Words of Welcome from the President

Dearest Officials Team,

I have been waiting for this moment nearly as much as I had been waiting for the new season of „Community“ to premiere on 2 January.

Chairs are working hard on their overviews, the Media Team has already spammed all known and unknown communication media, organisers are preparing for war and the Jury... the Jury is doing whatever a Jury does before a session. The preparations for the session are already in full swing!

I can‘t tell whether the session is going to be a complete success or a total blast; since in EYP we sometimes compromise in order to reach a consensus, I will go for „an incredibly good experience“.

I literally can‘t wait to meet you all in Strakonice!

Ciao for now,

Lorenzo

WELCOME

Words of Welcome from the HOs

Dearest Officials Team,

Words cannot express how happy we are to finally welcome you on board of this wonderful adventure – the adventure that the 16th National Selection Conference in Strakonice indeed promises to be!

We have been thinking about holding a session in Strakonice, our home-town, for so long that we cannot even remember when the initial idea arose. Therefore, it is hard to believe that our vision is finally coming true and more than that – it is going to happen with the best Officials Team we could pos-sibly wish for!

In about two months we will all ENCOUNTER in the picturesque South Bohemian town, which Strakonice truly is. We sincerely hope that all of you will contribute to the CREATION of the best Nationals the Czech EYP has organised yet and that both the Officials and the Delegates will come to the UNDERSTANDING that they have gone through something truly special.

So, all in all, let’s hope all the DRAMA we experience along the way is only going to be exciting and challenging!

We cannot wait to welcome you all in Strakonice and we hope that you are as thrilled as we are! While you count down the time left, read this Welcome Booklet and find here all the information you need to know about the ses-sion.

Also, do not forget to follow the latest news and information about the ses-sion on our web and our Facebook page!

With love,

Kate & Lenka

Words of Welcome from the Editors

Dear Officials of the 16th NSC of EYP CZ,

It’s a thrill, isn’t it? All of us reading and writing this Booklet were selected to partake in the National Session of EYP Czech Republic. We are convinced that by merging two elements – Czechs with their rare atom structure and fellow Europeans with their positive charge – we can create a compound with superb bonds. Having experienced quite a few Czech sessions, we can assure you that what lies ahead is an atmosphere, which cannot be witnessed anywhere else. We are about to spend five days of our lives leading 80 moti-vated delegates and enjoying ourselves during the process.

Nevertheless, as Ben Parker – Spider-Man’s famed uncle – once pointed out, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ Even though general social-ising and amusement are vital elements of every session, we must not forget the task ahead of us. We will be working towards the inclusion of a group of young people, EYP freshmen, in the organisation. Our common responsibil-ity is to provide the delegates with a one-of-a-kind experience – to do so, it is essential to pull together and to work not as four teams, but as one. Bearing this in mind, we will be able to make the session unforgettable.

Always yours,

Klára & Marek

DRAMA OF ENCOUNTER

DRAMA OF UNDERSTANDING

DRAMA OF CREATION

Some of you may have been wondering about the meaning of our session’s logo. Look no further, here it is. The logo has various meanings; however, it mainly represents the three parts of a session: Team-building, Committee Work and General Assem-bly. The heavy emphasis on the drama stems from Strakonice being the town where the nationwide fa-mous play The Bagpiper of Strakonice by J. K. Tyl takes place.

First we have the Drama of Encounter – Team-building, the moment of meeting one another and encountering their different viewpoints. That is also symbolised by the cross, where two different lines meet. Moreover, it also symbolises the fact that Strakonice lies on the confluence of two rivers and throughout history, it has been a place of encounter.

Then comes the Drama of Creation, symbolised by a star – the metaphorical symbol of the birth of ide-as, the formation of something new and innovative. This represents Committee Work, where the dele-gates come up with ideas and solutions, resulting in the creation of their star resolution.

Finally, we have the Drama of Understanding – the General Assembly where our delegates show deep understanding of their own resolutions as much as the comprehension of those of the others, share dif-ferent viewpoints and try to find a common ground with the rest of the Committees. The tick sign shows exactly that – the approval and mutual understand-ing of everyone involved.

SESSION THEME

STRAKONICE+ VENUES

Introduction of the TownThe beautiful South Bohemian town of Strakonice will become the centre of EYP activity at the end of March. It is the place on the confluence of the rivers Otava and Volyňka as well as the meeting place of all of us participating in the session! The town itself has a rich history dating all the way back to the 12th century. It has since become best renowned for the so called Strakonický dudák or The Bagpiper from Strakonice. It is also a place where the world-re-nowned International Bagpipe Festival takes place every other year.

Apart from this, Strakonice has several beautiful sights such as the Castle, the Marian Column on the Palacký Square, historical houses located on the Main Square, several churches and much more. There are many people who were born and/or spent time in Strakonice during their lifetime, most notably the revivalist writer F. L. Čelakovský or the first Czecho-slovakian president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.

STRAKONICE CASTLETwo parts of our session will take place in the dom-inant feature of the city, the Castle. Its foundation dates back to the 13th century and features of various architectonic styles varying from Romanesque and Gothic to Baroque and Renaissance can be found there. The Opening Ceremony will take place in the Knight Hall and the Czech Village in the medieval cellar called Katovna. Both are located on the newly renovated historical premises inside the castle com-plex.

GYMNÁZIUM STRAKONICEThe school, whose history comprises more than 90 years, will host the session’s Teambuilding and Com-mittee Work. Even though it is a school with a rich history and has changed its location a few times, it now resides in a building constructed in the 1980s, which has gone through extensive renovation and is now a modern facility with classes equipped with projectors and touch boards.

DŮM MLÁDEŽE SPŠ, PLÁNKOVA STREETThis youth residence is where we will be accommo-dated and spend our precious hours of sleep (yes, all three of them). We will also continue the CJ train-ings there.

THE HOUSE OF CULTUREThe representative premises of this building, which is usually used for hosting big events such as balls, theatre plays or concerts, will turn into our GA ven-ue for a day.

THE VILLAGE OF ŘEPICEThis beautiful village located 3 kilometres from the town of Strakonice will host us for the CJO Train-ing. It was voted the Czech Village of the Year 2012. It has both historical buildings set in the beautiful South Bohemian countryside and modern facilities we will make use of for the trainings.

WEDNESDAY 19 MARCH Morning Untill 12:00 - Arrival of CJOs to Strakonice Transport to the village of ŘepiceAfternoon Lunch – Restaurant in Řepice CJO’s Teambuilding and TrainingsEvening Dinner – Restaurant in Řepice Evening Programme

THURSDAY 20 MARCH Morning Breakfast + Transport to Strakonice CJ’s Training – AccommodationAfternoon14:00 - 18:15 Teambuilding – Gymnázium 18:15 Leaving school for Opening Ceremony – Strakonice Castle Evening 19:00-20:00 Opening Ceremony – Knight Hall of Strakonice Castle 20:00-21:00 Czech Village – Katovna of Strakonice Castle 21:30- … Officials‘ Programme – “The Yellow Monkey” bar

FRIDAY 21 MARCHMorning8:00 Breakfast 9:00-12:30 Teambuilding/Committee Work – GymnáziumAfternoon12:30-13:30 Lunch – Cafeteria of Gymnázium13:30-18:30 Committee Work – GymnáziumEvening19:00-21:30 Committee Dinners – Restaurants around Strakonice21:30- … Spring Party – Music Club Inferno

SATURDAY 22 MARCH Morning 8:00 Breakfast9:00-12:00 Committee Work – Gymnázium Afternoon 12:00-13:00 Lunch – Cafeteria of Gymnázium 13:00-17:00 Committee Work/GA Preparation – Gymnázium Evening 17:30-18:30 Treasure Hunt / Resolution Typing19:00 Dinner – Restaurant ‘The Paradise’20:00-21:00 Free Time - Accommodation21:30-… Farewell Theme Party (Theme ‘Drama’) – Music Club In-ferno

SUNDAY 23 MARCHMorning 8:00 Breakfast - SPŠ 8:45-12:00 General Assembly – House of Culture Afternoon 12:00-12:30 Lunch 12:30-16:00 General Assembly – House of Culture 16:15-17:15 Closing Ceremony – House of Culture 17:15-… Departures

PROGRAMMESESSION

DON’T FORGET TO BRINGThere are some essentials you should not forget when you pack to leave for the session:

• a towel

• a mug

• costume for the Farewell Par-ty (The theme is ‘Drama’. You can take the topic in its broad-est meaning. Feel free to dress up as any character or in style of any drama, book, movie, TV series etc. Be creative!)

• accessories/costume for the Spring Party (It is not real-ly a theme party; however, we would like to celebrate the first day of spring in style, so feel free to bring anything spring-relat-ed to enliven the spirit of the evening!)

CONTACTSCJ SupportPavel Mládekmladek@eyp.cz+420 607 154 197

Head OrganisersKateřina Žejdlovázejdlova@eyp.cz+420 731 228 697

Lenka Vysokávysoka@eyp.cz+420 737 909 635

Travel guideThe most convenient way to the session is certainly with a stopover in Prague where you can take a direct bus to Strakonice. Thus, we shall focus on possibilities of getting to our national capital plus instructions concerning travelling within Prague, followed by information about the buses on the route Prague-Strakonice.IMPORTANT: As soon as you book your tick-ets and plan your journey, please fill out the Travel Form!

TRAVELLING TO PRAGUE BY PLANEVáclav Havel Airport Prague (Letiště Václava Hav-la Praha) is extremely well connected to the world and has a large number of direct flights from other European capitals.

TRAVELLING TO PRAGUE BY COACHThere is also a huge number of coaches arriving to Prague from the whole of Europe, mostly to Prague, Bus Terminal Florenc (ÚAN Praha Flor-enc). For instance Student Agency (www.student-agency.eu) or Eurolines (www.elines.cz/en/) offer reasonable prices and various connections.

TRAVELLING TO PRAGUE BY TRAINYou can also find loads of trains heading to Prague from many directions with arrival at Prague, Main Train Station (Praha, hlavní nádraží). For pick-ing the best option for you, consult www.idos.cz, which can be switched into English.

TRAVELLING WITHIN PRAGUEYou need to find your way to the Bus Terminal Praha, Na Knížecí in order to catch the direct bus to Strakonice.

If arriving by plane:Bus n. 100 from Airport Prague to Zličín, then change to metro line B (direction Černý most) and get off at Anděl.

If arriving by coach:Metro line B (direction Zličín) from Florenc to Anděl.

If arriving by train:Metro line C (direction Letňany) from Hlavní nádraží to Florenc, then change to metro line B (direction Zličín) and get off at Anděl.For another connections within Prague please consult www.idos.cz, which can be switched into English.

TRAVELLING PRAGUE – STRAKONICE Firstly, you need to find your way to the metro sta-tion Anděl (more information above). You may take two exits out of the metro station, but only one of them (in the map below named as EXIT 2; in the metro the direction will be markes as ‘bus’) leads straight to the Bus Terminal Praha, Na Knížecí from where the direct buses depart to Strakonice. When you exit the metro premises, you will find yourself in an underground passage. Go straight to the very end of it and take the last exit on the left. The buses to Strakonice leave from Platforms 4 and 5.

Recommended bus connections on March 19(Please note you are required to arrive in Strakonice by noon. You will be picked up by the Organisers.)07:45 Praha, Na Knížecí, Platform 5 – 09:25 Strakonice, Bus Terminal09:00 Praha, Na Knížecí, Platform 4 – 10:30 Strakonice, Bus Terminal10:00 Praha, Na Knížecí, Platform 4 – 11:25 Strakonice, Bus Terminal11:00 Praha, Na Knížecí, Platform 4 – 12:25 Strakonice, Bus TerminalFor other connections, please consult www.idos.cz, which can be switched into English.

TRAVELLING STRAKONICE – PRAGUERecommended bus connections on March 2318:00 Strakonice, Bus Terminal – 19:30 Praha, Na Knížecí18:20 Strakonice, Bus Terminal– 19:40 Praha, Na Knížecí18:30 Strakonice, Bus Terminal– 20:00 Praha, Na Knížecí18:40 Strakonice, Bus Terminal – 20:10 Praha, Na Knížecí20:00 Strakonice, Bus Terminal – 21:20 Praha, Na Knížecí (note: last bus connection of the day)For other connections, please consult www.idos.cz, which can be switched into English.

EXTRA NIGHTSIf you want to enjoy and explore Prague, take a cheaper flight, or just meet up with some old friends, you are more than encouraged to do so. If you need a shelter, please send us an e-mail and we will try to arrange everything needed.In case of problems with booking your tickets, any travel-related problems and/or questions, extra night queries or simply in need of an advice on the trans-port, do not hesitate to contact the Travel Support Michal Koláček (kolacek@eyp.cz).

Layout by Klára Scholleová (scholleova@eyp.cz)Photo (page 2-3) by MONUDET

The 16th National Selection Conference Strakonice is organised under the auspices of Mgr. Jiří Zimola, the Regional Council President of the South Bohemian

Region and in cooperation with the Town of Strakonice and the Cultural Centre of Strakonice.

ŘEPICESTRAKONICE

Projekt je podpořen Zdravým městem Strakonice na základě rozhodnutí občanů na VII. Fóru zdravého města