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7th National Session of the European Youth Parliament Sweden

Issue 2
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Contents
Editorial 3

President on Top 4

Opening Ceremony 5

Witchcraft and Bitch 6

Fights

‘EU... what?’ 7

VeilUp? 10

Destination Europe 11

Dogs & Scientists 12

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Editorial

Dear Delegates, thing you will never forget. Dare to StandUp and
SpeakUp and you will never regret, trust us.
You have played the Big Fat Pony, levitated and
solved the Human Knot. You have brainstormed, Remember though, EYP is not only hard work.
discussed and debated. You have become It is work hard, play hard. So CheerUp, have fun
friends with complete strangers in less than two tonight - relax, dance, score a strike. And then,
days. Now, sleep deprivation is kicking in and you make certain to bring your game face tomorrow.
no longer dream of meeting a beautiful girl or be-
coming a rock star, but of the next coffee break. Yours truly,
Your Editors,
Still, one of the most important elements of the
session remains - the General Assembly. Yes, you
are tired and you would probably much rather
go to sleep than write a speech or read through
resolutions. But hang in there. Giving a speech
Elsa Horn af Rantzien
or making a well argued point in GA is some- & 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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Name: Captain Martins Dambergs
President
on Top
Relationship status: In an open relationship
Age: 22
Nationality: Latvian
Sex: Male
Occupation: Lawyer
Education: Law at the University of Latvia, MA
degree
Nick name: Captain, Dam Dam
Favourite airline: KLM and British Airways

Harry Potter or Twilight?

Twilight of course. Harry Potter is so 2000 and, late.

Best EYP experience? Team Jacob or Edward?

The time I tried to fit a Edward, Jacob is
Journalist into a mail box just a smelly animal.
slot.
Lady Gaga or Britney?
Favourite part of session? Lady Gaga, she is more
Coffee/smoking breaks. than just a bad romance.

Number of sessions What is your drug?

attended? Caffeine and pills with
69 a dash of LSD.

Favourite position at a Cat or dog?

session? Dogs, they are intelligent.
On top… Cats are dumb.

Best teambuilding game? Beard or moustache?

Suck and blow. Beard, especially a
3 day old one.

Number of hours slept during the session so far?

5 hours since Thursday.

“Take me shopping, then buy me dinner

in a 2 Michelin star restaurant and fi-
nally order in a bottle of Veuve Cliqout.”
(Preferable suck-up methods)

Triin Heinla & Karoline Follo

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Opening Ceremony
An interrupted anthem – and a long story to be
continued. Ulrich Völker presents some of the
highights of yesterdays Opening Ceremony.
Yesterday morning you had all made your way to
Djursholm and the magnificent assembly hall of
Viktor Rydbergs Gymnasium. All dressed up in nice
suits and chic skirts, you walked not only through
the doors of the assembly hall, but also into a new
part of your life - EYP.

Firstly, you were welcomed by the Head Organis-
ers, Ms Katarina Warg and Ms Paula Kjellén who
encouraged you to make use of all their hard work
by making something special of this weekend.
Following that, our president, Mr Martins Dam-
bergs, reminded us of our task to explore both the
world and ourselves by travelling with EYP Airlines.
By taking us on a ride through various pressing
issues of European policy, State Secretary Mr. Os-
car Wåglund Söderström, definitely was a worthy
replacement for our Patron, Minister Birgitta Ohls-
son who was feeling ill and unfortunately had to
cancel in the last minute.
After five speeches and almost one hour, the
European Anthem pointed out the diversity of our
magnificent international network. And, you should
not have been disturbed by its abrupt ending: You
will definitely hear the “Ode to Joy“ many times
again, as there is a long story be continued. This,
for all of you.

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 Witchcraft
and Bitch Fights
Ulrich Völker gives you his impressions from a Northern
European journey - the school presentations.
Friday night, 21:02. The atmosphere in the Assem- lin. Did you ever wonder why the thing foreigners
bly Hall is tense. Suddenly, the crowd joins in for a associated with Sweden the most is IKEA? Having
spontaneous countdown. Everyone is focused on witnessed the presentation of Haganässkolan, all
Gymnasieskolan Spyken and their presentation. your questions will undoubtedly have been an-
But the technical equipment is striking. swered. And the highly coveted prize for the most
impressive costumes goes to Hersby Gymnasium,
The short initial technical problems turned out to with their mix of cross-dressing cheerleaders and
be the only minutes of silence that the evening American football playing witches.
had to offer. The show was soon on its way and I
was in for an evening that made me gain consider- Even Swedish pride was challenged, altough not
able insights into the world of Swedish elite educa- very seriously, a few times. The rivalling neigh-
tion - its self-perception, self-confidence and, most bours from Denmark, recollecting the heritage of
memorably, its penchant for witchcraft, wizardry H. C. Andersen; and by Finland, supported by to-
and bitch fighting. The following performances night‘s host, Journalist Alex Proctor, who definitely
definitely deserve their spot in EYP history: scored some points with his northern inside jokes
hitting Sweden right in its heart.
Bladins gymnasium had the honour of kicking off
the show. The “magical“ rap will definitely be re- Ironically enough, the night of Scandinavian ha-
membered as a courageous and innovative crea- tred was shadowed by a girl with an exceptional
tion. Enskilda Gymnasiet dared to admit that fun Mediterranean charm: Alex‘s female co-hostess,
and free time are mostly unknown to those poor Ezgi Teksoy from Turkey. Her struggle for perfec-
nerds being educated on their tiny elite school. tion in telling the most famous Chinese tongue
Their daring honesty was greatly appreciated and twister of the problems occurring while you eat
the noise from the crowd raised the already high grape seriously deserves our respect.
ceiling of the Assembly hall. Hässleholm Tekniska
Skola deserves an honourable mention by having
the most handsome and talented guitar players
of the session on their side. Lucky Skåne. Despite
the technical difficulties, Gymnasieskolan Spyken
put on an impressive performance by presenting
their scary church ceremony to the public. Credits
for both convincing witchcraft and cinematic com-
petence. The summit of self-confidence and bitch
fighting was definitely brought on stage by Göte-
borgs Högre Samskola. By now, everyone should
be able to name the less adorable schools of
Gothenburg. My classical music soul can not hide
its special admiration for Kungsholmens gymnasi-
um, who entered the stage accompanied by a vio-

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‘EU... What?’
The Parliament
The European Parliament is the
only European Union institution
whose members are directly
voted by the EU citizens. It con-
sists of 736 members, lead by
the President of the Parliament.
The Members of the European
Parliament divide into seven
different political parties whose
opinions together vary from one
extreme to the other. Studying
the history of the EP reveals its
long development. It started out
being just a European think-tank
but has evolved into an influen-
tial EU-institution. Now it effects
in decision making, ensures
that the standard of democracy
stays as wanted by supervising
over other institutions, and has
power over the EU budget. When
participating in an European
Youth Parliament session you go
through the same procedures as
the MEPs do in the parliament.
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The Commission The Council
Actual initiatives and legisla- The institution that gathers the
tive proposals are made by the heads of member states is the
European Commission thus the European Council. The council
EC has great effect on what is is not to be mistaken with the
discussed within the European ‘Council of Europe’, which, in
Union. The President of the Com- fact, is not even a part of the
mission, who is approved by the European Union. The European
European Parliament, chooses Council lays out the main objec-
the different commissioners tives for the EU and ensures
from the member states and that they are discussed in the
leads the commission in discus- European Commission. Each
sions. The Commission manages member state has its own
the use of the EU-budget and representative in the European
helps enforce European law. One council, usually the prime minis-
of its tasks is also to represent ter of the government. There are,
the EU, for example at negotia- however, exceptions; France is
tions with non-EU-countries. for example represented by their
president.
For the last time, what is actually the
difference? No stress - Alex Proctor
is here to help you, and himself.
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Yes! by Aga Matyja
VeilUp
My first association when it comes to veils, is the
domination of men in certain cultures over wom-
en. To me it seems inhumane that women are be-
ing treated as property, forced to cover their body
parts in order to live up to cultural expectations or
just those of their husbands. The veil is the sym-
bol of the power men demand over women and it
emphasises their dominative role. I reckon that we
should not accept this form of oppression.
The second important aspect of this case is the
security requirements. In today’s unstable world,
veils are just too much of a risk for our own safety.
If you cannot see someone’s face, that makes the
person unrecognisable and so the veil can also
become an ideal cover for a man. Usage of a veil
is a perfect way of changing your identity and can
be easily used as a method to go unnoticed. Never
knowing who is hidden behind, I personally find
frightening.
No! by Sini Hyytiänen
Freedom of expression is legal right. This means
everyone is free to express him or herself the way
they want – including people who express them-
selves differently to traditional European culture.
Adolescence is a time of self-discovery. I believe
that a full ban on face veils in schools would be
outright discrimination against Islamic religion
and culture, as this would imply the Islamic youth
being deprived of their opportunity of finding their
own religious and cultural identity. Instead, they
would be forced towards a mainstream culture
that does not represent their heritage. This, for
me, is saying goodbye to cultural diversity. An Is-
lamic veil cannot be compared with personal style;
I believe it represents a cultural heritage that
many people carry with pride.
Young women have many reasons to why they
decide to wear a veil. Some consider it cultural,
others want to respect their religion and some
wear it to keep themselves safe from judging eyes.
Of course there are cases when women are forced
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in school ?
Thirdly, veils are catalysts to the current segrega-
tion between Western and Muslim parts of soci-
ety, which is caused by the islamophobia following
the war on terror. The veil acts as a curtain be-
tween Muslim women and the outside world, limit-
ing interactions to an absolute minimum. It also
does not allow any body language which causes
communication problems.
Another issue worth considering, more precisely
at school, is that of the problems that veils cause
communication-wise. Teachers are not capable of
making eye contact with the student, which can
create communicational and bonding problems for
both. The student might not benefit from the les-
son sufficiently and the teacher can never be sure
if the student is paying attention to what is hap-
pening in class. A person wearing a cap in class
is usually requested to take it off due to rules and
I just do not see any reason why Muslim women
should be treated differently from others. The
rules applied in society should be holistic.
to wear veils, but in the vast majority of cases they
wear them by their own free choice and while forc-
ing women to wear a veil is oppression, forbidding
them from wearing them is oppression just the
same.
When asked about their veils, Muslim women
answer that they consider it as a shield from the
outside world. When asked about the repression
they experience from having to wear a veil, they
point out the similar repression they see us experi-
encing when we feel like we have to wear sexy and
revealing clothes. The difference between the two
is that western women would feel covered if they
had to wear full veils, Muslim women would feel
naked without.
The lesson we want to teach in school is a lesson
of cultural diversity, open mindedness and accept-
ance of other different to us. If Islamic veils are
banned, the lesson following would be the com-
plete opposite.
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Europe, a continent When it comes to the European Youth Parlia-

ment - traveling is it, and young and adventurous
to discover - in many as we are, now is the best time to explore Europe.
As there is so much to be seen, we would like to
different ways. Feeling
the urge to travel?
Destination Europe recommend you some places and events that we
consider essential to get a better understanding of
other European cultures.
Tim Keegstra and Aga
First of all, you should definitely visit Holland. There
Matyja give you their might not be much going on there, but the weather
best advice. is pretty nice. And there are lots of tulips. OK, truth
is that Tim the Journalist lives there and this is
probably the most interesting aspect of the country.

From Holland we can proceed to Belgium, the land

of creative people. As they did not have any idea on
how to design a flag they just borrowed it from the
Germans and messed it up a bit. You can buy some
chocolate and then quickly leave without looking
back.

Our next stop is the British Isles, where a challenge

awaits all of you. Play “Honey tell me that you love
me” with royal guards at the Buckingham palace,
but remember not to cross the line. The British have
a long history of torture and they still keep their
medieval tools in the London Tower.

After rushing out of London, you should fly to Spain

to attend La Tomatina, the biggest tomato fight in
the world. Make sure you do not confuse tomatoes
with apples though, because using the latter will
not earn you any knew friends. The only thing worse
than facing angry Spanish people is ending up in
the middle of the bull-running fiesta.

On the way back to Sweden, make sure the captain

of your flight avoids the biggest Jesus statue in the
world - situated in Poland. Once you are finally back
on familiar soil, go to Älmhult to visit the first ever
IKEA before they go bankrupt due to fines from their
tax evading activities. Enjoy!

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Dogs & Scientists

Within the European Youth Parliament you tend
to do a lot of travelling around Europe. However,
every now and then, you find out that the ideas
you had about the country of destination are
completely wrong. In other words: prejudices.
Turkey is not a dessert, the Netherlands grow
things other than marihuana, and oh yes, other
than tulips as well. It is not always forty degrees
in Spain and there are no Polar Bears in Sweden.
We interviewed some foreign officials to find out
what prejudices they brought with them in their
luggage to Sweden.

A Finnish official:
“When it comes to their hair, Swedish guys are ob-
sessed. They like touching their hair and brushing
it like females. If they get the chance, they will bor- A foreign student studying in Sweden:
row multiple hair products from their girlfriends.”
“Swedes like their dogs more than actual people.
There are nearly more dogs in the subway than
A Norwegian official: homo-sapiens. Instead of greeting you in the sub-
way, Swedes will greet your dog.”
“Well, not being good at sports must be one of
their main characteristics. After all, we always beat
them in the Olympics” A Polish official:
“Swedish women are so tanned, as if they have
A Turkish official: recently stepped out of a sizzling solarium. They
also dress extremely well.”
“There is a cliché in Turkey involving Swedish sci-
entists. Very often, you can find an overly enthu-
siastic piece on the news like “Swedish scientists A Dutch official:
did it again! The cure to gravity!” These Scandina-
vian scientists also happen to be quite the experts “Are not all Swedish girls supposed to be blond
on dental hygiene in Turkey, as in many toothbrush and hot? “
commercials there are phrases like “Developed by
Swedish scientists this brush just does it all! Clean
your tongue, brush your teeth and iron your shirt
at the same time!”
Mehmet Can Burdu
& Tim Keegstra
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