AS WE MISSED BOTH YESTERDAY’S DINNER AND TODAY’S LUNCH, THE EDITORIAL WAS UNFORTUNATELY EATEN DURING EDITING.
BY RANDOLF AND ROBIN
TWEETINGJOURNOS nelagabrisova LIBE II I’m a friendly open-minded (hyper)active sometimes crazy 13th grade student from Prague who loves socialising dancing music books&chocolate.
danielsteindler CULT My parents named me Daniel. I would prefer to have a middle name. Or rather, it would look cool. Now I have to work to be interesting. Sh*t!
liapachler AFET I I’m a very cheerful and optimistic person. I’m studying (law) and living in Vienna, which is one of the most beautiful cities in my opinion!
jiripour LIBE III My name is Jiří, but nobody outside the Czech Republic can pronounce it, so because I am a generous and kind person, just call me George :-)
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annakampfmann LIBE II I am an open-minded, sincere and creative person and will soon be studying law in Heidelberg; in love with literature, travelling and music.
anamariacroitoru AFET II Hi! I am 20 and not 17. I can be really serious when needed and crazy when I have time. More about me? You’ll meet me and you will find out.
lyubovdvoretskaya EMPL As the song goes, I’m a bit of everything, “I’m a bitch, I’m a lover, I’m a child, I’m a mother, I’m a sinner, I’m a saint, and I do not feel ashamed.”
dmitrijgladkyy Media My name’s Dima and I’m a first-time journo. It’s a big pleasure for me to join this team! I’m already looking forward to a chase for cool photos ;)
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WELCOMINGISSUE
ORDINARY PEOPLE, EXTRAORDINARY ACTIONS BY ANNA KAMPFMANN AND ANA MARIA CROITORU
Volunteering - a word that is on everyone’s lips these days. In celebration of the European Year of Volunteering discussions on the importance of volunteering on a local, national, and also global level have been raised. But there remain unanswered questions that need to be explored. What exactly is a volunteer? What are the opportunities and the challenges of volunteering? If I want to work in an honorary capacity, what can I do? While searching on the Internet one might not be able to find a uniform definition on volunteering. According to the European Parliament’s definition, Volunteering “is not undertaken for PAREXCELLENCE
financial reward [but]of one’s free will [and] brings benefits to a third party outside the circle of family and friends. [...] It is open to all.” However, there is more to volunteering – it is not only a dictionary term but also something people do in their daily life, every minute. Analysing current statistics and projections, 23% of all Europeans who are older than 15 are volunteers. Who are those 93 million citizens? Volunteers look like you and me. What differentiates them is that they find a spare moment in their busy lives to put themselves in the position of people in need. They decide to give up some activi6
ties they used to do in their spare time, like surfing the internet or playing games, and instead be a volunteer for some organisation that would improve the environment they live in. Even though the number of people dedicating their leisure time to volunteering and shaping the future of our society is rising, one should not forget about the reverse side. Why is a majority of our fellow citizens facing barriers when it comes to participating in honorary work? Besides a lack of time, information and possibilities, people often cite their own financial distress as a reason for not working in an honorary capacity. That is also one of major goals of the European Year of Volunteering – raising awareness on that highly debated topic, reducing prejudices and making every single one of us realise what you can accomplish if you only want to. Looking around, you will find plenty of organizations that help and support you to find a position that matches your abilities and expectations. The spectrum of voluntarism is wide. Between environmentalism, elderly care and animal protection everyone will discover an activity that he or she is passionate about. 7
VolunteerMatch, CommunityServiceVolunteers – amongst these organisations there is an outstanding one that may sound more familiar to you, the European Youth Parliament. Founded 24 years ago, it managed to bring together thousands of youngsters from all over Europe and inspired more than 5000 of them to become involved actively in the continuation and expansion of EYP. Once in a while you might ask yourself, “Why are all these people dedicating so much time, money and efforts to holding EYP sessions? What do they gain?” Obviously it is not about money – but about challenging yourself, developing new ways of thinking and enabling your peers to profit from the same great experiences that you had. “Young volunteers are the carbonfree energy that is moving our continent in the right direction.” So why don’t you go ahead and do your part in order to let Europe’s future shine brighter? Change something, Volunteer!
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THE LEGEND OF CUBEMAN BY JIŘÍ POUR
Pardubice has been a home to many celebrities both past and present: Dominik Hašek, an adored ice hockey goalkeeper, Jan Kašpar, a famous flight pioneer, Arnošt z Pardubic, the first archbishop of Prague, and plenty of others. But little do the people living outside this town know about the “urban legends” of Pardubice, the ones you have not learned about during history lessons or seen on TV. Krychlič (Cubeman) is by far the most famous and most fascinating figure you can meet on the streets of Pardubice. The nickname refers to his very unusual hairstyle in the shape of a cube. This mysterious man, always elegantly dressed, likes to spend his time at the central train station and in its vicinity. His face is hidden under a PAREXCELLENCE
thick layer of make-up, which has conserved his appearance for more than forty years. There are people who make fun of him, people who are afraid of him, and people who admire him. But there is nobody who does not know him. But even if you compile the different stories about
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him and the few interviews this gentleman agreed to give, the picture of Krychlič still remains quite ambiguous. He is either sixty-three or seventy-one years old, depending if you trust his word or the people who claim to have been his classmates. Why does he wear such an extravagant hairstyle? The internet is full of stories, e.g. that he won a barbers’ competition with it and wears it since, or that he used to have a boyfriend who dressed as Elvis and after he died, Krychlič created this haircut in his memory. But of course the most relevant story is the one by Václav Kulhánek (that is his real name) himself. He simply proclaims it to be a silent protest against intolerance and superficiality. According to the people who found the cour9
age to talk to him, Mr. Kulhánek is a very intelligent person with a rich vocabulary. “I have a doctorate in science and I have finished three universities because I enjoyed it. I always wanted to move ahead,” says Kulhánek in an interview he gave to Sedmička magazine. So be on the watch when walking through the streets of Pardubice if you are lucky, you might see the walking legend and his mythical hairstyle with your own eyes.
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A NEW DELEGATE’S GUIDE TO THE
EYP GALAXY BY JIŘÍ POUR
When you come to your first EYP session, you are going to hear a lot of new expressions, “CJOs”, “VPs”, “Orgas”, and so on. You might be confused at first and feel like you are the only one that does not know what everybody is talking about. But do not worry! This article will help you understand the different types of officials and their purposes. THE PRESIDENT
Jonáš Jančařík, the President of the 8th Czech Forum says that his role consists of three parts: “chairing the chairs”, “holding together the different teams” and “being the face of the session” (and most of the girls around can confirm that he is doing a good job with that). THE CHAIRPERSONS (CHAIRS)
They are your guides through the session. They are the ones that you have to thank for really getting to know your fellow delegates and also eventually writing a successful resolution that you can all be proud of. But of course that is mainly your job. They can only PAREXCELLENCE
make the path to your success as smooth as possible - but be sure that they will make every effort to do that. THE ORGANIZERS (ORGAS)
They are probably the most underappreciated members of the officials. They take care of all the practical things, from your wakeup call to taking the last shift from an EYP Café back to the accommodation. They work extremely hard, yet the take the blame for every little problem at the session. So always take a while to think before you get angry with them. THE JOURNALISTS (JOURNOS)
And us Journos? We just humbly contribute to a good atmosphere at the session by writing the newspaper and trying to keep everybody informed, entertained and happy.
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TO DRINK IT OR NOT TO DRINK IT BY DMITRIJ GLADKYY
Guess what the characteristic trait of an authentic Czech town like Pardubice is… You’re right! It is a typical alcoholic beverage, usually beer, produced in the town’s own brewery or distillery. If you haven’t heard about the trademark drink of Pardubice, the Porter, it’s a big fault and now you’ve got a unique opportunity to learn something interesting about this beverage and its history. 1872 is the year of the official foundation of the Brewery of Pardubice, which became one of the first modern breweries in Bohemia. The beer business in Pardubice has been very successful even since and did not stop even during the World Wars. Nowadays the brewery is the original producer of the brands Pernstejn and Porter. It offers 12 kinds of beer from classical through high-degree special beer to a non-traditional type – Porter. Thanks to the range of special beer, the brewery reaches luxury 11
restaurants and hotels. Particularly the Porter is remarkable for its strategy of market penetration. Despite the Czech beer consumers’ conservatism, the specials from the brewery’s production are very successful. The Porter itself has been produced since 1891. Its secret is a unique brewing recipe, especially regarding the proportion of different types of malt. This 19% deep-black beer with rich brownish foam pampers us with its very delicious malt-sweetish, pleasantly refreshing taste on the tongue. It’s also recognized by many medical authorities as a healthy refreshing tonic and digestion-stimulating beer. Your mouth is watering?! Unfortunately, there is not enough time during the session to visit the brewery. At least you can find some time to taste this drink at a local bar and enjoy a few minutes which will imprint Pardubice in your memory forever.
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ARTOF PACKING
THE
BY NELA GÁBRIŠOVÁ
Packing is probably a nightmare for the vast majority of us. These horrible hesitations about, “What am I missing?” when packing, and, “Did I forget something?” while on the way to the destination are very annoying. And the unpleasant truth is that, eventually, we often find out there really is something we left behind. Is there any right system of packing, then? One possibility is to pack slowly and carefully well in advance. The advantage is that you do not have to hurry and thus are able to think through what might be worth taking. This is the way many women tend to do it. For instance, Lia Pachler (AT) is a perfect model of this deliberate system of packing. It usually takes her two hours to get ready for departure and then she is easily recognisable dragging her enormous suitcase. However, as PAREXCELLENCE
Dmitrij Gladkyy (CZ) confesses, also some men prefer to take their time for slow packing. Another variation
is the last-minute style. Some of us, like Richard Janoušek (CZ), are inclined to pack at the very last minute, because there are always so many things to be done that we cannot afford to invest our valuable time in packing beforehand. In fact, some 12
choose to pack quite late intentionally (Marta Brzosko, PL), because it just seems to be the natural way of doing it. Besides, a few people with startlingly economical packing habits exist too. Daniel Steindler (CZ) is often done packing within 15 minutes. No matter where he is going, one pair of jeans, two or three T-shirts, electronic devices and some basic hygiene articles are sufficient for him. He easily puts everything in a backpack or a tiny suitcase any time. There are many different ways of packing. A universal formula for packing properly and efficiently does not exist. Each of us has individual approach to it - and no matter which kind, everybody affirms that they have to face the fear or even the reality of something missing in their luggage. Don’t forgotten chargers, toothpaste, socks, et cetera ring a bell to you?
INSPIRATION BOX DANIEL STEINDLERBY As the year 2011 and our session put a focus on the principle of volunteering, and you might find yourself in need of some inspiration throughout the session, here is a selection of energising quotes that could boost your motivation and be useful to cite during tough committee debates... Believe you can and you’re halfway there. - Theodore Roosevelt Change your thoughts and you change your world. - Norman Vincent Peale If it were not for hopes, the heart would break. - Thomas Fuller In a gentle way, you can shake the world. - Mohandas Gandhi Nothing is impossible; the word itself says ‘I’m possible’! - Audrey Hepburn We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. - Ronald Reagan
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EYP SESSION PHENOMENA TAKING A SMALL GLIMPSE INTO THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF THE EYP BY LIA PACHLER
Even though this may be your first session, you will rapidly get familiar with some typical habits that most members of the European Youth Parliament (EYP) have. Once you get more involved in EYP and travel through Europe on a regular basis you will recognize certain phenomena. First of all, there is the AfterSession-Facebook-Phenomenon, which you will most likely encounter immediately after the session. When you arrive home one of the first things you will do is, right after having a shower and not unpacking your suitcase, to check your Facebook. While going through the abnormal amount of notifications, friend requests and uploaded pictures of the session you will not even notice that hours have gone by without doing anything productive. Simultaneously, you will feel the so-called ‘Post-EYP-Depression’ (PED), which is a combination of reliving extremely great memories in your head and the sadness of knowing that it will take some before you meet all those people and take part in an EYP session again. PAREXCELLENCE
Furthermore, I present you the ‘Oh, we have met before?’-Phenomenon, which is particularly common among more experienced EYPers, especially those who have participated in International Sessions, which usually host about 300 people. You will always find a random couple of people at a session who realize that they have attended at least one session together previously, but feel as if they’ve never met before. To sum up, there are still a lot more of these EYP-typical phenomena, which do not even really have a name, but which everyone is somehow familiar with - and the more experience you gather in EYP, the more they will occur to you. 14
8th Czech Forum Pardubice EYP Czech Republic 24.-27.11.2011 Záštitu převzali: x x x
Miroslava Němcová, předsedkyně Poslanecké sněmovny Parlamentu ČR Mgr. Jindřich Tauber, náměstek primátorky statutárního města Pardubic Ing. Jana Pernicová, členka Rady Pardubického kraje