Session Issue - Turku 2015

SESSION ISSUE

TURKU 2015

TURKU 2015 - 21st NATIONAL SESSION OF EYP FINLAND

CONTENTS A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS EYP IN YOUR HOMETOWN MEMORABLES EYP MOMENTS BUILT TO LAST COMBINING SCHOOL & EYP HOW TO SURVIVE PED? MOMENTS OF TURKU2015 BEHIND THE SCENES SUCCESS STORIES BECOMING A CHAIR #TURKU2015

DIS CLAIMER

ANY VIEWS OR OPINIONS PRESENTED IN THIS PAPER ARE SOLELY THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT REPRESENT THOSE OF THE EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT FINLAND, TURKU 2015 OR ITS PATRONS

BROUGHT TO YOU BY :

ALASTAIR PAYNE (UK) SARA KALKKU (F LAURE STEINVILLE (FR) LAURYNAS KET LEO SJOBERG (SE) SASKIA KIISKI (F

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FI) RASMUS KRIEST (DE) ELINA MAKELA (FI) TURAKIS (LT) KATLIN KRUUSE (EE) TRIIN NAUDI (EE) LAURI LAHTINEN (FI) PHILIPPA RYTKONEN (FI) FI)

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A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

We wanted to give you something to remind you of the

session, a physical object, a concrete memory. But what’s the use of memories, if those experiences didn’t affect your path through life?

Why carry these things with you if you aren’t going anywhere? That’s why this issue is also about looking forward. If you feel nostalgic for your time in Turku, if you feel sad to leave, and if you feel a swelling in your heart, if you were affected by what you did here, what we built here, then take those feelings and use them. You’re at the start of something that can be so beautiful, and you don’t even know it.

In these pages you’ll find everything you need to find your own way in EYP, whatever that might mean for you, and whether that’s one more session or one session per month.

We might seem a little too excited about EYP. But our

passion is born from the experiences we’ve had through our work here, things we couldn’t have done anywhere else, things we’d never have seen, the people we never would have met.

The people we wouldn’t have become.

On behalf of your Media Team, your humble servants, Alastair & Laure

BY SARA KALLKU

EYP IN YOUR

HOME TOWN

MORE THAN JUST SESSIONS

I had no idea what it was about. I had

no idea how the people looked like that I was supposed to meet. I had barely an idea where I was supposed to go after I stepped out of the bus. Should I just have stayed at home?

Patience. Coordination.

Time management. Leadership.

Responsibility. Big picture.

Group psychology.

Presidency

station, I opened my phone’s map and wandered to a café full of people. A group of youngsters drew my attention, a group that laughed and seemed to have cozy time. This was two years ago, right after my first session in EYP. And that was how I started my journey in EYP Helsinki, one of the Regional Committees of EYP Finland.

was a challenge. I had been to the board only one year and hadn’t been in charge of many teams outside school classes. It was a challenge to take over a group of active and motivated people who wanted to do things that mattered, people who were ready to dedicate their time to both small and big developments. I came into a conclusion that it is cool to just go and try, learn on the way.

EYP offers us feelings of success

We

When I arrived to the central bus

and self-development during the long and sleepless weekends. But it does not need to be that exhausting. I picture EYP as a monthly meeting with friends, as a moment when it is raining heavily and you can plan summer with a warm cup of coffee in your hands. As a busy student spending most of my time in libraries and worrying if I can attend enough sessions to meet my favorite people, I found the regional committee as my home in EYP.

The resources needed for travel-

ling around the Europe (as ECON would say it “money, money, money”) are limited, we cannot help that. But that does not need to be it. We are lucky: skype, whatsapp, facebook etc. make it possible to have friends around the globe.

For me, it is not enough. I need my human contact, warm hugs and supportive words

EYPers give out often and liberally.

The cafés and other events that the regional committees organise, are a good way to get the must-have dose of smart friends in one’s life.

were all from different cities and went to different schools but you couldn’t tell that. You couldn’t tell there was 5 years age gap between some of us. But we wanted to make something cool out of it. Difficulties like trying to find a time for meeting or ‘sacrifices’ regarding school work were small in comparison to the “Amazing Race”–type competition and other things we ended up doing.

I

want to address you, dear delegate of Turku 2015. If you feel like you would like to have a weekly or monthly piece of EYP in your life or if you would like to have a place where your Post EYP Depression is understood even when the normal school life has started, GO! - Go to the cafes, sauna evenings and board meetings, go to meet those EYP faces that are accessible to you.

I

spent one year as a board member and one as a president. To be honest, I thought to myself “maybe I cannot, maybe someone else is better”. But I was interested and did not let go of that curiosity, of the will to know how it all could end up like. I did not let the fear of unknown stop me. And it should not stop you.

MEMORABLE EYP MOMENTS

BY SASKIA KIISKI & KÄTLIN KRUUSE

DAVID SOLER, CHAIRPERSON

“I

was an organiser at an International Session in Barcelona in 2014. I was one of five people organising the Opening Ceremony. Now, in Barcelona, it can’t rain. Obviously, it can’t. Turns out, it can. At the last minute, we contacted a tent company in a moment of paranoia. We built the tent in the morning and when the opening ceremony finally began, I have literally never seen more rain in my life. The thunder was crazy!. It was very funny when Anne Brasseur, the president of the European Assembly of the Council of Europe gave her speech. It was raining so heavily, in actuality you could not hear a word she said, even though I was in the first row.

The tent was also not covered in the sides because the team had to move around to get flowers et cetera. I had to stay in the tent, covering it with my back. So I was the one who ended up being totally soaked and it looked like I had taken a shower. The whole garden area outside the tent was flooded and it looked like a river. Rain got real. It was seriously intense, but we never stopped smiling.“

YIANNOS VAKIS, CHAIRPERSON

“It was back in 2009 and it was my first international

session here in Helsinki. We were in a sauna at the end of the teambuilding part and we wanted to jump into a lake. I was not really used to the sauna and the water was one degree Celsius. As a Cyprian, it is pretty cold, since I am used to thirty degrees. And we jumped in there! Then we all got sick. And it was actually the time of the swine flu. There was a pretty dangerous epidemic going around, at the time the vaccines were not yet developed for it. It was an international event, people came from different countries. And we all thought that we got the swine flu. But well, I’m here today. Luckily, it was just a cold. Everyone still stayed for the whole session.

In the GA, you could hear coughing all the time there was a guest joking that there are a lot of foreign people, and she hopes we do not have the swine flu. We just kept coughing throughout her talk because everyone was feeling so sick.“

REBECCA KIISKI, CHAIRPERSON

“ It was the first Euro African Youth Parliament session

and I was organising it. I think we had about fifty three nationalities there, so mostly everyone was flying. On delegates’ arrival day, Lufthansa went on a strike. Most of the African participants were flying with Lufthansa, so we were afraid all flights would be cancelled. Miraculously, the delegates still appeared. During that session, I also got an e-mail from Germanwings telling me my flight back was cancelled. The same happened with mostly everyone’s departure flights. We tried for about two or three days and we just could not get tickets. But then we found an EYPer who works for Lufthansa and he re-booked all our tickets.“

NIKO LAMMI, ORGANISER

“I

stole the mascot of EYP Tampere and got caught.“

LAURI LAHTINEN, JOURNALIST ( & ACCOMPLICE )

“I

helped.“

BY LAURYNAS KETURAKIS

BUILT TO LAST TEAMBUILDING IN EYP

As much as the sessions vary –

A false sense of team spirit and

“Team building” has a bad reputa-

Whilst the goal of committee work

team-building remains one of the vital parts of EYP. It might seem weird that events which include words like European and Parliament also comprise activities that involve running, amateur gymnastics, gibberish and meaningless sentences, and also a total annihilation of personal distance. Yet the official website of EYP describes team-building as an essential part of any session.

tion because of corporate business speak, but in reality, it’s extremely useful. Many organisations, among them grand corporations, include a mandatory team-building as a part of their training for newcomers.

Almost no group counseling programme or activity is able to offer a proper training without certain team-building tasks.

Team-building is an important part not only for debating political topics and businesses, but also it is widely practiced in military. For example, official U.S. Military doctrine comprises mandatory forms of team-building as part of its training program.

We

describe something as “awkward” when it appears to be unusual, without purpose and forcing us to act weirdly. We expect to proceed to discussions of political topics dressed in fancy clothes. While what we experience first is uncomfortable physical and psychological situations with around ten other people.

Discussing

EYP topics demands an honesty and directness which can be difficult to achieve, particularly since politeness dictates that we find it unpleasant to disagree with strangers, preferring to reach a false consensus and distance ourselves from the discussion instead.

The barriers between people require weeks, perhaps months, to be broken.

Teambuilding attempts to boost this process by forcing people into awkwardness.

stifling politeness are usual suspects of the middle stages in the team-building. They create a distorted view of security and can obstruct later work if not addressed properly. The team needs a conflict before they can start to express themselves honestly. This is why your Chair will have played a game that can fail or cause problems, such as Spider’s Web, Minefield, Swamp, Colour Blind, Abigail… the list is endless.

is to form the resolution, you have to learn how to disagree with someone properly before your agreements can have any meaning. Chairs force committees through a conflict scenario to provoke genuine emotional responses, and once you’ve gotten that, it breaks the seal on honesty.

“Team

building doesn’t change people, but if you can make them aware of their actions, they can choose to change themselves,” Alastair continued. In other words, the realisation acts as an incentive for change. Change that would develop the team and help it to overcome later problems. Committee Work, Resolution and General Assembly - the following stages of the session are the results of Team-building: The outcome of effective teamwork.

However, there is more to this. Something that lasts for a longer time than a week, something that is dear to each and every one of us. Something that cannot be described easily. Something that can sometimes be life-changing (however pompous that sounds): .

Friendships that last for life.

BY PHILIPPA RYTKONEN

COMBINING THE

SCHOOL WORLD

& EYP

Regardless

of how many sessions you have attended, whether it’s two or twenty, EYP tends to usually settle in our hearts in one way or another.

The atmosphere, unique friends and the personal development and challenge form a mixture of something almost unreal that we can’t really get anywhere else. There are an incredible amount of sessions to attend, only in 2014 there were 304 events and 1000 days of sessions! Most of the EYPers are attending either high school or university, but how do they really manage to organize their time wisely and efficiently between the organisation of their hearts and the academic school world?

The

chair for CULT, Manfredi Danielis started his EYP journey in 2010 and has been attending sessions ever since. He is currently studying economics at the university of Bologna in Italy and graduating this year if everything goes well. Universities are more flexible than high schools when it comes to studying: during Manfredi’s university time he has been able to do a lot of EYP, mostly in Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Recently Manfredi spent one year in Austria as an Erasmus exchange student and was able to attend lots of sessions while being there. Being an exchange student is a common pathway among EYPers, and a great chance to be active in other EYP countries’ events.

Combining EYP and studying is

not always so easy when new calls for delegates and officials are popping up constantly. Manfredi recommends going to sessions near you; lots of sessions can easily be accessed by train. Avoiding airplanes and taking trains makes the travelling a lot cheaper and easier.

Pre and post session time can also be lots of fun! It’s also advisable to go to sessions while having school breaks; “Never miss an exam for EYP,” warns Manfredi. Most importantly, when managing time it’s essential to always be realistic and honest to oneself in order to set smart goals and plan your time.

Sara

Kalkku, the journalist of ECON, is also balancing EYP and university studies. She is currently studying law at the University of Helsinki. After the bachelor degree Sara is aiming for a master’s degree in law, either here in Finland or abroad. Seeing behind the scenes of society interests her and was the main reason for choosing to study in the faculty of law. She find her university related skills useful in EYP; researching a committee topic seems easier when you’re used to studying hundreds of pages of material for university exams.

As seen with Sara and Manfredi

combining different interests is possible with time management and some effort. There is always a place in EYP for everyone, regardless of whether one is studying, working or having a gap year.

The next step is always there if we are ready to take the opportunity and make time for the next sessions to come.

BY ELINA MAKELA

BEHIND THE SCENES

Organisers make up the very core of each EYP ses-

sion. Not only do they make you happy by filling your stomachs with heavenly food, but they also spend several months prior to the session carefully planning every single detail about these few days. From venues to sponsors, from delegations to officials’ team. And all this for no profit but the wealth of experience and a great amount of humour.

Providing all the participants with hot cups of cof-

fee as well as toilet paper, this hard-working group of people deserves our highest appreciation for the work they have done. “It’s the best and the worst job,” said our techno-viking-jesus Ian Perring, who is responsible for the technology in the organising team of Turku 2015, “but it is also a nice way to give something back to EYP, which has given so much to me throughout the years. Instead of attending the session, you’re living the session. You know precisely what happens behind the scenes, because you are behind the scenes.” The food organiser Susanna Ahonen found her motivation for organising in the general vibe of the session, “The feeling afterwards is awesome. Especially when someone comes to say ‘thank you’. For me, it’s all about making people happy. Food is the ‘happy part’ of the session.

One cookie has the magical power to make anyone happy”.

BY TRIIN NAUDI

One of the most important

qualities an organiser should possess, is the ability to adapt to new situations. Valtteri, who is one of the bright members of the organising team of Turku 2015 shared his experience on this, ”As a head-organiser, I missed my own opening ceremony. What happened is that during the arrivals day the Finnish railway company VR had an unexpected strike. Therefore, the two trains that were supposed to bring all the delegates to the session were cancelled without any warning. All of a sudden, we had absolutely no idea how the delegates would arrive! We were forced to send all of the printing organisers to look for them and hence I spent my opening ceremony driving around the city of Turku, while trying to find a proper place to print the first issue of the session. I actually became kind of a legend.”

What makes up an efficient

organiser then? “Metal and love, perhaps,” said both Ian and Valtteri. “Good organisers are made of good structure and an insane tolerance for sleep-deprivation as well as sleep-desperation combined with a proper team player mindset.” With intense workload, sleeping while organising the session is truly a privilege according to Roosa: “when we went to the store just now, I was driving 30 km/h when the limit was 60 km/h just because I was too sleepy to drive any faster.”

BY RASMUS KRIEST

SUCCESS STORIES EYP AS A “LIFE-CHANGER” From the outside perspective it might seem as

there is only one way to show strength while participating at events of the European Youth Parliament (EYP): Regional Selection Conference (RSC), National Selection Conference (NSC), and finally an International Session (IS). The International Sessions in 2015 in Izmir, Turkey, Tampere, Finland and Leipzig, Germany are considered as the most important events of EYP because they are the biggest of the year. But does participation only begin at this point?

Joel, Organizer

O

Favorite session: “This is actually the current one: NSC Turku 2015.”

ne person he has reached most definitely is his flatmate Joel who did not know EYP at all before Ian introduced the organization to him – during last year’s session in Turku an organizer was missing and Ian asked his friend whether he wants to help out.

After the end session he wanted to further engage in EYP and also joined the Regional Group to get more familiar with EYPers in his area because he enjoys the company of people of the same age which made this step feel “kind of natural” for him. When it was announced that the 2015 session, head organized by Ayda and Henriikka, was looking for officials he immediately applied to be an organizer. Due to his lack of experience he was not accepted at first but was later asked to join the team anyways when another organizer canceled. He stayed with EYP mainly because “there is no other option? Where would you go – Religion? Politics? EYP is kind of optimal because you get to meet new people who actually become your friends.”

Laure, Editor

While many EYPers start their ‘carrer’

Favorite session: “Barcelona IS – We were able to create a new media team concept and break the old structures some parts of EYP most definitely have.”

at a National Selection Conference, Laure, on of this year’s editors, participated first in February 2013 at a RSC in France. After not being selected it were only other EYPers she knew who told her to continue which lead to her applying for the same NSC she was not able to go as a delegate. Since then she has been to almost twenty different events (Turku is her 18th session) and has to admit that “you can only experience EYP if you go abroad. It doesn’t matter if it’s another NSC, an IS or an International Forum (IF) on which you apply on your own. I’ve made many good friendships and traveled to countries I would’ve never been to otherwise.” While Laure also was a member of a political party in her homecountry she likes the honesty participants in EYP have the most: “People in EYP reflect on solutions and not on the politics or political views of different countries. It’s not about your own ego but about the collective interest as main objective for a good resolution.”

Hector, Organizer

Hector, one of the organizers, could

not make it to the RSC Raisio in 2011 and therefore was able to join only after replacing a delegate at the Tampere’s NSC in 2012. After not being selected as a delegate he realized that while he loved the people and atmosphere of EYP sessions he disliked being a delegate. Hector says that he “heard of this workshop on journalism organized by EYP Finland a couple of weeks later” and “was interested in participating in a different role” which is why his second session (RSC Salo 2012) also was his first experience in being a journalist. Seeking another challenge Hector became a Head Organizer afterwards and is continuing to be involved in EYP. “Why would I leave? EYP was the first youth organization I came in touch with and while I know that there’re others too I don’t need anything else.”

Favorite session: “Most definitely RSC Salo 2014 – it went so smooth we sometimes had absolutely nothing to do.”

Ian, Organizer

Ian, one of the many organizers of this

session went to the International Session in Istanbul in 2012 after being selected at the RSC Raisio and the NSC Tampere. Afterwards he joined Turku’s Regional Group of EYP Finland and became active on a regional level by joining the variety of events the Regional Group offers: Cafés, Sauna evenings and workshops before applying as a Head Organizer and creating his very own session.

What kept him in EYP? “I wanted to give back what I have experienced and help creating such a great opportunity for young people to exchange their ideas about Europe.”

“Do you want to help me organizing an international event in Turku?”

Favorite session: “I can’t decide between the Istambul IS and the session I organized myself.”

Alastair, Editor

Laure’s co-editor Alastair is the ol-

Favorite session: “Last year’s NSC in Czech Republic – not only did I meet some of the people who are now my closest friends, but that was also where I was able to prove to myself that I can actually do this.”

dest person of this session. He started with EYP in 2008 at the RSC in Belfast and continued at the same year’s NSC in Durham.

Although not having been selected for an IS there he joined his Regional Committee; “It was only the next year when I realized that you’re able to apply to any session! I continued to go to sessions during the last year – Turku is my 27th session overall.” Although there is no other NPO Alastair feels the same about (“It’s the vibe, there’s just nothing like it!”) his main reasons to continue with EYP changed over the last year: “While at first I was just flattered that I was useful enough that people actually want me to be there; I see EYP as a personal challenge for me nowadays. You’re being taken out of your usual life and put into this environment which is inspiring and feels just really good. It’s more worthwhile than any holiday.”

In her opening speech, Valentina, president of the 21st National Selection Conference of EYP Finland said that EYP “can truly be a life changing experience that will have a lasting impact on you if you choose and want it to be.” And while it might be cliché to say that EYP is a life changer – if you go through all the emotions and work you put into different sessions, it eventually is.

BY SASKIA KIISKI

BECOMING As

a delegate new to the concept of EYP, you will most probibly have the image of your chair being a hugely experienced EYP alumnus, far from yourself on the ladder of EYP stardom.

As you will know, the responsi-

bilities of a Chair are leading team building and committee work as well as providing you with support during General Assembly. However the tasks of a Chair extend much further than you might expect. Prior to a session, a Chair will have required relevant information on the committee topic and written a topic overview in order to provide delegates with some insight into the topic. Great attention is paid to the planning of team building and committee work, with all aspects considered by the Chair. As a Chair you will be in close contact with the President and Vice Presidents of the session, who offer continuous support to the Chairs and lead the Chairs Team.

A CHAIR What

do Chairs get out of chairing a committee? After all they put a lot of work and effort into leading a committee. The reasons to attend a session are different for everyone. Some regard the academic side in high regard and value the process of leading the committee to come up with a resolution, whilst others place more value on the developmental aspects of EYP offered to the delegates.

There is no simple formula in

chairing. Each of your Chairs will have taken a different approach. Different views on chairing itself and various personalities contribute to the way a Chair leads a committee. There are no manditory requirements to being qualified to act as a Chair at a session.

Thus, if you wish to be a Chair yourself, there are lots of opportunities to do so, particularly at Regional Sessions. Even the most impressive Chairs in EYP all had their first time, imagine if they hadn't been brave enough to try?

The Chairs' training of EYP Fin-

land is organised annually. The aim of this weekend is to examine the role and responsibilities of a chairperson. Sessions also inlude training for officials prior to the delegates' arrivals, so even inexperienced people can do the job.

#TURK

KU2015

Partners of Turku 2015 21st National Session of EYP Finland

Ibernavel European Youth Parliament Finland - EYP - Finland ry Uudenmaankatu 15 A 5, 00120 Helsinki www.eypfinland.org eyp@eypfinland.org