Megazine - Issue 1

WHAT TO EXPECT

MEGAZINE!12 NOVEMBER 2004

Walking in the Footsteps of Giants

A PRESIDENTIAL WELCOME

YOUR GUIDE TO EYP FROM THE PRESSROOM OF THE 47TH INTERNATIONAL SESSION

TEAMBUILDING TIPS

BERLIN

When David Hasselhoff burst in to the pressroom at 3am this morning wearing nothing but ill-fitting lederhosen, we could not have been more surprised. When he then deleted the original version of this magazine, our disdain for Germany’s favourite lifeguard could not have been greater. But we were not downhearted. No, David was left in no doubt that his presence was no longer appreciated. We turned to each other and with a knowing smile said: “We have the technology” and proceeded to build a bigger, stronger and faster newspaper.

So here it is: the first publication of the Berlin 2004 pressroom. With tips on teambuilding, session memories and a German phrasebook, this is the session survival guide you cannot do without.

Some of you will have met a session newspaper before at your nationals, some of you wont have, regardless of this be sure that this publication is unique. It is unique precisely because of you and everyone else who is here. Remember, the session newspaper is yours in everyway. Contribute, read, keep. This will be a souvenir of the session, and depending on your frequency in the gossip column, it’s the memento you may or may not want to show your friends to prove the existence of EYP.

Delegates, Journos, Chairs, Teachers and whoever else has picked this up off the ground of a train station in Berlin: Read and be merry.

Andrew and Ian‘Team gegen Hasselhoff’

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EDITORIAL

IanAndrew

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Hello delegates,

It’s my great pleasure to welcome you here to Werbellin to the Teambuilding event of the 47th international session of the European Youth Parliament. This amazing venue has been selected especially to accommodate our activities over the coming days. Our beautiful location here in the woods surrounding the Wer-bellin See is going to contribute greatly to the atmosphere of our teambuilding, and it speaks volumes about the session as a whole. It gives us endless space to explore our own ideas, groups and committees.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy your brief time here, that you exploit the wonderful location to get to know this place and, more importantly, the people who help to bring this place to life for you!

I look forward to meeting you all over the course of this weekend and indeed over the course of the whole session.

The very best of luck,

Stiof - President, Berlin 2004.

Andrew

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TOP 5 SITES ONE HAS TO SEE BEFORE LEAVING WERBELLIN.

1.) Der Strand (The Beach) - what more could one ask for, than a relaxing walk on the beach after a stressful day full of teambuilding. The romantic (cold) wind, the crystal-clear (freezing) water, a scenery so beautiful one’s eyes might fall off. An excellent place where to take your brand new EYP “friend” (a vicious journo).

2.) The newly acquired EYP Mobile Fun Machine – driving licence or not! This baby is here for you, dear del-egates. Feel free the conduct the fol-lowing acts around/next to/inside/on top of/under the Fun Machine: a) a bonfire; b) a rock-throwing contest; c) a baseball game.

3.) The canteen - known all over the world, the Werbellin Youth Hostel Canteen will entertain you even when it’s not serving its delicacies - the interior (the huge bat hanging down from the ceiling, the tables from the sunshine era, the carefully-placed pumpkins) with the charming staff wel-coming you with a sophisticated look, it will simply blow you away. When the canteen is serving, however, be sure not to forget tasting the oh-so-wonderful Fruchtget-ränk.

By Kair

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4.) The Coca-Cola warehouse - yes, the biggest in Germany and it’s right here un-der your noses guarded by a small army of volunteers - no wonder, Coca-Cola provides its employees with social security (no dental insurance, though) and also the salary is high (handed out in bottles). But since the gate-guard is a member of the German delegation, tours will be ar-ranged for the EYP participants.

5.) The showers - no locks, no privacy - this is the Werbellin way. This wonderful site is open 24/7. However, if you’re looking for the answer to the question: “Why has this site received the NO, PLEASE NO! award?”, you should set up camp from about 7 a.m. till 8 a.m.

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WELCOME TO WONDERLAND!

By Klara and Ieva

We seriously feel like we are in the land of miracles. Everybody from the pressroom has been to few sessions already, but this session in Germany is somehow special. We were spoiled by our previous sessions but this one will be even better! It takes place in Berlin - the capital of the land that produces more than 500 brands of beer, has the longest system of highways in Europe (11 000 km), gave us book printing, produces the greatest cars in the world (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswa-gen) and has brought up Claudia Schiffer, Michael Schumacher, Johann Sebastian Bach, Friedrich Nietsche and Johann Wolf-gang Goethe. And , as if that wasn’t enough, we are in the country where the chairs get litres of coke, the journalists get their own laptops and the orgas get their own BMW´s! And what about delegates? Don´t be depressed - you got the best of it all, because the reason why all these orgas, chairs and journos are here is just YOU, so enjoy it!

1. At least three more fi lms for your camera - you’ll relish the photos once you’re home.

2. A t-shirt pre-printed with your name, country, hobbies and shoe size so you can just point at your chest when people ask instead of having to repeat it so many times in the fi rst few days (no one will think you’re weird, honest).

3. Matchsticks to prop your eyes open with when exhaustion sets in (and trust me it will!).

ITEMS YOU WISH YOU’D PACKED BUT DIDN’T.

By Anna

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4. An Eskimo outfi t, it’s freeeeeezing out there.

5. A steak knife to cut your schnitzel with.

6. A German phrase book so you can impress the Organis-ers by speaking to them in their native language.

7. A jumbo pack of tissues for closing ceremony...trust me you’ll need them.

PRAGUE SPRING

By Colm

When I fi rst came to EYP I was afraid, I was petrifi ed... after realis-ing these were the stereotypical emotions of “I Will Survive” I got a hold of myself and surveyed the site around me. I got to the session late at night, it was Prague and the only food around was dump-lings and I didn’t have the slightest idea what they were and I cer-tainly didn’t have the sort of disregard for my own health needed to try them - I wanted to be back in Ireland having a nice beef stew. Then everything changed- we were greeted by the “orgas”, then by the teambuilders, then by the journos, then by the chairs, then by the other delegates. I had this weird feeling and it had nothing to do with the fact that I hadn’t eaten in 10 hours or that my toes were about to fall off due to the sub-zero temperatures and falling snow, it was a feeling of knowing everyone whilst knowing no one and from then on things just turned crazy... but I’m not going to give the rest away for you, you’ll just have to wait and see for yourself.

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YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF THE SUPERB JOURNEY YOU ARE IN FOR!

By Oliver

As I begin writing my fi rst article, sitting in the back of this EYP van, fi nally on my way to the very long awaited Berlin Session, I recall all those magnifi cent moments, memories and incredible people I had the privilege of meeting from past sessions. In just over a year, EYP has changed my life forever. Lifelong relationships, diff ering political views, an acquired (and ultimately addicting) taste for coff ee and perhaps a pneumonia or two from lack of sleep are just some of the FABULOUS things you shall take away from this session. While most of you have participated in national sessions before, and have had a taste of the magic of EYP, this session will be very diff erent.

An international session, as you shall fi nd out, diff ers immensely from the nationals in that you will be mixed with delegates from other countries. You will be confront-ed with political views which you may not share, and learn about cultural diff erences you were not previously aware of. Oh, and Teambuilding lasts for a whole two days!! Anyway, this International Session will blow you away!!! (after killing you from sleep de-privation).

This will be an unforgettable Session for

many reasons. For starters, there is a hoard of personal and general organisers at your disposal, making sure everything goes smoothly and checking their lists at least three times (hey, that’s even more thorough than Santa Clause). Your chairs are all ex-tremely dedicated and will guarantee that your committees have the most interest-ing discussions. You are also blessed with a sensational team of journos, perhaps the best ever brought together for a Session of the European Youth Parliament. We follow you during the day, then pull all-nighters to bring you a paper the next morning. And lastly, but most importantly, are the dele-gates. You! There is no session without you. No two EYP sessions are alike; each one’s uniqueness being defi ned by the people involved in it. From the looks of it, this one, here in Berlin, Germany, promises to out do them all.

I am still trying to fi gure out what exactly makes these sessions so incredible. If any of you do, enlighten me, will you ?All I know is that you, delegates, have no idea how great the journey you are in for will be. Welcome to the t47th International Session of the Eu-ropean Youth Parliament.

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By Maria

I bet you have been looking at the programme, wondering what most of the forthcoming events like team-building, Eurovillage or Euroconcert are all about. Well here is all the info you have been dreaming of.

TEAMBUILDING will be the fi rst time you work with your committee, meet your fantastic chairs and snooping journos and have metric tonnes of fun together playing lots of different games. The games played at teambuilding are quite useful for guys to enjoy the sweet waft of the laydeez’ per-fume and for them to laugh at the guys’ (sometimes unsuccessful) efforts. If you want to feel comfort-able at teambuilding, grab your old jeans and trainers and prepare to have the time of your life.

EUROVILLAGE is your chance to taste the diversity of Europe’s cultures and cuisine, to see some beautifully performed dances or hear some fascinating national songs. Make sure you have plenty of fi lm in your camera, because you’ll experience something so amazing that will be worth your ap-plause and attention. Make sure you give your best out there-the rest of Europe will be watching

you.

GENERAL ASSEMBLEY There your committee’s resolution will be defended and attacked. You will be able to take part in discussing other committees’ resolutions or attack them. Make your voice heard and expect to be recognised.

EUROVILLAGE is where you’ll recognise the talented people among you, hear fantastic performances and especially some songs that will be special to you after the session fi nishes. The ladies can fi nally put their high heels on and the guys too, should they so wish. It’s one of the most breathtaking moments at this session, so start being impatient about it now.

OPENING CEREMONY is the very offi cial start of the session. There the ambassadors from each delegation deliver their speeches, presenting their own country. You are expected to be smartly dressed...and you’d be smart not to ask any dignitaries for an autograph.

CLOSING CEREMONY is the offi cial closing of the session. It’s so sad that I won’t write anything else... just thinking about it my laptop is already drowned in tears.

SPRECKENZEE EYP

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DIARY OF GENERIC DELEGATE

By Colm

Dear Diary,

I trekked for miles through the desert in the sweltering sun to get here. My donkey fi nally gave up and collapsed in the sand, all hope of making it seemed lost until I called for a taxi to the airport and I made it with a minute to spare. The fl ight was effi cient and German, as were the passengers. Upon arrival I was greeted by a customs offi cer who demanded my passport in a language I was unaccustomed to but I found the melody of his vowels sounds and hard consonants endearing- I can now see why it’s called the lan-guage of love. The bus ride was an odd experience of different cultures- the British were drinking tea, the Irish were drinking, the Dutch were sparking up a joint and the Germans were looking on in shock because they thought they were going to be late. I arrived in Werbellin, where exactly we are or how we’ll get back to civilization is yet to be decided. At this point I was tired and just wanted a shower and to sleep but my adventure for the fi rst day had not ended as was made clear to me upon entering the communal show-ers where male skin was presenting itself as far as the eye could see- things were a bit to relaxed for my liking. That’s all for now, lets hope they resolve the shower situation by making them unisex.

IT COULD BE YOU!

By Klara

Dearest delegates, keep your eyes open, because soon there will be special awards! Watch your mates, look at the chairs, notice the journalists and beware of organizers, because the most fanciable EYPer is somewhere among them. We decided that looks must be appreciated and the most fanciable among you awarded - so here comes the hottest contest ever! You´ll be able to have the chance to vote for the sexiest bottom, the cut-est eyes, the best hairstyle, the sweetest smile, the coolest chair, the most tempting orga, the most stunning journo, and fi nally the most seductive male, the most lovely female and the most attractive delegation on Berlin Session 2004 and remember - it might be you!

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How to make the headlines

Love being in the spotlight? We provide you with a list of tips that will ensure you will be subject to rumour and see your name appearing regularly in the session newspaper.

Publicly fall in love:we all love seeing and especially gossiping about people smooching behind the corners during the very darkest of hours..Just remember: loud and clear! Smooch!

Bribe the journos:hunt for tired journalists: give them a massage; a nice cup of coffee; a chocolate bar; a ride in J-P’s BMW... you name it!

Show up in GA wearing nothing but your underwear:an additional hint - try to make as many points as possible! (may cause embarrassment. Do not try at home! – ed)

Look like a celebrity:blinded by fame, journos are fooled easily and might die for an interview with a celeb-rity. Try not to imitate the president of the session, however, or you might get into serious trouble with the EYP journo-police..

Say something even remotely amusing:If your journos are listening, as they should be, it’ll be quoted. Verbally talented partici-pants utilise your gift. You better watch out what you are saying, and more importantly, who is listening!

Black-mail the journos:There is a lot of underground material about the Berlin journos (not the editors, that wouldn’t be the case at all – ed) located some where in the outskirts of the world wide web

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TALLINN TALES

By Tillmann

The important parts of the EYP are certainly the interesting political discussions, committee work, general assembly, opening ceremony and so on. But EYP is defi -nitely more than that. Fellow delis, I hope you will fi nd out what I mean.According to this let me tell you my fi rst recounts of last year’s 46th International Session as a delegate in Tallinn. First of all our German delegation got split up and we had to share rooms with people from all over Europe. What at fi rst seemed to be a little weird turned out to be the coolest thing ever. Once having become familiar with our new roommates the fi rst party followed. Party? Yes, a party but a very special one: Cross dressing!!! For the rest of the evening you could see guys walking around in skirts, with lipstick and tight tops. Conversely, the girls suddenly had beards, muscle shirts and so on. My fi rst memory of the session is thus kind of weird but certainly very funny.

The special atmosphere of an international session, making new friendships, teambuilding, Euro-Village and everything that comes with it, adds up to an awesome EYP spirit! Those who have ever attended a session will defi nitely know what I am talking about. Delis, at the end of the session you will too!!! Enjoy your stay!!!

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JOIN THE CLUB WHERE YOU WONT BE BORED!

6 things you can/must/should do on your day of arrival!

By Ieva

1. Get acquainted with the host country’s language. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard a word – trust your journos! If any of locals will ask you a question in German don’t panic and be concise. The best answer would be “Oh ja, Deutschland is gut! “ Smile and nod. If all else fails run away

2. Enjoy the feeling of EYP spirit. It’s bit like being on a bouncy castle

3. Challenge yourself to remember as many names as possible! Smile and nod. If all else fails run away

4. Be a sharp-eyed EYPer for ever and ever from now on! Be on the look out for gossip and inform any journo ASAP!

5. Call your family to inform that you are well and tell them that EYP rocks!

6. Have fun! It’s fun.

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GREAT EXPECTATIONS

By Anna

I’m currently writing this on my Easyjet fl ight to Berlin (but if the Editors ask, I wrote it days ago). Actually, the in-fl ight magazine is riviting - did you know that there are annual European conferences on hair loss held in London, Athens, Madrid and Paris? So if EYP turns out not to be your thing, maybe Euro-pean hair loss sessions will be. Who knew the in-fl ight magazine could be so educational?

Last night I was up late packing my bag and thinking about this session knowing that about 300 other fellow Europeans were do-ing the very same thing. Is this your fi rst se-sion? If it is, congratulations. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of an Interna-tional EYP session.

I remember traveling to my fi rst international session truly not knowing what to expect. I had a vague idea of what I thought it would be like and it turned out to be completely different. I thought it would be good, but not as good as it was. I knew I’d meet new people, but not as many as I did. I knew the people would be cool, but not as cool as they turned out to be. I guessed we’d have to be up early, but not as early as we were!

In 10 days, all my expectations were literally turned on their head. I could never have predicted how life changing this experience would be, I don’t think you ever can. For fi rst timers, this statement may seem a little bold but read this again at the end of the session and hopefully you’ll know what I mean.

In 10 days you’ll meet so many new people, your memory of names will be impeccable. You’ll teambuild within an inch of your life and love it. You’ll sing silly songs in public and not feel embarrassed. You’ll debate...and debate some more. You’ll party...and then party some more. You’ll be woken early...and then even earlier the next day. By the end of the 10 days you’ll be truly exhausted but, and trust me on this one, it’ll be like, sooooo worth it.

Chances are you’ve spent a fair amount of time preparing for this session, for Eurovil-lage and Committee work, if you’re anything like us you’ve thought about nothing else for weeks. But however much hard work a ses-sion may be, the fact is it’s the people that make EYP what it is, it’s not the debates, it’s not the resolutions, it’s not the parties or the teambuilding that make EYP such an expe-rience, it’s who you do all these things with that count. So take a look around you as you read this welcome magazine and smile, because these are the guys that you’ll spend the next 10 crazy days with. And these are the guys that by a week next Sunday, you’ll be so sad to leave.

If I had just one piece of advice it would be to put everything you have into this session and you’ll get so much more out of it than you could ever have expected.I promise.

UNIT 1: BASICS OF “EYP-GERMAN”

By Tillmann and Ieva

1. Hello! - Hallo

2. My name is X! Nice to meet you! - Ich heiße X! Nett dich kennezulernen!

3. I’m lost! Can you help me to fi nd my room? - I habe mich verlaufen! Kannst du mir helfen mein Zimmer zu fi nden?

4. Tell me your room number! I will help you with your suitcase. - Was ist deine Zimmer-nummer? Ich helfe dir mit deinem Koffer.

5. What’s the quickest way to the bar? - Wie kommt man am schnellsten zur Bar?

6. Would you mind buying me a beer? - Macht es dir was aus mir ein Bier zu kaufen?

7. Teambuilding is so much fun! Especially in the cold, it’s the best! - Teambuilding macht so viel Spaß! Draußen in der Kälte ist es am besten.

8. Have you ever tried “Suck and Blow”? - Hast du jemals “saugen und blasen” aus-probiert?

9. Honey, tell me that you love me! - Schatz, sag mir, dass du mich liebst!

10. If you are freezing you can come to my room! We could do some exercises! -Wenn dir kalt ist, kannst du gerne mit in mein Zimmer kommen! Wir könnten einige Übungen machen.

11. Bloody hell! There are no locks in the showers! - So ein Mist! Man kann die Duschen nicht abschließen.

12. Thank you! - Vielen Dank!

13. Goodbye! - Auf Wiedersehen

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A WELCOME FROM THE ORGANISERSDear Participants/Delegates,

At last you have arrived.... Welcome to Berlin 2004! After months of preparation we organisers have been counting the days and going wild with ex-citement until we fi nally get to meet you all in person.So here you are, close to 300 people from all over Europe, who are going to make this session an un-forgettable experience for all of us. With such wonderful delegates, lovely chairs and journos and really cool teachers I am sure that we all are going to have a great time together. Even the weather is perfect – compared to how much worse it could have been at this time of the year...So now, having survived the outback in Werbel-lin, get ready to explore the metropolitan jungle – Berlin is waiting for you! I hope that you had a great time running through the woods and are now all prepared for some days of heated discussions and exciting debates. Should you have any questions or need some lo-cal advice like Where do I fi nd the best Döner?“ or „How do I explain to the hostel that I lost the keys?” – we are here to help you!

Have a great time!