Alster Twelve - 1 - Issue One

Alster Twelve consists to a large part of online features. You can access these features by scanning the barcode-like boxes (QR codes) next to each article with a smartphone, or of course by entering the web address into your notebook browser. Each link will lead you to our press team website with the complementary brilliant photo and video content that just could not be expressed by a black-and-white

copying machine.

Robin Janásek and Randolf Carr

HEAD ORGANISERS’ INTERVIEWPAGE 6

TEAMBUILDING ARTICLESPAGE 12

EUROVILLAGE REVIEW (INCLUDING VIDEO)PAGE 15

FACTS ABOUT ACTAPAGE 18

HAMBURG:MORE THAN JUST A SESSION VENUE

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Arriana Yiallourides A spectacular city awaits you beyond Gymnasium Grootmoor’s campus. Memorise some of this Hamburg trivia to impress fellow delegates at the City Tour.

I t’s usually a good idea, when attending an EYP ses-

sion, to immerse yourself fully in the location. Especially when the location is as excit-ing as the city of Hamburg. Getting to know the place where you will have some of the most intense debates of your life and play some of the most outrageous games with names so imaginative that they’re beyond common understanding - it is indeed vital to reach a full apprecia-tion of an EYP session’s venue, since it will inevitably become the setting for some amazing memories.

Having said that, especially as an international journalist, I found it an important task to investigate the city of Ham-burg and ended up fi nding some remarkable facts and fi g-ures. So here it goes!

Firstly, Hamburg is Germany’s second largest city after Berlin. Although a quite boring statis-tic, it contains a very interest-ing fact: Hamburg has a living space of 30 square metres per person, thereby making Ham-burg the city with the most generous living space in the world.Secondly, contrary to popu-

lar belief, Venice is not the city with the most bridges! It is indeed Hamburg! Although not a widely known fact, it is actually true that it even has more bridges than Venice and Amsterdam combined. It is estimated that Hamburg boasts more than 2500 bridges, mak-ing it a unique place to visit. Consequently, Hamburg is also called “the city of rivers” with a large number of canals and rivers meandering all over the city. I bet you didn’t know that about our remarkable host city.

For those interested in the

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I think we can grow to love Hamburg, not only for the common reason that brings us all here.“

environmental aspect of the city, you will be pleased to know that Hamburg has been chosen as Europe’s Green Cap-ital for 2011 on top of being considered Germany’s green-est city. An astounding fact for a city that also houses the second largest port in Europe, which inevitably means: pol-lution. Nonetheless, Hamburg brings both into perfect equi-librium, managing to be one of Europe’s most important trade centres whilst remaining eco-friendly. What more could we ask for?

It is also worth knowing that amongst the plethora of muse-ums which one fi nds in Ham-burg, there is one that should not go unnoticed! The city houses the world’s largest model railway museum called “Miniatur Wunderland”, an unusual museum defi nitely worth visiting.

Last but not least, in the offi -cially named Free and Hanse-atic City of Hamburg, one can also fi nd the largest Japanese Garden in the World, highlight-ing the multi-faceted nature of this amazing city. Need I say more?

I hope it’s now apparent to you that Hamburg, beyond being a sensational EYP venue, is an amazing place to see. For these facts I think we can grow to love Hamburg, not only for the common reason that brings us all here. Extending your stay your stay here for an explora-tion of the city is defi nitely in order!

See you soon!

WEATHER FORECAST FOR HAMBURG

If you hold this newspa-per out the window and it gets wet, that means it’s

raining

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF FIRST SESSIONS

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Judith Brehmer Even the most experienced EYPer has once, like you now, attended their very fi rst session... Some unforgettable fi rst impressions.

O n of the jury members in Hamburg, who partici-

pated on his first session in 2005, recalls about that first experience, “We were fanat-ical”. In hindsight he recog-nises, “Maybe we should have relaxed more to enjoy the ses-sion”. A realisation that he now wants to give to you.Like you, every EYPer has entered this world as a dele-gate. Everyone? No, there are exceptions: Lia experienced her fi rst session as an organ-iser. Having gotten this posi-tion through a friend, she found herself rather lost: “In the Orga meeting, I didn’t understand a word. What on Earth was a committee?” Now, some sessions in the roles of delegate and chair later, she knows the answer.The feeling of being thrown into something that feels a lit-tle to big is familiar to session President Adriana too. Her fi rst session was one of the big international sessions in 2006. In contrast to the dele-gates from other countries, she didn’t have any prior experi-

ence. “During the fi rst day of committee work, I just felt stu-pid”, she remembers. None-theless, she didn’t give up and managed the situation. “Maybe the fact that is was my fi rst experience in EYP made it even more magical. I contin-ued EYP because I enjoyed it”.Upon being asked about their fi rst EYP memory, some burst out giggling and laughing. Enough reason to dig deeper! Laura, currently a member of our organiser team, remem-bers having messed up the sum-up speech she had to hold in the General Assembly as she was very nervous. She recalls forgetting how to begin her speech and whispering to her fellow delegate for help, hop-ing the microphones wouldn’t work that well... in vain – the audience heard it.What happens when you don’t stick to water and juice, Journo Zuzana and Head Orga Ulli found out on their fi rst or sec-ond sessions: Ulli woke up one morning covered in lip-stick paintings, and Zuzana, together with some friends,

got fascinated by the idea of tattoos and painted her body. Nothing wrong with that; it just happened that the next day she wanted to wear a skirt for the General Assembly... and painted legs obviously didn’t match that look very well, so she had to spend some time removing the “tattoos” with a toothbrush...“The fi rst session is always the fi rst”, Adriana says. So look forward to what is yet to come and let yourself be surprised how this event will become unforgettable as your fi rst EYP session!

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MOBILITY AND COMMUNICATION NEW CONNECTIONS


Zuzana Holakovská Hamburg, with its famous port, is a worldwide sym-bol of mobility; therefore also the best place to look for New Connections.

R oger Tory Peterson once said, “Birds have wings;

they’re free; they can fly where they want when they want. They have the kind of mobility many people envy”. However these concerns are becoming less relevant day by day. The word Mobility, together with Communication, could adequately define this 21st century. While in the past people felt a strong connec-tion with their roots and thus had a tendency to settle and spend their lives close to their nest, nowadays the concept of Europe, with the aid of tech-nology and time, motivates people to explore the world. When it comes to mobility most of us imagine airplanes, cars and trains. Thus we also need to keep in mind the pres-sure we put on the environ-ment while travelling, instead of taking the beautiful land-scapes for granted, because it may not take long before they vanish.On the other hand, due to the development of new communi-cation methods such as social

media, people do not need to be as mobile in the physical way as in the past. The concept of working from home enables entrepreneurs to spend less on renting offi ce space and gives employees more fl exible work-ing hours. Looking further into the future, communication could therefore also have a sig-nifi cant infl uence on the met-ropolitan traffi c - less people commuting means less traffi c, so it may aid traffi c-jammed cities, such as London, Brus-sels or Warsaw.The President of the session Adriana believes that com-munication refl ects one of the basic needs of human beings – belongingness.According to the Head Organ-isers there were several rea-sons that eventually led to the choice of Mobility and Commu-nication as the session theme. First of all, both Berthold and Ulrich felt that the session theme needs to stand for some-thing that anyone, no matter how experienced or educated, can relate to. “By choosing a theme which is neutral and

pretty broad we aimed to bal-ance the competitive spirit of a regional conference and thus encourage those less prepared to use their creativity,“ says Berthold.Furthermore Ulrich feels that although it is important to care about the environment, push-ing the topic of energy saving, etc. into all sessions is rather unnecessary. Moreover, the Head Organisers decided not to relate any of the commit-tee topics too directly to the session theme. “If the top-ics refl ect the session theme directly, the General Assem-bly tends to become incredibly boring and one-sided and we primarily wanted to encourage diverse discussions.“ Hope for an enriching debate and keep in mind that one thing is more than certain; due to the speed of development of the 21st century, mobility and communication will undeni-ably affect the future of the EU on a much greater scale.

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THE DYNAMIC DUO


Nives Kaprocki and Leona Kohl The Head Organisers Ulrich Johannes Völker and Berthold Wahjudi talk about their EYP expe-riences and report on what happens back-stage at the session.

Nives and Leona: Why did you decide to Head-Organise the session together? Berthold: We met at the EYP Academy in Aschaffenburg in November 2010…Ulrich: One month later the Regional Conference concept was introduced and there was a call for Head Organisers and I never had the chance to have a session in my town. I was thinking about who I could organise the session with and asked Berthold. Were there any funny moments during the session preparation? Ulrich: During the prepara-tion, which took longer than one year, there were funny moments, but it wasn’t really funny. Yeah, I remember one funny moment. (Both laugh-ing) When we had an EYP Ger-many Board meeting near

Stuttgart, Berthold and I needed to go to the super-market, which was just a few streets away. We took Franzis-ka’s car and somehow ended up at a construction site in a completely different direction and almost drove off the hill. Berthold: I really thought we were going to roll over.Ulrich: Oh really? I’m sorry! (Both laughing) I must admit I am a bad driver.What do you expect from this session? Berthold: My only demand for the session was to have a full-length session in three days. I want the delegates, who are mostly fi rst-time delegates, to have a full EYP experience although it’s just a Regional Conference. Ulrich: We considered it most important to make the del-egates feel comfortable and

t h a t ’ s why we chose a chairs’ team of whom were 100% sure that they are not only competent but also great personalities. With our adver-tising we got many applica-tions and were able to choose the best offi cials’ team. We want to make this session the most amazing fi rst EYP experi-ence.What do you think makes the session unique? Berthold: To be honest, there are so many sessions, so from

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You can’t understand EYP until you experienced it. It’s amazing how far EYP can take you.“

t h e organi-

sational point of view this session isn’t

unique. Because the basic parts and the programme like teambuilding and committee work were planned before. I think the people make the ses-sion unique and Hamburg is a unique event, not because of the session itself, but because of the people. Ulrich: I fully agree. Can you explain simply what EYP means to you?

Berthold: In gen-eral it is about meeting young, interesting and e n t h u s i a s t i c people from all over Europe, critical debates, and all the goals that EYP tries to achieve.

Ulrich: I abso-lutely agree with

you. I just want to say that in the

past three years EYP started dominating

my life. When I came to my fi rst session, I was

annoyed by people who were really, really enthusias-tic, because I went there to par-ticipate in academic debating with competition - and now I went to 17 sessions and I just can’t stop. What was the most memorable moment in your EYP career? Berthold: I think it was the fi rst Closing Ceremony. I realized that many people were crying and that EYP means so much to them and I also was very sad. You can’t understand EYP until you experienced it. It’s amaz-ing how far EYP can take you. Ulrich: There had been so many moments; every ses-

sion more or less has brought a lot of interesting moments. For example when I had my fi rst attack speech. It’s always about the people you meet and special moments. If you know the person for three or four days and you call him a friend. Is there any advice you’d like to give to the delegates?Berthold: I encourage them to participate with passion, because you can’t understand EYP unless you tried.Ulrich: Don’t be afraid, although at fi rst place there might be things you’ll be afraid of . Just enjoy. Enjoy being together with all of those outstanding people. This ses-sion should provide every sin-gle delegate with so many spe-cial settings. Make the most out of it and be honest to your-self, and don’t worry too much about the obstacles.Thank you!Ulrich and Berthold: You’re welcome.

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Cruising and Ketelkloppering


Judith Brehmer Besides being a hub for shipping and trade, the Hamburg harbour has made also made some more… unconventional… contributions to mobility and communication.

T he future of mobility and communication in

Europe… How do these tow topics, mobility and commu-nication, correspond? Where there’s mobility, communica-tion develops… sometimes in the most curious ways. Need some proof? Go to the Ham-burg harbour – and some decades, preferably one and a half centuries, back in time.The famous port of Hamburg, the second largest in Europe after Rotterdam, not only sees thousands of ships docking and casting off again; it’s also the source of some inventions that have made the world a lit-

tle more interesting.Firstly, Hamburg harbour is the birthplace of pleasure cruises. Though nowadays the port is more famous for its container ships, transfer stations and its economical role, cruising was invented here in 1891 – not as a properly planned venture, but out of some state of emer-gency: During winter, when not as many passenger liners as usual could pass the Atlan-tic, many ships had to remain anchored in the harbour. No shipping, no business. So Albert Ballin, a businessman, decided to divert those ships a little from their intended

use: He advertised so-called “journeys for education and amusement” through the Med-iterranean. The “Auguste Vic-toria” was the fi rst passenger liner to serve for cruises – and from then on the idea has won many supporters throughout the decades until now and has added one more attraction to mobility.And didn’t I say something about a novelty in communi-cation from the port of Ham-burg? To be sure! Here you go: Ketelkloppersprook. Sorry? Ketelkloppersprook is a cer-tain dialect that was invented by the workers of Hamburg

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Ketelkloppersprook. Sorry? Ketelkloppersprook is a certain dialect that was invented by the workers of Hamburg harbour and is now, apart

from its cultural value, a secret or code language.“

harbour and is now, apart from its cultural value, a secret or code language. To solve your confusion about the name: Ketelkloppersprook comes from the German “Kesselk-lopfersprache” (literally: the language of the workers who removed limescale from ships’ steam boilers), which came up in the middle of the 19th cen-tury – again out of need. It was hard for the workers to com-municate due to the massive noise a harbour of Hamburg’s size naturally causes. But as communication was essen-tial, the workers found a way of alternating their language in a way that made it eas-ier to be understood over the noise. This is how Ketelklop-persprook came up. Its system is quite simple: Every word has to start with a vowel. If it doesn’t, the consonant at the beginning of the word is put

either to the end of the syllable or of the whole word, followed by an “i”. Not too complicated. What makes things tricky for us today is the fact that the basis of Ketelkloppersprook isn’t standard German but Low German. So for outsiders, it’s really hard to understand – which is why Ketelklopper-sprook has become a secret language.For example, an extract of the “Hamborger Kedelklop-per” song from 1925: Wi sünd Amborgerhi Etelki-Opperkli, / wi arbeit’t öbendri bi Ohmbli un Ossvi, / sünd üzfi delkri un ümmer opperpri, / kaut Atten-swi un hebt ändlischi Ostdi.To say it in German: Wir sind Hamburger Kesselklop-fer, / wir arbeiten drüben bei Blohm + Voss, / sind kreuzfi del und immer propper, / kauen Schwarzen und haben schän-dlich Durst.

And in English: We are the Kesselklopfer of Hamburg, / we work over there at Blohm + Voss, / we’re jolly and always all right / we chew black (tobacco) and are bitterly thirsty.So you see: Where there’s mobility, people come together. Where people come together, they communicate. And where they communicate, new dia-lects and languages come up and increase cultural variety. So if you want to tell secrets or just impress others, maybe you’ll use Ketelkloppersrook next time. But remember: Offi -cial EYP languages are English and French!

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TRAVEL FAILS ANDHOW TO AVOID THEM


Hannah Grace Carter A short guide to all the things that can go wrong based on the collective experience of the offi cials body.

A part from expanding your horizons, EYP will

give you the chance to travel all over Europe, but from financing your own travel to filling out the travel forms on time, it’s all a little more com-plicated than going to Mal-lorca with your mum and dad. And let me tell you now, before you get all surprised about it: Things WILL go wrong. So here is a little guide to sur-viving travel fails, all based on real EYP experiences:

1. Money doesn’t only make the world go round; it also makes us go around the world.

Keeping money with you at all times is essential for over-coming any possible travel fail. Keep money for a taxi on you when you go out and party, along with the address of your hostel and the number for a taxi company. Also try to learn how to ask a taxi driver to take you home in countries where it is unlikely that the cab driver will understand English. When you go abroad, make sure you have a credit/debit card with enough money to pay for a new fl ight/train ticket, in case you miss yours.

2. Don’t trust anyone but your-

self. When traveling in a group, it may be tempting to rely solely on your friends and Organ-isers, but be warned, Orgas make mistakes, friends get lost. Don’t end up in a city you don’t know well without the address of your hostel or session loca-tion in mind or on paper.

3. Lübeck is not Hamburg, Girona is not Barcelona. When booking fl ights to your travel destinations, some air-lines, such as Ryanair, will sometimes sell you tickets to secondary destinations, pre-tending that they are actually

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Lübeck is not Hamburg, Girona is not Barcelona. “

the place you wanted to arrive at. Watch out for this, and make sure that when you want to fl y to Munich, your fl ight actually takes you to Munich, not Memmingen.

4. Smartphones are handy, but only as long as they are charged. I have been to sessions where the hostel had no plugs, i.e. no chance to charge your phone for multiple days. If worst comes to worst, remember that payphones still exist. If you are lost with no phone and don’t know where to go, throw in a couple of coins, call your mum and have her Google your location (or better, keep the number of the travel Orga on a piece of paper). Also make sure there is enough credit on your phone to make emer-

gency calls in a foreign coun-try, and don’t waste it on tex-ting your friends about how great the session is.

5. Ukraine is not part of the EU. When you travel to countries that are not part of the EU, make sure you have your pass-port. This may sound obvious, but sometimes we even forget the easiest things.

6. Be prepared to run. Your high heels may look good in the morning before you leave the house, but I promise you will hate them when you hear your boarding call and are still not past the security check.

7. Keep calm and head to the information point. There is no point in freaking

out when you missed your train. Head to the travel cen-ter and have them book a new train for you. Sometimes you wont even have to pay the full fare for a new ticket.

8. Keep your Editor/President/Orgas updated. Let your session team head know if you are coming or not. They care. This is especially important if you are an offi cial in the future.

With all that in mind, have fun on your future EYP travels, and remember, every travel fail is a new chance to learn some-thing. And usually, it all turns out ok in the end and you’ll be able to laugh about it.

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CULTURAL LIKE A SIRMaja Zalewska

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E ach and every beginning is hard, so it’s no wonder

that CULT I also experienced some difficulties. Although a bit shy and lethargic at the start, after a couple of games they opened up to each other. One of the delegates (Carla Kluth) was purchased for 40 000£ during the Auction, all

thanks to her cooking skills and membership in Stroecher Karneval Gesellschaft. I must say that after watching the CULT I integrating, I feel they really enjoy getting physi-cal with each other. They easily managed to succeed in passing not only the orange but also a bottle at the same time, which

requires much physical exer-tion, skill and enthusiasm, as well as the will to fi ght and not to give up. They also tried their best until they fi nally managed to solve the Human Knot. Keep calm and stay awesome, CULT I!

CULT II - THE COOLEST COMMITTEE IN HAMBURGHannah Grace Carter

F rom chasing toilet paper to blitz presentations,

CULT II was kept quite busy today. The delegates got quite close when they were pasted together by magic glue, and got to know each other even better after they had to intro-duce each other in eleva-tor presentations. The lat-

ter revealed that CULT II has quite some interesting dele-gates! There was a delegate who camped out in the woods for peace (very alternative, non?) and one who speaks five languages. They where then asked to sort themselves in a line, according to certain criteria, such as their age and

hair color. Despite the bit-ter cold, the delegates kept up their warm, hearty enthu-siasm. Also, this is quite pos-sibly the committee with the coolest haircuts.

CAN’T BRING THESE GUYS DOWNFilippo Ranalli

T ransport I, under the wise and lively counsel of

Anna and Hammu, really got off on the right foot. In fact every member of the commit-tee bonded well with the oth-ers and the initial shyness was easy to overcome, espe-cially with the good old Street Fighter that makes you shout

your guts out, and honest to God, after a while they all did. Let’s say there wasn’t much ice to begin with, but the ice-breaking “Pass the Orange” game defi nitely tore down all the icicles; they truly put some genuine passion into passing that thing around! This is in fact a very bright committee,

no kidding, there even is an App designer among them.This committee, dear readers, has in fact great potential and may very well surprise you all; stay tuned for more!

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TRAN II - NOTHING GETS THEM DOWNJudith Brehmer

T RAN II will be dealing with mobility the next

few days, but in teambuild-ing they had to show their communication skills. Start-ing with probably the hard-est area of dialogue, the non-verbal one, the committee mastered the task – after ini-tially circumventing the rule

of silence secretly – quite well. Nonetheless, demanding chair Niklas made his shy Delis “butt-spell” for not having ful-filled a task properly. After a short time, the barriers were broken by a snowball fight and TRAN II started becoming a team. “Chicken Pilot” joined them in laughter (and even

tears of laughter), but when it came to communication again (building a square with a rope, blindfolded), they had to fight hard and accept some defeats. But TRAN II never gave up and was not to be discouraged – an essential requirement for the days to come!

SEDE – A REAL TEAMLeona Kohl

S EDE is a committee you can look upon as an inspir-

ing example. While other com-mittees were busy with over-coming shyness and restraint, the members of SEDE par-ticipated from the very first moment with fun and aban-don in the games.After learning the names and

getting to know each other a bit they embraced the concept of teamwork and cooperated brilliantly. And it was absolutely thrilling to watch this committee play competitive games like “Skin the Snake”, because you were simply able to feel the energy and the strong desire for suc-

cess. Guided by their chairs Yann and Dimitris, the young peo-ple obviously enjoyed the trust games that further strength-ened their relationship.In conclusion, it probably was an enormously valuable and marvellous day for the mem-bers of SEDE.

MUCH LOVE FOR LIBELia Pachler

T yping “LIBE” in a word document it automati-

cally corrects it to “Liebe”1. I somehow have the feeling that my computer knows exactly what the atmosphere during the teambuilding of this com-mittee was like, but that’s defi-nitely not the only reason why the committee on Civil Liber-

ties, Justice and Home Affairs is special. Harmonizing very well, they defi nitely achieved the team-building’s purpose. The del-egates managed to solve the Human Knot faster with closed eyes than with open ones and it goes without saying that this is a bit of an exception. The

members of this committee are very individual in an out-standing way and show a lot of different interests.Dear LIBE, however, I would kindly ask you to mind the lan-guage as German is not an offi -cial language of the European Youth Parliament as English and French.

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THE IMCO MONSTERNives Kaprocki

S oon after leaving the gen-eral teambuilding and

forming the first committee circle, it was apparent that the committee will be a smiley and enthusiastic bunch. The lovely Italian-German chair duo created a positive atmo-sphere from the very begin-ning, which allowed the group to feel comfortable around

each other. The committee found them-selves in front of many chal-lenges. However, after a cou-ple of laughs, strategies and compromises, success was inevitable. Even when things didn’t go so smooth, such as in the case of the Spider Web, they managed to overcome the problems and succeed.

In the end, the most impor-tant thing was the willingness of the committee to cooperate and trust each other. For this reason, as well as the num-ber of funny moments, it is a real pleasure being a part of IMCO, and capturing their fi rst moments in the EYP world.

AFET – A FROGGY, EXPERIENCED TEAMZuzana Holakovská

U nder the lead of experi-enced chairs Panayiotis

and Aleks, a gender-balanced committee of young adults gathered to get to know each other. To everyone’s surprise, all members instinctively formed a proper EYP circle immediately after entering their workplace. AFET’s artis-tic talent was proven during

a drawing (in pairs) exercise when they managed to create a representative committee banner. Lack of trust should not be an issue after that and especially thanks to an intense training during Drunken Bot-tle and Levitation.Although the relaxed atmo-sphere was pleasant to work in, the lack of disagreements

in any form may cause future problems in solving an argu-ment during the commit-tee work. From an observer’s point of view, further empha-sis could also be put on the time management, which appeared to be challenging. But if they keep pushing their limits, they are a real force to be reckoned with.

ENVI – FIVE HOURS. ONE INCREDIBLE BOND.Arriana Yiallourides

T he Committee on Envi-ronmental Affairs man-

aged in one single afternoon to fully form an amazing team with great prospects in the session. The classic EYP energizers, which came after the initial name games, became the real catalyst in the bonding of the team. “Chicken Pilot” and the

all-new “Pass the Clap” were defi nitely a source of laughter that loosened everyone up.Later on, ENVI built its coop-eration and communication skills to a number of rather stimulating tests. The Spider Web was defi nitely the most challenging. Strategy plan-ning, trust, as well as excel-lent coordination were crucial

in the diffi cult task. Frustra-tion slowly gave way to deter-mination, which allowed ENVI to work faster and more cre-atively. Their hard work gave them an opportunity to really get to know their strengths and weaknesses as a team. That is what teambuilding is all about anyway!Keep up the great work, ENVI!

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EUROVILLAGE - FOURTEEN IN ONE

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Maja Zalewska

T he night of Eurovillage is your one and only chance

to simultaneously taste many exotic, even though still Euro-pean, dishes and snacks. This time you could savour some original recipes from the fol-lowing countries: Spain, France, Portugal, Austria, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Latvia, Finland, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Poland and Germany. Although all of the delegates thankfully tried their best to provide us with the most

characteristic of their coun-try’s cuisine, there were some tables that stood out more than others. The dim light-ing and the crowd worked to the advantage of the less pre-pared arrangements. Also in such conditions it was easier to try some more suspicious looking dishes. But now let me say some nice words about tonight’s event.My personal favourite was the Belgian mini-exhibition with terribly sweet waffl es. What also caught my attention was

Evita’s Latvian ice hockey out-fi t. Dutch cheese is always good, and so this time is no exception. Personally, I missed the Polish thin dried sausages (kabanosy), which are a deli-cacy. If you are interested in another entertaining, more in-depth opinion on the Eurovillage, you can watch the interview with our fellow journalist Lia. She took a thorough tour of the entire culinary event and con-tributed a live video report. You can view the video here...

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EYCamping


Lia Pachler and Arriana Yiallourides Advice on how to cope with the ‘environmental hazards’ of Hamburg’s Gymnasium Grootmoor.

W hen entering the prem-ises of Gymnasium

Grootmoor, there’s so much that doesn’t meet the eye. The serene landscape hides the real adventure, as you’re about to experience the most original form of camping: EYC-amping. Having the chance to sleep for three nights in a school, is somewhat mysteri-ous and adventurous. Sleep-ing bags, air beds, mattresses and pillows will become part of your daily routine; so embrace the camping side of Hamburg 2012 as it only has to offer a lot of memorable expe-riences. Having been here for

already two days we’d like to offer you some advice on how to make your stay here as com-fortable as possible. We have scanned the venue for all pos-sible environmental hazards in order to help you make the most out of this Regional Con-ference!

Firstly, we would like to pro-vide you with some sleep-ing advice. For some, sleep-ing is essential in order to be fully alert and energetic for the packed days of an EYP ses-sion. We feel with you… really. In the frequent case that you have forgotten to bring a pil-

low to the session, the best alternative is your towel or a cozy hoodie. Just fold it a few times, and trust us it will help you avoid the neck pain, which will most probably follow the next morning. For those who are susceptible to the cold weather, we strongly recom-mend this: Wear a hoodie and one or preferably two pairs of warm socks to bed, as well as a beanie. Keeping your head and your feet warm, will allow you to sleep more pleasantly. Also, for all the light-sleepers amongst you, we suggest you to fi nd out more about your fel-low delegates’ sleeping/snor-

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In the frequent case that you have forgotten to bring a pillow to the session, the best alternative is your towel or a cozy hoodie.“

ing habits in order to ensure that you put your sleeping bag as far away as possible.

Secondly, another burning issue regarding your personal hygiene is the common show-ers. If you’re fond of privacy make sure to wake up early so that you get the shower for yourself or just go rather late after “shower rush hour” is over. Otherwise you will get the chance to really bond with your fellow committee mem-bers. Regardless of the com-munal element of the show-ers, they work perfectly fi ne and they will still provide you

with relaxation and warmth after an exhausting day of EYP work, so do not be taken aback. One last tip, when going to the showers, take some warm clothes with you. You defi nitely want to avoid walk-ing through the school with nothing but a towel around you. Besides, a cold is the last thing you need during an EYP session.

All things considered, we really hope to have given you some insightful and practical solutions to the problems that you might encounter here at Grootmoor. Ensuring that you

get a good night’s sleep is key for your performance during the session. So do immerse yourself in the EYCamping, you have nothing to lose, but experience and survival skills to gain!

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THIS TITLE HAS BEEN CENSORED BY ACTA


Nives Kaprocki and Filippo Ranalli The protests against the latest measures to stop online piracy have shaken the world, and with the approval that was given to ACTA by most of the developed countries, they don’t seem to be coming to an end.

I t is a matter of fact that the illegal proliferation of

copyrighted material, may that be audio tracks, movies, or software, truely damages the authors, especially if the creator involved is a minor entrepreneur or issues very specialized material that is designed for specific profes-sional activities. If we take a closer inspection at the for-merly mentioned copyrighted material, we can notice that its development required a massive amount of effort or scientific research in the first place, hence the high costs on

the market. Needless to say, piracy hits these developers the hardest, and if a dead end in which it is no longer prof-itable for them to improve their products is reached, there would certainly be neg-ative consequences on the whole scientific computer-based development. It is a whole other matter when it comes to audio tracks and movies, as they each suffer differently from piracy; we could in fact say movies suf-fer the least from it, as the incomes at the movie theatres manage to overcome the loss

to some extent. On the other hand, musicians and record companies truely suffer from the constant increase of surf-ers who prefer download-ing tracks illegally than hav-ing the pleasure of handling a brand new CD.

In spite of that, the Inter-net is fi lled with famous art-ist posting their thoughts on ACTA, amongst which most are strongly against it. Although it may seem contradictory, what they agree upon is that free-dom of sharing information on the Internet is making their

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Musicians and record companies truely suffer from the constant increase of surfers who prefer downloading tracks illegally than having the

pleasure of handling a brand new CD.“

work available to everyone, which is every artist’s wish. If someone is good enough, there isn’t a lack of material gain either. Nowadays, everyone has a chance to use the infi nite possibilities of the Internet, and ACTA opponents including Google and Wikipedia believe it would quash innovation and jeopardize freedom of infor-mation that makes them strive. To understand this, the ques-tion that should be addressed is: what is ACTA exactly?

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a multina-

tional treaty for the purpose of establishing international stan-dards for intellectual property rights enforcement. It is the current threat to Internet free-dom, after the U.S. lawmakers pulled the controversial bill SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). Its main problem is, however, that it does not involve devel-oping countries, which are the ones that have most problems with piracy. Also, it mixes two completely different matters, tangible products and digital intellectual property. By trying to solve two completely differ-ent problems, requiring differ-

ent responses, it solved none.

Whether piracy is a good or bad habit it is not for us to decide, nevertheless we can assert that it is a trend spiking upwards and has changed the whole copyright development (take the Apple online store for instance).

P.S.: This article was produced while listening to some good, old downloaded music.

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Ecological Mobility


Filippo Ranalli “Mobility” could be the defi ning term of this century. But mobility has to reform so that our environment can last until the end of this cen-tury.

M obility in Europe, as in most of the world, is

exponentially increasing due to the development of new technologies and the con-stant renewal and improve-ment of the already existing infrastructures. The word “mobility” itself could ade-quately define this very cen-tury. If in the past people felt a strong connection with the roots they had and thus had a tendency to settle and spend their lives close to their nest, nowadays the concept of Europe, with the aid of tech-nology and time, transcends the single countries in the minds of many citizens. That trend will most probably not

spike downwards in the next decades. Instead, both the means of mobility and the personal need for such will evolve to a point that may be very surprising; for instance, some romantically say that we will be taking family cruises to the moon by 2050. If we look back on the lives of the people who lived in the past centuries, we certainly remark how their lives were far less dynamic than ours, and that is mainly due to the fact that even the smallest journey took a signifi cantly larger amount of time than it would nowa-days. We can therefore con-clude that today mobility and its extremely quick and effi -

cient means let us lead a far more intense life than in the past. However, we do need to further develop environmen-tally-friendly transportation means that would both satisfy our ever-increasing needs and the requirements for a toler-able life on Earth in the close future. We should always keep in mind that we are merely guests on this planet and our increas-ing population should not be a burden to it. While it is cer-tainly a positive fact that we increase the spectrum of trans-portation means, each and every one of them contributes to some extent to pollution and global warming. It is common

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While it is certainly a positive fact that we increase the spectrum of transportation means, each and every one of them contributes to

some extent to pollution and global warming.“

belief that the temperature of the Earth is increasing mainly due to man’s pollution and Car-bon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, the co-founder of Greenpeace Patrick Moore has shown on charts in his world-wide lectures that in the past million years the amount of CO2 and the global temper-ature have had spikes way higher than nowadays and sev-eral ice ages have taken place. What he implies is that the cli-mate will cyclically change in time, shifting from ice ages to very warm conditions regard-less of pollution and other manmade effects. Whether his opinions entirely refl ect reality or not, most peo-ple agree that it is our duty and a major priority to cut back on all the polluting factors. Trans-portation is one of the major pollutants nowadays, so let us dig a bit deeper into the mat-

ter. Looking at the raw data it comes to our eyes that air-planes, whose emissions are 70% CO2, make up for 3% of the whole air pollution and are predicted to increase by 2% by 2050. Cars make up for about 20% of each country’s pollu-tion share and trains contrib-ute to pollution directly and indirectly depending on the system used. In fact, new gen-eration electric trains do not pollute directly, however it is the production of electrical power and the industrial pro-duction of the necessary infra-structures and trains them-selves that generates the actual pollution, which is greater than that generated by air-plane traffi c. What mobility policies should focus on, apart from foster-ing renewable resources in all the fi elds, is working on long term smart strategies, as in try-

ing to increase the number of available seats on airplanes, spreading the environmental tax on fl ights, improving pub-lic transportation and increas-ing the service in order to make it preferable to private transportation. The chances are small that each Mem-ber State can develop a suc-cessful policy that meets all the requirements all by itself - in fact we could doubtlessly assert that in Europe commu-nication and development are interconnected. Commu-nication implies cooperation, mutual understanding, shar-ing, planning common strate-gies, knocking down distance boundaries and prejudicial walls; it is in all our interests that this fl ourishes in the near future.

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COMMUNICATION AND BODY LANGUAGE


Zuzana Holakovská Different ways to master self-expression and become a confi dent person – or “how to make friends and infl uence people”.

A lthough you might be pretty confident in

expressing yourself in front of your closest social group (such as your family and friends), meeting new peo-ple and being forced to prac-tice your English while get-ting to know them could easily become a tough challenge. If so, feel free to use this article as a short tutorial lecture on how to present yourself and become a popular delegate among your committee.By this particular moment you should be familiar with the names of all your commit-tee mates. Although it might be funnier naming people by what they wear or how they look, it is always pleasant when someone remembers your name. Most of you are probably familiar with general manners, but just to make it clear – there can never be too much of “thank you”, “please”, and “you’re welcome”. Espe-cially when the atmosphere becomes overwhelming, a few

polite phrases may serve as a means to ease the tension. You can also never be wrong when you respect others, listen to them and consider their opin-ion while presenting yours. Furthermore, in case you did not understand what your col-league has said (no matter if due to the pronunciation or simply the content), do not hes-itate to ask politely for a clari-fi cation while keeping in mind that „what!?“ is not considered to be a polite exclamation.Apart from verbal communi-cation, there is also the body language, which scientifi cally speaking actually constitutes more than fi fty percent of what we communicate. Starting from the top – there are gener-ally six universal facial expres-sions based on human emo-tions and those are: happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise, and anger. Although honesty is highly valued behaviour, think twice before letting the emotions out. Further down there are gestures we do with

our arms. Crossed arms gener-ally stand for reservation and withdrawal while resting arms behind head show the willing-ness to discuss openly.Taking all that into consider-ation, try to avoid nervous ges-tures (playing with your hair, clicking pen or simply looking down), do not take yourselves to seriously, and enjoy your-selves.

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PREJUDICES


Leona Kohl Living in the EU and meeting people from different countries you often face national prejudices and stereotypes.

E YP is a powerful force for stripping away your prej-

udices and here are some of the national and also regional stereotypes that you might have come across: You probably heard about Pol-ish guys, who are partying all the time, are always drunk and loud. This arises from the com-mon belief that persons liv-ing in Eastern Europe use this “lively” behaviour as a way to cope with the cold. Contrary to the Polish way of living and celebrating, the Germans are considered as humourless and tense. Supposedly, they are always on time and organised and this fact makes them a bit boring and serious. More specifi cally, you can dis-tinguish between different regions of Germany. For exam-ple the conservative people from Bavaria, who drink beer, wear leather trousers and stick to their folksy traditions, whilst in the North everybody eats fi sh.In contrast to the Germans, the

French nation is not believed to be that familiar with punc-tuality. They are always imag-ined to run around carrying a baguette under their arm, or identifi ed with foods such as croissants, frogs and snails. Remaining with Southern European countries, here is another cliché: Spanish adoles-cents are really vivacious and agile, and whenever they are celebrating they are extremely loud and love to drink Sangria straight out of bottles in the streets. Just similar to the Ital-ians, who are also known as noisy party-people and always talk by using their hands very actively. The Scandinavian people are supposed to be spoiled and their public institutions have an admirably high standard. This stereotype originates from the high income and good economic situation in general. Nevertheless because of the high taxation they’re known to often leave Scandinavia for buying alcohol.

The list of prejudices towards other nationalities or even towards people that live in your own country could be extended so much longer that it would be impossible to com-plete. EYP gathers young, open-minded people from all over Europe and that is a unique chance for you to get rid of all the bad things you heard about other Europeans. As you will see, EYP makes an enormous and valuable contri-bution to overcome prejudices and really fosters the relation-ship between young people.Enjoy your time and take this opportunity to get to know the participants as best as possi-ble.

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WHICH TEAMBUILDING GAME ARE YOU?Maja Zalewska Take this quiz and discover which Teambuilding game refl ects your personality the best. Is it “Levitation”, “Sheep and Shepherd”, “Pass the Orange” or “Street Fighter”? Answer the following questions and see the results.

1. What do you do when you visit a place for the fi rst time?

A. You do a sight-seeing tour on your own, because you want to see as much as possible in the shortest period of time.

B. You go to the nearest café/pub/bar and search for people to hang out with.

C. You join a sight-seeing tour, because you aren’t sure what exactly and in which order you want to see things.

D. You go to the most crowded places, where you can meet new people.

2. In which situation do you feel most comfortable?

A. When you compete with someone.

B. When you work in pairs.

C. When there is someone you can follow.

D. When you are in the centre of attention.

3. How do you behave when you meet new people?

A. You want to get to know all of the people quickly, you are loud and everywhere.

B. You simply shake hands and introduce yourself.

C. You don’t talk much, you prefer to listen to the stories of others.

D. You want to get the attention of every-one as soon as possible. Also you believe in every story you hear.

4. How would you describe your style of clothing?

A. Comfortable, sporty.

B. Casual, but also emphasising your good points.

C. The most trendy and fashionable.

D. Eye-catching, unusual clothes that you were told suit you.

5. What’s your favourite music genre?

A. Techno

B. Soundtracks

C. Pop

D. Alternative

6. What’s your favourite colour?

A. Black

B. Orange

C. White/grey

D. Blue

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Mostly As: You are the Street Fighter type. You are always full of energy, no matter how many hours of sleep you got the previous night. You like to shout out loud and move a lot. Sometimes you forget about your surroundings and just go wild, but you don’t let yourself be bothered by issues like what does other people think about you – you do what you want to do. You are straight-forward and honest. You take on the problems and solve them with confi -dence. Keep fi ghting!

Mostly Bs: You are the Pass the Orange type. You are an open-minded and easy-going person. You possess the marvellous gift of handling even the most uncomfortable and embarrassing (but still decent) situations with ease. Although you are strong on your own, you give the best of yourself when you are paired up with some-body. Then the two of you can overcome any obstacle. You also like meeting new people in random places.

Mostly Cs: Your are the Sheep and Shepherd type. You are a good listener, but you also tend to get infl uenced by others. You do whatever you are told to do, not because you don’t have your own opinion, but because you believe that the person you follow, and who you trust, is simply right. You also have a good intuition and rarely get lost, even in the places you’ve never been to before.

Mostly Ds: You are the Levitation type. Even though you like being the centre of attention, you know that without your “audience” you wouldn’t actually be able to be in the limelight. You are friendly and responsible, and you also have no problems in putting your trust in others. You are very trusting, so people tend to take advan-tage of you! So be careful and don’t choose your friends/co-workers rashly!

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Arriana Yiallourides . Filippo Ranalli . Hannah Grace Carter . Judith Brehmer . Leona KohlLia Pachler . Maja Zalewska . Nives Kaprocki . Zuzana Holakovská

Maya Szost . Robin Janásek . Randolf Carr

Documents

Alster Twelve - 1 - Issue One