Rijeka 2017 magazine by lukas_b

Rijeka Magazine 12th Regional Session of the European Youth Parliament Croatia 2017

Contents

Editorial

Meet Alex

The Story behind the Stairs

A Poem

Letters to Santa

Ugly Sweaters, Michael BublĂŠ and All in between

Best of Photobooth

Dear Delegates

What does Christmas mean to you?

Q&A: Christmas for EYPers

A note from the Media Team

EDITORIAL Dear participants of RS Rijeka! The session is now over and we want you to keep these few days forever in mind. Therefore we prepared this issue for you, so that you can take a part from Rijeka back home with you wherever that might be. I hope you will enjoy reading through it and maybe a few of you will open this booklet in a few year and think back to this wonderful experience with a smile on your face. Thank you for making RS Rijeka happen! With love, Firdevs Mercan

Alex was born August 25th, 2000 in Buzău (a small Romanian town). He is the young, charming individual who functions as the president of the RS Rijeka 2017 - the 12th Regional Selection Session of EYP Croatia. We had the chance to chat with him about his EYP experience, his impression of the city and much more. Here‘s what he said:

ply because they said I wasn‘t at the right stage of my EYP career to take this step. I applied after an entire day of travelling, switching planes, busses and trains and only started writing my application 4 hours before the deadline. As you can imagine, getting accepted was a feeling that I didn‘t even know existed.

J: Can you tell us an interesting fact about you?

J: Hello Alex, thanks for taking the time to chat with me. A: You´re welcome. J: Tell us a bit about your EYP carreer. A: I have been involved in EYP since March of last year, which is actually not very long. I‘ve been completely obsessed which is why I went to as many sessions as I could. The people who were there, people who I looked up to, are what made me continue my journey in EYP. The story about how I became a president is pretty hard to tell. To be completely honest, I‘ve been told by a lot of people not to ap4

elements from so many different periods in time and you can really see how it’s architecture has been shaped by those who settle here. It‘s perfect. The Croatian people are really lovely, hospitable and they care, they really try to do the work.

Meet Alex J: Is this your first time in Rijeka? What do you think about Rijeka and Croatia in general? A: No, this is not my first time in Rijeka, I’ve actually been here some 10 years ago. I have visited Croatia many times, especially when I was tiny, but I don‘t really remember that. I am in love with the Croatian seaside, it‘s the best. I have never seen a town like Rijeka, it boasts

A: An interesting fact about me? There is nothing mindblowing I can say about myself. One thing that I think might be interesting is that I am really passionate when it comes to clothing, especially sports shoes because my personality makes me want to express myself through shoes. J: What is your personality like? A: My personality is all over the place, it changes depending on the season, but generally I am open to try new things and try to be friendly. I personally feel like I tend not to appreciate friendships well enough.

J: What‘s your biggest wish? A: My biggest wish is to not feel remorse in the future for the choices I am making now. Even if it sounds really deep, it has an egotistical undertone. I am doing everything that I am, so that I don’t feel bad in the future for not doing it. J: Imagine that you´d won the lottery, what would you do? A: people who win the lottery are very sad because they spend their earnings incredibly fast, so I will try not to do that - not to feel sad, because I would honestly spend it very fast. I will buy the things that I’ve always wished for and try not to show off because that’s a simple way of losing your best friends and creating fake ones.

„My personality is all over the place, it changes with the seasons“ J: What‘s the funniest thing that happened to you recently? A: This is gonna be very inappropriate. Generally, I am not getting enough sleep because I tend to work until late in the night. During the day I get pretty tired and so I sleep whenever I can during the schoolday. One day a couple weeks of ago, I fell asleep before my English class. the teacher left me to sleep through the class and took photos of me. At one point I even woke up, but I was too tired and fell asleep again. J: How would you describe the colour green to a blind person? A: „I know you can‘t see it, but imagine it being cold and having the texture of very little things which are moving. Try or remember walking barefoot through grass, that‘s how green feels like. That‘s the colour.“ J: To wrap up this interview, please tell us a joke. A: What do you call a Christmas elf that sings? A wrapper.

written by Lucija Deoikolzvane 5

THE STORY BEHIND THE STAIRS Our excited souls woke up with the first rays of sunshine on our faces as we found ourselves in the stairs-filled city of Rijeka. Besides the astonishing view and rich history, the city has plenty of hidden gems that you can discover. In order to bring you the best of everything, we went near and far to discover the finest places to go and loveliest things to do. To start off on a humble note, there are multiple works of Gustav Klimt which you can find in both the City Council and the National Theatre. If you walk through the narrow streets you might also come across a life jacket that was saved from the everknown Titanic. It was salvaged by a sailor, Josip Car, who participated in the rescue expeditions. He took the jacket back home with him and then 20 years later gifted it to the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral where it is stored until this day. When it comes to music, Rijeka also has some pearls to discover. One of them is that the city on the coast of Rječina is the epicenter of the croatian punk scene of the 70‘s. It has always been known as an alternative city and that – mixed with it being a student city – makes it the perfect place for young people who enjoy the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. They like to have „đir“ on Tuesdays, which consists of visiting multiple bars who offer special discounts on various alcoholic beverages. One of the most popular happenings that occur on a weekly basis are the parties held in abandoned bunkers and buildings. culfirst nal Just 6

Standing right by its side, sports are just as important as ture here with football being the most popular of all. This comes as no surprise since the city is the place where the ever football match in Croatia took place. One of its RegioFootball clubs was chosen to be the best in the nation. take a walk and you will see, that there are many things that make Rijeka a magical place to be.

written by Nina Tihy and Tina Župetić

As the December sun was setting, we started tripping on the clouds in the sky, A man came to Rijeka, On a night full of shooting stars. Pass me a tissue and an aspirin, a coldrex as well, And in the heat of the moment, A lion appeared and made the connection The sweetness in his voice and the redness in his eyes made the man almost melt. He ate a fruit to keep away his sadness his to help him carry his problems away. And he smiled as he saw the December sun setting peacefully in the sky.

Various Artists

Karlo Lo n

gin

Paula Markić

ijepić Nikica St

Letters to Santa Many of us are striving towards improving ourselves, but sometimes we all wish for a little help. And who is better to wish from than Santa Claus himself? Here are some letters from the participants of this session who are hoping that their wishes will come true this year. written by Stefan Šuleić

Ljubica J

urlina

Alex

u Raic

Anna Beg

Christmas in EYP Ugly sweaters, Michael Bublé and all in between After a long day of playing ninja, debating serious issues and complimenting each others Christmas outfits, a cup of hot coffee in your hands and Michael Bublé playing in the back, you and your friends watch the amazing sunset over the Adriatic Sea and discuss your day, your believes and after all - your life. Sounds familiar? Welcome to Rijeka 2017. What is the first word that you associate with the Christmas season? For most people, it is family. That perfectly explains why would you want to spend one of the most beautiful and meaningful periods of the year on an EYP session. At our events, you are part of a family which is not formed by blood, but by common experiences, a family which will always make you feel like at home. The people you meet and the spirit you share is unique on its own. You don’t have to be religious at all to feel the need to share and give, values specially connected to Christmas. EYP will always promote those values as something central to the lives of the youth and as a reason to be aware of ones surroundings.

“Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.” Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart Celebrating Christmas together creates a bond, a perfect example of unity, understanding and empathy, which is the core and essence of EYP. It’s not just about goofing around to a Christmas song- it’s about getting out of your comfort zone and learning to enjoy the time you spend with other people. It’s not just about taking beautiful pictures of all the magnificent people that are participating in the session next to Christmas decorations- it’s about capturing all those amazing moments which will always bring a nostalgic smile to your face. It’s not just about writing a letter to Santa - it’s about a flame of hope in every young person’s chest which will burn until the end. Like a candle on a Christmas night. Like lights which are sprinkled all over Rijeka. Like a light in the mind and soul of every EYPer which will guide us to a better future. written by Aleksandra Stojković 9

Best of: Photobooth

Dear delegate, By the time you‘ll be reading this, the wonderful session in Rijeka will already be over. You will be on a bus back home and PED (post eyp depression) will suddenly hit you and you will remember all the amazing moments you had with people you didn‘t even know three days earlier. You will remeber all the funny awkward games you played, all the laughs you shared and the realisation of your hard work turning into something amazing. Then you will probably look at all the photos and videos that the Media Team has made for you, wanting to bring all the moments back. But even though the irrepeatable RS Rijeka is over, don‘t be sad! You can relive all the wonderful moments, do some more of great work, see your eyp friends again and meet the new ones! Sounds good? Then it looks like you should apply for another session! The eyp family is waiting for you. One day before you came to the session, we had the training for the Officials Team. Even before taking the bus and coming to the session venue, I was already so excited for everyhing that was yet to come. And now, on the last day, I can honestly tell you that this session was everything I expected it to be and much more. From the first moments of the training, when I saw all of my old friends and met all of the people that have gotten so close to my heart only three days later, I already starting to feel the eyp atmosphere. You may ask what is so special about the eyp atmosphere that makes sacrificing a good night‘s worth it? Unfortunately the exact definition doesn‘t exist, so you‘re going to have to see it for yourself, but I can tell you what it means to me. I just love the feeling of being surrounded by people that come from different places than me and just have a different mentality than what I‘m used to, but with whom I share interests and memories anyway and with whom I always feel so happy I want to smile all the time. On day 1, despite one sleepless night behind us, I was still excited about your arrival and seeing this session turn out to be exactly what everyone worked hard for to be. It was nice to see all of you get togheter and come close to each other through the teambuilding and snap all the fun pictures of you doing so. The 1st day was all fun and games and it ended the same way - in a cozy bar at the heart of Rijeka where we enjoyed the karaoke night. Which brings us to the second day,which means work work work! Even if at times the committee work can seem a bit hard, at the end of the day when all the hard 11

work is done, it‘s hard not to feel satisfied for the accomplishment, especially when the General Assembly starts. That‘s when the day 3 kicks off. The GA is the part of the session in which everyone dresses up and looks really pretty while presenting their resolutions and spending the last minutes with their super awesome friends. At the end we usually just sing together and hug a lot. And that sums it up, pretty much. As you can see now, it‘s super easy and fun to be a part of eyp sessions. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, join eyp and experience all of this for yourself! With love, Tina

written by Tina Župetić

What does Christmas mean to you? „Christmas means having a family feast and exchanging the Christmas presents amongst each other“ „For me, Christmas means reuniting with my family because we live all across Croatia. It means enjoying the food and the ambient with people I love.“ „To me, Christmas is not just a day. It is the most beautiful feeling because I share it with the ones I truly love.“ „A dimly illuminated room, a warm thick blanket, a cup of tea and a radiator. There is something special about being in a warm room and watching the cold outside clasp upon the windows while you enjoy the warmth of a house.“ „Spreading positivity, love and happiness between people.“ written by Lucija Deoikolzvane 12

Q&A: Christmas for EYPers For how long have you been in EYP? What would you wish for Christmas at the start of your journey in EYP? What would you wish for Christmas today? Alex Raicu (Romania) – President 1 year and 9 months. Getting selected to a National Session. To meet all the friends I‘ve made at EYP again. Andor Šereš (Serbia) – VP Started in july 2016, so a year and a half. To be a chair at an International Session. To help the organisation grow and become better and bigger.

Eva Marija Jurešić (Croatia) – Chair I guess a bit more than a year. New European friends. Seeing my European friends more often. Dorotea Igrec (Croatia) – Delegate Almost a year, 9 months in 2 days! A puppy. To travel and then to travel some more.

Aleksandra Gazikalović (Serbia) – EA

Lucija Depikolzvane (Croatia) – Journalist

For about a year and a half. Courage to speak up and express myself and my opinions freely. More time for sessions. And affordable tickets going there.

2 months. Some lab components for my dear hobbychemistry. Meet some new cool people all around Europe.

Dragoș Isopencu (Romania) – Chair 9 months. I would have wished for complex topics. Delegates who agree with each other.

written by Aleksandra Stojković

Lucija Gazi Luki Firi Alex Å uki Tina Nina

The Media Team of Rijeka 2017 wishes you happy holidays and a good start into the new year!

Supported by: