EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT - UKRAINE
ANNUAL REPORT 2015
The European Youth Parliament (EYP) is a unique educational programme which brings together young people from all over Europe to discuss current topics in a parliamentary setting. As a network of independent associations, EYP is present in 40 European countries and organises almost 500 events every year. The EYP network organises almost 1,000 days of EYP activity every year, involving close to 28,000 participants. Thousands of young people are active as volunteers all over Europe, making EYP a programme truly for young people, by young people. The European Youth Parliament’s mission is to inspire and empower young Europeans to become open-minded, tolerant and active citizens. International Youth NGO “European Youth Parliament - Ukraine” (EYP-Ukraine) represents one of 40 National Committees of the European Youth Parliament. Registered with the Government of Ukraine on February 18, 2002, it is a full-fledged participant of civil society development process in Ukraine. De facto, EYP-Ukraine has been successfully operating
in Ukraine since 2000, involving young Ukrainians in activities of one of the largest European platforms for debate, intercultural encounters, educational work and exchange of ideas among young Europeans. Annually EYP-Ukraine conducts a National Session selecting delegations to represent Ukraine at EYP international and regional sessions in Europe, as well as regional sessions in Ukrainian cities and other youth projects. During its lifetime, EYP-Ukraine has acquired professional expertise and valuable experience in organising different kinds of youth events: regional and international sessions, national conferences, trainings and workshops etc. Moreover, EYP-Ukraine has been a key partner in organisation of UN Youth Summits on Millennium Development Goals in Ukraine as well as a key youth partner of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine as it pertains to the organisation of Europe Days in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine. Experienced and talented young people ready to volunteer their time and efforts to implement interesting projects are the most valuable resource we possess.
OVERVIEW 4 Welcome to EYP 12 Empowering Youth 26 Inclusion 32 Year 2016
1. WELCOME TO EYP
The EYP is organised by young people, for young people; it is built on the work of thousands of young volunteers. We believe in the power of volunteering and take pride in the achievements of our volunteers. Participants are expected and encouraged to take responsibility for their organisation and to bring in their own ideas. This is integral both to making our activities possible and to empowering young people through skills development. Furthermore, we not only simulate democratic processes but apply them in the running of our organisation. Our many volunteers are those who plan, prepare and carry out our activities, so they are the ones who make decisions in organisation.
Kristina Chelmakina President 2015 European Youth Parliament - Ukraine
Hello and welcome to the world of EYP! With these words I am concluding the 15th year of activities the European Youth Parliament holds with its Ukrainian branch. It was my greatest pleasure and utmost honour to hold the position of President and develop our organization within a group of young and motivated Board members. Together we have managed to overcome risky moments and learned one of the greatest life lessons: there is nothing impossible if there is a strong team. Having adopted an event-plan at the beginning of the year, we managed to fully commit ourselves to it – carry out all the projects as planned and even had space for the new ones, that were initiated in the middle of the year. This year opened up with a number of challenges for our organisation, yet today I realise that it was exactly the challenges that made us stronger. Having set a goal for stronger inner capacity of our organisation, we have organised a number of soft skills, leadership and self-reflection events for youths involved in the projects of EYP-Ukraine. Aiming at enhancing our teachers’ network, we have held our first big event - the Kyiv School Session. This session was a unique mix of a standard EYP session and a comprehensive training for teachers about non-formal education methodology that we use at EYP sessions united with English language practice. We believe it is an important part of education process as non-formally youth tends to learn better. In April we have shifted our focus to youths across Ukraine and successfully implemented a marathon of 2-day conferences over the same weekend in four cities from different regions - Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk. With a later follow up session in Zhytomyr. In summer our volunteers were devoted to organising the most important event of the National Committee - the National Selection Conference in August. Over 140 participants gathered in a cosy city of Lutsk to discuss numerous challenges of high importance notion of peace. With 95 Ukrainian participants and 50 international ones we have proven that Ukraine despite all is a safe country, ready to host youth events encouraging civic society development.
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Autumn was brightened up by 5th Inter-Rail tour. It is a set of 3-day sessions that 4 teams conduct in two rounds covering overall 8 Ukrainian cities. Bringing EYP activities beyond Kyiv is very important for our organisation as we strive to open up the world for as many youngsters as we can possibly reach. This year regional development was of exceptional importance due to uneasy social situation in Ukraine, thus bridging connections between the Ukrainian youth, gathering them to role-paly a truly decision-making process helping them to see the youths of the continent so similar to one another while being miles away. Our last big project returned EYP back to Kyiv, however, this time in a slightly unconventional format. This was First Francophone Regional Session, when an EYP type of conference happened in French. This is the third time EYP-Ukraine organises an event in French, thus promoting Francophony and multilingualism among its members. In between the session, activities of EYP-Ukraine were filled with not only capacity building trainings but with a way to understand Europe. “Understanding Europe� is a 3-hour crash course for high school students explaining structures and functions of the European Union. This project was widely popular in schools, which triggers us to create a similar project more adjusted to Ukrainian youths - Understanding Ukraine. So as to ensure that high school students understand not only Europe but Ukraine in a first place. Looking at this year from the standpoint of end December I can confirm that this was a fantastic year. Yes, not everything went perfect but after all this is an educational project and EYP is that safety net, helping youths to grow smarter, gain various soft skills and become active full-fledged citizens of their country! Thank you for 2015, Kristina
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WHAT WE DO Sessions are youth conferences and the main kind of activity for EYP-Ukraine, becoming a platform for active discussions and informal education and bringing together young people from all over Ukraine and Europe. For the duration of a session, the participants are divided into international working groups (committees) that draft resolutions on their respective topics. In these groups, the task of the young people is to come up with their own suggestions and ideas for Europe’s most pressing challenges. The results are then presented and debated in a parliamentary assembly at the end of the Session. They can be held on different levels: from two-day EYP-Weekends to two-week International Sessions. EYP-Weekend
International Session
EYP-Weekend is a two-day event which aims to promote the organisation and trains youth to participate in bigger EYP-events such as the National Selection Conference. Despite its relatively brief format, the structure of a weekend is similar to the structure of international EYP events and includes Teambuilding, Committee Work and the General Assembly. The main advantage of weekends is the possibility to organise them in many regions of the country, thus expanding the outreach of the organisation.
International Session of the European Youth Parliament takes place three times a year (in spring, summer and autumn). Usually, it gathers about 340 participants (delegates, journalists, chairpersons, teachers, international organisers) from 40 European countries. During 10 days delegates work in international committees to develop solutions on political, economic, social and cultural issues that are on agenda of the relevant committees of the European Parliament. The result of the work in a committee is a resolution, which contains ideas and solutions, discussed in committees and approved at the General Assembly of the session. Those resolutions, which are approved at the General Assembly, are passed to the European Parliament as the European youth initiative. To participate at an International Session one has to take part at a National Session and be selected to represent the National Committee.
Regional session Regional Sessions of the European Youth Parliament are held throughout the year in different parts of Europe and gather usually nearly 70-100 participants (delegates, journalists and chairpersons) from different European countries. During 4-5 days delegates in international committees discuss political, economic, social and cultural issues that are on agenda of the relevant committees of the European Parliament. The result of the session is a Resolution, which contains ideas and solutions, discussed in committees and approved at the General Assembly of the session. National Selection Conference
8
National Selection Conference (National Session) of EYP-Ukraine occurs once a year and aims to select its best participants for the Ukrainian delegation, which will represent EYP Ukraine at International Sessions. National Selection Conference usually lasts 4-5 days, during which delegates work in committees discussing political, economic, social and cultural issues that are on agenda of the relevant committees of the European Parliament. National Sessions usually gather 100-130 participants, together with international committee chairpersons, journalists and the board of the session.
International Forum International Forum represents a type of Regional Session with greater participation of international delegates. Geographical diversity of the participating countries makes International Forum a platform for intercultural communication. In terms of programme and number of participants International Forums are similar to Regional Sessions, but they have a wider space for variation in regard to the session topic and offer a unique experience to its participants.
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HOW WE DO To make the work more productive, engaging and exciting for the youth, each session is divided into several stages, each serving a spesific goal: from bringing the participants together, getting to know different countries and culture and academic preparetion to practicing public speaking and debating.
Teambuilding During Teambuilding, experienced-based pedagogy is used by performing outdoor and indoor activities in order to form international teams and establish principles of cooperation.
Committee Work The established common ground then enables the young people to come up with their own suggestions and ideas for Europe’s most pressing challenges during the Committee Work. The results of the different committees are compiled into the form of unanimous resolutions.
Cultural Programme Throughout the whole session, a Cultural Programme gives the participants the possibility to get acquainted with each other’s cultures and traditions. This results in increased cultural awareness, self-confidence and mutual understanding, while at the same time tackling xenophobia and prejudices.
General Assembly The committees come together to debate all of the resolutions during the General Assembly, following a standard parliamentary procedure. 9 European Youth Parliament - Ukraine | www.eyp-ua.org | facebook.com/eyp.ukraine
WHY WE DO
OBJECTIVES
&
Our aims:
ACHIEVEMENTS Our impact:
Raise awareness of European issues, encourage active European citizenship and motivate young people to get involved in European politics.
More than 80% of the delegates show higher interest for Europe after our events. EYP shows youth that it has a voice in Europe and trains them to become responsible citizens.
Promote international understanding, intercultural dialogue and diversity of ideas and practices.
More than 95% of the participants claim that the participation in an EYP event has helped them to get to know better the point of view and situation of youngsters in other European countries and allows them to explore Europe’s cultural diversity.
Contribute to the personal skills development of European youth.
Close to 80% of the youngsters claim to have acquired important skills for their future, through experiencing active democratic decision-making in the EYP.
Provide a forum in which young people of Europe can express their own opinions, without reverting to role play.
More than 85% of our participants claim that taking part in EYP events helped them to become aware of the active role they can play in European society.
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EYP-UKRAINE IN NUMBERS IN 2015
288 167
trips were made by
Facebook followers
750
Official members
99
Ukrainians
3810 3372 918
92
participants took part in Ukrainian events
foreigners visited our events in Ukraine
5
Trainings
2
VKontakte followers
big sessions
5
EU crash courses
Twitter followers
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2. EMPOWERING YOUTH
By taking part in the European Youth Parliament’s activities, young participants improve their participation skills and engage in active European citizenship. To support the personal development of these young volunteers, and further their skills development to take up various roles within the organisation, the EYP organises capacity building training courses focused on a diverse set of skills, such as facilitation, leadership, communication, fundraising, organising, project management, inclusion, outreach, and intercultural dialogue. EYP thereby prepares these young European citizens to not only take an active role in our network, but to also use these skills to the benefit of society as a whole. In 2015, the EYP-Ukraine organised numerous trainings, Frankophone session, Understanding Europe Courses, Kyiv Regional Session, National Selection Conference in Lutsk, and sent Ukrainian youngsters to more than 20 countries.
TRAININGS OF EYP-UKRAINE One of the main priorities of EYP-Ukraine is to invest in its members by offering a wide range of opportunities to develop themselves, gain sufficient knowledge in desirable areas and improve both personal and professional skills. Besides, one usually has a chance to join one of five departments of EYP-Ukraine – Human Resources, International Activities, Regional Development, Public Relations or Finances – where members are couched to obtain needed working skills.In 2015 there were quite a few training events aimed at organisation management, session skills as well as certain project development. 14 European Youth Parliament | www.eyp.org | EuropeanYouthParliament
Moderators Training Moderators (Chairs) Training 2015 for selected chairpersons of EYP Weekend Marathon was conducted in February by experienced EYP-Ukraine’s alumni – Kristina Chelmakina (a senior trainer), Iryna Garbuz and Julia Pustovoitova. A twoday event was absolutely significant for a fresh generation of EYP-Ukraine’s chairpersons.
Organisers Training Organisers Training happened at the beginning of April where our alumna and a Head-Organiser of one the most successful events of EYP-Ukraine’s events, Agora on Security Kyiv 2014, Kseniia Choni shared her best practices with the organising team of 9th National Selection Conference of EYP-Ukraine as well as covered areas of team management and strategic planning.
Fundraising Training Fundraising Training was designed for a Department on Finances with the aim of giving basic knowledge on grant writing and communications with partners such as private companies and various NGOs. Halyna Virt served as a trainer of the event, which was of a key value for her team in 2015.
Newcomers Weekend Newcomers Weekend has become a brand new initiative organised by Lera Yudina with the aim to engage members of EYP-Ukraine in its current activities and attract new members for the organisation. Julia Pustovoitova (a senior trainer), Dmytro Honcharenko, Oleksandr Ustymenko, Olha Shvets and Nataliia Senatorova have covered the Structure of EYP as an organisation with its active departments as well as EYP Events with its core elements and gave valuable advice on Applications Writing.
Understanding Europe Training Understanding Europe Training has been organised for the second time by the Ukrainian team within the “Understanding Europe” project with the help of Schwarzkopf Stiftung. Four trainers – Thomas Leszke & Carsten Gerards (Schwarzkopf Stiftung) and Maria Fedoruk & Maryna Titarenko (EYP-Ukraine) – conducted a number of modules for 13 participants who will work on the project in their respective regions in 2016.
4th Alumni Weekend 4th Alumni Weekend gathered 25 participants to discuss Strategy for EYP-Ukraine, Structural Essentials of EYP-Ukraine, Regional Development’s milestones and Regional Committees in 2016, Policy Book and general Policy Making in EYP-Ukraine and The Value of Personal Learning & Growth. The event was organised by Maria Fedoruk and facilitated by Kristina Chelmakina (a senior trainer), Kseniia Choni, Tetiiana Korniichuk, Valeriya Boyko, Michael Shekhtman Rozhkov and Liza Skorobreshchuk.
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FIRST REGIONAL FRANCOPHONE SESSION The event took place from the 3rd to 5th of December and gathered 87 Frenchspeaking delegates from Ukraine and Europe. The event was conducted with the support of the Embassy of France in Ukraine along with the International Organisation of La Francophonie, Auchan Ukraine, Renault Ukraine, the French TV-Channel "TV5 Monde", French Institute in Ukraine (l'Institut Français d'Ukraine), Printing Agency “Prime Card”, gymnasium N.86 "Consul" and the Kyiv City State Administration. During three days the delegates debated exclusively in French over various aspects of the umbrella topic "Notre vie. Notre planète. Notre responsabilité" ("Our life. Our planet. Our responsibility."). The theme was chosen on the occasion of the Sustainable Innovation Forum COP21, also known as the Paris Climate Conference, that was happening parallel to the EYP session. For the first two days the delegates conducted a preparatory work in 6 committees touching upon such matters as Climate change (committee “CLIM”), Agriculture and Rural Development (commitee “AGRI”), Sustainability (committee “DEVE”), Environment and Public Health (committees “ENVI I” and “ENVI II”) and Industry, Research & Energy (committee “ITRE”). The chairpersons formed teams of young active delegates on the first day during Teambuilding and worked in every committee on the academic preparation in the gymnasium N.86 "Consul" the second day. The third day - the General Assembly in the premises of Kyiv City State Administration - was the day when delegates debated over the results of their work collected in resolutions. At the end of each motion for resolution the delegates voted either in favor, against or abstained from voting. The resolutions are published by Nathan Hunter (United Kingdom/France), the president of the session, and can be found via this link: http:// nathanhunter15.wix.com/psrf. The General Assembly was attended by honorary speakers such as Ms. Isabelle Dumont, Ambassador of France in Ukraine, Mr. Roman Waschuk, Ambassador of Canada in Ukraine, Mr. Serhii Ustymenko, Deputy Minister of Social Politics of Ukraine and Mr. Mykola Movchan, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
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9TH NATIONAL SELECTION CONFERENCE The 9th National Selection Conference for the first time took place in Lutsk, the administrative center of Volyn region. National Selection Conference (NSC) in Ukraine occurs once a year and aims gathering youngsters from the whole country for the sake of academic debates in the best traditions of the EYP as well as at selecting best participants for delegations, which will represent the EYP-Ukraine at various international youth events of the network across Europe, including the flagship events of the EYP - the International Sessions. At this NSC we have selected participants to represent Ukraine at the 80th and 81st International Sessions of the European Youth Parliament in Leipzig, Germany and Dublin Belfast, Ireland. The head-organizers of the session Dmytro Zinchuk and Kostyantyn Lyabuk gathered a strong team of organisers who successfully implemented the project. The President of the session Noura Berrouba from Sweden was in charge of academic quality of the NSC and a group of 16 experienced chairpersons (moderators). Within five days, between 11th to 15th of August, Lutsk became a hub for 145 participants (95 Ukrainians and 50 international). Among them 100 delegates (80 Ukrainians and 20 international), 10 members of media team, 17 members of moderators’ team and 15 organisers. The session gathered participants from: Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The bright youth leaders worked under the general theme which presently is of high importance, especially for the Eastern Europe - "United for Peace". At the start of the event students from Ukraine and Europe got together in 8 working groups or as we call them ‘committees’. As participants come from different regions, it was important to build a friendship to enable fruitful discussions within committees. Therefore, with the assistance of the experienced chairpersons, we conducted activities to build teams out of groups. Central part of the session was committee work: each of the eight committees has its own academic topic, connected to the umbrella topic of the session. The last stage of an EYP session is General Assembly (GA). This stage reunites all the participants of the session to consider the results of the committee work, so as to review the committee proposals on the topics, debate and vote on them. The GA is based on the model work of the European Parliament. The 9th National Selection Conference of EYP-Ukraine was conducted with to the support of: Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), Federal Foreign Office, Leadership Education And Development (LEAD) Programme, Modern-Expo Group, Lutsk City Council, Lutsk city school №1 and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
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INTERNATIONAL SESSION OF THE EYP IN 2015 This year European Youth Parliament - Ukraine selected and sent delegates to all three major International Sessions: 78th International Session of the EYP in Izmir, the 79th International Session of the EYP in Tampere and 80th International Session of the EYP in Leipzig. Delegations, consisting on average of 8 people, have successfully represented Ukraine at the events, and came back full of positive emotions. At the next pages, some of the delegates share their brightest memories and impressions from each of the sessions.
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78TH INTERNATIONAL SESSION OF THE EYP IN IZMIR
The international session in Izmir, Turkey was truly exclusive. 16 committees totalling more than 300 people had a very pleasant time, thankfully to the organisers. Turkish landscapes and the sea inspired them for further discussion of serious issues that are the concern of the European Parliament nowadays. At Izmir IS delegates developed themselves personally and also established long-lasting connections with their co-delegates, moderators, media team members and other officials. It was very well-organised, entertaining and it was clear organisers put a professional approach into setting everything up from scratch. Some topics were really broad (like gender equality, freedom of speech), others involved specific concerns of some certain countries or areas (such as the one on the development of Turkish European integration). I was a first-time delegate at the international session, and its scale has truly amazed me. During these 10 days we cooperated to allocate specific issues of our committees and define solutions. Afterwards, we had a chance to frame them into a strong resolution – these resolutions were extremely well-developed and actionable. In Izmir we also had to deal with cultural differences that arose from communicating with each other, from our different views and from the surrounding as well, since Turkey is a very unusual and interesting place. Looking back at the session now, I can say that there weren't just games and talks – we built strong team as a committee, our differences became our power and the GA clearly showed how much we learned about the EU structures and the European Parliament itself. We obviously had clashes (for instance I was with the Russian girl in one committee), but we managed it and became co-delegates and friends. At this session we also saw some development within the EYP itself – the GA electronic voting system and etc.
Kyrylo Korol Ukrainian delegate to the 78th International Session of the EYP in Izmir
There are no such words to describe the Izmir IS thoroughly, but I would say that this was honestly my best experience with EYP so far and it kept me and tied me to the organisation for years.
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79TH INTERNATIONAL SESSION OF THE EYP IN TAMPERE
I felt very honoured to have been selected a delegate, who represented Ukraine on the 79th International session in Tampere, together with Oleksandr Ustymenko, Yelyzaveta Skorobreshchuk, Irina Ivanova, Alena Dahnenko, Olga Budinskaya and Sergey Shkurynsky. Throughout the session, I gained unique experience every single moment. As I was part of the Foreign Affairs committee, we had a responsibility to create a strong resolution about cultural diplomacy between Eastern Partnership and European Union. Being guided by our chairperson, our committee took part in team building activities, where we learnt key aspects of cooperation such as listening to each other and communicating for the mutual decision of the problem. As it was my second international session, I learned how to enable and encourage other committee members to actively participate and reach their potential to the fullest. I also enjoyed working on my weaknesses throughout the session, which significantly strengthened my personality. Most importantly, I became closer to my lifelong dream – to become a politician in Ukraine. Participation in EYP showed me how problems can be solved with mutual effort and cooperation, which motivated me to change the environment to the better. I have been actively volunteering in various organisations and created my own project because of EYP, as I found out that I was capable of so much more with every day of the session. Therefore, I believe that EYP can lay solid foundation for Ukraine’s successful future, headed by the energetic youth. It is definitely a chance to be not missed and I hope more students will be exposed to European Youth Parliament. Iuliia Drobysh Ukrainian delegate to the 79th International Session of the EYP in Tampere
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80TH INTERNATIONAL SESSION OF THE EYP IN LEIPZIG
Between November 6th and 15th I was honoured to be selected to the 80th International Session of the European Youth Parliament in Leipzig as a part of the Ukrainian delegation. Ukrainian delegation was represented by: Alexandra Dulich, Mykhailo Hasiuk, Valeriia Nikitenko, Myroslava Savisko, Oleksandr Syrota, Valdyslav Kozachuk, Polina Berezina, Olga Doroshenko, Andrey Yuzov, and me - Polina Berezina. Being chosen for me meant that I would get exposed to absolutely new experiences, and indeed it held true. During the closing ceremony Krista Simberg, the executive director of the European Youth Parliament, asked the delegates to shout just one word that embraced the spirit of this International Session. We could hear “enlightening”, “awesome”, “sleepless”, “challenging”, “unforgettable”. All of them were so sincerely right, however, my personal voice on this is “transformational”. Academic part of the session was about fundamental rights in Europe, and there were 15 committees working on relevant topics to the European present and future. Rather than just learning theory as we do at schools, we approached the topics innovatively as changemakers. For me, the greatest output was not only my committee’s successful and passed resolution on efficient and sustainable energy across Europe, but also understanding how the EU functions. I really enjoyed sharing and learning from my fellow delegates and my chairperson as the session brought me together with truly inspiring people. The other important aspect was an intercultural exchange and communication. To avoid misunderstandings and clashes, you have to find compromises, and this is what all of us got right there. We learned to cherish the European diversity especially during the Eurovillage and socialising times. At the session I ultimately felt to be a part of European identity. Maybe not on paper yet, but within our hearts and minds we are all united. Polina Berezina Ukrainian delegate to the 80th International Session of the EYP in Leipzig
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KYIV SCHOOL SESSION 48 delegates from Kyiv and 10 delegates from 4 different countries have gathered to discuss issues, united under the umbrella topic „ Redefining Security, Protecting Europe “. Overall the event has gathered the participants from Czech Republic, Greece, Georgia, Cyprus, Turkey, Romania and Azerbaijan. During 4 days the participants were identifying problems and debating solutions in a wide range of topics con-
nected with a certain European value. The topics ranged from global peace, financial crisis and illegal migration to individual rights for personal privacy, online piracy. The organizing team was lead by Ms Olena Popova (UA). Session President, Mr Panaghiotis P. Kalaïdhopoulos. (GR) has managed the team of 6 committee moderators. Mr Zura Giorgobiani (GA), Editor, has created the event’s media coverage together with his team of journalists.
Kyiv School Session was supported by Gymnasium of Dragomanov National Pedagogical University, Kyiv City State Administration, Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine. The representatives of these institutions have greeted the participants with speeches at the Opening Ceremony.
UNDERSTANDING EUROPE IN UKRAINE Understanding Europe project is a wellestablished initiative of the Schwarzkopf Foundation with the support of the Stiftung Mercator and the European Parliament. Back in February 2014, it went international: six countries were invited to join in the project, including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and Ukraine. The main outcome of the project is its Crash Courses on the European Union. It consists of three modules tackling milestones of the EU history, its main institutions, and competencies as a whole. Such courses are designed in English for high school students, and considered to be quite promising in terms of offering a platform for debates on current burning issues. In Spring 2015, the former National Coordinator, Maria Fedoruk, represented
the project on the bi-annual meeting of the International Understanding Europe team in Berlin, where Ukrainian success stories were shared as well as new approaches to the courses facilitation were discussed. In Autumn 2015, the meeting was attended by the current National Coordinator, Maryna Titarenko. The umbrella topic revolved around courses’ educational value. Thus, international coordinators debated over recent tackled topics such as the Refugee Crisis and the Asylum Policy. The introduction of a new workshop on the EU Enlargement will follow shortly. On December 11-13, the Train-the-Trainer Training event for future project coordinators in regions will be organised in Kyiv. 20 participants will be invited to get to know project’s mission and values, the course’s structure and will receive
modules on team management and project coordination by experienced Ukrainian and international Understanding Europe trainers. Overall, in 2015 there were 13 EU Crash Courses conducted, where we involved 252 people, including high school students, university students and EYP officials. As the concept of Open Crash Courses (participants register for the event beforehand) proved to be useful, 2 big courses were organised in Kyiv. We have put much effort into ensuring excellent academic preparation for those who planned to partake in EYP-Ukraine’s events, that is why additional Crash Courses were arranged before the EYPWeekend Marathon as well as the 5th InterRail in Dnipropetrovsk, Chernivtsi, Sumy and Kharkiv.
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EYP-UKRAINE'S MAP OF EUROPE Every year EYP-Ukraine sends young Ukrainians to the events abroad in order to help them broaden their horizons, learn new cultures, gain new skills, got to know and analyse current issues in Europe as well as meet new friends. We also welcome delegations from various Europen countries and do our best to create a good image of Ukraine. EYP-Ukraine is considered to be one of the strongest National Committees of the EYP as we put emphasis on the quality and diversity of our events.
In 2015 EYP-Ukraine sent delegations to conferences in the following countries: • Albania • Austria • Azerbaijan • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Estonia • Finland • France • Georgia • Germany • Greece • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Serbia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey On the map marked with
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In 2015 EYP-Ukraine welcomed delegations from the following countries: • Austria • Azerbaijan • Belarus • Belgium • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Finland • France • Georgia • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Italy • Netherlands • Nigeria • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • UK On the map marked with
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3. INCLUSION
As an educational organisation, the EYP aims to inspire and empower young Europeans, and it is crucial that it is open to all young Europeans. Access to traditional educational opportunities is highly unequal both across Europe and within individual states. An active effort is required to transcend economic, social and cultural barriers, both those outside the EYP which may limit access to our activities, and those within our activities which may limit the development of our organisation and participants.
REGIONAL COVERAGE OF EYP-UKRAINE Bringing the European Youth Parliament to different regions of Ukraine has always been an important task of the organisation. EYP-UA Weekends as well Inter-Rail Tours in previous years have involved hundreds of young leaders from most of the country’s regions into EYP sessions and internal organisational activities. In 2015, we have strengthened our regional activities in terms of quality, academic preparation and international recognition. This year, we have invested in the organisational side of the events and started all preparation at least 4 months in advance. We have developed a clear system of communication that has significantly contributed to the quality of our events. Furthermore, all events were held in accordance with high academic standards. The respective Officials’ Teams prepared Academic Preparation Kits for the participants before the session so they can prepare themselves for fruitful discussions and a learning environment. Moreover, this year the involvement of international participants greatly increased. We had international Officials from Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden. The participation of our international counterparts has significantly developed the activities and helped the Ukrainian youngsters to experience real peer-to-peer communication and intercultural exchange.
Lutsk
Ternopil
Chernivtsi
This is a great milestone for the National Committee as regional development is marked as the priority for the upcoming years for EYPUkraine. 2015 sets the ambitious goal for the organisation that would be the Regional Committees of EYP-Ukraine. The development of the concept is already in place and 2016 will serve as a starting point in this long marathon.
Iz
EYP-Weekends in 2015
Inter-Rail Tour in 2015
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Regional or National Sessions
Chernihiv Sumy Zhytomyr Kyiv
Dnipropetrovsk
Zaporizhzhya Kryvyi Rih
Odesa
zmail
29 European Youth Parliament - Ukraine | www.eyp-ua.org | facebook.com/eyp.ukraine
GYSD (GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY) MARATHON Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) takes place all around the world every year. GYSD-2015 took place between 17th and 19th of April. Hence, we could not stand aside and we organised the EYP-Ukraine Marathon dedicated to Global Youth Service Day ‘15. Four EYP-Weekends in Dnipropetrovsk, Chernivtsi, Odesa and Ternopil were united within the project under the umbrella topic "Hand in Hand for a Better Ukraine". All in all, these 4 parliamentarian sessions brought together around 300 delegates for 2 days to debate, share their opinions, understand each other's views and develop Ukraine for a better future. The marathon was supported by Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Delegation of the European Union in Ukraine, Information campaign “Stronger Together”, IREX Ukraine, FLEX Alumni Global Youth Service Day Matching Grants Program, Youth Service America. The event took place under high patronage of European Parliament, European Commission, and Council of Europe.
INTER-RAIL TOUR Inter-Rail Tour for the 5th time took place in Ukraine from 14th to 22nd of November, 2015, gathering together 356 participants: among them 268 delegates, 24 moderators, 10 members of media team and 54 organisers. The goal of the project was further involvement of youngsters across Ukraine on a regional level, organising EYP events in their hometowns, as we believe that youth in Ukrainian regions have fewer opportunities to get involved in the activities of international NGOs. During the project Ukrainian youngsters had a chance to debate and voice their own opinion regarding urgent domestic and international issues. Representatives from 15 countries (Austria, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine) took part in the project. All the bright young individuals gathered together in order to work under the project’s topic “Dignity without borders”. The 5th Inter-Rail Tour of EYP-Ukraine was head-organised by Halyna Virt and Nataliia Senatorova. The project was composed of 8 Regional Sessions held in Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Izmail, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia and Odesa. The team of officials was divided into 4 Teams: North, East, Central and South. Each team conducted two Regional Sessions in two different cities one by one. The conference in each city resembled a standard EYP session and included the following activities: Teambuilding, Committee Work and General Assembly. The project was supported by the Federal MFA of Germany and Schwarzkopf Foundation through program BASES: Building a Strong European Society.
30 European Youth Parliament | www.eyp.org | EuropeanYouthParliament
31 European Youth Parliament - Ukraine | www.eyp-ua.org | facebook.com/eyp.ukraine
4. YEAR 2016
Sherbaz Ahmed President 2016 European Youth Parliament - Ukraine
Dear Friends, 2016 is just around the corner, meaning another successful year of projects, participants and partnerships is sure to follow. This is progress that we could not do without your continued supports, so thank you for showing your commitment to the care of the Youth of Ukraine and that of Europe. Next year EYP-Ukraine looks to focus on the ‘Year of Us’. A year focusing on the potential that exists within our organization. With a great deal of ambitious and inspiring projects for the upcoming year, 2016 looks like it will be indeed not just a challenge, but the next step in the development of our National Committee. We look to expand on our regional presence and bringing EYP-Ukraine closer to our members and partners. We hope that the continued support of our partners, and our involvement in developing your organisational image will reach a new step and working progress, to sure how together we can grow. Let 2016 be the ‘Year of Us’ working together to reach a new step in EYPUkraine. I hope that with everyone’s continued support, taking the reigns of the Organisation as President, I will do my best to develop everyone’s potential! Best wishes for the upcoming year, Sherbaz
2016 YEAR PLAN
APRIL
FEBRUARY
Open-House Officials Training of EYP-Ukraine Looking to develop the potential of members of EYP Ukraine, February sees us host an Open House Training to introduce and advise our members on their next personal development stages in the Organisation. Taking place in Kyiv the Weekend Training will invite all EYP Members to find out more about the different aspects of being an ‘Official’ at an EYP Session, inviting European and Ukrainian trainers to share their knowledge. This connects with the values of the ‘Year of Us’, looking to strengthen and develop the organisation from the inside.
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MAY
JUNE
Newcomer Weekends of EYP-Ukraine Following on from the undoubted success that the Regional Sessions of EYP-Ukraine will bring to the participants, the Newcomer Weekends of EYP-Ukraine in May 2016 will bring together the new members to the Organisation and further brief them about EYP-Ukraine. Involving a social aspect, the Weekends will introduce individuals to the departments, the functionings of the Organisation as well as shed some light on the next steps that they can take within EYP-Ukraine. Spring Regional Sessions of EYP-Ukraine This year EYP-Ukraine looks to reach out to the whole potential of Ukrainian Youth. We want to organise 3-5 Regional Sessions in 3-5 different regions of Ukraine based on the following branches: West Region: Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lutsk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Uzhhorod; East Region: Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, (Unfortunately, due to the present situation, we cannot organise sessions in Luhansk and Donetsk); Central Region: Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad; North Region: Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kyiv, Cherkasy and South Region: Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, (Unfortunately, due to the present situation we cannot organise sessions in Crimea). Our Regional Sessions are targeted at both local EYP members and new participants and will seek to find and develop the potential of all possible individuals that we reach.
European Youth Parliament | www.eyp.org | EuropeanYouthParliament
Sweet 16th of EYP-Ukraine 2016 is the year for us to celebrate EYP-Ukraine’s 16th Birthday, in what will undoubtedly be an evening of networking with old friends and new. Celebrating the success of EYP-Ukraine in the past 16 years, we would like to invite all our Partners, Sponsors and friends to join us in congratulating EYP-Ukraine for what has undoubtedly been a Sweet 16 Years.
SEPTEMPER
AUGUST
1st Summer Academy of EYP-Ukraine August 2016 sees Ukraine be host to the 1st Summer Academy of EYP-Ukraine. For 4-5 days in the Carpathian Mountains, 80 individuals comprising of participants, trainers and lectures will gather to work together in developing key strengths of Organisational Skills, Management Skills and Academic Skills. This 4-5 day programme will look to invite both Ukrainian and European participants and trainers, and help to truly bring a European Spirit and develop the future of us together.
10th National Selection Conference of EYP-Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk The final week of August sees the city of Dnipropetrovsk host the 10th National Selection Conference of EYP-Ukraine. Looking to select participants to represent EYP-Ukraine at 3 International Sessions and multiple International Forums, the Conference will select the best of our Ukrainian youth to represent us on the International Scale. Bringing the event to the perceived ‘East’ will also help to break the vision of ‘Eastern’ Ukraine both home and abroad and show how we truly are continually striving to develop everyone in Ukraine.
Launch of Regional Boards of EYP-Ukraine - East and North. In the spirit of bringing EYPUkraine closer to us and the Ukrainian youth, September 2016 - under the leadership of our Board Member for Regional Development - will see the launch of the first round of Regional Boards of EYP-Ukraine. The Regional Boards will be looking at developing their own projects and initiatives within the EYP framework structured by their own Finance, Human Resources, Public Relations. The Boards will truly develop the potential of our members and help to bring further involvement from both Partners and Friends into the organisation.
NOVEMBER
BASES University Forum One of the final events planned for EYP-Ukraine in 2016, the BASES University Forum looks to bring together University Students aged 18 and above from Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan as well as the rest of the EYP International Network. Looking to bring the EYP atmosphere to those who are at times above the age range of EYP events as well as those who are not in the EYP environment, the BASES University Forum will bring high Academic quality and an international environment to Ukraine.
35 European Youth Parliament - Ukraine | www.eyp-ua.org | facebook.com/eyp.ukraine
OUR SUCCESS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS:
36 European Youth Parliament | www.eyp.org | EuropeanYouthParliament
37 European Youth Parliament - Ukraine | www.eyp-ua.org | facebook.com/eyp.ukraine
European Youth Parliament - Ukraine info@eyp-ua.org