European Youth Parliament
July 2nd 2013
GB Session Report — Barcelona 2014 Report by the Governing Body on the 76th International Session of the European Youth Parliament
Introduction This is the report on the 76th International Session (IS) of the European Youth Parliament (EYP). It is produced on behalf of the Governing Body of the EYP, with its main author being Governing Body member Schima Labitsch. The 76th International Session of the EYP, organised by the Spanish National Organising Committee, took place in Barcelona and Cardona from 25th July to 3rd August 2014. The session may be seen as a role model session of this organization in the field of financial planning and fundraising, organizational management, as well as professional leadership and guidance for the majority of participants. This report aims to review the successes of the session, as well as to point out potential areas for improvement or consideration for future IS and the EYP community as a whole. The Governing Body considers International Sessions to represent a paramount framework to foster cohesion and cooperation within the organisation, as well as positioning it as an important civil actor within the European sphere and towards external partners. For this purpose, the report will discuss the following areas: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Summary of Conclusions Discussion Past International Sessions General Comments - Miscellaneous
It is to be noted that two GB members (Schima Labitsch, André SchmitzSchwarzkopf) were present for the whole or larger part of the session. Furthermore, a member from the International Office (Project Manager Stefan Vandenhende) supported the NOC for the entire duration of the session. The Schwarzkopf Foundation was equally represented by one person (Executive Director Anne Rolvering) for a part of 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
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This report was submitted to the Head-organisers (Albert Antolín, Sandra Castaner, Oriol Comas), the Session President (Christopher Hall) and the Editors (Saki Shinoda, Gustaf Danielson) for consultation.
I. Summary of Conclusions Successes and Good Practices -‐
The effort and leadership of the three Head-organisers Sandra, Oriol and Albert prior and during the session majorly contributed to the success of the session and was of excellent nature: calm, balanced and extremely competent they tried to cater to every possible need of all session participants, and their positive presence was felt throughout all teams throughout the entire session. They were always present, participated in social activities and were very approachable to all participants.
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The overall attitude and visibility of the organisers was very good. Organisers were friendly and forthcoming to delegates’ and officials’ needs and wishes, and at times they could have even demanded more of delegates in cleaning-up tasks. All organisers sustained an incredibly high level of energy and responsibility throughout the session, which is especially remarkable given the young age of the team members.
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The organisers were able to swiftly deal with any issues arising out of any violation of the alcohol policy. They immediately informed all relevant parties of any incidents and proved to be very cooperative and reliable in this particular area. No participant was sent home.
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The NOC is to be highly commended for their choice of venues, which were of excellent quality and reputation, sufficiently large and balanced in terms of location and purpose. The teambuilding venue on the Catalan countryside, in the village of Cardona (Villar Rural de Cardona), must receive special mention, as it provided for a uniquely Catalonian experience for all participants whilst at the same time catering to the needs of an EYP teambuilding and comfortable and safe accommodation. In Barcelona, some of the highlights included Opening Ceremony in the gardens of Torre Bellesguard, a modernist manor castle designed by Antoni Gaudí, Committee Work in the Sant Pau Recinte Moderniste, former hospital and nowadays UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as a maritime evening in the gardens of the Maritime Museum of Barcelona.
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A special mention must go out to the circumstances of the Opening Ceremony, which took place in the evening and under pouring rain. On
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the former, it was noted by participants that having OC in the evening is a good idea, and indeed, it proved to give a special opening to the session, allowing for more time to socialize and enjoy the official opening of the session. On the later point, the NOC should be highly commended for their last-minute organisation of a tent, saving the event from the unfortunate weather circumstances. -‐
An important contributor to the success of the session was the abundance of opportunities given to the participants in terms of the programme, which was considered exceptional by all parties involved. The evening programme received an unprecedented positive rating by delegates.
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As may already be incurred from the choice of venues, the participants were presented with high-quality cultural events communicating Catalonian culture in an extraordinary way, something which was enriched by a tour of the salt mines in Cardona (for the officials team only), a Catalonian traditional dance by local musicians and artists, a local band playing at the maritime evening as well as the human pyramid performances prior to Euroconcert set in Gaudí’s church in Santa Coloma de Cervelló. Participants thus had the chance to engage with Spanish and Catalan culture, something that was perceived very positively by the majority of participants.
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The idea of the movie night served as a good example of an alternative yet relaxing evening element at which the hostel outdoor space was used to offer a genuine outdoor cinema experience. The movie selection followed a prior voting procedure.
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The NOC introduced a number of special elements such as the floating of red helium balloons at the beginning of the session, the distribution of session-tailored sun hats, and a twitter-hashtag frame for participants to take pictures with. The participants perceived this as giving a special touch to the session, making it particularly memorable and enjoyable.
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The session website established by the NOC was consulted extensively by delegates, and is a prime example of a visually attractive and relevant session representation and information tool. Additionally, the material distributed and displayed at the session — banners, leaflets, posters etc. — was exemplarily customized for all individual session parts and of exceptionally high quality.
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The student-speaking seminar was considered a success by most delegates, and visibly raised the structure and rhetoric of many speeches during General Assembly.
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Under the leadership of Christopher Hall, the chairs team exhibited a respect-, and helpful attitude towards the NOC, something that was highly appreciated by both the NOC and the GB. Despite the unfortunate phrasing of most topics, the chairsteam did a highly satisfactory job in writing topic overviews — which were taken up extremely positively by delegates — and in tweaking the topics for them to represent an engaging and logical discussion culture for delegates. Their competence and knowledge on their respective topics was admirable.
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For one Committee, the NOC provided for an especially memorable Committee Work experience, which should be highlighted. The Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) spend one day at a castle (including an expert talk and lunch) resulting from an NOC sponsor deal. This was taken up with enthusiasm by the respective chair and delegates as a valuable learning experience, and for future reference may constitute an interactive and engaging element between delegates and decision-makers.
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Another highly positive element was the output, attitude and engagement of the media team under the leadership of Saki Shinoda and Gustaf Danielson. Their output included the following: the first smart phone application (widely used by the participants and external audience containing valuable practical information as well as academic content), a qualitative and visually attractive website (http://www.barcelonaismedia.com), EYP podcasts (played on bus rides), social media updates, five high-quality video episodes plus additional Barcelona Talks, and a final magazine to take home. Two special mentions must go to Oliver Stenbom and Sebastian Hojas representing the two Editorial assistants responsible for the creation and direction of the phone app and videos, respectively.
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A special mention must go to two aspects regarding the media team: output and orientation of the website and engagement of all participants. The media team dealt with academic content and content related to the policies, structure and philosophies surround the European Youth Parliament. They initiated debates, organized interviews and provided infographics to engage participants with the institutional and strategic nature of this organization, thereby taking on the role as an intra-organisational educational actor. Second, the concept of open pressroom enabled all committees to visit the media team and learn about their vision, practical implementation, ideas etc. Participants were able to voice criticism and ideas for improvement or potential projects. The remarkable leadership provided by Saki and Gustaf materialized in a perceived genuine focus on delegates (in videos, magazine and website), a lack of excluding, elite banter and an engagement of delegates through personal projects of journalists by
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which delegates were engaged in various activities throughout the session. -‐
The NOC should be commended for their focus placed on social responsibility in a broader societal context, exemplified through their engagement in a cap recollection imitative benefitting health facilities, as well as their conscious choice of the maritime cafeteria maintained by disabled young people.
Areas of future development The following points are to be seen as learning points for NOCs, officials, GB members, and staff of the International Office for future International Sessions. They should not necessarily be seen as a direct deficiency of any of the actors involved, but more as a result of unfavourable or unconsidered circumstances. -‐
Whereas most venues were smoke-free, NOCs should also ensure that evening locations such as clubs are smoke-free.
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The process of topic finalization experienced deficiencies with the comments and suggestions for changes requested by the Governing Body not being implemented in the final phrasing. This left several topics with a biased and incoherent phrasing, which was also lamented by chairs. From the president’s side, the wish for a clearer guideline on the process of topic creation and interaction of different actors in thereof was voiced. For future sessions, it should be ensured that all relevant stakeholders, i.e. president, Academic Council, Office work together efficiently and topics phrased in an objective manner. If the GB detects any flaws these should be treated meticulously and in appropriate fashion.
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Another area for consideration for the International Office in cooperation with the NOC is the extreme imbalance of gender the majority of committees witnessed, something that was also highlighted by a large number of chairpersons.
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Whereas the Committee Work venue represented a prestigious and beautiful venue, some chairs lamented the impractical nature of their rooms, e.g. not being allowed to cover walls with posters, rearrange the room, determine their seating arrangements. Seeing that the NOC had a more practical venue at the outset, which eventually they could not get due to construction work, the venue represented a fantastic substitute. Future NOCs should equally prioritize ease of use over prestige.
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The presence of the media team was of high intensity during the first days, however it declined with the last two days of Committee Work due to a collision of media team deadlines which led chairs to lament the absence of their journalists when they were needed most. Future media teams should note that their committees especially need journalists on the last day of Committee Work.
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An aspect that was observed by the GB member was that a significant portion of delegates reported tiredness and expressed the wish to skip evening programmes in order to go to bed earlier or/and relax in the accommodation during the free day. This is an inherent issue to all IS and as such must not be considered particular to Barcelona; however, the GB member felt that this is a policy area the GB should look into for the future.
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Whereas the alcohol policy was strictly adhered to, two incidents are to be mentioned: At Eurovillage, delegations brought alcohol with more than 15% alcohol by volume. The NOC was quick to react independently and confiscated all alcohol above 15%. During the opening party, beer was served without surveillance of the organisers. However, after the project manager had pointed this out, organisers were immediately and at all times on the spot to survey the consumption of beer. Throughout the entire session, all participants showed to be very cooperative with respect to the alcohol policy. Overall, alcohol was consumed moderately and no severe over-indulgement occurred.
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Considering the presence of only one staff member from the International Office, and the attendance of the GB member at many sponsor-related events, it is highly recommendable in similar future circumstances to have two GB members instead of one attend an IS in order to ensure a coherent presence at all session elements.
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Due to the heavy reliance on online content, the media team reported difficulties in finding a well-functioning Internet connection in all venues. Whereas this was solved partially through e.g. reallocation of the team to an area with better connection and systematic non-usage of Internet by other participants, it is advisable that the NOC communicates about the quality and quantity of Internet access prior to the session and if necessary, provide for special Internet access for the media team.
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On the provision of food, it should be stressed that most times, the food was excellent and well provided for. At the same time, one hot meal also on the two days of General Assembly, as well as sufficient food after the end of Opening Ceremony would have been desirable.
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It is advisable to organisers who face a lot of transfers to continuously be strict and on time with delegates, and pay special attention to this as the session proceeds towards the end where tiredness and general exhaustion can further encourage delays in transfers and the programme.
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By signing up to an International Session as a participant, one agrees to attend the entire duration of the session and there can be no exemption to this rule. In this light, if a participant refuses to attend parts of a session without being ill, an existing policy exemption or the like, it is within the responsibility of the International Office to deal with such a case in appropriate manner. It is recommended that the International Office has a clearer handling of such situations in the future, for example by including the necessary arrangements within consent forms.
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Considering that the EYP and its participants are an important role model for young people, aiming at raising cultural understanding and awareness, all speakers — but particularly from within EYP — should refrain from any gender-discriminatory comments in the future.
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The session ended on the 3rd of August and thus the evaluations for all session participants were supposed to be submitted by the 7th of September. Unfortunately, the Head-organisers, the President and the Editors were all late in submitting the evaluations and the GB stresses that this should not occur in the future. It was brought to the attention to the GB that the time available for submitting evaluations is not proportionate to the workload the heads of teams face, particularly if these are already active in the labor market. This is a policy field that may be re-visited by the GB.
II. Discussion Shade & Water Supply As with many summer International Sessions, the issue of heat, shade and water supply is crucial to tackle in an appropriate fashion to prevent health problems. In this regard, the NOC was faced with a Teambuilding venue that in itself had limited shade, however this was counteracted successfully via the following means: permanent water stations on the teambuilding grounds and overall sufficient water supply through a water sponsor, placing coffee breaks in shady areas and providing shade through sun tents. During all of Teambuilding, only one delegate experienced health problems because of dehydration and too warm clothing, which is overall a very positive outcome. European Youth Parliament, Sophienstraße 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. Tel.: +49 (0)30 97 00 50 95 Fax::+49 (0)30 280 95 150
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Alcohol Policy As previously reported, alcohol was consumed very responsively and officials acted as exemplary role models in this regard. The NOC was very cooperative in any issues pertaining to alcohol. An area for potential future consideration is a proposal brought forward by a group of delegates who, in reference to the alcohol supply during Eurovillage, lamented the fact that alcohol under 15% was allowed to be consumed unlimited whereas not a single bottle of national beverage above 15 % was permitted. In their view, one could think of a system where every table at Eurovillage is permitted a certain amount of bottles (e.g. 3) regardless of the percentage of alcohol contained. This issue may be up for future discussion if the community as well as the BNC and the GB deem it to be of relevance. More recreational time In the past, feedback on International Sessions has continuously included the wish to have more free time and/or recreational time. In Barcelona, many delegates voiced this wish again, especially those who did not feel comfortable in clubbing or attending noisy evening activities. In addition, many delegates lamented the fact that it had not been possible to sleep in on the free day whilst being obliged to force an activity (going to the beach or taking a city tour). Whilst this might not be the majority, the demands for EYP to look out for people requiring more down time are clear and justified. In this light, the GB will look into this issue on policy level. On a practical note, the International Office and future NOCs should consider this issue when planning their programme accordingly. Media & Guests The session was covered by the major Catalan newspaper, La Vanguardia in print articles and advertised through street banners at main locations in Barcelona. The NOC and the International Office managed to invite a large number of prominent guests to attend the session, deliver expert talks and/or give speeches during Opening Ceremony. The list includes: • Georg Fahrenschon, President of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (OC Speech) • Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (OC Speech) • Michael Schäfer, Chairman of the Board of the BMW Foundation • Stephan Muschik, Executive Director of the RWE Foundation
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• Carsten Wilms, German Federal Foreign Office • His Excellency Xavier Trias, Mayor of Barcelona (OC Speech) • Reinhard Bütikofer, MEP German Green Party.
Innovations The International Session in Barcelona incorporated several innovations in General Assembly due to changes in policy. Amongst those was the use of English as the sole working language of EYP, increased time for attack speeches and the abolition of points of information. The changes were executed without any hindrances. The session witnessed no temporary or ad hoc innovations. Stakeholder cooperation The cooperation between the NOC, the International Office and the GB was excellent for all sides which was mainly due to the high professionalism and competence exhibited by the three Head-organisers.
III. Past International Sessions Riga 2014
Space and size The Riga report stated that: ‘The NOC should ensure large enough spaces for coffee breaks so as to enable the flow of 200 people and effectively minimise the amount of time lost due to queuing and accessing the coffee break.’ As was previously stated, the NOC made excellent choices regarding venues, applying also to size and ability to effectively manage the flow of all session participants. This is especially important regarding time constraint and something that future NOCs should pay attention to.
Model of three Head-organisers The Riga report discussed the model of three Head-organisers in its discussion section, and pointed out that Barcelona will be useful to evaluate the effectiveness of having such a model. The big success the International Session in Barcelona represented was largely due to its Head-organisers, however it is difficult to ascertain whether having three Headorganisers instead of two is beneficial in general or whether this was only the case in Barcelona due to the outstanding dynamics between the three Head-organisers. European Youth Parliament, Sophienstraße 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. Tel.: +49 (0)30 97 00 50 95 Fax::+49 (0)30 280 95 150
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Nevertheless, they themselves reported the model of three Head-organisers to be extremely well functioning, useful and effective. In this light, it is recommended that the Office suggest this possibility to future NOCs in the early stages of preparation.
The issue of media teams The Riga report stated that: ‘While almost all participants, including teachers, commented that they did feel a lack of a media team, at the same time there was no strong sentiment that this team was absolutely indispensable to the normal running of the session’ The report ascertained the question of whether media teams are relevant for an International Session a central role for the future agenda. In this regard, the GB member present in Barcelona regards the session as a strong testimony for the potential and impact media teams can have if they target their audience and its needs thoroughly. There remains much to be learned from the approach and tools the media team in Barcelona made use of, constituting an important element in the discussion of how the EYP community sees media teams and their role at International Sessions. Tbilisi 2013
Unfinished planning The Tbilisi report identified an area of future development as follows: ’Several crucial aspects were still undecided just few weeks ahead of the beginning of the session. Some venues were changed at a very last moment and some of the programme elements were finished only few weeks ahead of the session. This brings unnecessary stress (...)’ As was previously stated, the planning and organisation of the Barcelona IS was beyond excellence, and all programme elements were finalised long before the session started. It is advisable for the Office revisit the exact stages of organisational progress together with the NOC and take down the most important learning points for future IS.
Alcohol practice at party venues The Tbilisi report brought to attention that ‘(...) a clear understanding with the owners of party venues that doesn’t allow different interpretations is needed’ with regards to ensuring that the alcohol policy of EYP is coherently followed. In this regard, there were no such incidents in Barcelona with the team having clarified all terms pertaining to the selling of alcohol to the fullest extent.
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IV. General Comments - Miscellaneous In response to this session, the Governing Body will look into and/or take action in the following areas: • Recreational and down time at International Sessions • The importance of media teams at International Sessions • The proportionality of workload — time available for submitting IS evaluations • Instructing the Office to look at mechanisms for dismissing participants from International Sessions • Instructing the Office to revisit the stages of organisation and fundraising of the Spanish NOC to take as a role model for the future • Instructing the Office to ensure that IS topic creation is guided by a clear understanding and cooperation between all stakeholders
Personal observation as well as the evaluation of officials’ and delegates’ feedback on the session highlights the big success the 76th International Session had been for both the organisation and the individual. The Governing Body would like to extend its sincere thanks and gratitude to the three Head-organisers Sandra, Oriol and Albert, as well as to the entire Spanish NOC for realising such a professional and rewarding event for and on behalf of this organisation. Events such as these put the goals and aims of EYP to the very forefront and strengthen its development as a highly relevant societal and educational actor. The Governing Body furthermore thanks all involved participants for their dedication and energy to making this session a memorable and successful event for everyone involved. Comments on the above report, or on individual elements of it, are highly welcome from all alumni. The Governing Body encourages critical debate and engagement with its work and in this line, values any comments, criticism or policy input on the basis of this report. The main author of this report, Schima Labitsch, can be reached at schima.labitsch@eyp.org and the GB in its entirety at gb@eyp.org.
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