WHO,WHATWHEN,WHEREHOW,WHY?

THE FOLLOW-UPS

SO...WHAT’S NEXT?One of the things which sets this conference apart from others of its kind is that it is a chance to do something a little more than just ‘talk out’ the issues which face our world today.

As we learnt at the Opening Ceremony, this event began as an idea, a dream in the mind of Project Manager Maria Chalhoub, but with determination and persistence it has become a reality.

The level of involvement in civil society of everyone at this conference is such that a simple conversation can flourish into a full-blown movement, should determination and persistence follow the spark of an idea.

The ideas themselves do not have to be too big or too small: as simple a thing as a meeting or a Skype call is a step in the right direction. Nor do they have to be related to a topic discussed in the conference: there are a myriad of topics which need our persistent attention as much as those that will be discussed over the next few days. Neither do they need to be a part of your committee resolution - all that is needed is an idea and 5 people to support your project proposal.

In short, what matters is matter itself, as our President Joanna Dreger outlined in the Opening Ceremony. Your presence matters whether you like it or not, it’s just up to you what difference you want your presence to make, both now and in the future.

So, the timeline to make a difference is:

Thursday Lunch - Submit project proposal, supported by 5 people, to your Moderator

Thursday, 5pm to 6pm - Open Space: a chance to speak with project managers about their idea and to choose a project for yourself to join.

Friday, 1pm to 5:30pm - Workshop on projects: time to develop your projects in detail with teams formed on Thursday.

Saturday, General Assembly - Presentation of final project proposals in between resolution debates.

THE PROJEC

TSThe EMYP Media Team was out and about this morning, talking to you about the

follow up projects and listening to your ideas. Below, you can find the thoughts of participants on two of the projects proposed. We urge you to talk to them about their views and write up your own proposals, by

Thursday lunch. This is your chance to do the ACT part of Debate, Connect and Act.

THE ISRAELI- PALESTINIANCOM-FLIC:

“Israeli and Palestinian stand-up comedi-ans would do stand up shows regarding the conflict, trying to emphasise why people don’t ask why it still exists and why we are not making peace.”

“I thought about what motivates people to act and I think humour is a great motivation. Everyone loves laughing, and it diffuses very volatile situations. The internet is a platform that helps bring people together and disseminate new ideas. So I thought it would be good if all these shows go online for people to share with their friends. “

Naturally, the answer is peace, but it might be a bit premature, so I would say, to get people talking about peace on both sides. There are a million reasons why there is no peace, but they never think about why. Why is there is no peace, when actually there should be. That’s what I hope to achieve, to emphasize that overall peace is possible to achieve. Maybe people will change their mind-set”

BY: BARUCHI MALEWICH

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA?

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?

ARABYOUTHPARLIAMENT:

RAMI TRABELSI SUPPORTS IT BECAUSE:

I think it is a great idea, we really need it in MENA countries, after the Arab Spring we should promote the culture of dialogue, debates and cultural exchange. I really want to have something like this in my country.”

HE BELIEVES:

“Such a Parliament it could achieve good networks of diverse people and knowledge, debates and ideas.”

I urge people to support this idea because the Arab Spring has turned to an Arab Winter, or worse than that. I think that if you support the idea of revolutions you should support the idea of a Parliament, of exchanges of how the Arabs are dealing with the situation on their countries. With this idea we can support the Arab Spring and the Arab Parliament.

YOU SHOULD SUPPORT THIS BECAUSE:

THE DO’S AND DONT’SFOR THE FOLLOW-UPS

•DO keep it simple

•DON’T overcomplicate things

•DO have a concrete end goal

•DON’T believe you have all the answes, let others help you

•DO lobby for your project - successful project proposals will need to have at least 5 supporters

•DON’T let the project come to nothing because potential supporters didn’t hear about it

•DO Enjoy the people you’re doing it with

•DON’T let negativity towards team members into the team dynamic

•DO remain humble

•DON’T underestimate being nice to people As a last inspiring advice: The sky is the limit so DO make the practicalities fit around the impossible