uteMagazine at the 6th National Selection Conference of EYP Serbia© Belgrade, 2013

United Through Education

“Education is

the most

powerf

ul weapon

which

you can use

to change

the worl

d.”

Nelson

Mandela

Content

This magazine is brought to you by the Media Team at the 6th National Selection Conference of EYP Serbia.

EYP handbook pg. 5

EYP dictionary pg. 7

‘Enjoying participation’ pg. 9

Putting differences aside pg. 11

Humans of the 6th NSC pg.12

I don’t drink water, I drink coffee pg. 13

Traditional book vs. e-book pg. 14

Delegate Diaries pg.16

Letter from the session president pg. 19

EYP handbook

As I am sure all of you know by now, EYP was es-tablished in 1987 in the French city of Fontaineb-

leau, situated south of Paris. But how many of you know that it was founded by Bettina Carr-Allinson, and that initially it was just a school project? About a year after the project was implemented, in 1988, first three International Sessions were held. Later on, in 1991, EYP was legally recognized as the European Youth Parliament International Ltd. For the next ten years, the EYP International experienced remarkable growth and both number of National Committees and Alumni rapidly increased. But not everything was go-ing that well. In the years 2001-2004, the EYP Interna-tional had to deal with many financial problems. After few years of struggling, on 4th November 2004, the organisation was reformed and the name was changed into European Youth Parliament. Since then, the EYP has been under patronage of the Schwarzkopf-Stif-tung Junges Europa (Schwarzkopf-Foundation Young Europe), with headquarters in Berlin, Germany.

Now that we have covered the historical part of EYP, we should go over the practical part. How does the EYP actually work? The day-to-day business of the or-ganisation is administered by a hired manager. From 2004 until 2008 Philipp J. Scharff was manager, fol-lowed by Jan Phillip Beck (DE) from 2008 until April 2011. Ville Vasaramäki (FI) took over this role and is currently stepping down from the position of the Ex-ecutive Director of the EYP. At the international level, the EYP is governed by an international board, the Governing Body (GB). The GB has six members elect-ed by the National Committees and the alumni of past sessions, plus a representative of the Heinz-Schwar-zkopf Foundation as the seventh member, currently

it is André Schmitz-Schwarzkopf (the Chairman of Schwarzkopf Foundation). Now when it comes to the Schwarzkopf Foundation, it is very important that you note that it has nothing to do with the well-known cosmetics company. Back in April 1908, in the city of Mannheim, Germany, a girl named Pauline Wein-mann was born. In 1957 Pauline married the local businessman Heinz Schwarzkopf, brother of “Schwar-zkopf ” cosmetics company founder. After 13 years of marriage, Heinz Schwarzkopf was killed in a tragic car accident. In memory of her husband, Pauline Schwar-zkopf founded the independent Heinz-Schwarzkopf-Foundation Young Europe in Hamburg in 1971, with the mission to spread the idea of European unity and peace among young people. Since July 2000 the foun-dation has had a permanent home in the centre of Berlin with its own seminar and lecture facilities.

Usually, the foundation provides support for EYP International sessions. EYP is one of the largest Eu-ropean platforms established for young Europeans’ to exchange and debate about different Europeans difficulties. In 2006 Serbia become a member of this network that now comprise of 36 European associa-tions and organisations (the so-called National Com-mittees).

After this short guide through the EYP history and beyond, I hope you have learned a thing or two about EYP. It is crucial to remember that this organisation puts people at its focus. As the next generation of EYP Serbia Alumni, EYP is yours to change and develop. And while at it, speaking from personal experience, you might just start noticing a change in yourselves as well.

By Dunja Ilić

European Youth Parliament. An organisation that we all agree we love and deeply care about. How much do we really know about its history, about how it grew to this incredible force, and who are the people sitting in that famous headquarters in Berlin? Whether you are rather new to the EYP or not, this article

will provide you with all the important things you need to know as an EYPer.

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EYP

Governing Body (GB)

Board of National Committees (B N C)

International Session (IS)

National Session

Regional Session

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- a non-partisan network of 36 NGOs (called National Committees) all around Europe, founded in 1987.

- GB is one of the bodies that governs EYP at the international level; it has a strategic role.

Board of National Committees (B N C)- BNC is the assembly of all national member NGOs (National Committees); together with the GB has a decision making role.

- at the international level, EYP organises 3 International Sessions per year: in spring, summer and autumn. Each National Committee sends a delegation of high school students, and ISs reach up to 300 partici-pants.

– the session that is held in one of the region of the country. In some cases, they serve as a sort of a pre-selection for the National Session.

– there is usually one or two National Sessions annually held by each National Committee, where delega-tions to ISs are selected.

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President of EYP Serbia:

“Enjoying participation”

On Thursday evening, I decided to use the free time after Committee Work and visit the meeting of the Local Committee of AIESEC at the Faculty of Organisational Sciences here in Belgrade. One of the topics on the agenda was to come up with one phrase that could describe the Committee’s entity and believes. They have chosen a very simple but at the same time a quite powerful motto: „Enjoying participation“.

Enjoying participation. The phrase sounds very good, doesn’t it? What is more, it also explains behaviour of people involved in EYP and similar youth organisations. What makes us so stern to wake up at 7am in the morning after going to sleep just a couple of hours earlier? Why do we invest the last drops of energy to engage in dis-cussions and defend our stands so strongly and passionately? The answer is rather simple – enjoying participation! Deep down, we understand that our work is some-thing very precious to us, we engage in it and we enjoy it despite all the other factors.

Moreover, our work is not only valuable to us. Namely, youth participation is of es-sence to the future. In the recent past, youth movements in the USA, Latin America, Arab countries and Europe have initiated a discussion on important problems that are affecting us all. On the other hand, in Serbia, youth unemployment rate is in-creasing rapidly, brain drain effect is taking place, and the reaction is mostly apathy. That is why, it is even more important that EYP provides young people with the chance to speak up and voice their opinion on existing problems. Therefore, dear delegates from Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia - do take this opportunity. Enjoy par-ticipation!

By Nemanja Predojević

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By Nemanja Predojević

Guest delegates from Slovenia and Croatia:

Putting differences aside

For these several days, we had experienced Teambuilding, Committee Work as well as the great General Assembly. We were able to put our differences aside and work on topics pertaining not only to our home countries but the overall European level. After only four days we came up with the resolutions, defended them and took part in an open debate.

We had an opportunity to meet new people and we made some unforgettable mem-ories. Besides work, it is valuable to us that we had time to socialize and get to know Belgrade city centre better. All of this adds up to a truly great experience.

European Youth Parliament introduced us into a new world of social discussions and unrestrained expression of youth viewpoints and ideas. The conference was a unique experience which thought us a lot more than just how to talk and act during public speaking.

In the end, we would like to express our gratitude to the President of the session, Vice Presidents, Head Organisers and everyone else who took part in making this conference happen. Also, a special thanks goes to delegates from Serbia who made this journey a life-time experience.

By Martin (SI) and Sara (HR)

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By Martin (SI) and Sara (HR)

Humans of the 6th NSC

I never had a habit of drinking coffee to help me stay awake. I was always the one telling everyone that coffee does not have that big of an influence on one’s energy levels in case of exhaustion. Even though, I

had very strong opinion how my energy level is good enough without coffee, there was one crossroads in my life that convinced me other-wise. Well, to be more precise, EYP made me to change my opinion. I started my EYP career completely by accident, and after two days of not sleeping and having to work almost the whole day, I decided to give coffee a try. As soon as that divine nectar touched my lips, I

knew it. I have found something truly amaz-ing. I thought one would be enough. Oh, God, was I wrong?

It became a special moment for me, those peaceful 10 minutes, only my cup and I. The enjoyment on my face while drinking it. Yes, I know, I am a coffee addict. Thank you EYP (combined with coffee) for opening new hori-zons, helping me stay awake when I needed to write my sum up speech and be brilliant, but also for enabling me to go through a lot of sleepless and amazing nights.

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“ I do not drink water, I drink coffee.”

Anonymous delegate

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“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” At least that is what Stephen King thought, but what is the first thing that pop out in you had when it comes to books? Do you feel the same excite-ment between holding a book in your hands and reading a digital version?

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” At least that is what Ste-phen King thought, but what is the first thing that pops to your mind when it comes to books? Moreover, do you feel the same kind of excitement when holding a book in your hands and read-ing a digital version?

In the 2nd century the very first book was published. Since then, book covers, fonts and writing style has evidently changed through time. Effectively, today we have available a vast number of different publishers, writers and genres.

With the arrival of new age technology, the old and traditional has been substituted with new and innovative. This was the case with the medium of books, too. For a lot of devoted readers, e-books have rapidly replaced the paper version used for a long time. That is when the big discussion between the “traditional-ists” reading the paper books and “radicals” reading the e-books started. There are many arguments in favour and against both of these formats, but let’s look into some of the most common ones.

Some choose to read paper books in order to get the more per-sonal touch. They claim that reading cannot be possible without the smell of the paper and book weight in one’s hands. Others use e-books not just because of their advantages when it comes to economic and environmental aspects, but also for additional functions (e.g. Search).

On one side the “traditionalists” say that e-books are deficient in sensation and they dislike the feeling of cold metal. They argue that reading the traditional paper books is a whole-rounded ex-perience. In their view, using gadgets has major downsides due

Traditional book vs. E-book

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to limitations in power charge and ‘unhealthy’ effects when used

for long periods of time. On the other side, people using e-books say they are tired of reading

“dead tree” books and tend to be more efficient in terms of space,

used for transport, and availability. These readers choose more

consolidating way and really appreciate the fact e books’ readers

are so light, small and compact.

My recommendation would be… Don’t bother making the choice!

Whether it comes to paper books or e-books, both of these provide

you the same thing – medium for reading. Whichever you choose,

you will be wiser and more educated after using it. So – use it!

By Ana Šimunja

A.Š.

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After a regional school in Niš, I was excited to see what National Conference was all about. I have to admit that the beginning was not perfect since I did not know anybody and it seemed that everyone else knew each other. But it didn’t take long before the EYP Teambuilding did its’ magic. We were standing in a huge circle, run-ning and shouting! Just like that all the awkwardness went away.

It was not long before we were split into our committees. My chairs were Marija, the girl I had known from before, and a guy called Samuel, from the Netherlands. With their incredible energy and enthusiasm they succeeded in bringing the whole group closer together. It was pretty obvious that the most superior committee (CULT I) were enjoying themselves the most. I earned a few sears and bruises, but looking back I find that it was all worth it. It was indeed a true pleasure to spend 4 days and nights with my committee trying to reach the best solutions possible. Did we man-age? Well, of course we did!

From Delegates’ Perspective:

Delegate DiariesBy Marko Stojanović

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Dear all,

By the time you read this you might be taking a break from General Assembly, be just on your way home from the session, or years further, catching up to old memories from a conference. One of the main purposes of creating a newspa-per in EYP: to help the participants remember the session. If you are reading this just after the session: don’t throw this newspaper away, keep it and look through in a few years time!

As I write this you have just finished your resolu-tions under the theme ‘United for Education’. For two days you have worked with your committee on your topic and created an action plan to solve some of the most relevant issues of today. They ranged from reforming the education system, to changing the way history is taught in the re-gion, to solving the brain drain on the Balkans. You spent a day in the park next to the historical fortress doing Teambuilding, doing funny games and solving different challenges, like climbing through a web or avoiding the mines in a mine-field. On the last day you will have had a chance to feel like a true parliamentarian, debating your resolutions in the building of the Serbian Nation-al Assembly.

Do not be too sad about the session having come to an end. This is just the beginning of a jour-ney. Even if you do not stay involved in EYP, I am confident that your experience during this week will somehow shape the choices you make in the

future. As a German philosopher once said: “eve-ry of the million flowers a schmetterling touches will somehow influence its course”. To some, EYP is a small flower that has a subtle difference, may-be in the studies you choose or the people you decide to spend time with. To many, however, EYP is a particularly big flower that has shaped our life decisions.

For those of you reading this months or years after the session has ended, I hope that you are happy about the way the session has impacted you. I hope you go on to make a difference in whatever path you choose. If you got involved in EYP Serbia: good choice, you will have amazing opportunities to challenge yourself, contribute to spreading the EYP concept and spending time with a great bunch of people. As you read this, be thankful for all those young students who have spent days organising this event, from arranging venues to handing out food to putting your plates in the dishwasher… they are the ones that helped send us on this journey!

‘Till we meet again,

Wim van Doorn

Letter from the Session President By Wim van Doorn

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