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CONTENTYou Will Never Walk Alone!

Future Organisers

How to Write a Speech

Fashion in EYP

Committee Work: You are doing it wrong

The Code

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EDITORIAL

The General Assembly, something unknown, exciting, unexpected, these

were the first ideas that came into my mind when I first heard this word combination back in 2010 at my first EYP session ever. Bearing in mind the fact that such cases are not singular the Media Team decided to destroy all misconceptions and prejudices that surround the GA by this issue. Be sure that it will help and guide you through the focal point of the session.

In the meantime, make sure that you take your mind off serious committee topics during

coffee break and get acquainted with the curious Copenhagen Criteria or catch up with the latest EYP fashion trends. Some of you might find it useful to figure out what stands behind the heated debates with your fellow delegates others might have already started to prepare themselves for the GA or for organising a session in the region where they come from.

Have Fun reading the paper!

Dmitry Vyskrebentsev

The Equator

Evelina Kuznetsova (RU)Janne Vanhemmens (BE)My Dong (RU)Alexander Guzenko (UA)Anastasia Minakova (RU)Tamer Özgen (TR)

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You Will Never Walk Alone!

Anastasia Minakova introduces the session’s helpers to you.

Any session of the European Youth Parliament lasts for “some time” and

committee work take the biggest part of it. If you think about it, it turns out that you spend a lot of time with the same people, you hear the same ideas. At the same time the resolution gets farther and farther away from the ideal. The consequences become visible on the General Assembly, when most of the delegates raise their hands against. To avoid this you can only go back - to committee work, where you made a mistake. How not to repeat it again? There is only one option - the Committee needs a fresh view. This is where the experts enter the scene!

The Committee on Сulture and Education met the Candidate of pedagogical Sciences. Shivleta Tagirova - head of the European Department of the Peoples ‘

Friendship University of Russia. She loves to travel and so she has something to tell. In particular, she told CULT about prejudices and stereotypes. Traveling in Europe, Shivleta came across a lot of them about Russia, mostly funny ones. In her opinion, education is the only way to get rid of a stereotype. Shivleta is interested in international organizations such as the EYP and so she gladly answered all the questions of the Committee.

The beautiful economist Ekaterina assisted the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs by clarifying the sticky points of the issues linked to corruption, bureaucracy, poor infrastructure, monopoly in major sectors of the economy and other important economic problems. Ekaterina gave ECON some advice how to develop Russian regions.

The question if it was possible to change the Russian mentality was raised several times and such a great discussion will certainly help ECON to come up with useful solutions.

The man who knows four languages is the expert for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. Erix Varpakhovskis will answer all questions they have about the Migration policies. Erix has the appropriate education,

to give a highly qualified consultation. He is a Bachelor of International Relations and a Master of International Migration and Ethnic Relations. EMPL is working on quite a burning issue, which it is not easy to resolve. And Mr. Varpakhovskis will help them not stray from the right path.

We all know that the General Assembly is the most important event of the session. You have worked for a long time and will later have a chance to present your ideas on the GA. Not only the participants of the session were invited to this event. Our distinguished guests will pay us a visit. The guest-list falls into two parts: sponsors and partners.

The European Youth Parliament Russia expresses gratitude to the Director of School #282 Irina Egorova and the Director of the Moscow Lyceum №1548 Marina Bogacheva for their kind provision of premises for various events and wish them to enjoy the General Assembly.

Among others the following personalities were invited: Head of the Department of Educational Technologies of the Company “Garant” Galina Mardanova and Deputy Head of the Administration of Intra-urban Municipal District “Konkovo” Vladimir Promyslov.

Mr. Varpakhovskis

Ms. Tagirova

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Future Organisers

Evelina Kuznetsova discloses the secrets of how to organize a session of EYP Russia in your town!

There are not so many EYP sessions that take place in Russia and the Board

National Committee (BNC) tries to develop EYP on the regional level, in our great country. Not all of us know which particular organisational skills are required to make the session run smoothly. There have been sessions like the SNS’13 organised before, for instance, First Moscow School Selection Session and … It is obviously clear that every EYP event needs people to work hard, and this difficult work consists of many steps which are all equally important.

For those who susspects to have enough stamina, patience and operability to create an EYP event like a session ( it does not matter if you are into organising

national, regional, international) you will have to know how EYP works (see the article «How EYP works.» in issue 2) and how to deal with it.

Being ready to join the ranks of organisers means being prepared for things not going according to plan and troubles will appear. So in case of difficulties you should keep calm and carry on doing the things you are responsible for. So which things can be defined as barriers to overcome? But there are also some very important steps necessary to start organising a session. The head-organisers of the Second National Session of the European Youth Parliament Russia agreed to share their own points of view based on participating as different members in international events. And tried to answer the question “how to make the session achieve high results?”

Erix Varpahovskis and Alexandr Surkov tell us what we should be aware of. Here these points are:

1. Do not be afraid of problems.

2. Be enthusiastic.3. Try all opportunities and

possibilities.4. Consider the educational

center you graduated from as your main helper.

4. Search for venues. (Venues-places, buildings or arenas where all activities could be carried out)

5. Find yourself a second Head-Organiser.

6. Find people who are going to be responsiable for organising session events (committee needs, time management, timetables, food provision, transfer services).

7. Mind the traffic in your town.

8. Remember that much money, usually, makes the session better. Good session needs about 500 000 RUB or even more.

9. Find people who are interested in the project development (sponsors).

10. Get ready to say goodbye to your private life for the time of the session

11. Accept the fact that you will not have time for having enough sleep, so spend the week before the session sleeping in your bed at home.

12. Start preparing the session 10 years before it begins because there is a lot of bureaucracy in Russia.

Now when you know which steps you should make to organise a session of EYP in Russia, all you have to do is to choose the time and follow the directions above. Good luck to those who are decisive and ambitious!

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How to Write a Speech

Janne Vanhemmens provides a useful tool to structure your ideas.

Delivering a good speech in an organised manner is not an easy task. During

the General Assembly different kinds of speeches are held and therefore different factors have to be taken into account. The goal of an attack speech is completely differs from that of a sum-up speech, for example. This is something that needs to be thought about during the preparation. Furthermore, there are some important differences between written and spoken

language that influence the text structure.

First of all, you have to catch the attention of an audience of about one hundred people who have possibly been listening to speeches for several hours already. They are tired, they might not know a lot about your topic or maybe they are focussed on writing a last-minute speech about the next resolution. In order to make them look at you and listen to what you have to say, it is a good idea to start of with a “hook”: catchy phrase, a shocking statement, a funny anecdote or, something outside of EYP, a photo or a diagram.

Second, you can make listening easier for the audience by giving an overview of the points you are going to make. As oral speech does not give the visual possibility of dividing text into paragraphs, it is helpful to briefly talk about what will follow.

A good speech does not usually tackle more than three to five arguments. Switching from one point to another can be marked clearly by using the so-called “linking words” in the beginning, such as “firstly”, “secondly”, “moving on to”, “as my last point”, “to conclude”, and so on. Other ones like “however”, “moreover” and “on the other hand” can be used in the middle of a passage.

After the body of your speech, it is a good idea to summarise the points you just made in a few words, as a wake-up call and an extra guide for the ones who could not follow or missed something. Moving to the conclusion, a possibility to refresh people’s attention and make them think about what you said would be to refer to the first statement or finishing the anecdote you made in the very beginning. The goal of this is to make your listeners think about the future, about solutions, important problems and, of course, about your innovative ideas. In EYP, you can end your speech by encouraging your fellow delegates to vote in favour or against the resolution that is being debated upon, and do not forget to thank everyone for listening.

To conclude with, there are some general tips to make your speech more successful. Confident body language, mimic expression and eye contact create interaction with your audience. Practicing your speech out loud as many times as you can, has an exponentially positive effect on the outcome. Lastly, writing or typing your speech out in a big font makes sure that you do not lose track of where you were after lifting your eyes from the paper. Good luck!

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Fashion in EYP

Having so many bright personalities that have unique views of fashion, Alexander Guzenko attempts to find the similarities in delegates’ clothing styles.

Disregarding the cold and severe winter in the capital of Russia, everyone still

seeks the opportunity to stand out from the crowd. Taking into account Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, self-actualization is one of the most essential needs for the human being. Thus, before starting any conversation, attention is most likely to be drawn to one’s clothing and accessories. So, how to stay in tune with fashion trends and look stylish in everyday life?

Winter time: stuffy jackets, huge boots, hats and gloves whose main purposes are to keep a person away from the cold and snow cannot look as trendy as the colorful dresses and bright T-shirts of summer time. Nevertheless, it is possible to stay fashionable and stay away from the cold simultaneously.

Participants of the National Selection Conference found a compromise between style and comfort and proved it by wearing tough Timberland boots. They appear very comfortable and warm to travel in, they also suit many pieces of clothing and

are considered to be the edge of fashion nowadays.

However, warm winter jackets play a very significant role in presenting a person. Observing, you may notice that darker colours, like black or brown dominate in the style of Russian EYPers. Luckily, there are not many outside activities that could be played during the winter time, giving us an opportunity to examine the indoor style of the session youngsters.

Taking into account the fact that all of the Teambuilding activities require casual style of clothes, some unique style approaches were detected. Uni-sex squared shirts are most worn by the delegates, which slightly reminds of the fashion of the 1950’s. Jackets, ties and bowties are getting more and more popular among Russians.

During the Russian Village, the representatives of Kalmikia region fascinated everyone with

the marvelous national costumes, which are most likely to be worn during the major holidays. Unfortunately, it is impossible to wear those on a daily basis, but just putting them on makes everyone fill like there is a holiday.

Nevertheless there are some events in EYP that require a certain dress code, the General Assembly for instance. It is the most formal event of any session, so keep in mind what to wear and what should stay in the closet. It is a lot easier to stand out from the crowd for the ladies, due to the huge variety of formal clothes available. As for the gentleman — the style remains the same, but a tie of bright color will definitely attract the attention of the audience.

One very useful tip in the end: if you are here, you have a bright personality and do not be afraid to share it with the others by having a unique fashion style.

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Committee Work: You are doing it wrong

My Dong outlines the common problems that might occur during Committee Work according to the delegates.

The committee work is boring and just goes on forever? Cannot voice

your opinion? Having serious disagreement which leads to huge conflict in your committee? The delegates get their chance to share their thoughts on how the Committee Work can go wrong at some point.

Discussion plays a very important role in every resolution, and that is also where obstacles might arise. The first and foremost problem lies in the disagreement of delegates. More than three among the interviewees admitted that they found it hard to work with their committee sometimes. On the one hand, the purpose of Teambuilding is to make delegates understand each other better, but on the other hand, there is a difference in how a person acts in TB and how he acts during CW. Someone even said that they felt themselves surrounded by totally new people. This leads to uncomfortable working atmosphere, and even more serious consequences such as misunderstanding and conflict

between delegates of the same committee.

According to Diana and Nastya from DEVE, the committee’s discussion also seemed agitated. Even though it was perfectly clear that everyone gets the chance to share their opinion, sometimes the discussion was dominated by particular people, and the others stayed inactive during the whole day of Committee Work. Moreover, people tended to unconsciously interrupt others, and that just made the conversation seem more one-sided.

Language barrier is also a huge challenge. Irina from SEDE met encountered some difficulties

with expressing her opinion and ideas because of this. This is probably the reason why there still are delegates who do not (or rather cannot) really take part in the discussion actively. Another reason for being quiet during CW is, according to Natalia (SEDE), the lack of confidence. Even if your idea has already been brought up, do not hesitate to voice yours. While you may think that it is unnecessary, every opinion is appreciated in EYP.

Furthermore, many interviewees said that they were worried about wasting time because sometimes the ideas seemed a bit off the topic. Instead of focusing on the main idea, the committee at some point tends to digress from it and that leads to useless discussion, which is «totally a waste of time» and «really annoying». It is understandable, since for most delegates this session is their first experience working in group. It is good to be enthusiastic, but do not waste time on ideas that are not relevant to the topic.

Working in a committee means that everyone is equal. Controlling your emotions during Committee Work is very difficult, but it is essential. That is the key to have a calm but efficient discussion, as Zarina (SEDE) said. When something does not go like you want it to be, try to stay calm and explain yourself.

Committee Work may be hard, tiring and emotionally draining for someone, that is for sure. Arguments and disagreements during the discussion may bring you down, but remember: these are the things that bring the committee together. And last but not least, keep calm and carry on with the Committee Work.

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The Code

Tamer Özgen briefly looks into the Code for potential members of the European Union.

With Croatia’s accession to the European Union on 1 July, 2013

and eight other candidates almost of fulfilling the Copenhagen Criteria, the EU is going to reach its biggest as big as ever. Considering the importance of maintaining efficient functioning while accepting new countries to the Union, it is vital to understand

the requirements necessary to fulfil the criteria.

European Union has kept enlarging and this has been one of the prior issues for it since the very beginning, when it was established as the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952.

Still, many countries wish to join the union and the question “What is Europe?” comes afterwards. It is not easy to answer this question, however, it is possible to define it according to geographical borders from Iceland all the way to Kazakhstan; to political and ideological actions, fundamental opposition to the eastern bloc until 1989; lastly, it is culturally diverse. When we follow the path that those definitions create, we finally reach to the Copenhagen Criteria which is one of the main cornerstones of the EU today.

In short, the Copenhagen Criteria is a series of necessities that candidate-states to join the European Union are to fulfil in order to be a part of the union. It is obligatory for candidates

to guarantee constitutional democracy, adherence to human rights, protection of minorities, a functioning market economy and the ability to implement the aquis communautaire. Europe has always been the capital when it comes to those issues especially

human rights as we can see from the democracy that was based on the ideas of the Greek philosophers more than two thousand years ago. When we move forward in the timeline, in the 13th century “Magna Carta” was arguably the first document which secures the basic human rights and even people say that the USA is the capital of human rights, that was 200 years before the discovery of America. These two examples are enough to make the criteria seem reasonable.

Moreover, the financial crises that Europe faced in the past and the crisis it is facing right now made it essential for the European Union to have a balance between member states’ economic growth. That is why the criteria include articles about entering Eurozone and economiс guidelines which every member-state are to obey in order to prevent crises.

As for the most complicated requirement of the criteria which is aquis communautaire, it is basically applying the European legislation to your own constitution to implement laws that were passed by the European Parliament. Since every state has different backgrounds and cultures, those make it vital to put on European aquis in order to prevent different constitutional problems between the member states.

Like Winston Churchill said in his 1946 speech, the Copenhagen criteria is the biggest step on the way to establish the United States of Europe. Though, it is obvious that the Copenhagen criteria still has its draw-backs when it comes to the national sovereignty issues however, in the future Europe will be grateful to have had them.

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