Gheneration | Introduction Issue by Robin Janásek

gheneration INTRODUCTION ISSUE

Chairpersons

Journalists

Organisers

Dear readers of “Gheneration”, What is the purpose of this introduction issue we present you? A teaser of what we can offer you during the further course of the session, and a practical introduction to the officials who prepared everything you will experience in Ghent for you, as you will see in the coming days. In this editorial, we originally also wanted to impart some wisdom upon you that you can make use of during the session, using clever Ghent puns as a theme for our advice. However, we realised that we are tired of Ghent puns, since we encountered pretty much every imaginable one leading up to the session, especially while conceiving the name of this newspaper. So we scrapped that idea and brainstormed for another way we could provide you with some practical information that you didn’t already get in the organisers’ Welcome Booklet. Our contribution: a true-to-scale map of Ghent for your orientation!

Welcome to Ghent! Robin Janásek and Randolf Carr

magazine team Editors Randolf Carr Robin Janasek Video Editor Beth Thayne Media Journalist Alex Guzenko

AFCO I & CULT II Christopher Proctor Khalid El Ghoul

EMPL I & FEMM Elisa Martinelli Nathalie Thiel

REGI & LIBE Christian Browne Nina Cathrine Selmer

AFCO II & EMPL II Juan Estheiman Amaya Marilena Saraidari

ITRE & CULT I Gonzalo Sola Rodríguez Sorcha Foster

www.ghent2013.be

chairpersons Food for thought from your chairs: Expressive excerpts from the Academic Preparation Kit

Zahra Runderk Runderkamp (NL) (President) “Let us take the session theme “Youth in Progress” seriously and think about our past, present and future. Think about the difficulties we face at the moment with the economic crisis, and especially its aftermath. Think about how that will affect our pensions in years from now, or how that affects the job market once we are ready with studying. Young people will be severely affected by the crisis, so it seems only logical we should express our point of view on these issues as well.”

Dan Br Brown (UK) (VP - EMPL I) “The conflict between the current workforce and the developing one is central to this problem… Young people are three times more likely to be unemployed compared with their older counterparts. The basis for this is their lack of relevant work experience… It is important to find a solution for youth unemployment that is supported by young and old.”

Jan Nedví Nedvídek (CZ) (VP - ITRE) “Is youth entrepreneurship an activity superior to further education or employment? … Youth faces tougher and tougher conditions in entering the labour market and a significant proportion of well-educated and skilled young people remain unable to find a job… If there aren’t enough jobs for young people, what should stop them from creating those for themselves?”

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Lauw (BE) (REGI) Floris Lauwers “Over the past 50 years cities in Europe have expanded about 78% on average, while population has only risen 33%... The growing rate of consumption will start to threaten the urban culture in Europe as it increases environmental, social and economic pressure on both cities and rural areas… Is there a need for unified planning? What would the essential elements of such a plan be for urban areas?”

Oscar Sten Stenbom (SE) (AFCO I) “A two- or multi-speed Europe already exists… The Eurozone, the Schengen Area, the European Economic Area and the European Union are all comprised of different combinations of countries… Should we allow a permanent division in integration and implementation of EU policies?”

Annika Heffter Heff (DE) (CULT II) “The programme “Youth in Action” is expiring in December 2013… This year could be a turning point in this specific field of academic and cultural exchange. When it comes to defining specific measures the EU can take in order to ensure the support of youth initiatives… what would you consider youth initiatives that stimulate the creation of a European sense of community?”

Dirk Hofland Hofl (NL) (AFCO II) “The youth’s more individualistic sentiments give rise to a whole range of problems, such as the absence of volunteers, blood and organ donors, and other aspects of civil society highly dependent on citizens’ responsibility… Youth unemployment has risen steeply across the board, with austerity measures increasingly targeting young people over the elderly.”

O’Con (IE) (EMPL II) Rónán O’Connor “In this digital age, productivity is no longer confined to physical labour. How can we harness these advancements to redefine the working population? … Many initiatives seek to consolidate youth employment across Europe, yet encouraging an increased working lifespan would be detrimental to such efforts... Beyond this, we have the pressing question of what comes next for those who retire.”

Marijke Saenen Sae (BE) (CULT I) “As delegates you are probably standing before that very choice of which degree to take on at which university… Therefore it is of the utmost importance that every single peer receives the best education possible… The fragmentation of the European education system has been incredibly harmful… Uniformity in education policies is vital for student mobility and equal opportunities.”

Dunja Tanovic Tano (UK) (FEMM) “It is important to keep in mind all the people who this topic addresses… Will it help or will it be of detriment to society? What will this do to family life? … Even with increased childcare, do all women want to go back to work? … While employers claim gender equality, women still earn less than men for doing exactly the same jobs.”

Teresa Stadler Stad (AT) (LIBE) “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression… Privacy is often the first casualty. Is there a way we can be objective about this issue and find a fair solution that will enable both sides to practice their freedom without fear of prosecution? … What are the consequences of restricting freedoms, and how can negative effects be limited?”

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journalists Introduce yourself in 140 characters, as if on Twitter. You just fell out of the plane and you have about a minute before you hit the ground. What would you be thinking about?

Randolf CCarr (DE) (Editor)

Robin Janasek Jana (CZ) (Editor)

50%DE / 50%US. Spend most non-EYP time thinking of creativity, art and literature - while procrastinating my life away studying Int. Rel.

Black and white addict, coffee and font addict, smoker. Just an addict in general. Also up to almost everything that includes absurd humour.

“It’s like that one scene in that movie where...”

I’d use my high school experiences and try to learn how to use your hands to fly.

Fos (IE) Sorcha Foster (CULT I + ITRE)

Gonzalo Sola Rodriguez Rodrig (ES) (CULT I + ITRE)

Sorcha, phonetically Sa-ra-ka (to avoid future confusion). Irish, procrastinator, lazy toe, indecisive, pessimistic #what is my life.

Spaniard living in Freiburg. Sarcastic, politically incorrect and studying Political Sciences. Love beer, food, good music and reading.

Hurtling to my death doesn’t really appeal to me so probably screaming “I’m going to die” repeatedly, with a few expletives thrown in for good measure.

“Damn! I’m going to die and haven’t found my cougar yet...”

Alex Guze Guzenko (UA) (Media Assistant)

Beth Thayne Tha (UK) (Video Editor)

Ukrainian, living in Bulgaria. Enjoy travelling, photography, politics and art. Always make decisions last-minute; never know what they can lead to.

Scottish. hashtagTARTAN - Mildly insane, only mildly though. Inspirational, motivational, just wonderful in every way. But mainly sarcastic.

“Wow! If only my friends and family knew what I was doing…”

I would be thinking about how majestic I look as I soar towards the ground like a wise eagle. introduction issue 9

Elisa Martine Martinelli (IT) (EMPL I + FEMM)

Nathalie Thiel Th (SE) (EMPL I + FEMM)

Often clumsy, sarcastic, hate/love relationship with organic chemistry, love food more than people, spending money in concerts and flights.

A 19-year-old blond girl, who seems younger than she really is, loves British music, addicted to Facebook, clumsy and very Swedish in general.

“Oh well, let’s just enjoy the view from above, I’m going to die anyway, so...”

“Crap, I knew this would happen at some point. I wonder if this is how Dumbledore felt when he got thrown out of the Astronomy tower.”

Khalid El Ghoul Gh (NL) (AFCO I + CULT II)

Christopher Proctor Proc (FI) (AFCO I + CULT II)

Khalid El Ghoul, 19 years old. Live in Holland, study and work in Amsterdam. Biomedical Sciences. Be crazy, be random, I’ll like you. Love:)

I’m Christopher, better known as Ginger. Half USA, half BG and live in FI #soulless #wannabedragqueen #godilovecereal #godawfulsenseofhumour

“Who should I call right now?”

“Finally! NO MORE NICKI MINAJ!”

Am (ES) Juan Estheiman Amaya (AFCO II + EMPL II)

Marilena Saraidari Saraid (GR) (AFCO II + EMPL II)

Eclectic. Currently in Barcelona, tomorrow who knows. Photography. Night walks. Beer + long conversations. Someday planning to get serious.

18-year-old student of international and European studies who loves travelling, playing the guitar, dancing, foreign languages, literature and poetry.

“HOW THE HELL DO YOU OPEN THIS PARACHUTE?!”

My best friends! They are my favourite people in the world and the best ones I could wish for.

Christian Browne Bro (UK) (LIBE + REGI)

Nina Cathrine Selmer Sel (NO) (LIBE + REGI)

Englishman living in Scotland. #DJ at horrific clubs. Kings of Leon cover-band member. Befriended all of Bloc Party. Wannabe-Olympian.

Nina, 19, from Oslo, Norway. Go to St Andrews Uni, Scotland, study International Relations. Chocolate, black clothes, weird sense of humour.

“Maybe that wasn’t the door for the toilet...”

Friends and family. And how I really hope that Hillary Clinton becomes the next US President. introduction issue 11

organisers North Korea has started a nuclear war. Belgium is the only area not affected, but radiation is spreading and will reach you in a day. In the time I have left, I wouldâ&#x20AC;Ś

Piep (BE) (HO) Jonathan Piepers … flip open my laptop and learn how to make my cellar radiation-proof; this will most probably result in buying a lot of canned food and tinfoil. This way I will probably create a false sense of security, forget to enjoy my last day and eventually die in a supernova of radiation.

Pieter Reyniers Reyni (BE) … strike back with the powerful nuclear warheads stored in Belgium and take revenge. Next, I’d gather as many people as possible and hide out in an underground bunker for the next three decades.

Lorenzo Van de Pol (BE) (HO) … spend my last day with Matteo because we are Best Friends Forever.

Ward Braeckevelt Braeckev (BE) … hide in a bunker, taking the Ghent2013 banner and other materials with me, hoping that they would survive the nuclear war.

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Ro (BE) Hannes Rooms … take my iron sword, jump on my black horse and ride to the borders and show those North Koreans what Belgian bravery is. I raise my sword in the air, shouting “This is Belgium!” and die a very painful but proud death (as it is impossible to fight radiation with a sword).

Anil Kabal Ka (BE) … stay in bed all day. I would sleep until 5 p.m. and then still stay in bed but think about all the good memories I have from EYP.

Eva Verbeeck Verbe (BE) … gather a bunch of my close friends and family and we would build a giant fort. We would collect as many living organisms as possible to make sure they survive. It would be like a modern Noah’s Ark.

Matteo Van Dijl D (BE) … spend my last day with Lorenzo because we are Best Friends Forever.

Vanhemm (BE) Janne Vanhemmens … compose a file with photos and information about the human race, and then send it into space somehow. In a few decades there would then be a photo exhibition on some alien planet about Earth Before North Korea Took Over.

Romanie Assez As (BE) … watch the sunrise from my balcony. Then I would go to a public place and do some weird dances before getting Eurodeals at McDonalds, including a McFlurry with Smarties. After that I would go to all expensive shops, try on all expensive clothes but not buy anything.

Louis Wouters Wout (BE) … go on Facebook and like everything I see, since I am convinced a happy end is the basis to come to a good end.

Mattijs Vanmarcke Vanmar (BE) … go to Amadeus Ribs and eat until I drop dead.

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Reyni (BE) Karen Reyniers … gather all my friends for one last hoorah and spend the last day together, having fun and doing whatever we want to.

Vanya KKips (BE) … have an eternal Latino music party and not care about the rest of the world, I suppose.

Siebe Geerts Gee (BE) … go to a bakery and eat as much as I can before the radiation reaches me.

Hendrik Wittock Witt (BE) … go out for drinks with friends, buy myself a goodbye gift, and then invite the love of my life to a way too expensive restaurant. After all of that I’d go and enjoy the view of mass destruction all by myself on a high hilltop with a bottle of champagne and light some fireworks.

Hey (BE) Heleen Heysse … get together with friends and family, dig a giant hole to be safe from the radiation and make an alternate society underground. Tunnels everywhere! We would feed ourselves with roots and other things.

Katrien Bernard Bern (BE) … make tons of brownies and ice cream, set up a giant barbecue in a park and a chocolate fondue and invite everyone I love to that park so we can sit together and eat all the food.

Kathleen Willekens Willek (BE) … since the entire world is affected and I won’t be able to go on a road trip around the world anymore, I would raid all the ‘exotic’ food stores in order to have a huge aroundthe-world party! We would dance until radiation makes us stop.

Christina Daubjerg Newman New (DK) … find the biggest possible jar of Nutella and eat it with a spoon! I’d watch a movie that is on the “watch before you die” list, enjoy a cocktail and just spoil myself with manicures, etc. (I want my corpse to be pretty!) and then I’d meet up with some Belgian friends and have a last supper.

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