aftermath
Dear participants, Now that the 12th National Session of EYP Cyprus is over, you have a very big chance. A chance that many young people like you don’t get to grasp. But you are in EYP. This magazine is created to make you reflect on the days you spent in Cyprus doing alele and playing other games, discussing & debating, getting sleep deprived & having fun! You have a chance to actually let the light by this experience enter your life, just like we let it into our cameras, and make EYP have an impact on you, just by reflecting on what the 12th National Session was to you. Carry the passion, the kindness, the tirelessness, the love, and let them be your guide during the aftermath of Larnaca. - The Mediart Team
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An EYP story; The train
We are
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12th National Session; Survival Kit
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Closing borders: A two sided investigation
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Hopes & Fears
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Be here now; A reminder
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Future, Youth, Hope
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Ithaca
An EYP story;
The train /by Konstantinos Koukovinos
Station I A young student arrives at his first ever European Youth Parliament (EYP) session. His thoughts are running wild, his chest is burning with excitement,he is looking for his way in. A way into a different life, one that the student may not be able to fully comprehend yet, a way into the life of an EYPer. His legs are shaking the first time he introduces himself, he feels like a stranger amongst strangers, he feels as if he is judged for his every action. As the session progresses he gains confidence and loosens up, he connects the strangers’ faces with names and behavioural habits. Minutes become hours and hours become days; the student evolves and by the time of the closing ceremony he has bonded with the faces that were once strange, a bond only an EYPer can understand and is next to impossible to explain to an outsider. During the ceremony tears come into his eyes, the unique feeling of his first EYP friendships will accompany him for years to come. Station II Did the student get selected to represent his national committee? Does it really matter? For him it does not. He is now “infected” with the EYP bug, but he is not certain where that will lead him. He writes his first application to become an official. He feels ready to jump into his big boy shoes and test himself but it’s not his time yet, his application got rejected. The rejection upsets him,but this only makes him more stubborn causing him to apply for another session. Weeks pass by and but then he receives the much anticipated acceptance email; the butterflies in his stomach are crazy, he made it, he is taking his first steps into the EYP world. Slowly but steadily session after session, travel after travel, he improves as an EYPer but most importantly as a person and as new people enter his life and new experiences expand his mental horizon, he flourishes into a better human being. Station III A young adult arrives at another EYP session. He has multiple sessions under his belt as of that moment, each one of them special, each one of them unique. Although his feet are steady now, his chest has not stopped from burning since day one. He is a confident speaker now, although people’s stares make him feel uncomfortable still. He is a stranger amongst strangers no more, he is a friend amongst friends still hustling to become a better version of himself. In this closing ceremony he will be standing on the podium, he has a speech to prepare but he can’t put his feelings into words… then he remembers; somebody once told him that EYP is a train, a train in which you are the driver of, each session is a station, passengers come and go, some will stay longer than others, some you will not get the chance to connect with. You can choose your end destination or you can choose to keep the engines running for as long as possible. Once an ambitious student, now a proper EYPer, he takes a deep breath, steps on the podium and shares an EYP story. It’s titled “The Train”.
We are /by Afroditi Karatagli We are all kind of lost sometimes, we lose ourselves and we lose sight of the person we aspire to become I wanted for the participants to devote a few minutes in order for them to think who they are, who they want to be, and who they do not want to be. I gave them three unfinished sentences: ‘‘We are…’’, ‘’We want to be…’’, ‘’We do not want to be…’’. I chose to start my sentences with the word “we”, which allowed people to place themselves in any social whole they felt like they wanted to belong in. Some of them identified “we” in a more generic way as “people”, some others as “teenagers” or “citizens”. I wanted this project to act as a platform of expression, a way to complete the intentional gap of these sentences with their own unique perspective and take of the world and they gave me answers to the question “Who are we?”. I put together the different responses I received in order to exhibit in this space the variety if identities which exist within our Session.
We are the ones to rock the world, We are actually on top of the world, We are also people, people motivated and passionate;we want to be fighting for what we believe in and share these passions, We are curious; we are the reckless youth, the youth that doesn’t want to be ignored, unrecognized or overlooked, We are the youth of Europe, youngsters willing to openly discuss the problems of the current world, We don’t want to be the ones who destroy this society, We are relatively open-minded individuals, who don’t want to be left-out or forgotten in the future. We want to be active, not suppressed by a stronger force, We want to be proper humans, informed humans, We want to be listened to, to be widespread, successful and memorable, But we are also romantic, sometimes completely out of touch with reality, We oversee that we might be getting trapped in a socio-political world, We are running out of time, But we want to be and we will always be the future, We might not want to be realists but we also do not want to be liars, empathetic and broke, We want to be us, we want to make it work, we don’t want to fail, and we are going to reach the top in the end.
Survival Kit of the 12th National Session/by Emily Tsangaridi
Wear lots of sun-screen; sun is not for the weak.
A donkey; to interrupt team building
Your plastic cups; because apparently the orgas will not give you another one
Don't worry; ice-cream trucks still exist and they make sessions more
Cheese that doesn't melt when grilled (halloumi) and an organic watermelon brought from Alexandros Kaimakliotis’ field
A six-pack of refreshing Saint Nicholas Water; the only six-pack you will need to survive.
A broken rooster; because wake up calls are always in risk of being late. Better to wake up too early than to wake up too late.
An air-condition; to make your EYP days & nights in Cyprus a bit more bearable.
A song from “La Casa De Papel”; because being mainstream is still a thing.
Lidl cookies; because an EYP Cyprus session is not a good session without them.
Closing Borders A two-sided investigation. /by Marios Loizides
The year is 2015. The migrant crisis, a relatively up and coming issue, is making major headlines in every news outlet. Three years on, in 2018 , the issue is still well and truly present. Millions of migrants flee their troubled countries in hopes of a better and safe way of life in Europe. The consequences of this issue to us Europeans has sparked a mass debate on a very controversial topic;would closing our borders to refugees in Europe be the route we should take, and would this be a solution that we can afford, as well as the people whose lives depend on this decision? Leaders in Europe have conflicting opinions about this crisis. So what exactly is the migrant crisis? To understand the debate we must view both sides of the argument as objectively as possible in order to form an opinion. The very purpose of this article is to explore both points of view and to allow the reader to assume their own stance in this humanitarian crisis. By the end of this article, I’ll let you, you reading this now to form an opinion. Not one you have to share. One that you will act by. On the one side of the argument, a large majority of people thoroughly believe that closing our borders to refugees, just like the decision Australia took,in 2016is the way that Europe will progress and develop effectively. We have all seen the problems that arose when Germany opened its borders to refugees allowing thousands to enter the country. The police saw an increase of 10.4% in reported violent crimes in 2015 and 2016 in Lower Saxony which was the period in which migrant immigration was at its peak. Based on a research from Lower Saxonys state interior ministry, the report suggested that 92.1% of this increase was attributable to migrants. As the aforementioned statistics suggest the standard of living clearly decreased during this critical period causing many people to fear the people themselves. “The migrants are coming in an endless form – this is not reflected in the minds of European leaders.If we can not solve this, Schengen is over!” - Viktor Orban, Hungarian Prime Minister
“At present up to 10,000 new refugees are arriving every day.These figures show that even we cannot shoulder this alone in the long term. We need a European solution!” - Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Foreign Affairs Minister “The refugee crisis is a challenge for the whole of Europe, and Europe - it's a very fair point to say it's not just a security issue. It's also an economic issue.” - Emmanuel Macron, French President “There is no doubt that we need to manage migration better. Migrants are always getting the blame for politicians” Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London On the other side of the argument, there are people who believe leaders should express a desire for open borders and show active support for nations which have allowed refugees to enter. An article by Harry Cockburn from The Independent stated that in actual fact crime rate in Germany was at its lowest level in 30 years, which is just another example of mainstream manipulation. However, Pfeiffer, the director of The Criminological Research Institute of the state of Lower Saxony stated that the sense of insecurity is especially high in large cities across Europe where the proportion of immigrants has increased significantly in recent years. The reason wasn't an actual rise in crime, but a feeling of insecurity in Europe and especially Germany due to the increasing numbers of immigrants, that are not necessarily refugees. The democratic institution of the European countries and the freedom that this political system guarantees is the root cause for the refugees’ hopeful desire to find shelter there. We are European citizens living in a free world and free to express an opinion or an ideology. It isa world that many people want to be a part of.A world free of terrors and a world that allows them to pursue their aspirations and endeavour. “We do not believe that the future of Europe or our world can be built on ever-higher walls or children dying at our doorstep. Neither can we forget that many of our ancestors were refugees and migrants.” - Alexis Tsipras, Greek Prime Minister “If Europe fails on the question of refugees then it won’t be the Europe we wished for” - Angela Merkel, German Chancellor “The picture of refugees drowned in the Mediterranean Sea or suffocated in trucks will continue to haunt us,we therefore need a change of system for refugees to apply for asylum already in their countries of origin or neighbouring countries.” - Sebastian Kurz, Austrian Foreign Affairs Minister In my personal opinion, I feel as though all this debating and conflict on the matter is only merely adding fuel to the fire. The Media has contributed to the severe measurements placed upon migration policies. This is due to the often one-sided coverage which draws the immigrants in a very negative light.By reporting crimes or facts based on a group of people or a small minority, the numbers would be similar if not almost exact. The media reports dramatised versions of the true events in order to increase their own profits through he sensationalisation of one of the biggest humanitarian crises of the 21st century. People do fall in the trap, causing this fear surrounding migrants. However, if you choose to delve deeper you uncover the truth. Politicians should focus on intergrating migrants to the best of their abilities in their new surroundings. Only that way will people realise that in fact, these are just regular people, nothing different to the average European citizen who merely want to lead their lives in a safe and accepting environment. I would like to end this article with a quote by Pope Francis that sums up my true feelings regarding the crisis: “Migrants and Refugees are not pawns on the cheeseboard of humanity” -Pope Francis.
Hopes &
When applying to a session one is always concerned of what they might face. Will th
Will he manage to bond with the other delegates or officials? It can feel like a gamble
to get out of your comfort zone and experience something different. Overall, when
/by Emily Tsangaridi “My biggest hope for the session is to learn to interact with people in a much more involved way, learn more about the EU and the community we live in because we are part of the European Union.” - Dimitris, BUDG
“My biggest hope for the session is to learn greek and make friends so that I can come back to Cyprus.” - Douchka, DROI
“My biggest hope is not only to develop my personality not only achieve my new tops but make an impact on my delegates to encourage and motivate them to move forward and reach their new tops.” -Katerina, Chairperson
“My biggest hope for the session is everything gets ready on time and that all media team members end up being satisfied with themselves. as well as form long lasting relationships.” -Nefeli, Journalist
& Fears
hey live up to others’ expectations? Will he be able to contribute in committee work?
e- what will follow is completely unknown but you will never know unless you decide
n it comes to EYP events the possibilities an endless-and what a great thing that is.
“My biggest fear for the session is to get attacked by an opposing committee during the GA and not being able to respond.” - Androulla, ENVI
My biggest fear for the session is not to manage to wake up in time in order to do my wake up call.” - Maryanne, Organiser
“My biggest fear is that I could be shy and end up not giving the maximum of myself to other people.” - Marco, LIBE I
“My biggest fear is not to be able adapt my working style to the style of the committee regarding the fact we always have unexpected situaitons and you need to adapt yourself to it.” -Nicolas, Chairperson
“Be here now”
A reminder /by Nefeli Poyiatzi
“Be Here Now”: three words whose meaning captures an idea, a reminder, a philosophy. The motto of this session is unique in its ability to be applied to a wide variety of situations, not just in the context of EYP. A short interview with the Session President, Maciek Kryński, allows us to explore the power of these three words and pushes us closer to turning them into actions.
What is the inspiration behind “Be Here Now”?
“Be Here Now” was inspiredfrom my own experience in EYP, where in every session I attendedI observed a sense of rush. All the bodies of the session were constantly trying to maximise their productivity and their performance without enjoying that very moment. That is why my aim for this session was to focus on each moment, on the present, without bothering ourselves about what we have to do next, or after, the session.
What does “Be Here Now”personally mean to you?
For me, “Be Here Now” is about enjoying every single moment but also about reflecting on what is happening so that we can track our development within the session and reflect on the impact other people have on us and on the impact we have on other people. I believe that there is no destination, there is no single, tangible thing to be won; the final outcome is not all that matters, as this is in the future. The journey in order to achieve something is all that matters.
What would you say is the biggest obstacle in managing to “Be Here Now”?
I think the very nature of human beings is the obstacle. We usuallylive in the past or in the future: we are stressed about what is going to happen next and we worry about meeting our goals;andwe are often unable to distance ourselves from the past and stop thinking about it. And this is exactly the reason why this obstacle is difficult to overcome.
When asked what the first step in putting “Be Here Now” into action is, Maciek instantly responded: “Stop overthinking”. One could argue that we currently live in an ever-evolving world, where taking a step back to focus on the present moment is often neglected. We have learned to multitask: to undertake diverse tasks and execute them simultaneously. We strive to do more and more, struggling to achieve a balance between quantity and quality. But at what cost on our physical and mental well-being?
Whether you are a delegate, trying to create the perfect resolution and defence speech, a media member, trying to create the perfect video and article, or an organiser, trying to make sure that everything happens perfectly and on time, remember to stop and take a step back. Think about this moment, your environment, the people that surround you and the connections that you have formed during this session. Think about everything that needs to get done, will only get done if you remember to appreciate this moment and make the most out of it. Take care of yourself, enjoy yourself and this will be reflected in the energy and productivity put into your responsibilities. So embrace this moment and remember to ‘’Be Here Now.’’
Future, Youth, Future, Youth, Hope Hope
/by Riccardo Rastello /by Riccardo Rastello The idea of future has always attracted humans’ minds, bringing with itself a wide variety of feelings, from curiosity The idea of future has always attracted humans’ minds, bringing itself a wide varietythe of feelings, to fear to anticipation. It fascinated the ancient Greeks, as seen in the Greekwith mythology (to honour culture offrom the curiosity to fear to anticipation. It fascinated the ancient Greeks, as seen in the Greek mythology (to island we are on), for instance in the episode about Odysseus’ travel in the Kingdom of the Dead to discover his honour the ofTiresias. the island we are on), instanceraised in the episode Odysseus’ travel in the future questioning theculture prophet Nowadays, thefor attraction so muchabout that we have “scientified” it: inKingfact, dom of thestatistics Dead toor discover his future questioning prophet Tiresias. Nowadays, the some sciences, like meteorology, study the future.the Not to mention thesuccessthat the attraction concept ofraised time much that wefuture, have “scientified” it: science in fact, fiction some sciences, like literature statistics and or meteorology, study the travelling, so especially in the has had in the genre of both cinema. future. Not to mention thesuccessthat the concept of time travelling, especially in the future, has had in At the 12ththe National Session EYP of Cyprus we wanted to cinema. hear what the young people, belonging to the generation science fictionof genre both literature and that will shape the future in the upcoming years, feel towards itthemselves. At the 12th National Session of EYP Cyprus we wanted to hear what the young people, belonging to the We asked generation them four questions: that will shape the future in the upcoming years, feel towards itthemselves. 1) When I say whatfour is the first thing that comes into your mind? Why? We “future”, asked them questions: 2) Do you think thatI the of affairs ofthe thefirst world is improving orinto worsening? What makes you think so? 1) When saystate “future”, what is thing that comes your mind? Why? 3) How do2)world? you imagine Europe inyou 25 years? What makes think so? 4) Do you trust the ability of the young people to change the future world? What makes you think so? Ciara 1) When I imagine the future, I can see spaceships flying around, anti-gravitational vehicles and I imagine going into space, or at least space technology to be used on earth to improve life here or just simply the Earth because we messed it up enough already; maybe we will actually have to move into space, you never know! 2) I feel like it is worsening, but all the crises that we are facing in this generation… every generation faces crises and it seems the end of the world to that generation at the time, but it is not and they are solved. It just looks easy when we study history that they were solved, but it is not and we will solve these ones too. That is the optimistic view. 3) I think it will last stronger, hopefully. I do not know if it will be there, if the European Union will be as influential as it has been in the last five to ten years. I do hope that it become less bureaucratic and less closed off: today European citizens do not actually know what’s going on, and young people, apart from those who do EYP, are not really informed about the EU or its competences or even just the bodies. I hope that Europe will be a lot more open in its processes and open minded in its policies, it is pretty liberal already but I hope that it will develop a more open door policy. 4) Yes, because young people have always been the ones initiating the change. They are always the ones with the brand new ideas and this will remain the case. Even though the internet makes you feel like your ideas have all been done before and there is nothing you can do to possibly change them, it is a very inspiring place actually. It can connect people across the world and it is so much more possible for you to accomplish things nowadays.
So, I think that young people will become even more the driving force for change than they have been in the past because of the ability to access information and resources through the internet.
Andreas 1) When I hear the word “future� the first thing that comes to mind is artificial intelligence: I believe that in the future all the work will be done by computers and people will enjoy their lives and do the things that they like. 2) I think it is a combination of both: on the one hand, we have all the innovative areas that come forward, we are trying to reverse the climate change but on the other hand, I don’t think we try enough. There is a huge gap between developing countries and developed countries and I believe that we need to work on making things better and improving the already good things that happen in the world. 3) 25 years I think is a long time. I would say I would like to see a sustainable Europe, free of non-renewable resources of energy and a more united Europe, with all the countries helping and cooperating with each other. 4) I entirely trust the ability of the young people: I believe that they are going to bring change. The young people are the ones who bring the radical ideas and make things happen. Being part of EYP I met people that can and will bring change in the world and I am very optimistic for that.
Simona 1) The first thing that I think of when I think of the future is the new generation because we are the people that are going to shape the world. 2) The state of affairs of the world is worsening in my opinion, I believe because we are electing leaders such as the President of the United States, who I believe has bad intentions. 3) Europe in 25 years is going to be hopefully good because of the people that are going to be adult in 25 years such as teenagers now: hopefully they will make impactful decisions that will influence us in a positive way. 4) I trust our generation to change the future world in a positive way, because I think that we are intelligent enough to make the right decisions in order for us to grow up in a sustainable and positive world. Moreover, I trust our generation because of the people at EYP: it is on programs like it that we rely on for the future.
Listening to these young people expressing their feelings towards the futureone can find another proof to sustain our thesis: it keeps fascinating us, and in particular,it fascinates the young people. Nevertheless, what very striking is the feeling uniting all those who were interviewed: hope. After all, participating in an EYP session requires a great amount of it: writing a resolution is a hope mechanism, it is the conversion of hopes, to aims, to actions. At EYP, we meet many young people full of dreams and ambitions;they are the ones who will bring a new gust of hope in the future, for everyone.
Ithaca /by Afroditi Karatagli
As you set out for EYP, Hope that the voyage is a long one, Full of friendship, full of memories Routine and boredom, Hostile people-don’t be afraid of them: You will never find things like that on your way As long as you keep your thoughts raised high, As long as a rare excitement Stirs your spirit and your body Constant criticism and passiveness, Unacceptance-you won’t encounter them If you decide to stay involved, If you are ready for the EYP doors to open for you.