EDITO RIAL
by Samuel Muhsin (CZ)
The third issue of Cray newspaper is the last issue you will be able to hold in your hands. This is the last printed emission from the Cray media team, the last bundle of pages you can use as a coaster, combustible, cover for indecent exposure or disassemble it for paper plane material. But not to worry; it is not the last issue yet. My squad of media hitmen will provide a final issue that will be available online, creating yet another reason to follow the social media stream on Facebook. The third issue is filled with even more input from the participants, both from the handful of officials and the herd of delegates as well. Even I have left my lair in
the sky and floated around in the diverse swarm of attendees. It was a wonderful stroll through the multiplex occurrences of interested committee work, respiring hallway loitering and refreshing coffee drinking. This grind through the venue reminded me that I am actually at a session and made me recall the excitement I enjoyed during my days as a delegate. Thank you for the reminder.
follow us on facebook.com/CrayMedia 2 | cray issue 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS Martina vs. Matěj / 4 The big bosses / 6 Panel debate: the presence and future of the Czech state leaving exams / 8 The show will go on / 1 2 Status update: PEDed / 1 4 Nick's approaching people / 1 6 EYP Stories / 1 8 Fair played / 20 Game of EYP thrones / 22 cray cray issue issue 33 || 33
MARTINA VS. MATĚJ by Alžběta Rybáková (CZ)
Let me introduce you the most amazing people that can be encountered at this session – the Head Organisers of the 1 5th National Selection Conference of EYP Czech Republic in Rakovník. Take a while to meet Martina and Matěj and watch their duel carefully. 4 | cray issue 3
Martinka
Matěj
I started EYP at the NSC in Pilsen 201 1 . We had an EYP Day at our school and I thought that it would be an awesome opportunity to meet new people, improve my English and discuss current topics.
By accident, my first session was the NSC in Budweis 2009.
When and why did you start EYP?
What is it like being a HO? Awesome, stressful, fun, challenging and enriching.
What is the best thing about being a HO? The challenge.
Can you describe your feeling about the session in one word? Super-awesome.
What advice would you give to the delegates? Be open-minded to new things, learn and accept another delegate’s opinions and enjoy the atmosphere of the session.
What would you do the day before the world’s end? Drink Red Breast Whiskey and watch Pulp Fiction, while eating perfectly prepared steak.
Could you describe yourself in one word? Crazy.
What did you hate as a child? Girls with longer hair.
Where is the end of an earthworm? Depends on the length of the earthworm.
Who is a bigger rock star? Can we have a rock band?
What river would you be? Any clean river on the west.
Is it possible to cry under water? I’ve never done that, but I am going to try it.
What do cows drink? Water.
Prague vs. Brno Prague.
CJO vs. delegate It depends.
Coffee vs. break Coffee.
When and why did you start EYP? What is it like being a HO? Coordinating group of 1 40 people while being half asleep.
What is the best thing about being a HO? Martinka.
Can you describe your feeling about the session in one word? Splendid.
What advice would you give to the delegates? As I said in our speech, to take the best of it.
What would you do the day before the world’s end? Probably hanging out with our orga team, because that would be just the craziest day ever.
Could you describe yourself in one word? Chaotic.
What did you hate as a child? Pokémons, it was for lame children.
Where is the end of an earthworm? At the beginning.
Who is a bigger rock star? Definitely me, Martinka plays the drums.
What river would you be? Little brook that goes through Rakovník.
Is it possible to cry under water? Of course, why not.
What do cows drink? Water.
Prague vs. Brno What is Brno?
CJO vs. delegate Teachers.
Coffee vs. break Break.
Lion vs. elephant Lion.
Lion vs. elephant Lion. cray issue 3 | 5
THE BIG BOSSES by Pete Pölzleithner (AT)
During the last couple of days at this session you have very likely heard about the board of EYP Czech republic and given their preference of rather keeping themselves in the background you probably do not know too much about it. The phrase „without them the session would not be possible“ is heavily overused in my opinion, but in this case it is 1 00% accurate. Even though they might not have been much present, they have greatly contributed to making this session happen. To clarify everything, which might not be clear to you yet about this mysterious little club, the press team has approached our very own Nela Gábrišová. This remarkable young lady acts as the treasurer of EYP Czech Republic and is currently right here with us in Rakovnik. Fortunately that busy young lady has been gracious enough to give us an interview. Cray team: First and foremost thank you very much Miss Gábrišová for taking your time. We would like to kick things of with some basic questions. So how are you enjoying this session so far ? NG: The session has been brilliant. The head organisers have done a great job and I enjoy every second of it. Cray team: We gladly approve. Could you now please elaborate on how you personally got started with the European Youth Parliament? NG: It was basically my former boyfriend, who 6 | cray issue 3
recommended that EYP thing to me. He was very persuasive, so he holds the highest responsibility for it. Cray team: Wow sounds interesting. With that being said, we were wondering about the most gratifying experience you have ever made since you have got started? NG: It is really hard to pick out one particular, but just being able to notice my own progression and growth from the point I started to point I am at now is something I am very proud of. Cray team: Well that is really something, I think just about every long-term EYPer can relate, isn´t it. So what is that board of EYP Czech you are representing at this session all about? NG: It is a group of five people, which are in charge of the main administrative tasks in the NPO EYP Czech Republic. Every year the board is newly elected so its members change regularly. Cray team: What made you join IT? NG: A former member of the board basically talked me into doing it, which was a huge matter of coincidence as I am thinking about it. It was really spontaneous as she approached me only a couple of days prior to the election. At first I was a bit sceptical and indecisive, but after some time I started to embrace the new challenge ahead of me.
Cray team: Great words to live if you ask me. Could you now please define your distinct fields of responsibility on the board? NG: Well I am the treasurer, which means I am in charge of all financial issues. I am responsible for tasks such as making/receiving payments, issuing bills and fundraising. Cray team: How do you enjoy the session so far? NG: The session has been brilliant. The head organisers have done a great job and I enjoy every second of it. Cray team: Unfortunately we have now already reached the end of the interview. Any closing words of wisdom/recommendations to the delegates ? NG: Well it does not matter if you get selected or not. All of you will be able to take something from the session with and will given the possibility to continue with EYP. Cray team: Miss Gábrišová, thank you very much for giving us this interview and your more than CRAY answers NG: Always a pleasure guys.
Quick facts: Name: Nela Gábrišová Age: 1 9 From: Prague cray issue 3 | 7
PANEL DEBATE: THE PRESENCE AND FUTURE OF THE
CZECH STATE LEAVING EXAMS by Natálie Dostálová (CZ) a Pavlína Krausová (CZ)
Part of our session was a traditional panel debate between the delegates and the guests, concerning the presence and future of the state leaving exam for high school students. We had an opportunity to meet Mgr. Jiří Nante, LLM., First Deputy of the Minister of Education of the Czech Republic, Mgr. Miloslav Blecha, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social Science of the Charles University, and PhDr. Ing. Petr Soukup, Headmaster of Masarykova obchodní akademie, the hosting school of the session. The idea of the centralised state leaving exam is a current controversial issue dividing the Czech society for the last three years since the project was officially introduced. Was the new form launched at the right time? Were all the concerned institutions well informed, and did they have enough time and space to develop the debate? And is the entire idea of the centralized government exams viable for the future? The first impulse for a centralised system of leaving exams came from the experts of the World Bank who 8 | cray issue 3
were surprised by the fact that the students in the Czech Republic have to pass two sets of separate exams in order to be able to graduate and to enrol in the tertiary education. After a long period of time without a response from the Czech government, CERMAT was founded in 1 999 by the Ministry of Education as an organisation responsible for a new system of the state leaving exams. In the spring of 201 0, the final form was introduced to the official boards of universities. However, they were unpleasantly surprised since the issue had not been previously consulted with their directories. They were not in favour of the idea of using the tests as a part of the selection process. They perceived this decision as rushed, and without a sufficient data background that would prove the validity of the results. In order to tackle this problem we have to face a difficult question: What should be the outcome of our high school studies? The guests introduced us to their own visions raising crucial questions and offering steps for the future of the exam > > > NEXT PAGE
The students who pass the graduation exam should acquire basics in Czech language and stylistics, and they should be able to solve practical logical operations in Math.
Despite the very articulate guidelines for the oral exam, it showed to be very difficult to maintain unified and objective criteria of the evaluation leading to a reluctance of universities to accept the results.
The exam should be as simple and straightforward as possible.
The students shouldn’t be divided too soon into their specializations since the situation on the job market is very unpredictable. A good standard of a general education is a key to a better flexibility of the students.
Because of the very diverse educational programs taught on a high school level, it is difficult to decide on a difficulty of the exam We should consider implementation of centralized exam for specialized schools with involvement of professional groups providing the student with a better position on a job market. Students should gain all the information necessary for passing the exam through their high school studies, without a need of a further involvement of the commercial companies offering supplementary classes afterwards. The quality of secondary education decreases due to a population drop resulting in a large number of students accepted to high schools. Furthermore, because of the school financing policy that takes into account only a number of students, many of them lack a sufficient level of knowledge from middle school. The centralized graduation exams in its current form are not only very expensive, but they also pose a huge burden on the professors
The students have a very negative attitude towards math science. This is unfortunate considering that a basic numeracy is essential for our everyday life. The Czech language is spoken by only 0,1 5% of the world population. Therefore it is necessary to develop a very good base of a foreign language We should target and support alternative means of education, for example computer games that develop skills and knowledge viable also for the school environment. The potential of computing technology is not fully developed due to the limited amount of money granted by the government. While the graduation exams cost about 1 00 million CZK it is estimated that the price could be reduced to 1 0 million CZK if information technologies were used. The remaining funds could be therefore further invested to purchase computers.
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As we can see, this issue is not without difficulties. The legislative process can be rather lengthy, and the debate is very often accompanied with a strong emotional response from the public. While some people claim that the secondary education became too widespread and that the leaving exam had lost its value as we know it from our history, it is almost impossible to imagine that we could drastically increase the number of high school graduates. What we have to realise is that this situation is a standard part of the demographic changes. Life expectancy has rapidly risen in last years, and not only is it natural to increase a level of education among the general public, but we will also most likely prolong the years of our youth and studies. Therefore, the guests stressed that it is very unlikely to decrease the number of high school graduates. After the discussion with experts we asked several students to share their views on the panel debates and on centralized exam in general.
First year of high school Artem, Gymnázium Omská, 16
What is your general opinion about the debate? I think it was amazing. It was really nice that the guests arrived and we the opportunity to talk to them. But there is one little thing that I didn’t like – they didn’t answer any questions, they actually avoided them and they talked only generally.
As a freshman, do you know how does the exam look this year? Well, I have an idea but I don’t know it precisely.
Do you feel that your teachers have enough information? I hope so. Our teachers know a lot about it.
How do you feel about your own graduation? I’m kind of scared of it but also excited. Excited? What do you mean? I mean I’ll be finally leaving for college, one step closer to adulthood. 10 | cray issue 3
Second year of highschool Eliška, Strakonice, 17
What is your general opinion about the debate? Well, it seemed to me that it was quite confusing, like they didn’t know themselves how exactly does the exam work. Also it seemed to be that they didn’t exactly answer some of the questions, that they answered something else.
As a second grader, do you know how does the exam look this year? Well, a little bit. Not exactly.
Do you feel that your teachers have enough information? Yes, I think so. But it changes every year – I think they know how it looks this year but they have no idea how it’s going to work next year or when I’m graduating.
How do you feel about your own graduation? I think it won’t be exactly solved but I’m not really worried because so many people succeeded before me.
Fourth year of high school Anna, PSJG Hradec Králové, 17
What is your general opinion about the debate? It said pretty much nothing, not that I expected it would be different.
Did you like any ideas that were proposed? Yes! The one with the system of FCE exams, it could be sorted out with percentile.
Generally are you in favour of the centralized leaving exams? I think it’s a good idea but not in this lower level.
As a fourth grader, do you know how does the exam look this year?
Third year of highschool Kerim, Akadamické Gymnázium Praha, 18
What is your general opinion about the debate? I found it quite interesting because I’m going to take the exam next year. It’s still kind of complicated; we don’t know how it’s going to look like so I found some information useful.
As a third grader, do you know how does the exam look this year? Not exactly.
Do you feel that you have enough information? Absolutely not. I couldn’t find the information that I was looking for. I still don’t know how the exams are going to look next year. The worst thing is that it could change every minute. It could cause us trouble.
How do you feel about your own graduation? I feel like a rabbit in a lab on which some scientists work.
Generally are you in favour of the centralised leaving exams? I don’t really care if it’s centralised or not. But for example I would be against obligatory Math exam.
Are you worried about taking the exam? I’m not worried but everyone would rather be sure about what’s going on. I’d rather see it clear and settled so that I can prepare for it.
Well, a little bit. Not exactly.
Do you feel that your teachers have enough information? Yes, definitely. We only need more information from CERMAT.
How do you feel about your own graduation? It hasn’t got to me yet. We are reminded about it all the time but I’m not that worried. cray issue 3 | 11
THE SHOW WILL GO ON by Pete Pölzleithner (AT)
Dear delegates after coming home from the session, fully recharging your sleep batteries and maybe having a proper shower or two, you have my official permission to be proud of yourself. Unlike most of your peers, who have probably spent their weekends bingedrinking at the local disco or playing Call of duty/pocket pool all night, you have actually done something meaningful. You have worked on a topic of high significance to our society; you have been pushed to your limits and out of your comfort zone on several occasions and probably even had a lot fun in the process. What you have done really deserves my respect and you are now entitled to give yourself a pat on your back. Seriously do it. But aside from all the positive factors, you are now unfortunately very likely to have a miserable feeling kicking in, you have never experienced before. That condition is commonly referred to as „PED“, which stands for „Post EYP Depression) (broader exploration of this topic can be found on page 1 4). 12 | cray issue 3
This illness is not uncommon, as just about every member of the EYP has already suffered from it and without sugar coating the issue: it will take its toll on you too. It might be terrible, though it is not incurable. You see there is one simple solution, which is literally as easy as falling off a bicycle: Get involved. For the lucky ones among you, the next step in your EYP-career is already more or less definite. You will have the privilege of going to an International Session. It is not an understatement to say that representing your home country at an IS among fellow delegates from approximately 30 different countries is an opportunity of a life-time. It is an indescribable experience you will never ever forget. But even the less lucky ones are certainly not at the end of the road, because the imaginary EYP highway has still a lot more to offer. There are an extremely high numbers of EYP events (please do not ask me for the exact figure) taking place on a weekly basis all over Europe. There are regional session, national sessions, EYP forums and even EYP days. There are sessions
lasting one day, two days and even some offer CRAYness of more than one week. Can you imagine? Enjoying this seemingly incredible amount of crayness, requires one easy pre-requisite to be taken. You have to create an account at the EYP-alumni platform, which is about as difficult as signing up on Facebook, something you have hopefully managed to do on your own. This page will keep you up do date with the latest calls for delegates, journalists, chairpersons and organisers. It will promote events in lovable places of Europe, some of which you probably have not even heard of before. From my personal experience I can honestly tell you that staying active in the fascinating little world of EYP is just about the crayest thing you can do. It has enabled me to see incredible places and has given me the opportunity to interact with interesting young men and women from all over Europe, some of which have became my best friend. The involvement in EYP has been equally providing
on both academic and personal level. And believe me there is place in that strange little club for an undersized overly self confident Austrian with a discussable sense of humour, then there is certainly a place for you. And you, and you and you. So get off the couch, wipe the tears off your face and man, respectively woman up. If you have got the interest and dedication to stay on board, the next events will certainly come. For example the Czech forum taking place the city of Znojmo in November, which will be head-organised by our own Marek Navråtil and Vaclav Huk. You see it is not even necessary to leave the borders of your nice little country to enjoy some EYPcrayness in the year 201 3. Doesn´t that sound like something to make use of?
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STATUS UPDATE: PEDED by Katarzyna Sokołowska (PL)
Having fun during a session, you probably do not expect that in a few days the biggest civilisation disease is coming to get you. Well, you do not have to worry right now; you still have couple of hours of common fun and carefree smile. Enjoy it as long as you can. PED, in other words Post EYP Depression, is the academically examined, incurable illness that can lead to some very severe consequences if you do not take it seriously. Although there are some magic tricks that you can actually use to at least reduce the unwilled symptoms. Now if you are going to pay just a little bit of attention to what I am saying here, maybe you are not going to end dead within next 24 hours. Firstly, to make the situation more clear I would kindly ask you to imagine the situation when you are graduating from you high school. There is a plenty of important people around you, who you have spent your last three years with, and in a few minutes you are going to say goodbye to all of them and follow your own path. In your mind you are close to bursting into crying but obviously you are not going show that nbecause it might be taken as a sign of weakness. So you are standing there, surrounded by hundreds of people and you have no idea what to do with yourself. After the graduating ceremony you just go, each of you, in your own 14 | cray issue 3
direction, and in most of the cases you are not going to see each other ever again. EYP sessions differ from any other real life adventures you have ever expernienced. You meet strangers from all over Europe. If you are lucky you know each other for five up to ten days. How is it possible that you are actually crying your eyes out when the session ends? You come back home and you simply have no clue what to do with your free time. You meet with your casual, everyday friends and you have nothing to say to them because they are just not going to understand a special meaning of all the silly teambuilding games you played during a session. What can be done in such a situation? How can you overcome you post-session pain? There are two different ways to deal with it. First and most basic cure in this type of emergency is to Facebook/Skype/Tweet as much as you can. Do not let your freshly made friendships just die with no impact on
your life whatsoever. It is not important that your mum is screaming at you all the time that you should have unpacked you luggage first. There will come a proper time for that eventually. No need to hurry, there are more important things to do than that. Secondly, apply as much as you can. Become an addict. There is not any better cure for PEDed state of mind than writing a good application and being accepted for a session. To be honest, in very extreme cases, a real life is just a short break from EYPing. Unfortunately, the meetings of EYPers Anonymous are still not some common in this part of Europe so I am not going to recommend you this therapy.
To sum up, I am not saying that there exists a golden method to fight this awful disease but I just think that it would be terribly unfair if I did not share a bit of my knowledge and left you with this unbearable feeling alone. Surely each of you has to find your own way to combat that. Some of you are going to give it up, others, the ones with more strength, will keep on trying and eventually become the official member of our huge family called the European Youth Parliament, where we do care one about the other and together try to discover the best medicine.
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NICK'S APPROACHING PEOPLE by Nick Matusevich (LV)
Julia, 21 , Organizer. 1 . Pikachu 2. My schoolmate 3. At home 4. You are the only princess to me 5. Christian Bale 6. Drink up.
Dominik, 1 7, Delegate 1 . Asterix 2. My English teacher 3. At home 4. Any compliment 5. Bale 6. By Dancing
Aleks, 1 9, Chair 1 . Flash 2. My ex-friend 3. Out 4. Pick up lines don’t work, don’t be lame 5. The Cartoon Network Batman 6. Z.
Katarzyna, 1 9, journo 1 . Jimbo from Treasure Planet 2. My English teacher 3. Don’t remember 4. I haven’t seen the movies, I’ve only read the comics 5. How’you doin’? 6. I start to laugh and it comes eventually
16 | cray issue 3
1 . Your favorite cartoon character? 2. Who got you into EYP? 3. Where are you on a Friday night? 4. What would be the pickup line that would work on you 5. Favorite Batman? 6. How do you go Cray?
Tereza, 1 5, Delegate 1 . Mickey mouse 2. My classmate 3. At a Disco 4. Haven’t seen Batman 5. Hey beautiful where have you been? 6. I mess around.
Pavel, 1 9, Organizer 1 . Eric Cartman 2. Nela, she was a year older schoolmate 3. In Cafex 4. Christian Bale 5. If the girl is pretty, it doesn’t matter 6. Anyone I want it, that’s the way I need it.
Zuzana, 1 8, Orga 1 . I don’t like cartoons 2. Nela brought it in, an older schoolmate 3. In a pub 4. Something original, depends on appearance 5. Val Kilmer 6. When about to slap Sammy
Niks, 1 9, VP 1 . Lumpy Space Princess 2. An older schoolmate 3. At home masturbating 4. Nice shoes, want to have intercourse? 5. Christian Bale 6. I dance my butt off. Some people are boring and some people are interesting as we can clearly see in the examples above. cray issue 3 | 17
EYP STORIES by Milica Simeunovic (SRB)
We all have some sort of our story from the EYP experience. We have all experienced something special or something that will definitely be in our memory for a long, long time .For some, it is the applause they got after their first defence speech, for some it is a crazy party they went after a long day, for some it is that moment when you realise that you just made one long term friendship or simply the weirdest thing that happened to you ever. Today, I had an opportunity to hear our lovely officials sharing some of their memorable moments. Marek, forever alone? Marek Navratil: “During the last Czech forum, I was a journalist and I can say that I really like to party. Let’s say in the late ours and on that forum usually party was in my room. I’d always invite all the chairpersons, journalists and organisers and almost every night we were partying together at my place. My roommate didn’t really mind, he liked to party too. And at some point one night, I was just sitting on my bed and waiting for 18 | cray issue 3
someone to come, thinking that they will continue the tradition of partying in my room, but after some time I realized that obviously no one is coming and that I am sitting alone with my beer on my bed. Few minutes after that one guy came and he was surprised that my room is empty and he left, but after that another guy did the same thing. So, basically, half night of sitting in my room wandering what is going on and even today I am not sure what was that about. So, that is of course not my best moment but definitely something that I will be remembering. ” Mathilde Pascal : “When I was chairing at one regional session in France last year, it happened that whole committee was French and because as we all know, French is acceptable in EYP sessions, they were allowed to actually speak on French and I realized that only way to force them to speak on English is if someone who is not from France is present, so for four days I pretended that I am not from France and spoke English the whole time. No one asked me where I was form, so I basically I didn’t lie about anything, they just
didn’t ask. I have to admit it was pretty fun! ” Václav Huk: “I have to admit that I am not the person with the best memory and I can say that is really likely that I will mix something even if I remember all of it. Last year I was at one forum and like it always happens, I had an opportunity to see a lot of people that I already met before at a previous EYP session, so I came to one girl to say hi because I knew her and during the conversation about the session we met ,I asked her who was the Head Organizer of the session. After that question that seemed completely normal for me, she looked at me and she told me with a dose of disappointment for my desperately bad memory “I was the HO, don’t you remember?” I felt so bad and uncomfortable that I don’t want to remember that moment now. It was so weird!” Sophie Debrunner Hall: “It was at International session in Athens 201 1 , where I was a member of the media team. Some of the delegates came and asked me and some officials that were standing next to me if we were delegates and we said yes because we wanted to fool around with them a bit. And because they were convinced that we were delegates after a couple minutes of conversation, they invited us to go to the party with them in some room. So, we were pretending
to be delegates all-night and partying with them! So I attended ‘delegates party only’ without being a delegate.” Jelena Petrovic: “When it comes to EYP stories I and every EYPer can confirm you that those are the best stories ever. But if I have to choose one I’ll choose the one when I randomly went to Iberian forum from Serbia with two other EYPer’s. The story goes on, we had to use 23 trains in total. But that’s not the end of my adventure. We were going back home after the forum, at least In the beginning we intended to go straight back home. At the one point one friend of mine said “Hey, tomorrow is your birthday ,what do you want for your birthday?” I gave her a response as a joke “I want to go to the Paris.” After that she just said “Well, let’s go to the Paris!” We had Inter Rail ticket and time so that was doable and somehow we decided that we are going to Paris. We changed four trains and of course, everything that we were afraid that could happen, happened. But anyway, we were in Paris for my 1 8th birthday. That is exactly why I will remember this experience forever, despite all the troubles like losing my bag with money or getting lost in some foreign country which language we didn’t know, we finally managed to get to Paris.”
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FAIR PLAYED!
What if you were forced to work for nothing?
by Katarzyna Sokołowska (PL), photo by dongga BS
Do you like to share your opinions? Do you like to discuss important European issues? How many hours of Committee Work do you need to be totally out of energy? Would you like to have a break at some point? Hot coffee maybe? Sounds promising. You are one of this special, chosen people that have the possibility to experience inexperienced. As Sophie mentioned before, you are amongst the very small group of people that are lucky enough to try it. You are lucky because you have a chance to look at the world from the higher perspective, observe it, understand it and with common effort and little steps change it into a better place. What about the rest? Fairtrade organisation might be somehow the answer. Fairtrade organisation is a movement of consumers that are concerned about the justice and fairness of trading. Their main aim is to help the small enterprises of the Third World countries to develop and grow in an independent way. They try to set the standards for products in order to raise the awareness of everyday buyers through marking selected products with a colourful mark. This situation refers to the coffee market as well. Obviously this makes all the goods considerably 20 | cray issue 3
more expensive, but the higher price is supposed to help the farmers from the South. Each year the number of produced coffee beans is growing, reaching 7.9 million tones in 201 1 . Every day approximately 1 .6 billion cups of coffee are drunk worldwide. The original coffee farmers receive 7%-1 0% of the retail price. Now compare your 3 euro extra spent to the at least 70% loss of the gentleman hard working somewhere at a southern plantation. Many of you, when asked about the one thing that you associate with EYP, answered: coffee break. There is not anybody who does not like to chill for a while with fellow delegates, drinking pleasantly hot coffee, eating cookies and making weird jokes. After sleeping two hours per day the coffee actually makes that you do not hate people and are able to smile even if your eyes are just automatically falling down. Quick wrap up? Drink your coffee. Enjoy your coffee. Respect your coffee. Think beyond the limits.
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GAME OF EYP THRONES for Game of Thrones fans
story by David Radosta (CZ) pictures by Jessica-Prando at deviantart.com and Aidan Gillen at listal.com
For the NSC is dark and full of terrors
Committee work is in fact a game. Each delegate represents his or her house (i. e. school) and even though they do not admit it at first, they behave after all just like the GoT characters, recall all the intrigue going on at the Committee Work. And one does simply feel like Tywin Lannister when striking a surprising direct response at a GA. The National Selection Conference is kind of a game with International Session as a goal instead of the Iron Throne with everyone ready to do anything for it. When a journalist asks a delegate about his or her values and behavior during Committee Work, the usual response is an emphasis of friendship and the need for compromise. However, the dark side sometimes becomes visible when a delegate becomes aware of the link between EYP and the Game of Thrones. Even at EYP, one can find truthful Starks or cunning Lannisters. A great story of politics, love, intrigue and arguments (no war at EYP!) is happening. And the plot is stunningly unpredictable and exciting.
Surviving till March 31 st
We are all very lucky that we are at an EYP session so the waiting is not that painful right now. But imagine the week to come: A post-EYP depression plus the first series release date being so close and so far at the 22 | cray issue 3
same time, this is going to be a real challenge. So what shall we do? Terka: “I will be finishing the 2nd series.” Lucky girl, isn’t
she?
Ema: “I don’t care. I have just seen a bit of one episode.
It was a kind of scene that made me turn the telly off, especially when I noticed my boyfriend’s reactions.” Honza: “I will be reading the books.” Honza is a special case – he is a total fan of the series and read all the books several times already. I recommend not talking to him on this topic, as he is literally a spoiler factory. Dan: “I don’t know, I will probably jump off a bridge.” Not particularly efficient but understandable. Kerim and Michal: These two are the role models of patience – they have no problem with waiting for the good things to come.
Exposing the true characters
As I have stated before, most delegates are not angels and when I asked which GoT character they are similar to at the Committee Work and General Assembly, I received truly interesting answers. What do you lot have in common with the Game of Thrones characters?
Honza: “I am a bit like Petyr Littlefinger Baelish. I
secretly manipulate people, you know.” Michal: “I choose Robb Stark. I am truthful, ultimately the good guy and I play well and fair.” Terka: “I have three dragons, I am beautiful, awesome and I am of the same age as Daenerys Targaryen.” Aleks: “I was similar to Tyrion Lannister when I was a delegate. Cute, little, kind and joking.”
Basil: “Of course I pick Littlefinger. I am always
watching, efficient, productive and definitely not to be trusted.” Kerim: “I pick Stannis Baratheon – I never smile, I am straightforward, honest and just.” Dan: “I identify with Robb Stark. I am honest and I am a good fighter.”
Popularity Mini-Poll
When you ask a bunch of Game of Thrones fans for their most popular and the most hated character, you provoke a volcano-heated debate. I took part, too, but then again, it was no use so I have to present the results of the mini-poll as they are. The coolness of Cersei Lannister did not impress the Rakovnik session participants, however, one of her quotes is very popular:
"Power is power." – Cersei Lannister
In my opinion, it is a great shame that Arya Stark is absent but what can I do. Here are the results:
Brace yourselves, dear participants, GA is coming! cray issue 3 | 23
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