The Official Newspaper of the Iberian Forum 2011 Issue 3 August
Transcription
The Official Newspaper of the Iberian Forum 2011 Issue 3 August
THE 7 BRIDGES The Official Newspaper of the Iberian Forum 2011 Issue 3 August 10th, 2011 THE 7 BRIDGES | 2 EDITORIAL The dream of 5 years MARIA CHALHOUB & ADRIANA DÍAZ MARTÍN-ZAMORANO 5 years building the house, 5 years raising the family and finally, after all this time, EYP España (EYPE) is set to celebrate its anniversary. The National Committee (NC) was officially founded in the beginning of 2007, but the first meetings which started to give shape to the project took place in autumn 2006. Before the creation of the NC, the Spanish representation at International Sessions (IS) of the EYP just consisted of an internal selection of 3 schools: Àgora Centre d’Estudis (Sant Cugat del Vallès), Montessori-Palau (Girona) –the school which has hosted our session- and San Francisco de Paula (Sevilla). After some years following this procedure, an active and motivated group of students from one of the 3 schools decided that it was time to found the NC so that this project could involve as many participants as possible in Spain as it was beginning to spread all around Europe. Those few students started to organise several meetings to decide what steps could be the next ones to be taken in order to make the creation of EYP España a reality. The official registration of the organisation, the notes and the creation of a national Board seemed to be the key elements to move forward. Having that done, EYPE was ready to host its first national selection in February of 2007 in Girona. Up until now, the youth organisation has already carried out 6 national sessions, various regional sessions and two international forums, and the amount of members and regions in Spain involved grows year after year. The well-known poet Kipling once said “If you can dream and not make dreams your master.” According to that verse, EYP España will continue to dream on. THE 7 BRIDGES | 3 CONTENTS 1 EDITORIAL 3 LOCAL 5 NATIONAL 7 INTERNATIONAL 8 OPINION 9 letters from readers 11ENTERTAINMENT THE 7 BRIDGES | 4 LOCAL Where to go with WIM VAN DOORN & BRAM VAN MELDERT The participants of the session give their view on journalism in EYP and the Press Team at this session. Press Teams have been part of EYP since the very beginning, but their purpose and products have changed over the years and are a constant subject of discussion. With the Press Team at this session we use a specific approach to EYP journalism, by focusing on the paper and having a blog which provides committee specific content. We have asked several of you to give your views on EYP journalism in general and the Press Team at this session specifically. Panayiotis (CY) The Press Team can make a session unique by adding something different. In the case of the Iberian Forum, this session already feels so different that something unique from the journalists is not necessarily needed. Eda (TR) It is nice to have pictures and articles about our committee to remember the session. The blog is better than newspapers, because there is space for better and more pictures. I do not think many people read the newspaper during the session. Julie (NL) For me the journalists help to preserve reliable memories. It is nice that the press team here wants to keep us involved by asking for our input. I think the blog is great, but I think for some people it is difficult to read it during the session. Clément (FR) Journalists are the animators of the session, and by doing activities they can make the session better. Also, they see the session differently than the other participants. THE 7 BRIDGES | 5 LOCAL EYP Journalism? Alison (IE) Having a press team is for a large part about the journalists developing themselves and having fun. The best way for them to contribute is by making the session more fun, by socialising, making funny videos and writing funny articles. Because they are younger, journalists are more accessible to delegates. Journalists should be involved in the session, if they only sit in the press room they are not productive in terms of bringing fun to the session. Gillian (IE) The biggest impact a press team has had in my experience was when the participants of the session were constantly debating the newspaper. Also, the individual journalists contributed to the development of their committees. Additionally, there was a theme going on which helped to unite everyone. Andris (LV) The only reason why we would have a press team is because it helps people stay involved. It is good to have an extra officials team, but it does not need to be a press team. A strong presence increases the impact of such a team in the session. Boaz (NL) The benefits of journalism as it is done now do not cover the costs and therefore we could do without a press team. I am not exactly sure about how we can make journalism more useful, but at least press teams should produce something which is actually read at the session itself. It would be good if the press team could contribute to the academic quality of the session as well. Lucy (IE) Journalism itself is unnecessary, but the people’s presence is important. THE 7 BRIDGES | 6 LOCAL Iberian’s got talent GIANMARCO BATTISTINI & REBECCA FARKHOOY G oosebumps. The perfect word to describe Tuesday night’s Euroconcert. Panayotis and Lucy led us through a night full off talents and surprising performances. All of the participants were exceptional within their own field - everything from playing the violin, the piano, to singing and dancing. The opening act was carried out by Àngela Sànchez Olmos, singing “What Are You Made of ” by Lucy Silvas, followed by Panayiotis Ataou playing baglamas and giving us a taste of Cyprus. Two of the stars of the night, Julia and Lluis Solervicens, performed several times, starting with the self-composed song “Chaser” by their own band “Third Culture”. Just when we thought the applauds couldn’t get louder, the expectations were exceeded as Christopher “the legs” Proctor performed “Sweet Transvestite” from Rocky Horror Picture Show. The shock, the surprise and the laughter were some of the highlights of the night. Others performing were Julie van Der Post, with a self-composed piece similar to the tunes of Alicia Keys and Norah Jones, the press team journalist Alexandros Politis performing a beautiful song in French, and Adriana Díaz Martín-Zamorano singing together with the Solervicens family duo. Representing the board of the session, Andrís Suvajevs and Gillian O´Halloran performances left us all impressed and to some point even emotional. What made the night even more special were the caring dedications to family, friends and EYP:ers . Ezgi Ince from Turkey, who unfor- tunately could not make it to the session as a chair as planned, was mentioned as well as Bircan Kilci, a turkish EYP alumni who recently lost a family member. Last but definitely not least, the Press Team together with video editor Marta Valls had their own moment in the spotlight. Starting with the reveal of the second session video, the night ended with the official dance moves of the Iberian Forum 2011, to the sound of “Like I love you” by R.I.O. The venue, the food and the overall memorable night was the result of the hard work of organisers Maria Rodeja and Sandra Castañer. Therefore, on behalf of all the session participants, we thank you for making the Euroconcert possible. LOCAL THE 7 BRIDGES | 7 THE 7 BRIDGES | 8 LOCAL Escaping the reality ANNI MARTTINEN Not seeing your family or school friends, not checking your facebook in a week, not answering your cellphone in 24 hours, not watching television or reading news for several days- that happens only at an EYP session. T he first thing most EYPers comes across with when arriving home and meeting family and friends for the first time in a while is the inability to explain what they did for the past couple of days. At least that is always the case when I return to Finland. I tell my friends that I had the time of my life and elaborate a little our daily schedule but still I feel like no one really understands what I tell them. It is because no one actually can see inside the EYP bubble before attending a session themselves. One of the reasons why we feel PED and sort of lost once we get back home is that we are isolated from the entire world for some time. We barely have time to talk to our family and if we do it is quite often that we send a text message to our parents that says: “yes, I am still alive”. It is not that we would not care but that, for me at least, we simply forget that we have our lives going on in another country. Same applies to almost everything; we do not check news or hear what is going on in the world. I know I will watch television and read news next time on the 14th when I get home and I am quite sure that my e-mail box is about to explode. Facebook would be a quite easy way to keep in touch with friends back home but with the always annoying wifi or the lack of it deprives us our one of the most valuable resource of long distance relationships; internet. This certain isolation that EYP causes to us is one of the main reasons I love it. How many of you have said that you could not wait to get away from everything back home when arriving at a session? I know I have more than I can remember, but it is only at home just when I realise how surreal the couple of days felt. It almost feels like a dream. That is why we just cannot get enough, we are all addicted to the feeling of euphoria that sessions create. THE 7 BRIDGES | 9 national Gironian Tales The Cocollona CEREN HAZAR It has two beautiful wings and scales everywhere, it used to be a beautiful girl, the countdown for the full moon to be able to see the ghost has begun. M ost of you have never even heard this word in your life. And if you heard it is probably because I asked you what it means. So what is ‘cocollona’ according to the participants of the session? We received some interesting answers to the question: a type of a person, type of a dance, a Catalan beer, a crazy journalist... Apparently most of you were hungry when I asked the question because we received many answers like: a meal, something that can be eaten, a fruit, a type of jam or nuts. Moreover most of the answers were related to coconut, like coconut juice, little coconuts... There was one which was really creative; Maria (CULT I) claimed that “Cocollona” is an Italian game played in ancient times. “Coco” means the ball and “Llona” means to catch in Italian, and that is how the game gained its name. Lastly, Katarzyna (CULT I) provided the closest answer: an animal. The Cocollona is a made up word by a nephew of the photographer Emili Massanes. It is made up of two Catalan words: “COCOdril”(crocodile) and “papaLLONA”(butterfly). To be clearer, the Cocollona is actually a legend in Girona. On the left bank of the river Onyar in the neighbourhood of the Mercadal, there used to be a convent where they lacked piety, and devotions and penances were practiced very little. However there was one novice among them who kept reminding them about their duties and was not joining them in their capers. To silence her, the nuns locked her in an underground cell. She was imprisoned in that little cell for many years. The scales started to come out all over her body because of the humidity, lack of sunshine and deficient feeding; consequently she transformed into a crocodile. Surprisingly, she grew butterfly wings that endowed her with beauty because of her purity and holiness. It is still believed that when the full moon is out, the ghost of the Cocollona can be seen swimming in the river Onyar. Unfortunately during the session days we will not be able to see the full moon. THE 7 BRIDGES | 10 international Gay Swedes showing their pride in Pride REBECCA FARKHOOY A couple of days ago was the last day of the Stockholm Pride Festival, supporting LGBT-rights. The festival lasted for one week where activities, entertainment and seminars about homosexuality were arranged in the capital Stockholm. The festival has encountered many problems before and the Swedish government is currently discussing what measures should be taken to make the event as safe as possible for the participants. S tockholm Pride, also called the Pride, is an annual festival held in Stockholm since 1998 and mainly aimed towards LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer). The Pride Movement is a part of the gay movement and advocates that people should be proud of their sexual identity. It has become a tradition to wear overly glamorous and often queerthemed outfits, regardless of gender, in order to show diversity of sexual orientations as this should be regarded as an essential part of a person’s personality. cept the Swedish Christian Democrats who have an official position against homosexuality. In 2003 the festival was attacked by the extreme right-wing organisation National Democratic Youth and members were shouting profanities, throwing objects and burning pictures of famous gay profiles. Previous manifestations against the pride celebration have ocurred in the form of demonstrations in turn pursued by Christian extremists, or disorganised political groups attacking individuals. To investigate the Swedish opinPride Movement manifestations ion on homosexuality the Swedish have been the subject of debate in Trade Union Confederation conSweden for many years. All parties ducted a study which showed that as well as their youth organisations one in five people in Sweden has are represented at the festival ex- prejudice/s against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The first Pride parade in Lithuania took place in March 2010 and many participants became victims of violence, profanity and threats from opponents and far-right groups. Sweden is currently investigating how to prevent violence and make the pride festival as safe as possible for the participants. “ 1 in 5 people in Sweden has prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. ” THE 7 BRIDGES | 11 INTERNATIONAL Hannibal Lecter is back in town GIANMARCO BATTISTINI If you are a fan of horror movies then go ahead reading. If you can’t stand violence, just take a deep breath and get ready to experience how human beings can be cruel and beast-like. I n the past few months, several cases of cannibalism were tracked down both in Russia and Slovakia. Nikolai Shadrin, former patient of a psychiatric hospital, was the major suspect for the disappearing of Ilya Yegorov, a 40-year-old Moscow resident. The two of them were acquaintances: “when the police came to arrest the suspect, he was eating a human liver with potatoes,” a police spokeswoman for the Moscow’s western district said. The rest of the liver was found in the man’s refrigerator and it probably belonged to the same body as the other parts (head, feet and two arms) that were found all around Moscow. Meanwhile in Slovakia a 43-yearold “ordinary man”, as he was described by his fellow citizens, or even a “quiet person” according to the owners of the shooting range where he went practising. Matej Curko was a computer technician, just like the most notorious German cannibal, Armin Meiwes. His modus operandi really was peculiar: using a fake email address he contacted people who wanted to commit suicide and that could possibly be willing to allow him to eat them. Thanks to the traces left in his computer the policemen the corpses of two young women were found in the forest near the culprit’s village. The bodies were mutilated and the missing parts are those that were cooked and photographed by Curko, who had an archive of his crimes. The two girls went missing back in 2010. In the emails Curko sent them, the Slovakian talked about previous victims, which means that he might have been active at least since 2009. It is not yet clear what the eating ritual involved: the Slovakian police found a ceremonial altar in Kysak’s forest, but it is unsure whether that was the place the killing took place. Curko died in Kosice’s “Louis Pasteur Hospital” due to the injuries sustained in the armed confrontation with the police officer that showed up at the appointment pretending to be Dubach. The officer got shot but didn’t report any serious damage. The same can’t be said about Curko, who was hit by five bullets and died two days afterwards, taking his secrets to the grave. THE 7 BRIDGES | 12 INTERNATIONAL Journalism at all costs SCOTT BENSON Following ‘Murdochgate’, it is time to critically examine the balance between the freedom of the press and individual liberty. T he phone hacking scandal at News International, a company responsible for prominent newspapers and television programming in the UK, has renewed fears about the protection of individual privacy. Concerns about the methods used by investigative journalists were reignited in 2005 when it emerged that the voicemails of the British Royal Family had been accessed illegally. Since then, a series of celebrities, including the actors Sienna Millar and Steve Coogan, have accused News of the World journalists of intercepting their voicemail messages. Despite the worrying implications of these illegal practices, allegations of phone hacking failed to stir the public conscience because they were confined to figures of public interest. However, when, in 2002, it was uncovered that the voicemail of missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler had been tampered with, public opinion quickly changed to that of moral outrage. The scandal has quickly escalated and the Metropolitan Police suspect that 4000 phones may have been hacked. These transgressions have disturbing implications. The parent company of News of the World and its Chief Executive, Rupert Murdoch own media organisations all over the world. These include BSkyB, Sky Italia and Fox Broadcasting Company. More importantly, the phone hacking scandal invites us to re-examine the balance between the freedom of the press and individual privacy. It is imperative that journalists are able to report information free from state interference in order to ensure that governments can be properly scrutinised and the public interest can be upheld. However, there is a crucial difference between what is in the public interest and what is interesting to the public. Whilst the former entails the well-being of a country, or a group or section of its society, the latter can be much more trivial. Phone-hacking may be overlooked when it is necessary to uncover political corruption for example, but not when it is an unwarranted invasion of individual liberty. It is a case of the ends justifying the means. THE 7 BRIDGES | 13 THE 7 BRIDGES | 14 THE 7 BRIDGES | 15 THE 7 BRIDGES | 16 OPINION Your view about Greek people after the economical crisis ALEXANDROS POLITIS & LAURENS KRAIMA Obviously, the question is not if you do not love them anymore or if you still can have fun with them. It is even deeper. The global economical and financial crisis brought to the surface Greece’s long-standing economical weaknesses and the widespread corruption of its political system. Suddenly, Greece has become, once again, the centre of interest. But this time in a negative way. Everyone in Europe has heard about the economical crisis in Greece, the protests and the strikes in Athens. Everyone has some thoughts about the Greek people. Even if we do not realise it or we prefer to be kind or diplomatic and to not express our deeper concerns, a lot of us changed our mind about them. Did your view about Greek people change after the crisis? THE 7 BRIDGES | 17 OPINION FROM THE INSIDE FROM THE OUTSIDE ALEXANDROS POLITIS LAURENS KRAIMA I A n Greece, the crisis and strict austerity measures made the Greek people seriously think about the causes behind this situation. One of the first thoughts was that the politicians and, especially, the previous governments are the main culprits of the economical collapse. But, as it seems, a big majority of young people generally blame the previous generations which were supporting and maintaining this political system. The fact that during the past decades Greek people were voting for the same politicians because of the clientele relationships between them made young people criticise even their parents. They are not ashamed that they are Greek, but they know that their ancestors showed indifference about the country and contributed to the political corruption. If you pose this question to foreign people, what also comes to mind is Greece as a whole. They usually do not separate the politicians from the citizens. They also consider that Greek people are responsible for the current situation. Many times I have heard foreign people criticising Greek people and blaming them for the financial crisis. The problem is when this comes to disrespect and irony. A lot of times I realise that other people do not separate me and the other young people from the responsible, previous generations. Some of the many comments I have heard are “Why am I supposed to give you the five Euros I have in my pocket?” and “You have to wake up! You were sleeping for more than fifty years!”In this case the media may be responsible, as some of them publish humiliating articles and pictures about Greece. But, I just consider these to be harmless fun. I know that most of the people did not change their view that much. s you know, we asked you whether your view on Greek people have changed after the crisis. The results were not exactly what we expected but still quite clear: 56% of you didn’t change your opinion about Greek people, 28% said the crisis influenced their opinion negatively, and 16% sympathised with the Greek people thus changed their opinion in a positive way. Personally, as an outsider, I changed my opinion negatively. This is probably because of the media reports which are mainly reporting on how much money we have to pay to Greece without having a say on what’s going to happen there. There are also reports on how the Greek people have been living above their assets and that they now have to pay for it. The only thing we get to see is that they don’t want reforms because it would make their lives harder than they actually were. Therefore, the image the news was giving me was that the Greek people don’t have the right to complain as they chose the government responsible for the crisis. It also made the Greek people look ungrateful for the help provided by other countries. Clearly the news don’t separate the politicians from the other inhabitants, which is why a lot of people end up generalising their opinion about Greek people. As this is in the center of interest within the EU right now and determines our future, everyone knows about it and has an opinion on what happened. We can only wait and see how much more we’ll be influenced as important decisions about Greece are to be made. THE 7 BRIDGES | 18 OPINION The truth about long distance relationships SÍLVIA SUSACH Is it true that love can move mountains? Or is distance a killer of passion? EYP is a meeting point for youngsters from all over Europe, and love can turn up at the most unexpected moment. E YPers are quite special and unique. They stand out from the youth as they are willing to raise their voice, discuss European problems, and above all because they enjoy cultural exchange. In this sense, an EYP session is like a huge bubble where different looks, ways of seeing the world, and cultures are put together. Physical attraction is almost inevitable yet the “problems” appear when one’s interest for someone starts going beyond planned; when you can’t get your mind off a glance, a smell or a simple kiss and the feeling of fear and despair start growing inside. of pain. Miles between the two will soon become reality and the thought of it is overwhelming. The worst thing that can happen at this point is having to listen to some of your so-called friends that seem to be sure that it is not going to work out. Comments like: “distance kills love” or “long distance relationships, happy four”, are heard way too often. Despite that, thousands of miles between EYPers do not seem to prevent feelings from appearing. What is distance? And how can it kill something as strong as love? A couple that live in different countries can feel as if they were next to each other and distance between two people is only as one allows it to be. Ironically, some couples that live in the same town seem to be separated by thousands of miles. It seems that as soon as we come across the first obstacle, we give up and stop There it is: the sensation you had trying. What kind of society do we been trying to avoid, butterflies live in? in your stomach but with a pinch Physical distance is an obstacle to “ Physical distance is an obstacle to overcome, but it is not the end. ” overcome, but it is not the end. In fact, making it work only depends on oneself. Obstacles are always going to be a part of our life but we should not avoid them but learn to overcome them if we want to be happy. Fighting for what we want is essential for our wellbeing, and only if we get rid of fear will we learn to fully live. If a relationship does not work it is never going to be a consequence of physical distance, it means it would not have worked in any other case. When it is real love, we should not surrender easily. Long distance relationships are hard, but if someone makes you happy, why stop trying? If a couple are able to overcome distance and wait until they can finally be physically together, they will surely be able to cope with any other difficulty. Do not be scared, live your life, love with no limits and no fears: everything is worth trying when someone makes you wake up with a feeling of joy inside. THE 7 BRIDGES | 19 LETTERS FROM READERS The section which gathers your opinion on the topics that our journalists have written about. On gay pride: a way for gay people to have no shame in who they are, be “ It’s accepted in society and make their voice heard. ” Juan Estheiman, Spain. Amsterdam where I live, it’s awesome. “ InLouise Van Benschop, The Netherlands.” have many gay friends, I think they should have the same “ Irights as I do. João Moreira, ” Portugal. On cannibalism: don’t think it should be allowed. Killing is killing, no matter purpose. “ IMiguel ” Lopez, Spain. some circumstances, like if you are stranded on a desert island “ Under with only one other person, not eating him or her would be a waste. Christopher Proctor, Finland.” think it’s ok. I personally wouldn’t eat another person if I had “ Ia don’t choice. I don’t think it is a natural thing. ” Henrique Mendes, Portugal. On long distance relationships: I don’t care about the distance. “ If you’re in love you’re in love, thenYannick Van Bogaert, Belgium.” just an illusion. “ It’s ” João Moreira, Portugal. work. When you really get to meet a person it is different “ They don’t than just talking from distance. You can’t feel the relationship in the same way. Juan Estheiman, Spain. depends on how often you see each other. “ ItOscar ” Stenbom, Sweden. presence is necessary. “ They never work. Physical Henrique Mendes, Portugal.” “ Impossible. ” Chris Papadogeorgopoulos, Greece THE 7 BRIDGES | 20 ENTERTAINMENT Man in Woman’s world SCOTT BENSON & LAURENS KRAIMA We welcome Andris Šuvajevs, the only male board member, who claims to be a dedicated feminist. How does it feel to be the only male board member? It has a surprising impact on my everyday behaviour: for the first time in a couple of years I actually crossed my legs and started to speak in a slightly more high pitched voice than I usually have. Did you notice any other effects they have had on you? Definitely, I realised I got more hygienic and I put more thought in what I wear. Also I have more mood swings, I’m very excited as the day goes by and at night I get grumpy. Andris, I heard you tried to join a feminist party, what was that all about? Last year I went to Glasgow and that was the first time i found out about feminism in depth, and I thought it was quite a cool thing. I started to read a lot about feminism and learn about it, and wanted to join the Glasgow feminist society, just to prove my point to the others that I’m all about feminism, I’m all for it. I emailed them and had an interview but they were quite reproachful. Connolly. Whenever I flirt with her, which happens a lot, she’ll just tell me she’s very annoyed with me and actually mean it. Whenever I touch her, she wants me not to touch her again. Whenever I try to give her advice, she slags me off. This approach shows that there’s no messing around with strong womWhat was it in Glasgow that made en. They’re gaining control; they’re you empathise with the feminist realising their full potential. cause? When you go to Scotland, your vi- Do you have any tips for guys that sion on women and girls seems to want to become more involved change a lot. Scotland is consid- with feminisim? ered to be one of the unhealthiest Read some feminist literature, and regions on the planet. Its a very as- do realise that its very diverse and sertive culture, but I want men to some branches of feminism are be able to tell girls they’re beauti- more credible than others. I might ful, no matter how much they eat. not come across as a feminist in this interview, but I’m a strong beDo you have any feminist role liever in some of those branches models? and all up for equal rights. I just got a new feminist role model at this session actually, Alison THE 7 BRIDGES | 21 Submitted by; Adriana Díaz Martín-Zamorano (Editor, ES), Maria Chalhoub (Editor, SE), Marta Valls (Video Editor, ES), Gianmarco Battistini (IT), Scott Benson (UK), Rebecca Farkhooy (SE), Ceren Hazar (TR), Laurens Kraima (NL), Anni Marttinen (FI), Alexandros Politis (GR), Sílvia Susach (ES), Wim van Doorn (NL), Bram Van Meldert (BE).
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