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Issue 1
7th National Session of the European Youth Parliament Sweden
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Contents
Editorial 3

Who Are We? 4

The First of the First 5

Session Setlist 6

Do’s & Dont’s 8

EYP Encyclopedia 9

SuitUp 10

To-do List 11

The Essence of EYP 12

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Dear Delegates, opportunity and give it your all. This is what

We have all, just like you, stood there on
the first day of our first session, not re-
ally knowing what to expect. Then comes
Big fat pony, numerous name games and
Pass the orange – all these silly games.
It is awkward when you first hear them,
it is awkward while playing them and it is
almost as awkward when thinking back at
them. But it is special.
Editorial
we all finally did, the Press team of Stock-
holm’11, and we never looked back – we
came back. And we are confident you will
do the same. From us to you, we proudly
present the first ever edition of a Swedish
EYP Magazine,
Yours truly,
Your Editors,

You might be hesitant, we sure were, but Elsa Horn af Rantzien &
our strongest advice is for you to take this Gustaf Danielsson

‘StockUp’ presented to you by:

Aga Matyja
Alex Proctor
Karoline Follo
Mehmet Can Burdu
Sini Hyytiänen
Tim Keegstra
Triin Heinla
Ulrich Völker

Elsa Horn af Rantzien

Gustaf Danielsson

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StockUp Who Are We?
People coming at you from every direction, so many
faces and so many names - here comes a short in-
troduction to some of the people behind this session.

Organisers the session Journalists. They are here to capture

When you come to an EYP session the first group
you meet are the Organisers. This weekend, you
will be served by thirteen very dedicated Organis-
ers led by the two beautiful Head Organisers Ms
Katarina Warg and Ms Paula Kjellén. The Organ-
isers are the ones it all starts from - they have
planned the structure of the session. They are al-
ways one, two, three steps ahead and ensure that
all activites run smoothly. They have set us up with
everything from the coffee served at coffee breaks
to the astonishing venues we are going to visit. As
the Organisers tend to be very busy keeping the
session going according to plan, it will be difficult
for them to be spend time with you. Do make sure
to be nice to them – they are working so hard, and
all for you.
Journalists
A second group at this session is the team of Jour-
nalists. Have you noticed people grinning widely,
possibly almost to the extent of scariness, and
taking pictures of you doing embarrassing things
during teambuilding? They were most definitely
the memories of the session and produce articles
for the magazine, StockUp. Their objective is to
contribute to a positive session atmosphere and
keep everyone energised despite the lack of sleep.
Each committee has their very own Journalist - but
always make sure to pose for anyone taking pic-
tures and you might end up becoming a “session
celebrity”.
Chairs
The Chairs Team is the third and final group of of-
ficials at a session, and probably the one that you
will spend the most time with. The Chair’s Team is
led by the session’s fierce but lovable president,
Mr Martins Dambergs. Chairs are the “leaders”
of the committees. Most committees have two
Chairs. Their task is to help you to get to know
one another through teambuilding, and later on
facilitate the intense discussions that you will have
on your topic during committee work. The Chairs
are a source of nearly endless knowledge – make
good use of them.
Alex Proctor
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The First
We have all had our first
day at an EYP session.
Aga Matyja and Triin Heinla
bring you theirs.
of the First
It has already been over 3 years since my first
EYP session, but I still remember the feeling of
being surrounded by new enthusiastic faces and
customs that seemed silly at first, but served their
purpose in the end. Riding a big fat pony or danc-
ing like Michael Jackson are just a few things that
I learned that day. I felt a bit embarrassed and
scared to share that many personal facts with a
room full of strangers. But then the magic hap-
pened, the magic of building a functional team
that works together for one noble purpose – to
write and present a resolution. Or so I thought.
Teambuilding was so much more than just forming
a team for discussing political problems together,
it was about getting the courage and motivation
to expect more from yourself. Hearing the dreams
and interests of young people like myself made
me feel extremely inspired to take up new chal-
lenges and aim higher. Now I have been hooked
for 3 years but the magic of the first teambuilding
is still going strong for me and I hope you will get a
glimpse of it as well.
“Hearing the dreams and Triin
interests of young people
like myself made me feel
extremely inspired.”
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My first encounter with EYP was nearly two years
ago. It all happened quite unexpectedly – I went
to school on Monday to find out that there is some
event going on in three days in my city and I was
given a chance to participate in it. Three days
later I was standing in front of a youth hostel I had
never heard of before and wondering whether I
should enter the door or just turn my back and go
home instead. I really did not know what to ex-
pect. I did not even know what it was exactly that I
was going to participate in. But, I decided to go. At
first it was a little overwhelming – all those people
running around and speaking in English to each
other. It got even worse when arrived to the venue
where we were divided into groups and asked to
play some crazy games. Instead of focusing on
what was going on around I was just trying not to
bump into any of my local friends.
But at some point everything changed – for a
moment I forgot where we were and started to
enjoy myself. I did not feel lost anymore. And so,
step by step, I started to explore EYP. By the end
of the day I was more than glad that I had decided
to come. By the end of the session I realized how
much I had gained - fun, excitement and knowl-
edge. This day was a tough beginning of a great
adventure - an adventure I intend to follow as long
as possible.
Aga
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Session Setlist
Almost every session adheres to the same structure of three
main components. These three elements will fill the coming days
of your busy Delegate lives, namely:

Teambuilding
First of all, in order to be able to discuss serious
topics it is essential for a team to get to know and
feel comfortable around one another. Obviously,
it is not easy to go from perfect strangers to near
best friends. Therefore, teambuilding is hard work
and generally requires you to run, jump, sing and
do lots of other things you would normally con-
sider pretty strange. Guess what? In the European
Youth Parliament, these things are pretty normal.
The fact that they’re maybe a bit odd will not only
be a huge amount of fun, but also ensure that you
are comfortable with your fellow committee mem-
bers and are able to speak your minds once the
Committee Work starts.
Teambuilding is about breaking the ice. Learn-
ing names and getting to know general informa-
tion about one another, such as little secrets and
hobbies, will play a prominent part at this stage.
Secondly, teambuilding is about building and
improving the group dynamics through all different
kinds of problem solving games that stress the
importance of different group interactions such as
communication and trust.

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Committee
Work
Committee Work is the part of discussing an as-
signed current topic of political interest within the
Committee. It is on one hand about producing a
resolution to solve the problem at hand, but at the
same time an opportunity to widen your horizon by
opening up to different ideas. Do not limit yourself
during Committee Work by thinking about right
wing or left wing, socialist or capitalist, liberalist
or conservative. In all situations there are multiple
solutions and limiting yourself to one specific type
of reasoning will make you blind to the conversa-
tions at hand.
Moreover, the European Youth Parliament does
not worry about the matter of money. During Com-
mittee Work it is solely important to come up with
solutions that are as a good as possible and will
optimize results, instead of thinking about the ra-
tio between financial input and output of the plans
proposed. Again, this would be a limiting factor
and is therefore left out in the discussions dur-
ing Committee Work and later on in the General
Assembly. In essence, Committee Work is about
widening your personal views by listening to those
of others.
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General
Assembly
Last but not least we have General Assembly -
the icing on the cake. During GA, each resolution
is debated in turn. Every Committee is allowed
to explain and defend their own resolution. The
debate is meant to be a productive and interac-
tive one similar to the one of Committee Work,
in which people with different views guided by
common goals try to find solutions. Remember
that criticism is needed, but the way in which it is
expressed is essential to its success. Instead of
bashing a resolution, it is important to remember
that the proposing Committee has put a lot of
thought and hard work into their resolution and
constructive criticism is therefore encouraged -
not only to carry the debate forward, but also out
of respect for the proposing Committee. Finally,
the General Assembly is the perfect place to over-
come the fear of public speaking and find a love
for debating, so take your chance.
Tim Keegstra
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At your first session, there are several things you need to
keep in mind. Just as any other association, EYP has its own
rules, both official and unofficial. This simple guide will ensure
that you stay out of trouble with the organisers.

Do’s & Don’ts

Energize - There is nothing more important in a
session than coffee breaks. You will notice this
by their quantity. Learn to appreciate and savour
them. If you’re not a coffee-drinker yet - learn to
love it and this will bring you far within the EYP.
Facebook - If you do not have a Facebook account
yet - get one. Facebook is the unofficial meeting
place of EYPers outside sessions, thus a crucial
place for keeping in touch and finding the most
embarrassing moments of the session in photo-
graphs.
Be late - there is nothing worse than people having
to wait. If you, however, end up being late, do not
be surprised if the reaction is not filled with sun-
shine and happiness.
Sleep in - See above, wake up calls are there to
ensure that you are not late – there are no excus-
es. Sleep is for after the session.
Disturb other guests - As you might have noticed,
the hotel itself has many other guests. Make sure
to respect them and their need for sleep.

Say ‘Thank you’ - especially to the Organisers. You Disappear and get lost - Do not wander off on your
might not always notice, but they work very hard own. The Organisers do not need the extra stress
for you. One day you might be one yourself, but of searching for missing delegates.
that does not mean you have to wait until that day
to appreciate the work the Organisers do.
Sini Hyytiänen
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 “Big Fat Pony”
The number one mascot of every session, the president
Ever wondered of Teambuilding – the animal godfather of EYP. The BFP
what all those is a common teambuilding game played in a huge circle
with as many people as possible. Overcome your timid-
words sur- ity, you will enjoy it!
rounding you “Board”
actually mean? Three experienced EYP Alumni, the Session President
and two Vice-Presidents, who will lead the Chairs team
Ulrich Völker and moderate the debates during GA. At Stockholm
2011, it will consist of Martins Dambergs from Latvia,
gives you your supported by Anastasiia Ianovytska from Ukraine and
very own EYP Fredrik Bauer from Sweden.

Encyclopedia. “Brainstorming”
What you should definitely get to know best during an
EYP session is your own brain. You will have to storm it
over and over again. Your ideas are the most precious
EYP Encyclopedia
capital you have, and they will enable us to change the
world!

“Ceremony”
Having a great time entering the world of EYP, you
might forget about your grave responsibilities as the
political ambassadors of your generation. Luckily, the
Organisers ensure that numerous official ceremonies
always remind you of these.

“Editors”
Two nerds spending the entire session alone in a dark,
deserted room. If you should ever meet them, be very
friendly. They deserve it. The Editors are working truly
hard, designing a beautiful session magazine and
chairing us, the Press team.

“Facebook”
The 2011 definition for ‘life‘. Even if you should have
been addicted to it in your pre-EYP life – having met
many great people living at the other end of Sweden
or even Europe, you will now spend even more time
hanging around online taking care of your friendships.
But remember - meeting them again in reality is still the
best, and that is always very likely to happen in EYP!

“IS”
Abbrevation for ‘International Session‘. There are three
every year, in spring, summer and autumn, taking place
in different European cities. The IS is the summit, the
highlight of the work of the EYP. Around 250 delegates
that have been selected in more than 30 countries
gather to share their visions and express the voice of
European youth.

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SuitUp
Are the EYP dresscodes
confusing you? Karoline Follo
explains them one by one.

Teambuilding: Semi formal: Formal:

The dress code for Teambuilding
is casual, ergo anything that you
feel comfortable in. Do, however,
leave the sweatpants and rather
wear your jeans. Other than that
keep in mind that you might
have to run around outdoors
and do various exercises, which
means that heels and skirts
might be rather uncomfortable.
During Committee Work you are
asked to be dressed semi for-
mal, which is half way between
informal and formal. This is a
rather flexible dress code. Be
comfortable but avoid trainers
and t-shirts or jeans with holes
- proper jeans are, however, ac-
ceptable.
For General Assembly the dress-
code is formal. This said, one is
expected to wear the following:
men usually wear a suit, shirts
with full sleeves, formal shoes
and a tie; women may also wear
a suit, or a knee length dress, or
formal pants with an appropri-
ate top, or the top can also be
matched with a knee length skirt
and with heels or appropriate
flats.

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Start your day with hugging a

To-do List
() random EYPer - it is the best way
to make your, and this random
person’s, day.

Speak up. Do not let the fear of

looking foolish hold you back

()
from proposing crazy ideas
during Committee Work. The
Read StockUp.
best ideas of all times have all
seemed impossible or silly at
This one is essential.
first place.

Talk to your Journalist, once a

day, as a minimum. Do make
() sure to tell him or her all the
session-gossip.

Sleep a lot less than eight

hours per night. There are
lots of places to see, people
() to meet and conversations to
have. Fun is awaiting and you
just need to meet it half-way.

Take a picture with the session

President Martins. Make sure
you are looking your best - he
() is very judgemental when it
comes to clothing. So no socks
with sandals combined, please.

Aga Matyja & Triin Heinla

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“Why am I here?” are the words echoing in your
What is the Euro-

The essence of EYP

mind as you manage to pull your luggage through
the sea of strangers and reach the hostel’s recep- pean Youth Parlia-
tion. “I could have spent the whole weekend in my
comfortable bed”, you continue thinking as the ment, and, more
receptionist utters three unfamiliar names belong-
ing to your roommates. “Why?” you ask yourself
importantly, what
once again, “What is this EYP really anyway?” Dear are you doing here?
Delegate, luckily for you, I am here to help to ex-
plain just that. Mehmet Can Burdu
EYP was founded in 1988 by… Just kidding. Anyway,
lays down the an-
the first thing you should know about EYP is that swers.
it is fun. Do not ever think that you have sacrificed
your time to come here for nothing. Reading this,
you have just finished Teambuilding, and hopefully
you have had a good, although somewhat strange
time. I’ll inform you though, you have not even got-
ten to the good stuff yet. Tomorrow, you will find
that there is no other feeling like realising that your
idea actually could solve the unemployment crisis
in Europe or save the environment. You will never
find a place where you can learn as much without it
feeling like work.

Speaking of producing ideas, you must know
that EYP is not your ordinary school debate club.
Rather than constant quarrelling and trying to beat
your opponent, emphasis lies on cooperation and
achieving consensus within your Committee. There
is no opponent. This leaves more room for creating
solutions and less room for you to be afraid to voice
your opinion.

Moreover, as the name indicates, EYP is meant for

the young. You are the youth - act natural, be your-
self. Just because you are discussing important
matters, do not think that you are expected to be
big-shot politicians. Every fresh and unique idea
you put forth counts. And none is too stupid.

Lastly, although it will sound very cheesy, EYP is

all about friendship. Meeting new people all the
time, you are bound to find someone who you will
get along with. Also, it is always a plus to add tens
of more friends after each session on Facebook to
show off with.

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