5TIMES Newspaper of #Tirana2012 Issue 1 www.eyp.al

Editorial NoteHere it is! 13 months since EYP Albania’s last extraordinary session, we’re back again! Things seem to have been moving faster and faster. When I look back it feels like a life-time separates us from the day. Nevertheless, the impact of the productive and hugely enjoyable time we spent, made my team and I seek for a brand new challenge: 5Times! Six journalists will be my eyes and ears during the course of this session and they will equip you with the latest news from the event, columns on international current issues, interviews and sometimes with good ban-ter (no memes or 9gag stuff will be included).

So, we offer you 5Times! A real sense of everything happening in the session will be easily accessible by everyone through our main channels: The newspaper, the blog (tirana2012.wordpress.com) and our Twitter stream where we will tweet instant updates under the hashtag #tirana2012. During the General Assembly, we are go-ing to provide live broadcasting at our blog. Gathered around the table having a delicious sunday lunch, your parents or friends can follow you live while delivering a speech or posing as a real politician.

Before concluding and getting back to editing the other articles or tweet some-thing, I have only one advice for everyone who is attending the session: Let yourself be surpised! Each and every session gives us the possibility to discover a reserved part of our personality by meeting new people, exchanging ideas and feel-ing proud for our performance at the end. So I say go for it: Make these 3 days remarkable and share with everyone that splendid part of yourself!

In the meantime, I’M WATCHING YOU!

Editorially yours,

Kristi Vangjeli

The 5th National Selection Conference of EYP Albania

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4 The sensational EYP 11 CrisiS III

10 Education in Albania - A long-term challenge

13 Betting companies vs. UEFA 6 7 EYP in Albania

8 9 S Y R I A C A L L I N G 15 A letter from Harvard

14 Ready Steady EYP

5 IStanbul2012 12 Delegates’ DOs

5Team KRISTI VANGJELI XHESI HYSI EGI SHIJAKU MARLA NARAZANI DEBORAH BEQJA EMILJO JAZXHI BESNIK EJUPI

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The sensational EYP! Needless to search for further references: Marla Narazani offers you a truly comprehensive guide to the centre of the EYP World !

Ponies attacking, fruits roaming around, giants and wizards on the battlefield (No, this is not Hogwarts!), Italian mafia ,aliens travelling at the speed of light ,ninjas on ‘counterattack’ and much more are nothing compared to the upcoming view from our ‘underground’ trip!

Welcome aboard and enjoy your extraordinary flight! Your All Inclusive package contains work, amusement, fun, friends and other secrets to be revealed!

EYP is often described like a big kind-hearted family in which you learn ,you grow and of course not to be forgotten you have lots of fun (last but not least)! What EYP provides is the uncon-ventional experience compressed within couple of days that naturally turns out to become a life-changing milestone for eve-ryone EYP itself does not only include working hard on different topics or debating, but also offers you the opportunity to make new friends and explore cultural particularities or even similari-ties..

The most memorable things that every Eyp-er will never forget are the too unique-and-funny-to-forget EYP games! Although you may find some of these games weird and barely pointless, they are crucial factors that determine the outcome of your team and I can assure you about that. Don’t be afraid to shout or act in silly ways: follow the games have fun and build teams!

Our journey continues its itinerary with the the Euroconcert. Yes! You read that right! Euroconcert will be the place where you all can perform and give us an amazing show. Everybody is more than welcomed to the auditions (except the ninjas) and we are waiting for you to rock the stage!

Among a wide range of other activities, there is one that your stomach will undoubtedly appreciate: the EuroVillage! During EuroVillage everyone is going to have the chance to taste a special kind of food that represent a region or even a country! The gathering also includes good music, strange dance moves and a lot of chats between one another. Always keep in mind one advice : EAT ALL THE FOOD!

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IStanbul 2012 Xhesi Hysi, our journalist, describes her ex-perience at the 69th International Session of EYP, not incidentally held in the wonderful city of Istanbul, where West and East eager to naturally connect after centuries of historical fallacies and controversies.

At this session’s General As-sembly, I am going to be hon-est with you, we were all a little nervous about how the de-bates would turn out. This was mainly because some of the topics to be discussed were quite sensitive for many of the participants. By the end, how-ever, we realized we should have never worried in the first place. Istanbul had gathered some of the most intelligent, thoughtful, and tolerant de-baters in our community, and that is saying something. They managed to find dynamic new solutions for topics that at the beginning of the session seemed muddled and difficult to negotiate.

“Istanbul had gathered some of the most intel-ligent, thoughtful, and tolerant debaters in our community...”

The Committee on Human Rights (DROI) dazzled every delegate, or at least they dazzled me, with a brave resolution that called upon the implementation of new laws that would allow the LGBT*

community equal rights.. Dur-ing debate there was heated controversy which was dealt with in the most respectful of ways by the members of DROI and they succeeded in de-fending their brain-child point by point.

The Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) had perhaps the trickiest job of all, as they tried to write a resolution that would update the current laws on Internet privacy. JURI worked extremely hard, but they did produce a resolution that, although a little technical, achieved a balance between the interests of online adver-tisers and social networks and the rights of those who use them.

My favourite resolution of them all has to be the one the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) wrote. Copy-right laws vs. illegal download-ing. Artist vs. consumer. Who is right? Who should be given priority? Surprisingly, they proposed the implementation of something called “ Creative Commons” , a document that allows downloading, editing, and copying of creative con-

tent, but strictly prohibits the selling of such content by people unauthorized by the artist. This succeeds in keep-ing the Internet the creative utopia where sharing is fast and easy, while protecting the artist from theft of intellectual property. It’s, to be brief, bril-liant. And everyone agreed.

“CULT proposed the implementation of some-thing called “ Creative Commons”, a document that allows downloading, editing, and copying of creative content...”

What I know is that for ten days I was surrounded by minds open wide and souls eager to connect. Every sec-ond, and GA was no different, there was acceptance and generosity in the atmosphere. The air was electric with ideas and rapid-fire arguments. The resolutions we wrote built the foundations for a bridge that in 20 years from now, we can hopefully walk on and meet each other again.

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EYP IN ALBANIA The benefits of joining one of the largest networks in Albania and abroad, illustrated with alumni testimonials. words by Egi Shijaku

When I first heard about the European Youth Parliament, I got thrilled by the idea. I didn’t know that much about the format, or what I could truly gain from the whole thing, but I can now say that it went on to be the most amazing experience of my life so far. Maybe it may sound a little exaggerated, but it will all make sense once you feel the true spirit of EYP and this session is session is just the place!

EYP IN ALBANIA The benefits of joining one of the largest networks in Albania and abroad, illustrated with alumni testimonials. words by Egi Shijaku

When EYP Albania was founded in 2008 it gathered no more than 40 del-egates at its 1st National Selection Conference.. During the 5 years we left behind, enormous work has been done so that the EYP spirit is transmitted to other fellow EYPers. EYP Albania is now a network that is growing daily and the youngsters who invested their time and energy building it have learned from the experience more than they could ever imagine. EYP en-hanced their skills on public speaking, European decision-making policies and among all, social interaction. Personally, I think that EYP gathers exqui-site young people, who will be the leaders of tomorrow. These are the kind of youngsters that you find pleasure spending time with! Moreover, being an EYPer gives you the opportunity to get in touch with people of your age in other countries and sharing the same interests on European matters. Inter-national and Regional sessions offer a unique place to discover new cultures and environments. The EYP and its format are built to encourage innovation; whether you are a good debater, a skilled writer or a group leader, there is always a place for you in a session.

Now, what counts the most is the fact that you have your own grasp on how to get involved in this network and try to change your life. One thing is sure: once you are part of the network of EYP Albania, you will feel yourself as part of a big family.

“EYP has changed my life. I am proud of being an EYPer and I share my ex-perience everywhere I go”

Juna Luzi - Marymount University, USA

“I faced a great chal-lenge while organising the 3rd NSC, but at the end it taught me a lot about group management and coping with a lot of pres-sure”. Ami Narazani - University of Amsterdam

SYRIA CALLINGA thorough and meticulous examination of the Syrian Uprising, the weakly held position of the international actors and the bystander role of the last hope for peace: Asma Al-Assad! words by emiljo jazxhi and deborah beqja

As you relax for a minute and start reading this arti-cle, there are ongoing harsh conflicts in Syria. It all started on 26 January 2011, when public demonstrations in the streets brought a nationwide uprising. Till now have been estimated 12.000 deaths and a countless number of injuries. One will simply ask “Where did this war derive from?”. It all started when residents of a small south-ern city. They took to the streets to protest against the torture of students who had used anti-gonverment graffiti, faced a brutal military response.

The main character star-ring is Bashar Al-Assad. After Hafez al-Assad‘s death in June 2000, his son Bashar inherited the rule over Syria. The President Bashar is thought to have built a dom-inated network of powerful modern military and also

several intelligences services. Thus, the only possible way to counter-act the actual regime is through violence, violence against violence. Neighboring countries, such as Turkey and also countries, that shall have great rela-tions with Syria, such as Rus-sia and China, are publically supporting the international dialogue and the acceptance of defining dialogues. There is no place for neglect or de-lay concerning agreements.

Syria has presented Europe with a far more complex dynamic than Libya, where NATO decided to take mili-tary actions in order to step down Gaddafi. Europe initially chose to embrace Assad’s long-heralded reform creden-tials. In April 2011 UK Foreign Secretary William Hague stated that “it is not too late” for reforms. By May, as state-orchestrated violence escalated, European leaders

changed tack introducing a number of measures includ-ing asset freezes and travel bans on officials. Still, it was not until August 2011 that Europe definitively called for Assad to stand down.

Europe has thereafter backed Arab League efforts to launch a political transi-tion that would see Assad step down. In September 2011 restrictions were placed on Syrian oil exports, a sig-nificant move with Europe accounting for 95% of the country’s oil exports and 35% of total state revenues, blocking wider commercial activities. On the diplomatic front, Europe emerged at the forefront of efforts to mobilise UN Security Council (UNSC) action against Assad, while it has gradually cut ties with the regime with many European states closing their embassies in Damascus.

SYRIA CALLINGA thorough and meticulous examination of the Syrian Uprising, the weakly held position of the international actors and the bystander role of the last hope for peace: Asma Al-Assad! words by emiljo jazxhi and deborah beqja

changed tack introducing a number of measures includ-ing asset freezes and travel bans on officials. Still, it was not until August 2011 that Europe definitively called for Assad to stand down.

Europe has thereafter backed Arab League efforts to launch a political transi-tion that would see Assad step down. In September 2011 restrictions were placed on Syrian oil exports, a sig-nificant move with Europe accounting for 95% of the country’s oil exports and 35% of total state revenues, blocking wider commercial activities. On the diplomatic front, Europe emerged at the forefront of efforts to mobilise UN Security Council (UNSC) action against Assad, while it has gradually cut ties with the regime with many European states closing their embassies in Damascus.

But on the other hand, con-tinued military and financial support from Iran and Rus-sia and the non-closure of commercial routes in and out of neighboring countries have provided the regime with economic lifelines. As-sad also clearly retains the loyalty of a sizeable minority of the population making his immediate collapse unlikely.

Driven by the necessity of securing wider international consensus, Europe is ap-parently softening its line. It has now given Kofi Annan’s peace mission its full back-ing. Annan has himself di-rectly reached out to Damas-cus and proposed a political path forward not precondi-tioned on Assad stepping down as was previously the case. This could well prove a wise move. If it fails, Europe will face a long civil conflict in its near neighborhood..

Stop your husband, Asma!

Monday, April 23, 2012. 226,719 women all around Europe have signed this petition to Asma al-Assad, urging her to take im-mediate control of the situation and stop

her husband.

“Dear Asma,

Some people care for style and some women care for their people. Some women struggle for their image and some

women struggle for survival. Some women have forgotten what they preached about peace and some women can only pray for their dad. Some people pretend to have no choice and some women just act. What happened to you, Asma? Hundreds of Syrian children have already been killed and injured. One day, our children will ask us what we have done to stop this bloodshed. What will your answer be,

Asma? That you, Asma, had no choice? Each single child had a name and a family. Their lives will never be the same again. Asma, when you kiss your own children goodnight, another mother will find the place next to her empty. These children could all be your children. They are your children. Stand up for peace, Asma. Speak out now. For the sake of

your people. Stop your husband. Stop all his supporters. No one cares about your image. We care about your action.

Right now. “

Educational challenges Albania and the European Union: The journey towards integration! words by egi shijaku

It is another fresh Satur-day afternoon and I am sitting in my balcony, staring at the building which used to be my high school for 4 un-forgettable years. I am struggling to recall what I learned during those four years, except for Geography, Physics and random background information. My univer-sity does not differ that much, for it feels exactly like an institution of higher education. And I am conscious that this looks a lot like your story, too.

As cliché as it may sound, education is a crucial part of our life. Merely starting from let-ters and numbers, it is the process that gives shape to our personali-ties. In my opinion this is where Albanian edu-cational system fails its point: education should be a process, not a destination! It must be perceived as a mean of achieving goals and not the goal itself.

I believe the theory behind the Albanian educational system is wrong; it produces competent profession-als, but not citizens who will will compete in the European market in the near future. Schooling in Albania is nowadays a mechanism, whose only tools are teach-ers, translated books and a vaguely deco-rated classroom. The whole system is flawed, from unconventional teaching methods to a schedule filled with impractical lessons that one will never use dur-ing his/her lifetime.

Beautiful words apart, Albanian schools are far from European; the environments are un-friendly and noisy, while teachers concentrate their work on teaching, rather than educating. We are well aware that European schools are different; they encour-age experimental think-ing and free initiative, while Albanian way of educating includes tons

of useless information and policies regarding intellectual develop-ment exist only in the yearly governmental objectives. Having an already set example of good education sys-tems throughout Eu-rope makes the task easier, but the imple-mentation phase has been by far the most difficult.

“Albanian schools are far from European; the en-vironments are unfriendly and noisy, while teachers concentrate their work on teaching, rather than educating.”

To conclude, I would admit that the whole picture is not flatter-ing. Unless we start from ground 0, we can face the risk of remain-ing far behind from the European perspective. Education and only education can bring integration to a country, and Albania makes no exception.

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Crisis III Enormous debts, economies in the red and higher-ing rates of youth unemployment: Are the violent protests the only feasible solution in hand?

words by xhesi hysi

Besides the prophecies of a bunch of notable No-belists, no one could ac-curately predict that we would be forced to com-bat in another ‘economi-cal’ battle: Round III has just started! Did we forget the lessons learned in 1973 and 1989?

First and foremost, some of Europe’s biggest gov-ernments decided to ignore the regulations laid out in the Stability and Growth Pact* which would have resulted in sanctions, but since this was France we are talk-ing about (one of the few) Europe let it slide. Several times. Until, vari-

ous not so consolidated economies could no longer take the pressure, and snapped. The enor-mous debts the gov-ernments were facing lead to extreme budget cuts which lead to thou-sandth of citizens out on the streets with no jobs. Protests followed, many , in the case of Greece, degenerated to violence and petty crimes.

“The enormous debts the governments were facing lead to extreme budget cuts which lead to thousandth of citizens out on the streets with no jobs.“

Did you ever pay close attention to the faces causing trouble in Eu-rope’s streets? They were the faces of young men and women, many recent gradutes, who af-ter months of struggling to find work, have finally given up. The youth of Europe was periodically lied about the state of the economy. A Greek friend of mine told me how the television broad-cast tales of wealth and success, every night. How those around her were spending without caring, because they were being told that money would never end.

The truth was, money

had ended long ago. Governments had tried to stall the crisis, but they knew sometime it would have to hit. Caught in the gigantic wave of its impact, were the young - those without experience or any kind of budget. This is certainly not the first time Eu-rope’s youth has had to fight, and has survived, an economic crisis. This doesn’t make the cur-rent situation any easier to manage. A week ago, I watched a young Span-ish girl speak about how difficult it is to even find a job offer in Madrid. She said she looked every-where from the office of employment to the daily newspapers. No one seemed to have any idea what to tell her, or ironically, asked if she had any experience.

It’s time Europe’s gov-ernments answered to these ambitious and qualified youngsters who spent money and time in order to get a college degree which they are being told is worth noth-ing. It’s time measures were taken to bring sta-bility and prosperity back in the agenda. It’s time Europe’s youth took back

its future.

*A document whose purpose was to control and monitor a common economy and which outlined measures to be taken in case something went wrong.

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Delegates' DOsEmiljo Jazxhi uncovers his magic formulas for a session full of even-

tual win-wins and exceptionally joyful moments.Hello my dear successors! Probably this is your first EYP session and you will be won-dering about many things at this time. When I first entered EYP, the session took place in Poland and I was only 15 years old. Certainly I’ve been through a lot of awkward situations such as sleeping on a chair (the one made for sitting upon) or having no sleep at all for 3 consecutive nights. Yet, it wasn’t so hard for me to fit in this extremely new format for me. Few things may get in the way at the very beginning but you will soon begin considering them part of your daily routine. So let’s kick off!

1-Keep your cell phones switched off or silent! None likes to hear you talking to other persons when you are here to meet new individuals, unless you really need to contact somebody.

2-Drink Coffee, a lot! I know this is not the healthiest advice one can give you, but you will ready need energy during the whole teambuilding, committee-work. You know you are an EYP-er when you are still fresh and full of positive energies even after sleeping less than 5 hours and drinking coffee!

3-Follow the committee rules! You will need to fully respect the committee rules such as raising your hand when you have a point, not interrupting the person talking and much more, unless you want your debates and work to be useless.

4-Join the crowd! Don’t be shy to walk in the most awkward games, hardest de-bates and new friendships. Everything is about the EYP spirit, and why don’t you become one of the initiators?

5-Speak English! We all know that Albanian is your mother language and that you can express yourself best in Albanian, but this is a challenge everyone has to face in EYP. Everyone will be pleased and proud in the end if they listen Eng-lish all the time.

6-If you are a male, you should know how to tie or untie a tie! You are going to need this during the General Assemble, when your blood pressure is higher and you feel the tension. Proper breathing is crucial!

7-Ask the organizers for anything you may need! Obviously you know you can’t be furnished as In a hotel but the Organizers are always doing their impossible best.

Delegates during the 26th International Session of EYP in Edinburgh, 1997

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The dark side of football! UEFA faces mounting allegations of widespread match fixing amidst increasing voices asking for a prominent role of the European Union in the newly launched campaign against the phenomenon. words by besnik ejupi

In the recent years, foot-ball has gain so much popularity that it has become a part of eve-ryday life for each one of us. But has football industry created some-thing else other than sport? Indeed, football is not only a sport but also a huge commercial activity. Football teams have rapidly grown to companies that gen-erate millions of euro from TV transmission rights, ticket sales and advertising revenues. Only Europe’s Top 5 leagues net revenue set a record of 8 milliard euros in 2010 according to Deloitte.

Unfortunately, there is also a dark side of foot-ball. Individuals or com-panies can easily pay players and teams to manipulate results and profit from sport betting. Match fixing scandals in Greece,Italy, Germany, Belgium etc. are real proofs that under the green fields of football something is moving faster than the players and the ball: football is in prominent danger. In my opinion, this is the best moment to mark a new era for taking significant measures against everyone who dares to fix a football match.

Italy, 2006 - A great scandal involved Italy’s top professional foot-ball clubs of Serie A and Serie B. The scan-dal was uncovered in May 2006 by Italian po-lice, implicating league champions Juven-tus, and other major teams including AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Reggina when a number of telephone intercepts showed a well-organised network between club directors and referee’s union. Ju-ventus were the cham-pions of Serie A at the time. When the Italian police confirmed that they were confronting eminent evedences of a match fixing plague, Italian champion Juven-tus lost their title and were relegated to Serie B. Seven other clubs be-came object of severe

economic sanctions.

Fighting match fixing in-dicates that there must be greater cooperation between law enforce-ment agencies and foot-ball organizations, such as FIFA or UEFA and Interpol, already involved in a joint initiative widely considered as ineffective.

EU next steps towards a recovered and fair game must provide animproved police and judi-cial cooperation enhancing the exchange of informa-tion and the best prac-tices. It’s now the moment when EU takes relevant actions in order to prompt a debate that involves football institutions, football players, betting companies and local governments searching for feasible benchmarks that regulate every cell of the system.

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READY STEADY EYP!

As the session is fastly approaching, the tension among our future young delegates is growing more and more. That's why we would like to give you a sneak peek of the delegates' world. How do they feel about the session? Are they ready to for this newly presented challenge? What have

they heard about EYP?

Our first mysterious character reveals to us that she has firstly heard about EYP through friends and internet. She is already overly excited to participate. Politics and similar issues are a sensitive matter to her and that’s why EYP is maybe the best way to explore her true potential through debates. She also tells us that she expects to have lots of fun and make new friends, bearing in mind that this is only one of the best things EYP offers!

Our second mysterious delegate is a very extrovert one and he thinks that in EYP he will befriend people that he wouldn’t have been able to meet otherwise. He admits that he is not ready yet for the academic part of the session, but he hopes to come up with a last minute preparation strategy during the session’s activities.

As for our third delegate the session is something that means both fun and work. He was introduced to EYP by his friends, whose words on EYP seem to be the rea-

son he tries to subtly hide the fear of de-bates and public speaking. Anyways, he finds his committee topic very interesting and has already started seeking for the proper solutions of the questions in hand.

Among a vast array of opinions and thoughts, our future delegates express their excitement about Teambuilding - ac-cording to former participants is the only part that offers extreme fun and outdoor activities that compensates the upcoming days full of intense brainstormig and de-bate.

So, what is the best advice we can give to these fresh delegates? First of all do not fear the GA, it actually may seem difficult for you to handle the whole heated de-bate, but in fact that’s the day when you have the opportunity to show off your skills and defend your own resolution. As for the other days let the secrets be revealed at the appropriate time. See you around!

words by Marla Narazani

What is the European Youth Parliament? I personally cannot describe it. It seems very structural when it is first presented to all of you : one day of Teambuilding, one of Committee Work and another day of General Assem-bly. What could be easier to describe and at the same time harder to under-stand? But, taking a page from Chemistry here (or is it Physics?) the European Youth Parliament is more than just the sum of its parts, it is more than just a webpage description.

So what is the European Youth Parliament? I will try to give you my point of view. The European Youth Parliament is a mess and a place I have missed since I left it a few months ago. It is the possibility to discover more about the issue that Europe if facing an sound very smart to the people around you as you now are an expert that is very well acquainted with the structure of the European Union, the latest treaties and all the people in charge. EYP is also the fun of parties no else has had with music we choose on our own, with games that make us look like lunatics to the rest of the world, but we hardly care.

I found my best friends through the European Youth Parliament. I am not talking about international best friends, though there will be many of them for sure. I am talking about that person you met during Coffee Break, or dur-ing Committee Work that seems to be so much like you, but lives on the other half of the city. I am talking about the person that you are going to meet weekly after these three days, the person that will fill your Facebook profile with EYP related posts at first that no one else will understand and will go on probably with internet memes, or pages they have found that interests you both. You probably don’t know this person now, but I personally have not met a single person who finished a EYP session without meeting their spiritual soulmates. A person that not only shares your passions, interests (or maybe not and you just get along very well) and will remember the European Youth Parliament, even if this is the last session you ever participate in.

So, rejoice these three days and try to make some new friends! Other-wise, who is going to remind you of all the stuttering you did when you were trying to make a speech, or follow you when you try to sing “Here we go with

the big fat pony” in a few weeks?

Once again the land of the European Youth Parliament!

Barbara Halla, a Harvard student and an excellent Alumni of EYP Albania, found a short hour to write a letter where she describes the true EYP experience from

her point of view.

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