. n o i s fu The magazine of the 16th NSC of EYP Switzerland
Aarau 2012
The Media Team
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EYP & Session Theme
Other
You are the Future of EYP p. 18 • Party Premonitions p.
28 • Going Bunkers p. 30
Protecting Freedom p. 9 • More important
than life or death p. 18
Aarau 2012: Back to Bunkers p. 6
Good Bye EYP p.4 • The Man on
the Dark Side of the Moon p. 5
•
of the Underworld p. 29 • What official will you be? p. 31
of luxury p. 8 • Committee Horoscopes p. 26 • Charms
CERN – discovery centre p. 8 • CERN: Science, product
SEDE updated its Facebook profile, “Resolution, Check” p. 23 • Build, build, build a Resolution p. 26
20 • The Development of a Resolution p. 21 • Inovation for young people by young people p. 22
• The winning recipee p.11 • Referenda are like pickles p.12 • Step by Step p.11 • Feeling LIeBE p.
Step by Step p.11 • FEMMinists through and through p.10 • Trading emissions, ideas, solutions p.13
Editorial
Interviews
Passion Articles
Committees
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Goodbye EYP It is time to say goodbye. For you as delegates who have just come into contact with EYP, this means saying goodbye to the people, the places and the events that made this session so special. There is a moment, however, when it becomes time to say goodbye to EYP as a whole. Everything in EYP moves fast. People that, just a little more than a year ago, were delegates for the first time are now at their second time chairing. People that had been officials merely twice or three times have now Edited multiple times. Some people you got to know last year have already left. The EYP experience, just like a single session, is exceedingly packed, intense and can be notably stressful at times. And just like in a session, the end comes way too fast, and you find yourself looking back at whirlwind of events you are not quite capable of processing. You are left wondering where the time has gone, what you have done. Too often we have a tendency to not take the time to sit down and briefly reflect about what happened. The result of this is a sort of nostalgia, a feeling that something is missing, as well as a few very confused weeks right after the session. Luckily, I do not plan to leave EYP any time soon and hopefully neither are you. However, this does not mean that we should not be taking some time to briefly think about what happened during the past few days, the people we met, the experiences we had. Because one of the most amazing things of EYP is how much it gives you throughout these experiences. We are just too busy rushing through them to really realise it. .
Giada Benfatto (FR)
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Live from Outside
The man on the dark side of the moon “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” With the passing away of those famous words’ speaker a couple of days ago, the whole world looked back on that milestone in history he incarnates: A human being’s first steps on the moon. Neil Armstrong has reserved his place in all our history books by being the first one of our kind who ever set foot onto the moon. Many people forget that he however never would have managed to fulfil his mission up there alone. The first man on the moon was accompanied by the second man on the moon, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins, the pilot of the spaceship that circled the moon, waiting to take the two explorers back to their home planet. If one would ask random people who Buzz Aldrin is, very few, from the younger generations probably next to nobody, could give a correct answer and tell what achievement should make him famous. To me those circumstances seem very absurd. Even though Buzz Aldrin has actually gathered more experience as an Astronaut than Neil Armstrong, he is barely known and not considered as someone who made a change in history by the public. One little decision that was made on the way from the earth to the moon, namely who would exit their capsule first, determined who was to become famous after ‘the Eagle’ had landed. With this article I want to draw attention to all those space adventurers whose names are not as commonly known as Armstrong’s. I personally am a big fan of air and space technology and have quite some interest in the happenings of the 21st of July 1969. Therefore the death of Neil Armstrong felt like one of my personal heroes disappearing forever. At the same time I realised with regret that the other 13 space explorers that took that long journey did never and will never get the same amount of credit as Armstrong did. I think this example shows that fame and success are not proportionate to each other. It doesn’t matter if people know your name one day or not. There are people that have been to the moon and back and are complete no-names. – Nicole Goetz (CH), Guest Writer
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Aarau 2012: Back to Bunkers
An interview with the session Head Organisers, in charge of re-establishing a political powerhouse in the old Helvetic capital. In times past, Aarau was the political centre of all Switzerland. However, as times in the Helvetic Confederation changed, the importance of Aarau declined. Nowadays, it is more famous for it’s Meyersche Stollen, the city’s fascinating underground system of passageways and tunnels, and the town’s ‘Dachhimmel’, the carefully painted undersides of the eaves of the houses in the old town. Thanks to Head Organisers Seraina Petersen and Anaïs Franck, Aarau has come back under the spotlight for its political endeavours as the host city for the 16th National Selection Conference of EYP Switzerland. One of the aims of the Head Organisers was to make the session more intimate and personal for the delegates and
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to bring all the participants closer. “It is more familiar,” Seraina explains, referring to why Aarau 2012 is special. “For example, sleeping in the bunker ensures that delegates get closer to each other.” Anaïs agrees, setting out the expectations for the session. “Everything is for the delegates and the team [...] in this way, we try to create a nice atmosphere.” The organisation for the session has not happened overnight – the organisers have been working on the event since the end of last year’s session in Ticino. Most of the organising team attend Alte Kantonschule right here in Aarau. As a result, meetings could be held regularly. Every Tuesday at noon, they came together to put the session in the right direction.
Nevertheless, organising a session is not a fairy-tale. As we know, the weather has not exactly been a reliable friend at this session, especially during the General Assembly days when it was pouring rain. Immediately, Anaïs started handing out plastic black bags, usually used as refuse bags. “I just said, ‘Get bags, trash bags, we need umbrellas!” she laughs. “We just have to be flexible and creative.” Like all EYPers, their first session has a big influence on them. “I had a very good chair once,” reminisces Seraina. “He told us to always remember the ‘why’. [...] That is one memory I really cherish, something I will remember for life.” Anaïs thinks back to her first session at Basel 2010, when she first came
across the idea of teambuilding. ‘Oh my God, I just have this new world and so many new people,’ was her first impression. Out of all their experiences, organising the Swiss village in their own school was a big honour and delight and a huge highlight for them. “We even had a party, and next week on the 1st floor, I have Maths there,” Anaïs chuckles. There is more to EYP however than the debating and teambuilding – a variety of skills can be gained from the experience also. The organisers are not void of this rule. “Organising taught me a lot of things... you are learning how to tackle a project,” Anaïs says. “If you do not do things, they are not done by themselves.” Trust and friendship are also tested and strengthened, as Seraina
concurs: “I also learnt that the organisers, we really could trust them. [...] I felt I could really rely on them, a feeling of security.” After EYP, life goes on. It could be argued however that it has influenced them in their own life choices. Both are interested in a career linked to international relations. Seraina emphasises how her interest was encouraged by her involvement in EYP. “It really contributed to my conviction that international relations is really what I want.” Meanwhile, Anaïs is interested in doing law. She is also planning to visit an orphanage next June in Ghana, in order to see Africa, work with orphans and teach there, before starting university.
Seraina and Anaïs have had a thrilling time organising this session – this is obvious. Although the session may end, the spirit of Aarau 2012 will remain. Before this, the Head Organisers have left us a clear message for all its participants. “Keep in mind that all over Europe, there are young people interested in the same things,” advises Seraina. Nodding, Anaïs adds, “I think they should take the best of what they have done here. They should take that with them as enrichment for themselves. [...] Keep the memories and of course, stay in EYP.” - Anthony McKee (UK) and Louis Wouters (BE)
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CERN - discovery centre
Science: product of luxury
CERN, as one of the largest centres of particle physics research in the world, is an institute for learning and discovery. However, it has caused controversy from the outset with swathes of the population viewing it as too expensive, particularly given the current economic outlook, while others are unable to reconcile the project with their own ethical considerations. How many people have asked themselves those deep, philosophical questions? Why am I here and where do I come from? Despite the exceptionally intellectual and challenging nature of the concepts researched at CERN, it is the only feasible way that we humans currently have of answering such deep-seated questions. Current concerns such as what gives us mass and detailed experiments to determine the origins of universe enable us to relate to the CERN discoveries. They can inform our philosophical and ethical positions in a way very few other things can.
Since the fifteenth century the speed of scientific achievements has become increasingly high. As religion slowly had to give up her spot as the most important aspect of Western society, scientists eventually got the chance to research on a broad spectrum of subjects. The Western population was so glad with this scientific revolution that they even called the preceding period ‘The Dark Ages’. However, humans lost themselves in expectations of science. Fundamental research is terribly overrated.
VS
Although particle smashing in massive tunnels beneath Geneva may seem completely disconnected from our everyday lives, by constantly pushing the boundaries of science these high powered concepts can act as a spring board for new developments and creation of useful technologies. Take, for example, email. Email was created in CERN itself as a means of passing ideas quickly between physicists. Nowadays, email is one of the most common forms of communication on the planet.
These ground breaking ideas are by their very essence impossible to predict. This could be considered a reason to withdraw funding from all intense research facilities. I disagree, whilst not all proposals will bear fruit it is important to maintain if not increase the level of funding as there is no other way that our knowledge base can evolve. This will enable economies to expand, people to be lifted out of poverty and should increase our social and emotional wellbeing. What’s more, there has been intense media coverage of the research at CERN. While this is partially due to hysterical ideas concerning the end of the world, the reporting has brought what is normally considered “obscure science” to the forefront and captured peoples’ attention. This will encourage many young people to keep up their studies in science be it in a medicine or mathematics. These young people will become the next real innovators and thus allow our society to continue to evolve.
The recent discovery of CERN perfectly illustrates the confusion around current science. In September of 2011 scientists announced that they might have found a particle that went faster than the speed of light. The particle travelled 730 kilometres in 2,43 milliseconds. That would be approximately sixty nanoseconds faster than the speed of light. This would chop off the legs of Einstein’s theory of relativity, which assumes that nothing can go faster than the speed of light. Eventually the uncertainty turned out to be too large to verify the discovery. The world was turned upside down for six months and has woken up to a deep disappointment. What would happen if Einstein really were wrong? It would have absolutely no visible effect on our lives. When more and more people started believing in the Big Bang theory, it did not eliminate the existence of God. Even though we know that our earth came into existence by the rules of gravity, the mystery of the beginning of the universe remains unsolved. “One could imagine that God created the universe at the instant of the big bang, or even afterwards in just such a way as to make it look as though there had been a big bang.” Physicist Stephen Hawking realises that science is not the one absolute truth. With every new discovery a new question will arise. Why would we torture ourselves by trying to discover indiscoverable theories?
limited, there will always be more room for improvement.
CERN has become a toy of the people who have too much time and money left. It is like another left-wing hobby. As all of you have noticed this session, there are many more purposes to spend our money on that actually can make a change for human population. I have to be honest; it was because of CERN that we have Internet now. However, in the first place the scientists invented it for their own use. That only shows how much energy is spilt on organisational bureaucracy instead of useful research
-Sorcha Foster (IE)
– Bernet Meijer (NL)
In essence I feel that CERN is of vital importance to us as a society, developing our economy and enabling us to consider ideas previously unheard of.
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Protecting Freedom
Civil rights and democracy are responsibility of the governments and have to be secured even in a time of crisis In all EU Member States the various crises are hitting hard. Governments struggle to reduce their debt and deficit, whilst at the same timing trying to their citizens’ basic standards of life. Elections and parliamentary debates mainly cover financial and socio-economic issues. Even though those affairs are majors challenge these days, governments should not forget one of their other crucial functions: the protection of citizens’ basic rights. I consider marriage to be a human right. This implies that not only straight couples, but also same-sex couples, are allowed to marry and are allowed to adopt children. All should be equal for the law and therefore should be able to get married. However, up to this day only 11 countries – of which 6 are EU Member States - around the world allow gay couples to get married. Although I am proud to say that I am from the country that was the very first one to allow same-sex couples to get married, it alarms me that so many European countries have such a negative attitude towards gay marriage and even civil unions. Member States like Lithuania and Latvia have, by constitution, limited marriage to an occasion for a man and a woman. At the same time
countries like Italy, Greece and Slovakia do not allow any legal partnership between couples of the same sex. At the same time, due to the increased technological possibilities, privacy threatens to become a term that will lose its meaning. Personal information is used – without permission from users – by several companies. If nothing is done, the principle of privacy is bound to disappear. However, same sex marriage and privacy are not the only fundamental discussions that are lost sight of in this financial crisis. The practice of euthanasia, another ethical dilemma, is only allowed in Australia, Switzerland, Belgium and, of course, the Netherlands. All other countries on earth deny citizens who are terminally ill and desperate to die the possibility to die with dignity. It is my belief that since there is no more valuable relationship than the one between the human mind and the human body, states should not interfere in this process. Unfortunately, due to the financial crisis nowadays the debates on these topics do not take place too often anymore. This is an absolute shame. From the point of view of a liberal, govern-
ments should allow their citizens to make those fundamental decisions themselves. The previously mentioned may be some of the most controversial points of discussion, but certainly not the only ones. Ironically, it is that same crisis that actually allows us to make progression on another very principle point: democracy. The current EU lacks transparency and democracy, and is just too complicated for its citizens to be understandable. The crisis has proven that our democracy on a EU level as well as on a national level needs serious revision. Especially in these times, governments should focus on this non-material issue and take away the concerns that many of their citizens have. Democracy is not sole non-material issue that demands attention, because so do privacy, samesex marriage, euthanasia and other principle issues. Governments have the responsibility not only to care about financial and economic affairs, but also to be the guides on fundamental issues, even in a time of crisis. On the terrain of human and civil rights, there is a lot of work for EU governments to do, whether we are in a financial crisis or not. –Willem Koelewijn (NL)
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FEMM
FEMMinists through and through As the real work begins, FEMM shows nothing can take them down. mous quote regarding gender inequality within the discussion, “Women who strive to be equal with men lack ambition.” However, the delegates furthered the debate, discussing how education was important for both young people and society in general to ‘change the tradition’. Marina made an important point that it was important to “change the opinion on women in politics,” but unfortunately this would ultimately “take longer.”
Gender equality, quotas, and the complicated figures and controversies they create are no easy feat to overcome, but the plucky committee of FEMM certainly stepped up to the mark. In the afternoon after the Opening Ceremony, the committee returned to their room and began brainstorming their ideas and opinions on the topic in question. The discussion began relatively quietly, with some of the delegates voicing their opinions on under-representation of women within politics, and what things contribute to this problem. Finally they gathered a good amount of points to combine into a cohesive resolution. The next morning, things escalated and soon everyone on the team was taking part and having their own input. The debate was at times very heated, especially in regard to whether implementing quotas would help or hinder women within politics, as well as whether in the long term overruling voter’s rights was the right way to go to balance equality between genders. Sophie J referred to Marilyn Monroe’s fa-
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Afterwards, attention turned to how to implement educational and societal changes. The debate became very interesting in a short span of time, discussing educational policies ranging from kindergarten to high school. One surprising point that got the group talking came from Mayra and Hannah, who considered making politics more ‘fashionable’ would make politics more accessible to women. However, the rest of the group questioned the motion, arguing that doing so would make trivial the whole point of getting more women involved. Putting aside their differences though, FEMM were finally able to come with a concise resolution that dealt with the problem in hand. There were a lot of complex problems dealing with balancing a healthy democracy with a healthy equality between the sexes. All of this of course, was not done solemnly – the delegates were laughing and joking in between the hard work, and even squeezed in an extra quick round of ‘Ninja’ during committee work. The proposals are now set in stone – it is now time to defend them. – Anthony McKee (UK)
ITRE
Trading emissions, ideas and solutions Itre looks to optimalise the EU emission trading system during a heated and productive committee work.
Having agreed that timekeeping and respect were the Golden Rules of committee work, ITRE took an extremely realistic approach to their complicated problem. Taking active listening into account, they also concluded that keeping the discussion central was one of the key points to have a productive session of committee work. In their attempt to contribute to solving the greatest challenge of our time, global warming, they were realistic in identifying the criticism proved by the EU Emission Trading Scheme. One of the main concerns the committee had was the lack of incentives enterprises have to go green. The current flaws of the EU ETS do not stimulate companies sufficiently to implement environmentally friendly policies, ITRE agreed. The current allowance system is simply not effective enough. The allowances stand for the amount of CO² enterprises can emit, any allowances left over can be sold and necessary allowances can be bought. After a very technical discussion on the topic, ITRE found part of the solution in ambitiously reducing free allowances. The allowances were the main part of the discussions in committee work. Due to various external and internal factors,
the prices for allowances are extraordinarily low. A major role in this process is played by the notorious offsets. By rigorously limiting the amount of offset, as vigorously defended by Jianan Liu, ITRE aims to contribute to the battle against global warming. In its task to refine the EU ETS, the committee decided that the fuel supply sector should be included in the scheme. This would not only decrease CO² emissions, but also have a positive effect on innovation in the area of sustainable energy. With private transport making up for 12 percent of the entire CO² emission, increasing the pressure on the fuel sector will help to hold individuals accountable for their behaviour as well. Since it is often argued that an ETS can only be effective when implemented on a global scale, this was another point of focus for the committee. Due to the EU’s lack of authority on this issue, its focus should be to increase cooperation with smaller trading systems and work towards the ultimate goal: a global ETS. That is, however, something for later. Right now, it is up to ITRE to gloriously defend their resolution in the lethal arena, that is also referred to as General Assembly.t – Willem Koelewijn (NL)
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AFET
The winning recipe With the right ingredients and a little ability, the AFET committee was able to cook a winning resolution. “ I would like to make a comparison with a meal: on Thursday we collected the ingredients in order to make a delicious meal. Furthermore, we discovered the recipe, which was the topic question, so that everyone would be able to create the same dish. Today we were able to start cooking and mixing everything together. The final result is the resolution, which we will defend in the General Assembly. Let us hope the other dishes are as tasty as ours.“ This is the resolution according to Julia, Isabelle, and Lena. The committee of Foreign Affairs tackled their problems in a very intelligent way throughout two days of committee work. The time was necessary to discuss the many factors that are involved in this very complicated situation. Besides the enormous diversity of youth, they have to consider the backgrounds and interests of the population in the whole MENA region. We cannot be careful enough with religions, backgrounds, beliefs and moralities. Therefore, the question if the European policy in the MENA region can be morally justified remains an important factor. “In the past we have supported dictatorships in the MENA region and helped the wrong people, so in that way we are indirectly causal. Therefore, we
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have to help undo some of the wrongs and help them move out of that current situation,” suggested Lena Vogel. Committee work on Thursday was mainly meant to define the problems that needed to be addressed. According to Tim Honegger, this was the perfect chance to shape their opinion. They worked with a PESTLE model to group the divergent problems. The result was a huge colorful flipchart full of arrows and inspiring balloons of text. Economic, social, environmental, political, technological and legal factors were all linked in a decisive manner in order to write a sound resolution. For instance, new infrastructure would make the MENA
region more attractive for foreign companies and tourism. Zoé Hockefelt and Isabelle felt this would be a way of tackling the high unemployment rate. On Friday morning, the AFET delegates started writing their resolution, a difficult task, considering all the committee members have strong opinions and want to defend it. Consequently, interesting and passionate discussions filled the room of the AFET committee, always with the help of Boaz who let the discussions flow freely. In possession of the winning recipe, I am convinced that AFET is ready for the floor. – Louis Wouters (BE)
AFET News Update on Syria: Some towns in northeastern Syria are flying yellow, green and red Kurdish flags as long-oppressed Kurds exploit an uneasy vacuum left by President Bashar al-Assad’s retreating forces. Syrian civilians’ living conditions are worsening dramatically, as it becomes harder to obtain food and escape fighting which caused a record death toll of 1,600 in the past week, aid agencies said on Friday..
AFCO
Referenda are like pickles Some people like pickles and some people do not. The Constitutional Puppet Pals took on the daunting task of making the perfect bacon-and-egg sandwich.
“We are trying to make the perfect sandwich,” Gabriel Hofmann explains. Indeed, for the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, the multifaceted issue of direct and participatory democracy in the European Union has required the ability to prepare and compile many different ingredients into a cohesive whole. Just as one needs to decide how healthy a sandwich should be, and how much lettuce per slice of bacon one should include, the committee had to answer the frank but insightful question raised by Vera Quiriconi, “What is better, a good solution that the majority agrees with, or making the decision as fast as possible?” Sometimes even established, successful sandwich chefs can learn something new from other culinary cultures: imagine a French sandwich-maker pre-
paring sandwiches using Zopf instead of baguette. Similarly, the Swiss delegates occasionally had to be reminded by Fatih (DE) to think beyond the success of Switzerland’s famous direct democracy. Just like multicultural sandwich chefs, the delegates of AFCO had to learn to recognise the innate differences between countries. Sandwiches exist everywhere, but no two countries have the same sandwiches; so too with politics. “Democratic systems are similar, not the same,” said Gioia Bomatter. The committee also distinguished between top-down methods, such as constitutional reform on the EU level, and bottom-up methods originating on the local and national level. The ingredients in a sandwich can be chosen by either the chef or the customer, but in the most successful sandwich feasts, both are involved. The chef may provide a broad but still limited variety of sandwiches with different ingredients, but the customer must choose from among the selection provided. “Politicians have much more knowledge [of democratic processes] than the public,” Leyla Beck said. The situation acknowledged by the committee is analogous to a sandwich chef knowing how to make ten different kinds of sandwiches, but only offering one to his customers.
Sandwiches are now almost universal, but as Doris Fonseca noted, “we [Europe] belong together to an extent: Europe has an identity that’s different from America, or Asia, or anywhere else.” Nonetheless, there is no single sandwich or constitution that is perfect for all European countries. Everyone likes different fillings in their sandwiches. “Participatory democracy can be achieved in other ways, not just a referendum,” Gabriel said. “Referenda are like pickles in the sandwich,” he added, meaning that they are a solution, but not always necessary or suitable for a particular sandwich or government. – Saki Shinoda (CH)
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ENVI
Step By Step
The Committee on Environment and Drugs high on discussions. The legalisation of Cannabis has been a hot potato for ages. Once again an EYP session serves as a platform for discussion on this topic. A group of brave young people have taken up the challenge to decide how the E.U. can find a balance between citizens’ protection and the infringement of human rights when defining the legal status of marijuana in its Member States. The Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety has been debating about the legalisation of cannabis and the consequences of such a step for many hours during the past two days. Right at the start they were faced with the burden of positioning themselves on the pro or contra legalisation side. The ten members of ENVI were divided about what side to take until they actually got into discussions about solutions for their issue. At that point it became clear that they were all on the same page and wanted to promote the decriminalisation of cannabis. ENVI agreed that legalising cannabis would be the right thing to do, seeing that total prohibition would raise the number of crime and other problems connected to cannabis distribution, consumption, and so on. However, they are aware of the fact that the legalisation of this addictive substance influences society on many levels. Hence, the ENVI brains started working out some strict conditions that
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should keep negative consequences within limits. ENVI’s aim was to propose a particular form of legalisation process that would be implemented step by step and should tackle all the problems that can accompany the decriminalisation of marijuana. When dealing with the restrictions on cannabis usage and distribution that would be imposed in Europe, ENVI decided to clearly separate recreationally and medically used marijuana. They worried especially about people who would suffer the most from getting in touch with this soft drug, such as young people, pregnant women, etc. Thus ENVI made an effort to define who would have access to cannabis by e.g. setting age limits for marijuana us-
age. Next the committee went on to outlining where cannabis would be available and where consuming marijuana would stay illegal, before moving on to discuss the issue of levying taxes on cannabis. The money would then be used to finance projects focusing on drug prevention and addict support. What made ENVI discuss all these aspects is the motivation to cover as much of the topic as possible. Everyone’s passion about the issue at hand became more and more visible in this process. In the end ENVI’s final product is a perfect reflection of the committee. –Jelena Stevanovic (AT)
My second Swiss Nationals Saki Shinoda (CH) reflects on how EYP has changed for her since she attended last year’s Swiss NSC. Exactly one year ago, I was a first-time delegate at the 15th National Selection Conference of EYP Switzerland. I could not have imagined then that in a year’s time I would be sitting in a bunker with one of the Head Organisers of my first session, with him eating pasta while I typed out an article about him eating pasta. As a delegate I was lost, confused, and overwhelmed by the sheer scale of EYP as it appeared to me then. I was far too intimidated to ever approach the officials, never mind important officials like the Head Organisers. To be an official now, here in Aarau, exactly a year after my first tentative step onto the platform of the Locarno train station, that first literal step into the world of EYP, is somewhat surreal. The difference in the experience of a session as an official and as a delegate is a subtle but vast divide that I never recognised while I was a delegate. Now, it is both entertaining and slightly frightening to observe this session from the other side, because it
is so very much like the session that started me off. This, Aarau 2012, is not the first session I have attended as an official, but it is the first where I have felt so sentimentally haunted. Perhaps it is the familiar faces and the familiar speeches. It was odd to hear EYP Switzerland’s President, Ueli, delivering a welcoming speech that just last year had been addressed to me, but this time only fleetingly glanced in my general direction. Meeting the jury at this session only makes me wonder what comments last year’s jury jotted down in their binders about me as a delegate. Reuniting with my first ever chairperson was like a prideful homecoming, but tinged with the fleeting suspicion that I may not have really been as good a delegate as I thought I was at the time. Nonetheless, there is no longer the awe or fear I felt towards the officials as a delegate, and not simply because I am no longer subject to their instruction or judgment, or because I too am an official.
The people whom I admired when I first looked up at the giant organisation of EYP have not diminished in greatness in the year I have been in EYP. However, experiencing EYP further has shown me that EYP is not a hierarchy, and more closely resembles a network. I have also learned that this particular network is ultimately human. The humanity does nothing to diminish how inspiring many people and officials in EYP are. Officials are not inapproachable titans, no matter how formidable their title: they are just older, more experienced EYPers. That makes them all the more worthy of admiration, but never apprehension. Looking now at the participants of this session, I wonder who I will see again. Perhaps some of you will be officials at the next nationals, but I know now that where we will go, in EYP as in all other things, none of us can foresee. This is only the door swinging open. Whether to step through is a choice all your own.
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European Youth Parliament You Are The Future of EYP
One big family
Aarau 2012 has been a journey of massive proportions for all participants, but particularly for you, the delegates. You are sleep deprived, and the sleep that you did manage to get was in a bunker. You have managed to form ten cohesive teams, and in those teams develop solutions to real problems faced by the EU today. However, these challenges were not without reward. We can assure you that despite the difficulties you faced the memory of your first EYP session will be a warm reminder of the relationships you cultivated, the work you achieved, and the first time the EYP allowed you to be heard. The National Selection Conference is by its very nature a competition, and it is a regrettable fact that only a few delegates will progress to the International Session. However, for the fortunate delegations selected the International Sessions of the EYP in Amsterdam (November 2012) and Munich (April 2013) promise to be among the most exciting sessions that EYP has hosted.
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The sad reality is that only a handful of delegates may progress to the International Sessions. We understand that this will be disheartening for many delegates, as we ourselves were not selected at our own National Selection Conferece in Durham, UK. However, we would also wish to tell you that EYP is not over for you. If you have enjoyed this session as much as we have, then remember that the opportunities that EYP promises new alumni grows each year. With an excess of one hundred sessions per calendar year across Europe as a whole, there really are an almost an infinite number of ways to integrate one’s self into the EYP community. Aside from this, we would advise you to contact your National Committee (i.e. your lovely board of EYP Switzerland) to get involved in EYP, here in Switzerland, or simply to get advice about how to progress internationally in EYP. Since Wednesday, over forty volunteers have created this session for you. The organisers have been planning for
months. The Editors have been working around the clock from weeks before the session. The chairs’ team have facilitated your work, and made you the team you are now. We, the journalist’s, have had it slightly easier: we have written articles, taken pictures, shot videos and most importantly got to know you, the delegates of Aarau. For this reason, we know that you would thoroughly enjoy continuing in our footsteps next year. Therefore, we encourage anyone who may be interested to apply and take as many official roles in EYP sessions. This allows EYP to continue to blossom, but more importantly allows you as an individual to take advantages of the skills and fantastic experiences that this organisation offers. For all these reasons, alongside those we are yet to discover we urge you most strongly to stay involved in whatever capacity you can, and we sincerely hope to see you at a session soon. - Dean Connolly (UK) and Sorcha Foster (IE)
Let the games begin… JURI quickly settled into the bunker and were soon well acquainted. It was therefore time to dive head first into their topic of discussion: the future of embryonic stem cell research.
However, the committee rocketed off to a great start, and managed to generate a discussion that was controversial, yet productive and stimulating.
knowledge to solve the issue. Based on their ethically wary stance, they devised several means to ensure that the number of embryos wasted in the process was minimal.
The far-reaching ethical considerations for the use of embryonic stem cells will always be a bone of contention, but this was particularly the case for the group in question: our nine academic marvels. For example, Andrin shared his view that ‘The conscience is the most important part of the human life’. Furthermore, there was much disagreement surrounding when life began and when they realised’ since no-one has ever reached a happy compromise on when life begins’ they decided to disagree on this area and respect each individual’s opinion on the matter.
As a committee they reached the conclusion that it was often unacceptable to waste embryos in the process of research because for them it represented saving one life at the expense of another. Furthermore, they were deeply concerned about the slippery slope that progression in this field may lead to, e.g. Kazmi Misbah thought ‘God gave us a life and we are not to alter it.’
To achieve this they proposed the development of somatic stem cell research alongside embryonic stem cell research. They were hopeful that advancements could be made in somatic cell research which would reduce possible dependency on embryonic stem cell research, in order to actively reduce the waste of embryos, and in turn potential lives. Furthermore, in order to ensure that both institutions and individuals were motivated to research this innovative area they proposed financial incentives in accordance with the Horizon 2020 policy.
After a short recess to play a somewhat aggressive game of ‘ninja’ (competitive scholars), they progressed to using both that which they’d discussed and their own wealth of
Build, build, build a resolution
JURI
It was clear for all that JURI’s task was a difficult one, even for delegates with such a wealth of expertise. However, after hours of heated discussion, a resolution was built and it is clear to see that the controversial nature of the topic did not hamper their ability to mantain their reputation as ‘some of the greatest minds of Switzerland’. – Dean Connolly (UK)
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LIBE
Feeling LIeBE Love is important after a very stressful day and our dear LIeBE team has surely had a very tense and rewarding journey. “Could lead to government corruption, too much power for the state.” He later adds “we have to set a focus, protect citizen rights rather than securing data.”
“We are feeling it.” These were the words of LIBE after being asked about Committee Work. I am not sure what “it” actually means, but surely there are many options since the discussion was so intense and full of controversies. The committee has a common negative stance towards ACTA. They feel that the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement is too severe and that it does not differentiate enough towards different crimes and that it is not in line with the modern view of society on Internet piracy. LIBE obviously acknowledges that piracy is a problem, but it is also concerned about the possible effects of too much control. Not only is control expensive, it is also harmful to freedom
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of expression and privacy. “Controlling of file-sharing inevitably leads to the violation of citizen rights,” Alex Stoffel says. Thus we find ourselves at a crossroad. What do we value more, freedom or justice? LIBE clearly realises the nature of the dilemma and understands that, as Florence says, “we need to somehow find a middle way, and it is very difficult to do so.” Regarding this choice it is clear that the committee has greater worries than the preservation of our fundamental rights of freedom and privacy. “ACTA is too much for the liberal states.” Andrea Hediger says. Complete control would only be a step backwards. In particular, Jakob Stammler has a clear negative stance towards ACTA, which,
Still, the committee understands the need of IPR (International Patent Rights) not as a natural right of the inventors, but as a means to stimulate future innovation. With the aim of preserving fundamental rights while maintaining the competitive stance in Europe’s innovative industry, the LIBE committee has drafted a proposal on a new different agreement. This new agreement would concern EU members, it would involve data monitoring of suspected pirates by the Member States in cooperation with Internet providers and under the supervision of the expanded EO (European Observatory). With the new proposal the big sharks would be separated from the little fishes, occasional and minor abusers would not be harmed while more serious pirates would be fined proportionally to their crimes. As controversial as this idea may sound, LIBE feels that such line of action is necessary. As long as LIBE stands behind their ideas, they will have a chance to succeed here. As Alexander said, “watch us get famous for this.” – Manfredi Danielis (IT)
DEVE
The ‘Development’ of a Resolution Striking the balance between aid and trade. African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) should have a sustainable economy so that poverty is eradicated,” was Floris Rijssenbeek’s initial opinion of the goal that a good development strategy ought to achieve. After some consideration and assurances the decision was made that whilst trade and development are fundamentally different neither can exist without the other. Despite this, the team felt that the current European strategy of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) was not fulfilling the role they set out to achieve. Therefore their goal was to create a strategy using the principles of EPAs while discussing other possibilities as well. As always with discussions on development, the ethics surrounding the EU’s role came up from the start. The team considered that we as Europeans have “a moral necessity to help others” and expressed concern about the complete lack of workers’ rights in many sectors of the economy. Some more controversial issues were briefly broached when Anna Zellweger suggested that, “South Africa’s economy bloomed after the abandonment of an aid acceptance policy.” This was initially determined to be interesting by the team but not necessarily relevant. However, as they gradually realised the delicate balance that must be created between aid and trade, the significance of this observation was accepted.
To solve the problem a two-prong strategy was deemed to be the most effective approach. On one hand financial assistance would be used in the short to create the basic, essential services required for effective trade between the EU and ACP. This was deemed vital by Zora, who had felt that as “unequal partners with different levels of knowhow,” the EU was duty bound to provide education for workers in order to prevent the disappearance of aid in a bubble of mismanagement and inefficiency. The second part of the strategy would involve an emphasis on trade. The ACP countries, with infrastructure now largely up to an acceptable standard, would be able to trade effectively in the globalised market and not require the current protective tariffs that are pre-
requisites in any existing trade agreement. The team considered this to be a strategy that could be deemed acceptable in the long term to Europe, who of course do not wish to make loss on their investment and would wish to reap the benefits of having pursued such a course of action. The committee felt that the Aid for Trade agenda was an excellent way of facilitating this strategy. Despite some initial disagreements and an occasional tendency to get bogged down in some issues, the Committee on Development pulled together and formed a coherent approach to overcome the challenges their motion had posed. –Sorcha Foster (IE)
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CULT
Innovation by young people, for young people
CULT dives in the depths of the possibilities of e-learning. What is it that the digital generation is demanding? Taking note that these are delegates of the European Youth Parliament, the expeditors of CULT are very well aware of the many different aspects of education. Though they are still participating in the secondary education they do have strong thoughts about their future in higher education. Using their own experiences, the risks and possibilities of e-learning are becoming clear. Their own understandings contributed to the discussion enormously. However, they did realise they had to focus on a solution for the whole EU instead of focusing on personal preferences. “I think we are talking about big universities and structures and not about individual lecture problems,” Joram Pollak confirms. The committee unanimously agreed that e-learning offers grand possibilities for the future education. “For example an advantage of e-learning is that you can learn at your own pace,” Cécile Schluep states. Also, the high variety of
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different methods of learning is added to the stack of advantages of e-learning. It is the efficient implementation that is screaming for attention. The structure that Joram mentioned before has to be improved. According to Patrick Harcuba, “structure is always needed”. However, the committee does not have wishes to hand over the control of e-learning to one institution. For Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) any control can even be too much. Clara Acien has her own view on this. “Maybe we should use the word checking instead of controlling.” Despite the fast agreement on the nocontrol policy, Lukas Siegfried realises the effects that VLEs could have on different universities. He mentions that it would be hard to uphold the standards of different universities when introducing VLEs. VLEs might be risky because their effectiveness has not been thoroughly investigated yet. When univer-
sities are using different VLEs, the gap between top-rank and less excellent universities may grow. Therefore, the committee realises that the traditional learning methods cannot be replaced. E-learning is only an additional method to former studying. The former education had to be explored too, during the discussion. “A balance between practical and theoretical education is a demand of the digital generation as well,” Sabrina Berweger explains. Despite this clear statement the necessity of a more practical education was one of the few things the team could not agree on immediately. The eleven youngsters from CULT had the wonderful opportunity to delve into an aspect of their own lives. They are the digital generation their selves. Day two: the expeditors explored the culture of the undiscovered world and found a virtual treasure. – Bernet Meijer (NL)
SEDE
SEDE updated its Facebook Status: “Resolution, Check!” The eight gentlement of SEDE review NATO’s role and question the validity of its initial mission.
Today, the eight gentlemen of SEDE were more than ready to discuss their highly technical and controversial topic: how can the NATO advance in global security and peace? Specifically, their task was to come up with a resolution that efficiently tackles the threats that NATO faces, whilst assuring peace with the neighboring countries such as Russia. As the committee work officially ends, it is my pleasure to announce that SEDE has succeeded in reaching its goal with a clear and comprehensive paper. After writing down the problems on post-its and categorising them, the gentlemen were good to go. As a relatively easier starting point, SEDE agreed on the fact that NATO’s initial mission, a treaty against USRR, was not valid anymore and the current mission was in ambiguity. The first discussion was kindled with Marc Eisenhuth’s question, “Is the EU really being threatened?” During that, Mario Anderhub
also brought up the NATO-EU relations and their interconnectivity, while Avic was actively listening. It was not surprising to see that the Committee on Security and Defense kept arguing and counter-arguing each other for a long time about terrorism imposed by the politically unstable countries and its consequences. While appreciating the diversity, Moritz Bondeli instead reminded the gentlemen that political instability is not the starting point of terrorism, “Having the nuclear weapons pose a threat to the other countries; even if we are stable, we are still indirectly threatening them. I am sure many people have been killed in the last year with weapons made in Switzerland and that’s wrong.”
silence was broken with the laughs of boys. On top of that when Marcel Häfliger – the moonwalker I will call him – was asked to restate Max Ingwersen’s very long and complex explanation on GDP rates, the noise in the room peaked up in a second. Surprise mixed with dramatic terror was so obvious on poor Marcel’s face that SEDE laughed literally for five minutes that they were sent to take the coffee-break instead. – Sarp Kürüm (TR)
During the discussions, fun was still maintained. At one point, Marc’s direct translation from German to English –“Oh that is hot” – to describe the controversy of an issue received a very puzzled look from Emilie that the awkward
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More important than life or death Twenty-two Men, one Stadium, Six Goals and One Fight: Turkey vs. Switzerland As Bill Shankly, a Scottish legendary footballer once said, “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” As the saying goes, football is not just football; it has never been. Football is love and hatred, friendship and family, peace and war, kindness and hostility. Unfortunately, there have been some times in the past when the black side of football has beaten the white; fair-play has been defeated by personal ambitions and insidious misbehavior. Unfortunately, 16 November 2005 was one of such times where football gained a surreal meaning, bolstered by double-sided provocation and hooliganism. Yes, I am talking
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about the World Cup 2006 play-off game that took place in Istanbul, between Turkey and Switzerland. “It [the fight] was unexpected,” Jakob Stammler (LIBE) says. “It was clear to me that the atmosphere in Istanbul would not be friendly. That’s what happens when under-dogs win,” he confessed, reminding that Switzerland won the first game of the play-off by 2-0 in Berne whilst Turkey was the clear favorite of the play-off round. There was self-criticism in his words too: “The match started with constant fouls from both sides and ended in a brawl. The referee, too, was biased and the spectators… they were screaming”. Having been actively interested in
football then and now, I completely agree with Jakob. Yet, there are a few details that need to be addressed. From the Turkish side the brawl at the end of the second game, for example, had been expected way before. I believe that the hostility started during the national anthems played right before the first game. Wholeheartedly bounded to their culture and nationality, the Turkish fans were inflamed with absolute anger when dozens of Swiss fans booed and hissed during their national anthem in Berne. As a Turkish citizen, I can assure you that the national anthem is indisputably sacred for many in Turkey. I remember that hooligans and even some columnists were roaring for revenge in the second game. For those wondering, the
childish “revenge” was accomplished through 55,000 people in Istanbul, who were profoundly proud that they were able to prevent even a single note of the Swiss national anthem from being heard by constantly whistling and booing. Even worse were the provocative speeches of both teams’ players and their coaches against each other and the referee. Encouraged by their respective media, the coaches lost their temper. The dignity of being sportsmen was simply eradicated. Disappointingly, the Turkish side even blamed the Swiss on “winning the game on table” which screamed match-fixing organized by FIFA. The disastrous media influence on this case should be once again highlighted.
“It didn’t affect the Swiss side,” Jakob notes. He is right. Deserving to be eliminated from the World Cup, Turkey was not only fined £90,000 for the violence, but also punished to play the next three matches for Euro 2008 qualifications in a neutral country and behind closed doors. To be honest however, Turkey got off too lightly for their scandalous behavior which was called as “the most voluminous disciplinary investigation in our [FIFA’s] history”. As a true football fan and esteeming fair play, I would have appreciated more if we had received a 5-year ban from the international agenda.
Stephane Grichting was taken to hospital covered in blood following the trouble in the tunnel,” The Telegraph, a renowned newspaper, reported the day after the match. As you can see, unfortunately football is not just about football sometimes. On behalf of Turkey, I wish to apologise once again for that shameful day. – Sarp Kürüm (TR)
“The Swiss players left the field under a hail of missiles and objects thrown from the stands while visiting defender
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Committee´s Horoscopes As your session comes to an end, you are probably wondering what awaits you in the future. After consulting an experienced astrologist, the Media Team was able to read into the stars and determine the future of your committees .
JURI
LIBE
Dictionary Dean predicts great success for JURI. There are many sessions, shifts and general craic awaiting the delegates. I foresee that many will avail of the opportunity and be welcome to join the family of EYP Switzerland where their EYP career will truly begin. However, the committee should be wary of rain puddles and sheep on the 23rd September. Additionally, due to a poor alignment of Saturn in the house of Jupiter the delegates should avoid fruit tea at all costs.
Love is in the air tonight; tonight and possibly many other nights. The stars are illegally downloading music but still love you a lot. You may send each other cheesy messages on Facebook and start tagging each other like crazy. You may receive a weird car for your 18th birthday. You may become successful in the chair monument industry. You may find true love in a young turtle with whom to start a family together. Only one thing is sure, you will have many memories of Aarau 2012.
AFCO Brave adventurers of AFCO, your future is almost as difficult to read as most constitutions. The winding path before you may appear as unclear as the voting processes of the many European nations, but as the stars align favourably on the European flag, so too will they align for you. When in doubt, have a bacon sandwich.
AFET
DEVE
Dear AFET, according to Buddha, you have way too much energy; please use it wisely. Put it for instance into General Assembly and after the session on the Facebook page of our Committee – you know what to do. Furthermore, you have been dealing with a lot of emotions the last few days. Choose the positive emotions and stick to them. Keep on smiling!
As Venus rises in the north the stars are well aligned for a productive and rewarding GA for the committee on development. Their long term prospects are less assured, Saturn’s interaction with Uranus suggests there could be trouble on the horizon. November is a month for care as Mercury’s appearance could result in a number of serious accidents for the committee.
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Composed by your very own journalist.
FEMM
CULT
Good fortune comes your way, FEMM – Venus aligns with Mars perfectly, uncommon in a second moon. Beware however, the fortune is limited and you will soon find yourself in trouble when Pluto becomes uncomfortable with its orbit around the Sun. Expect rocky relationships ahead for the next few days. Keep your celestial energy in shape – make sure that you avoid bad karma, destructive auras and prune juice.
Four days after the session you will feel a bit empty. This is will be accompanied by an explosion of sudden curiosity. Structure will not help you to get trough these difficult days. Try to act as impulsive as possible. An unexpected acquisition will do great things for you. Watch out for woollen sweaters though: they will erase all your creativity
ENVI In the recent past you have grown by accepting new challenges and conquering them together with strangers. The future holds further trials for each of you, but with your newly gained strengths no obstacle will hinder you ever again. However, avoid new relationships in the last week of the month because the position of Venus is an omen for a bad romance. You gain by talking about problems, not running away from them. In discussion you’ll find that things are not as problematic as they seemed at one time. Tonight holds an opportunity to forge an even stronger bond with someone special.
ITRE
SEDE
Unlike in GA, you will get some more resistance when trying to spread your ideas. However, you will continue in gloriously succeeding in doing so. Do not worry too much about others’ opinion, firstly make sure that you are content with your own work and a successful future will await you.
Although undeserved, you might be going through hard days. Yet, no worries, as Venus keeps circling around the Sun nowadays, so will the girls around you. Meanwhile, the financial problems can be worrisome nowadays due to constant partying. Lastly, never underestimate the importance of “bromance”.
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Party Premonitions This cryptic prophecy was found yesterday in the deepest depths of the bunker from the three supreme seers of the session who demonstrated their prophetic abilities. How did the actual party compare? With ‘nerd’ as the party theme, one would imagine that a group of 100 EYPers would just dress and behave as they normally do, like old men in their suits, bow-ties and braces. However Mystic Jelena, Magical Dean and Sorcerous Saki predict that tonight’s participants will go ‘all out’, having extensively prepared. There will be costumes, no doubt including an array of so-called ‘nerd’ glasses, ironically unkempt hair, ridiculously high trousers, calculators and most of all a darkened mood because of the heightened intellect. As we write this article half a day before the farewell party, our crystal balls, made from the ground lenses of fallen geeks, have informed us of a range of activities that may somewhat ‘deviate from the topic’ of ‘nerd’. We would advise you that tonight holds an opportunity to forge an even stronger bond— hydrogen or otherwise, but preferably not Van der Waals’—with someone special. You may act oblivious, but we already know. We have foreseen it. The party as a whole is expected to be jam packed with dancing and great music. We say great music because we predict that the organisers will play their own music and ignore the requests of the delegates. Fear not, dearest delegates, the journalists will fight for you,
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and we predict an ‘explosive’ time for all. Make the most of that kinetic energy. Before we explain the most exciting thing we have foreseen, each and every one of you should know that Einstein is not dead. How could he be? Being the greatest mind of all time, he was able to preserve his body in stasis whilst uploading his mind to a Martian computer so he would have the time to create an immortal vessel for his great consciousness. We asked him to write an article for the paper, but he said he would do us one better and that he would come to the session, here in Aarau, and DJ in the later part of the evening. He explained to us that he has recently been researching the phat beats of modern music and their biophysical relationship with human emotion, as he believes they are secretly a cryptic message from other extra-terrestrial civilisations beyond Mars. We hope and believe that everyone has a mystical time. However, beware of The Grim. – Saki Shinoda (CH), Jelena Stevanovic (AT), Dean Connolly (UK)
Charms of the Underworld by Bernet Meijer (NL)
I walked the stairs, down down down. A mystery is what I found. Confused I was, by darkness and heat. Green was replaced by armed concrete. It was like the finale cave from the bearhunt, But I refused to run away at the end. There were others with me, male and female. People who obviously followed the same trail. In the daytime, we went outside. After sunset we needed our cave to hide. In the shade we would not sleep and even might Gather together out of affection or fright. What would we do in the daylight, then? Well, from the underground came a voice from a woman. She and her staff treated us like sons of Hercules, Which resulted in loads of fun, excitement and stress. They explained us everything we could have to ask. Improving the world, that was our only task. It was a quick job we had to complete, With many people I got to meet. We communicated. Enthusiastic and clever. I thought it would be like this forever. However, the day came that the voice said: “No task today. You will be leaving instead.� I detached my body from grey and cement. But my mind would eternally stay in the enchantment.
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Going Bunkers The culinary treasures of Switzerland revealed themselves in the intoxicating luxury of SwissVillage here in Aarau. I heard a session president once say “the things that you remember most after are the unexpected ones”. We will never forget our dear Aarau bunker, the facility that has fed, hosted and protected us in the last few days. Many were shocked when they arrived in their dorms. “I was about to leave it, but then I learned to love it,” said Kazmi Misbah (JURI). One cannot blame them, as this is a very uncommon experience. “I think I have never slept in a bunker before and I probably will never again,” said Sabrina Berweger (CULT). Who knows, maybe nuclear Armageddon will strike soon, but in that case we will just have to duck and cover. Who knows all the crazy memories that will haunt our heads in the days to come? Most probably you will remember being locked out in the rain late at night. Tim Hongger (AFET) probably remembers becoming a bunker poker champion. Judith, the organiser, remembers a night meeting with the HOs that randomly took place in the showers. Everybody has their little memories, some weird, some dirty, some awkward. When asked on the bus, Jurre Schuling (LIBE) remembered laughing at all the terrible jokes that Jörg Meissber (CULT) was telling in party room number five at night. “He always promises that it is the last one, that is how he gets us.” Also for some unspeakable reason, the bunker environment has sparkled a strange interest for shoes in the FEMM committee. In particular “les femmes” started debating and sharing shoes in GA while the only lucky male delegate suggested ideas that involved combining high heels with a tennis ball. Prada watch out. Hannah Kierspiel (FEMM)
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also points out that a sharing shoestickling contest is in place because apparently “this girl tickled my shoes while I was trying to sleep.” But FEMM is not the only committee that has been contaminated by crazy within the bunker’s iron walls. CULT members Joram Pollak and Lucas Siegfried explained that, “they were up until 3 am laughing off tons of jokes with two girls in this mock debate”. Meanwhile, a sleepless Patrick Harcuba (CULT) was worrying about the leaking watery liquid pouring off the upper bed. Good thing Patrick is a lucky guy and it was just water. Remember the bunker food? Many worried delegates have been complaining about the food. In particular Nahuel Guidotti from Ticino was disgusted when he found a fellow delegate mixing coffee and orange juice. Also his Ticinesi pals Giorgio and Elia Blülle were horrified when they found Apfelmousse on pasta. “That is only okay for little children, toothless seniors or dessert,” they said. Still, they did not dwell on it for long because they were busy stealing a book to try and learn Russian. You never know when the communists might raid the bunker. That is what you remember: the weird, unexpected, crazy moments. Those are the most significant. Whether it is “practicing a speech against white underwear” like Julia from AFET, or group showering at night while singing “Call Me Maybe”, it does not matter. Find those moments, enjoy those moments and treasure those moments. Remember.. – Manfredi Danielis (IT)
Answer the questions below and count your symbols. The symbols most of your answers have will lead you to your future position.
What is the least amount of sleep you need?
Which of these items can you not live without?
You would start a conversation with a stranger by talking about…
8h
Comfortable shoes
Other people
6h
Post-its
Current feelings
5h
Hairdryer
Dreams and aspirations
3h
Plug
Anything
1h or less
Phone
I don’t have time to talk to strangers
Bang my head against a wall
Opening Ceremony
Keep calm and carry on
GA
DIE
Time after session
Go and buy some
Are you the mystery Organiser Bernet is looking for?
Teambuiding
You will be a journalist. Jackpot!
I don’t care sleep is better than coffee
Expect an invitation to preside a session any time soon. You have charisma and people find you always very inspiring.
Everything but Closing Ceremony
You will find an EYP career in being a chairperson. It is in your nature to guide people and one of your best qualities is patience.
What would you do if there was no coffee at the session?
Congratulations, you will become a jury member. You are a critical person and like to gossip.
What is your favourite part of the session?
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Editor’s Note: If you could not take the test because the layout bothered you, I have bad news for you…
What Official Will You Be?
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