eyp annual report 2012

ANNUAL REPORT2012

EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT

“The European Youth Parliament has been a forum for discussion and reflection for European youth on

European policies for more than 20 years. In this way they contribute to building tomorrow’s Europe.

I wish them all continued success.” Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council

The European Youth Parliament - Schwarzkopf Foundation Sophienstrasse 28-29 – 10178 Berlin – Germany

ANNUAL REPORT 2012 3

CONTENTSGENERAL

3 Contents4 Greetings from the Chairman5 Aims and Objectives6 Executive Director’s Greetings41 Who is EYP?42 Our Partners43 People and Bodies

YEAR 2012

7 My EYP Year 20128 210 Times EYP10 Facts and Figures13 International Sessions21 Other International Activities22 European Youth Polls23 Trainings24 Outreach Activities24 Inclusive EYP25 EYP in the Media

NATIONAL ACTIVITIES

27 National Committees38 EYP Initiatives

ANDRÉ SCHMITZ-SCHWARZKOPF

FOUNDATION TAKES A LOOK

AT THE EYP YEAR 2012

25 YEARS OF EYP!


Since 1987, for more than 25 years, the European Youth Parliament has engaged young Europeans in dia-logue, discussion and debate. After another very successful year in 2012, we can say that the EYP is now the largest programme for non-formal political education of the youth on our continent. This is an outstanding achievement!

Last year the EYP celebrated its 25th Anniversary by once again reaching a record number of young people in a record number of countries. We even grew by one more member when EYP Armenia was recognised late in 2012. One of the most important aims of the work of the European Youth Parlia-ment and the Schwarzkopf Founda-tion is to offer young people from all parts of Europe a possibility to learn and experience what it means to be European. I’m very proud of the fact that we are not only present in almost all EU countries, but also very active in Ukraine, Turkey, Norway, Georgia, Switzerland and many other coun-tries. EYP is for all European youth

– it is the perfect project for the bor-derless Europe we can enjoy today.

It is a great European success that EYP exists and young Europeans from all corners of the continent can come together to peacefully debate

their visions for the future. When the Schwarzkopf Foundation was estab-lished more than 40 years ago, Eu-rope was still divided. It still seems like a miracle how much Europe has changed in these years. I believe it is important to always keep in mind that Europe is not a mere technicality

– Europe lives from its common his-tory, its culture and tradition and our shared values. Of course, we also know Europe is not always easy to comprehend. But this is what makes it exciting to discover. I’m very happy to know that EYP can play such a big part in this discovery for tens of thou-sands of young people every year.

None of the success of the EYP could be achieved without the hundreds of young volunteers working actively for the European Youth Parliament in 41 countries. I am proud of the fact that the EYP is a project organised by young people for young people and is based on their own initiative. It is with great pleasure that I can conclude that we will continue our efforts to bring the idea of Europe to the hearts and minds of the young and thank all our partners for their encouragement and financial support in the past year to meet these aims.

“None of the success of the EYP could be achieved without the hundreds of young vol-

unteers working actively for the European Youth Parliament

in 41 countries.” André Schmitz-Schwarzkopf

ANDRÉ SCHMITZ-SCHWARZKOPF

CHAIRMAN OF THE SCHWARZKOPF

FOUNDATION TAKES A LOOK

AT THE EYP YEAR 2012

THE AIMS OF EYP


Raising awareness of European issues

One of the overall aims of the Eu-ropean Youth Parliament is to raise awareness of European issues and to motivate young people to become active citizens engaged in European politics. The EYP enables students to experience directly the different per-spectives of young people in Europe and allows them to explore the Eu-ropean and global dimension of sev-eral contemporary political issues.

Promoting active European citizenship

The EYP involves young people in a democratic decision making process with all its challenges and reward-ing experiences. Young people ac-quire knowledge on a topic, clarify their own opinions, discuss with their peers and finally debate and reach an agreement. This process contrib-utes to the development of an active democratic citizenship.

Contributing to personal development

By offering a challenging interna-tional learning experience, the EYP contributes essentially to its par-ticipants personal development. Thanks to its activities the EYP al-lows the young participants to ac-quire long-term competences, such as communication and participa-tion skills, teamwork, multitask-ing, foreign languages and being at ease in a multicultural environment.

Fostering intercultural dialogue

The EYP promotes international un-derstanding and the diversity of ideas and cultural expression. The partici-pants experience true intercultural dialogue and learn to appreciate di-versity rather than being afraid of it.

BETTER THAN EVER


The European Youth Parliament turned 25 years in 2012. Where are we today as an organisation and where are we going? The EYP is the largest European programme for non-formal political education of young people, but in many ways we are still a young organisation. In fact, we are only now starting to expand EYP activities beyond our traditional formats and to define longer term strategic aims for the network as a whole.

Last year, the governing institu-tions of the EYP decided on three main aims for our long-term strat-egy. We want EYP to be more inclu-sive: an organisation accessible to all young Europeans regardless of background. We want to maintain and further develop EYP’s academ-ic quality in all our activities – be-ing a volunteer-based organisation does not mean we should be unpro-fessional. And we want to see EYP develop further, to strengthen our organisational structure, develop new formats and to realise the full potential that our network has.

I am very proud of the development of the EYP over the past years: more than 20 000 participants, more than 120 sessions per year, presence in

more than 40 European countries, and we are still growing. As before, I find it important to draw atten-tion to both types of development in EYP: to the quantitative growth in terms of our activities, as well as to the qualitative development of our formats, methods and capacities as an organisation. EYP is developing more rapidly than ever before.

EYP lives and grows because of its alumni. Without our volunteers, EYP would be nothing. It is ex-tremely important to recognise the crucial role of our young volunteers and thus I wish to thank all who are today active in EYP and pushing our organisation forward. Besides our volunteers, we of course rely on our partners and supporters to be able to offer the EYP experience again and again to new young people. I am grateful to all our supporters for believing in the mission and the work of the European Youth Parlia-ment. With these words, I look back to a very successful EYP year in 2012 and look ahead to even a more successful one in 2013!

BY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

VILLE VASARAMÄKI

MY EYP YEAR 2012


“My third year in EYP has probably been the most remarkable with some great individual session experiences for me. But what really shaped the year were the larger changes and developments in the organisation.

This year I travelled to Finland, re-turned to the Netherlands twice, saw Istanbul in the Spring and was warmly welcomed by the new Com-mittee in Kosovo. Working with such a new and enthusiastic branch of the organisation was particularly special. Also, I have rarely felt more serious about what we do in EYP than when we were addressed by the President of the Parliament in Pristina and he spoke about the value of European History.

Another highlight was visiting Fon-tainebleau for the 25th Anniversary celebration which went hand in hand with the most productive and suc-cessful meeting of National Commit-tees I have ever attended. With new proposals and discussions about fu-ture strategy and governance of the organisation, the Board of National Commitees showed an awareness that with growth must come change and a willingness to look for new ways of running the organisation.”

Sophie Debrunner Hall

(Switzerland) At the end of spring 2012, my friend - right now my second hand in EYP Lithuania Paulius Dovidavicius - in-troduced me to the EYP. Since then we promised ourselves to rehabili-tate this organisation in Lithuania. We made a plan full of huge ambi-tious. We want this organisation to be strong in Lithuania and step by step we are achieving this goal.

My experience in EYP is not so spec-tacular and I did not have yet partici-pate in many EYP events. However I was not afraid to become the presi-dent of EYP Lithuania. I knew where to go further and the team was happy to move with me.

First of all, we organised an elec-tion of the Board of EYP Lithuania. Secondly, we established a legal as-sociation. And thirdly, with the help of EYP Belarus we managed to have our first EYP Vilnius Regional Ses-sion. My first real EYP experience was thus to be one of the head or-ganisers in Vilnius Regional Session.

My determination led me to the EYP!”

Matas Pajarskas (Lithuania)

“When really considering how far EYP has come, we realise what a colossal

organisation we are nowadays and how many people are involved and inspired.”

Sophie Debrunner Hall, Switzerland

Chelles, FranceEYP Day Chelles of EYP FranceUtrecht, The NetherlandsPreliminary Round of EYP the NetherlandsSanto Tirso, Portugal3rd Interscholastic SessionTampere, Finland18th National Session, EYP FinlandValencia, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainLund, Gothenburg and Stockholm, SwedenRegional Sessions of EYP SwedenZaragoza, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainHuesca, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainMatosinhos, Portugal1st Senior School Session of EYP Portugal Vannes, France3rd Inter-Schools session of EYP France

Graz, AustriaEYP Day Graz of EYP AustriaSaint-Nazaire, FranceEYP Day Saint-Nazaire of EYP FranceMadrid, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainPrague, Czech RepublicPreliminary Session of EYP Czech RepublicBakuriani, Georgia2nd Training on Session ManagementVilnius, Lithuania3rd Vilnius Regional Session , EYP BelarusVillach, AustriaEYP School Day of EYP AustriaLens, France 2nd RSn of Nord-Pas-de-Calais Aix-en-Provence, France6th Regional Session of EYP-PacaDublin, IrelandLeinster Regional Conference, EYP IrelandStockholm, Sweden8th Swedish Selection ConferenceGirona, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainDurham, United KingdomNorth East Regional Selection of EYP UKNorth West, United KingdomNorth West Regional Selection of EYP UKPrishtina, Kosovo

1st National Selection ConferenceChisinau, Republic of Moldova1st Local Session of EYP MoldovaAmsterdam, The Netherlands12th Dutch National Selection ConferenceGranada, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainBrussels, BelgiumEuropolis I of EYP BelgiumPisa, Italy4th Training Weekend of EYP ItalySumy, Ukraine1st EYP-UA Weekend in SumyJambville, FranceJournalist and Editors TrainingTraustein, GermanyRegional Session of EYP GermanyTarragona, SpainRegional Session of EYP Spain Copenhagen, Denmark European Parliament Simulation @ CBSSubotica, Serbia7th Preliminary Session of EYP Serbia Yorkshire, United KingdomYorkshire Regional Forum of EYP UK Vinnytsya, UkraineUkrainian Selection Conference Otterloo, The Netherlands5th Alumni Weekend of EYP NL Dublin, IrelandIrish NationalSelection ConferenceSouth Wales, United KingdomSouth Wales Regional Forum of EYP UKBarcelona, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainSant Cugat, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainMidlands, United KingdomMidlands Regional Forum of EYP UKSouth East, United KingdomSouth East Regional Forum of EYP UKMeaux, FranceEYP Day Meaux of EYP France

Wroclaw, Poland19th Regional Session of EYP PolandBrussels, Belgium18th Belgian Selection ConferenceVolterra, Italy28th Italian Selection ConferenceHamburg, GermanyRegional Session of EYP GermanyNorth East, United KingdomNorth East Regional Selection of EYP UKParis, France10th Training Week-End of EYP FranceSeville, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainMalaga, SpainRegional Session of EYP SpainWest Scot, United KingdomWest Scot Regional Forum of EYP UK Brussels, BelgiumEuropolis II of EYP BelgiumCesis, Latvia

11th Regional Session of EYP LatviaEast Cost, United KingdomEast Cost Regional Forum of EYP UKGrenoble, France 6th Regional Session of EYP-Rhône-Alpes / FranceVienna, AustriaChairs’ Training of EYP AustriaParis, FranceEYP Day Paris of EYP FranceThames Valley, United KingdomThames Valley Regional Forum of EYP UKEast Anglia, United KingdomEast Anglia Regional Forum of EYP UKCarlsbad, Czech Republic14th National Selection Conference of EYP Czech RepublicBatumi, GeorgiaCity Session of EYP GeorgiaIstanbul, Turkey69th International Session of the EYPCherkazy, Ukraine2nd EYP-UA Weekend in CherkasySouth West, United KingdomSouth West Regional Forum of EYP UKClichy-sous-Bois, FranceEYP Day Clichy-sous-Bois of EYP FranceOglinzi, RomaniaRegional Selection Session

TALLINN, ESTONIA70th International Session 27 July - 5 August 2012

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS71st International Session 2 - 11 November 2012

210 TIMES EYPIN 2012 THE ENTIRE EYP NETWORK

ORGANISED MORE THAN 210

EVENTS IN 41 COUNTRIES

LAMEGO, PORTUGAL26th Portuguese Selection Conference 25 - 29 April 2012

NANTES, FRANCE33rd French Selection Conference 7 - 9 December 2012

Sèvres, France32nd French Selection ConferenceKyiv, UkraineRegional Session of EYP UkraineBelfast, United KingdomNorthern Ireland Regional Nicosia, CyprusEYP Cyprus Preselection Days 2012Belgrade, Serbia8th Preliminary Session of EYP SerbiaAthens, Greece25th Greek Selection ConferenceEaubonne, FranceEYP Day Eaubonne of EYP FranceSaint-Germain en Laye, France EYP Day Saint-Germain en Laye Piacenza, Italy29th ITalian National Selection ConferenceDijon, France1st Regional Session of EYP-Bourgogne Leipzig, GermanyInternational Spring TrainingMatosinhos, Portugal6th EYP at School SessionKyiv, Ukraine1st General Assembly of EYP UkraineBerlin, GermanyBaltic Sea Youth Session of EYPSitges, Spain7th Spanish Selection Conference Lamego, Portugal 26th Portuguese Selection ConferenceEdinburgh, United KingdomEurVoice Outreach Event of EYP UKTirana, Albania5th Albanian Selection ConferenceIstanbul, Turkey11th Turkish Selection Conference Ternopil, Ukraine3rd EYP-UA Weekend in TernopilVienna, Austria13th Austrian Selection ConferenceTbilisi, GeorgiaRegional Session of EYP GeorgiaBelgrade, Serbia9th Preliminary Session of EYP Serbia

Mangualde, Portugal1st School Session of MaNgualde’s SchoolPrishtina, Kosovo1st International Forum of EYP KosovaSanto Tirso, Portugal1st School Session of Intituto Nun’AlvresLondon, United KingdomEurVoice Outreach Event of EYP UKParis, FranceEYP Day Paris of EYP FranceNovi Sad, SerbiaDanube Youth Forum Kerpen, GermanyEYP School Forum of EYP GermanyStolberg, GermanyEYP School Forum of EYP GermanyNürnberg, GermanyEYP School Forum of EYP GermanyBerlin, GermanyEYP School Forum of EYP GermanySillé le Guillaume, FranceEYP Day Sillé-le-Guillaume of EYP FranceYssingeaux, France EYP Day Yssingeaux of EYP FranceBerlin, GermanyBNC Spring MeetingVannes, FranceEYP Day Vannes of EYP FranceVillefranches-sur-Saone, France EYP Day Villefranches-sur-SaoneLe Puy en Velay, FranceEYP Day Le Puy-en-Velay of EYP FranceIstanbul, Turkey7th International Youth Forum, EYP Turkey Strasbourg, FranceEYP Day Strasbourg of EYP FranceCardiff, United KingdomEurVoice Outreach Event of EYP UKKutaisi, GeorgiaKutaisi 2nd Regional Session

Berlin, GermanyEuropean Youth Polls TrainingDijon, FranceEYP Day Dijon of EYP FranceStockholm, SwedenHead Organiser Training of EYP SwedenChazelles-sur-Lyon, FranceEYP Day Chazelles-sur-LyonLa-Roche-sur-Yon, FranceEYP Day La-Roche-sur-YonBialystok, Poland27th Day of EYP PolandVillard-de-Lans, FranceEYP Day Villard-de-Lans of EYP FranceBerlin, Germany22nd German National SessionVelden am Wörthersee, AustriaAlumni Weekend of EYP AustriaCharbonnières les Bains, FranceEYP Day Charbonnières les BainsLyon, FranceEYP Day Lyon of EYP FranceColombes, FranceEYP Day Colombes of EYP FranceBazaleti / Tbilisi, Georgia6th National Selection Conference of EYP GeorgiaSimferopol, Ukraine4th EYP-UA Weekend in SimferopolNovi Sad, Serbia10th Preliminary Session of EYP Serbia Chisinau, Republic of Moldova2nd Local Session of EYP MoldovaTurku, FinlandJournalists’ Training of EYP FinlandRiga, Latvia10th Latvian Selection Conference Liverpool, United KingdomSummer National Selection Conference of EYP UKMenden, GermanyInternational Summer Forum of EYP

Cracow, Poland1st International Youth Forum, EYP PolandYablunytsya, Ukraine3rd Training of EYP Trainers ... and many many more!

TALLINN, ESTONIA70th International Session 27 July - 5 August 2012

ISTANBUL TURKEY69th International Session 23 March - 1 April 2012

TBILISI, GEORGIA6th Georgian Selection Conference 13 January - 16 January 2012

TAMPERE, FINLAND18th Finnish Selection Conference

13 - 16 January 2012

BERLIN, GERMANYBaltic Sea Youth Forum

22 - 25 April 2012

LIMASSOL, CYPRUSNational Selection Conference of EYP Cyprus

30 August - 2 September 2012

VINNYTSYA, UKRAINEUkranian Selection Conference

2 - 5 March 2012

WHAT DID EYP ACHIEVE IN 2012?

A LOOK AT INTERESTING FACTS

AND FIGURES

In 2012, the whole network organised more than 210 events organised using the methods and format of the European Youth

Parliament. These events were organised in 41 European countries.

Approximately 1700 volunteers were involved in EYP and our work

reached and involved more than 1800 schools all over Europe.

20 000 young people experienced democratic decision-making processes within the framework of our events and activities as more

than 1300 resolutions were taken forward by young Europeans.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Around 1200 hours of parliamentary discussions, eloquent speeches and heated debates we organised during one year. All our activities were under the patronage of the Secretary General of the

Council of Europe and over 120 European and national parlamentarians attended our events and sup-ported our work. We listened to inspiring speeches by notable speakers such as

Connie Hedegaard, European Commis-

sioner for Climate Action as well asSiim Kallas Vice President of the European Commission.

In total, 4 European Youth Polls were organised in 2012 around topics as diverse as Internet Policy, the Way ouf of the Financial Crisis, Gay Rights

and the Future of Europe, with a total number of 15 863 res-pondants.

In 2012, EYP turned 25 years - a fact that highlights our long experi-ence in organising events that are dedicated to political education, empo-wering the youth and offering intercultural encounters. All in all, at the end of 2012 the European Youth Parliament is proud

to be the largest European organisation focused on non-formal political educa-tion of young people.

“I have noted with interest the work of the European Youth Parliament to promote

dialogue and sharpen democratic awareness among young Europeans.“

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

EYP SESSIONS


Three times a year, the European Youth Parliament invites 250 young-sters from the 36 member commit-tees of the EYP to a different Europe-an city for 10 days where a simulation of the European Parliament is held

- the International Session. The par-ticipants have gone through national competitions which qualify them to take part in the event. The Interna-tional Sessions are organised by a team of volunteers in the host coun-try which often spends more than a year preparing the event.

Programme

The programme of each Interna-tional Session is unique but there are some substantial common ele-ments. Upon arrival, the participants, all aged between 16 and 20, are split into 15 international committees and spend two days of teambuild-ing to create a real team. The dif-ferent indoor and outdoor activities allow them to create the spirit and atmosphere for fair and objective political discussion in the upcoming days. The Teambuilding is followed

by Committee Work. Here the young delegates discuss current European issues within the committees. In the course of their work, they also inter-view experts on the topics who can be political decision-makers, policy experts or scientists. The product of their intensive work is a motion for a resolution. Finally, the resolutions are debated in the General Assembly in English and French, following par-liamentary procedure.

Cultural Programme

The International Session is accom-panied by a very rich cultural pro-gramme which includes the pres-entation of specialities from the participating countries and a “Eu-roconcert”. Hence, the International

Sessions seek to provide a space for the expression of creativity and culture. The participants are able to experience what they have in com-mon and what unites them despite differences. They learn to appreci-ate, rather than be apprehensive of diversity.

Sessions in 2012

The International Sessions that took place in 2012 are described in de-tail on the following pages. The first was held in Istanbul in March and followed by our Summer Session organised this year in Tallinn in Es-tonia. In autumn we organised the third International Session of the year in the capital of the Nether-lands, in Amsterdam.

THE INTERNATIONAL SESSIONS

OF THE EYP ARE ORGANISED

THREE TIMES EVERY YEAR

ISTANBUL 2012


Bridging the Cultural Di-vides of Europe

Gathering 277 young people from 31 European countries, the Interna-tional Session aimed at encouraging young Europeans to actively partici-pate in shaping Europe’s future. The young delegates were encouraged to discuss delicate topics that were on the European agenda at the very mo-ment, reaching from the Arab spring over the legal equality of same-sex marriages to the accession process of Turkey to the European Union. The participants were challenged with di-verse views and opinions on Europe and tried to analyse what the new and remaining challenges demand from it.

General Assembly

General Assembly (GA) was held on March 30th and 31st at the Istanbul Special Provincial Administration. At the opening of the General Assem-bly the participants were greeted by several distinguished guests. These included Alexandra Thein, German Member of the European Parlia-ment, Heinrich Haasis, President of the Sparkasse Finance Group and Dr. Hande Bozatli, President of the Istan-

bul Special Provincial Administration EU Foreign Affairs Committee. Fur-thermore we were happy to welcome Petra Pisulla, Director of the Dräger Foundation and Christel Kaufmann-Hocker, Board Member of the Mer-cator Foundation to visit the Session.

Delegates’ perception:

”The aim has been reached - cultural diversity was at its best!

Delegate, 18, Latvia

THE 69TH INTERNATIONAL SESSION

WAS ORGANISED IN ISTANBUL

TURKEY, FROM MARCH 23 TO

APRIL 1, 2012.

“My participation in this session made me aware of the diversity of cultures, thoughts, opinions and ori-entations in Europe.”

“BRIDGING THE GAP”


Cultural Programme

The 69th International Session in Istanbul was enriched by a special cultural programme. The general aim of the diverse activities was to give the students the possibility to become creative and to share cul-tural traditions of each of the partici-pants and, in particular, of the host country. On March 24th EuroVillage took place where traditional food and drinks of each participating country were presented in a market-place atmosphere at the Doga Holiday Re-sort. This event was hailed enthusi-astically and helped the participants to get to know each other better and find out about other countries’ cui-sine and customs. Tuesday evening, March 27th, was reserved for Com-mittee Dinners. After the prepara-tion for the General Assembly on Thursday evening, the Euroconcert, held at assembly hall of the VKV Koç School, gave skilled participants of the session the opportunity to pre-sent varied and enjoyable music and artistic performances.

The Media

The media paid remarkable attention to the event. Many national, regional and local newspapers in Turkey cov-ered the event in either print or on-line. Also, TV channels NTV Türkiye and CNN Türk reported on the In-ternational Session of the European Youth Parliament. The press review can be found at www.eyp.org.

The Session Partners

The session partners were T.C. Basbakanlik Tanitma Fonu, Lifelong Learning Programme, Ve-hbi Koç Vakfi, Istanbul Ticaret Oda-si, Istanbul Büyüksehir Belediyesi, Bahçesehir Üniversitesi, VKV Koç School, Istanbul Il Özel Idaresi, Tek-fen Holding, Istanbul BüyükSehir Belediyesi Gençlik Meclisi, Is

tanbul Ögrenci Kulüpleri Platfor-mu, NTV, Turkish Airlines, Feyziye Mektepleri Vakfi, Isik Üniversitesi, Bilgi Üniversitesi, Coca Cola Com-pany, ETI, Çinar Tur, and Pelit

The session was also supported by Deutsche Telekom AG, the Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, Euro-pean Savings Banks Group, Sapinda, GfK Group, Stiftung Mercator, Dräger Foundation and Hertie Foundation..

TALLINN 2012


Breaking Waves - Young Europeans on the Water-front

Gathering 252 young people from 35 European countries, the Interna-tional Session aimed at encouraging young Europeans to actively partici-pate in shaping the future of Europe. Under the motto ‘Breaking Waves-Young Europeans on the Waterfront’, referring to the session’s focus on the environmental and climate crises that are currently shaping the future of Europe, the young delegates were encourages to debate current Eu-ropean issues, ranging from energy security to the mitigation of water stress as a catalyst for armed con-flicts.

General Assembly

General Assembly (GA) took place on August 3rd and 4th at the Meriton Conference and SPA Hotel in Tallinn. Following some of the procedures of the European Parliament, each com-mittee proposed their resolution to the Assembly during the two days. Attack and defence speeches were followed by lively and intense open debates and ultimately, voting.


“My participation in this ses-sion helped me to improve my ability to work in an in-ternational team”.

THE 70TH INTERNATIONAL SESSION

WAS ORGANISED IN TALLINN

ESTONIA, FROM JULY 27 TO

AUGUST 5, 2012

“BREAKING WAVES”


Cultural Programme

The 70th International Session in Tallinn was enriched by a special cultural programme. The general aim of the diverse activities was to give the students the possibility to become creative and to share cul-tural traditions of each of the par-ticipants and, in particular, of the host country. On July 28th EuroVil-lage took place where traditional food and drinks of each participating country were presented in a market-place atmosphere. This event helped the participants to get to know each other better and discover different countries’ cuisines and customs. On Sunday evening all session par-ticipants had the opportunity to take part in the Estonian Modern Culture Evening, whilst Tuesday evening was dedicated to Committee Dinners.

On Thursday, August 1st, the for-mal occasion of Euroconcert, held at the Guild of the Black Heads, gave skilled participants of the ses-sion the opportunity to show their musical or artistic talent on stage. After the first day of General As-sembly on Friday evening, all par-ticipants were invited to explore Tallinn’s city center and Old Town.

The Media

The media paid remarkable atten-tion to the event. Estonia’s biggest national newspaper - Postimees - dedicated an article to the 70th In-ternational Session of the European Youth Parliament. Moreover, many national, regional and local news outlets in Estonia covered the event in print and online.


The 70th International Session of the European Youth Parliament in Tal-linn was carried out with substantial support of the Sparkasse Finan-zgroup, Nortal, Ströker, Euroopa Noored and the Riigikantselei.

“Europe is more about people than politics, the diversity of all participants is what brought me closer to Europe”.

AMSTERDAM 2012


Ending the crisis

Under the theme of ‘Ending the cri-sis’, the 71st International Session of the European Youth Parliament in Amsterdam presented the delegates with the task to come up with com-prehensive resolutions on conten-tious topics, such as the future of the Eurozone, climate change and Eu-rope’s response to the humanitarian crisis in the wake of the relentless civil war raging in Syria. The partici-pants were confronted with diverse views and opinions on Europe and analysed current and future chal-lenges. The delegates were to come up with solutions to current Euro-pean challenges, taking into account social, environmental and economic factors as well as global perspectives.

General Assembly

The first day of General Assembly (GA) was held on November 9th at Podium Mozaiek, whilst for the second day of the General Assembly on November 10th delegates gathered at the Am-sterdam School of the Arts. The Gen-eral Assembly allowed the partici-pants to experience public speaking and debate. For many of them this was the first time that they have had

the opportunity to voice their opinions in front of such a large audience. The Gereral Assembly was broadcasted via an online live stream to a wider audience and reached more than a thousand viewers.

Cultural Programme

Like the other International Sessions, Amsterdam was enriched by a spe-cial cultural programme. On Novem-ber 3rd Eurovillage took place where traditional food and drinks of each participating country were presented in a market-place atmosphere. On November 7th, all participants of the session were invited to experience the famous Rijksmuseum during a Gala Night, hosted by AkzoNobel. On Thursday night, Euroconcert - an event dedicated to showcasing the skills and talents of session partici-pants, was held at the Royal Institute of the Tropics.

THE 71ST INTERNATIONAL SESSION

WAS ORGANISED IN AMSTERDAM

THE NETHERLANDS FROM 2

TO 11 NOVEMBER 2012

“This session has been one of the best experiences of my life” Delegate, 18, Germany

“ENDING THE CRISIS”



“My participation helped me to improve my knowledge and understanding of dif-ferent cultures”

The Media

The media paid remarkable atten-tion to the session. Amongst, others Euronews broadcasted coverage of the General Assembly along with in-terviews of participants of the event. Furthermore, local and international news platforms such as Het Parool, NRC Next and Europe Business Re-view published articles on the 71st International Session of the EYP. A complete press review can be found on our website at www.eyp.org.


The 71st International Session of the European Youth Parliament was car-ried out with the substantial support of the ‘Youth in Action’ Programme of the European Commission. Addi-tionally, the International Session in Amsterdam would not have been re-alised without the support of interna-tional, national, regional and private supporters and partners. The con-tribution of the following institutions made the session a huge success: the Youth in Action Programme of the European Commission, Minis-try of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation of the Netherlands, Vfonds, the City of Amsterdam, ING, AkzoNobel, ABN AMBRO, APG, Sparkassen Finanzgruppe, the Eu-ropean Savings Banks Group and Vodafone Foundation Germany.

“EYP is for all European youth – it is the perfect project for the borderless

Europe we can enjoy today.”

André Schmitz-Schwarzkopf Chairman of the Schwarzkopf Foundation


INTERNATIONAL EYPIn 2004, the National Committees gave the Schwarzkopf Foundation the mandate for the international man-agement of the European Youth Par-liament. Since then the international office of the EYP has been located in Berlin and coordinated by the Execu-tive Director. The EYP has developed into the Schwarzkopf Foundation’s largest programme. The foundation has the aim to encourage young peo-ple to engage in the process of Euro-pean integration. Apart from the EYP, the foundation also carries out dis-cussion events, seminars and con-ferences mostly in Berlin, Germany. See www.schwarzkopf-stiftung.de for more information.

Today the European Youth Parlia-ment has more than 1700 volunteers and reaches more than 20 000 pupils and hence forms one of the largest platforms for political debate, inter-cultural encounters, political educa-tion and the exchange of ideas within the whole of Europe. Participating countries range from Portugal to Russia and from Ireland to Cyprus. In 2012 Moldova, Armenia and Lithua-nia joined the network as new mem-bers. The EYP is a non-partisan and non-governmental organisation.

THE EYP WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1987

IN FONTAINEBLEAU. FRANCE.

YOUTH POLLS


Young people’s opinions do not make it into the public debate very often. This often leads to the assertion that they do not have one at all, and are not interested in the big political de-bates of the day.

We at the EYP know this is not true. The European Youth Polls, estab-lished in co-operation with the Stif-tung Mercator foundation in 2011, are a project designed to help change this notion. Regularly, we ask young people all across Europe for their views on pressing European issues.

The surveys are spread through so-cial media, the results compiled at the EYP International Office and pro-vided to the media and political deci-sion makers.

Polls on diverse issues

This year, we held four Polls on very diverse issues:

ACTA agreement

The first Poll in February dealt with the ACTA agreement and Internet Policy in general – a topic that proved very hot: For the first time, more than 3000 people participated in our Poll, and Members of the European Parliament took great interest, even inviting us to send a representative to a hearing in Brussels. It was also featured in the media, for example by Portugal’s principle news agen-cy, and in one of the major German newspapers.

The way out of the Crisis

The second Poll was held in June, on the topic of “The Way out of the Crisis”. The results were once more commented on by many politicians

– most notably by the President of the European Parliament himself, Martin Schulz. Mr Schulz gave us his comments in person in a video interview.

Gay Rights

The third European Youth Poll on Gay Rights saw over 5600 participants, of which 61% had never attended an EYP event themselves. This means that the Polls do not only work as a

means of making EYP more visible towards politicians and the media. They also serve the purpose of get-ting thousands of young people in touch with EYP who had never par-ticipated in our activities before.

The Future of Europe

Finally, we held a Poll on the EU win-ning the Nobel Peace Prize and gen-eral questions of European integra-tion. Its results were published on the day the European Union received the Nobel Peace Prize, and they re-ceived a lot of attention in Brussels: EP President Martin Schulz himself wrote a comment, along with many other European politicians, among them also the Chairman of the EPP group in the European Parliament, Joseph Daul.

2012 WAS THE SECOND YEAR OF

EYP’S NEW PROJECT, THE

EUROPEAN YOUTH

POLLS

All four European Youth Polls had a combined number of participants of 15 863.

“The European Youth Polls are a great source of infor-mation on the thoughts and interests of young Europe-ans.”

Hans-Gert Poettering, former Presi-dent of the European Parliament

TRAINING ACTIVITIES


EYP Academy

On the international level, the Gov-erning Body of the EYP has estab-lished a permanent working group, the EYP Academy. Its aim is to drive EYP’s transformation into a training-based organisation, as well as to give assistance and support to trainings organised on a multitude of issues. The EYP Academy is run by experi-enced EYP Alumni who have been educated as trainers, have plenty of training experience themselves and are passionate about the issue.

Support from Mercator Foundation

Through the framework of our part-nership with the Mercator Founda-tion, the EYP has been able to or-ganise a number of trainings in 2012 to address special priority areas in developing the EYP: project man-agement, reaching out to new target groups, developing effective com-munication.

By co-funding trainings proposed by the National Committees, we en-sured a grassroots approach to the trainings and were able to fund sev-eral major trainings in 2012: A train-ing on Session and Event Manage-ment was held in Bakumi, Georgia; a training on the European Youth Polls project including media relations was held in Berlin; a training on out-reach to new target groups was held in London, and finally, a training on the Management of National Com-mittees in Jambville, France.

Additionally, the International Of-fice of the EYP organised the EYP Entrepreneurship Summit in Berlin, which brought together EYP Alumni and trainers from the Entrepreneur-ship Foundation to develop business models for EYP. This training was held in cooperation with the BMW Foundation.

TO DEVELOP ITS ACTIVITIES EVEN

FURTHER, EYP IS PUTTING

MORE FOCUS ON

TRAININGS

REACHING OUT


THE EYP AIMS TO REACH OUT TO

YOUNG PEOPLE IN ALL PARTS

OF EUROPE

We strongly believe that our educa-tional programme is of great value to young people across Europe. Howev-er, we know that not everybody finds their way to the European Youth Par-liament by themselves. Many Na-tional Committees of the European Youth Parliament have therefore taken up EYP Outreach Events.

These are short events using the EYP format, ranging from a few hours to three days – usually organised di-rectly in a school that has not taken part in EYP activities before. Often, these events are held in the coun-try’s native language. Like all our events, they offer a platform and a framework for young people to de-bate current political questions with a European dimension. These events are also an offer to teachers who wish to teach about Europe in an in-novative way.

The outreach events have been suc-cessful in broadening the base of EYP participants in many countries.

We are glad to see this initiative spread to more and more countries, and proud to have regular outreach activities in France, the United King-dom, Portugal, Finland, Germany, to just name a few countries. In 2012, we have also started working on new concepts and methodolo-gies in this field. With special train-ings organised in the framework of our partnership with the Mercator foundation, we aim to spread them further in 2013.

INCLUSIVE EYPOne aim of the EYP is to make our activities accessible to a great num-ber of young people. Unfortunately, the cost of travelling around Europe to participate in EYP events poses a difficulty for many young people. This is especially true for young people from disadvantaged groups, such as those young people with a migration background, potentially lowering their participation in EYP. In 2011, we therefore introduced a new tool to lower the financial

threshold of participation in the EYP. The EYP Diversity Fund, run in co-operation with the Mercator Foun-dation, has supported eleven young people since 2011 and thereby ena-bled them to participate in EYP ses-sions. While the support is currently only available for German citizens with a migration background, the EYP is currently taking steps to set up a fund available for all young Eu-ropeans.

IN MEDIA


The Session in Istanbul in Spring 2012 was covered by many regional and local newspapers in Turkey in either print or online. Among them were Heberler, Sabah, and Hür-riyet. Furthermore TV channels as NTV Türkiye and CNN Türk reported on the 69th International Session of the European Youth Parliament. Ad-ditionally, the Session was followed by a film team aiming at shooting a documentary about young people in Europe.

At the International Session in Tal-linn in the summer of 2012, the media was very present. Journal-ists from the main Estonian media outlets, including the main evening news and the biggest national news-paper, Postimees, visited the Ses-sion and reported extensively.

The final International Session of the year in Amsterdam was widely cov-ered by local and national newspa-pers in the Netherlands. Additionally, the Session gained a lot of attention through a media partnership with the Euractiv network and thereby a

great presence on their websites. Also, a camera team from the Eu-ropean TV network Euronews was present at the Session, interviewing several participants and producing a TV report about the European Youth Parliament.In partnership with the Eurone-ws show Utalk, we have addition-ally added the voices of many EYP alumni to the European discourse. In this show, EYPers have sent in video questions which were then answered by politicians and experts

from Brussels.

Another major push to EYP’s media presence was provided by the Euro-pean Youth Polls. Our opinion sur-veys attracted attention from media outlets in, among others, major news outlets in Germany and Portugal, as well as other media in several Euro-pean countries, giving visibility to the voices of young people in Europe.

MEDIA IS COVERING DIFFERENT

ACTIVITIES OF THE EYP IN

INCREASING NUMBERS

“The European Youth Parliament is officially established in 41

European countries.”


NATIONAL COMMITTEES The National Committees (NCs)

are at the heart of the EYP as they organise the bulk of all events and select all participants to sessions. An important part of their work is to select the delegations that will rep-resent their country at the autumn/winter and spring International EYP Sessions. To this end, most National Committees organise a selection process, often including regional and national conferences, a resolution/essay-writing competition, and an interview process, all judged by an independent jury. The exact method used varies from country to country. Apart from the national selections,

several committees also organ-ise other activities within the EYP framework, often including short one day EYP events, with the aim of reaching out to the widest possible range of students and teachers. All those involved in the running of the National Committees do so volun-tarily, with EYP alumni, teachers, and other interested people working without recompense to give a new generation the chance to discover what the European Youth Parliament is all about.

THE EYP IS OFFICIALLY PRESENT

IN 41 COUNTRIES IN EUROPE


AlbaniaThe project of EYP Albania started as an idea of a group of youngsters, who gathered to establish an official ini-tiative in our country, aiming to make their age-companions an active part of the process of sharing European values and the support of European Integration. EYP Albania has been working to provide the necessary

link between the Albanian youth and the European Integration.Like every year, we organised a very successful National Selection Conference in Tirana under the mot-to:” Dynamic Cultures walking the way of Globalisation!” and are look-ing forward to the challenges of the next year.

www.eyp.al, [email protected]

ArmeniaIn the dynamic year of 2012, a group of 20 youngsters launched the EYP Initiative in Armenia. Furthermore, the first open call for the member-ship to EYP Armenia turned out to receive more than 200 applications. In October, our delegate participated in the EYP 25th Anniversary and pre-sented the aspirations of our Initia-

tive after which the question of our recognition was put for an online voting in December. In the mean-time, our delegates were actively participating in different projects. In December 2012, the majority of NCs voted in favor of EYP Armenia’s rec-ognition as a NC thus settling a new motivated and energetic NC in East-

AustriaIn 2012, EYP Austria not only held their 13th National Conference in Vienna, but we also expanded our regional outreach programme. This entailed organising several EYP Day sessions all across the country, hav-ing monthly Jour Fixes take place in various cities besides Vienna, and organising the Tulln Youth Forum in

August, which was a great success. Our semi-academic events included our 6th EYP on Ski event in April, where we hit the slopes in our fiery red EYP Austria Hoodies, and an Alumni Weekend in June.

www.eypaustria.org, [email protected]

BelarusThe National Committee of the EYP in Belarus is the executive body run-ning the national branch of the Eu-ropean Youth Parliament. Since it was funded its main task is to pro-mote active citizenship, democracy as well as the European idea in chal-lenging conditions. Our main goal is to give as many young people from

Belarus the opportunity to take part in EYP, which we strongly believe is a life-changing experience. We seek to empower youth, to question the world around them and come up with innovative solutions to global problems, while emphasizing the concepts of cooperation and respect.

www.eypby.org, [email protected]

[email protected]


2012 was a year of preparations for EYP Belgium in March. Our annual National Selection Conference and two Europolis Sessions took place in Brussels - the venue for General Assembly for these sessions was the European Parliament. In May 2012, a new board was elected by our alumni and continued a process of change

in our National Commitee. For EYP-Europolis Belgium, 2012 was a year of planning, the outcome of which will only become visible in 2013. In 2013 we will among other things host a renewed 4-day National Selection Conference, our second Internation-al Forum – Ghent2013 and our first Preselection Sessions!

Belgiumwww.eyp-eguropolis.be, [email protected]

After the great 68th International Session in Zagreb in 2011, EYP Cro-atia continued its development in 2012. We keep believing in the im-portance of our organisation which contributes to raising awareness among youngsters about European issues, encourage active citizenship in addition to develop a great young

forum. Our alumni have been involved on the international stage and we have been delighted to see many of them taking great strides forward. For in-stance, one of our alumni was a jour-nalist at the International Session in Amsterdam.

Croatia

In 2012, EYP Cyprus organised two Pre-Selection events, one Organis-ers Training and its 4-day long annu-al National Session, which together gathered more than 300 new partici-pants. EYP Cyprus has also launched a new initiative called ‘EYP Project in Schools’ which aims to introduce more young people to EYP. This pro-

ject focused on three main topics: the Priorities of the Cyprus Presi-dency ‘Towards a Better Europe’, Euro crisis: The meaning of solidar-ity in the eurozone and the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. More events will be organised under this initiative in 2013.

Cypruswww.eypcyprus.com, [email protected]

In 2012, EYP Czech Republic or-ganised two major events, the 15th National Selection Conference in Rakovník and the 9th Czech Forum in Litomyšl. We kept promoting EYP CZ via EYP Days which are one-day events held in different high schools for one or two classes. With those events, we want to give the chance

to many young people to live this incredible EYP experience. Lastly, our National Committee organised some trainings for the alumni such as an organisers training in summer 2012.

Czech Republic www.eyp.cz, [email protected]

www.eyp.hr, [email protected]

www.eypcyprus.com, [email protected]


Estonia2012 was an exceptional year for EYP Estonia. Not only did our National Session have an amazing turnout of foreign applications, 5 foreign dele-gations and over 120 first-time dele-gates, but we also hosted the jubilee International Session of the EYP in Tallinn. This brought together many senior EYPers who showed their ap-

preciation for how the NC has been run so far. 2012 was also the year that the umbrella organisation for EYP Estonia –TEN (Active Estonian Youth) – reached 500 members and qualified for an annual government grant. TEN was even invited to the President’s annual reception to cel-ebrate our Indenpendence Day.

http://ten.ee/d/, [email protected]

Finland2012 was all about polishing what we have, and preparing for further expansion. EYP Finland kicked off the year with a national session in Tampere, followed by three autumn regional sessions. We managed to recruit new members from the more distant parts of Finland, such as Oulu; this is also where our aims have

been - regional expansion. Strategic thinking was the key phrase for the board of EYP Finland throughout the year. A 5-year strategy was set, and during our annual general meeting our constitution was changed – the board now consists of 6 instead of 10 board members, in hope to make the work more efficient.

www.eypfinland.org, [email protected]

Francewww.pejfrance.org, [email protected]

Germany2012 was an insightful and exciting year for EYP Germany. Two Regional Sessions were added as parts of our National Selection process. Innova-tive Session concepts enabled com-mittees to cooperate with experts and local companies on diverse top-ics, sparking the interest of patrons and sponsors. On the occasion of the

German Presidency of the Baltic Sea Council, a session was held in co-operation with the Foreign Ministry. EYP Germany further developed its outreach program of EYP@school sessions, holding four forums si-multaneously on the 9th of May and expanded its training activities with international and regional trainings.

www.eyp.de, [email protected]

In 2012, EYP France organised its 32nd and 33rd National Sessions as well as 6 regional Sessions, 6 nation-al trainings and more than 60 events all over France to celebrate Europe Day (9th of May). In addition, we or-ganised more than 20 one-day ses-sions gathering young people with different socioeconomic, geographic

or academic backgrounds. This is a crucial aspect of EYP’s France action : our goal is to offer a chance to all the youngsters to live the EYP’s ex-perience. Lastly EYP France had the honour of hosting the 25th Anniver-sary of EYP in October in Fontaineb-leau. More than 300 EYP members attended this historical event.

www.pejfrance.org, [email protected]


EYP Georgia had an active year in 2012 with 573 Georgians in total at-tended the EYP events. The most remarkable achievement was the permission to host the 74th Interna-tional Session of EYP in Tbilisi, Geor-gia. Moreover, for the first time in the history of EYP Georgia, we organised a training on Session Management

in Bakuriani. We also organized three 3-day sessions in major Geor-gian cities, where we have already built reliable human capital. In June the Parliament of Georgia hosted the 6th National Selection Conference of EYP Georgia, where we selected 16 distinguished delegates for Interna-tional Sessions.

Georgiawww.eyp.org.ge, [email protected]

In 2012, EYP Greece organized 3 sessions. 350 participants in total were involved in our two annual Na-tional Selection Conferences held in Athens and Thessaloniki with dele-gates coming from 135 High Schools and international participants in offi-cials’ positions. All the more schools get informed about EYP Greece and

want to participate in our activities, a fact that encourages us to improve and expand our actions. In August 2012, EYP Greece also organized the Ionian International Forum which proved to be a very successful ses-sion with 150 international partici-pants.

Greecewww.eypgreece.org, [email protected]

EYP Hungary could be described with the word of cooperation in 2012. First of all we have been doing a pro-ject with the Pillar Foundation since 2012 called, „EU in the timetable”. We had been trying to reach as many high school students as possible. We had been contacting schools and of-fered them our information service

about the possibilities in the Europe-an Union and a small debate about an essential and everyday EU related topic. Fortunately the project is get-ting more and more popular.EYP Hungary had the possibility to send a full delegation to the Tallinn IS in cooperation with „Szóval!?”, a well-know, debate competition.

Hungarywww.eyp.pillar-europe.eu, [email protected]

2012 has been a transformative year for EYP Ireland. We held our Leinster regional session in February and this was followed by the National session which was attended by the Irish Min-ister for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton TD and also a representa-tive from the Department of the Tao-iseach and the head of the European

Parliament office in Ireland, Francis Jacobs. We held two more sessions after the summer in Cork (where the Minster for Agriculture gave the key-note speech). We have also contin-ued to streamline and overhaul the organisation; launching an ambi-tious fundraising strategy and intro-duced a new child protection policy,

Irelandwww.eypireland.com, [email protected]


ItalyIn 2012 EYP Italy, with 7 events, reached more than 300 students and alumni, following a well-estabilished growing trend. The quality of these two five-day-long National Sessions, two Regional Sessions, two GA days and one Chairs’ Training, financially supported by both public and private institutions, was highly satisfactory

and helped us gain the interest of more and more schools. The two main goals set for the next years are to organise an International Fo-rum and to increase the number of regional and local events, introduc-ing low budget concepts, in order to extend our presence throughout the entire national territory.

www.eypitaly.org, [email protected]

KosovoIn 2012, EYP Kosovo held its 1st National Selection Conference in Prishtina in February. In May, our Initiative became officially a National Committee. By creating a National Committee of the EYP in our country we want to promote wider European engagement to Kosovo’s youth. After our full recognition, we organised a

few successful sessions and train-ings. EYP Kosovo also held its Gen-eral Assembly in July and elected a new motivated board. We really look forward to 2013.

www.eypkosova.com, [email protected]

Latvia2012 was a special year for EYP Latvia because it hosted its 10th anniversary National Session, which was one of our NC’s biggest and best sessions to date. Besides that we or-ganised special trainings, changed the regional session system and thus hosted three bigger regional sessions instead of five smaller

ones, as well as further developed the process of selecting delegates to future sessions. Our goals stayed the same – popularise the Europeqn Youth Parliament to Latvian young-sters in rural areas, gain more active members and increase the quality of our sessions.

www.tellus.lv, [email protected]

LithuaniaThe main activity of this year for the EYP Lithuania was the establishment of our association. We also have been performing a lot of internal train-ing which we believe let us improve team management. Thanks to many weekly meetings and responsible work, we managed to make plans for our activities for the upcoming year.

In addition to this, we have elected our Board and officially legalised our statutes. Even though we did not manage to organise any sessions yet, we have huge plans for the coming-year and we are looking forward to fulfilling them with as high a level of quality as possible.

[email protected]

http://eyp.md/


EYP Moldova has become a unique, non-formal educational platform in Moldova which contributes to raising awareness among youngsters about European issues, encourages active citizenship in addition to developing a great youth forum. In 2012, EYP Moldova held its 1st Local Session in Chisinau and a few month later its

2nd Local Session under the theme: “Together for Solutions”; both of them were a real success and helped the Committee grow even further.

Moldovahttp://eyp.md/

2012 was an outstanding year for EYP the Netherlands. We had the hon-our of hosting the 71st International Session of the European Youth Par-liament, which was a great success with more than 200 pupils attending. Moreover, we held our 12th National Selection Conference in Amster-dam, we continued the tradition of

organising two alumni weekends per year (March and September), with a special focus on Teambuilding and chairs’ training, and hosted 3 Prelim-inary Rounds. Next to that, many of our alumni attended sessions all over Europe in all different roles.

The Netherlandswww.eyp.nl, [email protected]

2012 was for EYP Norway the year of the 10th National Session. The year gave us our first official training, where we gathered our members for workshops and socialising It was a great success, and we plan to con-tinue the practice of having trainings during the time between national sessions. The National Session was

held in Oslo this year where we gath-ered 160 participants for three days. We had the great pleasure of having officials from 10 different nationali-ties. In addition we are happy to have been selected as on of the buddies to EYP-Denmark, and we are very excit-ed about this cooperation in the year to come.

Norwaywww.eyp.no, [email protected]

EYP Macedonia during 2012 organ-ised one training course and two youth exchanges. All three activities involved participants from different countries and were very successful. The training „Bridging the Gap“ was about active youth participation in the decision making process on local lev-el. The youth exchange „Nature Calls“

dealt with youth and the protection of environment, and the second one,

„Working Together“, aimed at raising the awareness about youth volun-teerism. In 2012 the MCEYP started with the implementation of the pro-ject „The equitable representation of the non-majority communities in the public administration“.

[email protected]


PortugalIn 2012, EYP Portugal fortified the foundation set in previous years whilst making groundbreaking changes: with two amazing National Selection Conferences, presided by two International EYPers, we found it was time to update our selection process to a more realistic one and began to select individually the del-

egates who represent us at Inter-national Sessions. Along with the end of our Regional Sessions and the continuous emphasis on EYP at School events, 2012 has proven to be a fruitful year, setting the tone for what might come next.

www.pejportugal.com, [email protected]

Romania2012 has been a fruitful year for EYP Romania. During this year, EYP Ro-mania has organised six regional sessions, with the participation of over 600 youngsters, representing all historical regions of the country and one National Selection Session. The two International Summer Fo-rums were held in Tomis (Constanta

city), the historic sea-port town at Black Sea. Moreover, in February 2012, EYP Romania organised the annual training for our future offi-cials, and thus we achieved to con-siderably increase the quality of our NC events.

www.eypromania.eu, [email protected]

RussiaThe year 2012 was remarkable for EYP Russia as we did the first series of membership cards and enlarged the board. The beginning of the year was marked by the Second Selec-tion School Session that brought us many outstanding delegates to rep-resent Russia at the International Events. Furthermore several school

sessions and trainings took place, not mentioning Annual Picnic and a reunion that helped to revive the EYP spirit and to meet old friends. The second part of the year was dedicat-ed to the preparation of a significant event – the Second National Selec-tion Session that we were looking forward to holding at the beginning

[email protected]

PolandThe year 2012 brought changes to the governance of EYP Poland, mak-ing it more proactive than ever be-fore. We have extended the number of our Members through success-ful organisation of three Sessions and additional smaller events. 19th Regional Session in Wroclaw, under the motto Culture Yourself!, followed

the innovative concept of previous Wroclaw Sessions, enriched with cultural workshops. Our first Inter-national Forum in Krakow was under the motto “Innovative Youth innovat-ing future”, and gathered around 150 participants from all over Europe. The 9th National Session gathered 80 delegates from Poland.

www.eyppoland.com, [email protected]


In 2012, EYP Slovakia organised its 3rd National Session in Bratislava/Papiernicka under the Motto “Set-ting directions for the future of Eu-rope”. We also dedicated this year to the improvement of the communica-tion with high schools by making EYP presentations all across the country

– by this time we cooperate with 22

high schools. And we prepared the very first round of EYP Days in some of them. EYP Slovakia is from 2012 organising its events under the offi-cial patronage of the National Coun-cil of the Slovak Republic. Lastly, 2012 gave us a lot talking about the human resources of our Committee. So we are looking forward 2013.

Slovakiawww.eyp.sk, [email protected]

EYP Spain is growing year after year very rapidly. In 2012 we organised 14 GA Days, which are one-day re-gional sessions. With an average of 5 schools participating to each GA Day, we have reached more than 350 youngsters in 2012. Our national se-lection conference was held in Sitges and it was a huge success, being the

first time we received Youth in Action Funding for our national selection. The most important even of the year was the Iberian Forum, a summer session which was held for the 3rd time in EYPE’s history and exceeded all expectations once again. The year concluded with the EYPE weekend, with the participation of 30 alumni.

Spainwww.eype.es, [email protected]

After organising three successful regional sessions at the beginning of the year, EYP Sweden decided to continue with the concept and played host to four regional sessions in No-vember. The new selection process enable us to reach out to more young Swedes and to spread the spirit of EYP even further. Other than that,

the year has been mainly dedicated to adapting to the new possibilities and challenges that follows with the government grant we received for our organisation at the beginning of 2012. The grant comes with a huge suit that we need to grow into and we will continue doing so in 2013.

Swedenwww.eup.se, [email protected]

SerbiaEYP Serbia organized its first Inter-national forum - The Danube Youth Forum in Novi Sad with 100 partici-pants from 14 countries. Alongside this, 8 Preliminary Sessions were held in Serbia and delegates from these events gathered in Subotica in August for the 5th National Confer-ence. Alumni weekend that included

training for Chairs, Journalists and Organizers was held in autumn in Belgrade gathering 45 participants. EYP RS worked together with EYP NL and EYP CH on creating a guide for new EYP organisations. In addition, a new, young Board of EYP Serbia came to office in August implement-ing a number of innovations.

www.eyp.rs, [email protected]


Turkey2012 has been a landmark year for EYP Turkey, especially since the 69th International Session of the EYP took place in the city of Istanbul. We also organised two National Selec-tion Conferences, each becoming a big success, and the 7th Interna-tional Istanbul Youth Forum that lived up to the reputation of previous

years. The National Committee has also opened up a new office to be the center of EYP activities in Istanbul and expanded to more than a hun-dred alumni by December. EYP Tur-key finally said goodbye to 2012 with the annual New Year’s Dinner and Alumni Gathering and celebrated the end of a fruitful year.

www.eypturkey.org, [email protected]

UkraineAll in all, EYP Ukraine has managed in 2012 to involve more than 1000 young people in its projects. Thanks to our members and partners, EYP-Ukraine has hosted 2 large-scale sessions. Also, we have successfully organised a Training for EYP Train-ers and a unique annual project – In-ter-Rail Tour of EYP Ukraine, which

involved more than 550 young people into 2-day sessions in 15 cities of the country. EYP Weekends, General As-semblies, and meetings of EYP Eng-lish Speaking Club took also place all over the country. In addition, EYP Ukraine has strengthened its status of an active actor in the process of civil society development in Ukraine.

http://eyp-ua.org, [email protected]

United KingdomThis year has been an exciting year for EYPUK. We organised two nation-al sessions and a few regional ses-sions which consequently increased the number of participants in our organisation. Our outreach Eurvoice, has been relaunched and means we will be able to reach even more young people in the future. Our new

challenge for 2012 was EurVoice Live. As a partner organisation in Parlia-ment Week 2012, we ran the event on 21 November. It aimed to give young people all across the UK and beyond a chance to express their views on the issues that really matter to them. Lastly, our alumni have been very in-volved on the international stage.

www.eypuk.co.uk, [email protected]

2012 has been a year both of innova-tion and continuity for EYP Switzer-land. For the first time in its history, we held Regional Sessions in four regions of Switzerland, thus reach-ing out to an even greater number of schools and students from diverse backgrounds. Successful event con-cepts such as the 5-day National

Session and trainings were contin-ued. In addition, a two-day training on chairing was organised for the members of the NC. Throughout the entire year, the organising team of the International Session Zurich 2013 raised funds and started put-ting together the 73rd IS of the EYP, the NC’s next big project.

Switzerland www.eyp.ch, [email protected]

www.eypuk.co.uk, [email protected]

“The European Youth Parliament is the largest European programme for non-formal political education

of young people.” Ville Vasaramäki, Executive Director


Bosnia-Herzegovina2012 was an awesome year for EYP Initiative Bosnia-Herzegovina. We were officially recognised as an EYP Initiative at the beginning of the year. Then, we organised our 1st National Session which took place in Sarajevo in September 2012 and gathered lots of young people to debate crucial political issue in Europe.This suc-

cessful session helped us to grow and we are more than glad that new youngests had the opportunity to get to know EYP. Our Initiative also sent delegates in a few sessions abroad; for instance, five youngsters repre-sented our country to the Danube Youth Forum in April 2012.

BulgariaThe EYP Initiative Bulgaria did not or-ganise a lot of events in 2012 but we have sent delegates in some inter-national events. For instance, a Bul-garian delegation composed of three delegates represented Bulgaria in the International Session in Amster-dam in autumn 2012.

EYP INITIATIVESAzerbaijan

2012 brought us both happiness and sorrow. For the first time, an official delegation from Azerbaijan attended an Internation Session. Then, we sent delegations to a few sessions in Georgia, Poland, Greece and Spain. In September, we organised our 1st National Session in Baku, gathering more than 50 persons. In total, 80

youngsters were involved in EYP in Azerbaijan! Unfortunatly, EYP Azer-baijan was de-recognised in October. But, we didn’t give up and we solved our problems and in November we established a new Initiative in Azer-baijan. So, we hope that 2013 will bring to EYP in Azerbaijan just hap-piness, success and more sessions!

www.eyp.az, [email protected]


In 2012, EYP Denmark requested it’s own de-recognition. While this is usually seen as a bad thing, this was extremely happy news for us. It meant that we could start from scratch, and establish a new Nation-al Committee in the way it should be done. We also hosted an event pure-ly for university students which was

a great success. and made us gain attention among an older crowd. Several Danish alumni were abroad as Officials, and three delegations were sent of to Germany, France and Estonia. EYP Denmark might have lost its official status in 2012, but we were more active than ever, and we expect this to continue in 2013.

Denmarkhttp://eypdenmark.org/

The EYP initiative in Montenegro was only recently recognised by the GB. In 2012 we worked towards gaining support from governing and non-governemntal bodies as well from other National Committees. We want to promote the ideas of intercultur-alism and a democratic society and thus briging Europe closer to Mon-tenegro.

[email protected]

“The International Session of the EYP provides a good opportunity for young people to exchange

views and to improve their capabilities to articulate and represent their interest.”

Jerzy Buzek, former President of the European Parliament


Who is EYP?All EYP events are organised and run by young volunteers – mostly for-mer participants of the EYP sessions. Hence, the EYP is an extraordinary place for young people to take the initiative and to practise European citizenship.

The National CommitteesThe National EYP Committees ex-ist to promote the objectives of the EYP in their country. This is often achieved by organising various Eu-ropean events. An important part of their work is to select the del-egations that will represent their country abroad. To this end, many National Committees organise a selection process, often including regional and national conferences. .

The Board of National Committees (BNC)On the international level the Na-tional Committees are represented through the Board of National Com-mittees (BNC), where the repre-sentatives gather to discuss issues related to the management and de-velopment of the entire EYP and take decisions such as recognising EYP

committees in new countries.

The Governing Body (GB)The GB sets general rules and over-all aims in cooperation with the Na-tional Committees. The Governing Body has been elected by the Na-tional Committees and EYP alumni.

The International Office The Executive Director of EYP, ap-pointed by the Schwarzkopf Foun-dation, coordinates the activities of the European Youth Parliament on the international level. Besides the Executive Director, the International Office of the EYP in Berlin includes Project Managers and Interns, who take care of the daily running of the

international EYP and its activities.

The Schwarzkopf Founda-tion

On the international level, EYP is a programme of the Schwarzkopf Foundation. The Schwarzkopf Foun-dation is thus the legal entity of the international EYP and it is one of its programmes. The Schwarzkopf Foundation was established in 1971 and its aim is to support the develop-ment of young people into politically-aware and responsible citizens by focussing on the strengthening of the European Idea and pan-Europe-an understanding. people.

WHO IS EYP?

OUR PARTNERS


Without the support of our partners, the European Youth Parliament would not be able to realise its aims. We thank them all and express our gratitude for their support.

International Partner:

The European Youth Parliament receives support from the European Commission’s Youth in Action for its continuous activities.

PEOPLE AND BODIES


PERMANENT PATRONS

Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary Gen-eral of the Council of Europe

COMITE D HONNEUR

Martin Schulz, President of the Eu-ropean Parliament

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

Maroš Šefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission

Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission

GOVERNING BODY

Current formation (March 2013):

Alan Flowers, UK

Dmytro Honcharenko, UA

Joanna Kulpa, PL

Hilpi Luukkonen, FI

Andris Šuvajevs, LV

Robert Torvelainen, FI

André Schmitz-Schwarzkopf, DE

INTERNATIONAL OFFICE

Current formation (March 2013):

Ville Vasaramäki, FI, Executive Di-rector Jacob Düringer, DE, Project Manager

Stefan Vandenhende, BE, Project Manager

Maria Manolescu, RO, HR Manager

Heiko Seiser, DE, Assistant

Petya Koleva, BG, Intern

Elise Lévy, FR, Intern

“I rest convinced that initiatives like the Eu-ropean Youth Parliament are essential to

bridge the gaps between our nations and to foster a new generation of true Europeans.”

Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Environment

eyp annual report 2012

Documents

eyp year

years of eyp

eyp armenia

european policies

european youth parliament

great european success

young europeans

sands of young people