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ISSUE 4- THE EYP -

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EDITORIAL

When we first joined EYP just a cou-ple of years ago, things were very different. An academic approach to the session media was rare and the session magazines were riddled with gossip boxes, committee raps and terrible puns (note: we recognise the hypocrisy in the last point). Things have changed, things have developed and media team’s products now often provide a valuable contribution to each session. There is, however, still much to be done. We still see count-less silly media themes that in no way could even be construed to have jour-nalistic value. EYP magazines should contribute academically and promote the debating and discussing culture we value so highly in EYP. This is something we have aimed to change

in The Essential and will continuous-ly fight for. The Essential pushes for more thought-through, analytic and relevant articles in EYP journalism; everything else is taken seriously, why not the media too? Anything other than that is superfluous.

In this issue we address EYP as an or-ganisation, from faults and problems to what makes it stand out from oth-er youth organisations. By taking a critical look at an often overglorified organisation’s workings we can, and more importantly you, as the next generation, can hopefully change what needs changing. •

EditorsBerkok Yüksel (TR)Theodor Hall (CH)

Video EditorJoão Brandão (PT)

Cover photo byNadia Telenchuk (UA)Delegate, ITRE II

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CONTENTA Thin Lineby Mara Bălaşa

The Debate Debateby Caley Routledge

Striving for Academiaby David Teruel

Trouble in Paradiseby Titus Verster & Britta Thiemt

EYP, Behind the Scenesby Ella Glenz & Megan Smith

PED Not For Meby Lee Moran

How Far is Too Farby Chris Nölte

What Does It All Meanby Megan Smith

p. 4-5

p. 6-7

p. 8-9

p. 10-11

p. 12-13

p.14-15

p.16-17

p.18-19

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However, when you get home and meet up with your friends, who you have not seen in the last past few days, you burst with excitement and start retelling the stories again and again. Have you seen that del-egate who always tried to speak with the officials? Do you remember what made us laugh during the Question Game? Can you recreate that rap about fracking, or radio-active energy?

This is just the tiniest part of everything you have lived and, although the session is over, no one can take the memories away from you, as everything is well engraved in your memories. Maybe you will start talking about the sweets you found in your shoes, about how the organisers were al-ways smiling and being friendly, or at least reflect upon the “German efficiency”. Per-haps you will just talk about the new peo-

ple that you have met and the unique and often strange games that you have played.The topic does not especially matter. The main idea is that you will talk obsessively about it, as long as people are willing to listen and maybe even longer than that. You could share everything with other fellow members, with your best friend, your sister, your dad, or basically anyone. However, the non-EYPers are not going to enjoy it, since they do not understand the seemingly bottomless enthusiasm, and the EYPers who did not attend the session will bear with you to a point, when they will start feeling left out, because they were in school while you were enjoying the event. You will get to experience a wide variety of looks from people from home. Perhaps they will be judgemental, or envious, or maybe, and this is the best case scenario, they will be happy for you and interested in your stories. However, if you tried to tell a non-EYPer how you had to climb the stairs blindfolded, or how you were supposed to write rap songs and then perform them in front of a jury, they will think you need to get more serious and start concentrating on other less weird things.

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A THIN LINE

When the speakers blast Beethoven you know the session has come to an end.

he General Assembly is over and you can either celebrate that your resolution has passed, or start

thinking of ways in which you can be more efficient at the next session. After the adrenaline’s effects wear off, a long way home awaits you. Hopefully, you will be able to travel with your delegation so at least you can keep the session’s spirit still alive by sharing all the stories with each other.

by Mara Bălaşa

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What do they really think of EYP? I for one believe that you cannot judge something unless you have experienced it. Yet, always repeating the same “why I love this organi-sation” story might get tiring at some point and so could defending political opinions and explaining why teambuilding games actually have an vital purpose.

This so-called “EYP spirit” has the power to bond people, while it can also damage relationships. EYP can easily turn from a hobby to an addiction and those two are only a step away one from another. This addiction can harm your social life, alien-ate friends, friends that care about you, but cannot understand you properly since most of them have not experienced any EYP sessions. You will think that this will not be a problem, as you have made new ones during the session. Do they live in the same city as you? No. Do they at least live in the same country? No. Can you see each other often? No. Even those people’s stories have an end and, when it approaches, something else happens: you either start talking about the next session, about who you are going to meet there or how you are going to prepare for them. Slowly but surely, they will be replaced by new ones, that are also related to this topic. Therefore, you enter a vicious circle. The world starts to revolve around EYP. Make sure that the spinning is not too fast for you, because otherwise you will get dizzy and eventually lose yourself. •

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ithin the community of the Eu-ropean Youth Parliament, the-re exists a consensus that EYP

holds a place of superiority over other, similar, styles of debating organisations, such as Model United Nations (MUN) and British Parliamentary (BP).

For the most part, this is a joke. But having said that, it’s really quite insulting. These other styles are extremely popular, lea-ding to the questions: Why EYP, and not the other two? Why commit so much time, energy and resources to this organisation in particular?

EYP is certainly not flawless. Compa-red to other styles of debate, like BP and MUN, EYP is extremely inaccessible. This of course varies from National Committee to National Committee, but for the most part, to even have the chance to be invol-ved with EYP, you must be lucky enough to be at a school that is participating in the programme, at the right time. MUN and BP can be started at nearly any point. This is one of the main arguments for selecting them over EYP; for the most part, you’re just far less likely to even have the chance to choose EYP.

But most of you reading this will have had that chance. So why continue with EYP? There are certainly arguable benefits to our way of doing things, benefits the other two systems do not possess. Oddly, EYP is unique in that it allows you to actually voice your own opinion on a consistent basis. In fact, it’s extremely encouraged you do so, in order to avoid you having to defend a resolution you simply don’t agree with; this

THE DEBATE

get the opportunity to work with indivi-duals from across a continent. So it comes down to whether or not you want to work with those you know, or meet new people and hear new ideas. Through their varia-tions in approach to team work and com-petition, we can see how, while the EYP’s focus is political discussion, MUN’s focus is competition; there is not actually way to achieve victory at IS or IF level within EYP. However, those looking for an even greater element of competition, and a subsequent victory, can also find it in BP. BP is solely competitive; your aim is to convince a jud-ge that your argument is the better. Indivi-dual speakers are ranked according to the quality of their speeches. This format does lead to BP competitions being notoriously competitive, and at times aggressive. EYP does not lack in intensity, but there is a no-tably more comfortable atmosphere at EYP events.

In order to conclude this comparison, one must look again at the ease of access to each style. It is worth mentioning that it is far easier to remain consistently enga-ged with MUN and BP than it is with EYP. The clubs are often local, as the format ea-sily adopted by school and university so-cieties. EYP events are regular, but costly to attend. They take up days as opposed to hours. Whilst this is true of International MUN and BP events, there are no local weekly EYP events you can easily attend, whereas these exist under the other two. With this in mind, it stands to question why you would choose just one of the-se competitions. It’s not impossible to be a part of EYP, as well as a BP Debater, or an MUN Delegate. EYP provides a unique experience that is politically engaging in a fun way, but it’s not your only option. They all encourage speaking skills, politi-cal engagement and networking. They all have merits, and for this we EYPers should dispel an idea of superiority; if anything it makes us the worst.

What on earth am I saying? EYP is clearly the best; ignore the above. •

is something forced by the other systems. In BP, it is not uncommon to be selected to propose a motion you’d much rather oppose, or vice versa. This can lead to mo-ral conflict as, say, a Muslim is forced to propose banning religion. There is skill in being able to argue from a perspective that is inconsistent with your own, however it isn’t for everyone. Within MUN you’re re-quired to think from the perspective of the country you represent, and defend their interests. This form of role-play might ap-peal to some, but it’s not unfair to see it as a more juvenile approach to debating im-portant topics than those provided by EYP and BP. This format also often reinforces cultural stereotypes, albeit inadvertently, as participants, often in pursuit of comedy, argue places like Russia from a commu-nist perspective, or as the Middle Eastern countries declaring ‘religious jihad’ against the West. These are real examples and re-gularly used, neither of which are particu-larly accurate or beneficial to discussion.

There’s also a considerable social side to EYP, something that is rarely found else-where. Our format of spending at least a day teambuilding is rare, and works well. It allows us to get to know each other, make friends, and inspires a comfortable atmosphere in which to debate. It is part of what separates EYP from anything else out there; it’s non-existent in BP, and given nowhere near as much attention in MUN.There are aspects to the three formats that simply come down to personal preference. EYP debate pushes for a consensus, ad-vocating team work. MUN provides team work, but not in the same way. You don’t

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DEBATEBY CALEY ROUTLEDGE

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THE DEBATE

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by DAVID TERUEL

STRIVING FORACADEMIA

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ects covering all different kinds of EYP ac-tivities that took place inside the organisa-tion. All their effort required an extensive academic foundation and provided EYP with the first formal guides that structured their activities. This first attempt harmon-ised all the work done in the area of team-building, chairing, journalism and organ-ising. Finally, every single member of EYP had access to the information and materi-al. You can still find many of these guides on the alumni platform.

The big change was done with the estab-lishment of EYP Academy, an organism inside EYP with the aim of becoming its internal training group.

There are many ways in which EYP could work to increase their presence in the ac-ademic field. One of the options I have in mind is having external experts related to the tasks done by all the teams of a session from organising, chairing or journalism. Their task would be supporting the team and provide them with their expertise during the session. However, I truly be-lieve that although the quality of the ses-sion would be better, the essence of EYP, namely its own members, would perhaps get lost.

Therefore, the way I really see the future of EYP would be an inclusion of professional expertise but in a more structured way.

Organisms already existing in EYP such as the EYP Academy or the EYP Voice would be potentiated and, with it, a wider range of trainings not only concerning chairs,

journalists and organisers inside EYP would be launched.

One option would be to have partnerships with journalism institutes, graphic design freelancers or even universities. With it, the quality of the trainings would increase and simultaneously allow participants to have a certification of their work. Not only it would be useful for members’ EYP ca-reer but also for their professional life.

There are successful examples of this methodology implemented in EYP. Back in 2011 the MEdiT, a convention on media and non-formal learning in intercultural youth dialogue took place. It gathered EY-Pers and at the same time experts in the media field such as the European Youth Press.

In conclusion, by pursuing a more aca-demic EYP, the sessions themselves would be the same as today in terms of organi-sation, but would be diversified by the in-clusion of new aspects due to the fact that the trainings and the activities organised by the EYP would teach members about specific topics they know well.

Having an more academically structured EYP would make members have to decide which type of EYPer they are at some point of their career and they will have to make a stance whether they want to work for EYP in terms of organisation or really go for it academically. With it, EYP would become more exigent but at the same time more ef-ficient. And the greatest thing is that EYP would offer all options.

It is in our hands to broaden the concept of EYP. Essen 2013 has focused on an ac-ademic perspective; it is up to future ses-sions to cultivate what we make of EYP. •

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“Have you ever wondered what abilities and qualities you have gained since you took part in your first EYP session? If not, now is the time to do so.”

ith three International Sessions and several International Fo-rums every year, the National

Committees started to look for a higher academic level in their events. Is the EYP in a transition towards a new academic at-titude? Generally speaking, yes.

From the beginning on, EYP had continu-ously been organising events and strength-ening the involvement of its members. What are the reasons for them constantly applying to sessions? Some may do it for fun, others reunite with friends or experi-ence a cultural exchange.

Regardless which reasons make us stay in-volved in EYP, it is a common belief among EYPers that we gain something; and some-thing valuable.

However, how can we prove that we have developed certain skills? In the field of journalism, a creative portfolio containing the printed issues, videos and photos could provide certain evidence for what you have learned. But it gets difficult if you want to demonstrate your leadership and team-work competences with it.

To answer the question, we should first take a look at what EYP means in terms of education. Hereby, EYP supports rather the engagement of young European cit-izens than certifying the abilities that the participants acquire during the session.

The pursuit of increased quality of EYP ac-tivities is not a new idea. Some years ago, experienced alumni launched several proj-

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Trouble in Paradise

he European Youth Parliament has defined four general aims: raising awareness of European citizenship,

promoting international understanding, contributing to the development of personal skills of European youth and providing a forum in which young people can express their opinions. Besides these officially stated aims, there are certain goals an organisation like EYP strives to achieve on a more conceptual level. One ‘unofficial’ goal that everybody appears to agree on is that of inclusiveness. Not only is it consistent with the general openness one experiences at our events, it also seems to try to enable as many people as possible to benefit from the same experiences we get to have in EYP. However, there are certain common practices in EYP that result in the opposite of inclusiveness.

While the EYP has frequently been criticised for being elitist when it comes to financially or physically disadvantaged youths, an issue that has not been discussed to the same extent is the atmosphere of exclusivity within our organisation. Distinctions of influence between different National Committees, cliques and personal connections, but also just not having entered EYP in the common way, attending an National Selection Conference as a school delegation, can lead to situations in which EYPers are denied certain opportunities, or at least perceive it that way.

The subject of cliques for example is somewhat difficult: since EYP is a network with a very personal atmosphere, it is natural, and very much desired, that people get to know each other, become friends and often end up applying to the same sessions

or being active in the same bodies. That way, despite living hundreds to thousands of kilometres apart from each other, EYP friends get to enjoy each other’s presence and dig out their inside stories from past sessions that they attended together. One of the best aspects of EYP after all is the opportunity to make friends and also stay connected with them once a session has ended.

But as you meet your friends again and again at multiple sessions and grow closer together, the group of great, funny friends is in increasing danger of turning into a clique-like formation. I am convinced that this happens entirely unintentionally, but sometimes having a group of friends within a team, be it an officials’ team or an EYP body, can lead to other people feeling excluded and uncomfortable. For an organisation that relies on its members

being able to share all their views and speak out, this can cause a lot of frustration and a strong feeling of exclusiveness among those who do not understand every inside joke. Particularly in teams working together for a longer period of time, this kind of group dynamics can be very harmful to their work as well as to their perception of the EYP’s internal structure.

Of course there is not one inner circle of all the EYP’s cool kids that bullies or ignores people. Of course people in groups that seem focussed inwards can still be friendly, and what might often be perceived as their dominance in groups or teams does in

TROUBLE IN PARADISEHow the common EYP practices throw a shadow

over inclusiveness within the organisation.

T Titus Verster - Britta Thiemt

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no way imply that they do not have great personalities. But by being so focused on a specific group of people, one is less open to building more friendships, and at the same time makes it more difficult for others to feel like they belong and have a place in EYP.

Something that in a way promotes the exclusive atmosphere of EYP and upholds the feeling of an inner circle is the concept of the Summer International Session. Only alumni that have already been to an International Session can apply, which means that only rather experienced EYPers end up attending those sessions. Also, the

meaning of large scale, flagship session is lost in the sense that many people attending do so solely for the purpose of being reunited with their friends from all over Europe. Though understandable, these are not the kind of participants that would benefit most from such an academic event. Taking into account that we are an organisation that wants to reach out and include as many people and parts of society as possible, it would make more sense to open the Summer International Session to delegates without international experience.

This point is especially relevant considering the fact that International Forums are becoming more professional. Sessions such as Istanbul, The Hague and Essen are of great quality, and provide alumni with the opportunity to apply. If the Summer IS would be open for delegates without previous IS experience, such forums could

replace the Summer IS as a reunion for internationally experienced alumni, thus making sure they do have the chance to see each other regularly. This way, it would be possible to reach out to a bigger group of youngsters with the Summer IS, simply because there would be one extra session open for new alumni.

We are part of an organisation that has an incredible amount of potential when it comes to tackling internal problems, since we all have an interest in making our events as enjoyable to everybody as possible. Nevertheless, as Franziska Maier, President of EYP Germany points out: as debate-friendly and constructive as EYPers are, when it comes to talking about what we would like to change, it often does not go beyond the talking. “That’s why I would like to see people getting more engaged in EYP if they are unhappy with how some things are,” Franziska says. EYP is our organisation. We are the ones working for it, and we are the ones who shape it. And what we all want is the best, so when you feel like somebody’s behaviour has a negative influence on the group, go ahead and talk to them about it openly. And if there is something that you feel can be improved when it comes to the EYP as an organisation itself, do tell people about your ideas so they can be realised.

We need to stop blaming others and start addressing problems if and when they rise. Only if we stop thinking of bringing up problems as attacking or blaming someone, can we try to understand and work with each other to solve them together. Only then will we all feel like we too are creators of the EYP, and finally be fully included. •

TROUBLE IN PARADISEHow the common EYP practices throw a shadow

over inclusiveness within the organisation.

Titus Verster - Britta Thiemt

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here is a saying in EYP that ‘once you get into it, there is no way out again’. This simply refers to a ge-

nuine EYP feeling that many of you may experience sooner or later. It includes pure affection for your newfound EYP friends, everlasting memories, excitement for the upcoming sessions even if the last one has just come to an end and the thankful appreciation of all the hard work that has been put into it.

If Essen 2013 has been your first EYP experience, some of the impressions you have gained might not be easy to digest. That does not only refer to your fellow delegates, but also to the officials who contributed large amounts of time and ef-fort in order to create a session that is as successful as possible. The organisers, for

T get surprised by its complexity. As personal and financial resources are crucial for the individual outcome of each session, they have to be partly provided by people other than the session officials.

EYP at times appears to pop up from nowhere. But the reality is that a session does not just happen. We are founded on rigid policies, something you might not have thought of if you saw us playing those ridiculous games during teambuilding. But EYP cannot be seen as a happy gathering without having a certain amount of order. In contrast, the various layers of its orga-nisational body enable you, the members of EYP, to get actively involved in the very foundations of EYP policy making and the basics of the organisation itself.

example, gave you the most Germanic effi-cient instructions on how and when to get on the bus, as well as setting up the eve-ning events. The chairpersons were your closest confidants and lead you from team building and committee work to having self-written resolutions to defend in Gene-ral Assembly. And of course the journalists you probably only saw crawling around and impertinently taking pictures of you from the back, provided you with four session issues, videos, and not to mention an abundance of pictures to tag yourself in on Facebook.

Still, all of this cannot be taken for granted. Looking at the deep layers of the backg-round work at each session and, further-more, at the organisational construction in each EYP National Committee, you might

EYP does not just exist during the few days of a session. Hard work is done on a daily basis by different bodies through-out the 36 National Committees involved in EYP. Each member has a say in the run-ning of these committees and wider EYP. through voting, but are you using yours?

EYPBEHIND THE SCENES

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First of all, the EYP International Office, located in Berlin, does the grunt work. They do our filing and sort out the money for us. This concerns sponsorship issues, travel reimbursement and support for put-ting new EYP projects into action. There is also the Governing Body (GB), which does exactly what it says in the name. It governs our organisation, makes practical decisions about the running of EYP and until previously they had sole control over all policy decisions. But who elects whom? The GB is selected by each member of EYP, as each alumni is eligible to vote in elec-tions. Never heard of a GB election so far, even though you are a registered member? You might not be the only one. So maybe have a chat with Anar (Chair of CLIM) for more information, as he is a current mem-ber of the GB.

Let’s proceed with the institutional side of EYP. Within each EYP country, there is a National Committee (NC), which is in charge of the day to day workings of EYP. Its members gather at the Board of Natio-nal Committees (BNC) meeting, a forum that allows the representatives of every EYP country to have a say in basic aspects of the organisation, mainly concerning EYP policies and organisational agree-ments. Not every National Committee is built of the same internal structure; still, their fundamental role in the establish-ment of the EYP that now exists in over 30 countries remains the same. So how are the Governing Body and the Board of National Committees interconnected? Just recently, a procedure of co-decision between those two bodies has been agreed on, so now the National Committee representatives can shape, on behalf of each individual EYP country, the future of EYP more so than ever before.

As we got the impression from the sessi-ons, EYP sometimes seems to burst with energy. But it has become increasingly apparent that the behind the scenes work cannot be compared to the exceptional cir-cumstances where sessions take place. In the background, EYP can be tiresome and lack enthusiasm. For instance, European Youth Polls were meant to be a clever way to get the youth‘s views on particular rele-vant European issues. Four times a year, you will find such a mail in your inbox. Again, no recollection possible? Unfortu-nately, not many people usually participate in the Poll even though it represents the

unique chance to get first hand data from people who are highly committed to deal with the different directions the EU can follow in the future.

Regarding this relatively low voter tur-nout, EYP has even resorted to giving the chance of a travel reimbursement in order to increase the interest of alumni to join the poll. It appears that nowadays we even need incentives to press ‚share‘ on a Face-book post so the Poll easily can reach ever-yone within a short time. If we call oursel-ves the ‘young European leaders’ why are we not engaging with the EYP in any other way than attending session?

Recently I have been reminded of another mail I did not quite pay attention to. Appa-rently, I missed voting for the elections to the Governing Body: those who sit on top of the EYP pyramid and very few of us are aware of who they are and the work they do. As creators of the long-term perspec-tive per se, knowing who they are might be beneficial. Unfortunately I do not even know the results of the recent elections, all I know is that they are someone I did not end up having a say in selecting.

EYP is about making differences, not only in the world, but also in EYP itself. In order to keep it together, let’s overcome the dis-tances between each of the parts that form EYP, the NCs, and the GB and get the com-munication started again. We can only vote if we know what we are talking about. •

BEHIND THE SCENES byElla Glenz & Megan Smith

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can’t help but feel disturbed that this insensitive phrase still exists. Regard-less of whether or not it is meant as a

fun play on words, when I utter the term it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

The stigma of mental illness is still preva-lent through the careless use of this phrase. Mental health is an issue which one cannot ignore and a play on post depression disor-ders is unfair on those with mental health problems. You are not depressed when you leave an EYP session. You are sad, it’s natural, being sad is a part of the human condition but depression is a mental ill-ness and therefore should be paid more respect. As the most active generation on

PED IS NOT

FOR ME

IPost EYP Depression or PED, is a phrase which is often used by delegates and officials alike when de-scribing the feeling come departure day at any EYP session.

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mental health, we should be more sensi-tive to one of the most commonly afflicting illnesses to the youth. Mental health is not something people should make throwaway comments about, as most people suffer in silence because people approach it with an attitude that it is not a real thing or that it does not affect someone you love or care about.

The problem with most people is that they are insensitive to mental health issues as they cannot see them. Perhaps that is the cruellest thing of all, a sufferer from a condition is in agony but no one can see it. It is noticeable to see an I.V. drip, pale faces, oxygen tanks and other medical ap-

byLeeMoran

paratuses for those suffering from a phys-ical illness, therefore when people hear of someone being seriously ill they think of this image. If someone says somebody is ill, no one thinks it could be a mental condi-tion, in fact in a lot of cases some people pass remarks about how a person looks too healthy to be sick so they are “faking it”. The mind cannot look physically unwell, there is no runny nose, no rotting, no IV drip and no pallor. There is only a human being who feels the world is closing in on them but they cant bring themselves to get help because they don’t “look sick”.

It may be viewed by some as trivial, but no one should describe the sadness of saying goodbye at an EYP session as PED. After all post depression disorders are illnesses, PED is a play on words of occurrences such as; Postpartum or Postnatal Depression. No one would compare a physical illness to EYP. For example, no one would ever refer to the pain of departing your fellow delegates as “Post EYP Cancer”. Cancer, of course is a serious illness and should not be belittled. However the same logic must be applied to all illnesses if that is the case, therefore using the term depression out of its context is as offensive as using the word “cancer” in the same way.

It is not only an EYP wide problem that simple pop culture phrases originate from horrific circumstances, “fraping” and “frape” have often been criticised for its play on the word “rape“, or even in football culture describing a player who was the recipient of a great piece of skill from an attacker as “being raped”. Rape is a terrible occurrence that is part of real life which has some of the most damaging affects out of all human vic-es. Many people pose the question as to how we can make fun of such a serious offence against a human being, which leaves more mental scars and bruises than physical ones. A similar example would be “Grammar Nazi” to describe someone who is obsessed with proper grammar. It is highly inappropriate to refer to someone as so considering the connotations of what that word actually means.

This shows that perhaps society has a problem with insensitivity towards certain issues and an overemphasis of others. People are outraged if they hear any racial slurs, sexist remarks or ho-mophobic comments. Yet they also have no problem accusing people of being Nazis, claiming their Facebook account has been “raped” and that some also suf-fer from a psychosomatic illness known as Post EYP Depression.

It is time that people stop stigmatising mental illness. Mental illness is as se-rious and as damaging as any physical illness, yet society has made it its last ta-boo. Tomorrow if you woke up feeling physically ill with symptoms that would describe a serious illness, you would seek help immediately. If tomorrow you couldn’t get yourself out of bed because you suffered from constant mental an-guish which you can’t escape. And be-cause of this you will probably do the exact same thing the next day and the day after, probably every single day , nothing. Why is this the case ? Why can’t people accept depression is real? It affects millions of Europeans, including many EYPers and yet people still view it as nothing. It is not nothing. We need people to change their attitude to men-tal health. •

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BY CHRIS NÖLTE

ince it’s inception in 1987, EYP has spread rapidly. It has expanded to cover 36 National Committees

(NCs) with 25 different native languages in locations as remote as Azerbaijan and more recently taken an interest in hosting even more extensive projects such as the Euro-Mediterranean Youth Parliament in Stockholm last January and the upcoming Euro-African Youth Parliament. Whilst EYP’s founding principles and aims are grounded in inclusivity and promoting intercultural dialogue and exchange, such expansions have drawn some questions about the relevance of involving these nations in a project invented to represent a mock up of the European Parliament.

First of all, due to the need of integration of participants with socially and economically totally different backgrounds, there would be a loss of efficiency. Furthermore, EYP is an educational project, which is specifically tailored to the needs of the young European citizens. Therefore, the project needs to be adjusted to fit for the needs of non-European citizens. There is the potential danger of creating a concept, which does not fit the spirit and aim of EYP anymore.

To the question as to how far would be too far, Maximilian Kiehn, one of the two head organisers of the Euro-African Forum, replied: “Africa, for instance, is way too far and I think even more on a practical level I’d even say all Council of Europe Member States are too far because we are somehow limited by our financial resources, so I think a lot of very eastern NCs have challenges to really get involved in EYP to the fullest” These problems does not only occur within Europe but even increase when talking about an involvement of Africa. Since the majority of people from outside the EU borders could not even afford the flight, a huge amount of people would be excluded which basically leads to elitism, a phenomena that EYP usually wants to avoid, since the organisation has the purpose to teach all Europeans about politics.

Since there are huge differences when it comes to development and education, the question arises whether the delegates gain anything out of the event, considering most of the topics discussed at EYP. For instance, at this session, we discuss energy and potential solutions to a variety of topics. However, none of the topics discussed would be forthbringing for any African citizen, since they cannot even consider these options because they are limited in a

financial way. Also, for them it is not about considering what type of energy they use but more that they can reach an energy supply at all. Additionally, the organisation was created to be a mock up of the European Parliament. Surely the inclusion of non-member states subtracts from this purpose and therefore renders much of the debate pointless and misinformative? Although, if we would stick to this policy we would have to bid adieu to our Swiss and Turkish alumni.

However, one could argue that Europe in the sense that it is embodied in EYP is less about the geographical or even political continent, and more about the values it represents. The young people of many countries want to see a future for their nations, which places the same emphasis on democracy, unity and acceptance of diversity. Perhaps not all EU Member States or Council of Europe states currently exhibit these qualities, but by encouraging young people to try and design their perfect world in their resolutions, EYP creates something of a utopian Europe which is easy for states further afield to aspire to – the perception of the “European Dream”, which was covered in The Essential’s third issue. The young people this element attracts from countries further afield from the EU will inevitably have views and experiences which could bring a whole new dynamic to the creation of resolutions, and whilst EU policy might be made by Member States it frequently affects the world outside. This is particularly the case for nearby non-member states such as the Balkans or the eastern states near Russia, making their voices very relevant in these debates. Additionally, one of the primary working aims of EYP is to promote intercultural dialogue. Incorporating countries which young, more central Europeans would not normally mingle with is surely the ideal way to achieve this aim.

In conclusion, it can be said that EYP has to be careful when it comes to decision making about the potential outreach of the organisation, to maintain the unique concept of EYP and to sustain a certain standard. A source to be used during the decision making process are former members of EYP that are not active anymore. They can contribute their experience and warn the organisation of too widespread targets. The Euro-African session is considered a unique session to learn more about the potential of EYP in the future. •

Howfar is too far?

POTENTIAL EYP OUTREACH

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5th African Youth and Governance Conference

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Britta (Journalist):From my perspective the most valuable as-pect of EYP is that you can make up your own mind about what you find most en-riching; there is political debate of course, but you can also focus on meeting people and experiencing different cultures, or even the aspect of improving your lan-guage or debating skills. And, once you decide that that’s not enough of a challenege for you anymore , you can move on to chairing, being a jour-nalist and/or organising, where again, you can meet your own priorities of what you want to learn. The possibilities are endless, and the existing methods and priorities only wait for you to expand them on your own.

EYP, Essen, what does it all mean to you?

The responses to when we asked what people thought about EYP and Essen.by Megan Smith

David Plahl (CLIM)Our gained experience will help us in future ex-perience, not only in the field of our career but also in said aspects. Due to the fact that this ses-sion is almost finished this is just the beginning of a successful following chapter in our lives.

Ruben de Brie (ITRE III)We gain professional skills in the area of debating about Europe’s cur-rent problems and future. Not only does this fit in the border of profes-sionalism but also contributes to the individual interests; making friend-ships and findding the EYP love.

Giada (Chairperson):The EYP empties my wallet, destroys my health and lowers my grades. But somehow it’s still completely worth it.

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EYP, Essen, what does it all mean to you?

Ella (Journalist): To me, EYP is more than only a simulation of the European Parliament. It is more than a sim-ple gathering of young people who represent the intercultural diversity Europe can offer and are keen on discussing current political issues. By having the chance to assume the different roles a session can offer, you learn a lot about yourself as well. No matter if being a delegate or official, all of us take a break from daily life in order to create something unique and ever-lasting. In the end, after having recognised your strengths, but also faced your limits, you can state more clearly who you are.

Martha (ITRE I):EYP for me means a whole lot of motivate youth from Europe in one place. It’s a chance to debate and socialise with people having different cultural backgrounds, thus understanding European values and aims to create a European spirit. We go into de-tail on essential European topics and find possible solutions for our future, we are the young energy for Europe!

David Plahl (CLIM)Our gained experience will help us in future ex-perience, not only in the field of our career but also in said aspects. Due to the fact that this ses-sion is almost finished this is just the beginning of a successful following chapter in our lives.

Megan (Journalist): EYP gives me a sense of pride, while I’ve worked with youth organisations before and have experience in all sorts I find the work I do with EYP the most rewarding. I never thought I’d be willing to donate so much of my time to anything as I am with EYP. This organisation is something very dear to me, something I feel almost protective over and I hope that after Essen 2013 you too, will be as attached as I am. This organisation gives you the opportunity to expand your horizons, de-velop personally and have an absolute whale of a time. Essen was an amazing time for me, a fantastic example of what this organisation can achieve and hopefully a fantastic time for you.

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a project of:

supported by:

The European Youth Parliament is a programme of the Schwarzkopf Foundation.

Dieses Projekt wurde mit Unterstützung der Europäischen Union durch das Programm JUGEND IN AKTION �nanziert. Der Inhalt dieses Projektes gibt nicht notwendigerweise den Standpunkt der Europäischen Union oder der Nationalagentur JUGEND für Europa wieder und sie übernehmen dafür keine Haftung.