EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT
GB Session Report Brno 2017 Report by the Governing Body on the 85th International Session of the European Youth Parliament
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INTRODUCTION
This is the Governing Body’s report on the 85th International Session of the European Youth Parliament in Brno. The main author was Noura Berrouba, member of the Governing Body, who was the representatives of the Governing Body at the session.
The purpose of this report is to review the successes of the session itself, identify potential areas for improvement or consideration at future International Sessions and point out areas for discussion within the EYP community. The Governing Body is convinced that International Sessions serve a strong purpose for our organisation, as they are the only events, which aim to bring together participants from all the countries where the EYP is present, offering a chance to foster cohesion and cooperation within the network. As our flagship events, International Sessions highlight our work to partners and our position in European civil society. The report is structured as follows: I.
Remarks
II.
Discussion
III.
Conclusion
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REMARKS The following points are to be seen as learning points and suggestions for NOCs, Governing Body members and staff of the International Office for future International Sessions. The remarks in the areas for further improvement are not aimed to criticise the actors involved, but are often the result of unfavourable external circumstances.
Area
Successes and best practices Areas for further improvement
Practical
- Registration Process
The registration process was very structured and many organisers were involved in the process. Each stage of registration had its own station and organisers were very clear and friendly in their communication with delegates. In the evening, the organisers hosted a welcome evening at Mendel University in Brno.
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- Venues
Teambuilding and Committee work venue (Brno University of Technology) Teambuilding and committee work took place at Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering. The venue was centrally located with a park outside, suitable for general teambuilding and committee teambuilding. The venue had elevators and ramps from some of the entrances, good for accessibility. Eurovillage venue (Spilberk castle) Eurovillage took part in the beautiful park of spilberk castle, an ideal setting for a eurovillage taking place outdoors with plenty of space to set up tables. Opening Ceremony (Brno exhibition centre) Opening Ceremony took place in Brno exhibition centre, a beautiful circle auditorium. The venue was very impressive for the occasion, and a great place to host guests and external speakers attending the opening ceremony. Euroconcert and EYP30 (Besedni Dum) Euroconcert and the EYP30-celebrations took place at Besedni Dum. The venue was ideal for the occasion with an outdoor mingling area, indoor space for serving food and a beautiful hall for hosting euroconcert. Farewell party at AHOY club The Farewell party took place at AHOY club, a venue with both outdoor and indoor space which served as a great location for the farewell party. Close to your heart party venue I didn’t attend the heart party so I can’t add any comments about this venue. 4
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Teambuilding and Committee work venue (Brno University of Technology) With the very hot weather, the windows in the committee rooms had to be kept open. With a busy street outside the venue, this caused traffic noise to interrupt the work. Although the venue was equipped with ramps and elevators, getting to some parts of the venue or some floors wasn’t possible with the elevator. It is recommended that all venues, especially the committee work and teambuilding venue are accessible. Eurovillage venue (Spilberk castle) The outdoor eurovillage made for a great experience for all participants. In case of unforeseen weather such as rain, it’s good to have a back-up plan to host the eurovillage indoors. General Assembly (University Cinema Scala) Although the GA venue provided sufficient space for all participants, it became very hot, dark and stuffy throughout the debates due to bad ventilation. General comment: In general, all venues for the session were excellent and prestigious. One major obstacle was that they were not located within proximity and far from the accommodation venue, requiring many transfers. For future events, less prestigious venues which are in closer proximity could be used, decreasing the organisational burden of having to organise many transfers and transport participants. It is also recommended that accessibility is looked at for all venues.
- Accommodation
- Catering
Slav party venue The Slav party took place in a club/bar located in a park. The venue lacked seating for everyone, but the grass provided a good replacement. Active Citizenship night (Masaryk University) Did not attend, therefore can’t comment. Visegrad impact night (Luzanky park) Visegrad impact night took place at Luzansky park, an ideal location for the table setup for different organisations, and a hall for presentations where all participants could be hosted. General Assembly (University Cinema Scala) The General Assembly took place in University Cinema Scala. The venue provided space for all participants and a podium for the board. The accommodation was of really high quality for all participants. All participants stayed in either rooms of 2 or 3 at Mendel University in Brno. The quality of the rooms and facilities provided an ideal setting for participants. The food was overall very good and nutritious. Breakfast served at the accommodation offered numerous opportunities for all tastes. Lunch throughout most of the session was served in the cantine of Brno University of Technology. Hot food was provided and tasty. People with dietary requirements received cold food such as salad. 5
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The accommodation venue wasn’t located close to any other venue, causing bus transfers to be required for transportation to all session elements.
People with dietary requirements were served cold food and food that did not offer sufficient nutritious value., in a similar format everyday. It is important to note that dietary requirements need better prioritisation and need to be catered to properly. he first day was tricky, but The situation improved considerably throughout the session. It should be noted that the organisers were out of their way to run "trips" to the local supermarket, which was well appreciated by all
- Transfers
- Session Medic
- Alcohol Policy
Transfers were provided from the accommodation (not located in the city centre) to all venues used during the session. The transfers were handled very well, with rented public transportation. Transfer schedules were posted in the web-app and on flipcharts in the lobby of the accommodation to ensure everyone had access to information about their transfers. Transfers were divided based on committees, and changed everyday so that people with early shifts on one day, would get a later shift on another day. Bearing in mind the many transfers throughout the session, they worked efficiently and after a couple of days logistics around them had improved, such as ensuring there is an organiser both in the front and at the end of the line. Olga, one of the organisers and president of EYP Czech republic, served as the session medic. She dealt with situations swiftly.
The Alcohol policy was respected to a very high standard. During Eurovillage, some delegations brought alcohol with the percentage of alcohol scratched off from the bottles. Organisers were diligent in checking and removing such items.
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the delegates. Most transfers in Brno were by bus. It is a great advantage, both financially and environmentally, when most venues are in walking range. This way the participants also get the opportunity to see more of the country and city where the session takes place. 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.
It is important that the session medic is trained in or has proficient knowledge in serving medical help. Another recommendation is to have a training workshop for all officials on how to deal with emergency situations and participant welfare. It is worth nothing that venues serving alcohol sometimes don’t check IDs of participants, even when internal systems of checks are in place (such as different bracelets for participants over and under the age of 18). When hosting events for both people of age and underage participants, it is important to clearly notify the venue about checking identification. This was an incident at the farewell party with an underage delegate that overindulged alcohol and had to be taken to hospital. All situations like
Programme - Teambuilding
- Eurovillage
these are regrettable and ensure clear protocol for action. The situation was handled swiftly by EYP Czech Republic and the International Office.
General Teambuilding took place outside in the sun and was full of energy and enthusiasm and marked a great start to committee teambuilding. The chairs and delegates conducted their TB both indoors and outdoors as there was sufficient space for both, and the weather allowed for it. Many chairs provided the opportunity to have teambuilding outside of the venue and this is something that was generally requested and appreciated by delegates. Activities like paintball and trampolining are examples of such. The Eurovillage venue was ideal for its purpose and well-appreciated by all participants. There was more than enough food, and water was provided in large quantity. People loved that Eurovillage was outside, with a great atmosphere and location. Tables were spread nicely around the venue, making it easy to go from table to table and the organisers had provided a good set up. There was also a very good observation of the alcohol policy.
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Chairs should consider the hot weather in the games selection and ensure that delegates are hydrated, which is especially important during summer ISs.
Even if the Eurovillage provided an excellent event for all participants, it was a little too long as some participants wished to have earlier shifts. This was a general comment throughout the session. One aspect that was observed was that a significant portion of delegates reported tiredness and expressed the wish to skip evening programmes or have early shifts in order to go to bed earlier. Another aspect to consider is scheduling, as chairs had their buddy group meetings during Eurovillage, which could have been scheduled differently to enable chairs to fully attend and enjoy the event. Generally, the engagement from officials with delegates and other participants in general events at the session/parts of the session with all participants was very low.
- Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony
- Committee Work
- Cultural Programme
As everyone arrived to the Eurovillage at the same time, there was little time for preparation for delegations to set up their tables. The Closing Ceremony was unnecessarily lengthy with many long speeches. This caused a delay in the programme for EYP30 events. It is recommended that speeches are kept concise and that thank yous between and within officials teams are done informally after the Closing Ceremony.
It was convenient to have the event in the evening, rather than morning, gaining more time for CW. The Opening Ceremony had two commissioners visiting, and the speeches by the commissioners as well as by the president, Head Organisers, and Schwarzkopf Stiftung representative were appreciated by the delegates. The venue, Brno University of Technology, was the same as the TB venue which ensured delegates were familiar with the surroundings. An experienced chairs’ team provided delegates with a structured committee work. The session made great use of external experts that joined the committees to share their expertise and listen to the delegates’ ideas. The cultural programme of this International Session was extraordinary. The HOs had a strong focus on ensuring delegates also familiarize themselves with other organisations and initiatives in the region. The cultural programme tied the session theme nicely together, with a strong focus on active citizenship. A great example was the Active Citizenship Night where participants got to brainstorm their own initiatives and the Visegrad impact night where participants got to familiarise themselves with other organisations in the region. During the Visegrad impact night, participants joined 8
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- Euroconcert
- General Assembly
- Farewell Party
together to create a EU flag which was recorded by the guiness world record in Czech Republic. The cultural programme focused on active citizenship and was impressively organised and tied together with the session theme. On the free day, excursions to the city were organised, enabling participants to familiarise themselves with the hosting city. Euroconcert coincided with the 30th Anniversary of EYP which created a great opportunity for participants to engage with alumni and other EYPers. Euroconcert and the EYP30-celebrations took place at Besedni Dum. The venue was ideal for the occasion with an outdoor mingling area, indoor space for serving food and a beautiful hall for hosting euroconcert. Euroconcert was hosted by a mix of session participants, and attendees of EYP30. There was an open call to host Euroconcert. The General Assembly took place in University Cinema Scala. The venue provided space for all participants and a podium for the board. The General Assembly was lead by an experienced board and had great participation of delegates. The board had an approach of encouraging and supporting delegates. The venue provided for a good atmosphere for the debates. The Farewell party took place at AHOY club, a venue with both outdoor and 9
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Although the GA venue provided sufficient space for all participants, it became very hot, dark and stuffed throughout the debates.
Underage participants had to leave the venue early as to respect the
Academic Quality - General Assembly Amendments
- Resolution Typing
indoor space which served as a great location for the farewell party. The farewell party was organised for both attendees of IS Brno and EYP30 which served as a great exchange between newer and older EYPers. Transfers worked well and several options were arranged for participants dependant on how long they wanted to stay.
Alcohol Policy. This caused separation between participants above and under the age of 18. It is recommended that events are organised where all participants can participate.
Structuring the operative clauses in thematic sections. This contributed to a more focused debate and ensured that the full extent of a resolution was debated. GA statistics The session made use of the feature GA statistics which made the debates very interactive and well-structured. The results of all the debates can be found below along with all the available statistics: https://stats.eyp.org/session/153/. Resolution Typing was divided over two days as to give the Chairs’ team plenty of time to work on it. The chairs’ team produced a highly qualitative resolution booklet that enabled clear discussions in GA. Structure of Resolution typing The resolution typing was a long process, but the academics quality of the resolution booklet is something that the team and session are proud of. To check 15 committee’s work for three full days (and countless months prior) requires due care and attention. The resolution writing process began during the second day of CW when chairs could submit completed
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Resolution Typing was lengthy and lasted well into the night for many chairs and for the board, finishing early in the morning on two consecutive nights. This caused exhaustion for many members of the chairs team. In order to ensure participant welfare for officials it is recommended to shorten the amount of time spent on resolution typing, or ensure that not all chairs are available at all times. It is regrettable that the chairs’ team is to deliver to this extent. Future Boards and leadership teams should consider whether all the time spent in resolution typing really yields that much benefit for the delegates and
External Guests
Brno - the Hub
Leadership - Head Organisers
clauses to their VPs via googledocs. This proved to be very useful. The organising team worked tirelessly to ensure that the chairs were given all the support to produce academically rigorous resolutions for a flagship event of the EYP. Many committees were joined by an external guest/expert. Arrangements were made on spot as to ensure that most committees received this opportunity and sometimes several committees were merged as to ensure coverage of as many committees as possible. External guests that attended as session experts were a great addition to committee work. Some guests were very helpful and invested in the committees they were asked to contribute to. Two guests joined committees via video link, from New York and London; giving the session a truly international feel. Ahead of the session, president Vivek Gathani created a Facebook group for the session. This group was used to post weekly links and infographics on the session topics and prepared delegated academically for the session in an informal and interactive way. This was well-appreciated by the delegates. The Hub is still live now, with chairs and delegates posting articles relating to session material.
Some chairs expressed a disinterest in having an expert attend for time reasons. It is recommended that this is worked around as to give as many delegates as possible the opportunity to interact with experts relevant for the committee topic and an exchange of ideas.
The Head Organisers of the session, Michal Koláček and Michaela Novotna had great ambitions and a great vision for the session which they reflected in every session dimension and element. They did an outstanding job in putting together this summer 11
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the officials at the end of the day, as it definitely takes a toll on the chairs’ welfare.
- President
- Editor
flagship event and ensured that participants were equipped with tools to engage in their societies and active citizens. The two HOs worked well together and complemented each other well. This was reflected both on their team as well as on the session as a whole. Michal and Michaela invested their full dedication, energy and time in this project which ensured its success. They crafted an amazing opportunity for everyone involved in the project. Vivek Gathani was a phenomenal president for this international session. Vivek invested fully in the project, helped steer his team in an excellent fashion and had a great working relationship with the head organisers of the session. The academic quality of the session was high and through initiatives such as “The Hub” he created a creative experience for delegates even well before the session had started. Vivek is an amazing speaker, who sparked enthusiasm about EYP to all participants throughout the session. It was clear that Vivek was well-respected and liked by the chairs team. Vivek has a very soft and warm style of leadership. This ensured that the session board felt friendly and approachable for other participants at the session. Giada Benfatto and Matthijs Quaijtaal, with some bumps on the road, managed the media team well. They ensured that the media team was an integral part of the session; before, during and after the event. The output produced by the media team was excellent and varied in styles and methods. The media team had a 12
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Official’s Teams Communications
Leadership
- Organising Team
strong presence and produced great output for the session participants to enjoy and engage with. There were some conflicts in the media team that would have needed more active leadership. Using slack as the main communication tool for officials was a great initiative and meant different officials team could engage with each other. All members of the leadership team should be congratulated for putting together a great event and leading and managing their teams well. The leadership worked very well together, thanks to the initiative of the Head Organisers to hold leadership meetings throughout the session. By the "leadership" here, we mean "wider leadership", i. e. HOPE, VPs, EAs, Core Team, IO, GB. The organising team, led by Michal and Michaela, was an exceptional group of people who were always invested in the session running smoothly. The team had a mixture of Czech and International organisers, including Organisers of the upcoming International Sessions, which meant that many members from abroad had the chance to participate in the session as organisers. It is a great sign that there is an interest to partake in the organisation of international sessions, as it is a great opportunity for knowledge sharing. Every person on the organising team did an outstanding job in delivering an excellent event for all participants. 13
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In future occasions, the Office and GB members should be added to Slack and all the relevant channels from the beginning.
The division of tasks among the organisers meant that some organisers had a lot on their plates and others didn’t. It is recommended that task management has a more flexible approach so that organisers who do not have a lot of tasks to work on, are put to help those that do.
- Chairs’ Team
- Media Team
. All chairs and the session board, led by the President Vivek Gathani and Vice- Presidents Laure Steinville, Daniels Grinevics and Armine Khamoyan should be congratulated for their hard work and dedication into making Brno IS a very engaging, academically fulfilling and exciting event for all delegates. Brno had a ‘floating Board’, which means, a board in which the President and VPs don’t chair committees themselves. This ensured they had enough time to support their chairs and buddy group committees which is very positive. This was also a huge support to the President, who was then “free” to help not only the chairsteam, but the other leadership groups. It was clear that the chairs team was composed of highly competent individuals with a commitment to the role. The chairs team received great reviews and feedback from delegates.
The media team, lead by Giada Benfatto and Matthijs Quaijtaal did an great job in capturing the session. The media team managed to put together 14
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The chairs team distanced themselves from many session elements which created separation between the chairs team and other teams. Many chairs and buddy group meetings were scheduled during session elements which both caused the chairs to miss participation in enjoyable session elements and created a lack of presence of the chairs team. At times it felt like too high expectations were put on the chairs, which caused many chairs to be overworked. There was an excess in number of meetings schedules. It is recommended that meetings are not scheduled during other session elements as to increase presence by chairs in the session and that meetings are kept to a necessary amount. The floating board was helpful to support the chairs team and it is recommended that this practice, when possible at other International Session, is incorporated. It was unclear as to what the role of the president’s partner was at the event, and it is suggested if a supportive role like that is to be used at other International Sessions that it is communicated clearly ahead of time. The partner of the president attended session elements including chairs team meetings. Although helpful due to her previous role as IS president, this out of the ordinary. Recommendation to utilise existing platforms Even if not an issue specific to this session, it should be pointed out that
an astounding amount of quality material and output. There was a good range of different input, including podcasts, magazines, facebook and instagram updates. Media team members received great reviews and feedback from delegates at the session. Each committee had a media team member assigned to it. The media team members’ presence was felt by the committees and the cooperation with the chair of the committee seemed to work well.
- Evaluations Session Theme
The session had a clearly defined theme that was well in line with EYP and the geographical location of the session. The session theme was: ‘Seeking the heart of Europe’. The motto represents three important aspects which were promoted throughout the event: Active citizenship in everyday life, Common European goals and values, and Discovering Central Europe. The session elements centered fully around this theme. The Head Organisers and NOC should be applauded for finding a session theme that enabled innovative events, clear connection to the mission and values 15
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taking care of the EYP media channels at the international level should be a task for the media teams, and not the GB or Office representatives. Media teams should utilise their potential to showcase the event to the wider public, and they can be a source of great promotional output for the EYP network. Lad culture There was somewhat of a lad culture attitude among some members of the media team with jokes about sexual misconduct and other inappropriate topics. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable from anyone participating in an EYP event, and in particular among officials. After the editors addressed this issue on their team the situation improved. It is ideal that all participants would receive an evaluation.
of EYP and to engaging with other stakeholders in the region. Through the Visegrad Impact Night, participants got to familiarize themselves with the region, as well as with stakeholders and other organisations in order to inform participants on how they could engage in their societies, thus enabling them to be active citizens. Another great example was the Active Citizenship Night where participants got to brainstorm their own initiatives and were supported to implement these.
DISCUSSION Participant welfare: 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. Although EYP has a Participant Welfare Policy, this is sometimes difficult to prioritise in the busy schedule of an International Session. It is worth noting that the International Sessions serve as flagship events of the EYP network and that they help inspire other events in the network. Although the organisers were diligent in the programming of the event to ensure the minimum hours of sleep for participants, it is indeed a minimum standard, and some participants need more sleep. It is recommended that early shifts are provided for participants at all events as to give participants the option between staying longer or going to bed earlier. Another aspect worth noting is the welfare of officials at our events, which isn’t reflected in the Participant Welfare Policy, to the extent needed. Officials at our flagship events are often overworked with high expectations and with a schedule of meetings that go well into the night. It is recommended to extend the same minimum requirements for participant welfare to officials, as we have for participants. This means keeping meetings to the day-time or evening (not nights), organising efficient short meetings and ensuring resolution typing isn’t a tiresome process. The GB will look at how we can extend 16 European Youth Parliament
participant welfare to officials’ teams through the Participant Welfare Guide. The GB will continue working on improving the policies and procedures surrounding participant welfare. Currently, the Welfare Officer has undergone no specific training. This is something that should be addressed by the International Office. Furthermore the National Organising Committee should train organisers better in the field of participant welfare, and should designate individuals to take on particular tasks and roles within this area. Our officials are not generally qualified to deal with these kinds of events, therefore the situation can raise a more global point on what the procedure should be when any of these incidents occur. It is important to note that, thus far, International Sessions are the only events where we have an assigned Welfare Officer. Hopefully the recent developments and prioritisation of the area of Participant Welfare in the network will motivate more NCs to have such a role at their sessions, and find someone who is capable and trained to deal with all these matters. Leadership meetings and committee representatives Leadership meetings: In order to create clear communication between teams, the Head Organisers initiated leadership meetings throughout the session. With "leadership" here, we mean "wider leadership", i. e. HOPE, VPs, EAs, Core Team, IO, GB. Although this was logistically difficult to fit with the different team leader’s schedules, it is good practice that team leaders engage in this way. Committee representatives Based on the concept from Trondheim, the Head Organisers introduced Committee Representatives meetings. Every committee chose a delegate that would represent the delegates - he/she would gather input and insights to share at the meeting with team rapporteurs, and then explain and share the discussions with fellow delegates and team leaders. Through these committee representatives meetings the session leadership could continuously assess the needs of delegates and get a better understanding of the delegate experience. The committee representatives’ meetings created a more direct and informal dialogue between the leadership of the session and delegates. Delegates were also able to raise concerns that could be addressed swiftly and ask questions channelled by their committees. Cultural Programme and realisation of session theme In addition to team building, committee work and the GA, the cultural programme is a core element of an International Session’s programme. An important part of the discussion leading to this is the fact that delegates and officials are travelling across Europe to attend an International Session, and it is very sad if 17 European Youth Parliament
they go back without any knowledge of the host country and city. Having a cultural programme is also closely connected to the intercultural value of the EYP. We want participants to get to know the culture, history and politics of the host country. The Cultural programme is also educational as it immerses participants within a local culture, allowing the organisers to present their home country and culture. This is an important tool to create understanding across borders and cultures, and the GB sees it as an essential part of our mission in the EYP. The cultural programme of this International Session was extraordinary. The HOs had a strong focus on ensuring delegates also familiarize themselves with other organisations and initiatives in the region. The cultural programme tied the session theme nicely together, with a strong focus on active citizenship. Active citizenship was interwoven in the entire programme. A great example was the Active Citizenship Night where participants got to brainstorm their own initiatives and the Visegrad impact night where participants got to familiarise themselves with other organisations in the region. During the Visegrad impact night, participants joined together to create a EU flag which was recorded by the guiness world record in Czech Republic. The cultural programme focused on active citizenship and was impressively organised and tied together with the session theme. The GB wants to point out that the Cultural Programme creates funding possibilities to explore for the organising team. Tourist offices and other authorities connected to tourism may be willing to support the session when the participants are presented to local culture. The GB is very happy seeing that the increased focus on the cultural programme seems to be a success.
CONCLUSION Overall, the session was a great success and received excellent feedback from participants. We would like to highlight that this report aims to serve as constructive feedback and to provide learning points for subsequent International Sessions. The GB would like to extend its sincere thanks to the Head-Organisers, as well as the entire National Organising Committee for their hard work in putting together a fantastic events for all participants and for organising such a memorable International Session which reflected Czech Republic as the heart of Europe in such a unique way. We look forward to the next International Session to be hosted in Czech Republic Comments on this report are highly welcome from all members of the EYP network. The Governing Body encourages engagement with its work and looks forward to any comments, criticism or policy suggestions based on this report. The GB can be reached at gb@eyp.org.
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