: : 8 th A L U M N I W E E K E N D : : EYP the Netherlands
::September 20-22, 2013:: Huizen
8 th A L U M N I W E E K E N D : : E Y P T H E N E T H E R L A N D S
::FOREWORD:: OPEN LETTER FROM ZAHRA ---
Dear Alumni, dear Trainers, Thank you for being there at the 8th Alumni Weekend! I can only emphasise again what has been said already so many times, but really, it is true: training is hugely important. When I just started EYP, I had the opportunity to go to a chairs’ training. I had absolutely no idea about EYP and how it all functioned, what my opportunities were, etcetera. But I did go to the training, dragged along by a friend. I still remember it very well, and I still have the notes I took there somewhere in one of my EYP notebooks (my very first!). There was training on Teambuilding, Committee Work, and even on organising. Even though I didn’t chair very soonW after that, the training made a huge impression on me. Not only did I understand much more about what I
had seen my chair do at the National Session I attended, but it also sparked interest in this role, and even more importantly, the things I learned there about team facilitation were useful straight away in other settings and teams that I worked in. With this in the back of my head, I never underestimated the power of training after that. And seeing you now being trained is a great pleasure for me. Not only because this will develop our organisation further, lift up the level of our Prelims and Nationals, but also because here, we can make a very concrete addition to your skills. I hope that EYP will make a positive mark on your life, like it did for me, and so many others.
Warmest regards, Zahra -President of EYP the Netherlands
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8 th A L U M N I W E E K E N D : : E Y P T H E N E T H E R L A N D S
::TRAINERS::
Gillian O’Halloran (IE)
Boaz Manger (NL)
Sandra Stojanović (RS)
Maria Manolescu (RO)
T: Various levels of chairing
T: Chairing, Journalism
T: Journalism, NC development
T: Chairing, Organising
:: LO C AT I O N :: This time, location for the Alumni Weekend was a camping sight near Huzien, at Blaricum, called De Spoel. The sight consisted of 56 wooden cabins and a few other venues such as a dinning room. Spacious and surrounded by nature, this location proved perfect for training and other EYP activities. On Saturday evening, participants even made a huge campfire!
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8 th A L U M N I W E E K E N D : : E Y P T H E N E T H E R L A N D S
::COFFEE,GAMES AND MODULES:: by Lisa and Esmée ---
After the giggling, widely known EYP songs and teambuilding, it was time to start. The location, Huizen, was surrounded by a beautiful green forest. It would not be wrong to call the little cabins we were accommodated in, picturesque. Occasionally, the cold weather disturbed this seemingly perfect image. Nonetheless, real EYPers, that we are, were not easily taken away by the trivial things such as weather. With an extra sweater and pair of thermos socks everyone was in the mood for the Alumni Weekend! On the event agenda: training. Not just any training; no, my dears. There were separate modules for trainings in journalism, various levels of chairing, organising, NC development etc.
crowded flipcharts. It is amazing how much can be taught in such little time. We were like sponges, absorbing anything and everything. The second day followed with even more diverse knowledge being share as part of the so called minor trainings. Not only was this weekend meant as a ‘sneak peak’ behind the EYP scenes, but also a reunion of officials, delegates and friends. Off course, the evenings were filled with socializing, singing and talking endlessly; the usual EYP stuff. We were all gathered around the huge campfire and marshmallows. Looking back at the whole experience, we can only conclude that this was not any EYP weekend. This was THE 8th EYP Alumni Weekend.
The first day of training, Saturday, was a true overdose of information. The day mainly consisted of listening, writing down notes and over-
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8 th A L U M N I W E E K E N D : : E Y P T H E N E T H E R L A N D S
::EYP IN ONE WORD:: Samantha asked particpants of the 8th Alumni Weekend to sum up European Youth Parliament in one word. After some serious struggle to pin down just the right one, here is what all of them had to say presented in a neat wordle design.
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8 t h A L U M N I W E E K E8Nt hDA :L: UEMY NP I T WH E ENK E TNHDE :R: L EAYNPD TS H: E: GN rEoTuHpE Rp Lh Ao Nt oD S
8 th A L U M N I W E E K E N D : : E Y P T H E N E T H E R L A N D S
8 th A L U M N I W E E K E N D : : E Y P T H E N E T H E R L A N D S
:: D E L E G AT E C E P T I O N :: by Chi Chi --‘There I was at the farewell party of my second International session dancing with my first chair.’ The Delegateception is a phenomenon every EYPer experiences at some point. It is when the walls between officials and delegates are torn down without breaking the ‘Golden rule’. The
riencing the phenomenon of Delegateception. For instance, Willem Kollewijn used to be ones Zahra’s delegates and having held varies positions e.g. chairing, he is now one of the organ-
phenomenon portraits perfectly that mind-blowing moment you find yourself in as a relatively new Alumnus after the first few sessions, and meet face to face various generations of people you have been a delegate to or with. As a delegate you regard your chair as an authority figure and do not often picture yourself with that person on the dance floor, as two equals, just popping some moves. The notion is rather weird, don’t you think? A chair is often seen somewhat as a teacher, a mentor or someone who is looking in from ‘above’, dropping occasional instructions. But seeing your chair as a normal human being – yeah, right.
isers for the Hague forum. After being in EYP for a while, Zahra appreciates having an opportunity to observe new Alumni and journeys they partake. Over the years of seeing people come and go, she learnt that through (EYP) experiences you become a better version of yourself. She was very different at the beginning of her EYP journey and being able to see that growth in others over the years has brought her joy. In a way, these stories might seem as irrelevant, but they are not. I started as a delegate at a preliminary round in Zeist, not having a single clue of what EYP had in store for me. Session after session has left me wiser. When it comes to this particular event – 8th Alumni Weekend, seeing all my previous chairs and other generations had made me excited for future sessions and people in EYP, too.
Zahra was chairing me at my second IS. At first, I had to get used to not being allowed to speak Dutch to her. Having her as a chair thought me a different side to our President; a more serious academic side to the contagious laughter we all know her for. In an interview with our Zahra I wanted to find out how the Delegateception works the other way round. I was curious about her early years and how it was to be a new EYPer way back then. At the beginning of Zahra’s EYP journey, Delegateception was not something she came across often. Her very first chair was Rosa Douw, who is currently presiding the upcoming Irish regional session. In recent years, however, she had the pleasure of expe-
In my opinion training weekends and gatherings like the 8th Alumni Weekend are not only for new and old alumni to gain insight, meet new people and build on skills for EYP. The aim is also to breakdown walls through Delegateception. I realised the chairs that I looked up to, were and are just like me. I know that if I just keep going, I could one day be like them. I cannot help but wonder where EYP will take me in the next two years.
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‘ ‘ I c a n n o t h e l p b u t w o n d e r8 wt hh eAr eL U E YM P NI w i l l t a k e m e i n t h e n e x t t w o y e a r s .‘‘ - Chi Chi
WEEKEND :: EYP THE NETHERLANDS
More photos at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.546842298703186.1073741827.244772198910199&type=3
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::This issue is brought to you by participants of the Journalism training:: Lisa Adrien Duarte Esmée Doense Nina Ramaswamy Samantha van Hooydonk Anneke van der Linde Robin Simonse Chibuye ‘Chi Chi’ Changwe & Sandra Stojanović