cut here
Closing ceremonies at EYP sessions tend to become embarrassing displays of emotion. In the eventuality that you feel yourself tearing up or straight out crying during the speeches, we have prepared an emergency tissue for your convenience.
Robin Janรกsek and Randolf Carr
CONTINUING IN EYP PAGE 2
IMAGINE EYP WITHOUT “IMAGINE” PAGE 7
LONG-DISTANCE FRIENDSHIPS PAGE 8
SESSION DELEGATE SURVEY PAGE 15
hamburg.eyp.de/29/ article
AFTER HAMBURG: EYP LIFE GOES ON
Zuzana Holakovská and Nives Kaprocki A personal guide for beginners on how to stay active in the amazing organisation that is EYP Germany. Upcoming open sessions Open sessions are ones to which you can apply as a delegate individually on your own initiative, independent of your school and the national selection process. In 2012: Danube Youth Forum of EYP Serbia in Novi Sad: May 5th – May 9th 7th International Istanbul Youth Forum: May 16th – May 21st International Summer Forum in Menden: July 7th – July 15th A unique opportunity from EYP Germany to apply as an individual delegate. The session theme is „Fundamental European values“. The call for delegates will be opened in late March. European Forum Budweis: August 3rd – August 12th The call for individual delegates will be opened in early May In 2013: Ghent 2013, 2nd International Forum of EYP-Europolis Belgium: April 6th – April 13th
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No matter whether your school delegation is selected for the National Selection Conference (NSC) in Berlin, you will receive an e-mail from the Hamburg participant support organiser Lydia. There you will find all necessary information concerning EYP Germany. For those who will feel they still lack any information there is the welcome@eyp.de e-mail address managed by Annika Heffter. Annika does her best to find a place in EYP Germany for anyone eager to join and actively participate, for example by recommending mainly foreign sessions where you can apply. All participants are also automatically added to the EYP Germany mailing list, and start receiving news and e-mails about upcoming sessions. Except for EYP sessions there are also two other annual events. The first one is the Europäisches Hoffest organised by the Schwarzkopf Foundation on June 2nd in Berlin, where EYPers from all over Europe meet up to celebrate a summer reunion and enjoy the free beer supply. This event is followed by a weekend meeting of EYP Germany alumni full of various workshops. The second regular event is the four-day-long EYP Academy held in November in Aschaffenburg. It’s an ideal opportunity to connect with other EYPers, take part in organiser/journalist/chair workshops, or even learn first aid. A complement to these two fancy gatherings, there are also unofficial regional get-togethers occasionally set up via Facebook or the mailing list, for example for EYPers living in and around Hamburg. Be assured that if you haven’t fallen in love with EYP at first sight or weren’t selected, that doesn’t mean continuing in EYP after Hamburg (or Berlin) isn’t for you. In fact, even for some of the most prominent members of EYP Germany present here their EYP passion got off to a rocky or at least unconventional start. 2
I have actually never been a delegate. A friend of mine from my university used to travel a lot to EYP sessions, which motivated me to join EYP as well. Since then I have organised many different sessions. I have always wanted to join an organisation that is politically active, but is not registered a political party. Kerstin Eckhart
Although my school delegation was not selected during the NSC in Würzburg 2010, I could still attend the IS in Lviv 2010 thanks to the so-called ‘wild card’. Only a year after I became the Head Organiser of an International Summer Forum in Weimar. Currently I am doing my voluntary social service in the EYP office. Carlo Eckert
I first started EYP during my exchange year in Finland. After attending my first German session, I immediately fell in love with EYP, which motivated me to attend the EYP Academy, where I met all the other EYPers. Since then I became the coordinator of EYP@school and a Head Organiser of the upcoming International Summer Forum in Menden. Maximilian Kiehn
Despite the fact my school was not selected, I decided to keep participating in EYP. At first I was a little scared, because everyone seemed so smart. Fortunately I attended the EYP Academy, where I had the chance to see an organiser meeting and I became an organiser for the next NSC, which was close to my hometown. Franziska Maier
My ‘EYP career’ was quite ordinary. I attended the NSC in 2007, where my delegation was selected to participate at the IS in Dublin. Then I became an organiser and eventually tried all the roles. Now I am a member of the board of EYP Germany. Benny Gradhand 3
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hamburg.eyp.de/30/ article
THE POLITICS OF SEX Hannah G r ace Car te r A critical observation of how politicians gain attention from bringing up issues involving women’s rights and LGBT rights.
A
s some of you may know, this Thursday was International Women’s Day. European societies have come a long way in the area of women’s rights, from the fight for suffrage in the 19th century to present-day discussions about gender quotas. Not only women’s rights, but also the rights of the LGBT community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) have changed throughout the past few decades. For politicians, the sensitive issues of defending or infringing on these rights are considered “high politics” – political areas which tend to receive a lot of attention and feedback from the public. This is mainly due to the fact that almost everyone has an opinion on these topics. In different countries around the world politicians have used these attentiongrabbing issues in order to gain votes and to make a point. The Netherlands, for example, a country renowned for being one of the most liberal in the world, were home to a politialstertwelve
cian called Pim Fortuyn. He used his strong convictions about LGBT and women’s rights to voice his xenophobic opinions on the Muslim population. He underscored his reactionary ideas, which included closing the country’s borders to future immigrants, by insisting that he felt his rights as a homosexual were personally violated by Muslim imams who would claim that gays were worth less to them than pigs. Fortuyn considered the greatest achievements of the country to be the progress in gender equality and LGBT rights. In Germany on the other hand, the past year has seen quite the heated debate on mandatory gender quotas in leadership positions. In the end, the proposition came to nothing, mostly due to the fact that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not want there to be an internal political conflict during an important election year. On the other side of the Atlantic, the American presiden-
tial candidate Rick Santorum is making headlines with his ultra-conservative views on gay rights, contraception and feminism. He has been known to compare the nature of homosexuality to “bestiality” (interspecies, i.e. man-to-animal, sex). Also, he has voiced his opinions on radical feminism, saying that radical feminism is the reason children are left to be raised by nannies and a cause of the deterioration of American family values. Issues like these polarise the population, and give politicians the attention they need when campaigning. They manage to cloak other issues like xenophobia, as seen in the Netherlands. In other cases they are swept under the rug when they are politically inconvenient.
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hamburg.eyp.de/34/ article
POST-EYP DEPRESSION Lia Pac hler For risks and side effects consult your doctor or pharmacist. Because one can simply not always get just the advantages.
F
or risks and side effects ask your doctor or pharmacist. Because one can simply not always get just the advantages. As soon as you’ve encountered the amazing and very unique world of the European Youth Parliament, you gain loads of incredible experiences, make a lot of new friends and as soon as you get more involved, travel a lot. However, every good thing has its downside and so does the EYP. Even if this is your very first session you will rapidly get familiar with the other side of the coin. The worst one is the so-called Post-EYP-Depression, in short PED, which is a combination of extremely great memories and sadness, because you know that it will take you some time until you meet all those great people again at any session. I guarantee that you will suffer from it, if you’ve enjoyed Hamburg 2012. The first symptom will appear just after your first shower at home. It’s quite likely that
5
you will find yourself sitting in front of the computer, overly tired, without realising that you have spent hours with checking your Facebook account without having done anything productive. While going through that huge amount of notifications, friend requests, uploaded pictures and videos of the session you will simultaneously feel that you are missing the whole session-spirit, atmosphere, and people around you all the time. Especially after International Forums and Sessions there will be a bunch of people inviting you to their homes all over the European continent. Additionally, even if you already had time to just throw yourself into your bed and sleep at will, you still feel tiredness and exhaustion coming up, unless you drink at least one or two cups of coffee or a can of Red Bull – because one does not simply catch up four nearly sleepless nights in a few days. Another big issue raised by your Post-EYP-Depression
is the level of motivation for your everyday tasks. Coming back to school, there is no one to encourage you for studying for the upcoming chemistry exam and neither will someone play an energiser with you when you get sleepy. All in all, the best you can do after a session to cope with PED is applying for another session, if you don’t get selected for the Nationals. And if you do get selected, give your best to get to an International Session. As you may have noticed by now, it is not only about getting selected, but also about applying, applying and applying. Keeping the EYP hype up by getting excited about the next session you might attend is the best remedy. So don’t be too harsh on yourself, even the worst PED will pass, although not as fast as you would like it to.
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hamburg.eyp.de/c1/ article, photos
ENVI: A BOND LIKE NO OTHER
A r r i a na Y i al l ou r i d e s
E
YP is all about improving your weaknesses and discovering the daring part of yourself. As the Madame President of the Session highlighted, “You have to see the world, in order to be able to change the world.” The Committee on Environment managed in this Regional Conference to become an amazing team which definitely participated in the session inspired by that motto. Their willingness to work together as a group in order to become the best they could possibly be, definitely proved successful! Everyone got fully involved in teambuilding, and got along with one another right from alstertwelve
the start. With cooperation and coordination dominating their work ethic, they managed to become a really united committee, which I’m sure will be reflected in their resolution. With committee favourites being “The Ninja Game” and “Pass the Clap” the delegates fully immersed themselves in the EYP world and shared their enthusiasm every time they got the chance. Proven through their catchy chant “ E-N-V-I, if you don’t like us, you will die!” ThecCommittee even in their free time tried to emphasise and stress the importance of their topic on “neglected tropical diseases”
and their consequences. They never hesitated to cheer themselves on, even in the city centre of the beautiful city of Hamburg. During the Treasure Hunt, they even managed to approach a huge group of tourists, taught them the classic “Big Fat Pony” and danced their hearts out, demonstrating true EYP spirit. After all isn’t EYP all about exceeding your limits and sharing the experience? The Treasure Hunt proved to be a real adventure for ENVI. Wondering in the unfamiliar streets of Hamburg, from the Harbor to “Piazza” proved a real exploration for the comENVI
mittee. Although challenging in terms of physical stamina, as we had to walk for about another hour to get to the dinner venue, it still became a great opportunity to explore and get to know the real city of Hamburg. Regardless of the tiredness, once we got there, the great Italian food made the long walk definitely worth it. During committee work with the invaluable guidance of their chairs Elina and Max, the delegates of ENVI debated vigorously on their rather unusual topic. The two chairs acted as real catalysts for the delegates, who seemed to enjoy greatly their funny energiz-
ENVI
ers and games. However, ENVI was also very focused when it came down to the crux of committee work. With determination and perseverance they successfully managed to come up with great points in committee work. Thousands of post-its later, they came up with a very coherent and strong resolution, which all of them worked very hard to produce, demonstrating once again their real team spirit.
aim. Their smiles and enthusiasm were definitely a pleasant sight that created a very positive committee atmosphere. I hope this great bunch of individuals will stay involved in EYP. With their uniqueness and enthusiastic work they most definitely strived to get the most out of the Hamburg 2012 experience.
In these four days, the delegates of ENVI really seemed to enjoy the world of EYP. Focusing on enjoying the minute and helping each other to produce a great resolution became their
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hamburg.eyp.de/c2/ article, photos
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Z u z ana Hol akovskĂĄ
I
t was Thursday, March 8th, noontime, when 104 bright students entered the area of the Gymnasium Grootmoor in Hamburg. Twelve of them were you, the Aspiring, Fantastic, Experienced Team, ready to solve the question of non-governmental organisations. You had the honour to be led by well-matched cochairs, Aleksandra from Germany and Panayiotis from Cyprus. Although most of you seem to be quite experienced there were probably few of you who had absolutely no clue what are they about to explore. You might have worried whether you will get along with your committee mates, if your knowledge about the topic will be suďŹƒcient, or even whether your English is good enough. I am sure you pretty soon realised that others were in the very same position. Of course some of you might have attended a session before, or spent a year in an English speaking country, but that is not what EYP is all about. Before moving to the crucial committee work, you went through a day of teambuilding activities. Teambuilding, especially at International Sessions where it alone lasts sometimes for 4 days, can become tiring and even frustrating. Learning to estimate the amount of time you would need for preparation and realisation of a ceralstertwelve
tain task, or coming up with solutions immediately, are not something most people are born with. Therefore the only way to gain these skills is to practice and participate
in even the most silly-looking games, because there is always a deeper meaning behind them. It was truly relieving seeing you all working as a group during the EYP Theatre, AFET
performing one of the funniest short plays. The party that the organisers threw for you was an adequate reward. On Friday morning, tired, but bonded, you gathered to perform almost a superhuman act – coming up with a solution for a problem, which has not been solved by any elected authorities yet. No matter if other committees are satisfied with the work you have done or not, it is important that you are 100% sure that you have done the best you could. The intense debates I witnessed in your committee room were a great training for the General Assembly. By not ignoring others’ opinions but analysing them and trying to find a common solution is the ideal
AFET
preparation for a storm of questions and attack speeches during the General Assembly. Moreover, I truly hope you will find a time on your way home to read the newspaper the press team prepared for you. Except of all the other exciting articles I would like to point out the one Nives and I wrote for all those who are so-called “EYP beginners”, published in this same issue. It would be a great shame if the only thing stopping you from becoming active in EYP Germany was the lack of knowledge about the options EYP provides. Talking to EYP Germany alumni I realised how lucky you are that you attended your first session organised under the supervision of such an expe-
rienced and well-organised National Committee. To conclude, it was only a year ago when I was in your shoes. Sitting in the National Selection Conference in Pilsen, all stressed out about the selection process. To my surprise, we didn’t place first, nor second. One would say third place is still great, but you know what? It really does not matter. You may end up not going to the NSC in Berlin, or you may win. But the true winners are those who take the most out of this experience, and find their way through. And that might be easier than you think.
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COMMITTEE ON CULTURE AND EDUCATION II
THE POEM
hamburg.eyp.de/c3/ article, photos
Ha nna h G r a c e C a r te r
My time with the CULT II committee was very special, so instead of writing an article about it, I wanted to do something that matched the crazy fun times I had with this bunch. So I wrote them a poem:
I hope culture II had a really good time, Which it was if it was only half as good as mine. The presence of this committee was quite endearing They worked and partied hard from what I am hearing. I shall now introduce them one by one Who they are, and where do they come from. There’s Leon Jamin, who sleeps in forests for fun And plays the banjo like a number one. Anne Oepen likes boxing and dreadlocks I have to say her style really rocks. Johanna Jung does ballet and soccer, Her perfect committee work “haut mich vom hocker”. alstertwelve
CULT II
Watch out for archery pro Sören Holtwick I hear that he can shoot you pretty quick. Merle Rüder led us through Hamburg city at night Without out her we would not have gotten the way right. Janet Kiparski loved teambuilding the most It was a work-free time where you could just coast. Lara-Alexa Nagel is a crazy girl with a beard in her bag She like bubbles and weirdness and she’s never a drag. Till Richter speaks Finnish, is blue-eyed and tall When a difficult task was at hand he answered the call. Anna Scharfenkamp does ballet like a boss, If you don’t get to know her then that is your loss. Natalie is the artistic girl on the team. Her drawings are as beautiful as a dream. Wiebke Meyer-Lüters is one of those really cool girls Where you wonder what goes on under all of those curls. Emiljo Jazxhi is sleepy today, When I asked about him that’s all he would say. Albert and Tatjana were both amazing chairs Together they made the cutest of pairs. It’s now time to say goodbye to you all, But I want you to know, I had a ball.
Working with Culture II has been a unique experience. The committee was enthusiastic from the very start, and though some members remained silent in the beginning, everyone got the chance to contribute to the group. Every single person in this committee was a fascinating individual, and I truly enjoyed spending time with every one of them. I am confident that they will become amazing EYPers and that they will stay amazing individuals!
CULT II
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hamburg.eyp.de/c4/ article, photos
TEN-T:TERRIFIC EYP
NEWCOMERS TRIUMPHING
Ju di t h Br e h me r
W
hen you came to Hamburg on Thursday, you didn’t (except for one) know what EYP was about, nor did you know your fellow committee delegates. At the beginning, Malin, Lea, Sarah, Klara, Laura, Christopher, Mundi, Tobias, Lauritz and Andreas were eyeing each other rather shyly, at the end of the day, the TRAN II had become a team. During committee work, you were facing a topic that included a lot of different aspects which weren’t always simple to cover. “Many problems, few solutions” was your first impression. But just like during the teambuilding, you were not to be brought down and one could watch the list of alstertwelve
solutions growing and growing. You really got involved into the topic, kept discussing outside committee work, sometimes came up with an idea you just had during coffee break and so brought new energy to the discussion. Due to having only one day to find a (re-)solution, time turned out to be your opponent. You had to fight the ticking clock continuously as time seemed too short for all you wanted to say. With the help of your (literally!) one and only chair Beatrice, who would always bring you back on schedule, you joined all your energies again and again and triumphed over every single deadline.
It’s remarkable how you were able to stay calm even under big pressure. I remember watching you phrasing the resolution. You had ten minutes left and still some clauses to do, and where other teams maybe would have panicked, you just remained calm and concentrated. It was extraordinary! It was even more amazing watching you becoming a real team. At the beginning of the session, you were often tempted to make decisions by voting (and rolled your eyes as your chairs hindered you), but as Friday moved on, you found your way towards consensus and achieved common agreement more and more easily. TRAN II
Though of course some of you were debating more actively than others, none of you fought for his own purpose only, you really worked as a team. The city tour and committee dinner were just what you needed after one day of political discussion, and having overcome some reluctance searching for a seagull, you had a great time convincing people that they could pronounce their love to the EYP in many languages. I’m quite sure no other committee recorded a Swabian (schwäbisch) fan! And the most expensive drink you found on the Kiez was
TRAN II
certainly the most creative one (though it would be hard drinking a car...). While having dinner, you seemed as familiar with each other as if you had been friends for a longer time already. In GA, once your initial shyness was overcome, you took the courage and proved to the Assembly that TRAN II was completely ready to influence the discussion. Looking back, you formed a team working really hard to master the challenges you were confronted with in all parts of the session. You entered the world of EYP and it was great
watching how much you were fascinated and answering all your eager questions about continuing EYP after the session. I enjoyed watching you crossing your own borders and can only repeat what I discovered about you on your very first day: Nothing brings you down!
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hamburg.eyp.de/c5/ article, photos
COMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND DEFENCE Le ona Ko h l
S
EDE was a collaborating Committee from the first moment. After developing a strong trust in every group member during teambuilding, they faced the difficult problems of Cyber War. The Chairs Yann and Dimitris guided them smoothly through teambuilding, committee work and General Assembly by always treating them like friends. One of the first things they did during committee work was setting up some golden rules concerning the debate and discussions. The whole team stuck to the guidelines in order to enable a fruitful and valuable discussion. But it was not only the fact that they had some principles that facilitated a productive discussion, also the unselfish attitude of every single member made this pleasant atmosphere possible. Every beginning is difficult and so it was necessary to first define the most important words, which the delegates came across during research. So they had to find answers to questions like “What exactly is the difference between a criminal and a terrorist?” Just to make sure that every question and every problem would be duly considered they were supposed to split up in groups in order to filter out the most crucial aspects. alstertwelve
Right after clarifying the whole subject they started to elaborate the resolution consisting of introductory and operative clauses. At the end of the very exhausting and stressful, but productive Friday they had finished a resolution of which they could be very proud.
While preparing the speeches for the General Assembly, taking place on Saturday, they got even keener. They worked until late at night, thus the average bedtime was approximately 4 o’clock in the morning. Before the General Assembly started they were a bit SEDE
excited and nervous – unsurprisingly, because almost every one of them had either a defence or attack speech that s/he planned to give, or the intention to respond to questions during open debate. Moritz and Andi just came up with some wise words, which, in their opinion, had to be said to the whole team of SEDE:
SEDE
“In spite of the fact that we had the most awesome group, we still stayed realistic and tried to find the most reasonable solution.” Dear Committee on Security and Defence, I really had an unforgettable time with you and I would like to thank everyone of the committee, because everyone made a con-
tribution to the atmosphere and the enormous fun we had. Thank you, Yann, Dimitris, Robin, Dominik, Tobias, Andreas, Sophie, Ole, Viktoria, Daria, Moritz (the nobleman), Moritz and Florian. Cheers! Leona
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THE TRAN I PHENOMENON
hamburg.eyp.de/c6/ article, photos
F i l i p p o R an a l l i
M
any a committee has been observed by my keen eye, and I can say with all honesty that Transport I is surely one of the best under many aspects. All the members of the committee were actually very well prepared on the topic and even those who brought a lighter preparation baggage had a fairly deep point of view on the topic areas, no kidding! As this is actually the very first EYP session for the vast majority of the committee, it is comprehensible that they were a little tense at first. The teambuilding was skillfully carried out by the very caring Anna and Hammu, who managed to involve every sinalstertwelve
gle member of the committee. The construction of this great-to-be team started with the standard name games and later shifted to the EYP classics, the good old “Two truths and a lie”, which really amused the team, and “The Speed Hate”. The game got everybody cracking up when they had to come up with the least sexy fruit; you’d be surprised with what they came up with! The next amusing game that was played was “Pass the Orange”; it took some time, but at last the tennis ball orangereplacement was successfully passed around in a full circle after many hilarious attempts. By the time they got to the “Frozen Yogurt” game, the team
members had really bonded and it was an extremely hard task to separate them. In fact, I even pulled a back muscle myself trying to get them to let go of each other. No matter how hard you pulled, they just wouldn’t let go. When the hard work started raining on the poor clueless delegates, they handled it in their own democratic way and came up with solutions all together, and to some extent all of them participated actively and no one was ever left in the shade. What really rocked the committee was indeed the Treasure Hunt at the Reeperbahn: They really got a huge kick out of stopping random peoTRAN I
ple on the street and making them say “I love EYP” in their own language, most of the people had no idea what they were talking about, others said “Shouldn’t you guys be doing serious work?”, but they were all very amused. After a little promenading around, the whole committee was on fire, they stopped everybody
TRAN I
and asked them to dance with them and they finally managed to get two youngsters to dance the Big Fat Pony Dance in the middle of the sidewalk. When the big GA day arrived, everybody played it cool: Paulina firmly read the operative clauses, Tanja presented a spotless defense speech, Leonard and Jannis gave a trium-
phant sum-up and the others defended the resolution like lions. The Resolutions passed with a fair enough majority of votes. Way to go TRAN I!
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THE IMCO FAIRYTALE
hamburg.eyp.de/c7/ article, photos
N ive s Ka p ro c k i
O
nce upon a time, there was a little IMCO kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by King Carlo and his pretty daughter Princess Mita. As the big tournament among the nine kingdoms was approaching, Carlo and Mita had to prepare their loyal ten vassals for the battle that would decide the faith of the whole kingdom. The stakes were high, and the clock was ticking. However, both the king and the princess knew how special their vassals were, and they would give their best to lead their kingdom to victory. Although at first sight the vassals looked quite ordinary, what was not known across alstertwelve
the other eight kingdoms, was the special abilities they had. The kingdom major Alex Hess, could resolve any misunderstanding with his confidence and strong will. When it would come to problems with neighboring kingdoms, Alex Zorn, the court diplomat, would always find the solution which would fit everyone. Yucheng, the court councilor, would be approached by those who needed a useful advice or an honest opinion. Celine, Fabienne and Tabea were the three court fairies, beautiful blondes who could charm anyone with their smile and wit. Their protector, as well as the protector of the whole kingdom, was the knight Kai, loyal and coop-
erative. At times when the situation would look unsolvable or desperate, Arne, the court comedian, could cheer everyone up with his sense of humor. In the cases when nobody could resolve the problem, wizard Paul would use his special forces to get everything in order. The last, but not the least, was the ghost of the IMCO kingdom, Christoph, who would appear in most unexpected situations. One cold morning, the king and the princess assembled the vassals and started preparing them for the tournament. The court secretary Nives was taking note of everything the vassals were doing, and helped IMCO
Carlo and Mita motivate them. In spite of the fact they were already outstanding, there were a lot of skills they needed to adopt before encountering the opponents. The strict king didn’t allow any delays, so the vassals advanced very fast. Already the first day they had learned to levitate, read each other’s minds, transform themselves into a monster and run at light speed. However, the tournament’s most important part was the educational part, which frightened the vassals the most.
IMCO
The language of the tournament, passed for millenniums through the kingdom, was known to the vassals, and was so in advantage to some inhabitants of other kingdoms. Using this ancient language, after a whole day of discussion, they had a resolution that they were all satisfied with. The special abilities of every one of them were used as a piece of the puzzle, which, when put in a right place, would form a perfect picture. King Carlo and Princess Mita were really proud of the effort their vassals put into
the preparation for the tournament, and for them they were already winners. As for the secretary, she could only tell them that she enjoyed every moment of the time spent with the vassals. Although time may erase some of the moments they lived through during these couple of days from their memory, this story would remain, and maybe one day, when somebody comes across it again, the memories will become alive again.
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LIBE
hamburg.eyp.de/c8/ article, photos
Li a Pa c h l e r
G
oing once, going twice, going three times... SOLD! Investments in members of the LIBE committee can make you a billionaire over night. Everything started in a very classic EYP way. After a short round of introducing themselves, they carried on with getting familiar with the names of their fellow delegates by passing a tennis ball the quickest way possible. Having managed this task rapidly, LIBE enjoyed a more active game, the Newspaper Game, where they more or less softly hit each other with a rolled-up newspaper. Things got more personal as they got to know each other better and better. Continuing with some ice-breakers, energisers and trusting games, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs obviously seemed to enjoy the whole teambuilding, lead by their chairs Benjamin Eisert (DE) and Adriana Díaz MartínZamorano (ES). During teambuilding LIBE revealed a lot of unexpected features you would have never guessed, but which can be extremely helpful in the future. If you show interest you can buy one of the committee members; they might not have big problems with that as their chairs have nearly sold them after the delegates presented each other in a very fetching manner, but attenalstertwelve
tion: They are pricey. For throwing an unforgettable birthday party with good music you’d best turn to Jonas, as he either will be DJ-ing, or, if you prefer live music, he performs in a band as a guitarist. Talking of music, Henry will help you with offering your friends a fancy dinner at your place by providing musi-
cal entertainment. Here you have the choice between piano and violin, but don’t worry, he is almost a professional after playing them for more than 10 years. For something even more outlandish, Melissa knows how to play the mandolin. Other than that, LIBE can easily protect you against any vioLIBE
lent attacks, as some of them are strong as an ox. As Theresa is doing martial arts you can easily use her power for your personal female bodyguard. In case you are more partial to boys, I would strongly suggest you contact either Björn, who has bodyguard knowledge, or Niklas, who is often playing handball, thus being muscular too. On top of that, you might earn a lot of money with your investment in a member of the LIBE
LIBE
committee, as for instance Fabian will quite possibly be a chess grandmaster one day, or he will win a Nobel prize, because of his extraordinary expertise in chemistry. If you are about to pick David, he definitely won’t disappoint you as he may win an Oscar due to his participation in the school theatre. For the sake of delighting EYP Germany, LIBE proposes some future officials. I personally would recommend Lena, who
is blessed with great communication skills and leadership qualities. Still not running out of special characteristics, Matthias enlarges the variety by having two different eye colours. If you still haven’t found someone intersting for you, then chances are high that you are just in a bad mood, so get Gesine, LIBE’s official motivational trainer.
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hamburg.eyp.de/c9/ article, photos
TO: CULT I FROM: THE JOURNO Ma j a Z a l e ws k a
My dear and lovely CULT I, I believe that the last four days that we spent together were as much fun four you as for me. Starting with the teambuilding, getting to know each other (or at least each other’s names), through sometimes hard but still exciting committee work, and finally ending up in the outstanding venue for the General Assembly, the time has come to say our goodbyes. Being forced to form a one efficiently cooperating group is a truly hard task, with which you dealt with no bigger problems. At least you gave the feeling of being pleased with each and every role you were given, or you undertook yourselves. Although sometimes I was being a little sceptical and didn’t really want to believe you were actually always enjoying yourselves. I must confess that your nearly endless optimism, engagement, and will to work hard made me indeed impressed. Big plus for that. I guess everyone was more or less nervous before the GA. I still can see the image of Jana asking me about the motion of it, or of Thusaliny practicing to read the operative clauses for the resolution out loud, or of finally each and every one getting overly excited about preparing alstertwelve
CULT I
speeches. During the show-time all of you have done a really great job. You overcame your stress, shyness and embarrassment and fought till the very end. Even though your resolution didn’t pass, I still am very proud of you, and so are your chairs. Don’t worry about the results. It is always hard to convince the others that your resolution on Culture and Education can actually change something. It is simply easier for the majority, when some issues, which don’t directly concern them, are left on their own. Your performance as a committee and as each and every individual was splendid, especially as it was your very first session. As I think of my first GA and the open debate, I remember having loads of fun and I’m sure it will be like that for you, too. I hope, you will always look back at this session with a warm feeling in your hearts, reminiscing all the memorable moments and new experiences, and that you will continue EYP. Thank you for forming CULT I, Evita, Henriette, Elisa, Teresa, Carla, Thusaliny, Jana, Farina, Katharina, Max, Julian, Timo, and Mikaela and Lucas. It was my pleasure being your Journo. xoxo Eure Biene Maja P.S. There is one special message from Lucas: “Remember that I’m sexy and I know it”.this story would remain, and maybe one day, when somebody comes across it again, the memories will become alive again.
CULT I
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hamburg.eyp.de/31/ article
THE TREASURE HUNT: SCHNITZELJAGD Maja Zalews ka To eat something but vegetables during this session, one must firstly go through some kind of a test. Even if not always motivating, the vision of pork or chicken on your plate made this task worth the effort.
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o let the chairs type the resolutions in silence and concentration, and give the other participants the chance to see some of the real Hamburg outside “Grootmoor”, all delegates went on a tour to the city. To make the journey more interesting and thrilling the organisers prepared some tasks for each committee to accomplish. Those included finding a seagull and taking a picture of it with one of the delegates, who was supposed to approach it as closely as possible. I’m not sure if the Orgas were actually aware of the fact that during this time of year and day it is really hard to find any actual seagulls in Hamburg. Some committees nonetheless didn’t give up and even went so far as to take a photo with a wooden seagull figure in a shopping window.
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The other finding tasks were to document the most expensive beverage on the Kiez and the most Hanseatic looking person seen on the streets. As expected, the most luxurious drink was a brand of champagne. For one bottle in a certain club you might have to pay up to 600€. So if you plan on going to have some fun in the city, make sure to have your wallet filled next time. As far as the Hanseatic guy is concerned, we also experienced some hardships, because at that time there were only punk-like looking people outside who let themselves be photographed. Although all of us were aching for the dinner, there were still two tasks to be done. Despite the fact that some of the committees were either too tired or too hungry and starv-
ing for meat, some still gathered the courage and energy to get some random pedestrians involved into playing EYP games with them and saying “I love EYP” in many foreign languages. After all those games the time has finally come to welcome some meat to our tables. This was the highlight of my day, even if the ordered Wiener Schnitzel was neither calf, nor pork, but CHICKEN! But this small detail doesn’t matter in the greater picture, when you get to taste meat for the first time in several days. Even though tired and sleep deprived, I’m sure the delegates managed to prepare themselves for the GA, at least mentally, strengthened by their carnivorous meal.
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hamburg.eyp.de/33/ article
IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE... Judith Breh m e r Do we mean it when singing along with John Lennon?
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YP is full of traditions. Eurovillage, EYP Theatre, and teambuilding, for example. But EYP has also created a habit of cultivating songs – apart from “Big Fat Pony”! On the Closing Ceremony of GA, you will probably listen to “Imagine” by John Lennon. Alongside the EU anthem “Ode to Joy”, this song, as a sort of unofficial EYP anthem, traditionally closes a session. But does this symolism make sense? Does “Imagine” really express what the EYP wants? Long ago, John Lennon’s piece became the hymn of the peace movement. The idea of a world without differences in social status, a world where all people live together without jealousy, tension, or war seemed fascinating back then already – and still does. The goals of EYP are similar: Connecting people all over Europe, creating an European spirit and hence contributing to a better understanding. But John Lennon is simply idealistic about it, if not utopian. Idealism is certainly required in EYP as well, but the suggestions you all make in your resolutions are about being realistic, not utopian. A resolution demand-
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ing the abolishment of private possessions would certainly fail in GA. Most EYPers would indeed say that yes, John Lennon, you are a dreamer. What’s even more important is one crucial difference concerning the intentions of EYP and the song: John Lennon obviously seeks peace by smoothing out differences, while differences in religion and culture are the phenomenons that make EYP magical: “United in diversity”. So should we rethink the choice of music considering that disparity? On the other hand, you must consider the background. The song was produced on the 1970s, when something like a European community didn’t exist the way we know it now – not to mention the European spirit. So it’s quite logical that abolishing differences seemed more favourable than cultivating an awareness of variety. And does the song really have nothing to do with our work? Hardly. “Imagine there’s no countries” – isn’t that what Europe is about? When participating in EYP, don’t we want to feel as Europeans overcoming national borders and divi-
sions? “All the people sharing all the world” – isn’t that what we’re aiming at, too? Yes, John Lennon may have been a dreamer with ideas – but it’s the ideas that bring us together! So when you listen to the song and GA, maybe you’ll come to the conclusion that it doesn’t exactly mirror what EYP wants and what you just experienced. Maybe you’ll see the song as a complementation to what you feel about Europe now. And when you go back home, unable to explain what you’ve just experienced, people may say you’re a dreamer. But remember: You’re not the only one. We hope someday they will join us. And Europe will live as one.
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hamburg.eyp.de/27/ article
Long-Distance Friendships Maja Zalews ka How EYPers’ extraordinary desire to talk and travel to each other contributes to European mobility and communication.
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YP sessions are something more than just a way of discovering how the European Parliament works. They are also a rare chance to meet many incredible people and form, hopefully, long-lasting friendships. During the short period of committee work you slowly start being attached to each other. Only after all the days spent together, when the time has finally come to say goodbye, you realise how deep a bond with others you have created. Let me tell you my story. On my first international session I met over a hundred people from all
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over Europe and two of them become my good, even very good friends. Although we all come from different countries (UK, Poland, Romania) and time zones and there are thousands of kilometres between us, we still try our best to stay in touch with each other. Thanks to the well-known social network Facebook we can update one another about everything that happens in our lives. Also, Skype gives us a helping hand - we can talk and talk and talk for hours, babbling on about all kinds of (not only trivial) matters. Sometimes, however, we turn
to quite an old-fashioned way of communicating – via letters. It has somehow become a sort of tradition between us to send one another a letter or a parcel with small, but full of love, present. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? At this moment you may want to ask: What does this all have to do with communication in Europe? Well, actually quite a lot. I believe there is a pattern that applies to my EYP friends and me and could also apply to every other EYPer. Namely that we all really care for our friendships and we wish for them to last – so it is only natu-
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Your friends are waiting for you to come, eager to show you the most astonishing and beautiful places of their homeland.
ral for us try our best to stay in touch and visit each other. This is where, for example, the InterRail ticket, with which you can travel all you want across our lovely continent, comes in as a big help. Let me explain it further. At international sessions of EYP you meet people from all over Europe and afterwards, suddenly, you realise that you now have friends scattered in many different places, who are willing to take you in when you pay a visit. This makes traveling not only even more enticing, but also much more convenient. Your friends are waiting for you to
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come, eager to show you the most astonishing and beautiful places of their homeland. In my opinion, initiatives such as InterRail, which facilitate communication and traveling throughout all of Europe, are the future, because as time passes by, frontiers become more and more invisible. Younger generations cannot even comprehend anymore that it used to be that you could have to wait for several hours at a border. They yearn for unity and integration in travel and communication. The distances from country to country and different time zones
are no longer seen as obstacles, because it is really easy to overcome them. And EYP is the reason, which encourages us to do it even more.
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hamburg.eyp.de/28/ article
SMART MOBILITY FOR A SMARTER FUTURE Nives Kapro cki As travel across borders becomes more interconnected, the virtual Internet could make physical mobility not only better, but also smarter.
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n the last few decades, completely new technologies, including computers, mobile and smart phones, have developed - and with them the Internet. It has been used for advertisement, doing business, communication, entertainment, learning, and much more. Nowadays, through social networks and media, you feel as if you can be anywhere, anytime and with anyone. It has even come to the point that there is a virtual kissing machine, which is used for overcoming a problem of long-distance relationships. Although some of these things might seem trivial and unnec-
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essary, they are all working in the direction of making the possible uses of the Internet even more diverse and bringing people closer to one another. However, the question is, “How can the Internet change the direction of transportation development, and make it more up-to-date?” Transport and mobility are fundamental for the European economy and society, as well as for the internal market and citizens’ quality of life. As it is transportation works globally, effective developments require strong international cooperation. Throughout past
decades, mobility and transport have grown substantially under the influence of formerly low oil prices, expanding infrastructure, and loose ecological constraints. However, this growth cannot continue without serious environmental, social and economical consequences. Technological innovations can support the transition to a more efficient European transportation system, with a number of changes. Coherence at a European level is vital. If one EU Member State were to opt for exclusively developing infrastructure for electric cars, while its neig-
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bour state focuses on promoting cars with biofuel motors, that could severely obstruct mobility and free travel across Europe. The goal is establishing a system that supports economical progress, enhances competitiveness, and offers high-quality mobility services, while using resources more efficiently. It means that the transport has to use less energy and cleaner energy, as well as be safer and more secure through information and communication technologies. The integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the transportation system is one of the
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Many difficult goals have been set, and action should not be delayed.
main suggestions when referring to this so-called smart mobility. It is a concept, which involves making transport systems intelligent through the use of ICT to continuously inform people’s decision-making on why or how to travel or transport. Smart mobility is not a goal in itself, but a means to answer the aforementioned challenges. Many difficult goals have been set, and action should not be delayed. Infrastructure and means of transport need years, or even decades, to plan, build and equip, so the choices we make today will determine
transport of the next generations. Along the way, we will need to challenge ourselves, be flexible and open towards the new ideas. Acting on the European level will ensure that the transformation of transport is defined according to our visions rather than determined elsewhere in the world, so Europe has to speak with one voice and bring government, industry representatives and regulators together on a global level.
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hamburg.eyp.de/26/ article
CHANGING DIAPERS ENDANGERED? Lia Pac hler Many European countries are headed for a demographic problem with their declining birth rates. So what exactly is causing the recent nobaby boom?
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round the time that President Kennedy went to Germany and gave his wellknown “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech (1963), Europe represented 17 percent of the world’s population. Today it constitutes 12 percent and, if current trends continue, by 2050 only 7 percent of the world will be European. In the 1990s, European demographers began noticing a downward trend in population across the continent and behind it a sharply falling birth rate. Europe has been witnessing declining fertility rates and the first reasons that are commonly listed are later marriage, higher unemployment, greater access to contraception, and a decrease in ‘hopefulness about the future’. Do people simply not feel like having children anymore or are there other causes for more and more smaller households? It would be too trivial to blame women for refusing having
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children. Maybe the most striking way to unravel the issue is via a statistic that emerged from a 2006 Eurobarometer survey by the European Commission. Women were asked how many children they would like to have; the average result was 2.36 – well above the replacement level and far above the rate anywhere in Europe. So if women are having significantly fewer children than they want, there must be other forces at work. Although thinking of Europe as a single entity is a laudable attitude, in my opinion, in this regard one has to acknowledge that the situation differs by region, because there are different population changes happening in Europe. One concerns Eastern Europe, where trends date from the Communist period and point to a special, and especially dramatic, type of social problems. Since 1989, Latvia’s population, for instance, has dropped by 13 percent; its fertility rate is one
of the lowest in the world and its divorce rate is among the highest in Europe. This issue is also present in a lot of other Eastern European countries, which some attribute to Westernisation – but there is no proof that it is due to the shift to a market economy, although a lot of people claim that. Germany and Austria are in something of a category of their own. They share many of the same characteristics of other Western European countries with regard to forces affecting family life, but additionally childlessness is peculiarly prominent in these countries, and has been for some time. In 2002 a study found that 27.8 percent of German women born in 1960 were childless, a rate far higher than in any other European country. In Germany about 16 percent stated that their ideal number of children is “none”. The main reason seems to be a basic change in attitudes on the part of some women as to their
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Do people simply not feel like having children anymore or are there other causes for more and more smaller households?
“natural” role. Many observers have been surprised to find that in recent years “childlessness emerges as an ideal lifestyle.” No one has yet figured out why some countries are more predisposed to embracing childlessness than others. But the true fertility fault line in Europe runs between the North and the South. Setting aside the special case of countries in the East, the lowest rates in Europe are to be found in the seemingly family-friendly countries of Italy, Spain and Greece (all currently around 1.2). Firstly, in Italy young people are living with their parents longer than maybe anywhere else. Secondly, the percentage of children born after the parents turn 40 is remarkably high as well. There are mostly economic explanations for why this phenomenon has occurred in Southern Europe. Taking Italy as an example again, it pays the lowest starting wages of any country in the EU, which
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causes young people to delay striking out on their own – and living at home in your parents’ household may be a very powerful contraceptive. However, the deeper problem of those countries is the difficulty of combining work and family, which is partly because within couples the gender relationships are very asymmetric. On the complete other side, in Scandinavia, thanks in part to state support, the more children a family has, the wealthier it is likely to be – whereas in southern Europe having children is a financial sinkhole, which drags a family towards poverty. Norway, for instance, moved aggressively to accommodate women with advanced education levels, and their families. The state guarantees about 54 weeks of maternity leave, during which a woman is paid 80 percent of her salary, as well as 6 weeks of paternity leave. There is a government payment of about 4000 Euros for a born child and state-sub-
sidised day-care is standard. The cost of living is high, but then again it is assumed that both parents will work; this system shows clearly that the issue of gender equity can have a positive effect on the fertility level. All in all, I think we are aware that the aforementioned reasons for declining birth rates in nearly all European countries are just a small extract of numerous arguments and that I could write another thousand words. However, if those rates don’t rise within the next decades then it’s probably too late for a big change and, as Ursula von der Leyen, former German Minister of Family Affairs, said, “we will have to turn out the light”.
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EYP DELEGATE POLL Leona Kohl a n d F ilippo Rana l l i We put the most pressing questions that the course of this session has raised to those who it concerns most: The delegates. The people have spoken! Is this your first session?
Did you enjoy the black and white party?
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Did you like the food?
Did you break any rule so far? (Yeah right, honesty might not be one a quality well spread in the session!)
What is the most annoying thing concerning the session? “You!”, answered a witty delegate from TRAN I. Apart from me, most complained about the back-breaking floor, the very bone-chilling cold, and mostly about the food. But seriously guys, you can’t really expect the food to be as tasty as the one your mom makes! 33
Someone said it was really annoying that there was so little time to sleep. This poor clueless camper at his first session obviously has a lot to learn about EYP! What was your first impression when we played the first game all together? Everybody seemed to agree on this one, the answers we got were all like, “Ridiculous,
but very funny,“ or “They are all mad, but very funny.” Basically each answer consisted of a very judgmental part and a following one that smoothed it out. Be honest people, did you not think as well at your first session that everyone was out of their freaking minds? For some it may be traumatic to start their very first EYP experience shaking it all over the alstertwelve
PRESS ROOM PLAYLIST
A r r i a na Y i al l ou r i de s
The press toom presents to you the songs that have set the scene for the parties and might be still stuck in our heads for a while beyond! These tracks have topped our list and have officially become the soundtrack of Hamburg 2012:
place to the rhythm of Big Fat Pony. Don’t worry, one day you’ll be the ones creeping the hell out of the newbies! What do you think about the accommodation? Facing the delegates with this question they had almost the same opinion. Although not being glad about the accommodation, they considered it as fair enough and acceptable. Most of the polled persons assess the rooms as too cold and sleeping bags as not comfortable, but it could be worse. Apart from the sleeping quarters, the delegates complained about the showers. In conclusion, the delegates were not overwhelmed with joy, but more or less content. What was your first impression of EYP and how has it developed/changed during the session? “What’s wrong with people?” was one of the answers we got. So many of the interviewed persons found it ridiculous, because they expected to start with academic questions immediately. But some alstertwelve
“Daylight” – Matt and Kim “Levels” – Avicii “Disco Pogo” – Die Atzen, Frauenarzt & Manny Marc “Party Rock Anthem” – LMFAO “Loca” – Shakira “Ai se eu te pego” – Michael Telo “Sexy and I Know It” – LMFAO “Danza Kuduro” – Don Omar “Disko Partizani” – Shantel “When love takes over” – David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland “Hips don’t lie” – Shakira “Imagine” – John Lennon
were surprised in a positive way, since they thought EYP sessions are only attended by real politics experts that are not able to have fun. Do you want to start an EYP career? Surprisingly there were some people who were so exhausted after committee work that they were not sure if they want to carry on with EYP. Mostly the delegates were positive about their further EYP career. Some of them just planned to attend other sessions, others just had the intention to go on because it combines “educational aspects, traveling, meeting new people and enhancing one’s skills”. Do you think you expanded your language skills and political knowledge? The majority answered with a clear “Yes, I did!”. There were several delegates who haven’t recognised any improvement of the language skills. But all agreed on having honed their political knowledge, because they “had to think about topics you never thought about”.
Did you find friends and do you believe that you remain friends with some people you met at EYP? In spite of the competition between delegates, EYP forms friendships. Almost all delegates we asked are really convinced of having found good friends and they consider the other members of the committee more as friends than as rivals. What could be better at the session? Delegates were complaining a lot. They are a bit displeased about the small amount of free time. But delegates, you should consider the time you spend working or doing something else with your committee as valuable hours. Some of them wanted the teambuilding to be shorter, but this statement immediately caused a clash of opinions.
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NUMEROUS GREAT OPPORTUNITIES Zuzana Holakovská “NGO” is certainly one of the most used acronyms in EYP (besides “EYP” itself). Read on to find out exactly what they are and what they’re capable of.
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s you might have already realised, there were numerous great opportunities waiting for you to make the most out of them during the last four days. One of them is the unofficial way of educating yourself during committee work. While discussing the topic within your committee, you often sooner or later arrive at the question of nongovernmental organizations as a means of solving your task. You will want to continue reading to learn something more about them, or if you just want to refresh your knowledge. Searching through history we can find the first mention of an non-governmental organization (NGO) in 1839. By 1914 there were over a thousand of them. Their significance increased due to the anti-slavery movement and the movement for women’s rights. The term „non-governmental organization“ came into general knowledge with the establishment of the United Nations, which holds annual NGO forums organised by its Department of Public Information. Although there is no 35
official, universal definition of an NGO we could describe it as a legally constituted association, which is based on the common interest of its members and has no governmental status or function. This is a wide group of organizations established by natural or legal persons, from large-scale, global NGOs defending human rights like Amnesty International to small community organisations such as sports clubs in your neighbourhood. Fields of NGOs’ interests vary from adult education, through primary health care, to smallscale agricultural production. Today, the overall number of international NGOs is estimated at 40 000. We can differentiate between these NGOs based on their orientation or their level of cooperation. You may now wonder how NGOs fulfil their goals without the power of governments and here is the answer. There are three main ways of achieving their aims. The first one can be called „empowering people“, which is usually done through a respectful dialogue with local people, who then much easier drive their own development the way
the need to. The second one is „service delivery“ (humanitarian aid and medical care, for example), as a way of a shortterm solution, because it usually does not change the basic circumstances that create and reinforce a certain negative situation. In this field NGOs usually cooperate with governments as well as other benefactors. The last one is „lobbying“. We have all heard about lobbying toward politicians but NGOs also conduct lobbying toward companies to provide better working conditions for their employees, toward the public to push for political change, or even toward the UN to intervene in new conflict situations? To conclude, before you go ahead establishing a new institution in your committee’s resolution, do not hesitate to check the European Union’s as well as the United Nations’ website whether there is not already an NGO among those 40 000 with the similar interests and goals that you’re aiming at. Finally, good luck and welcome to an extraordinary and unique NGO – the European Youth Parliament.
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Arriana Yiallourides . Filippo Ranalli . Hannah Grace Carter . Judith Brehmer . Leona Kohl Lia Pachler . Maja Zalewska . Nives Kaprocki . Zuzana Holakovskรก Maya Szost . Robin Janรกsek . Randolf Carr