Issue 2

I s s u e 2 | L X X M A G A Z I N E | A u g u s t 2 0 1 2

Photo by Ekin Arslan (TR)

Photo by Michal Korzonek (PL)

Content

3 Editorial

5 Estonian identity

7 Do we speak the same English?

9 The Melting Pot that Never Stops

11 Exporting Democracy

12 Gaia is aching

13 Photo shoot: The Session

15 Freedom or Harmony

17 Losing jobs and losing faith

19 Cracking the hackers

21 EYP from a rational point of view

23 The Vision behind the Media Team

25 New Horizon Speech

Editorial The 70th International Session in Tallinn slowly shapes into a quite unique experi-ence for all of us involved; from the rather authentic Estonian Modern Culture Eve-ning, the very direct speech at the Opening Ceremony by no other than the president of the Republic of Estonia himself, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, to the candid and distinct vi-sion of our own president – Jonas Dreger, combined with the strong start of Commit-tee Work with a little help from the experts.

The Issue 2 of the LXX Magazine will try its best to provide you with a twist to some of the interesting topics out there. The in-sightful argument on the relation between the freedom of expression and its limits is one of the social issues that imposed it-self, as well as the hassle and upsides that come with the dual citizenship. One of the articles tackles the allegedly pessimistic sentiment of the youth nowadays and the potential ramifications.

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Other articles include discussing language and the sometimes puzzling Estonian identity, as well as analysing the profile of an ultimate hacker. These articles and many more hope to offer you a pleasant break after having finished your resolu-tions.

As Committee Work comes to an end, it is crucial to prepare for the General As-sembly. The introduction of a new type of

speech – the New Horizon speech – sets new challenges for the participants, but most importantly provides us with an ex-citing opportunity to make a change.

Very much looking forward to the motions for resolutions,

The Editorial Team

Photo by Karl Kerem (EE)

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Not only foreigners, but even Estonians themselves can at

times get confused when trying to describe who exactly they are and what the Estonian identity is like. This confusion mainly stems from the very complex history – Estonians have not been lords of their own land for more than seven centuries, fully regaining indepen-dence only 21 years ago.

Some would claim that Estonians are Eastern European and em-phasise their links with the Rus-sian Empire, at first, then USSR and the Russian Federation, at the moment. These connections that stretch over several hundred years have certainly influenced Estonia, especially economically and po-litically. Furthermore, roughly a quarter of the inhabitants of Esto-nia today are Russian, thus partly shaping the country. Neverthe-less, this is only a part of the whole story.

Being considered Nordic seems sensible for several reasons. First-ly, geographically the territory of Estonia is located in Northern Eu-rope. Secondly, the temperament of Estonians – calm, rather intro-vert, even mysterious – is more alike other Nordic nations. Fur-thermore, Estonian is a language closely related to Finnish and the

distance between Tallinn and Hel-sinki is only 85 kilometres, ensur-ing close ties between the two. However, there are even more as-pects to consider.

Several other nations have left their footprints on the Estonian national identity as well. For ex-ample, Estonia has been signifi-cantly influenced by Germany for a long time. In fact, Baltic Germans formed the social, commercial, political and cultural elite in Esto-nia for several centuries. From the 13th to 16th century the Northern part of Latvia, together with Esto-nia, formed the historic region of Livonia, further entwining these neighbouring states and ensuring a considerable exchange of ideas and practices.

Lately, however, Estonians have been leaning towards, more gen-erally, being considered as Euro-pean. Winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 or joining the Eu-ropean Union in 2004 have been considerable steps in that direc-tion. Moreover, Estonia now forms part of the Eurozone. Ultimately, let us recall how Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the President of Estonia, in his speech during the Opening Ceremony of this session, referred to Estonia as one of the most pro-European countries.

Truth be told, neither of the afore-mentioned identities alone is enough to describe how Estonians really are and do not suffice as la-bels. To a lesser or greater extent, Estonians possess characteristics of all the identities. However, at the end of the day, Estonians are uniquely Estonian. They belong in Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu. •

Estonian identityWhere do they belong?

By Arnolds Eizenšmits (LV)

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Not only foreigners, but even

Estonians themselves can at times get confused

when trying to describe who exactly they are and what

the Estonian identity is like.

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Considering that thirty-five differ-ent countries around the globe

declare English as their primary language, linguistic discussions are overwhelmingly two-dimensional. There is a running debate exclu-sively about British vs. American grammar, style and spelling; they are each an accepted standard. As the oldest, densest and strongest populations of English speakers, it is not only logical that they are domi-nant, one could even go so far as to say it is well-deserved. Whether this insurmountable prominence will be maintained is an entirely different matter: there are 41,870,000 speak-ers living in Nigeria, compared to 58,408,000 in the UK. Indeed, Ni-geria was colonised by Great Britain and is the world’s seventh largest

population, thus a numerical com-parison may seem ludicrous. But West Africa’s ever-increasing pres-ence on the world stage implies that Nigerian Pidgin (an English-based creole) is also expanding its terri-tory. The question is not so much wheth-er Pidgin will one day overshadow British and American standards, rather how it will influence already existing lingual norms and our per-ception of what is “proper Eng-lish”. A Germanic language with heavy Norman influence, English is multi-layered and versatile: it has a long history of adapting and trans-forming, but also of borrowing and amalgamating. “Loanwords” are expressions derived from another

language and used in English – ev-erything from “glitch” (Yiddish) to “drug” (Dutch) fits into this cate-gory. Theoretically, it is imaginable that Pidgin or Patois (Jamaican Cre-ole) could slip into standard English, but they are unique in their reliance on tone, pronunciation and homo-phones. Slang in Britain and the USA occasionally mimics this de-livery (rather than the content), yet this casual approach is where the acceptance of such language forms ends. Be it Singapore English or Tok Pisin (a variant spoken in Papua New Guinea), fusion languages are largely seen as merely being exotic and jocular. There is even a stan-dardised form of Singlish: it is based on British grammar and spelling, but includes myriad singularities

Do we speak the same English?By Cecilia Mihaljek (CH)

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and guidelines for pronunciation. Despite its official status, the form enjoys little usage or acclaim in non-Singaporean literature and lan-guage courses. Why would it? Although the English language does not adhere to a strict structure dictated from above (as it is the role of the Académie Fran-çaise in France), there is no reason other than political correctness to honor all of its variants. However, this phenomenon fits into a broad-er debate on the future of English style and grammar. There are two different approaches: prescriptiv-ism (those who instruct how we should speak and write) and de-scriptivism (those who feel that the current practice defines language).

An extreme example of the latter was Webster’s Third New Interna-tional Dictionary, published in 1961: “drownded” and “hisself” were both listed in an attempt to stay in step with the evolution and peculiarities of the English language, spanning slang and grammatically incorrect usage. This unleashed a wave of criticism against misplaced liberal-ity, and briefly popularised the stiff-er prescriptive approach. The one thing that can be agreed on is that with regard to English, a constantly changing and organic language, an all-inclusive agree-ment on how to prescribe language can not be reached. Details such as the Oxford Comma or whether mis-using “me” and “I” is appropriate in

favor of style are highly disputed even among prescriptivists. And while it is superficial and unneces-sary to push for global usage of Creole, dismissing an open-minded descriptivist approach altogether is equally dangerous for the future of such a multi-facetted, inclusive and constantly developing language. •

The one thing that can be agreed on is that with regard to English, a constantly changing and organic language...


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The world truly is a wonderful place. Our natural wish to travel,

see, experience, feel and get to know new places and people has created a wondrous melting pot of cultures and nationalities. Not only can one see these differing nation-alities and cultures inside the bor-ders of a country but also within individual people.

Multiculturalism is something that modern man is getting increasingly accustomed to. Dual citizenship and bilingualism are becoming so-cial norms now, but how does this mixture of backgrounds, values and expectations affect those who have them? How can someone who has roots in many places ever anchor himself or herself properly and find their place in our ever expanding and diversifying planet?

Having a native’s profound knowl-edge of multiple cultures gives an individual flexibility and choice when it comes to forming their own distinctive culture and way of life. For example, a child who has an Irishman for a father and Finn for a mother has experience and comfort both with the boisterous, friendly and easy-going Irish side of the family as well as the more reserved, organised and nature-loving Finn-ish side. This experience allows the child to become a well rounded individual who is more accepting and understanding of others. They receive life lessons from more than one cultural source. They enjoy the benefits of cultural customisation and the tools and opportunities to

be the very best version of them-selves. Travelled people, more of-ten than not, have a wider-reaching perspective on life and the opportu-nities it has to offer.

In the absence of a firm national identity, it is reasonable to think that we would take comfort in our families, yet these too are largely shaped by internationality. Some people have grown so accustomed to being multinational that it does not even seem to faze them. Their daily lives remain largely unaf-fected. It is in fact their family tradi-tions that get mixed up. With one parent being Dutch and the other being Irish, the debate of whether to celebrate Christmas on the 23rd or 24th of December and whether to speak English or Dutch during the confirmation party create some confusion but nothing that cannot be overcome easily enough.

However, if one is a child of the earth, simply a human being who lives the best way they can and does not belong to any one particu-lar country or culture, where does one call home? Identifying with multiple nations can create a scat-tered picture of oneself. Where do I come from when both my parents are Croatian, I was born in Wash-ington, USA but I’ve lived all my life in Switzerland? I have, in addition, attended an English-speaking sec-ondary school which shelters me from the local way of life as all of the students around me are children of highly skilled immigrants.

A sense of insecurity is created when one resides in a country with-out a right to its passport. Countries like Japan refuse to allow dual na-tionalities. As a Japanese national, you must renounce my citizenship if you wish to legally belong to the European country in which you live. Some internationals attend Eng-lish-speaking schools and rarely feel like locals.“I may be Japanese in Switzerland, but here, here I am Swiss. Somehow I still question my right to attend these sessions. I do not have a Euro-pean passport but I have been a res-ident of Switzerland for thirteen of my seventeen years of existence.”

What is it really that defines whether or not I am a national of this country: a legality and a piece of paper, or my interaction with and dedication to a country and where I feel I belong?As time goes on, our society con-tinues to evolve to become more and more diverse. Not only do we see a mix of cultures and nationali-ties within countries but also within people themselves. Belonging to more than one nation, country or identity affects people differently. Some find it hard to define them-selves and find a place where they feel at home, others take it is their stride and continue on like nothing is different. Dual nationality or not, one can say for certain that the in-creasingly diverse world we live in continues to broaden our horizons as a human race. •

The Melting Pot that Never Stops

By Sandra Harney (IE)

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Photo by Sandra Harney (IE)

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The ‘ASEAN Way’, aside from be-ing a rather obvious pun, is the

pride and joy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation. This non-confrontational, collaborative style of governance is a deliberate coun-ter to the oppositional, formal bu-reaucracy of Western organisations and governments. Based on sup-posedly traditional Asian principles, the ASEAN way focuses on peace-ful co-operation, discreteness, con-sensus building, indirect action and informal discussion, with the main objective of brokering harmony in the region. Countless examples in economic and political history, along with common sense, illustrate the need for countries, even in an increasingly globalised world, to have policies sensitive to their unique history and cultural background. The Washing-ton Consensus, widely applied in the 1990s, pressured many devel-oping economies to liberalise with-out considering individual needs of each country, resulting often in catastrophic consequences. These liberalisation policies presupposed that economic ills of different coun-tries could have a one-size-fits-all solution. Rather like religious mis-sionaries, proponents of the par-ticular school of economic thought popular at that time sought to ‘save’ economies without regard to their specific needs and wants. In most cases, more harm was done than good, with many domestic econo-mies crumbling and succumbing to crippling debt due to inappropriate, ineffective imposed policies. While general consensus among the global political players has shifted from the fad of indiscriminate lib-eralisation to a more nuanced ap-proach—the current fashion seems to be microfinance and other

bottom-up development projects that also occasionally have sig-nificant public relations or financial boons—Western-style democracy still remains a political absolute. Like missionaries or the Washington Consensus with their ten command-ments, the great consensus of po-litical leaders of the West believe in direct democracy, association into parties, a strong and critical press, a formalised and bureaucratic legis-lative process, secular government and relatively short election cycles. This model of government is accept-ed by a majority of nations, and it would be unfair not to acknowledge that in many cases liberal democra-cy has benefitted its citizens beyond the capacity of most other forms of government. Still, it is certainly not without its flaws. There is a tendency for direct democracies to deterio-rate into oligarchies or plutocracies, where the nation is controlled by an elite with the power or the money to influence others disproportionately, while the apathetic masses remain disengaged. Legislative action tends to be predominantly short-term and achieved only by overcoming severe bureaucracy, and long-term political consistency can be undermined by the fickleness of the public, special interest lobbies and self-interest on the part of political parties. In any society, there will have to be sacrifices of rights, freedoms, choic-es or securities in order to guaran-tee other rights, freedoms, choices or securities. The United Nations may attempt to affirm universal hu-man rights, but different societies will always have different priorities depending on their culture, nation-ality, language, ethnicity or any of the many factors that both divide and enrich humanity. The sacrifices that different societies are willing

to make to fullfil their priorities will vary, and so there can be no system of governance that applies equally as effectively to all societies. ASEAN is often criticised for being undemocratic. Because it depends so heavily on indirect and informal channels of negotiation, the integri-ty of political leaders is essential and there is often a lack of transparency. In return, decisions made by the or-ganisation are consensus-based, allowing the region to operate with unity and thus possibly with greater effectiveness. The needs of all the countries in the region can be bal-anced without oppression of opinion by a majority, as can occur in organ-isations where decisions are made by a majority vote. These peaceful methods of decision-making and conflict resolution reduce regional political tensions, ensure stability and preserve age-old traditions of leadership. It demonstrates that modernisation does not have to be synonymous with Westernisation or Americanisation, but simply a natu-ral extension of existing cultures for the modern age. For this, the people of ASEAN accept other sacrifices: less direct democracy, more hier-archy, a potential for corrupt lead-ers to exert excessive influence un-checked. Even if it is supposedly in their best interest, even if we know what works for us and should work for them, even if we think they are being op-pressed, refusing to acknowledge the ability of others to choose for them-selves is tantamount to depriving them of a fundamental liberty. Some-times, we can help. But at other times, we can only create well-intentioned disasters, in the fashion of a long line of mankind’s most deplorable crimes against itself. •

Exporting Democracy

By Saki Shinoda (CH)

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“Save the planet.” How many times have we heard this sentence? It has become so overrated that the Earth is really the last thing we care about. Creat-ing highly functional cities, where everything is easily accessible, is what society wants to invest in.Can we really blame ourselves? We have this urge to constantly improve our living conditions and have more and more comforts. It seems to be our nature; we cannot fight it.

On the one hand, our lifestyle is getting more sophisticated, shaped by our more elaborate needs; on the other hand, our plan-et is slowly dying. Humanity was once aware of the importance of our planet Gaia, of its needs and its resources. It was actually treated as a goddess, as a living being.This ancient perception of the Earth led the British chemist James Lovelock to elaborate a scientific but controversial hypothesis.

The “Gaia Theory” states that all

the organic and inorganic compo-nents of the Earth developed to-gether creating a single living and self-regulated system.

Although this specific assumption may seem queer, Mr. Lovelock actually confirmed most of the theory’s points through scientific experiments. From regulation of the salinity of the water to the variation of oxygen by more than 5% from the 21% for the past 200 million years, almost all have been proven. The most interesting hy-pothesis is the self-regulation of global surface temperature. Even though the energy provided by the Sun has increased by 25% up to 30%, the planet has maintained its conditions of habitability. If this had not happened, life would have slowly faded away, every organism been burnt by the heat of the Sun.

Gaia is situated beyond a posi-tion called the “Third Rock from the Sun”, which means we are lo-cated in a precarious equilibrium between freezing and burning up. Our only shelter is an ozone layer

and its chemical composition has already started deteriorating.If Planet Earth is structured as a human being, this it’s middle-aged by now. As our skin starts wrinkling with years, Gaia’s soil begins crack-ing. As our body fails us when we reach our maximum life expectan-cy, Gaia falls apart from the inside. It is multiple organ failure.

Earth is not perceived anymore as our own cocoon, we just put it on the background of our existence. What if it is really going to burn? What if deserts will actually reach Paris and sea waves destroy Japan?

We are given the privilege to have a ratio decidendi and all the knowl-edge necessary to let our home survive or at least postpone the in-evitable. We know how to recycle, how to use natural resources in-stead of polluting substances and how to reduce the emission of car-bon dioxide.

Our planet needs surgery; scrub in.•

Gaia is aching

By Elisa Martinelli (IT)


70th International Session

70th International SessionPhoto by Michal Korzonek (PL)

p h o t o s h o o t

Photo by Jan Nedvidek (CZ)

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The basic belief of any democratic society is based on the libertarian maxim as presented by J S Mill – ‘’I should be allowed to do what-ever I wish as long as I do not harm others.’’ Liberalism and democracy go hand in hand, and freedom of expression is a pre-requisite of a functioning political system. As V Havel, former Czechoslovak and Czech president observed in his essay The Power of the Pow-erless, if we are not allowed to say what we think, we deteriorate as humans beings. The question is – should an individual be allowed to say and do whatever he wants, even if it might offend others?

Presumably, the majority of people living in Europe would agree that the state should

not interfere with the freedom of expression of the individual. Indeed, the UN Charter uses very deontological language to state that ev-eryone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference (sic). This would imply that no person or institution has the right to tell us what to say and what not to say.Nevertheless, very few people question laws that persecute Holocaust deniers. The view of the majority is that opinions dangerous for the wellbeing of society, such as racism, sexism or religious hatred should be made illegal and holders of those opinions punished. Therefore, the conclusion seems to be that a democratic society willingly ignores one of the basic hu-man rights by making some views illegal.

The West seems to be hypocritical. On one hand, we send our armies to promote the cause of freedom and democracy, yet we re-strict those in our own countries. Offensive or insulting views are erased from the public space and not allowed to appear on public broadcast television. This is nothing but cen-sorship and restriction of the freedom of ex-pression.

The advent of the phenomenon of political correctness in the 1980s meant a further step away from the libertarian tradition of unlim-ited freedom of expression. In order to make sure that we do not offend anyone, we are re-quired to say Caucasian instead of White, fire-fighter instead of fireman and it is becoming the norm to use CE (common era) rather than AD (anno domini, ‘the year of the Lord’) when talking about dates as a religiously neutral ex-pression. The laudable effort to minimise pub-lic offense might lead to absurdity and tyranny by the majority.

On the other hand, extreme opinions can be very harmful to our society. Extremists can spread religious, racial or class hatred and it might be necessary to limit this potentially negative impact. We cannot jealously guard our freedoms if the wellbeing of the entire society is at stake – my freedom to support harmful views is outweighed by the right of

each and everyone to live in a harmonious society. The often outraged cry for civil free-doms is seldom something more than selfish individualism.

The recent incident with the group of Russian artists, the Pussy Riot, serves as a good ex-ample. The aforementioned punk rock band protested against Vladimir Putin, the presi-dent of Russia, by performing a song at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow at the sacred al-tar site. Whilst respecting the individual’s right to protest, we need to ask whether the form was appropriate and whether social stabil-ity in Russia is a goal worth achieving through unusual means (in this case, limiting civil free-doms). The recent debate on child circumci-sion in Germany shows similar tendencies. A recent controversial rulling of the Supreme Court which stated that Jewish parents cannot force their children to undergo circumcision as a confirmation of their religious belief can convincingly be referred to as a limit on the freedom of religion.

Nonetheless, we ought to make a distinction between views that are clearly and objectively harmful (the aforementioned racial hatred) and views that are merely offensive to some people. Having a Christmas tree in a state-funded school might be offensive to some religious minorities, but at the same time we can easily argue that the social and historical reasons for having one provide good enough an excuse. We always have the option of not watching or listening should we find some-thing offensive.

As usual, there are tradeoffs. There are two positive and desirable modi vivendi of our society: a society where everybody is free to present his views regardless of their appro-priateness or what others think, and a society where hatred and many different –isms are simply not tolerated. What path should our European society take? Is it about time that we rewrite the UN Charter and amend its rigid and Kantian nature? One is for sure, the issue of freedom of expression shall remain a topical question for quite some time. •

Freedom or HarmonyTwo sides of the same coin?

By Jan Nedvidek (CZ)

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Being young means being ideal-istic, dynamic and optimistic, at

least when one is young and has a job. Nowadays, it has become a bit difficult for this to be the case. The UN considers the unemployment rates among young people to be dramatic, especially in the coun-tries most affected by the crisis. This drama is not only related to the short- and mid-term economic consequences these financial diffi-culties will have. The current situa-tion is reshaping our everyday life, our character and our perceptions and therefore will have impacts, which will extend further than in a near future.

According to a study of the UN, there are more than 75 million young people all over the world that do not have a job. The situa-tion in Europe is particularly alarm-ing. A third of the Italians and Por-tuguese under the age of 25 are jobless and over half of Greek and Spanish youth are without a work. This means less production, less income for this group of the popu-lation, a weaker buying power, less taxes being collected and more social benefits for the unemployed being paid. At the same time, see-ing the big number of incentives fail and big enterprises go bank-rupt, many youngsters hesitate when it comes to taking risks. Of course, not taking risks means not failing, however, it also means not

succeeding. The chain of economic interdependencies in Europe helps in accelerating uncertainty, since many countries fear they will be next in requiring bail-outs and starting with the austerity mea-sures. This slows down economic growth and recovery.

Politicians and policymakers have failed so far to ease the hard situ-ation of many citizens and to as-sure sustainable solutions. This has caused frustration and disap-pointment. Young people do not believe that the elected politicians will bring the change needed these days. This was also reflected in the last European Youth Poll organised by the European Youth Parliament. 58,3% of the young people taking the poll expressed their disbelief in the political class and declared that they do not trust that their repre-sentatives will find a way to solve the crisis. Interesting results came out also in a survey done with some of the delegates attending this session. Unanimous was some sort of anger against the media, which, according to the delegates, is spreading pessimism and mak-ing the situation even darker than it actually is.

Concerning their future, the an-swers varied from country to country. The ones coming from countries such as Sweden, France or Estonia were rather optimis-

tic about their chances of getting jobs, whereas delegates coming from Romania, Greece or Ireland for instance believe that the future will be much harder than the cur-rent situation. Losing faith in the national governments and in the European structures might have a very dangerous result: radicalisa-tion of the youth. Unfortunately, we are experiencing the return of the extreme right parties in many countries in Europe, such as France, Finland, Belgium, Norway, Greece etc. Many people think that these parties offer the alterna-tive of strong governments giving meaningful solutions. The neo-Na-zi party “Golden Dawn” received impressive and dangerous support in Greece, even in the parts of the country, which during the Second World War have fought fascism the most.

Beyond the political and economic problems, much worrying is the risk of Europe, especially Southern Europe, having a lost generation in the future. The pressure and the stress caused by the fears of being the next to lose the job, living on a reduced income, paying higher taxes and not receiving the ben-efits of the investments made ei-ther in studies or in other fields, are creating a pessimistic spirit across Europe, with young people losing their hopes and dynamism.•

Losing jobs and losing faith

By Aida Grishaj (AL)

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Modern society is facing daily at-tacks by the anonymous individ-

uals terrorising the Internet. Multi-national companies are counting the costs of assaults on their email systems and websites, while per-sonal information is stolen and passed all over Internet. Hacking has been pretty much around since the development of the first elec-tronic computers, but this strange phenomenon still is not fully under-stood.

As technology has evolved, hack-ers have multiplied and diversified. There are those who break into major telephone systems to make free telephone calls, ones who send millions of marketing emails, steal account information or decode en-crypted computer systems of major corporations. What most of them have in common is the reason that they do it, which is simply proving they can bypass security systems around the world. They have one underlining urge: to exist on the fringe of society and reveal vulner-abilities of those operating inside the lines.

The beauty of hacking is the chal-lenge, unraveling the mystery and understanding its complexity. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, the found-ers of Apple Computer, used to route their calls through multiple countries just to do a simple thing such as calling a neighbour. How-ever, the cases when hackers were led by spite rather than curiosity were the ones that found their place in history. They were invisible and invincible; nobody was sure what they were capable of or if there was a way of stopping them.

Although there are new players and new rules, the motives driving hack-ers have not changed. In the cyber world, crossing the line of what is legal and stepping into criminality is, as everything else online, virtual. That fact combined with hackers’ spiteful personalities is the main reason why the activity continues growing in popularity. It is, how-ever, the society itself that makes or breaks the status the hackers de-serve. •

Cracking the hackersBy Nives Kaprocki (RS)

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“My crime is that of curiosity ... I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can’t stop us all.”, “The Mentor”

Photo by Liva Kreislere (LV)

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There are many possible ways to explain EYP to someone who has never heard of it. It is highly likely that the alumni refer to the so-called EYP spirit, an abstract term for a remarkable intertwining of unique experiences. But what if one is asked to approach the presentation of EYP from a more analytical point of view?

The organisation rests on a diver-sified institutional framework

and operates in conjunction with clearly written and precisely de-fined policies. To learn how EYP and the decision making process of the organisation is structured it is of utmost importance to look at the different stakeholders: the Schwarzkopf Foundation, the Ex-ecutive Director of EYP, the Gov-erning Body and the Board of Na-tional Committees.

The Schwarzkopf Foundation is the legal entity that runs EYP as its main programme. The founda-tion is not only the representation at an international level, but also deals with finance, including over-all assistance and the evaluation of all financial risks. In addition, ap-proaching potential donators and maintaining contact with sponsors are meant to be the main tasks of the non-partisan and independent Schwarzkopf Foundation. André Schmitz Schwarzkopf, chairman of the foundation and adopted son of the founder, Pauline Schwarzkopf, is going to address the session par-ticipants at the beginning of the General Assembly.

Despite Schwarzkopf Foundation helping out, the operative fun-draising itself is assigned to the Office of EYP. To execute the pro-gramme of EYP on a daily basis, communicate with both internal and external partners is also lies

with the “International Office”. The Executive Director furthermore assures that decisions made by the Governing Body (GB) become implemented and that the general guidelines the GB has agreed on will be executed. Organising the three main international events and the international trainings and meetings of the GB complete the crucial scope of duties. Since April 2011 Ville Vasaramäki from Finland runs the management of EYP. Cur-rently, a working group led by the Executive Director is working on a general vision on how to restruc-ture and improve the international governance of EYP.

Such measures cannot obviously be implemented without the ap-proval of the Board of National Committees (BNC). The National Committees (NCs) send their dep-uties to the meetings of the BNC, which is meant to hold at least one meeting a year. In fact, meetings take place more often. Inquiring about GB plans as well as the artic-ulation of proposals are the main privileges of the BNC. The main influence on the decision making within EYP is the BNC’s right to elect half of the members of the GB. The BNC also has the chance by a majority of two-thirds of the votes to call for earlier GB elec-tions. Besides the controversial, yet imperative discussions, the gathering of representatives from the countries where EYP is based

in is urged to exchange know-how and expertise concerning general matters of NC management.

The GB’s overall goal is to assure EYP’s future success. By defining guidelines and EYP policies whilst taking a variety of opinions into consideration, the GB is in charge of general policy making. Its mem-bers as well as all EYP alumni who attended International Sessions or who took part in a session as an official in the last 24 month have voting rights when it comes to GB elections with regard to the alumni. To achieve a balance of representation there are four seats reserved for teachers and students by quota. Due to the resignation of Martin Getz from the GB, extraor-dinary GB elections will be held in August and all participants of the 70th International Session can have their say.

It is crucial to know how the organ-isation that many among us dedi-cate time and effort to operates. Without the abovementioned gov-ernance institutions we would not get to do EYP. •

EYP from a rational point of view

By Jonathan Engel (DE)

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Just like any other EYP session, the 70th International Session in Tallinn has a media team. This col-lection of people, known to the rest of the world as Tallinn Media, have gathered together in this small but beautiful European country to fulfill a mission: to make these very special moments greater and provide the participants with ev-erything they could possible do to fulfill their goals.

However, Tallinn Media is not an ordi-nary EYP Media Team. There is a dif-ferent vision behind this project, an inspired vision created for this session to be even more special. EYP journal-ism provides certainly a great chance for a different perspective on this proj-ect. According to Sandra Stojanović (RS), editor, being a member of this kind of media team gives one a great opportunity to share opinions, be cre-ative and influence other people.

Tallinn Media, like any other media team, is trying to run as many proj-ects as possible. Faced with the di-lemma of quality or quantity, they are trying to find the recipe that will provide the balance needed between the two. Michal Korzonek (PL), editor, commented that EYP media teams keep trying to find their unique role at each session. It is a matter of certainty that a media team cannot produce videos of the quality or newspapers with the content of famous global media providers like the BBC or the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. However, EYP journalism is a chance for people to collect experiences, try out new equipment and different ideas, search for their own limits, and discover their “hidden talents”.

In order to provide this service, jour-nalists need to be dedicated to their mission. It is a good opportunity for them to discover themselves, capture the EYP experience and make it even better. As Arnolds (LV) said, “The flex-ibility that this media team provides you with and the great variety of working areas can offer you the feel-ing that you have fulfilled your needs. You can be the person who acts as a connection between the delegates of the session and the chairs team”. A journalist’s position has some unique characteristics and it is indisputably a special experience, an experience that, if done properly, can give you a great feedback for the rest of your life, as Elisa (IT), one more journalist, believes.

To cut a long story short, EYP jour-nalism is quite a special part of our beloved organization. Different from session to session, it is an area where people have the space to experiment, take the initiative to be different, and make every event unique, spe-cial and--as we are used to saying--a once-in-a-lifetime experience. •

The Vision Behind An EYP Media Team

By Ilias Okimonou (GR)

Photos by Ekin Arslan (TR)

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‘An inspiring General Assembly – what way forward? What other elements can be introduced at International Sessions of the European Youth Parliament to further their inspirational nature, all the while continuing to up-hold the currently existing parliamentary procedure?’

The Chairpersons, Organisers and Journalists of the 70th International Session of the European Youth Parliament,A. Believing in the theme “Breaking Waves – Young Europeans at the Waterfront“ and in the need for continual development of the methodologies we use in EYP,B. Fully supporting the existing elements of the General Assembly (GA) as defined in the policies, and being committed to their preservation,C. Contemplating the need for an element in GA that:1) widens horizons,2) gives inspiration,3) allows participants to speak about topics they are individually passionate about next to the political topics,4) 1furthers the personal development, self-confidence and speaking skills of the participants,D.Having successfully trialled the concept of the ‘New Horizon Speech’ at a major International Forum,E. Expressing its appreciation for the support demonstrated by those who have seen the concept in practice and by the Governing Body’s endorsement in our ambition to provide a life-changing, inspirational environment that encourages delegates to remain involved in EYP and continue to pursue their personal development,F. Noting that the European Parliament tends to invite thought leaders to deliver inspiring interventions during their plenaries;1.Has resolved to introduce a new speech in the structure of the GA, forthwith called ‘New Horizon Speech’ (NHS), which shall be held in-between Debates, with the following objectives:a) providing the freedom to speak about topics that matter but are not on the agenda of the GA,b) improving academic quality by providing context or inspiration,c) allowing the participants the opportunity to speak about topics they are passionate about,2. Has decided that:a) any participant (Delegates, Organisers, Journalists, Chairpersons, Teachers or guests) shall be allowed to the podium,b) one NHS can have a maximum duration of three minutes,c) the NHSs can be delivered on any topic of the unrestricted choice of the speaker, as long as the they fulfil the following criteria:i. the topic and/or approach to it are innovative and likely to broaden the horizons of the assembly, ii. the argument is novel, inspiring, unexpected or interesting,iii. the speech is likely to be delivered in a dynamic and entertaining way;d) it remains the discretion of the Board to select the speakers, as well as the order and the timing of the delivery of the speeches;3. Informs that further explanations will be provided at the session by the President and his Chairpersons.

New Horizon Speech By Jonas Dreger (DE)

Why it might be worth taking a 40-hour bus journey instead of catching a flight:

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“These speeches really showed the brilliance, originality and courage of every-day people. I found the concept refreshing, exciting and, most of all, inspiring!” (Participant of the 6th International Youth Forum of the European YouthParliament Turkey, Istanbul 2010)

The Issue 2 is brought to you by:

Sandra Stojanović, editorMichal Korzonek, editor

Konrad Staeger, editorial assistantKarin-Liis Lahtmäe, editorial assistant

Liva Kreislere, editorial assistant

Ekin Arslan, journalist Randolf Carr, journalist

Arnolds Eizenšmits, journalist Jonathan Engel, journalist

Aida Grishaj, journalist Sandra Harney, journalist Nives Kaprocki, journalist

Felix Makarowski, journalist Elisa Martinelli, journalist Cecilia Mihaljek, journalist

Jan Nedvidek, journalist Ilias-Marios Oikonomou, journalist

Erdem Osman Topçu, journalistSaki Shinoda, journalist

and Jonas Dreger, president

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Talllinn2012 is organised by:

Talllinn2012 is sponsored by:

The European Youth Parliament is a programme of the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe:

Issue 2

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Transcript of Issue 2