SURVIVAL GUIDE ISSUE 3
11th National Session of EYP Poland in Bialystok
Dear participants, You are now in full swing of the session. Committee work has been completed, more nights have been spent in the student dorms, and all you have left to face is the General Assembly. One last big step before this session will come to a close and all the moments you experienced will turn into memories. “Things end. But memories are forever.” - Unknown On the following pages we have done our best to help prepare you for what is yet to come. We hope that we will be able to help you enjoy the General Assembly to its fullest and make speaking in front of over one hundred people a little less intimidating. When going to the microphone simply try and forget about all the people around you and enjoy the moment. It is probably not that often that you will have the chance to speak in front of so many people, so go for it, try it out and most importantly…. Have Fun! All the Best, The entire Media Team
D E
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EDITOR
Timon Fahl
VIDEO EDITOR
Adam Borowski
JOURNALISTS
Elif Aydinlandi Anna Barkemeyer Aleksandra Bieluk Malgosia Giemza Zuzanna Gil Aaron Graham Vladislava Kachurova Giedre Kazokaite Lilpar Özcan
CONTENT GIVING A SPEECH
BETWEEN TENSION AND PRIDE
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LANGUAGE
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HOW DO WE IMAGINE THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION?
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THE POWER OF
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
DISAGREEING IS ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY ENVI LIBE I DEVE LIBE II FEMM
11 12 13 14 15
AN ENDLESS MOVIE
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DELEGATE
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WORK HARD PLAY HARD/CHAIRING THROUGH THE EYES OF A
GIVING A SPEECH BETWEEN TENSION AND PRIDE You might have heard of two things during the past few days: One is called “defence speech“, while the other one is called “attack speech“. Here we want to show you, what each of these speeches could look like and what exactly forms a speech in the EYP. In order to reach that we have been using the operative clauses of the motion for a resolution proposed by the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety ll, written during the 73rd International Session in Zurich. Bearing the risks and reaping the benefits of genetically modified crops: what stance should Europe take considering both their potential to boost agricultural production and efficiency worldwide as well as the environmental, public health and socio-economic impact of their application? The European Youth Parliament, 1. urges the European Commission to draft long term plans with regards to the realisation of potential benefits of genetically modified technology, whilst remaining cautious of potential socio-economic, public health, and environmental risks; 2. supports the European commitment to achieve the aforementioned objectives by the continued development of: a) improved methods of risk assessment, b) Peer review of research among European academic institutions; 3. confirms the right of Member States under the safeguard clause 6 to prohibit the cultivation of GMCs on their territory based on new scientific evidence of potential risks to human health or the environment; 4. encourages the european food Safety authority (efSa) and Member States to accelerate the post-market environmental monitoring 7 of GMCs authorised for cultivation; 5. endorses the continuation of the European Commission’s programmes to encourage further research and development of new and innovative uses of GMCs; 6. expresses its desire for the European Commission and the Member States to collaboratively address bureaucratic inefficiencies by reducing the duration of the EU GMO authorisation processes; 7. calls upon the european commission to initiate legislation to create mechanisms to tackle the risks associated with the monopoly on genetically modified seeds including the reduced choice of farmers and barriers to innovation; 8. further recommends the european commission to: a) encourage research outside of the private sector, b) reassess the effectiveness of the patent system in light of biotechnology innovations, c) ensure that the existing antitrust and competition law are fully implemented; 9. calls upon Member States to increase public awareness and understanding of GMCs in order to promote decisions that are democratic and have a scientific basis; 10. calls upon the European Commission to continue the already existing high regulatory standards on GMOs thus ensuring high public health and eliminating unacceptable risks; 11. further requests the European Commission to initiate legislation to ensure that labelling of GMO-derived products
is more visible and contains more traceability information to enable informed consumer choices and general awareness; 12. recommends that the agricultural sector makes combined use of GMCs and other agricultural technologies and techniques, such as energy-efficient vehicles or crop rotation, to mitigate negative environmental impacts of farming; 13. further draws attention of the Member States to the Commission recommendation 2010/ c200/01 to prevent contamination by GMCs, safeguard biodiversity, and maintain the quality of non-GM products. source: http://iszurich2013.ch/home/downloads/
Defence Speech
Dear Mr. President, honourable Members of the Board, fellow delegates and distinguished guests,
The first thing that might come to mind when one approaches the issue of genetically modified crops (GMCs) is, that it makes people glow in the dark, grow devilish horns or gain some other kind of supernatural characteristics. We do not claim that this theory is entirely wrong, though we have some serious doubts about it. Actually, when handled properly, GMCs appear to be surprisingly beneficial. All the EU needs, are sensible regulations and to take some of the crucial factors into consideration. First things first, a regular John Doe does not really take the time to read the labels on the food he buys, so he is unaware of what he actually acquires. We link that with both widespread ignorance and no specifications about their origin. That is why there is a burning need for educating the wider public about the presence of genetically modified crops on the market and labelling them, so our regular John Doe is able to make a choice according to his own beliefs. Correspondingly, we understand that certain Member States simply do not want GMCs being planted in their territories, due to possible negative health consequences. That is why each and every one of the Member States should have the right to decide about their farming policy of GMCs themselves. Another measure of ensuring the safety of products is keeping the high regulatory standards for the approval of GMCs, whilst reducing the bureaucracy by shortening the
duration of authorisation processes. We consider this as being crucial because the farming market should be diverse and all barriers for innovations should be torn down. We are not strongly in favour of extensive use of genetically modified crops, but not using them at all would be a squandered opportunity - an opportunity that offers solutions to problems that persist in the farming and food industry. A careful approach is the key to maintaining a safe environment, while at the same time developing a formula to fulfill the true potential, which genetically modified crops have to offer. Our resolution offers you the freedom of choice. The choice is yours – and you should opt for the solutions we provided. Thank you. Aleksandra Bieluk
Attack Speech
Dear Mr. President, honourable Members of the Board, fellow delegates, and distinguished guests,
Having read your resolution, I was left with a feeling of grave disappointment. I was disappointed at your stagnation that was disguised with the a pretty – but misleading – layer of “caution”. The situation needs to be addressed with bolder measures. How can one be cautious with something which is unpredictable? How can one control something that is already out of hand? This is what genetically modified crops are, and we are in need of stringent policies towards them. One cannot argue with the part of your resolution pushing for research. We should, at all times, aim for broader comprehension. Nevertheless, current research indicates that the consumption of GMCs can contribute to infertility, accelerated aging, immunity problems. This leaves me puzzled as to why you opt for reducing the duration of autorisation processes and facilitate the entry of genetically modified foods to the European market. Neither standards nor labels are going to reduce the risks that GMCs bring – risks, which to a large extent remain unknown. What would certainly be a better idea is establishing a common European network for the regulation of planting genetically modified crops and limiting trade to an absolute minimum – instead of merely allowing Member States to prohibit their cultivation, without controlling sales. What should be put more into focus is organic farming that offers benefits both for the environment and the consumers, and producing enough food to meet demands. I strongly urge you to vote against this resolution. GMCs are not to be trusted to such an extent as the committee proposes. I say yes to research. I say no to artificially upgraded food. I say no to unknown consequences. I say no ENVI II and you should do so too. Thank you. Zuzanna Gil
In many ways, during the General Assembly language can be seen as the most important thing. Language, in this case, English is the factor, which connects people from many different countries and cultures. Without it none of us would have the opportunity to be here right now.
THE POWER OF LANGUAGE Language is an all-valuable tool of cooperation and negotiation. Our speech is one of the most powerful weapons we posses. The story of the city of Babel, recorded in the Book of Genesis of the Bible, affirms this statement. A long time ago everyone on Earth spoke the same language. People were developing the idea that by using their language as a means of cooperation they can build a tower, that can lead them all the way to heaven. However, this attempt angered God, which made him use His power to destroy the tower and to ensure that it would never be re-built, by scattering the people and giving them different languages. The story explains the confusion of tongues - the importance and hidden power of our language, and the aptitude, variation in human languages brings to our communication. This story bears also an exquisite irony: languages exist to enable us to communicate without being impaired, while language barriers actually completely prohibit communication. Returning to the present, we know that there are words we cannot use, phrases we cannot say, and sentences we should avoid, because if we were not to do so we may be accused, jailed or even killed - all of this from a puff of air emanating from our mouth. But we have to realise that even the simplest act of exchange we engage in is utterly dependent upon language. Once we have language, we can share our ideas with one another, work on them, cooperate, and eventual-
ly make a difference. Language is the most valuable trait we have. But as the human kind has evolved, thousands of new languages have appeared and the biggest puzzle of irony is that the greatest density of different languages on Earth is found where people are most tightly packed together. Europe is a great example for that. It seems that we use our language not just to cooperate, but also to draw lines around our cooperative groups and establish identities in order to protect our knowledge, wisdom and skills from eavesdropping from outside. But if language really is the conduit of our cooperation, can we - in our modern, globalised world - afford to have all these different languages? If we take a look into mother nature, there are no circumstances in which functionally equivalent traits co-exist in the same habitat. One of them always drives the other to extinction. So, should we confront the idea that our destiny is to have a world with one language? Giedre Kazokaite
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WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
HOW DO WE IMAGINE THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION? Try to imagine what historians will write about the future of the European Union in the year 2100 - does it still exist? Did integration succeed in preventing a Third World War - as this was the hope of the founders of the European Union? How far did the Union expand? Did it manage to deal with the demographic crisis? These questions provoked me to think about what the EU will look like and brought me to an idea to find out about what other people think. In order to do that I talked to several delegates and merged their respective answers into one hypothetical vision of the future Europe. I have to admit that, in general, we seem to have a rather positive perception towards the future of the EU. All but one, of the people I talked to, agreed that the Union will still exist a hundred years from now. What is interesting is that there was a convergence in terms of how we imagine the development of EU statehood to be. Deeper political integration and eventual establishment of a form of European Federation seem to be perceived as the so called ‘end of history’ for the continent. And, indeed, it is a thrilling perspective. When it comes to specifics, it is anticipated that as a response to economic troubles, which some Member States are facing, the EU will take over the fiscal competence and all the countries will be subject to one big fiscal policy, with every part of the federation having the same tax brackets and structure of transfer payments, such as unemployment benefits or housing subsidies. Deeper economic integration is apparently not a far-fetched prediction, since we can already see how rapidly it is progressing. Furthermore, things, such as health care or educational policy, would also be un-
der the competence of a federal government in order to equalise the opportunities of all Europeans. So how would a country like this be governed? It seems to be evident that the competence of the European Parliament would have to significantly increase, turning it into a powerful institution passing legislation that will directly impact the lives of several hundred million people. One delegate suggested joining the offices of the president of the European Council and the president of the European Commission, creating ‘The President’ that would be the Head of State and the government would be chosen in direct elections by the European citizens, giving him a strong mandate to govern. The hypothetical future European country, would have a strong geo-political standing. The opinions about the future enlargement were various, most pointed at Ukraine and Turkey as two potential members. However, there was one view on that during the course of the next several decades it will absorb more or less all the Council of Europe members including Russia, which I consider to be very interesting. Regardless of the specific pool of countries which might join, the composition of the EU as it is now is big enough to establish a country with the potential to become an indisputable superpower with enormous political, military and economic potential. The continent would finally be capable of dealing with its defense security without being guarded by the American security umbrella.
The vision that emerged is for sure far-fetched and hypothetical. However, there is nothing surprising about the fact that participants of a session of the European Youth Parliament are eager and positive about European integration. Twenty years ago the perspective of having no border between Poland and Germany was perceived as something impossible and here we are now with the Schengen agreement and freedom of movement policy having already been in place for a few years. In the long term the pace of European integration is an upward sloping curve, henceforth eventual federalisation would be a perfectly logical outcome. Perhaps it is just wishful thinking of euro-enthusiasts; but who knows what the future will hold? Aaron Graham
http-//thelibertybeat.com/australia-ends-carbon-tax/
DISAGREEING IS ALWAYS A POSSIBLITY Dealing with various topics on an academic basis can easily get difficult, especially if you want to disagree with another opinion. In the following collection of articles you will find arguments and approaches which are directly opposing the ones mentiond in the respective resolutions.
A European Carbon Tax
While debating the question of how the European Union can tackle the problem of ever rising greenhouse gas emissions, it is vital to make a decision between continuing down the old and well known road of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) or implementing a new form of policy, such as a Carbon Tax.
reducing the demand due to higher prices and also by setting incentives for switching to less carbon-intensive types of fuels.
Naturally, one can argue that simply improving the current policy is the better of the two options, as the general structure of this system is already well established and minor changes could have an enormous impact. At the same time it is easy to argue that our current emissions are having such a grave impact on our future and the future of all future generations that we are in dire need of a radical change.
This being said, it does not have to mean that the EU ETS has to be abolished in order to implement an EU wide Carbon Tax. The two can also be successfully combined, which may result in a solution that would be favourable over only implementing either one or the other.
A carbon taxation system could provide us with this change, while still being efficient and relatively easy to implement. Positive effects could be achieved in two ways – by
Several European countries have already successfully implemented carbon taxation systems, which indicates that it can also be successful on a European level.
Anna Barkemeyer
THE TRICK We all like secrets. It is all about mystery, all about the aura of uniqueness. Imagine attending a magic show. People in the audience experience the unexplainable, but the magician sees it from radically different perspective. He knows how to use his props to make certain actions work. Imagine a rabbit dragged out of a hat, people stunned and amazed, providing the magician with attention and approval. Everybody is glad, everybody is happy. What if someone told them that the rabbit is trapped in the cloth, maybe drugged, so it cannot move, suffocating
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and scared to death? If the truth were to occur to people, it would obviously spoil the magic, so the illusionist would lose his source of income and the audience would lose their illusion, but maybe an animal would be saved. So that is in essence how whistleblowing works, though it is not really about oppressed rabbits, but the revealing of confidential data is quite a lot more risky, it might change the perception of the most prominent and important organisations and authorities. It is a serious moral responsibility. By unveiling secret facts a whistleblower gives himself a right
to shape reality. This might make one feel powerful and important. Blinded by this temptation they might undertake some risky steps which, in fact, could ruin the balance of the world as we know it today. The battle between carnivorous trick-masters and supporters of rabbit rights goes on. And it is going to develop incredibly fast, in the era of rapid, digital communication. Aleksandra Bieluk
SHAPING THE WORLD
ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH?
Working towards a better future for all is extremely demanding. Unpredictability, new challenges coming up ceaselessly and difficulties in both recognising problems and implementing solutions call for very specific actions. Nevertheless, the Committee on Development did design a proposal for a better world, especially for young people. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of solutions proposed by the committee require creating an additional body within the framework. Although, this may imply proper and detailed supervision, it would also increase the bureaucracy. A more efficient and equally effective solution would be to restrict institutions working during the Millennium Development Goals period. Another problem that has to be tackled is gender inequality. Even though the committee agreed that they would rather refrain from interfering with the competences of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, the new agenda needs to include feasible measures that would address this issue. For instance, the number of young mothers seeking shelter cannot be ignored. Moreover, disparities prevail in many areas, including access to education, appropriate healthcare and sexual education. Therefore, the agenda should grant equality in every department. As far as raising awareness is concerned, youth conferences, and including them in policy making processes, should be a priority. Activism is the very core of innovation. As man learns from experience and not passive observation, leaders of tomorrow can be shaped – with another advantage of dialogue between generations being maintained. Things will change in the future, for sure – however, it is our responsibility to ensure it changes for the better. Should the adjustments proposed by the Committee on Development not be more precise? Achievable through less complicated solutions? Zuzanna Gil
www.mountpeaks.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/1069646562-lgl2d-4096x40962
BIG BROTHER
MIGHT POTENTIALLY BE WATCHING YOU With the internet as a constant source of data and information, causing numerous controversial debates and due to recent events, i.e. the invalidation of the 2006 Data Retention on the 8th of April 2014 by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), I will, in the following, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of mass surveillance. The internet has huge potential, hence, law-enforcement agencies are bound to increase their reliance on data-mining techniques, to then try and ensure public order and safety. Nevertheless, mass surveillance endangers the EU citizens’ right to privacy and data protection. This brings up the question, which of the aforementioned weighs more in the end. Mass surveillance always compromises and breaks the right to privacy implying that we have to sacrifice our Human Rights for the greater good. Do the right to privacy and safety really exclude each other?
The Committee explicitly states that they do not want to be seen as Big Brother, controlling everyone. However, there already has been a huge increase in mass surveillance in the last decade, but no remarkable decrease in terrorist attacks. Apparently, there is a lack of regulation due to the 2006 Data Retention being invalidated by the ECJ. Supporters argue that mass surveillance guarantees safety for the EU by fighting organised crime and terrorist attacks. However, by simply establishing a system keeping record and collecting data the prevention of terrorist attacks is not ensured, but rather the documentation of these, meaning that it is not actually tackling the problem at hand. Firstly, one has to define what falls under the definition of a terrorist attack and then one has to reflect on whether the potential of stopping attacks weighs more than the right to privacy. For most people it does not. Concluding, one can criticise the respective system storing data to ensure safety,
for it might not be worth it, considering the serious violations of fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy and the right to data protection. No matter, how secure the system is and huge opportunities it may have to offer, mass surveillance compromises the individual’s privacy – and compromising Human Rights is never justifiable. Elif Aydinlandi
Gender inequality, for sure, is one of the most important problems of our present age that has to be eliminated. The committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality has been working intensively on trying to tackle the problem for the past two days, and has come up with a resolution as a result. In my opinion, the resolution contains some basic good ideas, such as the idea concerning legislation that is mentioned in the first operative clause. However it is not taking sufficient provisions that could have been taken, into account, and therefore it could be further improved. Firstly, the main problem that needs to be solved is the lack of legislation on the topic because even though the Member States are aware of the importance of the problem, few have laws on this topic which are being implemented. Moreover, education is a key factor in achieving change. Education, which begins in the family, continues during formal education, and never properly
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ends throughout our lives, affects our personalities in an extremely profound way, shaping us into the people we are. Keeping this in mind, urging the Member States to fundamentally change their educational systems appears to be a valid solution, tackling many other problems at their roots and shaping future generations. Furthermore, one of the most important aspects of the topic is the sexual harassment that women face, and therefore the committee should have focused on solving this conflict. However, there is no mention of women who face mental and physical harassment and ones who are in need of psychological help due to harassment, shelters for the especially vulnerable, and monitoring systems, which drastically weakens the resolution.
WOMEN AND MEN ON THE SAME STEPS
Lilpar Ă–zcan
For me being a chair means forgetting about your pride, seeing things go, and how they go, as chairing is totally unpredictable. It is like movie that has no end.
WORK HARD PLAY HARD/ CHAIRING AN ENDLESS MOVIE
As it is known across the world “Many men means many minds”. The chairs’ answers to the questions differed as well, however the one thing that kept them united is passion which sparked in their eyes when they started to talk about chairing and everything which is connected to the subject of their constant love and interest.
Chairs are the only people at the session who spend 97% of their time together with the delegates, thus fully dedicating themselves to their committees. As justly remarked by Jose, a chairperson and a dream-dancer from AFET, “ as a delegate - you participate, whereas as a chair you make it happen”. The chairs’ approach to delegates, a great amount of teambuilding games, and consistent level of energy are the result of their incessant self-cultivation, Chairs-Journalists-Organisers-Jury trainings and their eternal wish to make the session as memorable and fruitful as possible for the delegates. They postpone going to the coffee-break or lunch in order to do some more committee work or teambuilding. Furthermore, it appears that chairs are absolutely accustomed to the lack of sleep and the only way they cope with it, is hard-work. As Lorenco (ENVI) said: “I keep working all day long, if I stop I will just fall asleep.” Being a chair feels amazing as you can introduce the delegates to the whole new world full of opportunities. Due to their busy schedule before the General Assembly it was hardly possible to find them outside the committee rooms and ask them a few questions. It is incredible how seriously they perceived every question. They got lost deep in thought, hesitating, taking their time, then smiling, and saying “it is quite difficult to answer, you know”. While some replied straight off, others took some time before sharing their thoughts. Nevertheless right after the interview all of them rushed back to their committees. Vladislava Kachurova
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So far, we brought an inside view from the organising team to you. You now know a couple of things about the President and you will have the chance to catch up on the challenges of being a chair in this very issue. But the biggest group of participants is still missing. Do not worry, dear delegates, we know you are still the most important people of this event! And to prove this, we present to you your content that shows the delegates’ point of view; your impressions and ideas. Thank you for the feedback you shared with us – now we are sharing it with you! Take a look at the aspects of the Session we asked you about. FAVOURITE TEAMBUILDING GAME When you, hopefully, will be getting more and more involved in the EYP, you will notice that the number of teambuilding games is close to infinite. But some of them are more popular than the others. The EYP spirit is strong for the delegates of the 11th NSC: they seem to have no problem in shouting and dancing in public, as the most popular games were “The Street Fighter” and “Allele”. “Spider’s Web” and “Pass the coin” were mentioned as well – which means that leaving the comfort zone is actually not that difficult. FAVOURITE PERSON OF THE SESSION It is a hard task, choosing just one amongst over 100 of the participants in our amazing session. As it turned out, the most popular person around is the President – congratulations, Christian, mission accomplished! The chairpersons get much love from the delegates as well. Some of you simply cannot decide and choose the whole committee. ”The one guy that was doing Allele on the first day” was mentioned couple of times. Well, it is always nice when the work of a Head Organiser is appreciated. WHAT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST? We were really curious about your thoughts on this aspect, as the majority of you is attending an EYP Session for the first time. The profound research and great knowledge of your topics is something you appreciate. Another thing that amazes some of you is how open-minded and willing to work as a team you are. The conclusion is that you are mostly surprised at one another – in the best possible way.
THROUGH THE EYES OF A DELEGATE
OUR PARTNERS
LIBE II //62