Facet. - Issue for Antwerp 2016 NSC of EYP Europolis Belgium

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"Facet.", the media team of Antwerp 2016, produced this issue, which was put together by Leo Sjöberg.

Transcript of Facet. - Issue for Antwerp 2016 NSC of EYP Europolis Belgium

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EditorialWe do not believe in innovation for innovation’s sake. The impact media has in EYP today is expansive and ever-evolving, but without purpose it is meaningless. We have strived to assemble a team of creators, who have come together to produce insightful media that leaves an impact, provokes thought and is memorable. It is through concepts like ownership that creativity can flourish and quality is accomplished.

We believe this issue is a testament to that. Our team has produced pieces ranging from oratory to photography, whilst simultaneously reflecting on the importance of history and the influence media has on our mindsets. We are extremely proud of what our team has achieved here, it is not often that a group of individuals can each perform to this standard - but our team is special.

They are avid learners, they are intelligent, capable, hardworking, creative, they are outside-the-box thinkers, talented, driven, human, they are multi-faceted. We can not really find the words to express it, other than to say we are truly very proud.

Naomi Foale and Enrique Tasa

4 ELON MUSK: JACK OF ALL TRADES6 HISTORY – WEAPON OR TOOL?9 A THOUSAND WORDS CAN SAY MORE THAN A PICTURE10 #PRAYFORMEDIA12 [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE] IN EYP-LAND13 HEROINES: DECONSTRUCTING FEMININITY17 WELCOME TO THE INTERNET19 IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT EUROPE, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?21 THE BIG INFLUENCE OF SMALL THINGS

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4 ELON MUSK: JACK OF ALL TRADES6 HISTORY – WEAPON OR TOOL?9 A THOUSAND WORDS CAN SAY MORE THAN A PICTURE10 #PRAYFORMEDIA12 [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE] IN EYP-LAND13 HEROINES: DECONSTRUCTING FEMININITY17 WELCOME TO THE INTERNET19 IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT EUROPE, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?21 THE BIG INFLUENCE OF SMALL THINGS

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Elon Musk: Jack of all Trades

SpaceX, Tesla Motors, SolarCity, OpenAI and Paypal. This man is only involved with the best of the best. We’ve all heard of him: Elon Musk.

The South-African born business magnate is commonly known as one of the greatest minds of the world. He was raised in South Africa by electromechanical engineer Errol Musk and Canadian model Maye. At the age of 12, Musk taught himself computer programming, even making and selling a video game (note that this was 1980). But Musk did not always have a perfect childhood. In fact, he was heavily bullied as a child. On one occasion, he was bullied so badly he had to be hospitalised.

Difficult beginnings, perhaps, but better was to come for Musk. You would not know of his challenging childhood by the suc-cess that ensued. At age 19, he was accepted into the Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. After a few years there, he went to the University of Pennsylvania, where he achieved a Bache-lor of Science in Physics and Economics. While he was in uni-versity, he used his fraternity chamber as an unofficial night-club, a sign of his entrepreneurial spirit as well as his popular

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Elon Musk: Jack of all Tradesappeal. He started a PhD in Applied Physics, but he left the program because he wanted to concentrate on Zip2, the web software company he started together with his brother Kimbal Musk. With the money he made by selling that company (10 million USD) he founded X.com, an online financial and e-mail payment company that later merged with Confinity, and was later renamed to what we all know now as PayPal. Only a year later he was ousted from his role as CEO, because he had dis-agreement with other leadership staff.

Musk was recently headlining again because of another company he founded in the early 2000s, SpaceX. Originally the company started with the goal of landing a greenhouse on Mars containing food crops to be grown there. To me, this echoes the famous book and movie ‘The Martian’ of which some aspects Musk seems to want to make a reality. Currently they are working on sustainable rockets that can be used mul-tiple times. Recently they almost succeeded, but an unsuc-cessful landing rendered the latest attempt a failure.

The name that comes up most though is most certainly Tesla Motors. This revolutionary company changed the electric car industry completely. Their Model S is one of the most success-fully selling electric cars in the world. The company is named after Nikola Tesla, who made a lot of advancements in the field of electricity, but does not always get the credit he de-serves.

One of Elon Musk’s main objectives is to change and innovate the way we think. From Zip2 to SpaceX, Musk always wants to get the best out of his company and do good things with them. Musk believes in the little guy. He might have come from a rich family, but that did not stop him from getting horribly bullied. What is essential in this story is the fact that even when he was down, he got back up stronger than before.

Amirhosein Mobasser (BE)

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History – Weapon or Tool?

those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it

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Anyone who has ever had an argument and said, “You always do that” or “I trusted you” or “You owe me”, is using history to gain an advantage in the present. We spin the events of the past to show that we always tend to behave well and our opponents badly or that we are normally right and others wrong. This is part of our identity as humans – members of a species that constructs shared knowl-edge. The past can be used for almost anything you want to do in the present, and using history to label or diminish your opponents has always been a tool used by many.

You may ask why this has an effect - history is the past, irrelevant in the light of everything else we have to deal with in the complicated modern world. However this is not the case. The studying, analys-ing, and understanding of history is of the utmost importance. Authoritarian regimes often find a judicious use of the past as a useful means of social control. We obtain much of our identity from the communities into which we are born or to which we choose to belong, and the teaching of history and how that shapes our personal knowledge is a strong part of the way that we define our identity. Accord-ing to Margaret MacMillan: “A nation is a group of people united by a mistaken view about the past and a hatred of their neighbours.” With a fixed notion of this kind of shared past, it is dangerous to question the stories people tell about themselves because so much of our identity is both shaped by and bound up with our history. That is why dealing with the past, in deciding what we want to remember and to forget, can become so politically charged.

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History – Weapon or Tool?

those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it

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“He who controls the past controls the future; he who controls the present controls the past” is a quote familiar to all. Those with this power can create lies about the past or write histories that show only one perspective. Learning from a con-struction of history, with selections and omissions can be dangerous, as it leads to a strongly coloured perspective of the world and of relations between people and countries. In the most severe cases, for example in Mao’s China or Hitler’s Germany, it means brainwash and indoctrination.

There’s a saying that goes: those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In the words of historian John Lewis Gaddis: “history is like looking in a rear view mirror: if you only look back, you will land in the ditch, but it helps to know where you have come from and who else is on the road.” History, if used with care, can present us with alternatives, help us form the questions we need to ask of the present, and warn us of what might go wrong. It is not simply glorification of past deeds or writing of textbooks, but work in history extends far beyond the simple ordering of chronology; into the search for more sophisticated and enlightening shaping processes, which arguably characterize all forms of knowledge. The effect of history is to give us knowledge of the past but it also fosters the ability to think in a coherent way and, by giv-ing context and examples, gives us the conceptual tools to formulate critical questions to apply to the present and future. I hope that here, at the session, you get to discuss these questions and apply these tools, for it is these processes that the security of our future will be built on.

Elina Mäkelä (FI)

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All oratory is public speaking, but not all public speaking is oratory. And if you ever have the opportunity in the short time that is given to you, on this football that is called planet earth, to perform a speech; you better not screw things up. But do not worry, it is known that the act of public speaking is not inherent and inborn, but can be learned.

Let’s go back in time and take a look at the gamechanger of rhetoric. His name was Marcus Tullius Cicero. There might be some fangirling going on, but there should be no doubt: Cice-ro is bae. He was a first century lawyer and three years before his death he wrote ‘Orator’. In this text he tries to describe the perfect orator. According to Cicero, the three aims of an orator are:  “docere, delectare, et movere”. To translate: to prove your thesis to your audience, to delight the audience, and to emo-tionally move them.

We all have dreams, and so did Martin Luther King, Jr.. His speech will always be remembered as among the most mem-orable speeches of the century. And this is not a coincidence. Parallellism, antithesis and amplification are some examples of techniques that were born thousands of years ago and that are apparantly still alive and kicking. However, the key to success of this speech is of course not an extra metaphor or litotes, but  heart.

This was a beautiful example of the power of rhetorics used for the good, however, these techniques can be employed for reasons which are less well-intentioned. It is not necessary

A thousand words can say more than a picture

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Docere, Delectare,et movere

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A thousand words can say more than a pictureto name names, but the power of persuasion has been em-ployed throughout human history by individuals who wish to further their own intentions. Words can move people to risk life and limb, words can make the most intelligent people blind and words can even indoctrinate to remove an individu-al’s ability to think.

Now the ever lasting question is, can a normal human being like you and me be the next Cicero or King Jr.? The answer: yes, we can. Great oratory is prepared with passion, infused with creativity and masterfully crafted to offer a magnificent experience. Now, this might be easier said than done. There is, however, one key word you should remember: practice. Go on an exploration of the great world wide web and listen to the best speakers and read the best speeches. Prepare your speech carefully. When writing it, please keep in mind that the time on the stage is not your time to shine or your two minutes of fame, it is the time of the audience, and you want to spend it wisely. Keep it simple and short, by leaving your audience two or three takeaways. Have a good structure, a path and a destination, because the listeners want to know where you are going and why. Besides all of this you need to make a good impression and be memorable. Give the audience a piece of yourself and glue everything together with some rhetoric devices. And never, ever, forget : there is an Obama, Churchill or Cicero in all of us.

Sofie Schryvers (BE)

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#PrayformediaOn the 12th of November 2015 the world was completely normal. No unified international voice was condemning an attack on our safety and individuality, and the White House and Sydney Opera were looking as they always do. On the 13th of November this all changed. The faces of our friends were suddenly red, white and blue; and monuments across the globe were decorated with the tricolour. Headlines all over the world spoke of the same incident: the Paris attack. But why would it not? After all, was it not among the most appalling attacks on civil safety we have heard of? Of course it was. That is, however, not because the attack was one of a kind. Far from it, it is because we simply have not heard of the other attacks.

The keyword here is media. National monu-ments decorated like the French flag were not first and foremost a reaction to the attacks

themselves, but to the instant explosion in both conventional and social media. The fact that many of you have heard of the bombings that killed 40 civilians in Beirut the day before is mostly because of the uproar on social media, concerning the lack of coverage from conventional media. This might seem like a minor problem, but it represents an increas-ing trend throughout the world. The big media corporations have a tendency to hunt head-lines and the Western population are close to neglecting what is happening outside our own borders. The end result is typically that non-Western issues are either presented in a misleading way, or not presented at all.

A poor defence of the misrepresentation of French and Lebanese tragedies is that the civilian casualties were three times higher in Paris than in Beirut. But even that is not always the case. Far from it, actually. When it

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comes to the headline-hungry conflict in Syria it is the exact opposite. Whilst ISIS’ brutal vid-eos and publicity is shocking the entire world, government forces are enjoying the media’s silence whilst constantly bombing residential areas all over the country. Illustrated by num-bers, ISIS’ death toll on civilians during the first half of 2015 was just above one thousand people. In comparison, Syrian government forces killed more than seven thousand. By using less spectacular warfare than behead-ing, and categorically not fighting ISIS, the Assad regime appears to be the better of two evils, and the international effort and atten-tion is dedicated to ISIS.

How we act is dependent on how we see the world. Living in a democracy, we need to be correctly informed to make a balanced, con-sidered and fair decision. Profit driven media focuses on making the biggest headlines. By threatening the West, ISIS continue to make

the headlines at the expense of others, and the real problems are given the opportunity to flourish. If we relate the number of refugees to the number of civilian casualties, the Assad regime is responsible for more than four times as many Syrian refugees as ISIS. Imagine the impact a proportionate media representa-tion could have on the situation in Syria, and thus on the refugee situation in the rest of the world. Do you think hearing four times as much about the crimes of the Assad regime as you are currently doing about ISIS would make a difference? I do. But by seeing the world through a camera, we risk focusing on the wrong things.

Endre Haugland (NO)

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Its invention dates back to 1839, photography, but the art of taking photographs has only been adopted as an everyday practice after the invention of digital photography followed by the proliferation of smartphones. Since than the act of snapshotting frozen frames has taken hold of our lives as we share an average of 70 million pictures per day on Instagram. Photography, initially not approved as an art form, impacted the whole of humanity via its ability to transfer untouched feelings and thus procured a wıde use in journalism due to its objectivity.

Working on the project Every Facet led to my epiphany that photography is so much greater than just pressing a shutter button and re-trieving an image – it requires boldness more than anything. Cameras may have become mainstream but the moral courage to strike up a conversation or get into a social inter-action in order to earn the subject’s trust and comfort, is the golden gift of street photogra-phers. The ones who find order in the pan-demonium of urban cities manage to reflect endless dıffıcult human storıes in the pages

of Life, National Geographic, Time etc. are not only undaunted but observant.

Roaming the streets with a camera can even be described as philosophical, it is more than a search for visuals – it is a search for mean-ing. My meeting with Arjen Zwarth, a street photographer based in Istanbul, altered my perspective completely. When he said he sometimes does not even take the picture but rather leave the moment as it is, I was puzzled. Later on, I realised that it was his search for self-reflection via exploring the outside world through a lens.

Perhaps your Antwerp journey into the world of EYP with pointing games, bear hunts and quick EU framework modules is the time of your own self-discovery. In Alice in Wonder-land, Lewis Carol remarked “Who in the world am I? Ahh that’s the greatest puzzle.” What you question in the great EYP land is my only wonder. The journey just started.

Utkan Dora Öncül (TR)

[insert your name here] In EYP-Land

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Heroines: Deconstructing FemininityA round nineteenth-century pantheon tow-ering underneath a pitch-black sky. Lights. Drinks. The curtain drew up and revealed a cold, trendy loft. I was watching a modernised rendition of Hendrik Ibsen’s play “Hedda Gabler”, written over a century ago. The play brings an account of Hedda, a strong – yet manipulative – woman, and her boredom in a married life she chose for the sake of conform-ing to society. Living the life of the party and having an aspiring writer as a husband, she attempts to play God for acquaintances and eventually decides to kill herself.

It was about living without purpose. Yet, I started wondering why Hedda is still such a compelling character. Upon its opening night in 1890, audiences were shocked by her female determination. Choosing a strong female character was a bold move. Howev-er, even in a modern setting of hangovers and swimming pools I caught myself being amazed by the character’s dominance.

We hear about Cleopatra or Joan of Arc and say they were strong women. Despite society’s patriarchal history, it is evident that any per-severant woman deserved recognition. In the EYP-world with the norm of equal treatment,

one might question why it is such a curiosity in the world of fiction. The answer is that their rareness is the main appeal. We may think that we have broken boundaries but the fact that a digital age teenage girl like me still perceives a female lead as a curiosity begs to differ.

Women and girls are still relatively underrep-resented in media or, at least, badly repre-sented. When romcoms have female leads they will often be damsels in distress or a reason for a male lead to change. This all goes to show that subconscious standards in our so-called equal society are not what we think they are.

Dear participants, we are the new generation. It is up to us to make sure that a story like Hedda Gabler can be enjoyed as being a story about shallowness, rather than entertain us with its thus perceived ‘bold move’ of choos-ing a female lead.

Girls, speak your mind and the rest will follow.

Ans Van Gasse (BE)

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In 2020, the average person will have 4.3 Internet-connected devices. We consume content at an ever-increasing pace, and can find out just about anything at any time, anywhere.

The growth of the Internet at the beginning of the 21st century significantly influenced our channels of communication and forms of social interaction. The Internet’s impact on society in our contemporary world can be compared to the effect of radio and television in the 1930s and 1960s. With the change of social interactions and means of communication, political shifts are inevitable. Political campaigns, social movements and web revolutions are indicators that the Internet is already changing politics in terms of political communication, partici-pation and mobilisation.

In the 21st century, politics is no longer an activity merely for elected politicians – it has become an area of society in which anyone can partake with incredible ease. It is easier than ever to communicate with decision makers, and to be part of mak-ing a change. For example, the Arab Spring would have never gained such traction and recognition without social media, where platforms like Twitter were crucial to how the events developed. It allowed those leading the revolution to inform others of what would happen when, and it allowed the entire world to follow the development of events, and even led to journalists being able to set up interviews with those leading the revolution.

So how is increased connectivity having an impact on political engagement in the Western world? Most importantly, it al-lows citizens to participate in the political debate much more

Welcome to the Internet

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closely. When before we were limited to voting, strikes, public gatherings and similar, there are now new ways of engaging in politics. One example of this is the British government’s effort for public involvement, where anyone can start a petition on any issue, and if that petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in the British parliament.

Another way in which the Internet has changed how we engage in politics is by enabling a completely new group of people to be part of the debate. Whereas previously, political impact was limited only to private groups of significant size, or those with some specialisation, there is now an opportunity for small, local groups to participate in politics.

However, on the other side of the table, decision makers are able to communicate with the general public through social media. Social media has become one of the most important platforms for politicians to run their campaigns through, and it is now a crucial tool to reach out to voters.

The Internet’s impact on politics in the 21st century seems to be unquestionable. While some claim that the demographics of political participation are the same online and offline, it should also be recognised that this conclusion is incomplete. Events like Obama’s election campaign for 2012, the “Occupy Movement”, and the Arab Uprisings, show that politics has al-ready changed because of the Internet. Law Professor Zephyr Teachout once said that “the Internet is one of the greatest collective action problem-solving tools in world history”, and in the case of politics, it clearly shows.

Leo Sjöberg (SE)

Welcome to the Internet

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Change begins when you identify problems and set goals. Evolution is possible with reflection, assessment and vision. EYP is part of that. Right now we build the future. Right now we find tomorrow’s solutions for today’s problems. After all, who, if not us?

Juliana Teixeira (PT)

If you could change one thing about Europe,what would you do?

Marie Charlier, 16, CLIM Add security to the borders between Europe and other continents to stop human trafficking.

Edward De Maeyer, 17, ITRE II The European Union should have more power because now, every time it wants to make

a decision it has to ask all the member states and it’s a tedious process. I think that when the EU has more power it

can be much more efficient.

Josefien Hendrickx, 16, AFCO I wish Europe were one big country, no borders, all the people welcome, we all speak one language, a blue sea, the sun is always shining and ev-erybody’s happy. No children on the streets, everybody has a job and joy in life.

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If you could change one thing about Europe,what would you do?

Anna Spiessens, 16, CLIM The fact that countries can just close their borders, and are not obligated to take in a specific amount of refugees.

Jules Jonkers, 16, ITRE II I want Europe to be more like a Union. I never felt like I was part of the European Union until I joined EYP and I feel that more people should have this feeling. We should all feel like we’re one big whole. It would make things much easier and fun for people living in the European Union.

Justine Spaepen, 16, CLIM: I wish that all the Member States in Europe would have common goals and speak

with one voice so that we can all together reduce the CO2 emissions, save the planet and the next generations.

Catho De Vriese, 17, ENVI I don’t want people to be racist towards the refugees because they are just people that live

in countries at war, and have a horrible life there. It’s normal that they come to us and I think that we just need to accept

it. I understand that they all have different lifestyles and they need to change to our lifestyle a little. They’re not all terror-

ists, murderers or rapists.

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I was watching Antman the other day. It is your typical Marvel superhero movie where the main protagonist gets dragged into situations that force him to become the hero in order to save his loved ones. Run of the mill. What made it stand out though, was the premise of its hero superpower. He becomes really small, literally ant-size (hence the name) and… that is it. The realisation of what this meant fascinated me and got me thinking about meaning: size, power and impact.

We have this strange premonition that being small automati-cally means being powerless. Passing through history leaving it undisturbed, making no impacts. Belgium in the 1800s was by no means a big country, yet they managed to trigger the infamous period known as “The Scramble for Africa”, resulting in worldwide land grabbing and the start of the imperialist era of world history. The First World War, with a length of 4 years and over 10 million casualties, happened because a 17-year-old teen called Gavrilo Pricip from Serbia decided to shoot the Archduke of Austria. The fight for racial equality in America was fuelled by one woman who decided not to sit in her des-ignated seat on an ordinary bus. None of these people were powerful according to power’s traditional definition, but what they started was no doubt impactful.

Even on a personal scale, you are reminded every once in a while of the big influences of the small things:

The Big Influence of Small Things

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The Big Influence of Small Things• A warm blanket on a cold winter day• A kind smile and an acknowledgement of your presence in

the grocery store line• A call from mum when you are away from home a long

time.• A good cup of coffee• A night out with friends• An old song that brings back good memories• A well-written book in the evening all cuddled up under

the blanketsAll these things have infinitely more value than the “big things” that try to steal our attention. Sure, big events, big things, and people with big influence may get the most attention. Big houses, big cities, big sporting events, and big headlines may grab our attention. But as time passes by, which do you think will have more of an impact on you? An old photograph of you and your childhood friend or the European Championship final from 2016?

So no, being small doesn’t mean being powerless. Next time you feel small or insignificant, remember small things can cause quite a few ripples in the world, because what’s small today, will be big tomorrow.

Andong Hu (CH)

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I’ll remember you because...

The views presented in this issue are the ones of the authors and do not represent the views of EYP-Europolis Belgium or the Editorial team.

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