TBS Storm
https://www.facebook.com/Tbilisi2013 Issue 4 Online version
Farewell. The Tbilisi experience was a challenge in many ways, but we are glad that to be given the opportunity to defy ourselves and reach for new frontiers. This is why I would like to dedicate this final editorial to everyone involved in the creation and shaping of this fantastic IS. Namely the Head Organisers and their Organisers’ team, EYP Georgia, EYP International and the Schwarzkopf Foundation, all partners For most of us the expedition started with sev- and long time supporters of the EYP project, the eral way too early flights to Tbilisi airport fol- chairs’ team of the session and especially Oğulcan lowed by a transfer to Bazaleti. In exchange for and Jari, and last but not least my Media Team. all these troubles we enjoyed two days of Teambuilding by the lake. Although only the toughest Thank you for the quality time. of us actually enjoyed the lake, it is safe to say that we had a very relaxing time at the resort. A final salute from the cave. Farewell is a session element all EYPers are familiar with. Some fear them, some are excited about them, I personally learnt that they are just another part sessions one can predict to happen. As we are now about to close the Tbilisi book, it might be worth recalling a couple of chapters that shaped this extraordinary journey.
After some hectic packing, we got to know the capi- Enjoy reading! tal of this fantastic country for Committee Work and General Assembly. Transferring to Tbilisi also meant With dedication, diving into the heart of the Georgian culture at both Alex Narayanin the Georgian night and the tradition Euroconcert.
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Contents EYP
Page 4 - 10
Tbilisi 2013
Page 10 - 13
Academic
Page 14 - 24
Session Song Lyrics
Page 25
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Opinions outdoors of the GA venue The European Youth Polls
The European Youth Polls are a project introduced by the EYP in order for youngsters to stay active and to shape their own opinion on certain topics. Mostly, young people are not interested in politics today. The European Youth Polls prove that this point is wrong and that the European youth is taking the position of active citizens: thousands of youngsters want to take an active role in our society. Everyone in the age between 16 and 27 years is more than welcome to join and be heard.
ed to every poll in order for the participants to share their opinion about European integration.
After the poll is out the process of the campaign starts. Every National Committee promotes the poll among its members. The results are always distributed to the press. Moreover, they are published by media sources in different countries and in different languages. In addition, results are sent to political leaders and institutions in Europe. Today, the cooperation ranges from local to national, from European Before a poll is promoted to global. Partners who support among the youth, everyone who the European Youth Polls tois involved in this project has a day are: the European Students round of brainstorming about Union, the Erasmus Student new topics for the upcoming Network, the European Union poll. However, the final deci- Agency for Fundamental Rights, sion and approval of the topic the European Youth Press and relies upon the EYP Internation- many more. Local partners al Office. Each separate poll is vary from Libertas Youth Magdealing with one short specific azine in Serbia to the Internatopic. Nevertheless, there are tional Association of Students always general questions add- in Economic and Commercial
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By Oleksandra Gipsh
Sciences
(AIESEC)
Ukraine.
The last European Youth Poll was on Mass Surveillance. It was conducted between the 11th and 23rd of September and the results were published just a few days ago. This time, 2.131 people from 43 European countries participated. In order to find the latest results, you can have a look at the EYP website (www.eyp.org) or simply like the European Youth Polls on Facebook and stay involved and participate in the upcoming poll. Generally speaking, the youth is the social group that forms the future. Thus, having youngsters that actively take part in discussions outside the venue of the General Assembly, shines a bright light on the future. If you are active, young and have your own strong opinion that you are willing to share, stay involved and have your say!
The end of a transformative experience An interview with the President of Tbilisi 2013, Jari Marjelund By Christos Papadogeorgopoulos and Öykü Talı We had the privilege to interview someone who is characterised by his Chairs Team as a creative, dedicated, approachable and inspiring person. He is no other than Jari Marjelund, the President of the 74th International Session of the EYP in Tbilisi, Georgia.
He admits he was very sceptical about EYP Georgia being granted the 74th International Session of EYP. He believes that the EYP is trying to be open-minded, but still there are prejudices within the organisation. In the time being, he reckons these prejudices should be discouraged and everybody should have He describes his eight year journey trust in the power of EYPers. What of active participation in the EYP as also stands true is that he was worried a “transformative experience” which about organisational and academic demade him understand himself much tails, but in the end he ”learned to stop better and led him to develop various worrying and just live in the moment”. skills. When asked about the years and experiences he had from his very When asked about his responsibilities first session until the last, he mentions as a President, he chuckles and says that he finds himself very lucky to wit- that he does not have any responsibilness the incredible growth and devel- ities but rather he loved hanging around opment of the EYP as an organisation. and enjoying the evening programme Back in 2004, when Jari first attended so far. On a serious note, he is the one a National Selection Conference in Fin- in charge of all the academic prepaland, there were not as many sessions ration of the session, the Chairs’ Acaand events organised in Europe as now. demic Training (CAT) which took place He very much appreciates the new- in Berlin in September, leading fifteen er opportunities for younger EYPers. chairpersons and supporting the Organising Team through the preparation Considering that Tbilisi 2013 is Jari’s phase and the session. Furthermore, as very last session in his EYP career, we he mentions, he tries to spend time not know that it has a special place for only with his team but also with the othhim. As he states: “Tbilisi 2013 is a er participants of the session while trying very pleasant experience and it is great to keep the teams as close as possible. to see how everything goes so well.”
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When asked about his Chairs’ Team, Jari highlighted that at the beginning he was seeking for EYPers that can take this opportunity in a responsible manner. He was looking for ambitious and intelligent people who also enjoy the session and know how to have fun. “The selection process was indeed hard but in the end it was a true success.”
he had and cannot choose one. We remember though, not long ago, seeing him catwalking on the hotel corridors wearing one chairperson’s high heels.
His message to all session participants is that they are all very much welcome to continue in EYP, which he regards as “an experience that is truly worth it”. As his very last session is coming to an end, Knowing his particular sense of hu- his future without EYP looks very intermour, we asked about his most funny esting and unexpected. “Let’s see what and awkward moments in EYP. He re- I can come up with in my life. I think I members a lot of enjoyable moments would be going into Georgian dances.”
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Couchsurfing Travel, discover, enjoy By Oleksandra Gipsh
Nowadays, the network ‘Couchsurfing’ gathers more than 6 million people in 246 countries. The first goal of couchsurfing was to promot the process of globalisation. Members of the networking host each other for free or even travel together. Couchsurfing is based on mutual respect and a warm atmosphere. Everything you need to join this project is to fill in the free online form and become a registered member with all privileges. The network’s mission is to “create inspiring experiences”. The idea is to strengthen cultural exchange and communication between people in a friendly, informal atmosphere. This makes it possible to realise a natural desire to learn something new to share experience in various spheres of life. In particular, this way of communication enables people
from different countries, cultures and nationalities to look at international issues from diverse perspectives, to learn tolerance and to taste the foreign cuisine. Nowadays, there are three directions among the members. The first and main direction is to travel around the world. Couchsurfers can be hosted in any city around the world without paying for a hotel and discover the local culture from the inside. This allows them to experience the world in a way money cannot buy. Secondly, they can rediscover their own city. Especially in big cities, it is common to have a big community of couchsurfers. The third option is to become a host. In order to do this, it is only a matter of accepting a request. This is a unique chance to discover another culture, to learn about a new culture firsthand or to practice a language.
Recently, our beloved organisation has given us a new advantage: EYP Couchsurfing. EYPers are sharing their apartments amongst each other. So from now on, you can easily travel without booking hotels. All you need is to find a host through the list in the facebook group ‘EYP Couchsurfing’ and contact that person. EYPers are always the best hosts, being extremely friendly and welcoming. Even if you never met face-to-face, you can easily find common friends who you both know or have attended sessions with. Moreover, staying at an EYPer’s place, you can always meet new EYPers from the city at hand. So, take the advantage and put your name in the list of EYP Couchsurfing! The EYP opens new horizons for you.
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How to stay involved The next steps after a session has ended By Oleksii Prylipka
Closing Ceremony has ended, you are on your way back home, “Imagine� still sounds in your head. Most probably you are reading some wishes and notes from your new friends from all around Europe. Post-EYP depression strikes and you cannot do anything about it. Or can you? Experienced EYPers know that the main weapons to cure your emotinal trauma and ease your desire to voice your thoughts (which are probably still in English) are Facebook and Skype. So, arrange a skype meeting or chat, make yourself a cup of hot coffee or cacao and be prepared for a few hours of pleasant pastime. If you need to gather your whole committee, see their faces again and conduct a distant Teambuilding, use Google Hang8
outs and be a progressive EYPer. opment of the EYP as a whole. Thereat, start with your National However, your life still lacks the Committee. The EYP as an orEYP and your wanderlust does ganisation has it own structure not give you peace of mind. In and strategy in each country, but that case, the Alumni Platform is there is one thing, which is comthe solution. You probably have mon everywhere. If you want to already registered there before be active, you will be heard and going to the International Ses- a task will be found for you. Eision. Not many newcomers know ther it is the coordination of that it is a perfect tool to track all delegations, Public Relations, the upcoming events and choose fundraising, attraction of new the one that suits you best among members or organisation of sesmore than 100 sessions each year. sions. If you like it, just make a litThat means, if you like travelling tle attempt and you will succeed. and have a special EYP aim, for example, to become a President After all these things, when you of the session, the Alumni Plat- may be called more or less an form should be your guide, sched- experienced EYPer, the whole uler and somehow assistant. organisation is open for you and you may try new heights. Yet you are not happy and do Who knows, maybe, you are not only want to attend sessions, going to become the next Exbut also contribute to the devel- ecutive Director of the EYP.
An everlasting frozen moment Photographs as witnesses of our lives
As physicists struggle to explain the notion of time, they keep discovering ways to accelerate, slow down or even stop time. Luckily, a way to save an image of one particular moment was invented a long time ago. The endless innovation of mankind led to finding a way to have everlasting memories. Nowadays, photography is so integrated in our lives that we cannot even imagine the times where there were no cameras at all.
for days in order to have a nice portrait, but with this great invention one only had to wait around thirty minutes. This might sound unbearable to us now, but it was in fact an immense development. Cameras were initially merely used for taking portraits and family pictures, but people with artistic perception soon decided to come up with better compositions. Russian Count Sergei Levitsky, Roger Fenton and Philip Henry Delamotte are among The word ‘photography’ was many names that helped to develfirst used by Sir John Herschel. op the popularity of photography. It is a combination of the two Greek words, photos and graphe No matter how rich you are, havwhich mean ‘light’ and ‘drawing.’ ing your picture taken by an expert photographer was quite a Joseph Nicéphore Niépce is con- rare and expensive experience. sidered to have taken the world’s first photograph. A short while In the nineteenth century, the later, this became very popular. rather sinister photography trend Before, one had to wait and pose of post-mortem photography
By Zeynep Ekinci
was ‘en vogue’. Especially in the Victorian era, it was a common to summon a photographer if a beloved family member had passed away at home. This was the last chance to keep a memory of the deceased. The compositions were created as if the person was still alive and the pictures seem like ordinary family pictures. With huge developments in photography starting from the twentieth century, this art now is a way of expressing many emotions, important events, beautiful landscapes or particular moments. Although we might not consider one single picture as extraordinary as someone from an earlier century, it is still wonderfully impressive to be able to freeze the time for a moment and save it forever. 9
An End has a Start Greetings from the editorial team of Tbilisi 2013 Prepare for publication, correct, revise, change, rewrite, improve, be in charge of – this is merely a selection of results from typing the word ‘edit’ into Word and then pressing ‘shift+F7’. This short cut has certainly been one of the many lifesavers during the past few days.
newspapers over and over again: The piles of clothes on the floor which eventually merged into one huge mass, the three toothbrushes in the cup near the sink that give the feeling of being somewhat at home, the uncountable occasions of having lost the room key and of course the sleepless nights in the media room covered in blankets.
lenge and it was also something new. First-time journalists, firsttime IS officials, first time asking a Georgian cab driver how many Laris it takes to get from Committee Dinner back to the Hotel, first time eating Khinkali, first time walking over a bridge of glass that glows at night. We have seen, tasted and experienced so much that it certainly All of this contributed to the ex- will take some time to process. perience we call ‘Tbilisi 2013’. We learned to avoid unneces- The only tasks remaining now sary space and not to cut off a are dividing the mountain of person’s limbs in an unnatural clothes, packing up the toothway on pictures. We emphasised brushes, checking out with our that grammar is the opposite of room key and getting to the airboring and that there are actu- port on time. We have prepared ally English comma rules. We for publication, corrected, respread impressions of the ses- vised, changed, improved and sion on the internet and we ar- we were in charge. Now, the ranged some fun moments for all. storm moves on to another town.
When InDesign, Lightroom and Premiere crash, when the power goes off and when you are unable to log on to the internet, because you were the last person to walk into ‘Hotel Bazaleti Palace’, those are the moments that will be remembered. Then, there are those moments which will be cherished and which will always put a smile on one’s face when getting on the plane back home or when sitting on the couch going through pictures on facebook, watching the session videos and reading the Tbilisi 2013 was certainly a chal-
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By Dorothea Weber
Coca-Cola, the new coffee? Analysing the features of one of the most sold drinks of the century
By Koka Kapanadze and Ilir Kola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants and vending machines throughout the world. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke. Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactits led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-
important meal of the day with minutes your blood sugar spikes about a quarter of all drinks be- and your liver responds to the ing consumed before 10 a.m. resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar The question posed by the com- into fat. Then, after 40 minutes, pany was “How do we motivate caffeine absorption is complete people to make soft drinks, like which makes your pupils dilate, smoothies, juices and other on- your blood pressure rise and the-go products, part of their your liver emit more sugar into morning ritual in the same way your bloodstream. Your body as tea or coffee?”. Soda con- increases dopamine production sumption has been fading in for about 45 minutes, which developed countries amid con- stimulates the pleasure centres cerns about weight gain. To of the brain. Within an hour, you combat criticism, Coca-Cola is will start to have a sugar crash.
drink market during the 20th century. Based on Interbrand, Coca-Cola was the world’s most valuable brand in 2011.
planning to begin airing TV advertisements to explain how they are fighting obesity. The firm and its rival, Pepsi, are working on better-tasting diet sodas that use natural sweeteners.
These unhealthy effects have not prevented Coca-Cola from being one of the most sold products in the world. Scientists have been The company aims to increase working a lot in order to reduce the sales even more. They are these effects as much as possifollowing a particular strategy, On the other hand, there are a lot ble. Furthermore, the company which is getting people to swap of arguments against the con- continuously invests in media tea or coffee with soft drinks sumption of soda drinks such campaigns in order to create a for breakfasts. Coca-Cola En- as Coca-Cola. Studies show better image. If the current initiaterprises Inc. recently issued a that within the first 10 minutes tives of Coca-Cola are succesful, report in which it includes the after you have a Coke, 10 tea- a time will come in which even the category ‘Complete the Meal’, spoons of sugar hit your system, coffee breaks at EYP sessions where is noted that breakfast which is 100% of the recom- will be replaced by Coke breaks. is often referred to as the most mended daily intake. Within 20 11
The Final Battle The Dark Lord and his Stormtroopers have finally reached their final destination “Ta ta dam, ta ta-dam, ta tadam”. It has been his alarm tone for almost three months now, the Imperial March. The perfect motivation for him to leave the bed and to start his working day. As this day is going to be very hard, the strategy is well thought out, all the equipment is ready and his stormtroopers are willing to show their best. The whole situation is almost as exciting as the first launch of the Death Star. Nevertheless, breakfast is the most prioritised task in the morning. He enters the kitchen and takes a kettle made of a stormtrooper’s helmet – time for his favourite coffee from Naboo. For him, the brewed coffee is a mandatory ritual, as well as fried eggs, which should be as round as the Death Star. His perfectionism is evident even here. After the
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breakfast is finished, he goes to his apartment, stops halfway for a few seconds and looks at the picture of Amidala. He always wonders how beautiful she was. Just a short delay, as he is slightly nervous about the upcoming events, but finally, he reaches his wardrobe. Black clothes, as always. His style is recognisable both for allies and enemies.
By Oleksii Prylipka before the grand final. Less than an hour and the team is completed, tasks distributed, work on the last issue has started.
After such a long time he seems to be satisfied. He is Alexandre, our editor, his generals – Janne and Doro, his stormtroopers are Elisa, Zeynep, Öykü, Ola, Emilie, Ilir, Chris, Timothy, Łukasz and Oleksii. We are passionate Time to depart. His destina- about Star Wars and journaltion is not that far, but the path ism, and we are proud of it. You is thorny and dangerous. For- are holding our final product, tunately, pilots on this planet the last issue, in your hands. know their job well and soon he We tried our best to make this reaches the palace and enters session memorable and enterhis briefing room. He is earlier taining for you, the participants. than ever and no wonder. The We are the Storm, the Media last day of his long ‘adventure’ Team of the 74th Internationexcites him. Finally, his loyal gen- al Session of the EYP in Tbilisi. erals have arrived, earlier than the stormtroopers, to prepare As our Lord once said: “May everything for the last meeting the Storm be with you!”
The unofficial anthem Beneath ‘Imagine’ By Zeynep Ekinci “Imagine is anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic… but because it is sugar-coated, it is accepted.” – John Lennon
into a new life. No wonder why, in those times, Yoko Ono was castigated for having influence on the collapse of the group. In fact, the presence of Ono in Lennon’s life and their relaA moment full of accomplish- tionship were great sources of ment, serenity and also a tad inspiration to Lennon. Being bit of sorrow caused by the an artist herself, Ono shared upcoming farewell. People the same pacifist and libertarholding each other singing ian thoughts as her husband. ‘Imagine’ in chorus. That is the EYP way to say goodbye This unorthodox couple (or “see you later!”) by con- seemed indeed very far away gragulating our synergy with from our world, dashing out the most peaceful song ever. their brains and creating in the Wherever you go, you will find depths of utopias. Pretty strikthe glimmerings of a warm ing, the couple declared the feeling of possesion for the birth of a conceptual place, song as if it is a second an- “Nutopia” as they called it in them. In fact, the way Im- 1973.The word was a comagine was written – simple position of the words “new” but cordial – allows people and “utopia”, and was referto appreciate it that much. ring to an imaginary world So, what influences triggered where there were no leadthe creation of one of the erships, no boundaries, no most significant songs ever? recorded citizens, no passWhen Imagine was released ports and no laws other than in 1975, the Beatles had al- the cosmic laws. The date of ready been separated, and declaration of Nutopia by its John, Paul, George and Rin- sole ambassadors Ono and go dispersed into their own Lennon was on April 1st, as directions. As John Lennon, an April’s Fool joke. However, the composer of the song, de- the ideas beneath it were an scribes, it was time to forget antecedent reflection of Imthe good old friends and go agine: the joke actually was after the girl, stepping forward underlining a longed equal,
free and peaceful world, and also was the forerunner of the highly reputed song. The moment when muses touched the shoulder of Lennon with their magic wands was also thanks to Yoko Ono. Her literary work ‘Grapefruit’, which was originally a book of artistic reviews contained many verses. After having read a particular poem, Lennon knew thereafter how to start off with the lyrics. The poem that inspired him was dated Spring 1963: “Imagine the clouds dripping Dig a hole in your garden to put them in”. Lennon was trying to find a way for expressing his thoughts smoothly. Therefore, he defined Imagine as “sugarcoated” because deep analyses were hidden behind harmonic tones. The world has turned around the sun 38 times since the song has first been released. It still pushes people to think, believe, hope and plan, and remind all of us that no matter how much of a dreamer one is, we cannot be the only one. 13
The Knight in Panther’s skin National poems throughout Europe By Elisa Martinelli and Emilie Tilstam It is common to consider the roots of different cultures to lie embedded within their traditions and habits. As we have all seen throughout this week, Europe has a rich pallet of traditions that may all seem slightly absurd to an outsider but can be understood through the very heart of culture – literature. Poems and prose often express the mentality and the inner world of a whole community, and somehow every country seems to have that one poet who becomes a representative of the thoughts of his or her nation. Some are well-known, Shakespeare for instance being the eternal voice of English love, but let us get familiar with some others. Another famous national voice is Italy’s Dante Alighieri with his Divina Commedia. In the ‘Inferno’, he expresses the hatred between the Guelph citizens of Florence and the Ghibellines living in Pisa. This political division was common in Tuscany in the XIII century and today the citizens of the two cities severely dislike each other. There is no basis for this bizarre relationship 14
So let the love-maddened nowadays; everything is reman learn the meaning of love lated to the period of wars and know it. when the poet was still alive. Disdain not the love of another nor let him disdain your” In Ukraine, the national poet Taras Shevchenko, also known as Kobzar, is regard- In a country perhaps more ed to be the founder of mod- known for its ancient philosoern Ukrainian literature and, phers rather than poets, Giorto a large extent, the modern gos Seferis had an important Ukrainian language. His most role in 20th century Greek literfamous piece ‘Zapovit’ (tes- ature and even won the Nobel tament) more or less has the Prize in 1963. His poetry treats status of a national anthem: topic such as alienation and homesickness of those in exile and is also largely inspired by “When I am dead, bury me Homer’s works which comes In my beloved Ukraine, to show in his poem ‘Helen’: My tomb upon a grave mound high “She was there, at the deAmid the spreading plain” sert’s lip; I touched her; she spoke to me: ‘The Knight in the Panther’s ‘It isn’t true, it isn’t true,’ she cried. Skin’ is an epic poem con‘I didn’t board the blue sidered to be national epic bowed ship. of Georgia. It was written in I never went to valiant Troy.’” the 12th century by the great Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli and praises courage and love: Conclusively, it should be added that this list is certainly not exhaustive but more “Man, do not complain at fate. Be content and accept a taste of how much diverse literature you can find in Euit. rope if you just start looking Let the warrior always be brave, let the worker enjoy his past Shakespeare and Robert Burns. The rest is up to you. labour;
The right to vote Is it truly as inherent as it is made to be? By Timothy Henry Charles Tamm
The right to vote is considered universal and inherent. Something that is essential for a functioning democracy and almost holy in its immunity. Everyone must have it and under no circumstances must it be taken from them. However, in reality this is not the case. As with almost everything else in the world, this privilege also stems from a deeper purpose and if that objective is not met, it can be removed.
Such a practice caries two great values. Firstly, it gives everyone the ability to protect his or her ideas and ideologies. Because every vote has the same sway, nobody will be disenfranchised and his or her interests will be fought for. Secondly, by making everyone equal, when it comes to defending their worldview, you subsequently make the people themselves equal to each other in alThe word democracy is derived from the most every other aspect as well. When Greek words demos and kratos, ‘peo- it comes to deciding the most imporple’ and ‘power’. Therefore, by definition tant aspects of our lives, a multimillionyou need power to lie within the people aire has the same power as a student. in order to have a working democracy. This, however, presents a problem, Returning to the real world, such a sysas giving people absolute power over tem would simply not work. A country every aspect of their life would lead to where every little aspect is debated and anarchy – a lack of leadership and gov- voted on by millions of citizens would be ernment. In order to guarantee some buried in bureaucracy. To counter this kind of functioning leadership and uni- problem, we choose politicians – proty within our society, we want to make fessional decision makers – to represent common decisions. The best way to us. Although we give up a huge part of make these choices is to have a gen- our power, we end up with a working eral vote, as this gives everyone identi- system. In such an arrangement, regucal power over every ruling, thus in turn lar voting also carries a third purpose. It making the individuals equal to each gives us the capacity to keep the politiother. Hence, the best system would cians in check. If they go against the peobe one, where every citizen gets a say ple’s will, they simply will not be re-electon all problems – a direct democracy. ed. Yet, the limiting does not end there. 15
In many cases, we do not give the right to choose a representative to a person at all. This is done when we think a person’s vote would not meet one or many of the set purposes. In the cases on minors, we consider them being unable to comprehend what really is and is not beneficial for them and therefore they cannot truly fight for their interests. The same goes for the mentally ill. A person without a clear perspective of reality will not be able to keep himself or herself from being disenfranchised. When it comes to criminals, in some countries, we do not doubt their ability to fight for their beliefs. Rather, as they have gone against the norms of our society, we do not consider them an equal part of it. By taking away their capability to protect their principles through voting, we make them inferior to those who do not challenge our laws. Unlike death and taxes, the right to vote is not a certainty of life. Those who possess it should feel privileged, as it is one of the most influential parts of their life. The values of democracy and our society as a whole rely on this responsibility. Do not ignore this duty. Take part in the elections, cast your vote and express your opinion through this act, as otherwise you are robbing yourself from the fundamental benefits of demos kratos – the peoples’ power.
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The modern pandemic About the newest attempts at finding a cure for HIV/AIDS By Timothy Henry Charles Tamm
“AIDS obliges people to think of sex as having, possibly, the direst consequences: suicide. Or murder.” This quote by American writer and filmmaker Susan Sontag shows the impact this deadly disease has on our society and its individuals. It deprives the affected of life’s pleasures and leaves them suffering for decades to come. For over 30 years, people from all over the world have been trying to find a cure to end this pandemic, but so far the attempt has been fruitless. Nevertheless, the fight continues and a few promising ideas have emerged.
nowadays known as the “Berlin Patient”, was given a second transplant. This time, the donor was chosen not only according to genetic compatibility, but also for having a certain gene mutation, which confers resistance to HIV to the recipient. Twenty months after the first transplant, Mr. Brown became the first recorded person to be cured of AIDS. Now, 6 years later, Timothy continues to be AIDS free.
Unfortunately, this case has not led to a vaccine or cure for HIV/ AIDS so far, although 2 more men have been cured of the disease via stem cell transplant. However, in their cases the donors did In 2007, Timothy Ray Brown, not possess the mutation that a 40 year old HIV-positive man the “Berlin Patient’s” donor did. had developed leukaemia due Due to the stigmatisation of stem to AIDS. As part of his treat- cell research, the disease and ment, he underwent a stem cell mortality risk involved with it and transplant. After a year, the man the difficulty of finding a donor,
the hopes are low for this cure. In the search for a cure, scientists are exploring all possibilities. Antiretroviral therapy is among the more promising ideas. Currently, this treatment is used to stop the spreading of the disease and to make life manageable for those who are living with it. Yet, with more effective and aggressive strategies being developed, antiretroviral therapy might one day be used to clear a patient’s body fully from the virus and thus the disease. “One day I’d love to say ‘I used to have HIV’” – an anonymous yet powerful quote. A war has been fought for over 30 years with no result. Over 30 million people have died, and almost 40 million are facing the same future. Hopefully, we can soon end this war once for all. 17
What’s the joke? Women’s rights And all those other hilarious sexist pleasantries
The list of witty jokes degrading women to a smaller or larger extent is long. They can indeed be thought-through and witty. Some would even say they are great fun. However, coming to think of it, I have never genuinely laughed at one. I have never seen any girl sincerely laugh at hearing their gender being made fun of. The reaction is mostly a muffled awkward laugh whilst we try and convince ourselves that this kind of humour is okay, because it is ridiculing a gender role that more or less does not exist anymore or that we at least do not have to fulfil unless we choose it.
sometimes, otherwise it becomes unbearable. I mean, can we not joke about the holocaust either?”. You might think that there is nothing more to these jokes than just the joke itself. Is that true though? As far I know, sexist jokes are mostly made by the male sex. There is no mutuality to this type of humour. These jokes have become a kind of defence mechanism for a gender stripped of once ‘natural’ privileges. Within a certain group of men there seems to be a feeling of defeat that women have won the non-existent battle of the genders and the only thing men have left is the chance of letting out a “hey, what are you doing outside the kitchen?” as soon as a woman has a little too much to say. It is cheap but efficient, because what do you answer without being called boring?
“But come on, they are just jokes. We have to laugh at life
The worst bit, however, is not the cheapness of these jokes, but
“Where is your leash? Between you and the kitchen”. “What do you tell a woman with two black eyes? Nothing you haven’t already told her twice”. ”Just make me a sandwich, woman”.
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By Emilie Tilstam
how they actually hurt. Whether just for a good laugh or not, being reduced like this hurts. It hurts even more knowing that, whilst we are casually joking about women having made it out of the kitchen, women in less gender equal countries cannot safely take a bus ride because of men that are genuinely furious that women ever are let out of their homes. So here is to all of you who stand up for yourselves. Here is to the old taxi drivers smoking and whistling to the 21-year-old girl passing from the gas station to the hotel who would later accumulate all her wonderfully productive PMS anger and write this. Finally, here is to all of you who, the next time you hear a sexist joke that in all honesty makes you die a bit on the inside, will have the courage to use number 10 on Nathan’s list of responses to ‘man-up’: ‘no’.
A controversial nomination The fight against chemical weapons is the true winner
By Elisa Martinelli & Zeynep Ekinci
The Nobel Peace Prize was established in 1901 after the respected Swedish scientist and inventor Alfred Nobel included the desire for establishing a foundation for honouring people for their outstanding achievement in different fields all around the word in his will. The news of Vladimir Putin being nominate for the Nobel Prize obviously raised one of the most heated debates about this award. The Russian President with his controversial personality has always been at the centre of critics from the international peace activists’ community. However, being at the head of one of the leading nations, his help has also been considered fundamental in solving economic and political issues. Vladimir Putin was nominated by a Russian advocacy group for “actively promoting settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet” adding his name to 258 other candidates, including individuals and organisations. Mr. Trapeznikov, president of the International Academy of Spiritual Uni-
ty of Nations of the World, states that Putin deserves the Nobel Prize more than other leaders because “he himself goes to the hotspots and does his best to resolve problems by peaceful methods”. The leader of the association, which is active in improving Russian international relations with other states, also adds that Putin deserves the title even more than Obama, because the former “has already done a lot to establish peace in the world”, while his counterpart has been awarded with the prize before any significant effort. This is especially referred to the Russian leader’s fundamental role in the negotiation with Syria during the past month. Putin’s conciliation proposal for a chemical disarmament not only avoided the air strikes against the country but also relieved the tensions between Syria and Europe. Nevertheless, Russia had been providing a massive amount of arms to Assad’s regime and was accused for exacerbating the conflict between the rebels and the government. 19
However, the exponents of worldwide Human Rights communities are horrified by the nomination. Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a veteran Russian Human Rights campaigner as well as a nominee for last year’s Nobel Prize, affirms that it is impossible to give this award “to a person that initiated two wars, in Chechnya and Georgia”. Those years were full of terror for the populations of the areas; Human Rights were violated and this definitely does not fit the criteria for this prize. Moreover, his intolerant attitude towards homosexuality certainly does not prove the Human Rights activists wrong.
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The astonishment following Putin’s nomination is also due to the fact that just a few people know how controversial the history of the Nobel Peace Prize is. Mahtma Gandhi was nominated five times in a row, but he never won the
award even though it goes without saying that he dedicated all his life to promote peace in India. Against all odds, in 1939 also Adolf Hitler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and history tells us that he was responsible for the Second World War and all its horrors. However, all the hopes and fears related Putin possibly winning the Nobel Peace Prize proved to be unnecessary. Yesterday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee assigned the award to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for its extensive efforts to eliminate the use of such substances. This decision can justify the nomination of Putin since both the Russian president and the organisation have been working in the same direction, highlighting this issue as one of the most significant threats against world peace.
Virtual Warfare
By Timothy Henry Charles Tamm
In 2010, a computer worm called Stuxnet was discovered. This virus uses many previously unknown security holes to spread rapidly and undetectably from computer to computer. Firstly, it targeted Iran. About 60% of all Iranian computers were affected by the virus at the point of discovery and these PCs then infected 60% of all computers worldwide. Secondly, although it spread through every computer, it only attacked a specific sort of heavy industry control systems with configurations that are only found in Iranian nuclear facilities. Stuxnet authors, most likely United States and Israeli governments, managed to reduce Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities by 30%. You most likely do not want to facilitate an attack similar to Stuxnet, which could target your country’s networks such as the power grid or traffic system. To keep you safe from directly harmful virus-
An insight into hacking and how to avoid it
es, follow these simple rules: cookies and the cache whenever using another computer. 1. Use strong passwords This is the basic technique 4. Install an anti-virus softthat you can implement. ware Hackers usually make use of An anti-virus software is crucial programming tools to find all to keep your computer healthy. the possible combinations of A ‘sick’ computer is more a password. By increasing susceptible to hacking, so the length of the password update the software regularly. and by adding extra characters, the number of combi- 5. Secure the entry ports nations grows exponentially A port is an entry point from the and is more difficult to hack. internet into the network used to transfer data. However, 2. Configure firewalls identifying these points is not A firewall forbids outside easy, hence it is better to take threats such as hackers and the help of skilled computer viruses from gaining access to engineers to perform this task. your system. It is important to remember that if the firewall is Nowadays, everything we do not configured properly, it can is related to technology and act as an open door for any all our personal information is intruder, which is why it is im- recorded on our computers. portant to constantly update it. These suggestions are only some basic tips to protect 3. Clear the cookies you from hackers and virusWhenever you use a public es, but these are not enough. computer to log in, traces of For full data protection, make your passwords remain re- sure to continuously apcorded in the cache. There- proach experts of the field. fore, make sure to clear the 21
The greying Europe
How many children would you like to have?
They say that when you think music is too loud, you are just too old. Assuming this is true; the European continent would be an elderly neighbour, who dislikes you because of your loud noises on Friday evening. The prognoses for the next 30 years are rather negative. Dear reader, expect more neighbours like that. The ageing of Europe is a demographic phenomenon characterised by a decrease in fertility, a decreasing mortality rate, and a higher life expectancy among European populations. In English, the main factors that define the term are: the average amount of children every woman in the given population has, the amount of deaths in the population, and the expected statistical number of years you still have on this beautiful Earth.
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According to the European Commission’s report from 2006, the elder population of the continent will increase by 58 million, a gain of 77%, between 2010 and 2050. Experts from the U.S Census Bureau estimate that the European Union will suffer a decrease in age of 14% in its workforce by 2030. Ladies and gentlemen, we are getting old. Unless we can reverse the current low birth-ratio, the native European population will possibly decline by nearly 50%. This sounds more troubling when realising that we are talking about millions here. Medicine advances and we can anticipate people to live longer. The question remains, however, until when they are capable of working? It is and will be
By Łukasz Napiórkowski
considered necessary to allow migrants to settle among native European populations in order to prevent labour shortages. Ethnic conflicts or not, some sectors of the economy just cannot function properly without labour force. Although we can expect technology to replace and aid humans more and more every year, it is unsure how much this will develop in the upcoming decades. Can you imagine an 83-yearold deaf construction worker or a 79-year-old plane pilot? Statistics and diagrams are one thing, but the situation will not improve by simply telling people to live a shorter life. Since we are the European Youth Parliament, one solution appears obvious and achievable for all of us. For the sake of Europe: be fruitful and multiply!
Neither Black Nor White Media Censorship: Protecting the individuals or silencing their power? By Ă–ykĂź TalÄą and Christos Papadogeorgopoulos
Imagine a child sitting in front of the television. It turns it on and starts watching. Then the mother approaches and sees a violent scene and in order to protect her child, turns the television off. Will this emotional act of the over-protective mother, deprive her child from reality, really save it from the dangers of life? Or will that make it more vulnerable and rather naive in its future endeavours? Media censorship is the supervision and the control of information and ideas that are circulated among people. In the modern society, it refers to the suppression of speech in any medium by a controlling body due to the content, which is considered to be harmful, inappropriate or violent. In our case of the mother and child, the controlling body is the mother. Modern societies should support the autonomous being and development of the youth. However, media censorship is accepted to a cer-
tain extent, when a reduction in violent, obscene and sexual content shown on the television and found on the internet is believed to ensure that the interests of children and family are protected. Censorship is applied on the content for children by both the parents and the government. The concerns of the parents can be regarded as a rather emotional protection. However, the governments put restrictions on the media in order to uphold the social stability and preserve the ethical, political and religious values. The main question which lies behind these restrictions is whether the main objective of the governments is to protect the youth from the brutal reality of life or to shape their future by limiting their access to information and thus silencing their powers as individuals, their way of actively taking part in the society and voicing and exchanging their ideas. 23
Through media censorship, the freedom of speech is mostly denied. Therefore, the individuals who do not have access to information lose their power as an individual in the society and thus cannot formulate solid opinions on political, social and ethical issues. It could also be stated that the governments can easily lead powerless individuals, hence become the supreme power. It should be argued to what extent the access to information presented by the governments is desirable. The citizens prefer to have complete access to information by their governments. However, at the same time the reality shows that individuals refrain from facing the truth. For instance, due to confidentiality purposes, governments conceal security information to protect their own interests and their intelligence agencies. Let it be noted that the con24
sequences of Wikileaks and leaks from the US National Security Agency by Edward Snowden have had severe effects on the world’s political stability. The protests rose, the mass killings occurred and the governments have fallen. What should be noted is that reasons for media censorship are not black and white. The general approach towards censorship and silencing the truth is about the social norms that shape our lives. It is still argued that media censorship is against the freedom of speech and it is a well-known truth that some information is kept from becoming public. To some extent though, media censorship is accepted when it has the clear aim to protect one’s privacy and the society. However, silencing the voices and denying the access to information of individuals indeed darkens the future of the powerful societies.
Tbilisi 2013 Session Song By Dorothea Weber
On my way to Tbilisi, Guided by a Finnish man, I don’t know what’s ahead of me, But I know it will rock. They tell me I’m a fool to travel here, They say I’m caught up in a dream, The chance is mine to take, that’s why I’m here, it’s no mistake It’s where I want to be! [2x] So here we go with big fat pony, the jellyfish and funky chicken, First it’s weird then it’s fun so come on, And now, sing along join the storm. I want to introduce a media campaign, But the others disagreed,
I hope to raise awareness in our world, Development is what we need! Wish that I will get the floor for my speech, Placards high up in the air, Direct responses come from all around, and we hunt a bear! [2x] No, I don’t want it to be over, I’d rather sing, dance and debate more, It was weird, now it’s fun so come on, Let’s all, party on, join the storm! Party on join the storm, Party on join the storm, Party on join the storm, Join the storm!
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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.