Who Are We?

EYP Info

Moving For Change: Running the future

Keeping The Torch Burning

A Dragon In The Land Of Snows - The Tibetian Diaspora

Pension Security

What’s inside... Featured stories

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Summer national session 2012

What’s inside... Featured stories

Hi guys, I’m Mike and I’m one of your lucky journalists for this National Session. Us journos are going to probably be dipping in and out of your teambuilding and of course making a couple of appearances at some point in GA whilst capturing the best moments on camera. My EYP career has been so much fun with the highlight being travelling to Stockholm to participate in an International Forum. Overall, I’m a bit of a sports mad fella I guess you could say. I love playing Cricket and Football and don’t even get me started on American Football as that is one thing I can talk about all day. I’m currently at Loughborough University studying English Literature and as you would expect I am a pretty big book and film fan. I won’t bore you with any more details but I am really looking forward to getting to Liverpool and enjoying this National Session as I can tell it is going to be awesome.

Hailing from the distant lands of Gloucestershire and currently finishing sixth form. Also hoping to attend university next year, I am completing my second year of EYP. I was part of the runners up to last year’s nationals and was given the opportunity to go to Belgium last October for an international forum. Since then I have managed to be a journalist at a few other events abroad giving me fond memories. I’m sure these nationals will another be another to add to the tally of great experiences.

So, I will be the international part of the media team. I am from Stockholm, Sweden where I have lived my entire life. I am studying medicine in Stockholm and I have just finished my first semester, only 10 more to go (5,5 years in total)… My EYP “career” started in Sweden in November 2008 and I have been actively involved ever since. At this point, I am starting to feel a bit old although there are a lot of people who are older than me and have been in the EYP longer. Although I have been at a lot of ses-sions, I still feel as excited for each new session as I did for my first ones. I really enjoy being part of a mediateam and we have some really cool ideas up our sleeves.

Who are we?

Mike Whyard

Christian Browne

Johan Wallin

Celebrating it’s 25th year, European Youth Parliament has established a connection with thousands of politically avid Europeans hailing from both EU member states and those outside. It hosts dozens of events each year, UK nationals is just one of many brilliant opportunities which EYP provide.

Whilst all those who attend nationals have already been to one EYP session already, you can never expect what exactly will happen; it is down to you as delegates to decide the flow of debate and the points of discussion.

Yet one thing is guaranteed, the omnipotent EYP spirit. As you enter the world of EYP you meet new people and develop relationships with people from all over Europe, a chance which is very rare. From there you gain attributes which will help you in future life, whether it is work ethic or social skills. The team building which EYP prides itself on is one such example which helps young people bloom and develop.

The experiences you have in EYP are like no other and everyone who is involved will tell you the same thing. It’s important to enjoy all aspects of EYP as you will remember them for a long time. Aspects such as the floor debate, which helps convey opinions from all walks of life, this is a huge chance you make your voice heard, and with many senior EU politicians endorsing EYP events, the votes of each debate are seriously considered.

These nationals provide the best stepping stones to the world of EYP and the opportunities it can provide.

By: Christian Browne

Moving for change:R u n n i n g t h e f u t u r e

By: Mike Whyard

John F. Kennedy once said that ‘the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable’. For us at EYP it should be obvious that everything changes and our job is to help to accommodating, welcome and most importantly help to de-cide change. However, whilst a journey up to Liverpool for a National Session will be an incredible experience for all involved it would be even more incredible if even more came out of this session than a few great days away from your parents and 50 new Facebook friends. We need to realise that there is a need for the next generation of decision makers in this country (which is you guys in case you were wondering!) to be proactive and attempt to be moving for change. If this session can manage to em-power some of its delegates to make the moves for change that affect our future then it will have been a success.

The second half of our session’s theme is ‘Running the Future’. This year there is this little event happening on our shores called the Olympics. Oh, you’ve heard of it? Well that’s great. Now I don’t want to

demand that all of our delegates need to tap in to their inner Usain Bolt and hit the treadmill, there is another type of running that is slightly more within the along the EYP line of thought. ‘Running the Future’ is all about our generation taking respon-sibility for their lives. It can be so easy to sit back and wait for others to make deci-sions but wouldn’t it be better to be the ones making those big calls. During this session there will be debates on subjects such as freedom of speech, economic pol-icy and youth unemployment; these top-ics should be indicators of the connection between the focus of our session and the progression from the delegates of today becoming tomorrow’s leaders who will be running our futures.

That got a bit heavy there for a minute but I hope you get where I’m coming from. Whilst this session will be a brilliant four days its impact will hopefully last for far longer as you all accept the responsibility to ‘Move for Change’ and ‘Run the Future’.

Alumni art icle

Keeping the

It’s a big year for the UK: the Queen’s

Jubilee, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and, of

course, the first National Ses-sions of EYPUK to be held at Liv-

erpool Hope. Events of great excite-ment, expectation and utmost national

importance! The Jubilee was a great and successful event, EYPUK Nationals will only move from strength to strength in the upcoming years, but the legacy of the Olympics remains less certain. As the last firework raises the final cheer in the closing ceremony, what will be left be-hind? What happens after the athletes head home and leave the Olympic Vil-lage echoing and deserted? How will the country cope with P.O.D (think ‘Post EYP Depression’, except the Olympic ver-sion)?

Of course, this is not just a problem for this country, but one which remains in the minds of past hosts and troubles those who hope to host in the future. The

Olympics can bring great advantages to countries: raising its profile, attracting in-vestment from businesses and tourists, offering employment opportunities and helping improve infrastructure for long-term benefits. However, there are also downsides to hosting the prestigious event: most notably the cost and the ne-cessity for the newly built buildings to be used in the future. Although the Olympics is a chance for an individual country to show its own character (our ‘green and pleasant land’ will be the main theme of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony, complete with live animals and a model of Glastonbury Tor with a few mosh pits thrown in for good measure), the EU still needs to play a major role in aiding and supporting a country to achieve its aims.

Currently, the EU offers its guidance through the EOC (European Olympic Committees) which works alongside the International Olympics Committee to ensure Europe’s needs are protected. The organisation’s main objective is to

By: Toni Kerridge

‘monitor and analyse subjects of rel-evance to sport at European level’ and deal with issues of sport governance, im-pact of EU law on sport, financing and the societal role of sport. The UK itself seems to be coping relatively well with issues of a lasting legacy, with organisa-tions such as Legacy Trust UK (set up in 2007), the ‘Places People Play’ initiative and the BITC (Businesses in the Com-munity) all working towards keeping the Olympic spirit alive and maintaining the benefits of hosting the Games. The idea is to expand the legacy beyond London in order to impact local communities and inspire a new generation to play sport. With large businesses such as BP, Coca Cola, BT and Visa all contributing to pro-jects, there are hopes that this aim can be reached and jobs can be created as a result. Other countries, however, may not cope so well with the pressures, and this is where the EU needs to be on hand to step in and offer guidance and exper-tise. It needs to ensure that preventative measures are taken well in advance so that a successful legacy remains, and

that investors have incentive to support the Games in that country.

Additionally, the EU can use the opportu-nity of the Olympic Games to deal with other national issues to build a lasting legacy. If the 2020 Olympics are chosen to take place in Madrid or Istanbul, the EU can take the chance to work with Turkey on human rights issues and boost economic development in Spain. It is not simply about making an impact in sport, but also a lasting change for society as a whole. There can be advantages for the individual country and advantages for Europe as a whole too.

With our bunting assembled, facepaint on and Union Jacks raised high, we can hope that our own Olympic legacy is a secure one, but there is some uncer-tainty in the future. As a member of the European community, hosts past, pre-sent and future should be supported by the EU, ensuring that each country wins gold for a lasting legacy of the Olympic Games.

torch burning

Tibet was sealed when the Dalai Lama was forced into exile following the Lhasa Upris-ings.

Since fleeing to Dharmsala, North India in 1959 the Dalai Lama has never returned to Tibet. When he left Lhasa he was not alone. Seventy thousand Tibetans made the peril-ous trek across the Himalayas to seek ref-uge and ever since then thousands of Ti-betans each year flee severe repression and punishment in their homeland.

A dragon in the Land of Snows- The Tibetian Diaspora

Hidden high up on the Himalayan plateau, Tibet is commonly known as the ‘roof top of the world’. For centuries this nation remained isolated and dethatched from the world, en-cased in its traditions. Religion was at the forefront of society and its impact upon the Tibetan way of life cannot be overestimated. For centuries Tibet has been ruled by the spiritual and political leader, The Dalai Lama, who, in accordance with the Buddhist faith, reincarnates after death.

The fate of Tibet was, however, sealed by the rise of the Communist Party in China who, after coming to power in 1949, vowed to ‘liberate’ Tibet. The dispute over the ter-ritory of Tibet has raged for generations but the greatest development came in the inva-sion of Tibet on the 7th October 1950 when 40,000 troops of the PRC gained control of east Tibet’s provincial capital Chamdo. From that point on China had a gained a choke hold upon Tibet. Cooperation was at-tempted following the invasion and the 17 point agreement aimed to ease relations between the two states. In 1959 the fate of

For the past fifty years the Dalai Lama has worked tirelessly to promote the Tibetan cause. He has remained the unrelenting talis-man for the Tibetan people and through his speeches, public gatherings and world tours remains the symbol of hope. Throughout his campaign he has vehemently stuck to non-violence as the key strategy.

The Dalai Lama has, however, failed. Sixty years later the situation in Tibet is profoundly worse. The growth of China as one of the world’s dominant powers means that the audience who are willing to listen to Tibet’s cries for help has greatly reduced. The Dalai Lama himself has recognised that his ‘Middle Way’ policy has failed and in 2011 he stepped down as the political leader of Tibet and handed power over to the Tibetan Govern-ment in Exile to lead the resistance move-ment.

The clock is counting down for Tibet. Un-knowingly, one of the world’s gravest geno-cides is taking place. Hidden from the world’s

attention China, with its firm grip on Tibet, is pumping thousands of Chinese into Ti-bet. Shockingly Tibetans now make up the minority in Tibet The culture, traditions, reli-gion and way of life is being washed away by Chinese dominance. In a desperate attempt to halt the Chinese flood young Tibetans are being forced into drastic and horrific acts of self immolation. Growing numbers of Tibet-ans desperately try to raise the profile of the campaign by dowsing themselves in petrol and setting themselves alight. Their hope is that the world will notice their pain and suf-fering and the light that they create will burn through the darkness of Chinese repression.

If the EU is to act then it must do so now. The international response must be galva-nised and the world must recognise the se-verity of the situation before it is too late. Yet, with China’s growing dominance on the world stage and the growing age of Tibet’s greatest leader, the Dalai Lama, it would ap-pear the Chinese Dragon shall long remain in the land of snows.

By: Dan Brown

Alumni art icle

Alumni art icle

One of the main concerns for people retiring is the safety and security of their pension. With fis-cal austerity gripping all of Europe, pensions are being edited and redrafted which has caused ma-jor upset in many countries.

The UK is feeling the brunt of this, for the first time in over 40 years, British surgeons, general practitioners, nurses and most associated with the NHS have gone on strike due to pension changes. This has all happened due to worries and fears over the security of their pension. When people are willing to essentially put other’s lives at risk in order to ensure their own future security – something must be wrong. This begs the ques-tion of, just how safe are people’s pensions, and what steps can be taken to ensure everybody has financial security in their retirement, especially in an ever ageing population?

Steps need to be taken to ensure that pensions are secured; steps which will prevent strike-action which could severely upset the functioning of EU member state, and steps which will also ensure that economic troubles aren’t exacerbated by

actions which affect the stability of pensions. Yet, the pensions themselves depend on the sta-bility of jobs available. With rising unemployment, many are seeking work which will not guarantee them a secure pension, and thus will not guar-antee them an easy retirement. It is all well and good to only think of the now, and put the future aside until later, but with the way the economy is, young adults are being forced to think about how to secure their future for 30 or 40 year’s time, before it is too late. It is therefore down to EU member states to cohesively agree on how to effectively deal with employers who risk their workers’ pensions.

The last thing people want to worry about when retiring is whether their pension is going be able to support their future life. Especially when, nowa-days, the amount of years a person spends in re-tirement tends to equal the amount of time they actually spend working.

Pension securityBy: Christian Browne

“...and this is the day room. Of course, every-one’s out at work at the moment...”

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69th International Session of EYP in Istanbul 2012