SinCosTan “Trigonometry for future leaders”
Weimar 2011 EYP
What is eyp
EUROPEAN PROBLEMS
Hotties
Four officials
Keeping in touch
Polish Vocab
HO Interview
What’s next?
Staying in Touch While you read this, you’re probably sitting on the train, bus or plane returning home. Since this is the first session for most of you, this is the point where most of you start experiencing what we call PED (Post-EYP Depression). After experiencing these amazing days, you feel like you do not want to head back home. You are already missing your new friends: all those wonderful people you have been with during the past days. So now it is hard to prevent a teardrop of mixed feelings from falling onto my keyboard, just as has always happened to me since the very first session I attended. My point is that there is a fact we cannot deny: the session is over. And along with it, all those good and beautiful things: beautiful memories of friendship, love and joy which every one of us has experienced in these past few days. But in EYP, we do not say “goodbye”; we say “see you soon” instead. This means that we have the golden chance to repeat this wonderful experience by attending more EYP sessions. EYP is active in 35 countries across Europe and hundreds of sessions are organised in these countries every year. All you have to do is to get in touch with your National Committee to receive updates about upcoming sessions and events to be a part of this family. You can get in touch not just through mailing groups, but also social media and websites. Since everything in our generation revolves around social media, EYP cannot be left behind and I know that you all have Facebook or twitter accounts. So, all you have to do is find the National Committees on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites and join the groups. This will not only help you keep in touch with other EYPers but also help you to track down information on upcoming events. Furthermore, you can find the EYP calendar on the website of the International office of the organisation which is www.eyp.org. There, you can find sessions which are in their preparation stages as well as those which are happening right now or in sight. So, all you have to do is make your plans, apply to sessions and book your flights. Most importantly, do not forget to find your friends on Facebook or Skype and keep in touch with them all. At this point, I just have to stop because the teardrops are already wetting my keyboard. You have been a part of what made yet another unforgetable time and I just hate to leave you guys. All I can do is attend more sessions to meet some of you again, and I hope that all of you will do the same. Just as I mentioned before, I won’t be saying goodbye but see you all—on Facebook, Skype, Twitter and especially at future sessions.
alumni.eyp.org
This recently launched platform is a development of a social network which has been connecting EYP alumni since 2007. The Alumni platform aspires to become a centre point of the EYP online life; apart from being a practical hub—you can find a list of upcoming sessions here and apply to them—it is also a place to discuss the future of the EYP.
www.facebook.com/ oriol.comasbaste
Dispite its slightly confusing address, this is the official page of the EYP on Facebook. As a recent post puts it: “With all the people who like this Facebook page, we could now form a thousand football teams.” Become a fan, follow the latest news and maybe you will even find out who Oriol Comas Basté is!
so, what is this EYP? The European Youth Parliament (EYP) which was founded in 1988 by Bettina Carr-Allinson in Fontainebleau, France, is a politically and religiously unbound non-profit organisation. It encourages the European youth to actively engage in European politics, and promotes active citizenship as well as cultural understanding. It involves around 40,000 youngsters from all around Europe in its events and draws on about 5000 active members. What started as a small school project in France quickly began to spread to other countries, the United Kingdom being the first one. As of today, the organisation whose headquarter are based in Berlin can be found in 35 different European countries, both members and non-members of the European Union. The EYP organises three major international events each year which gather delegates from all 35 national committees. Each country’s national committee selects a delegation to participate in these sessions, with the delegation size depending on the respective national committee’s level of activity and the number of students it reaches. To ensure cultural diversity the delegations are then divided into different committees, each discussing a different topic. This also provides a strong incentive to socialise and make friends with people from other nations. Each international session starts with of two days of Teambuilding during which delegates get to know each other and overcome their initial shyness. A series of group dynamic exercises and problem-solving tasks will help them to form an intercultural team, set up their own rules and lay the foundation for a successful committee work. This is followed by four or five days of Committee Work during which the delegates discuss controversial questions on current European political matters and face the challenge of writing a resolution on how to tackle these issues. A Member of the European Parliament or another external expert normally visits the committee to answer questions and discuss the topic with them from a professional point of view. The highlight of every session is the General Assembly, during which the committees’ resolutions are debated and defended and finally voted upon. If a resolution passes it will be sent to the European Parliament. Additionally, the national committees of the EYP organise several national and regional sessions. National sessions aim to select a delegation for one
of the upcoming international sessions. While National Selection Conference are normally shorter, roughly lasting three days and do not feature external experts or politicians, regional sessions are of varying length, from three to eight days, and in essence resemble international sessions. They have, however, a tighter budget and tend to be less formal than international sessions. Today the EYP is one of the largest European platforms for political debate, intercultural encounters, political educational work and the exchange of ideas among young people in Europe.
The four Officials The session is reaching its end, but that does not have to mean an end of your EYP journey. There are many other sessions, so why not apply to them? Are you interested in a life of an official? We took four different officials and asked questions about their position and some more. Jan Nedvídek, editor (Czech Republic) »» What are the requirements of being an editor? Being able to use certain software. You also have to be experienced in being a journalist and chairperson and you have to go through special training for it. »» Why did you apply as one of the editors? It combines both being a journalist and chairperson. You are able to be part of the media and press team while chairing them at the same time. »» What do you exactly do during a session? Try to put together a press team, so that there can be EYP journalism to record the session. And of course edit and design the issues. »» Any tips for first timers and older EYPers who are interested in EYP journalism? Apply to as many sessions as possible, but don’t be disappointed if you are rejected since it happens quite often. Your turn will come at some point.
Max Karpf, organiser (Germany) »» How are you feeling now that the session is ending? Looking back at the session and what has happened during these days and before that. »» Do you have a calling for organising or did organising found you? Both of them are true. I’ve done it before quite a few times outside of EYP as well. »» What are the ups and downs of organising? Not getting much sleep, though that hasn’t been a problem in this session. Stressful times when everything seems to fall on your shoulders. But when it’s all done you have time to enjoy the session. »» What sort of characteristics should one have if (s)he wants to be an organiser? Passion for EYP, creativity and innovation. It’s useful if you are used to sticking to deadlines.
Francisco Santos, journalist (Portugal) »» How did you become interested in EYP journalism? After attending few sessions and watching the work of the press teams there I became interested in general, but my family background in journalism had its effect as well. »» Why did you decide to apply as a journalist? I wanted to continue my EYP journey and at the same time experience and learn more about different areas of journalism itself. »» How was it to be a journalist at this session? This was my first experience as a journo so it was a really interesting and mind-expanding experience. »» To whom would you recommend being a journalist? Every passionate EYPer should try it at least once, as well as anyone who wants to try to capture memories of the sessions in concrete frames.
Veronika Drzková, chair (Czech Republic) »» How can one become a chair? Be a delegate enough times. Be engaged in EYP. Be active in your national committee and opportunities will come with that. »» What are the most crucial things a chair needs to have? Patience, self-confidence, timekeeping skills and a committee. A likable personality is a big plus. »» How and why did you end up being a chair? It was basically by chance. I was supposed to be a journo here, but then one of the chairs cancelled so I got the spot instead. I’m really happy because I always wanted to try chairing. »» Do you have an ultimate cure for PED? (Post EYP depression) Go to many sessions. The more sessions you attend, the less PED you’ll have.
INtroducing the HEAD ORGANISER
With the end of this session within view we asked the Head Organiser (HO) of the session, Carlo Eckert, to devote few minutes of his busy schedule to sharing his experience with organizing a session. »» How did you start your EYP career? My first session took place fifteen months ago in Würzburg. People from our school team asked me to join them as there was a delegate missing. Since then EYP has become a very important part of my life. »» According to the TV programme about you on TT TV you became a HO quite easily. What was the reality? My close friend asked me to be his co-HO for this session. Unfortunately for many different reasons he had to drop out and I became the only HO. As you can see I am a very lucky EYPer, although it could have been easier having another HO with me. »» Is there anything that was really hard about organising the session? The last thirty days have been the most difficult because all the parts of our preparation started becoming more real every day and we could actually see the outcomes. »» Did your expectations somehow differ from the reality? All my expectations were fully accomplished; I am more than satisfied with the spirit of this session as well as with the weather. I am really glad that all the corners of the triangle (chairs, orgas and journos) managed to cooperate very well. »» If you could have done something differently throughout the whole process what would that have been? Even though it may sound rather cheesy I have to say everything went exactly the way I planned it. I must thank my organising team for that. Nevertheless, there might be one thing missing—we could have had more musical instruments in the orga room. Seriously, musical instruments are an essential part of organizing a session properly. »» How did you come up with the idea of organising a session in Weimar? Actually the ministry of foreign affairs kindly asked us to join the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Weimar triangle by organizing a session in the city of Weimar.
»» Who came up with the brilliant idea to make a triangle the session theme? It was my hardworking orga team. »» What do you think a future HO should go through before organising a session? I think it is vital to get as much experience as possible. It is important to experience being not only a delegate but also to try to participate as an official. Without that, it would be impossible to be a good HO because you would not understand the basic concept of any EYP session. »» What are your suggestions for future HOs? First of all buy yourself a calendar and a pencil. Then divide your everyday life into two sections: one for your EYP work and the other for your regular life. Try to have a fixed time for each of the parts and make a good plan. However, I have to admit that I did not follow any of these instructions. »» What are your plans for after the session? I am starting my volunteering year in the EYP Germany office in Berlin. I am really looking forward to finding out more about EYP from a different angle. »» Now we have a few questions from the delegates. Are you single? Yes, I am. »» What are you hiding beneath your scarf? Nothing, I have a cold. [Yeah, right…] »» What is your favourite triangleshaped thing? The toast in the TT TV logo.
Excuse me, SZukam taxi. Tips on How to Survive in Poland without Knowing the Polish Language.
Spotkaliśmy się wcześmej? Have we met before?
Tak, musisz być ta dziewczyną z samolotu. Yes, you must be that gal from the airplane.
Och, a ty jesteś pewnie tym, który wylał na mnie piwo. And you are probably the one who spilled beer over me.
Wybacz. Mogę Ci to jakoś zrekompensować? My apology, could I compensate it somehow?
Tak, jasne. Mógłbyś podwieźć mnie do domu? Sure, could you give me a lift home?
Oczywiście. Żaden problem. Of course, no problem.
Hm, może Polacy nie są tacy źli. Wydają się mili. Hm, maybe the polish people are actually not so bad. They seem nice.
Mam nadzieje, ze zrobiłem na Tobie dobre wrażenie. I just hope I made a good impression.
HoTties of
the day
Anna Kampfmann (AFET 2, Germany)
Hischtar Agam (LIBE 1, Germany)
Lewin Schmit (GEEK, Germany)
Pari Shamsrizi (AFET 1, Germany)
Patricia Fehrentz (LIBE 1, Germany)
Pawel Poznanski (LIBE 2, Poland)
Tristan Stacey (LIBE 1, Germany)
Yike Guo (LIBE 1, Germany)
After yesterday’s Polish domination, we see a landslide victory of their western neighbours. The German delegation apparently enjoys tackling challenges and wins this round in a big style.
UKRAINE has got a problem. (But not only ukraine)
“In my country there is a problem... And that problem is corruption” After the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the following end of communism in Europe, Eastern European countries went through the dangerous experience of passing from iron-fisted communist regimes to those of more liberal characteristics. Privatisation was necessary, but tricky. A large portion of what (allegedly) used to belong to everyone now went to a few ‘oligarchs’ – often those were people with connections to the communist establishment or secret police, thus having access to valuable information. Now they simply had an edge over common people and exploiting the imperfect law system, they acquired properties, factories and companies. These people also set a wrong example for ambitious young people who were eager to make the most personal profit out of the regime change. Today, I am talking with Aleksandra Voronina from Ukraine, which, as the 2008’s Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index indicates, is seen as the fifth most corrupt European country. “There are certain sectors which are in fact just scandalous corruption schemes,” she explains. The energy sector especially has not been the kindest to Ukrainians who have been affected by it in just too many ways to describe in this article. “This sector,” she continues, “is a prime example of what is wrong with the post-communist countries.” It is indeed a very dark picture as there are currently two former prime ministers in jail for corruption and several other politicians including the current president Mr Yanukovych have been prosecuted for related cases. But corruption is so widespread that most of the times it is apparently exactly what helps them to get ‘off the hook’. As you can see, the law is very easily manipulated. In the case of the former prime minister Yulia Timoshenko, the EU and the USA claims “a selective prosecution of political opponents” is taking place. But this is not the only case of the law apparently favouring some and persecuting others. Similar cases and scandals gain a lot of media attention. But there is one type of corruption which we have not touched yet, but which is arguably the most common one: small frauds and tax evasion. Since the government is seen as incompetent and the politicians are known for channelling money out of the state, the population does not trust the state and its leaders at all – and many seek ways to avoid putting any more money into the system. Tax avoidance or evasion harms the budget of virtually every country, but in the countries which are still adapting to a new economic and social system it seriously hinders the progress.
Mistrust in government and related tax evasion plays its role also inside the European Union. In the cradle of democracy – Greece – this indeed is a problem. Corruption has been common both in the government and in the daily life; this country has infamously tweaked its budget reports to enter the Euro zone. An estimated 15 billion euros ‘escape’ the state every year. We could easily go on listing countries where corruption constitutes a major social problem. But you may as well consider this a challenge, rather than a problem. It is a challenge which societies and governments around the world need to face. Tackling a problem which includes a large portion of the citizens may be difficult and the immediate consequences may seem harsh, but only then it will be possible to achieve true democracy.
Corruption in Ukraine:
Session impressions
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