Leipzig'13 - Infinity: The Black Issue

∞ The black issue

Infinity - Final issue It seems like the infinity of time, space and all matter in the universe has unfolded between the now and Leipzig 2013.

Yet, with the mast of Kiel already glistening on the horizon, INFINITY returns for one last time, presenting you the mysterious black issue. It was a bumpy road for this one, and at some point doubt arised as to whether it will ever make it or if it got lost somewhere along the way. But here it is and – as you can see – it managed to stay alive and very much so. What you’re looking at is the result of hard work of 10 people.

Enjoy the memories.

Let them live on to infinity.

www.facebook.com/Leipzig13Infinity 2

Heiko Brantsch, Editor

∞

∞ The black issue

Leipzig - history

4-5

board photo interview

6-7

delegate surveys

8-9

vs. – theme parties: hot or not?

10-11

GA photo spread

12-13

the committees of Leipzig ‘13

14-22

What is p. e. d. ?

23

infinity -> solidarity

24

some final words

25

∞

3

∞ The black issue

Leipzig A City where you can Originally a Slavic settlement called Lipsk, which means “settlement where the lime trees stand”, Leipzig was chartered at the end of the 12th century and rapidly developed into a commercial centre located at the intersection of important trade routes.

The city has fundamentally shaped the history of Saxony and Germany and has always been known as a place of commerce; the Leipzig Trade Fair, starting in the middle ages, became an event of international importance and is the oldest remaining trade fair in the world.

Going back to 1519, Leipzig was the scene of the famous religious debate between Martin Luther, Carlstadt and Johann Eck until 1539 when the Reformation was accepted.

Later the city became one of the leading cultural centres thanks to Leibnitz, the philosopher and mathematician who was born there in 1646 and Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer who was cantor at the Church of St. Thomas from 1723 until his death.

4

It was some years later, in 1813, that the region became the arena of the battle of Leipzig, also called “the Battle of the Nations”, which took place between the Napoleonic France and an allied coalition of Prussia, Russia, Austria and Sweden.

Leipzig was stormed on October 19th, and it is estimated that 120,000 men of both sides were killed or wounded in the battle.

It was the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I and decisive to the end of Napoleon’s presence in Germany.

Until World War II, Leipzig was the centre of the German book and music publishing industry. It soon became a centre of the German and Saxon liberal movements when the first German

∞ The black Issue

feel the history in the air labour party, the Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein, was founded in Leipzig on 23 May 1863 and about 600 workers from across Germany travelled to the foundation on the new railway line built in 1839, causing the rapid rise of the population which reached the number of one million inhabitants.

During World War II, the city was badly damaged by bombs and explosives.

The Allied reached Leipzig in late April 1945 and after that the U.S turned over the city to the Red Army as it pulled back from the line of contact with Soviet forces in July 1945 to the pre-designated occupation zone boundaries. Leipzig was now one of the major cities of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

∞ Giukua Bandera

Later the city’s trade fair assumed renewed importance as a point of contact with the Comecon Eastern Europe economic bloc, of which the GDR was a member.

But it was in October 1989 when Leipzig saw the largest demonstration against the East German government, which turned out to be instrumental in the downfall of the communist government and the subsequent reunification of Germany.

The beautiful city has been hosting you and the session is now, with more than 530,000 inhabitants, the largest city by population in the federal state of Saxony; and, after all the troubled history it has lived through, finally it is expanding economically.

5

∞ The black issue

board photo interview

You have all seen these very special persons – the board of the session. We now want you to get to know them in a different way.

What does EYP mean to you?

How was your face expression when you got the invitation to preside the Regional Session 2013 in Leipzig?

How would you treat nasty delegates?

What was your reaction to our issues?

How do you look when you wake up?

6

Theresa Giesinger ∞

∞ The black issue

What is your favorite animal?

What are you scared of?vva

How athletic are you?

What is your favorite country?

What do you think about the city Leipzig?

How happy are you together?

∞ Peyman Khaljani

7

∞ The black issue

delegate surveys FUTURE or PAST? 55%

CAT or DOG? 45%

BRUNETTE or BLONE? 76%

24%

CHICKFLICK or ACTION FILM? 9%

91%

REAL LIFE or POKéMON? 47%

53%

Is this your FIRST SESSION? Yes: 86%

No: 14%

VEGETARIAN? Yes: 23% 8

No: 77%

73%

27%

JACK BLACK or BLACK JACK? 25%

75%

TO BE or NOT TO BE? 100% GANDALF or DUMBLEDORE? 40%

60%

VALENTINE’S DAY? Yes: 4%

No: 96%

Want to become a POLITICIAN? Yes: 18%

No: 82% Heli Hirsik ∞

∞ The black Issue

Your AGE? 17 (37,5%)

16 (37,5%) 18 (25%)

The best SLEEPING POSITION? back (9,5%) side (66,7%)

stomach (23,8%)

YES or YES? yes (45,4%)

yes (45,4%)

maybe (9,2%)

Your preferred END OF CIVILISATION? apocalypse (22,2%)

nuclear explosion (7%) ALIENS (70,8%)

∞ Veronika Datzer

9

∞ The black issue

Good intend, low practice v Over the years, theme parties have become a regular part of EYP sessions. It is a good intend of the organizers in order to help the delegates to get closer and to get everyone to know each other better. They organise a party venue, decorate the venue and try anything, always with the purpose of satisfying the delegates in mind. While some people go through tremendous efforts to look as according to the theme as possible, some are not very pleased by being expected to wear a costume.

Already the preparation of the theme party requires both, the organisers and delegates to take high efforts. Costumes are not just one component, but many pieces put together.

Considering those costumes often occupy the most space in our suitcases, this is a rather inefficient way of entertainment. Furthermore, the theme party requires a certain amount of creativity and time, which is also not the matter of course. It has to be ensured that nobody feels him- or herself forced to take part in the theme party.

Another important point concerning this issue is probably the theme itself. Apart from topics that can come up every year at the same time, like Eastern and Christmas for example, organisers have to think about new and compelling themes without repeating themselves each year. However, it is essential to reach everybody with a theme. Sometimes even seemingly harmless themes can be hurtful to certain people. Imagine a bible theme party for instance: It could offend Muslims, leaving them wondering why their religion was not chosen as the theme. It also has to be made sure that these parties are not too occupying for the delegates and that they are not ashamed of the idea, which might avoid a personal opening. Organisers should also take in consideration that apart from some people who love to disguise, some think it is embarrassing and childish.

Finally, the aforementioned reasons show why I do not like theme parties. I would agree on parties who have a temporary sense but apart from that I think searching for costumes and preparing for the session at the same time, is sometimes maybe expecting too much. The basic aim of theme parties is getting to know each other more quickly. But this can eventually be voided by the fact that costumes not only show, but actually might even hide your personality.

Therefore, my suggestion for the organisers would be to ask the delegates to fill out a questionnaire answering with yes or no, whether they would be interested in having a theme party or not.

10

10

Peyman Khaljani

∞

v

vs.

vs.

∞ The black issue

Costume and custom celebrating celebration Through the course of centuries of development within Europe, every country developed its own traditions. The Irish celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 and Halloween was not invented by the US but rather adopted. What they all have in common is the idea of disguising, dressing up and attending not only a party, but celebrating a theme.

DISCLAIMER: This article includes sterEotypes. DUE TO this limited world view, nobody should feel offended.

November 11 is a special date for the German population. At exactly 11:11 am carnival season starts. The following months are filled with parties, always including a theme. But why do we even limit this?

Theme parties are fun. As long as one is creative, coming up with a fabulous idea, you can dress up as Lady Gaga, bunny, robot, wizard or tree. People have always had events to attend in a certain dress or costume. Costume is custom.

You can be whoever you want to be for one night. For one night, you are not the average Joe that pays his taxes, attends school and passes the streets when the lights turn green.

For one very night you are special, you are a pure individual. Nobody has to know that you listen to Justin Bieber, forget to make your bed every day or that your grades could be better. For this one very night, you can act as if you were smart enough to go to medical school or blessed with the dancing skills to become a ballerina.

At the same point, a costume tells a lot about your personal interests, activities and character. The geeks among us, being dressed up as R2D2, Frodo or even as the Doppler Effect, are trying to nostalgically remind the players of the good old times when Pokémon was hip. The players are dressed as sportsmen or have the profession of fire fighters, CIA Agents, white west coast gangsters. This group is flirting with the bunnies, princesses and cats.

Wearing no costume to a theme party is like going swimming fully clothed. There are simply special occasions, e.g. the annual decision to be sporty and go for a run. You know that on account of your physical condition, you won’t last for more than 20 minutes – but at least you do know that you won’t be wearing high heels for doing so.

So, dear anti-theme party people, those costume parties are fun. Be creative, pick the right theme and dance until you cannot stand anymore.

∞ Veronika Datzer

11

11

∞ The black issue

The COMMITEE ON EMPLOYMENT Seven delegates with no EYP experience and two that have already taken part in some events. Seven Germans and one French.

Three boys and five girls.

Hendrik, Viktor, Julia, Ani, Saskia, Lea, Jana and Fabian are the members of the Committee on Employment who, since Thursday, have challenged themselves in lots of teambuilding activities and in a very current issue supported by the fabulous Chairs Lia and Luca.

Dear delegates, I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed spending time with you, playing games and listening to all of your interesting opinions.

You definitely managed to break the ice and to learn all the names very quickly even if having two Lias and two Julias in the group was a bit confusing. It appeared that you have many hobbies and interests in common, someone likes football but everyone loves chocolate, someone wants to go to Spain for the holidays and some others have watched “Django” twice.

But one particular thing impressed me and made me happy: everybody can’t live without lasagna.

14

Later, you proved to be able to complete difficult tasks in less time then what expected and established and to be a close and active team since the very first, able to communicate and cooperate as if you knew each other for a long time.

These skills were then developed during committee work, where you had to discuss various difficult issues and afterwards find a solution on which everyone would agree. You wouldn’t arrive there, if it weren’t for your preparation and dedication to your role.

Since EYP is not only hard work and resolutions but it should also be fun, I hope you enjoyed the dinner at the Indian restaurant. It was a chance to get to know each other better and to talk about session-unrelated topics while enjoying curry and spicy food. I’m really glad that I could be there with you because I believe it’s important for journalists to spend as much time as possible with their committee in order to record all the memorable moments. Once you get home and you are about to fall asleep, take the magazine and look back at the four days spent in Leipzig.

Giulia Bandera ∞

∞ The black issue

The best of INTA Having met in a cold Valentine’s Day, the Committee on International Trade has been trying to solve the problems of small businesses of Europe.

The tennis player: François. He has even played with Roger Federer.

The pizza-lover: Merlin. You should’ve seen his expressions when his order came in La Strada.

The liar: Mariah. We have even believed that her cousin plays in NBA! The determined: Ciara. She really showed strong will in committee work.

The football-fan: Niklas. His favourite team Schalke and my favourite team Galatasaray are rivals in the Champions League. We’ll see the results!

The researcher: Alisia. She always had all of the committee topic research documents with her.

The foreigner: Tanguy. He is the only one who can’t talk German.

The chef: Julia. She claims to bake delicious cheesecakes.

It was really interesting to see the committee’s process on developing friendships and finding solutions. However, two truths and a lie game showed me that the more interesting thing was to see the committee’s lying talent! Every one of the INTA delegates is certainly an advanced liar.

Nevertheless, the sheep and shepherd game was one of the best games of the teambuilding. Although they have ‘failed’, they managed to create a language which has

∞ Onur Can Uçarer

worked to take everybody from the other side of the room!

The committee work was smooth. With the participation of every delegate, they have considered every aspect of the SMEs. After long time discussing, they found the best solutions for their problems. Their brainstorming for the speeches was also thought-provoking. They found remarkable quotes to use and I believe that their speeches are the very best.

15

∞ The black issue

CULT is the only 10 I see.

With seven freshers, supported by two international delegates, the CULT Committee challenged itself in their very task of finding a solution for the current labour market situation within Europe.

Starting with the teambuilding, nobody had problems with communication. Especially the ‘Street Fighter‘ game was played with great passion. In the course of CW, issues were eagerly discussed with everybody appreciating their voice to stand up. Feeling comfortable and accepted within the group, every delegate was able identify him- or herself with their final work.

Aleña quiere hablar español. To break her poker face, jokes are indispensable. Antoine, representing Switzerland, added some international flair, highly supported by French Julia.

Aki was almost Leonie’s argumentation about

16

Dumbledore being better than Gandalf was very convincing while Debra played out her cards of being very convincing.

Vlady, depicted as the Ukrainian captain of the damaged space shuttle, increased the multiculturalism. Julia and Niklas completed the team, especially when playing the “Honey Game”.

And finally, there is lovely Conall, the Chair, supporting the team effectively, but also giving them a lot of freedom to solve the problems.

Thank you all for the astonishing past days, I really did enjoy spending time with everyone.

To be continued.

Veronika Datzer ∞

∞ The black issue

Amazing committee.

Don’t you AGRI?

At the session, there was a group of nine people who tried to feed you. Their agenda was agriculture and its future outlook.

Chaired by Ariane and Yves, the AGRI members did their best to come up with an amazing resolution. Apart from that, they bonded within the group through teambuilding.

The committee really enjoyed the auction game: all the members turned themselves to slave-owners and enslaved each other within the group. If you have problems with your confidence and want someone to whip you or torture you in any other way, just ask the members of AGRI.

discuss some very controversial issues. I hope AGRI did not judge their journalist due to his attempts to talk about zoophilia. Either way, the dinner was fun and brought the committee closer together once again.

It is clear that AGRI is the one committee which smiles a lot and is really friendly. Their level of funniness breaks records. And you should really kneel every time you seem them.

Don’t forget, after all, they are the slaveowners.

During the dinner on Friday, the committee ate some. While stuffing delicious German food in their mouths, there has been space to

∞ Marek Navrátil

17

∞ The black issue

Reginga Even though it was just a couple of days ago when you arrived here, you had to face a lot of new challenges, in order to become a good working team and to create a convincing resolution.

When team building started you were definitely questioning yourselves if it is really the European Youth Parliament but after some time you began to like the games and songs.

Committee Work followed, with calm and quick-tempered discussions.

Although there was an incredible need for some food and sleep after the exhausting debates you stayed being concentrated and worked together for a convincing resolution. Especially Taline, Konstantin and Lukas came up with very good facts and ideas. Jana, who lost her voice, and Morgan, who had some language difficulties, tried their best, even though it was complicated for them. Kerstin and Viktoria first were a bit shy, but in the end the ice broke.

Yannik and Shelton had a lot of good points and tried to convince the others.

Even though your resolution did not pass, you did a great job and grew to a perfect team. I hope you had a lot of fun and got an idea what EYP is.

I definitely had a great time with you and really enjoyed being your journalist.

Best wishes, Teresa

18

Teresa Giesinger ∞

∞ The black issue

The LIBE: An Unexpected Journey

(2013)

4 days - Adventure | Fantasy | Comedy - 14 February 2013 (Germany)

10

10/10 from 12 users Metascore: 99.5/100

Director: Dorothea Cast: Leonard, Sarah, Johann, Giulia, Jil, Mathilda, Hannes, Tim, Aonik, Jan Rating: PG-16 for extended sequences of intense committment and intelligence.

Plot Summary: Team LIBE is swept into a quest to reclaim the lost comprehensive and cohesive immigration policy from the fearsome dragon, GA. Approached out of the blue by the wizard EY the P, LIBE finds itself joining the company of ten dwarves led by the legendary warrior The Prepared German Girl. Their journey takes them into the wild, through treacherous lands swarming with Obstentions and Againsts, deadly microphones and flashing cameras. In the sacred halls of Alte Handelsbörse, team LIBE discovers depths of inspiration and innovation that surprises even themselves. Eventually they gain possession of the precious passed resolution that holds the totally expected and useful power of giving a possible new direction for the EU’s immigration policy.

Trivia: The crew solved problems at amazing speed. 3 people have the same dog and 2 younger brothers. The cast is very multilingual, has lived in Vietnam and Paris, and makes some sort of mosaique from wood.

Notable Quotes: “your neck is too long”, “it’s harder if you have to laugh”

19 ∞ Heli Hirsik

19

∞ The black issue

Dear AFET, During those four lovely days, that we spent together, I have been observing you very closely through the lenses of my camera. (In case you have not noticed yet, I am quite the creeper). Hence, with no doubts, I can say that ever since the very first day of teambuilding, you created a united and solidary group.

From passing the marker over the ever widening volcanic river full of lava, through going on a bear hunt, to finally visiting, both Japan, in the times of samurai, and the exotic Rio (de Janerio), you were faced with many different and difficult tasks. You did a great job completing each and every one of them.

I sincerely hope that during the committee dinner you got the chance to get to know each other even better, to talk about other topics than the relationship between the EU and Turkey, which you have already heatedly discussed during committee work and the GA. Right now, when you are reading this, I hope you can say that you had really good time, although you might have been lacking some sleep. I, personally, must say that I was honoured to be your “Journo” and I hope that you were also happy with me being there with you.

Loads of love!

Yours, Maja

20

Maja Zalewska ∞

∞ The black issue

The convincing

DEVE-Style

During the last days the Committee on Development had hot and cold debates concerning European foreign trade. The very sympathetic has proofed their personality to be unique: Jatin, by believing everything somebody tells you, you made my day. The room has just five beds, what shall we do?

Kris, you should stop playing weird Schmartphone games and start recognising that Wikipedia is an international website including several articles in English.

Lena, concerning your speeches during Committee Dinner, many established companies should be afraid of you attacking them.

And there are the `silent haters´. While you, Marie and Zoi, stayed quite quiet during CW, we saw very interesting sides of you during Committee Dinner, one word – MOVIE. Zoi, you should learn the Disco-Fox, if you ever want to have a Chinese guy.

∞ Peyman Khaljani

Furthermore I surely have to stress the French contribution to our committee and its teambuilding skills. Thanks for teaching me the bear hunt yesterday, Claire.

Youcheng, you should know that we are still waiting for your Tiger Rap and your emotional speech. I am a really big fan of your girl turning theory.

Matteo, for next time playing Streetfighters you should develop your energy and scream it out.

Daniel, birds twittered me that you are widely regarded as handsome – take advantage of it!

Finally, I really thank all you people for this great time. Hopefully you also liked me as your journalist and expect to see you soon.

Best regards, Peyman

21

∞ The black issue

ENVIous?

Well, you should be. Because the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety has all that it takes to make a session unforgettable.

Dynamic, concise and focused, are some of the adjectives that can describe it. Spending time with its members, listening to their views and sharing their smiles was a great gift. Blindfolded, knotted together, mute or shouting, this committee was able to save people from sinking ships, create perfect sea-food salads and even make it snow while inside.

Most of all, though, this committee stands out because of its compatibility. There are more than “human knots” keeping them close, and these are the different kinds of personality and ways of thinking, that, although they should be the ones keeping them apart, they magically create an even and ever working puzzle.

ENVI was able to build up an integral foundation for the days to come, giving their all and working as a compound unit. Reaching the focal point and getting to accurate conclusions was pretty easy for every participant of this team, giving an amazing example of how diplomacy and cooperation actually work.

A huge thank you to you all; Lena, Selma, Neils, Marcel, Zoe, Meike, Tim, Joris, Jan, Marian, Saki and Julian, for making RS Leipzig 2013 indelible.

22

Despina Dimitrakopoulou ∞

∞ The black issue

p. e. d.

Feb 16, Leipzig. Tomorrow, we all are going back to our normal lives after a wonderful session. Most of you will experience this awful feeling for the first time, and it will affect your life in the upcoming week.

Post EYP Depression (PED) is the gloomy mood you get in after the sessions. We all have been living in abnormal circumstances for the last 4 days and were in a schedule that is certainly different from our routine.

Some of us couldn’t get any sleep for more than 45 hours straight, some have written their speeches until 1 a.m. and some randomly sang songs on the streets at night.

But eventually, the tale is over. We have to go back to school and have the same routine.

Then the inevitable feeling comes, depression emptiness and bore. Unfortunately, reading the issues of Infinity would do no good since it reminds you of the session.

There are many ways of dealing with this feeling such as singing jellyfish or Alele whenever you feel like it. However, the best solution always is to attend another session. For most of you, this was your first conference, and I believe that it has been a really good start for your EYP life. You should keep involving in EYP if you want your depression to be over.

After all, PED is the best motivation to apply another session. With all the inspiration you gained from the last session, you will most probably write a great application. So now, all you have to do is wait until the next session comes!

Here’s what some of us thought: Teresa: PED is a serious illness. Doctors should find a cure for it.

Veronika: PED is a feeling of coming back into the parallel world you don’t want to be in at all.

Heiko: You would be surprised how much one can miss the crazy randomness that is EYP. Onur: PED is your desperate search to find an open call of another EYP session.

Maja: PED is when you talk for ages with your BFF from EYP on Skype.

Marek: PED is f***ng sh*t.

∞ Onur Can Uçarer

23

∞ The black issue

24

Maja & Marek Navrátil ∞

∞ The black issue

some final words

With my thoughts extending back to Leipzig 2013, I would like to take the opportunity speak some final words of appreciation to all the people behind the scenes that made INFINITY possible.

First of all I will send a warm thank you to my lovely journalists. They have been enthusiastic and engaged from day one. Without your work, the amazing pictures and great articles, these pages would be blank. Thank you for bringing liveliness not only to our writing room, but also to your committees. I couldn’t have imagined this session without any single one of you.

Another very important member of the team I would like to thank is Johan, my video editor. The video editor is a position easy to overlook and even isn’t widely accepted as being on the same level with the “actual” editor of a session. Considering I myself have been a video editor more than a few times, I naturally beg to differ. To me, videos are just as important as a session paper and I think Johan did an amazing job on the two episodes we had. I was blessed to have him on the team and even though we had to struggle with technical difficulties every now and then such as Johan’s camera being locked away for 24 in the other building hours straight, I think we fought our way through it and I enjoyed every second of it. Thank you Johan.

Furthermore I want to thank Luca, our session president, who was always supportive and put the trust in me to let me lead this media team and was there when the going got tough (and the tough got going). When she was announced as the president of the session, I instantly knew: “This is going to be awesome” and so it was!

In the name of the whole press team our very special thanks go out to Lea and her amazing team of orgas who were so readily available and helpful and who were so very patient with waiting for me to finish the issues last minute to get them to printing.

Last but certainly not least, I thank you, our dear readers. I hope our issues have served you well as source of information and entertainment during the session, but also as a collection of memories that will remind you of Leipzig – the very first EYP session for most of you – to infinity and beyond. I am happy to see many of you very soon again in Kiel, but even if you haven’t been selected, worry not! There are dozens of sessions all over Europe, just waiting for YOU to apply.

Don’t be afraid to take that chance! Go to www.eyp.de to find out more.

This is team infinity, signing off. I hope I will see many of you in July at the summer reunion of EYP Germany! EYP isn’t over. You journey has just begun…

∞ Heiko Brantsch, Editor

25