfil – it can not be expected from untrained staff to be prepared without guidance.
2. Discussion 2.1
Organisation
The National Organising Committee (NOC) was headed by Evelin Jürisson and Henna Tahvanainen. 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 team of organisers (22+4 IOs) was divided into competence teams under the following general responsibilities: 1) venue support (CJO pretraining, TB, CW, and GA), 2) participant support (presession communication, accommodation, logistics), 3) programme and events (OC, EV, EC, and EYP cafes), and 4) external communication (guests, press). The head organisers were responsible for the budget, general fundraising, reporting, and managing. The head organisers had the main responsibility related to fundraising. The team consisted of new and old members of EYP Estonia. It was gathered in autumn 2011 and later recompleted due to change of abilities to commit. On a general note, involving all the organisers so early induced many shortcomings in motivation and commitment. European Youth Parliament, Sophienstraße 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. Tel.: +49 (0)30 97 00 50 95 Fax::+49 (0)30 280 95 150
Each team was lead by an experienced EYPer. The HOs and the TLs met weekly via Skype. The whole team met three times before the session: in December (1 day), June (2 days), and July (1 day) and once after the session in August (1 day). In June, the people present attended a three-hour first-aid training. The accommodation was located beautifully along the coastline and next to Tallinn’s largest beach. However the distance between the accommodation and the venues in Tallinn 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. The accommodation and many venues were chosen in accordance with the session theme: Breaking waves - Young Europeans at the waterfront. Furthermore, two committee topics were introduced in line with the theme. For example, the Farewell Gala was held at the recently opened Tallinn Sea Plane Harbour.
2.2
Media Coverage and General Attention
The NOC was very successful in reaching out to Estonian media and could thus provide a remarkable coverage in print, online and broadcast media. Especially the presence of president Ilves at the Opening Ceremony drew attention. Members of the organising team and other participants were interviewed for TV, radio and print. One organiser was in charge of media, which facilitated the successful coverage.
2.3
Alcohol Policy
The Alchohol Policy was communicated to session participants regularly from the beginning of the session onwards. Delegates over 18 years were given different coloured wristbands. Alcohol over 15% was not served at session venues. On several occasions organisers confiscated hard liqour from delegates at the accommodation. The session should be generally complemented on its very good conduct.
2.4
French Translations
French translations of the resolution booklet were successfully produced after two unsuccessful sessions. Before the session Head of the Translators Working Group, Alexandra Galitzine, received the topics for translations. During the session communication between the translators and session board worked well. Thus, the process laid out by the GB for the translations worked well.
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2.5. Session security On several occassions during the session participants had some of their valuables stolen. This happened both at open session venues where other people were present and at the accommodation. After the incidents participants were reminded to look after their belongings. In future this kind of reminders should be had already before anything happens. The organisers also helped the participants to liaise with the local authorities. In pre-session communication participants should be reminded of the benefits and importance of having travel insurance.
3. Previous reports
ZAGREB REPORT Issues identified in the Zagreb report (Alcohol Policy, responsibilities of participants) can be considered solved. Considerable progress was made already by Istanbul, development which continued in Tallinn. Good communication between the Office and the NOC ensured mutual understanding on policies and possible issues at the session.
ISTANBUL REPORT: Cooperation The issue of an effective 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 lengthy periods during an IS where the GB member has no identified role, despite being an experienced teacher or Alumnus in the EYP community. 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. In Istanbul there was no formal meeting at which the GB members’ advice was requested in order to deal with an issue at the session. In Tallinn no problems existed in the role of the GB member present at the session. During the teambuilding weekend there was strong cooperation with the two trainers. For the remainder of the session there where guests to host, some minor errands to run and helping with producing the resolution booklet and its French version. Open communication between the different officials teams, the Office and the GB ensured that a complete and accurate picture of the session could be formed for this report. Those parts of the session where the GB member present did not have actual role were good for discussing the event with participants and preparing the report.
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Logistics 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 Tallinn 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 leads to delays or programme rescheduling). This is a recurrent theme in teacher feedback from earlier sessions, and merits attention at forthcoming sessions. Problem of logistics persisted in Tallinn. The accommodation was located some 20 minutes transfer from the city centre and most of the venues. Taking into account the time it takes to gather people for the transfers, considerable amount of time was lost. However, the organisers team is to be commended for their ability to keep the session on time and ensure that minimum amount of time was spent waiting around. In Tallinn’s defence it must also stated that no other accommodation venue was available for the session, thus dictating the non-optimal choice.
Teachers Issues raised in the Istanbul report about teachers were not relevant for the summer session. However, points mentioned should be kept in mind for Amsterdam.
4. General Statements The 70th International Session organised in Tallinn 27th July – 5th August 2012 was overall a very good and well organised summer session. Good communication resulted in efficient tackling of any problems, professional organising ensured the session ran as planned and the officials pushed for that ‘something extra’ for alumni delegates to enjoy the session as thoroughly as possible. Innovations, such as the fact sheets and position papers, as well as the New Horizon Speeches were successful experiments and can be used in future sessions. More of this kind of inititiatives should be encouraged to further develop our flagship events and their quality. The GB would like to once more thank and congratulate everyone, especially the Head Organisers Evelin and Henna, for making Tallinn such a successful event. For a list of issues requiring future attention, see point 1.2. ‘Matters Recommended for Future Consideration or Attention’. 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 Robert Torvelainen at robert.torvelainen@gmail.com. European Youth Parliament, Sophienstraße 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. Tel.: +49 (0)30 97 00 50 95 Fax::+49 (0)30 280 95 150