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Ivo ten HagenOne of the best trainers of

VVD who is the LYNC friend from the first steps.

This time they came to Georgia with a completely new and exciting program of teaching liberalism to

the youth and successfully implemented it during the

working sessions of the seminar. The participants this time were lucky with

the organizers (FNF, VVD), with the trainers and with

the weather. Read the interview with Mr.

Ivo ten Hagen in this newsletter.

LYNCN e w s l e t t e r s p e c i a l e d i t i o n N 4

The summer of LYNC has

started !

LYNC has held its first summer event in

Bazaleti Lake, Georgia with lots of summer

fun ! Yeah, studying liberalism is fun !

Lessons of Liberalism.

Several days of very interesting sessions of

training with VVD trainers Kamran Ullah

and Ivo ten Hagen and, of course, our

permanent friend and partner FNF.

LYNC team invites new members.

During the “Lessons of Liberalism” LYNC

found new enthusiastic and very active

young people from Armenia, Azerbaijan and

Georgia.

THE YOUTH FROM THE SOUTH CAUCASUS REGION TAKES LESSONS OF LIBERALISM.

From 29th June till 1st of July 2012 in Bazaleti Lake, Georgia, FNF with the partnership of VVD (Dutch Liberal Party) and LYNC organized a very interesting

summer event - seminar on the Lessons of liberalism. LYNC helped the organizers to select the most active and promising youth from the region which

could later join the local teams of LYNC in their future work.

The topic may appear to be quite broad, but for the young activists that were participating, the program was very well designed and the topic perfectly

described what was going on in Bazaleti. Those who were new to the liberal ideas, had the chance to easily

get involved into the study process. It was fun and useful. This kind of studying process is described in the

book of Robert Kiyosaki „Rich Dad Poor Dad“, when the knowledge is gained through games and other innovative

teaching mechanisms. So, Lessons of liberalism were a very good chance for the youth to start examining themselves, to find out the liberal roots and develop them. The combination of

flexibility and freshness of the topic and the program did their job in it.

The long term experience in organization of VVD seminars about lessons of liberalism played its role in improving the quality of the seminars. This year the program of the seminar, that was designed by the trainers, was very well done, besides, the trainers themselves were very active, communicative, friendly, enthusiastic and charming which in fact is very important. Sometimes trainers may not be able to „appeal“ the auditory, and in this case the most part of the time is almost lost.The program included a couple of extremely contemporary issues, such as social media and different political systems. Mr Ivo ten Hagen and Kamran Ullah, trainers from The Netherlands, were very skilled. Though the participants knew them before, but their lectures seem to be updated non-stop.One of the sessions referred to the most common political systems of the world. This gave an opportunity to compare liberalism with conservatism, socialism, to unveil the necessity of democratic principles in liberalism and vice versa. As a result, Ivo ten Hagen concluded, that being liberal means being democrat, but being democrat does not necessarily mean being liberal. Lessons of liberalism this time had the headline “Communication and Governance” and were useful first of all because of its quite relevant structure and viable teaching methods. The participants were given the chance and freedom to bring the given knowledge to life immediately via work groups.

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LYNC values the teamwork skills of a young active person. For this reason I was very glad to find out that there was a special session concerning teamwork skills in the program. And, as it has already been mentioned, the teaching methods were fun, the participants had the opportunity to learn without feeling the heavy burden of the learning process. Based on this, it can be concluded that the one of the goals of the seminar was to prove that learning liberalism might be easy and fun. The mobility of the participants during the seminar helped to keep being switched on during the whole seminar. Besides, the participants were given complete freedom to ask any questions that interested them. Ivo Ten Hagen was patient enough to constructively answer each of the questions, so that the basics of liberalism could become easy for the young participants to digest. This definitely helped to strengthen the roots of their liberal thinking.

Nevertheless, those whose opinions were somehow different from the common l ibera l values, had the freedom to express themselves

and get involved in an active and fruitful dialogue with each other and with the trainers. So, if the goal of the seminar was to tease youth interest in liberalism, the LYNC team is confident they have succeeded.Coming to the target groups, one can assume, that young beginner liberalists and socially, politically active youth were the target group of the event. Though definitely adults also enjoyed the process.To conclude, one of the basic goals of the seminar was to show, that a person is free to make choice concerning his own life and benefits.

The event lasted three days. During those three days Ivo Ten Hagen and Kamran Ullah flexibly matched the program to the audience and were open to accept any new suggestion concerning the program, if that did not cause significant change of the program goals. Herewith, LYNC (Liberal Youth Network of the South Caucasus) also had a session, which helped the LYNC members to look at the working group from outside. The LYNC team helped the new participants to gain more information about the youth initiative and to prepare their own

presentations on the community, after which the LYNC team members answered the questions of the other participants concerning the structure of LYNC, membership rules, activities etc. The LYNC team itself understood which were the main gaps of the work done and decided on the upcoming changes that should be arranged in the upcoming months. The trainers were successful to take the LYNC team out of their comfort zone, so that they could step forward in the development process. The atmosphere as a whole was very positive.

The trainers seemed to be quite skillful and experienced, they had no problem to catch the attention of the auditorium. The information they gave was very practical. And, as we know, practical information is easier to understand. The trainers were very good at socializing with the participants. That is very important, as the participants see, that the trainers consider themselves equal to the participants. The friendly attitude only contributed. The slogan of the seminar sometimes was „Less talk, more action“. When in action, it’s no problem to catch new information.The LYNC team members had a partial contribution to the development of the program. With our suggestion the trainers changed the structure of the session that referred to the LYNC. Besides, one of the members prepared daily report of the event.

LIBERAL YOUTH NETWORK OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

Kamran Ullah

The extremely active and very skillful trainer of VVD who kept the whole process

going in a dynamic and “young” rhythm. The

participants were easy to listen to him and follow his

directions. Mr. Kamran shared his working

experience with us and gave specific tips and

advises of making decisions and acting due to the time requirements. He is a live example of making fun of the learning process and that is what his “liberal

word” says - fun, which he shared during one of the

sessions.

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Where are you from, which organization and what is your ideology? What was your development path?

You met me in my role as a trainer for the VVD, a Dutch liberal party. Just a!er my graduation I became a member because I thought that the party could use some of my not active support. "ey asked me to become a representative in my city of Boskoop, Netherlands and then I started following trainings and lectures about the party, politics and professional skills. I became an active member and started to give the trainings myself, which I've done for the past ten years.

Have you ever been in the South Caucasus before and in which countries? How aware you are about the liberalism problems in our region?

VVD international asked me to conduct a training in Georgia in May last year. It was my #rst visit to the South Caucasus and it touched me to see the struggle you are having to express basic freedoms which are so natural in our country that I hardly think about it. I think it changed my way of looking at the world and of the way I give trainings.

What do you know about LYNC, have you read (heard) about our organization? What suggestions do you have regarding the activities of LYNC (other youth organizations in the region)?

LYNC started at one of my trainings, so I feel a bit like a founding father. It was nice to see the hard work you all have done. "e best development for LYNC is to be an open community, where people can discuss or just watch what is going on. Don't link yourself to parties so you can stay independent.

Do you see any opportunity of cooperation between VVD and LYNC? How do you usually treat the opportunities to work with the youth organizations?

VVD and LYNC will have a relation for a long time, because the VVD is commi$ed to help liberal movements all over the world. But we give only training or advise, you have to go your own way, even if we don't like it. It's your development in your region.

What teamwork tools do you have?

Teamwork is about trust, responsibility and a strong will to let others succeed. Be open and positive and the world looks brighter.

Do you feel yourself a citizen of a certain country?

As I mentioned before, I'm a member of several community's and I have several roles. I'm Boskoper, Dutch, European and world citizen. I'm a father, a husband and maybe someday a math teacher. "ere are times when those memberships collide, but I survive because I want to look at an honest man in the mirror.

From a liberal point of view do you think no borders between states is an Utopia?

A world without borders is not my dream. Borders give people a sense of security. It is nice to feel at home in your country. Government should be as close to people as possible. But borders can be open for people to trade or to move. In my dream the world works together, trade together and exchange culture.

LIBERAL YOUTH NETWORK OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

WE ARE EQUAL, BUT NOT THE SAME.INTERVIEW WITH IVO TEN HAGEN.

The liberal values are based on respect for each individual, because we are equal but not the same. You will have the possibility to develop, but whether you reach your goal or not is up to you, the help you organise and the opportunities you create. This is the basic responsibility you have for your life. Liberals will help other people who cannot help themselves, yet we try to help you to reach an independent life. We have to be tolerant if

we give other people the same rights we would like for ourselves. And be careful that liberal values don't change in conservatism but evaluate the values and reflect on them on a regular basis.

Ivo ten Hagen

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This time this liberal family’s trainers with FNF organized an interesting seminar on Lessons of Liberalism. Some of the LYNC members were also participating in this event. One of the VVD representatives was Friso Rip, VVD international officer. Below is the interview with him, by Lilit Melkonyan - member of LYNC international relations group.

Is this your first time in the South Caucasus?

No, I’ve been in South Caucasus before, I was in Georgia, and it was again another project with Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

What do you know about LYNC?Have your read about our organization?

I’ve heard about LYNC before coming to Georgia, I know that it was #nally created in Bakuriani and its regional organization which also shares the ideas of liberalism. It’s like our project of regional network in North Africa, so partly I imagine how you have started.

So are you informed about the liberalism problems in this region?

Somehow. I see that Georgia is in be$er position than Armenia or esp. Azerbaijan from liberal perspectives. Like every international officer I’m aware of general problems of the region, about the youth’s difficulties of expressing their liberal ideas, approaches. I can understand the importance of LYNC and the difficulties you face taking into consideration the regional con&icts.

Knowing this, what suggestions would you have regarding the activities of LYNC (or the other liberal youth organization in the region)?

LYNC should involve more members. More people you have, more political conveys your message, more power you have. As much active members LYNC has, as powerful it is. When you are network, it is very important to connect more people, to educate more young people, to have more people ready for liberal changes.

Talk a bit about your system values /let it be human, world values.

"e most important for me, especially in liberalism is responsibility. Individual responsibility is the core message of liberalism for me. I think it just lets other people become what they want. I am responsible for my decisions, my way and I can’t make another person become what I want.

How do you develop your thinking? What was your path of development?

Staying open for other countries, other people, bridging cultures.

What teamwork tools do you have/use in your organization, which ones you would like to share with LYNC?

If you have good manifesto, than most work is done. It’s important to concretize what you want, to be agreed on it. Keep talking to each other, stay open, involve yourself with others.

Do you see any opportunity of cooperation between VVD and LYNC?

In general every cooperation depends on how inclusive you want to be. If you have the same goals, vision, or how alike they are. Are you sharing the same goal? If you are professional network, than it’s a good platform to share your knowledge, experience. I think all the liberal organizations should and are cooperating. We have something to learn from LYNC and could share our experience of networking with LYNC, for example LYNC also can cooperate with liberal network of North Africa, on which we are working now. In general I like the idea of LYNC, I think in future we will have more joint events and projects.

LIBERAL YOUTH NETWORK OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

STAY OPEN FOR OTHER COUNTRIES, OTHER PEOPLE, BRIDGING CULTURES.

INTERVIEW WITH FRISO RIP

The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Dutch: Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie:VVD) is the liberal political party in Netherlands.The VVD is a member of the worldwide network of liberals, Liberal International (LI), the European Liberal and Democratic and

Reform Party, (ELDR), the European Liberal Forum (ELF), the Alliance of Liberals dan Democrats for Europe (ALDE), the European Network of Political Foundations (ENoP), and the Liberal South East European Network (LIBSEEN).

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I APPRECIATED THE ATMOSPHERE OF TRUST, MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT.

ASYA MALAMYAN

One of the Armenian participants of the seminar on Lessons of Liberalism in Bazaleti, Georgia, Asya Malamyan, is sharing with us her impressions and opinion about the event and the liberal

atmosphere there. From the first day she was actively engaged in the exciting working process of the groups and as a result currently Asya is one of the new active members in LYNC and will

contribute to the works of our youth initiative. We warmly welcome Asya and other new members from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, who joined LYNC after Bazaleti.

LYNC team

From 29th of June till the 1st of July in Bazaleti Lake, Georgia took place a seminar dedicated to L ibera l i sm: Communica t ion and Governance , organized by German Friedrich Naumann Foundation in cooperation with VVD (Dutch Liberal Party) and LYNC(Liberal Youth Network of the South Caucasus). As a participant, I must mention, that the event was organized in the highest level. The trainers were very professional and the topics were covered for one hundred percent. In the agenda we had such topics as liberal values, strengths of liberalism, weaknesses of liberalism, principles of consensus, social media etc. The training sessions were full of new information, knowledge and fun, as well as theory and practical exercises.Team building games were playing very

important role for fulfilling the workshops that we had in our agenda. They both helped us to get to know each other better and to raise the trust among participants.

One thing that was especially appreciated by me was the atmosphere of trust, mutual understanding and respect. Participants were from South Caucasus region: Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan. Though this region is considered to be a conflicting one, not even a single case of misunderstanding was noticed among participants. Despite the political and economic instability in the region liberal youth of all three countries managed to work in very diverse groups and successfully complete all the workshops. Besides the knowledge and a lot of fruits for thought that this seminar gave us, let’s not forget about the real fun we had in Bazaleti. These 4

days were unforgettable not only in the context of knowledge, but also in human relationship, friendship, trust through diversity, tolerance and respect of that is different. Frankly speaking this was my first “tête-à-tête” interaction with participants from our region. It was rather strange for me. Especially when in this kind of seminars I used to stay with members of our (Armenian) team, but this time I was sharing a room with a very nice Azerbaijani girl, Yegane, and that was very interesting. The way almost all of the participants were dancing under Armenian national music –

qochari and Azerbajani music in a bus on our way back was really amazing. This was our first but hopefully not the last teamwork together.

LIBERAL YOUTH NETWORK OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

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