Session Booklet of the 13th National Selection Conference of EYP the Netherlands
1
Table of Contents Introduction
Venues
Page 3
Page 4-5
Practical information
Topics
Page 6-7
Page 8
Programme
The session explained
Page 9
2
Page 10-11
General Assembly Procedure
Rules and Legal notes
Page 12
Page 13
13th National Selection Conference of EYP the Netherlands
Introduction Dear delegates, dear teachers, Congratulations once more with your selection to the 13th National Selection Conference of the European Youth Parliament the Netherlands! The Nationals are one of the highlights of the EYP year in the Netherlands and we are all very much looking forward to meet you on the 8th of February. are Head Organisers Florentine Oberman and Julie van der Post, who have arranged every organisational aspect of this session and are your main point of contact in case of any questions before, and during the session. Furthermore, President of the session Victoria Wilkinson (NO), who will lead the chairs team and guide all of us through the entire session, assisted by Vice-Presidents Grainne Hawkes (IE) and Boaz Manger (NL) and This Session Booklet is your main guide to prepare yourself for the non-academic part of the session. It contains the programme of the session, travel instructions and practical information such as a packing list. But this booklet is not your only source of information. We would like to point out to you that our website, http:// www.eyp.nl, is updated several times a week with information on the session. Please visit the site regularly to stay up to date. Moreover, for more informal communication, we will also you use our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/EYP-the-Netherlands. During Committee Work, you will discuss one of the topics mentioned in this booklet. All school delegations will be split up in different committees for the entire duration of the session, starting with Teambuilding on in the topic preferences of the members of your delegation in the form that is mentioned later in this booklet, before the End of January.You will receive the booklet with all the topics and topic overviews later this week. The Nationals are also an important moment for the selection of the Dutch delegation to the International Sessions of the EYP – this year taking place in both Munich and Tbilisi - and also many other events all over Europe in the upcoming year. We aim for an event with high quality of discussion and debate, and high quality resolutions. Therefore, it information as you can prior to the session. Knowing your topic thoroughly will help you express and share your personal views more effectively and ensure that you have an unforgettable few days. Remember that you represent yourself at the session, we therefor expect you to form your own opinion on the topic beforehand – and what is better than having your say on these current European issues! You will receive the Resolution Booklet the evening before General Assembly, similar to that of the Preliminary Rounds, containing all resolutions from Committees Work. Furthermore, we have attached the Alcohol and Drugs Policy for this session. Please read through it carefully and make sure you are aware of the rules and legal notes. This booklet, together with the information on our website, should cover all necessary information about the conference. Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by using the contact details mentioned further on in this booklet. I wish you a successful preparation and I cannot wait to welcome you all in Amsterdam for an incredible weekend! Zahra Runderkamp President of EYP the Netherlands
www.eyp.nl
3
4
13th National Selection Conference of EYP the Netherlands
St. Ignatiusgymnasium
Sleeping accommodation and Committee Work Jan van Eijckstraat 47 1077 LH Amsterdam
www.eyp.nl
Het Koninklijk Instituut der Tropen General Assembly Mauritskade 63 1092 AD Amsterdam
5
Practical Information Participation fee
The participation fee for the session is 造500,- per school. We ask you to send the money to the following before January 30th. Transaction of the participation fee is vital for participation in the session.
Contact Information Head Organisers: Florentine Oberman +31 6 41269401 Julie van der Post +31 6 30595488 nationals@eyp.nl www.eyp.nl
Bank Information Account number 2122.74.856. Account Holder S.E.J.P.N. Bank Name Triodos Bank N.V. O.v.v. School name
Dresscode Explained
With such a variety of different elements and activities during the session, we understand you may be unsure as to what you are exactly expected to wear! As participants, you are expected to dress appropriately and choose your ensemble with consideration. We want you to feel comfortable about your clothes, so please read carefully while we explain the different dress codes below:
Comfortable This dress code applies to Teambuilding, where you will be doing various exercises and games, both indoors and outdoors.You are free to wear any type of clothing you feel comfortable in, as long as you are able to run around and are not afraid to perhaps get a little bit dirty!
Casual This dress code applies to informal evening activities, and gives you the freedom to choose any type of clothing you feel comfortable wearing.
Smart During Committee Work you will be required to dress smart.You will not be expected to wear your suit, wear something in between. For example, black or navy blue trousers with a blouse will suit perfectly for Committee Work.
Formal During Opening Ceremony, and the General Assembly you will be expected to dress formally. This means suits with ties for gentlemen, and suits, dresses or long skirts for the ladies!
6
13th National Selection Conference of EYP the Netherlands
Teachers
For the teachers there is the possibility to stay at the school, but they do need to bring their own mattress and sleeping bag like the rest of the participants. If they prefer to stay at a hotel this is of course possible. However, this is not included in the participation fee and not covered by the European Youth Parliament the Netherlands. If you are not staying at the school please let the organisation know beforehand. We will send all teachers a separate email detailing their programme during the session. If you have any questions you can contact us via email: nationals@eyp.nl
Information about delegates and selection
We select delegations based on their performance at the Preliminary Rounds. Consequently, we select the delegates, and not the school as such, to participate in the National Selection Conference. We therefore expect the delegations to consist of the same people that participated in the Preliminary Rounds. We would like to stress that it is also not possible to make last minute changes to your delegation for the session. In the case that a delegate in your school’s delegation will not be able to participate, your delegation will just participate
What to Bring Essential - Sleeping Bag - Money - Warm clothes (jackets, vests etc.) - Passport / other valid travel documents - OV Chipcard, if possible
Eurovillage - Food and drinks from the country you represent - National costume - Other items that will help represent your country proudly
Committee Work - Research and other preparation for your topic (no printers will be available at the Session) - Pens, paper and clipboard
Clothes - Formal clothing for Opening Ceremony, Euroconcert and General Assembly - Costumes/Uniform for the Theme Party
This year, we are for the second time using individual selection for the International Sessions. During the 13th National Selection Conference we will select 16 individuals in total that will represent the Netherlands at these Interational Sessions.This time, you will have the possibility to go to the International Session in Munich (5-14 April) and Tbilisi (18-27 October). For fora and other sessions abroad, we continue to select school delegations. Teachers will be informed separately about the individual selection system.
Registration form us at nationals@eyp.nl as soon as possible) for the whole delegation: national Sessions. Also, it will enable us to provide them with information about EYP as soon as they have become an alumnus of EYP the Netherlands.
www.eyp.nl
7
Topics The Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) The agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) has been a topic of debate since its incubation in 1994. Originally designed as an agreement made for multiple countries it now grants only three countries special rights and access to the European Internal Market. Is there still a place for the agreement in our current Europe? Should the agreement continue as it is, with
The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home affairs (LIBE) The Dublin Agreements are designed to combat ‘asylum shopping’ of asylum seekers amongst the countries Italy and Greece, what should be done to limit the need to transfer asylum seekers between the members of the agreement due to unsatisfactory reception conditions? Should they be transferred at all?
The Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) MEPs and other experts have debated the growing levels of debt among sports clubs, recent corruption cases
The Committee on Agriculture (AGRI) With the growing international competition in the food sector, European farmers have been driven to adopt new measures to remain competitive and to be able to produce cheap food. However these measures come welfare of these animals and if not what should it be doing to ensure the welfare of animals within the EU?
The Committee on the Environment (ENVI) With 25% of Western Europe’s ‘Healthy Years’ lost to chronic illness as a result of obesity, and the impact it has on people’s lives as well as our healthcare systems. What should the role of the European Union be to combat rising obesity in Member States and what actions should be taken to decrease the harmful impact it can have on people’s lives?
The Committee on Security and Defense (SEDE) Nothing to hide nothing to fear – with the increase of CCTV cameras being used to combat crime across Europe as well as new DNA databases being used to prevent future criminality, should the European Union concern itself with the privacy of it’s citizens and limit the use of such technology or is it a necessary evil in today’s world?
The Committee on Fisheries (PECH) ing the decline.The EU has recognised this and is in the process of reforming the CFP so that it can be implemented by 2014.The reforms, however, have been criticised and questions are raised if the proposed reforms
The Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) In light of the recent status upgrade of Palestine by the UN General Assembly, should the European Union fol-
8
13th National Selection Conference of EYP the Netherlands
Programme Friday, February 8th 10:00 12:30 13:30 16:00 18:00 19:30 22:00 00:00
Welcome and start teambuilding Lunch in shifts Teambuilding Coffee Break Return to Ignatius Eurovillage Walk to EYP café Good night
Saturday, February 9th 08:00 08:30 09:00 11:00 11:30 13:00 13:45 16:00 16:30 18:00 18:30 21:00 22:30 01:00
Breakfast Opening Ceremony Committee Work Coffee break Committee Work Lunch Committee Work Coffee break Committee Work Hand in Resolutions Dinner Committee Work Depart to EYP café Good night
Sunday, February 10th 07:30 08:15 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:45 11:00 11:45 12:30 13:15 14:00 14:45 15:30 15:45 16:30 17:15 18:00 18:30
Breakfast Transfer to KIT Opening GA GA procedures Resolution I Coffee Break Resolution II Resolution III Lunch Resolution IV Resolution V Resolution IV Coffee Break Resolution VII Resolution VIII Closing Ceremony Jury results Departures
www.eyp.nl
9
The Session Explained What is Teambuilding? Teambuilding is one of the core elements of the Session. It will provide you with a fun and challenging way of getting to know your committee and preparing yourself for the rest of the weekend. To prepare you for further EYP involvement we would like to explain to you what the differences are between the Teambuilding at Preliminary Rounds and the National Selection Conference. Teambuilding aims for, as the name states, the building of a team. Delegates will be divided into eight different committees. You are placed with people from other delegations that you have never met before. Teambuilding serves several purposes; like Ice Breaking, one of the aims is to make you feel more comfortable in your committee and to get to know the other people in the group. But Teambuilding also aims at improving the communication and teamwork between you and your fellow delegates. During teambuilding, you will be challenged to carry out several activities that are aimed at ensuring you get along well with your fellow participants and that your committee becomes a well-functioning team. The chairpersons of the committee will guide this process. They will lead several activities for the committee to get to know each other, build trust and ensure everyone is comfortable with giving their own opinion. Bear in mind that Teambuilding will at times take place outside. Therefore we strongly recommend you bring warm clothes and rain jackets in order to protect yourself from Dutch weather.
What is Committee Work? Committee Work is one of the most serious and important parts of the Session. All committees will discuss their topics and eventually write a high-quality resolution, presenting their vision to solving the key issues of their topic. Committee Work is therefore quite similar to Introduction to Committee Work at the Preliminary Rounds. about this given topic. The resolutions you write at the Nationals are in the same format as the resolutions at the Preliminary Rounds. A resolution is a collection of statements of what the problem is, solutions to the problem and how you would like to implement these solutions. Essential for this element of the Session is that you need a consensus within the committee about everything you write down in the resolution. It will be crucial to work as a team and fully engage in your topics, whilst at the same time keeping in mind the different opinions. You represent your own opinion within EYP. It is therefore crucial to form your personal opinion on a topic and express that view to others.You may try to convince others of your opinion, but also be open for others opinions, for someone else might have ideas that you never thought of that change the way you look at the In order to perform well in Committee Work and make a relevant contribution on the topic, it is of utmost importance to come to the session well prepared, with your research printed, as there will be no printer available at the session.
What is the General Assembly? During General Assembly all delegates will come together to discuss and debate the resolutions they have written during Committee Work. Following standard parliamentary procedure, all resolutions will be presented and defended, and then debated upon by the Assembly. At the end of each debate, there is a vote based solely on your personal opinion on the quality of the resolution. 10
13th National Selection Conference of EYP the Netherlands
The General Assembly will be your moment to share your opinion and views, practice your public speaking skills and debate pressing European issues you are interested in and feel truly passionate about! There is little difference between General Assembly at the Preliminary Rounds and the Nationals. The difference is that instead of a pre-written resolution by someone else, you now defend the resolution your committee made during Committee Work. This also means that you will be sitting with your committee (and not your delegation) during the General Assembly. Moreover, your time to prepare speeches is limited to one evening, night and morning between Saturday’s Committee Work and Sunday’s General Assembly. Because of that last element, it is of vital importance that you not only study your own topic, but also gain in-depth knowledge on the other topics, so you can form an opinion before the session begins. This will give you an advantage during GA. You will probably feel more comfortable now than you did a few weeks ago with giving your opinion and we hope that you learned from the previous experience to give even better constructed points, better speeches, keep moving the debate forward by responding more to given points and avoiding repeating what is already said, and avoiding giving hollow statements without any arguments or being disrespectful to other participants.
What is Eurovillage? On Friday evening we will have a dinner prepared by you. Delegations are assigned to a European country and you are asked to prepare dinner in style of this hotchpotch (stamppot), small pancakes (poffertjes), gouda cheese, chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag), etc. All delegates are asked to wear traditional clothes of that country and to bring attributes to decorate their country tables. If everyone does their utmost best it will be a festivity to never forget. Keep in mind that you prepare dinner for 13-14 people, this is the size of your committee, plus teachers
Eurovillage Countries CLZ - The Netherlands Helen Parkhurst - Belgium Comenius College - Norway Sint Ignatius Gymnasium - Italy Revius Lyceum - United Kingdom Stanislas College - Spain Berlage Lyceum - Ireland Mencia de Mendoza - Greece
What is EYP café? On Saturday night all delegations and alumni will go to a evening venue in Amsterdam. We would like to remind you that underage drinking is not permitted and could have serious consequences.
What do you mean when you’re talking about becoming an alumnus?
Herman Wesselink College - France KSG De Breul - Turkey Marnix College - Sweden Tabor Werenfridus - Germany
EYP the Netherlands is run by alumni. When you have participated in the National Selection Conference you automatically gain this status. As an alumnus, you are recognised as a member of the European Youth Parliament. You are registered in our mailing list and receive regular updates about all kinds of events: sessions, parties, the EYP alumni weekend, etc. For all these events you can sign up. Usually, you have to pay a participaEYP the Netherlands organises the Preliminary Rounds and the National Selection Conference for which you can apply as well. EYP The Netherlands relies on alumni and their dedication to the organisation to organise sessions. We encourage all participants at the upcoming National Selection Conference to become actively involved in our organisation to help EYP the Netherlands grow! www.eyp.nl
10
Procedure of the GA The total time set aside for one debate will normally be 40 minutes, though this will subject to time constraints. The setting of debate time, and changes in debate time, are entirely at the discretion of the President and her Board. Each debate is the main responsibility of the proposing committee – this committee will defend the resolution, and as such will always be given enough opportunities in the debate in which to do so. 1. Reading of the Operative Clauses. One member of the proposing committee will read out the Operative Clauses. 2. Defence Speech. This will be followed by a three-minute Defence Speech from a member of the proposing committee. 3. Attack Speech. There will then be three minutes in which an Attack Speech can be made by another committee or committees. 4. Points of Information To be raised to make a factual query about a term/phrase in the resolution. 5. Open Debate. The rest of the time (approx. 30 minutes) is set aside for open debate among delegates. If you wish to make a point, raise your committee sign and wait to be 6. Summation Speech. 3 minutes to summarise the debate by 1-2 speakers from the proposing committee. 7.Voting Procedure Following the completion of general debate, delegates will be given the opportunity to vote on the resolution in the form of for, against and abstentions. Chairs will collect the votes. A Board member counts the votes and announces the result after the debate on the following resolution. Each student votes according to his or her own convictions. Please note: the passing or failing of a resolution will not affect the jury’s deliberations.
Placards Committee Placard: To be raised each time a committee wants to make a point/speech. Points of Information: or phrase in a resolution only. They should not be used to attack or defend the speaker or the resolution. Point of Personal Privilege: The privilege sign should be raised when a delegate cannot hear or understand what has been said. In this case the President may interrupt the speaker to recognise the point. Direct Response: Allows for a direct response to the most recent point with priority over other Committee’s points. This placard may be used by each Committee 1 time during each open debate. Point of Order: If the board makes a mistake in the order of the procedure this placard can be raised to make them aware and let them correct their mistake.
12
13th National Selection Conference of EYP the Netherlands
Alcohol and Drugs Policy Rationale the one hand the potential risks involved with alcohol consumption, while on the other hand we realize that Dutch social norms accept that youth can consume limited amounts of alcohol.The following policy is drafted on the basis of a principle of responsible drinking in a controlled environment. 1. Alcohol may be served during the EYP party, this excludes the Eurovillage evening. 2. Consumption is allowed for those who are of legal drinking age at the time of the session. 3. Delegates are expected to behave as representatives of their schools and any consumption of alcohol should not lead to a reduced ability to participate during the programme of the next day. 4. Delegates will be supervised both by their teachers, the Head Organisers and the Board of EYP the Netherlands. Those have a shared responsibility to ensure that alcohol is consumed in a controlled and reasonable manner. 5. The European Youth Parliament frowns upon overindulgence. At signs of intoxication, a delegate may be cut off from alcoholic beverages for the remainder of the evening or of the session. Any delegate seriously overindulging will be expelled from the session. sion from the session.
Alcohol During the evening programme, wine and beer will be available at some events for anyone who is 18 or older. Dutch law will be respected, meaning that beer and wine (<15% alcohol) will be available to those who are 18 years and older, and spirits (>15% alcohol) will only be available to those of 18 years and older. EYP has a good reputation (for example, European Commissioners often suggest discussion topics for us) and we would like to keep it that way. Also, we need you to participate fully in the debates and discussions. For this reason, overindulgence is forbidden. If you drink so much that you get sick or lose consciousness, you will be removed from the session and be sent home. You will have to pay for this yourself and the participation fee will not be refunded.
Drugs Amsterdam has a reputation for marijuana and this is easily available in the city to those who are 18 or over. However, because of the reputation of EYP and your ability to participate in the programme, the use of any drugs during the session is forbidden. If you use drugs or have them in your possession, then you will be removed from the session and be sent home.You will have to pay for this yourself and the participation fee will not be refunded.The organisers will also inform your teacher immediately. Should you be suspected of carrying drugs or of drug use, then the organisers will reserve the right to subject you to a drug-test and to search your luggage. Any possession of hard drugs will be reported to the police and could result in your arrest.
www.eyp.nl
13
Stichting Europees Jeugd Parlement Nederland 13th National Selection Conference Carolina MacGillavrylaan 1164 1098XC Amsterdam Nederland info@eyp.nl nationals@eyp.nl http://www.eyp.nl