TBS Storm
https://www.facebook.com/Tbilisi2013 Issue 2 Online version
Dentist stories. Yet, EYP has much more to offer than all of that. Committee Work is lying ahead of you. Two and a half days of talks about pressing European issues that are desperately looking for new ideas and solving concepts. I can assure you that this will be But there is a problem, isn’t there? How could the quite an experience and I wish you much success. last 50 hours have gone so fast? Think about it, 50 hours equal to 3.000 minutes or 180.000 seconds. If you urgently need to clear your mind and If it takes you 3 minutes to brush your teeth, as look at what your devoted Stromtrooprecommended by most dentists, you could have ers put together for you, you should have brushed your teeth 1.000 times. If you brush your a look at the second issue of The Storm. teeth twice a day that means you could have roughly brushed your teeth for the next 2 years, instead of Enjoy reading! attending the 74th International Session of the EYP. With dedication, As a side note, I very much doubt that Alex Narayanin you all brush your teeth twice a day, and moreover for 3 minutes each time. Luckily, you decided to attend this IS and are by now experts in crossing imaginary rivers, wandering around blindfolded and eliminating your opponents in a style that has similarities with some Asian fighter. One third of the session is over. Time has been flying away in Bazaleti. Yet, we all emerged into Teambuilding, enjoyed the tasty delicacies during Eurovillage and suddenly ended up in Tbilisi.
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Contents Abroad
Page 4 - 6
Academic
Page 7 - 16
Tbilisi 2013
Page 17 - 20
Free time
Page 21 - 22
Food for thought
Page 23 - 25 3
The foreign experience Impressions from European exchange students By Öykü Talı
No place but Europe can offer the wide range of high-quality and consistent education that we enjoy in such a small geographic area. Hence, it is very desirable for young Europeans to make use of the existing exchange programmes and opportunities to study abroad in order to experience foreign teaching practices.
that he appreciates high academic quality as well as having more interactive and differently structured lectures. That is the reason why he decided to study in Denmark. He describes the best aspect of his experience: “Here you meet with a lot of people from all around the world that you normally do not get to meet”.
Vice-President Hanna (21), half Swedish and half Finnish, completed her full degree in International Business and Politics in Copenhagen, Denmark. She chose to study outside of Finland because she always finds herself “comfortable adapting to new environments”. She describes her experience: “It felt like home and I think it is the place where I am fully being myself.”
It should also be noted that the experience of studying abroad might not always be as expected. Living in another country, adapting to a different educational system, getting used to the cultural differences and familiarising oneself with many new people at once is not easy. One of the main problems an exchange student faces is the difficulty of meeting and bonding with natives, even though this would be a great chance to improve language skills and to make new friends; in reality, most exchange students have a tightly-knit group of
Similarly, Chairperson Jonathan (21) from Belgium is currently participating in the Erasmus programme, studying Law in Aarhus, Denmark. He points out
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friends consisting of mostly exchange students, foreigners who communicate in English. The careful choice of the country, city and language also play a crucial role for achieving a true exchange experience. Many students take this decision lightly and opt for the safe choices, which are not necessarily the best. Taking part in exchange programs or studying abroad for a full degree can be compared to EYP in various aspects: in a short and a definite time, you are to experience cultural diversity intensely, have your vision of life extended and see different perspectives. Therefore, no matter how unexpected and different the experience turns out to be, the opportunities offered by the EU institutions to study abroad should not be neglected.
Bridges: elegant or sturdy? On the huge impact of subtle linguistic differences By Öykü Talı
Language is a very complex phenomenon. It is one of our most fundamental tools, yet its true impact on human life is very much neglected. Some even regard language as the medium of life such as that it is the greatest gift given to humankind. Studies show that using different languages changes the way we think and perceive our surroundings and even have significant effects on the human brain. A study conducted by the Yale University on the effects of language in economic behaviour showed that grammatical differences between languages could actually foster a specific behaviour. English as a ‘futured’ language distinguishes between present and future whereas, a ‘futureless’ language such as Chinese uses the same phrasing for all. It has been noted that people who speak ‘futureless’ languages
are 30% more like to save money than the ones who do not. That is because for the ones who speak ‘futured’ languages, the future feels more distant and they somehow fail to find the motivation to save money for the future.
decision-making processes. It is commonly known that people who are bilingual or multilingual are generally better at cognitive tasks as they are able to engage in various issues at the same time. The learned language forces people to think without the Furthermore, some psycholo- instinctive manner and to acgists claim that, in gendered lan- tually deliberate on the issue. guages, words are given different connotations where gender traits The human language depends are tied to them. For instance, highly on learning and social conin German, the word ‘bridge’ is vention, thus it is indeed related to actually feminine and in Spanish the cognitive abilities of a person it is masculine. Therefore, when to use complex communication asked to describe a bridge, the tools. On the practical level, we German speakers ended up de- can easily see how using languagscribing the it as ‘elegant, ‘frag- es and learning new ones affects ile’ or ‘beautiful’ whereas, Span- our daily lives. However, it should ish speakers said ‘long’, ‘strong’ be noted that the true beauty of or ‘sturdy’. Hence the assign- the languages lies not in learning ment of gender to nouns affects them, but rather in learning about the perception of certain words. them. We are lucky to figure out how the subtle linguistic differencIt has also been shown that us- es can have a huge impact on us. ing different languages can alter 5
Beautiful yet complicated Finding out more about the language of our gorgeous host country By Zeynep Ekinci When you are travelling around in some other European countries, you are usually at least able to understand a number of signboards, or some words you hear. However, here in Georgia you encounter a completely different alphabet, which has certain similarities to the elvish writing of J.R.R. Tolkien, a unique language system. Most of the natives describe their own language as very difficult to understand, learn and write. The following lines will hopefully help you discover more about this complex yet rich language which has an impressive sociocultural background. Georgian is a branch of the Kartvelian group of the Caucasian language family. Astonishingly enough, this particular family has no apparent relatives. It has resided in a very particular area and was sedentary in its own region which is situated around the Caucasus mountain range and 6
the Kura river valley. In addtion, Georgian is the only language belonging to this family that has a literary tradition accompanied by a very ancient alphabet.
4 A.D. by the Armenian bishop Mesrop Mastots. The primal record of the Georgian alphabet is a plaque which was found in Palestine. The plaque is dated back to early fifth century, yet researchGeorgian has eight nominal cases: ers remain incapable of explannominative, ergative, accusative ing how it ended up in Palestine. dative, genitive, instrumental, adverbial, ablative and locative. On According to Nicholas Yakolevich the other hand, it does not con- Marr, the Georgian-born linguist tain grammatical gender, which and historian, Georgian is a lanis different in the case of French, guage which is capable of exGerman or other languages. As pressing any notions that can Georgian is a rather phonetic lan- come up to one’s mind. Indeed, guage, most words are written the word derivations of Georgian as they are pronounced, which is express the particularity of the not the same in French du tout! Georgian culture. For instance, the word for ‘pregnant’, orsuli There exist two predominating combines two words: ‘two’ and legends about the formation of ‘soul’. Yet, the word for ‘loythe Georgian script. One of them al’, ertguli, means one-hearted. says that it was formed by the This content-wise logical conGeorgian King Parnavazin dur- nection and the sincerity of the ing the third or fourth century language greatly contribute to before Christ. The other legend the uniqueness of Georgian. claims that it was created along with the Armenian alphabet in
An unexpected model for Europe Georgia’s battle against its biggest internal threat By Elisa Martinelli & Zeynep Ekinci
the Georgian president’s head. This series of strikes and demonstrations can be easily considered the starting point of an always-increasing development, both in foreign and internal affairs. With the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili, a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption allowed Georgia to gain the first place in Transparency International’s 2010 Global Corruption BaromeAccording to the World Bank, Geor- ter. This survey evaluates the reduction gia is the country that should be con- in corruption as well as the innovation sidered as a model for other countries and efficiency of the reforms made to that are still striving in putting an end improve the political and economic life to their corrupted political system. As of the country and it is one of the most stated by Philippe Le Houèrou, the accurate sources of data worldwide. bank’s vice-president for Europe and Central Asia, “Georgia’s experience Last year, Georgia received fifty-two shows that the vicious cycle of endem- points in the Transparency Internationic corruption can be broken” as long al’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), as effective reforms are implemented. zero being the score for a highly corrupted country and one hundred for a In 2003, the country was shaken by the completely clean government. It curRose Revolution, which marked the end rently ranks ahead of various EU Memof Eduard Shevardnadze’s leadership. ber States, such as the Czech Republic, The protests were mainly due to a failing Latvia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, economy and the charges of govern- proving that this state is really working mental corruption and cronyism upon towards innovation and modernisation. Corruption is one of the plagues affecting governments since the very moment the concept of ‘state’ was shaped. This issue changed its disguise with different centuries and, unfortunately, is still widespread in today’s world. Some countries prosper on it, but the majority drowns in loopholes and bribes before finding an effective solution to tackle the problem.
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However, this does not mean that everything goes smoothly in Georgia. The Parliament and the judiciary system still remain weak, leaving enough space for a potential threat. Moreover, many crucial government agencies have been victims of the general lack of political independence and the unfair behaviour of authorities towards their own population. This increased the chances for the survival of corruption and power abuse. In order to protect the government from such threats, the law enforcement system and investigation bodies still need to be fostered. Public trust is also a crucial aspect to
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consider when analysing the situation and it should be increased by promoting a strong and politically independent judiciary system. Additionally, even the smallest local governments should have transparency and accountability as their most important principles. Accordingly, although Georgia has set a very decent example for combating corruption, there still is much to do. Corruption is not a static threat for countries and has many opportunities to subtlety strike again. Therefore, plans should constantly be reconsidered and innovated according to its always-changing shape.
A risky ‘break’ overseas The United States federal shutdown
The clash between Republicans and Democrats about fiscal matters, primarily President Obama’s healthcare reform programme, has caused the new annual budget to fail, which lead to a partial federal government shutdown. This extreme situation was last seen 17 years ago when Bill Clinton was the president and the government was closed for a total of 28 days. If we take a closer look at the major conflict, it is clear that the main issue is the political clash rather than actual financial concerns. President Obama and other Democrats blame the extreme right wing, The Tea Party conservatives, and their unflexible attitude and unwillingness to compromise. The Republicans hold President Obama and the Democrats accountable, as they feel that the new healthcare programme strongly opposes the individual right to decide for health cover-
By Zeynep Ekinci
age and the free market system. the less fortunate population has to be compensated by a tax inThe Medicaid Expansion, also crease for the wealthy population. called ‘Affordable Care Act’, is a new system proposed by Presi- Consequently, the federal shutdent Obama in order to improve down has begun. National the current healthcare service by Parks, museums, federal buildimplementing the following chang- ings and services have closed es. People who are older and un- down, and more than 700.000 able to afford a health insurance federal workers have been sent pay less, women and men will home for an unpayed leave. now be paying the same amount of money and big companies will Furthermore, the economic and have to ensure all their employ- social impacts this situation must ees or fear sanctions. However, be considered. According to most of the people who do not Goldman Sachs, the US econowork in companies will have to my will lose around $55 billion if acquire their own private health the shutdown lasts around 3-4 insurance. They can choose from weeks. The total amount of the a variety of ensurance packag- federal employees’ wages loss is es, which each provide minimum estimated to be around $1 billion requirement such as doctor or a week. Finally, as stated by David hospital visits and parental leave. Cameron, the inability to finalise the US spending plan will impose There is, however, an issue with a huge risk not only on the US the feasability of the programme but also on the global economy. that especially the Republicans have criticised: the funding for 9
Bread and circuses Questioning the extreme amounts of money spent on sports in times of unstable economies ‘Tourist season end means Spanish jobless rise’, ‘Spains public debt to approach 100 percent of GDP end-2014’, ‘The depressing reality of Spain’s youth unemployment crisis’ – You have probably seen newspaper headlines like these rather often, and they quite accurately describe the economic situation in Spain. However, at the end of August, the world was shaken by Real Madrid’s latest transfer, when they paid 100 million euro for Tottenham’s Gareth Bale. This transfer is the most expensive in the history of football. In addition, the salary of the Welsh super talent – 300.000 pounds a week – means that he will earn double the yearly salary of UK Prime Minister David Cameron in just a week of work. Yet, Spain is just an example. In the modern world, fed-up with economic and social crises, football clubs are conducting deals worth millions. Only during the last summer, the top-5 transfers (Bale, Cavani, Falcao, Neymar,
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Özil) cost 330 million euro altogether. Mind-blowing numbers for men who are playing their favourite game in over-crowded stadiums. Nevertheless, despite the fact that both such spending and the football authorities are highly and openly criticised, stadiums are filled. Every week, Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium hosts 85.000 supporters with an average price per ticket of 80 pounds, in Spain, where unemployment rates reach 25%. Naturally, the market dictates the footballers’ wages and prices. Football, like any other industry, conforms to supply and demand. Supporters demand a show and they get it, no matter the price, as long as it satisfies their desire to see their team winning. In the modern world of sports, money is linked directly to success. Thus, an ever-growing popularity of football and competition leads to growing expenses. Eastern multibillionaires consider football as a perfect possibility to estab-
By Oleksii Prylipka
lish a business that gives great incomes, despite great expenditures. The flow of money into European football rises and the sport benefits from it. Top clubs are spending tons of money to get the best players in order to compete, and the smaller ones have to look for young local talents by establishing sport schools and camps. Prices will be rising constantly, and with such an army of supporters there will always be enough people willing to see their idols to fill stadiums. They will be cheering for their favourite clubs, as well as complaining about high ticket prices, unjustified wages and transfers. Yet, at the end of the day, the clubs are in business, their success is income and as players were paid to play and entertain, the more you pay the better the show. What needs to be kept in mind is that this is also not a unique phenomenon, considering that the value of movie stars, authors or business gurus is also dictated by the market.
Professional Sportsmanship – fair play or entertainment? Analysing the different aims sports can achieve By Ilir Kola &Timothy Henry Charles Tamm A professional sport is one of the biggest industries in the modern world. Worldwide competitions are held every year in all possible fields, ranging from football to ballroom dancing. The most popular ones, however, are the ‘big’ events such as the Olympic Games, the football World Cup and the Super Bowl. However, the question remains whether the point of these events is to promote the concept of sportsmanship or to give countries a platform to compete or whether it is simply about entertainment. A sportsman can be defined as a person who can take defeat without complaint and victory without gloating. They represent fairness, generosity, courtesy and fair play. Despite this, every sportsman always aims to improve and strives for perfection. In this way, sports try to promote reciprocal respect while keeping in mind the importance of competition. On an international level, sports can also perfectly serve as a
platform for countries to co-operate and compete. A value of the Olympic Games is the preservation of human dignity, which is based on the respect of fundamental ethical principles and the practice of sports as a human right. Every individual must have the possibility to participate, without discrimination of any kind, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of solidarity, friendship and fair play. Furthermore, these kind of events give the countries an opportunity to compete in a non-political way. Considering different conflicts throughout world history, sport becomes a tool to promote peace and fair competition. On the other hand, if we cast aside the ideals associated with sports, we end up with a purely entertainment orientated concept. This is already done in professional wrestling, which nowadays has nothing to do with the ideology of fair sports. However, professional wrestling remains one of the most watched sports
programmes. If we take such a stance, we should do everything possible to make it as appealing as possible for the public. This would mean allowing doping as well as rigging the results. If done under controlled conditions, doping can have a minimal health risk, but at the same time, the increased abilities of athletes can make the show superhuman and that in turn increase the viewership. Fixing the results would help to keep tension in the competition as well as to incentivise underperforming participants to take part and watch it. Traditional events, such as the Olympic Games, which are focused on conveying a message of peace and fair play rather than winning, should remain as they are. At the same time, for other competitions, if there is a possibility to enhance the performance of the athletes without risking their health, it should be considered, as it would raise the entertainment value of the contest. 11
Europe to the right On the rise of right-wing extremism in an age of worries As the extremity of European right-wing extremism seems to currently be culminating in Greece, where the party leader of Golden Dawn Nikos Michaloliakos recently was arrested, we are all aware of this trend that has been growing in Europe for years. Yet, it seems like it is confidently moving ahead in the same direction, so let us travel through Europe and map what shape this trend takes in some European countries. Northern Europe Scandinavia is said to have slightly lighter versions of right-wing extremism; nevertheless, it is on the rise there as anywhere else. In Sweden, the Sweden Democrats have 20 of 349 seats in parliament and are still gaining popularity, although a video was published this year where some of its top members threatened a person of immigrant background with metal sticks. The Norwegian Conservative Party is currently entering a coalition government in Norway together with the Pro-
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gress Party, which is supported by Ander Behring Breivik (terrorist, Utoya 2011), lead by Siv ‘Morna Jens!’ Jensen. As for Finland, the far-right party with the very straight-forward name True Finns, has 39 of 200 seats in parliament. Western and central Europe Moving farther right, I mean south, The Party for Freedom PVV has quickly gained overwhelming popularity in the Netherlands with 24 of 150 seats in parliament. However, the party is not as popular as the party leader himself, the flamboyant young Geert Wilders. Another prominent far-right party is of course Front National in France, which has quickly gained popularity as well since Marine Le Pen took over in 2011. As we pass over Hungary, the political environment roughens. Many of the far right party Jobbik’s politicians are openly anti-Semitic, and Prime Minister Viktor Orban is doing little to prevent these attitudes. Jobbik has 47 of 386 seats in parliament.
By Emilie Tilstam Southern and Eastern Europe In the epicentre of the eurocrisis we have, apart from Golden Dawn in Greece, the somewhat troublesome Northern League Party in Italy, which had 12,7 percent of the votes in the 2010 election. Furthermore, the Vice-President of the Italian Senate and a member of this very party faces calls to resign as he recently called Italy’s only black minister an ‘orang-utan’. So what is causing these trends? Some say it is the public frustration stemming from economic crises and unemployment, but Norway for example is probably one of the richest country in the world. Others point more to failed integration and failed ‘multiculturalism’, and indeed integration in Europe has often been developing poorly. But regardless of your own political opinions, we can probably all agree that with the immigration currently pouring in from Middle East for natural reasons, we cannot afford xenophobia in Europe.
To the ballots! Important European elections in 2013 Italy The political environment in Italy is rather disordered to say the least and most Italians themselves do not exactly know what is going on. As support for the government was poor after the withdrawal of Berlusconi, an extra election took place in February, where the comedian Beppe Grillo turned into a politician and his Five Star Movement got an unexpectedly large amount of votes. His reluctance to collaborate with other parties resulted firstly in a deadlock but eventually in a three-folded coalition with Enrico Letta (Democratic Party) as Prime Minister. Albania The parliamentary election held in Albania in June was considered to be the first properly democratic election since the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The election brought a power shift to the left-wing opposition, the Alliance for a European Albania Socialist Party, winning 84 out of 183 seats in parliament. The new Prime Minister Edi Rama, former Mayor of Tirana, is generally popular and also
By Emilie Tilstam
has an artistic background. of seats in the Bundestag; their coalition partner the Free Norway Democrats, however, attained After the Norwegian election none causing uncertainty in in the beginning of Septem- forming a coalition governber, the Conservative Party ment. But Angie’s popularity has entered a coalition with certainly remains, along with the Progress Party (far-right). many worrisome questions This puts an end to eight on how to go on carrying the years of Labour Party gov- weight of a very heavy Europe. ernment lead by former Prime minister Jens Stoltenberg. Al- Georgia though Stoltenberg has been An election yet to come is the much appreciated at home one in our very own IS host for stimulating growth and country, the Georgian presiglobally for his actions after dential election on the 27th of the 2011 Utoya terrorist at- October. As the current prestacks, perhaps we can sense ident Mikheil Saakashvili has a ‘Scandinavian syndrome” been barred from seeking a where constant growth is so third presidential term, his parwell-baked into elaborate wel- ty United National Movement fare systems that good gov- has nominated David Bakradze ernance is just not enough. as their candidate. Up against him is, amongst others, Giorgi Germany Margvelashvili of the Georgian The European election that Dream, which is also the party naturally has had the most of the Prime Minister Bidzina media attention is the one Ivanishvili and the party with for the German Bundestag, the majority in parliament. which took place a couple of Constitutional amendments weeks ago. After eight years will be passed at this election in office, Federal Chancellor as well, allocating more powAngela Merkel aka Angie was er to parliament and less to triumphantly re-elected for the head of state. Stay tuned another four years. Merkel’s for the electoral outcome. Christian Democratic Union attained almost 50 percent 13
Behind the scenes of the EYP
What you see is just the tip of the iceberg
The majority of the times we watch a theatre play, we focus merely on what we see. Our mind rarely goes to the months of preparation actors, directors and set designers have spent planning every single detail. Nevertheless, all those efforts are the reason why we are able to enjoy such a great performance, quite like in EYP. Behind the scenes of Tbilisi 2013 and each event organised by this association, there are always people working incessantly, from the organisational part to the academic preparation. The latter is especially important when it comes to the high standards the EYP has always tried to achieve in terms of promoting independent thinking among youngsters. Every official at this session went through sleepless nights and hectic days to make sure that you, the delegates, can benefit from this experience as much as possible. 14
For this purpose, all the chairs and the editor gathered in Berlin a few weeks ago to attend the so-called “Chairs Academic Training� (CAT). This workshop lasts for three days and allows the chairs to improve their working methods for Teambuilding and Committee Work and provides new notions and suggestions on how to successfully attend such a long and unique event. This is combined with the research that each and every member of the team has made on their respective topic in order to present a detailed overview. It may seem simple to find information on a single matter through the use of the internet, but the hard work starts when it is time to decide what is fundamentally important and what can be left aside.
By Elisa Martinelli
is actually a member of the chairs’ team. His job is not only to produce the session paper, but also to be the coordinator of the Media Team. He is especially in charge of creating the whole concept of media production and bringing new input into the academic part of the session. As a matter of fact, journalists have been working hard for a whole month as well. Not only have they written up to three thought-provoking articles for the first issues, they have also done research on the committee topics.
A session does not last just for ten days, but it starts many months before the date of the official beginning. We also hope that what you will learn is going to stay with you for a long period of time; seize the moAs mentioned above, the Edi- ment and get the most out of tor, Alexandre Narayanin, also every single bit of Tbilisi 2013. joined the training; as unexpected as this might be, he
EU’s anatomy Discovering and analysing the main institutions of the European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 28 Member States that are located in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community formed by Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands in 1951 and 1958, respectively. In the following years, the community and its succesors have grown in size by the accession of new Member States, and in power by the adition of policy areas to its remit. The EU was established under its current name in 1993 in the Maastricht Treaty.
By Ilir Kola
with the Council. The President of the EP is currently Martin Schulz (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats), who was elected in January 2012.
The European Council is an institution that comprises the heads of state or government of the EU Member States, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy. While the European Council has no formal legislative power, it is charged under the Treaty of Lisbon with defining “the general political directions and priorities” of the union. It is thus the union’s strategic body, acting The EU has a unique structure of bodies as the collective presidency of the EU. and insitutions. In total, it is governed by seven institutions with legistlative, exec- The Council of the European Union is a utive, judical and economic functions. body holding legislative and some limited executive powers and it is thus the main The European Parliament (EP) is the di- decision-making body of the Union. It rectly elected parliamentary institution of is one of the two legislative branches of the EU. The parliament is composed by the EU, the other being the European 736 members who are elected every five Parliament. The Council is composed years. The EP is one of the institutions of several configurations, which dethat exercises the legislative function of pend on the topic, of twenty-eight nathe EU, but it does not formally possess tional ministers. The Presidency of legislative initiative, which means the EP the Council rotates every six months cannot propose new laws. Parliament is among the governments of EU Memthe “first institution” of the EU and shares ber States. The decisions of the Council equal legislative and budgetary powers are made by qualified majority voting. 15
The European Commission (EC) is the executive arm of the Union. It is a body composed of one appointee from each Member State, but is designed to be independent of national interests. The body is responsible for drafting the legislation of the EU and has a near monopoly on proposing new laws. The EC is led by a President, currently Jose Manual Barroso (European People’s Party), who is nominated by the Council and approved by the Parliament. Each Commissioner has a portfolio assigned by the President and can take office after they have been adopted by the Council and voted on by the EP. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is the EU’s judicial branch. It is responsible for interpreting EU legislation and treaties. It comprises the main chamber: Court of Justice, the General Court and the Civil Service Tribunal. The CJEU is located in Luxembourg. The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the eurozone and thus controls monetary policy in that area with an agenda to maintain price stability. It is at the centre of the European System of Central Banks, which comprises all EU national banks. The ECB is located in Frankfurt and its current President is Mario Draghi. The European Court of Auditors is an institution that ensures that taxpayer funds from the EU budget have been correctly spent. The court provides an audit report for each financial year to the Council and Parliament. Despite its name, this body has no judicial powers. The President of the court is currently Vitor Manuel da Silva Caldeira. 16
The faces behind the session An interview with the Head Organisers of the 74th International Session of the EYP
By Oleksandra Gipsh & Christos Papadogeorgopoulos
EYP. However, unlike other National Committees, EYP Georgia holds open elections in order for the Head Organisers to be selected by the whole NC. Normally, this is the responsibility of the board, but this is not the case of an IS. The elected candidates were replaced three times, because their studies and their full time work kept them occupied. However, these three devoted EYPers, Mariam Chikhladze, Tatuli Chubabria and Ani Chkhikvadze, Today, you can see the three magnifi- dedicated their free time to the session. cent Head Organisers, but the core team has changed a lot for past 22 The girls have been friends for a long months. In December 2011, the idea time. They graduated from the same of organising an International Session university and all of them started EYP was born in heads of Mariam and As- back in 2008. Mariam and Ani attendmati, the former Vice-President of EYP ed the very first National Selection Georgia. They were thus the first ones Conference of EYP Georgia and Tatto be considered as Head Organisers uli joined the organisation right after. of the 74th International Session of the EYP Georgia applied for hosting an International Session several times, and in February 2012 the bid got selected. Truth is, the National Committee (NC) of EYP Georgia has had the desire of organising an IS in their home country for a long period of time, but the idea came true only when Mariam Chikhladze was presiding the organisation back in 2012. At last, they received a positive response from the Governing Body (GB).
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Naturally, every Head Organiser had different reasons that motivated them to organise this event. Mariam, as the former president of the Georgian NC, saw that their alumni wanted such a session to take place in Georgia and she decided to do her best to achieve that goal. Tatuli saw the team was changing a lot and realised that the organising team needed help. Hence, she accepted the invitation and joined the team. Finally, Ani admitted that EYP helped her grow and develop and she wanted to give something back to the organisation, even though she did have a full time job. All three are eager to face any impending challenges.
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happy moments together. These include the confirmation of different sponsorships, especially when the Mayor of Tbilisi approved funding the session. They actually jumped from happiness when they left the City Hall. Mere happy moments were getting the ‘green light’ from the GB and the organising meeting in Berlin with Stefan Vahndenhende and Ville Vasaramäki, where they discussed about the session and collected advice. Lastly, Tatuli attended the Chairs Academic Training a month ago, where she got to know the Chairs Team and the Editor and represented the organisers.
A year passed and we are here, in Georgia, enjoying the fruits Even though organising a session re- of the Head Organiser labour. quires a lot of effort and sleepless nights, the Head Organisers enjoyed planning the session and shared many
The EYP date Sometimes you can help the fate by just staying silent
No fancy introduction, this is serious. This is heart business. Time is of the essence, the circumstances are positive, the opportunity has occurred and you now have to seize it! It is now or never. Wow, hold on, wait a second. Before you go, let me just give you a piece of advice here. Remember these points and you will be fine.
Union. Basic knowledge regarding the person’s country is something nice to have when getting into a conversation. Do not panic – just spend a coffee break on Wikipedia. Not enough? Nod your head and keep smiling.
3. French – As you might now, the French language is also one of the official languages of the 1. Target – Blonde does not EYP. Also, some people considmean Swedish. Ginger does er French people to be romantic not mean Irish. Angry face full and attractive by nature – dropof hate does not mean German. ping a line in French now and These are only your assump- then might actually increase your tions. A little research will not chances. Be careful though. In hurt you – approach an organ- case you possess a “I can survive iser and ask about the target’s on a gas station”-level of French, nationality. What is the rea- and your interlocutor is in fact son of you asking about this? from France, not even a session Survey for school of course. President will be able help you. 2. Education – There is no euro 4. Selling information per secin Poland. Switzerland is not a ond – Everybody is fine with patMember State of the European riotism. We are united in diversity
By Łukasz Napiórkowski
after all. Although the differences between your countries are always a perfect topic to discuss, sharing too much “data” during one conversation can be overwhelming. You really do not have to list all the wars your country won in the past 800 years. Also, fifteen “best clubs” in London is enough at the beginning. Ask a question in return every few minutes. Your date might even not know where London is. 5. Time management – The session lasts only for 10 days. That gives you exactly 240 hours to act, although you might need some sleep sometimes. This event will never happen again; you are never going to be the same – so please, do me a favour and do not miss this chance of making the session the time of your life. 19
Privileged Because we are Remember your National Selection Conference, where you were trying your best, expressing your thoughts and fighting for a place in an international delegation. Did you dream back then that you were be going to be here, in Georgia, meeting almost 300 new faces as your beloved delegates and experienced officials, who are willing to lead you through the session? Back then, you did not have any idea how privileged you are going to be if you were selected. You have a unique opportunity to develop yourself and to explore other cultures during these ten days, so make sure not to miss this chance of self-improvement and make the most out of it. First of all, remember that you, as a delegate, are the centre of any session and the whole officials team is working in or-
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By Oleksandra Gipsh der to share their experience and to make sure that you have a good time and actually learn things while being here. Secondly, once you get selected to an International Session, you enter the huge multicultural family of the EYP with its 36 National Committees from all around Europe. From now on, all doors are opened for you and you are more than welcome to apply to any event that is taking place in any corner of the European Union and even further. For now, you do not understand how great it is to have an international event in your session history. This is your base, your first step into your EYP career. Moreover, the International Sessions are, academically speaking, the best prepared events of the year and you are lucky to be here to experience that, to give
input to the EYP and the story of your life. You have got a chance to live in another country for ten days, to discover the Georgian culture, food, music and their amazing dances. Have you even planned to visit Georgia for such a long period? Have you ever dreamt about exploring the country from the inside or speaking to Georgians? The EYP provides you with an incredible opportunity to discover countries you never thought that you would visit. The EYP is a unique phenomenon that gives you the chance to get to know people and actually make real friendships or other relationships, in just ten days, when in your life you would normally need months for that. Accordingly: look around, discover people, explore a new country and just enjoy your stay here!
The show must go on Experiencing with only one sense is a relic By Łukasz Napiórkowski When was the last time you have seen a serious concert without synchronised light effects or a good movie without proper soundtrack? Entertainment technology moves on, our appetite grows and it seems that none of these will stop any time soon. Topics connected to future are always full of speculations and gossip; however, we can see a few patterns emerging already. It is rather obvious that, being equipped only with the knowledge of how to play an instrument will not necessarily make you a popular and successful musician. Live performance has always been one of the most important – perhaps even the most important – part of a music career, but since the illegal download of data became so easy and available to everybody, it has become even more crucial. The trend we can observe at the moment is putting more and more effort into organising and improving live music events. Nowadays, sound itself will not suffice – you need to take care of other factors like the stage, lights and choreography as well. A concert is not just a concert anymore. It is a show. Also, why organise only one of these events, when you can organise six in a row? This is exactly
how music festivals were born, each with its own image, style and atmosphere. We can definitely expect more of these multi-art events in the future. Another shift in the entertainment industry we will surely witness within the next 20 years is the removal of the so-called proscenium, which is the space separating you and the experience. In most cases this is just the screen of your device. You can never be totally immersive when staring at a big black screen, no matter whether you are watching a movie or playing a game. By the time you are fifty, entering a total three-dimensional story will be possible. Just imagine watching the “World War Z” from the inside. Both of these examples indicate that, what we want is the complete, entertaining, emotional experience, received by all the senses. In order to achieve this, we need to constantly improve the form. “What about the content?” you may ask. According to what George Lucas mentioned in an interview with the Variety magazine, the content never changes. “It has not changed in 10.000 years” he says.
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Get on your dancing shoes Missed all the summer EYP sessions? Try an alternative! Music festival We all love music, especially in the EYP. If it happened that you had missed the calls for all summer sessions and forums, do not be downcast. The Media Team introduces you the perfect alternative – music festivals. Here are just 4 most famed of dozens you can attend in summer. What? The Heineken Open’er Festival Where? Gdynia, Poland When? First week of July Why? Polish Open’er, is perhaps the best festival for the Eastern European music lovers. The price for 4 days, including camping is just around 150 USD. Half of the line-up, however, are young Poles, who are widely known in narrow circles, but the rest of performers will satisfy the needs of any critic. So, pack your backpack, book flights to Poland, and expect to see some well-known acts like Blur, Queens of the Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys, Crystal Castles, Kings of Leon as well as young talents like Tame Impala, Alt-J and Polish underground.
What? Flow Festival Where? Helsinki, Finland When? The first half of August Why? Have you ever dreamed of visiting Finland in summer? Probably not. But here is an outstanding possibility to experience Finnish culture without being swept up by snow. A 135 EUR ticket for the Summer Flow Festival offers you a 5-day hip experience of movie screenings, lectures, Finnish nature and, for sure, music. Bon Iver, The Black Keys, Lykke Li, Kendrick Lamar and many others should be a good addition to Finnish hippie-style vacations. 22
By Oleksii Prylipka
What? Sónar Where? Barcelona, Spain When? Mid-June Why? Sónar solemnly carries the right to be called the main electronic festival in Europe. And no wonder: 3 summer days in Barcelona, capital of Catalonia, paella, sangria, warm sea, contemporary art and the world’s famous electronic giants smashing dancefloors. Kraftwerk, Pet Shop Boys, Skrillex, Two Door Cinema Club, Soulwax, TNGHT, Gold Panda, Baauer, Foreign Beggars, Busy P, Justice and many, many others. Does it ring a bell to you? Then 175 EUR seems like a reasonable price.
What? Glastonbury Where? Glastonbury, England When? End of June. Why? If you are a real music addict, Glastonbury should be the dream destination of your life. Tickets for the most famous British festival are usually sold-out within approximately 2 hours, so you need to be quick, resolute, and ready to spend 200 GBP. Sounds too much for a 3-day open-air in the middle of nowhere? Only if you have never heard about the Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys, Dizzee Rascal, The Vaccines, Jake Bugg, Haim, Primal Scream, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Vampire Weekend, Portishead, Foals, Alt-J and nearly 100 others acts. Gumboots, umbrellas and 24/7 rave. That is the spirit!
Make a wise choice and “get on your dancing shoes”!
The power of nothing Analysing the different aspects and properties of the number zero
On September 21, 1997, while cruising off the coast of Virginia, the billion-dollar missile cruiser USS Yorktown shuddered to a halt. Even though it was designed to withstand heavy weapons, nobody had protected it from zero. When Yorktown’s computer tried to divide by zero, 80,000 horsepower instantly became worthless and it required a lot of effort to put them back to work. Computer failures like these are just a faint shadow of the power of zero. This number is different than the others, because it provides a glimpse of the ineffable and the infinite. As a result, zero has been feared, hated, and outlawed. Zero is powerful because it is infinity’s twin. They are opposite, but at the same time equal. The biggest questions in science and religion are about nothingness and eternity, the void and the infinite, zero and infinity. That is why the clashes over zero shook the foundations of philosophy, science and religion. The begginings of mathematical thinking were found in the desire to count sheep and in the need to keep track of property and of the passing of time. None of these
By Ilir Kola
tasks require the use of zero. Civilisations worked perfectly for millennia before its discovery. Zero was introduced as a digit when people started combining numbers to form bigger ones. However, the concept of zero as a number was a taboo since it represents nothingness. In ancient times, people believed that only emptiness and chaos were present before the universe came to be. For example, the Hebrew creation myths say that the earth was chaotic and void before God showered it with light and formed its features. Zero represented that void, and because of this, people feared it. Furthermore, regarding Aristoteles’ model of the universe, the cosmos was formed by a number of spheres, each causing the next one to move. This number was finite, and the movement of the first sphere was caused by a greater power: God. If zero and infinity were accepted as concepts, it would mean that there is an infinite amount of spheres, so there is no need for God to put them into movement. For this reason, zero was refused by the Western culture for many years. 23
If we consider the scientific aspect, one of the most important concepts related to zero are black holes. At the heart of them there is a point of zero size and infinite density, called singularity, which can be obtained if we divide something by zero. The big bang theory regarding the creation of the universe uses the same concepts, which are infeasible to be experimented, which is why it is impossible to determine if they are true or not. Their mathematical backgrounds might be beautiful and consistent and they seem to explain the nature of the universe, or they can be utterly wrong. All scientists know is that the cosmos was born from nothing and will return to the nothing it came from. The universe begins and ends with zero. Now let us see a quick example of the power of zero. Let a and b be equal to one (a=b=1). Since a and b are equal we have: b2=ab Since a equals itself, it is obvious that: a2=a2 If we subtract the first equation from the second it yields: a2-b2=a2-ab Factorising (a-b), we get: (a+b)(a-b)=a(a-b) 24
Now we divide both sides by (a-b): a+b=a By subtracting a from both sides we get b=0. We already said that b equals one, which means: 1=0. This is an important result. Now, we know that Jari is a member of zero armies. This means that he is a member of one army, in this case the Imperial Army. Furthermore, we know that Jari wears zero white helmets. Taking into consideration the equation we just proved, it implies that he wears one white helmet. Finally, Jari has zero leaders, which means he has one leader, which can be Darth Vader. We proved mathematically that Jari wears a white helmet, is a part of the Imperial Army and is lead by Darth Vader. Clearly, he is a Stormtrooper. As you might have noticed, there was only one flaw in the previous equations. We divided by (a-b), and since a and b are equal to one it means we divided by zero. Because of this, we got the ridiculous statement that 1=0. From here, we can prove any statement in the universe, no matter whether it is true or false. The whole framework of mathematics has exploded in our faces. Used wisely, zero has the power to destroy logic.
One of the two certainties of life An insight into the concept and philosophical views of death By Timothy Henry Charles Tamm
Death is one of the most prevalent philosophical ideas and factors of human life. Each philosopher and writer has had their own opinion of what comes after life and not even scientists or doctors have been able to decide upon a single definition. When talking in medical terms, there are three definitions of death. The simplest of these is biological death. The first signs are no pulse and cessation of breathing, followed by rigor mortis (stiffness of the limbs), paleness and the body getting cold. The last sign is decomposition. The simplicity of it lies in its absoluteness: once you are biologically dead, there is no coming back. The increased ability to resuscitate people brought forth the need for a second definition. Brain death – the irreversible end of all brain activity. Although we can keep a person’s organs functioning and blood flowing after brain death, the human inside will never live
again. The only thing keeping that person from biological death is the switch of a button. The least glum of the three is clinical death, which occurs when blood no longer circulates your body and you stop breathing. If CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or other resuscitation methods are used quickly enough, a clinically dead person can be saved without any long or short-term effects. Such a person can even be conscious during the first few seconds of being dead! In his play The Blue Bird, Maurice Maeterlinck introduced the idea that even though a person will leave from amongst us when they die, that does not mean they stop existing. As long as others think of them, they will never truly die, but rather stay alive in another state of being. A similar idea has been made famous by the quote: “I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a
second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.” – by Banksy, original author unknown. A quite different way of looking at death is to disregard the concept of ceasing to exist. The classical Greek philosopher Plato proposed such a theory. The Theory of Ideas suggests that everything exists in the world of Ideas and our material world is only a copy or the shadow of the prior. When a person dies, they do not stop existing, but rather simply return to the world of Ideas, only to jump back to the material world sometime later. Whatever death may be, it awaits us all. As Benjamin Franklin once wrote: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Although you might change the latter, the future politicians of Europe, death cannot.
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Supported by the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.
Initiated by:
All activities of the European Youth Parliament are under the patronage of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe
The European Youth Parliament receives support from the European Commission’s Youth in Action for its continuous activities.