RRS12 Second Issue

Veni Vidi Caulis I Came I Saw I Stalked

- Julius

Caesar

Editorial

If anyone would look up the definition for the verb stalk, it would go something like: ‘to go through (an area) in search of prey or quarry’.

And it’s one we believe you should closely follow.

this can just mean one thing. We have to stalk on to our next goal. Exactly this is what we would like to ask you to do.

It does not matter whether the goal is EYP related or not, either way, one should stalk it. Stalkers know how to achieve their aims without creating an insane amount of fuss. There’s no need to brag about your prey if you cannot reach it.

We dearly hope that you will go through as many areas as necessary in order to catch your prey. For some this session could have been an eyeopener. Some might have found that going lengths for the prey they had is With this is mind, keep the not worth it. On the other hand, one experience received over these last might receive that bit of EYP energy days in your heart and stalk. Stalk like to move faster toward their target. you’ve never stalked before. The prey

We have reached one of our is just around the corner. goals by editing at this session. Since Andre & Kārlis we are both well respected stalkers, 1

Can you relate to

THAT?

by Diāna Orlovska

In the previous issue we introduced you to the innocent session expectations of some delegates. We caught these delis once again on Friday to check how hard reality has struck them and what are their thoughts on the session after surviving teambuilding and just kicking off the Committee Work discussions.

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What are your feelings at this point of the session?

How much hours did you sleep last night?

How much coffee have you drank?

On the scale of 1-10, how excited are your for the GA? Why are the stalkers cool?

Aleksandrs, ITRE Good! Our committee is very bonded, we are like a family 3 hours 4 cups 9 Their fingernails are dirrrrty.

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Sintija, AFET I All I want to do is sleep! I feel so tired.

2 hours None, I drink energy drinks instead.

7 I can’t think of anything cool about them.

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Klara, AFET II I feel awesome, and I love that it is getting more serious in the CW. 4 hours 5 at least 8, I’m looking forward to see the resolutions.

They visit us often.

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Niks, ECON Although sometimes it is annoying that it is hard to find a consensus in the committee discussions, all in all I really like it here 3-4 hours 5 cups 7, because I don’t actually know what to expect from it yet They wear glasses. 8-)

Michael, LIBE It is sometimes hard to understand what is being said because of the different English accents, but in general the session is much fun and I feel good.

4 hours 3 cups 9 They make the session scarier.

A talk with

the

ZOSH

Edgars Spudiņš, introducing you to the personality of our president, alongside with her impressions about the session.

Zosia is what you could call a veteran of EYP. She laughing 24/7, but she appreciates the joke if it is has participated in a lot of sessions (somewhat really funny. around 25) and she’s been in EYP since 2006.

Zosia prefers theatre to movies. But don’t think Zosia has been in EYP for 5 years, but this is her 1st she’s a stranger to films. ”When I watch a movie experience as a president. “At the beginning I was it’s usually a silly one to entertain myself ”, she feeling a bit nervous due to the new challenges”. says.

But now she’s feeling more relaxed, chilled and As unbelievable as it sounds, the President is having a great time. actually manages to get some sleep. According She’s also really satisfied with the officials. “I love to Zosia, a real president has time for everything. them. We have a really experienced chairs team, especially international chairs that help me a lot.” Apart from sleeping she drinks lots of coffee with milk. Yumm! She also loves sushi and chocolate

“A real president has time for everything.”

“I enjoyed Euroconcert”, Zosia

the says

“People showed that they could have fun”

She also likes the enthusiasm of Our lovely president appreciates the good newcomers, who performances from both the officials and are eager to learn delegates, and praises the latter’s creativity. new things.

Furthermore she is thankful to the Head Besides EYP Organisers for the wonderful opportunity to The Zosh likes preside the session. journalism and a n t h r o p o l o g y , Also she has been wanting to visit Latvia – hobbies she tries to “I’ve never been to Latvia, and I am really happy maintain alongside that I could manage it with my studies”, says with studies at Zosia university. She also Zosia expects the last day of the session to be digs volleyball and great. “I’m really looking forward to seeing skiing. enthusiastic delegates as well as fruitful debates Concerning jokes during the GA”. she says: „To be With her last words Zosia encourages delegates honest, I usually to participate in EYP also in the future. Then don’t get them”. she runs off, needing to attend to the important Zosha explains duties of a president. that she isn’t the

by Edgars Spudiņš person who will be 3

How we

UP HERE

ended

by Maximilian Kiehn

What kind of people are those EYP Officials? Obviously the kind who enjoy travelling all around Europe and staying for three days in a random school in some little known suburb here in Piņķi. On top of that, they seem to enjoy spending time with extraordinary people, staying up late, discussing all and sundry – Weirdoes.

Their behaviour seems to be rather odd, but if you hear their stories how they got involved in EYP then their ways will start making sense.

and offered Sebastian miss school on a Friday to attend one. An organisation that allows you to skip schooldays can is definitely worth visiting, so this was an opportunity Sebastian could not refuse.

For Niks, strangely enough it all started with Kate’s best friend Evija calling Kate up and telling her about this EYP thingy. ‘Nice idea’ said Kate and decided to try and get a few more schoolmates excited enough to fulfil the required 5 people for a delegation. Niks, who currently spends time in Russia, received her invitation as well, replied with interest, and the team was ready to go. Niks obviously had no clue what was going to happen. To prepare the whole delegation met up one day prior the session and Niks showed up being excited but lacking any kind of clothes for the session. He simply did not know the session would be the next day.

Irma learned about Teambuilding at home by the kitchen-table. Her aunt was and still is an active EYPer and so it was just natural for Irma to apply for a session. Although it is a widespread rumour that her Aunt played suck and blow with her every Christmas, this claim is not yet confirmed.

One Finn (name removed to avoid unpleasant inquiries and potential internet memes) was big on traveling to a session, because her teacher in charge of EYP was a ‘Johnny-Depp-Good-Looking’ Adonis.

She sacrificed her personal life to make a good an application as possible to ensure she gets to spend a few days with her history teacher at the regional session. As an added bonus she actually liked the idea of discuss politics but the real driving force was still the Adonis.

Sebastian, VP, started EYP at the age of seventeen.

When meeting up with his old friend from primaryschool, as he usually did every Wednesday, his friend told him about the first Sessions of EYP Romania

Our beloved Head-Organiser Signe was not really into EYP in the first place. She cancelled her participation for her first session; she expected it to be too boring. A person who really hates making decisions, she decided to sign-out her sign out at the last possible moment.

Signe enjoyed the Summer National Session so much that the moment she and journalist Diāna met up five months later at Christmas, she overexcitedly forced Diāna to attend the next session – successfully.

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my

AFET II encounter

by Diāna Orlovska

Thursday. January 5th. The day I met you - ten young EYPers from the AFET II committee, chaired by the fantastic pair of Elina and Miks.

From a bunch of people who consider two balls being a tough thing to deal with, you made it to a family-like group with the cutest f-nicknames ever. In the three days of the session I watched you acquire amazing banana, ninja and slug abilities. You discussed about the best mattresses or cuteness of Russian girls like ten bosses. If George Bush or Putin had any of you as their advisors or jury members, they would get a Nobel’s Prize or an Oscar in a jiffy. No, make it two in both cases – you would manage.

It was my pleasure introducing you to the great art of taking down the observing grandmother and the ancient skill of pointing at people & opening and closing things.

Or should I say – an irritating mind puzzle yet to be dealt with? He, he, he.

Staying cool the whole time? Enjoying the stalker visits? Man, you carried it all out pure and simple.

Oh, the dear committee of animal lovers, musicians, sportsmen, catf-s, blowf-s, elepfantf-s, the ultimate Honey, Tell Me That You Love Me champions and fruit and rock star namesakes! You surprised me with your enthusiasm, openness and passionate discussions. I watched you make your chairs as happy and smiling as two little puppies.

Alive, preferably... You made me proud of being the journo of such a tight-knit (literally – you know it) and fun committee.

Līga, Sigita, Elvi, Dina, Vlad, Madara, Ilvija, Klara, Dāvi and Krist – meeting each and every one of you was pure joy for me.

I wish you loads of happy RRS memories, many new friendships, luck and neverending creativity. I really hope to meet you again to streetfight or just have a random laugh about our names.

Russia, (a widely recognised drink – minding the policies of the session...), AFET II! Your amazingly cute journo, Diāna 5

What will I remember after the session?

by Mārtiņš Zariņš This session is of great importance to all of us on different levels. For me, this is a memorable anniversary of the start of my EYP career. Even though we all have different backgrounds, this is a first time session for all of us because RRS’12 is the first and the only of its kind. Surely we will never forget it and this is due to a WIDE spectre of reasons.

At this exact moment – what do you think will be your most vivid memory after the session?

The Press Team a.k.a. DEpressED team has already a vision of what will be dwelling and stalking our minds and hearts after the session ends. We, journalists, will remember pulling off marvellous all-nighters for the sake of your aesthetic enjoyment. Like the one yesterday.

Or the day before that. Or the one today. Our Editors shall be able to reminisce how their first newspaper was put together with flashing colours before their eyes, insane laughter and BA-DUM-TSS drum rolls.

Our endearing chairpersons, however, will instantly remember this session with mental images of their own. Like the police bust on the way to the Piņķi due to Pēteris’ aggressive, ravelike driving with the merry presence of other 4 chairs in the car. Irma will always remember the bright and shiny faces in the morning and all the amazing suppers throughout the session.

Oh, wait, there were no suppers during the session. Some chairs will also remember the session because of their sudden acquisition of power. Niklāvs was chairing his delegates like a boss whenever his co-chair Sebastian stepped out of the room.

There will also be bright memories of the delegates and guests of the session. Niks from ECON has expressed his utmost surprise about the close bond formed during teambuilding. Some of the delegates will clearly remember the awkward, yet astounding Euroconcert performances which were the product of the newly made, but iron firm team spirits in all of the committees.

Surely, none of the delegates will ever forget the ultimately random jokes made at 4 am. This even if the joker himself was the only one laughing.

All of us have and still will acquire very different experiences during these days, but attending this session is something we will all have in common to remember. These are the extraordinary memories to smile about years after the session.

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’t have on go mak e e yours now!

If you don

random

phot os

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GARBAGE

by Kate Katr朝na Dreiblathena

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Visit the dark side

by Edgars Spudiņš Do you ever wonder who are these people that are constantly biting you and sucking your blood? Here they are. A glimpse of the dark side, the AFCOs!

any different than a double rainbow with sugar and cinnamon on top.

AFCO is unique. Name any other committee that has been biting people regularly and solving problems with vampire trafficking.

You step inside a room, cold chills surround you, and you are surrounded with darkness. Your blood pressure’s rising and you want to scream for your mommy, but she isn’t here. You encounter a bunch of nightly creatures, and you understand there’s no way back. Apparently you’ve just entered AFCO’s committee room.

You notice two dark silhouettes and as you get closer you can see the vampire parents. Of course, a spectacular committee cannot exist without spectacular chairs. They’re called Irma and Marko.

When encountering Irma, bear in mind that you can lose not only blood but something else as well, because she is the only gipsy vampire of the session.

She is a really fun person to communicate with, and to be a delegate of. Combined with Marko, they make a perfectly vampirish duet for the session.

This committee has swagger. If you’re capable enough, the people from AFCO are probably one of the best people to spend time with. AFCO is a great combination of different personalities: from the gangsta who makes tricks with his belly to the good debaters to the professional chicken pilot, from tall ones to shorter ones, you name it, they’ve got it!

This committee is like a well baked muffin with tasty raisins all over it. So I suggest enjoying all the tastes that can be experienced, and baking more muffins like this one whenever the opportunity arises.

Kristiana, the extroverted and open person, also the biting game official champion. Otto, the gangsta vampire with golden chains and skills at walking the catwalk. Dzoijs, the master of the poker face and a good ninja. Madara, the positive and fun one, also a decent ninja. Naila, the always seeing master of strategy. Kārlis, a great vampire to purchase and positive energy support at funny games. The always smiling and as calm as a Buddhist delegate, Sindija. The focused and interested one, Konstantīns.

And last but not least, the quite experienced and dedicated delegate, Katrīna. Combining all of them makes a wonderful cocktail, which can never taste

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AFET I moves like jaeger

by Maximilian Kiehn

Rebuilding former communist countries in teambuilding, solving problems concerning Africa, the Committee on Foreign Affairs I took their task seriously and truly focused on international issues.

They tried and succeeded to see beyond their European noses.

cially interesting for their Latvian hosts; This Committee on Foreign Affairs holds the local store ‘Maxima’ in high esteem. A store that seems to sell everything from food to furniture, from cement to computers. For this committee a place necessarily needed.

In the meantime AFET stuck together to counteract the puzzlement caused by their intense discussions concerning international issues. Furthermore they integrated their only foreign delegate in a matter of seconds and started all moving like

The 9 members and their chair pair, Arnolds and Zosia, kicked off teambuilding with a cheerful birthday serenade for Sintija.

Following this enjoyable warm up the chicky-chicky beat caped them moving. After dazing 15 minutes through the swamp, the committee decided to help one former communist country choose 4 imperialistic companies to push their economy.

What measurements should be taken to ensure that the Arabian Spring truly frees the citizens of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia? Transferring the European system – such a simple solutions is not a valuable for the nine members of AFET. Taking culture values into consideration, they raised the questions concerning school systems, curricula, taxation rates, subsidies and brought up fresh ideas from all around the globe.

Maike Jaeger or was it Mick Jagger. With classical Latvian cart games, sandwiches and intensive coffee consumption they relaxed in their cosy working and sleeping place, called committee room.

Their solutions were wide spread and their discussion deep and intense. Who needs computers if you do not even have streets?

The important note here, espe-

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Giggling on the floor, counting blindly up to twenty, revealing fun facts and solving global problems on the go, AFET has shown their ability to work together.

We want vintage!

I’m stepping inside the faintly lit store in the alley. The shelves are flooded from ceiling to floor and you can expect to find anything. Right there, among 70s porcelain and clothing – that’s where the shopper in me feels like home. Anna Englund tells you why thrift stores are bits of heaven on earth.

Secondhand shopping is beneficial in many ways. First of all it’s a good way of satisfying the shopping devil in you without suffocating your students’ budget. If you’re lucky you can make real bargains, like brand clothes or even clothes with the price tag still untouched.

As one girl from ITRE said - “In a secondhand s t o r e you can find really good clothes for a low price!”

The real bargains are usually made at private garage sales or bigger charity shops, such as the Salvation Army’s.

Visiting shops several times may pay off, since they receive new shipments frequently. At garage sales the prices are furthermore also often negotiable, the owners are usually happy to get rid of their old stuff anyway.

A girl from ITRE cued me about an idiom that very well describes another good thing – one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. In regular shops the clothes are usually quite similar, and the chance of you buying the same shirt as your friend is impending. On

a fleamarket or a garage sale, however, really cool garments that definitely aren’t advertised in circuit stores can be found.

Arnolds, the chair of AFET 1, expressed it like this: “Personally I don’t do it. If I was a hipster I totally would!”

That said he has unconsciously approved that it can be a goldmine for somebody with an al-

ternative clothing style.

Last, but not least, secondhand shopping can also be described as eco-friendly consumption. Reusing old clothes and gadgets saves a lot of natural resources. Undesired items are not thrown away, and the old owner gets more free space in cupboards and gar a g e s .

Fu r t h e rmore, old clothes are often of higher quality than mass produced new ones, so you actually might get your hands on an object that lasts way longer than a new one.

Saving money, finding cool clothes and gadgets and saving the environment – three reasons why I love second hand shopping. I would encourage everyone to give it a try; you might be surprised by what you can find.

Anna’s top 4 stalker movies

One Hour Photo (2002) A man working at a photo comp. and obsessed with one customer.

Disturbia (2007) Teenager gets grounded, spies neighbours, sees weird stuff.

Copycat (1996) A serial killer is even more psycho than would be expected.

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Rear Window (1954) Paralized man spies on others and thinks his neighbour kills.

ITRE

the committee which will never cease to amaze me First day of the session. The opening ceremony has ended and I’ve just met my committee. Seems like a classic, shy and a bit defensive group of people. You spend only ten minutes with them and suddenly you are pulled in a vortex of hilarious ninjutsu. Yes, these people are surprisingly straightforward, but with a warm vibe emitting from them. ITRE, they are the ones.

While I was watching this committee, I had a the topic question from numerous aspects. Go to feeling that everything about these people has the far end of one direction, explore it and then already been written before. Their early bond continue to another unseen area of the topic. seemed so natural – while participating in the These people know what and when to do. Not teambuilding part I felt like this was a reunion a single opportunity was left untried. That was of old, trustful friends. Once these calm sun- fabulous, not a single thing to add. shines got the hang of each other, the spicy part began. I and the lucky chairs of ITRE were the Now that I am writing this article the night before ones to guide these people through this adven- the General Assembly, I can assure you that the ture that somehow did not contain any negative performance of this committee will be something atmosphere at all. Step by step, smile after smile, unseen before. People, who know each other by laugh after laugh and they were there, discuss- heart, face problems flawlessly in the end and smile whenever they can. This committee is abing situations of life and death sans problèmes. solutely beautiful in its essence. I hope you have During the committee work ITRE still reflect- received your share of ITRE – an unquestionable ed their unified, firm stance – in teambuilding legacy in my and hopefully the whole European they pretty much always knew how much time Youth Parliament’s mind,

by Mārtiņš Zariņš they needed to ace a challenge. We were greatly shocked and intrigued to see this tendency carried over into discussions of committee work as well. These charismatic gentlemen and ladies specialised in solving the problems concerning the future of nuclear energy in Europe.

ITRE continued their positive streak even to a point where they had tackled

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Session in numbers Have you ever wondered how much food is consumed during the session or whether you are the only one who hasn’t slept a minute throughout the session? If you ever did, Daniels Griņevičs gives you a look at the Riga Regional Session in random statistics.

Though the session mostly consists of delegates from Riga region, there are many people from other regions and even foreign ones. Interesting fact – though Riga Region is a rather compact in means of distance from one end to another, on average delegates have travelled 104.2 km. That happens to be the exact distance to Cēsis - the venue of the next Regional Session of EYP Latvia.

There are some lucky ones that live close enough to walk to the International School of Latvia, but also those who travelled thousands of kilometres in order to get to the wonderful session.

Sandwiches are the most important food of any EYP session and this is no exception. Organisers are taking care of the participants very well, and that’s why people have eaten nearly 7 sandwiches during the first two meals of the session on average.

EYP is a place for people to test their organisms capabilities of lasting without much rest.

Judging by the sleepy eyes and constant smell of coffee everyone kept enjoying the session after hours. Neverminding that the worried Head-Organizers asked everyone to go to sleep. On average everyone has slept 2.8 hours. Will it be enough to survive the GA?

Chairpersons tend to complain about the lack of preparation from the delegates. Not this time. Every delegate has read at least the overview and some have even done an extensive research reaching as much as 35 pages, before coming to Piņķi. On average, people have read 3.3 pages of material regarding their topic. Hence, the resolutions ought to be of great quality.

Without the innovative idea to implement stalking in the session of EYP, these days wouldn’t be even half of the fun they are. Journalists have even encouraged delegates to participate in the activities by setting an example. It has proven to be successful - people say they’ve been stalked by more than 11 stalkers on average. Good job, guys.

And it wouldn’t be a session without playing the Ninja Game. Unfortunately not every delegate knows the Ninja Game, but a game as entertaining and fun as this will definitely grow in popularity. On average, people have played it 2.5 times during the first day of the session. It’s not much for this game’s standards.

Aforementioned statistics are just a part of the research that proved this session being a great start for the year 2012. Everyone is having a great time and making new friends. Still the most important indicator for the high spirit of the session might as well be hugging. It is everywhere. This warm and genuine atmosphere among the delegates and officials cannot be measured in numbers nor can it be faked. Or forgotten.

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Session numbers in pictures

The distance between Piņķi and Cēsis - 104 km.

The

distance

between

Kaunas and Vilnius - 105 km.

EYPer consumes 7.5 sandwiches daily or 1000 kcal.

American consumes about 27 sandwiches daily or 3770 kcal.

Average EYPer sleeps 2.8 hours at this session daily.

Average koala sleeps up to 20 hours daily.

Each delegate has played the ninja game 2.5 games on average.

The largest ninja game (findable on youtube) had 112 participants.

Delegates claim to be stalked by 11 different personas

5,888 is the number of people living with the surname Stalker.

Every delegate read 3.3 pages of preparation material on average.

The first book in the Twilight saga is at least 498 pages long.

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EYP – where long distance friendship happens Every time when people travel around, they constantly meet new people. These people can be put into 3 categories. First is the one you will never ever meet again. Sad but true. Second ones are those who you might remember the names to or even add on facebook . The third and the most important is the ones who will affect your life – new friends. Kate Katrīna Dreiblathena tells you about this magical third type.

Either as a delegate or an official while attending a session you meet many cool people. Though, you will actually keep in touch with only some of them. And with even less you will actually meet up afterwards, which means that there are only few who you could actually call friends.

And as complicated as that might be, to keep the friendship, it is definitely worth the effort.

The beautiful thing about long distance friendship is at the same time the worst one. Not being able to see your friends whenever you want. Yes, it forces you to use facebook even more than just liking random posts or playing SimsSocial. Sometimes as the person is far away it`s easier to talk to and let everything out. On

the other hand the real beauty is within the times when you actually meet up. What can be better than talking all night long, laughing and just spending time together? And the amount of fun you have really makes it up for time lost beforehand.

The other reason what makes the friendships so awesome is the differences in the way you look at life. Sometimes the opposite – someone who,as you think, would never look at you in the same way as you

do, can surprise you. A mix of cultures with your friends is an easy way how to expand your point of view. EYP is the place where you can meet the most multicultural people. These are the people that you go to, when you want to get away from the routine.

It is not about the distance than it is more about people that you enjoy spending time with and have a lot in common. It`s the real friendship that you find by accident and don`t want to ruin just because there are 200 or even 1000 km between you.

EYP is the place where there are no borders for friendship.

This session in 36 first words Challenge, motivation, energysavinglightbulbs, procrastination, pizza, insomnia, jrrkõhhjhfhõhihih, lies, hungry,

Fanta-sea, joy, virginity, sleeplesnights, fun, adventure, awesomeness, laughter, random, Sebastian, enjoyment, experience, fist-time, mind-fuck, knowledge, keenness, sweety, awesome, epic, super, 15

Garfield, start, pyjamas, coffee, connection, pigs, bitch-please, excitement, satisfaction.

Ten Reasons to Attend TeNS 1) The session will last twice as long as this one; 2) The venues of the session - SSE Riga, Albert Hotel, Splendid Palace etc. - are located in the very heart of Riga; 3) TeNS is your chance to get selected to represent Latvia in one of the International Sessions of EYP. Six lucky people will head to Amsterdam this autumn, six more to Munich in spring of 2013.

Some more will have the chance to get to the other national sessions and international forums abroad; 4) Maria Manolescu, the truly amazing president of the session. She is not only small, cute, fun and absolutely lovable, but also highly professional and hard-working;

Uģis Balmaks, headorganiser of the Tenth National Session of EYP Latvia (TeNS), gives details about the event.

Tenth Regional Session of EYP Latvia might be your way to the Tenth National Session of EYP Latvia. Here are the top ten reasons to attend TeNS:

5) Session program includes traditional Euroconcert and Eurovillage, as well as session’s own TED conference, discussions with widely known experts and EYP Café at “Bārs Prieks”; 6) There is high chance that the session and its aftermath will alter your life, might even change it. Join Tellus, start your own EYP journey, change the world around you; 7) The motto of the session Rainis’ “Pastāvēs, kas pārvērtīsies” (roughly “You have to change in order to last”) will show in every aspect of the session. The ten session jubilee will be celebrated by looking where the experience can be improved, not blindly sticking to the past; 8) The chairs team is nearly complete 6 months before the session. And they know their stuff, too;

Where: Riga

9) Uģis and Andris, the head organisers of the session. This should have been reason no. 1;

When: July 4-9, 2012

10) The title TeNS represents what is expected from the session – excellence, quality, fun, intensity.

How to get there: Some of you will be invited to take part in the session.

Else, there will be additional ways to get to the session. Follow Tellus on Twitter, like on Facebook, check tellus.lv to find out more about that.

Do not miss this!

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Life with LIBE It has been a joy being your journo during this session, I truly had a great time. Together, every one of you made this possible, no matter how interesting, rich, amazing or arrogant you might have been. I wish you the best of luck, and who knows, we might meet at a future session sometimes.

According to some of you Laura for sure did not look like a vegetarian, and you were completely right. Alise, on the other hand, fooled you all with her amazing pokerface. One of your chairs, Peteris, was easily busted for not knowing the Twilight plot, but also shared the oddest story about puking on a piano.

After lunch on Thursday the team was reinforced with

After three days spent with your committee you slowly forget how it is to have a normal life. You eat the same food, breathe the same air and see the same post-its.

However, during those days you also get to know each other pretty well. Do you remember the game “Two truths and a lie” where you for the first time revealed all kinds of stuff to each other? If not, your journo will refresh the memories of that and many other parts of the evolution of the lovely committee LIBE.

After an intense game of red or blue you were finally ready to take on the real challenge. Despite a quiet atmosphere during parts of teambuilding you managed to start out with committee work really well.

After a productive brainstorming a list of problems appeared fairly smoothly, and you could concentrate on the phrasing. Being sure about the issues then made it easier to find sustainable solutions. This process took a lot of time, but it was worth the effort since the resolution eventually came out well.

international feeling, when Michael finally arrived and could join us. Fortunately he didn’t miss out on “Pass the orange”, which caused a lot of laughter. It took a while to get the technique right, but in the end you succeeded.

Rihards even got so excited he actually stated he wanted to be the ball.

Lots of love, Your journo, Anna

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ECON - Y U SO COOL? As the popular saying goes: ’Don`t judge a book by its cover’. This is what the young economists are all about. As half of the committee prefers mathematics over other subjects, the committee on economic and monetary affairs manages to have the best time ever. Kate Katrīna Dreiblathena explains further

If you`re not convinced right now about which is THE best committee, I`d like to share one of the whole committees passions. And I will not talk about 2 or 3 of them. It is every single committee’s member’s favourite thing. It is in fact black humour. Dead baby jokes, racist jokes – you name it. Laughter attacks can appear at any time, in any moment – even during the last hour of committee work they manage to combine hard work and the guilty pleasure.

‘You don`t kill Britney. You will need someone to look at to make yourself feel ok.’

‘Obama has some JayZ on his phone. He`s COOL!’ ‘Who is Angele Merkele? Just the second most popular person after Hasselhoff in Germany!’

‘What if M.L. King would have said: ‘I Have a dream… wait… am I black?’ ‘.

‘Putin is the king who put in Russia the extra 40%’.

‘I see what you did there.’

Even though not being with the committee all the time, I can assure that they really look up to their handsome chair-pair Sebastian & Niks. And now will say directly to the lovely ECON: I really enjoyed every minute of what I spent with you, you made my sleepless nights more bearable and made me smile for a long, long time.

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REGI-culous Chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Same applies to a committee. When it comes to the committee on Regional Development, seems like there is no stopping the affectionate group of active young people. Daniels Griņevičs explains how come there are no weaknesses. Just REGI.

They are REGI. These four letters mean much more than simply discussing topic on regional affairs. Their key to success lies within the mindset. Baltic Sea is not just a sea.

It is a living entity. An entity with a soul. REGI cares for the Baltic Sea as much as they care for each other. It is one of them.

And if the Northern Sea objects to making a mutual canal, REGI will make it agree. For the sake of their own precious Baltic.

This was the time for someone to shine. It was the open-minded Jānis who brought the committee together with witty remarks and active participation. Zvaigzne didn’t let his surname down.

Patrīcija didn’t feel ashamed to share a spicy detail (to be left behind the curtains of intrigue), thus breaking the ice.

Kārlis approached everything with cool, manly stance, bringing solidity to the group, just like one does on the rugby field.

Anna and Ieva were like two lady angels not letting the committee fall by the wayside.

Graceful Linda not only entertained everyone with her performance on the big stage, but also managed to impressively stay on top of everything that happened and contribute in spite of needing to leave the committee for part of the committee work.

Lauma expressed her attitude by proving that not having an idea to solve an impossible issue does not mean one should not try. In addition, there is still discussion whether she was more deserving of the “King of Pinkie” status. Last but not the least Jānis P. started as the timekeeper, but took upon the role of conducting the Committee Work, not letting the perfect melody shiver even a bit.

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All of the REGI success is, of course, due to the bal-

anced personalities, cooperation and everything else, but.. Nothing would have been possible unless for their chairpersons.

Evija and Dominic, Dominic and Evija. Both strong (“I work out”), united and tactful at any situation.

They’re great and lucky are those who have an opportunity to do work with them. True professionals. It’s been an honour.

The session is close to the end. It has been full of adventures and tough moments, but everyone has survived. REGI is no exception. All the better, it is most likely the friendship made in the trenches of Riga Regional Session will last for a long time.

We’re REGI and we know it.

They love postcards!

dressing up as someone from the opposite sex. Although does get embarrased when changing back to ‘normal clothes‘.

4 - Is incapable of ironing his own clothes.

Also finds Mexican vacation spots to be more funny than romantic.

Tends to sleep with eyes open.

5 - Is easily amusable by making ‘Annoying Orange‘ sounds and does find a certain post card related joke funny

every time. Cannot bear the sight of a bear being skinned.

6 - Had a Justin Bieber calendar and has once made a committee fully associate with Biebs.

Also, has coffee and tea flavoured tooth paste.

7 - Has a tendency to fall asleep in random places, including on the ground under a palm tree. When unchecked, plays unknown annoying hipster music from the speakers.

8 - Has little bells on her flash drive in order to find it easier. Cannot describe herself in three sentences when asked.

9 - Uses a computer used by the Swedish military forces.

Brought the most stalker gear and does not know how to spell Zosia’s name.

10 - Absolutely indescribable.

Nicest person on the media squad. Sees her chairs at least once an hour.

1-Š; 2-M; 3-Z; 4-S; 5-L; 6-Õ; 7-N; 8-Y; 9-P; 10-B

1 - Tells the best sober drunk stories you will ever hear. Allegedly had a relative who was the bishop of Lion.

Also, finds the lamps and architectural design for the foyer quite disturbing and unprofessional.

2 - Is not afraid to call people needy when they contact him. Surprisingly, does not have a noticeable accent and speaks quite clearly.

3 - Finds no shame in

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Delivered to you by: Kate Katrīna Dreiblathena (LV), Daniels Griņevičs (LV), Anna Englund (FI), Mārtiņš Zariņš (LV), Diāna Orlovska (LV), Edgars Spudiņš (LV), Manfredi Danielis (IT), Maximilian Kiehn (DE).

Edited and supervised by: Andre Tamm (EE) and Kārlis Caune (LV).

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