the 5th Georgian National Selection Conference_ Issue I

Dear participants,

I am very delighted to have an opportunity of addressing you in the capacity of a president of the 6th National Selection Conference of the European Youth Parliament Georgia. My name is Tornike Zurabashvili and it is my greatest pleasure to preside over such an important EYP event.

Before I touch upon the history of EYP NSCs in Georgia let me first explain what the National Selection Conferences are. The European Youth Parliament’s 35 National Committees organize more than 100 events annually. Though differing in duration, the number of participants and representing countries, the sessions follow a similar pattern. They can be international, regional and national. The National Selection Conferences are the milestone event of EYP National Committees. They are held in most European countries and collect the talented young minds of the country the event is held at. As the title suggests there is a certain degree of competitiveness in such conferences. Usually, the delegates for upcoming two international sessions are selected out of the pool of participants at the National selection Conference.

This week, EYP’s Georgian National Committee is convening the National Selection Conference for the 6th time. And let me tell you why this particular National Selection Conference will be better than the previous ones. I have had the honour of being present when the very first sessions started up and laid foundation to what we have now in the form of EYP Georgia. Back in 2007, 2008, and 2009 we did not have a luxury of either having journalists or organizers; everyone did what they could to manage the session and at the same time chair in the committees. I also happened to be the president of the 3rd National Selection Conference in 2009 and I recall that there were times when I had to leave the board panel just for the sake of arranging lunch or dinner.

Unlike those old and tiring but still very memorable times, the NSC of 2012 promises to be very special: first every bit of the session is organized with a special care by the people called the organizers (my special thanks to the Head Organizer), second - the chairs and journalist teams combine the best and brightest resources at EYP Georgia, third - the venue of the session enables us to not only work together during daytime, but also spend time chatting and having fun in the evenings as well.

Here we have, every possible delight that an EYPer could dream of: experienced chairs team, motivated journalists, the very organized organizers and a great venue. It is now up to you to take advantage of this opportunity and travel these very exciting days with us. Regardless of your experience, good participation at the NSC is impossible without proper preparation for the topic and then your full engagement in all phases of the NSC. From my side, I promise as much support and leadership as I can and promise to transform your days at the National Selection Conference an unforgettable experience for months and years to come.

Good luck and wish a pleasant time, Yours faithfully, Tornike Zurabashvili President of the 6th National Selection Conference

DO PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT EYP?

Salome Tsiramua: Nothing

more than that it is the group of children traveling around the Europe :))

George Khatiashvili: EYP is European Youth Parliament and I think it's a place for young people interested in politics. I only know that heads of EYP are travelling all over the world and I think it's a nice job‌

Mariam Robitashvili: Some of my friends have taken part in EYP sessions, but all I know

is that EYP gives students an opportunity to travel a lot.

Is it only about traveling?

Sopho Okropiridze: The EYP is the youth forum, which provided independent thinking about social and political issues. Thousands of young people have taken part in regional, national and international sessions. It is the chance to form friendships and made international contacts across and beyond borders.

Shota Kakabadze: Youth organization working on promotion of parliamentarian culture among young people. Helps youth to gain necessary skills for working together on certain issues.

Destination – Europe! The session theme seems to be perfectly suitable for a National Selection Conference of Georgia, a small, developing country, striving to establish closer ties with Europe. It is almost two decades that Georgia is actively working to strengthen its relationships with the European states.

First step toward Europe was made by joining Council of Europe in 1999. Later, in 2004, Georgia was already included in the EU Neighborhood Policy. In 2008, EU was supporting ceasefire during the Russian-Georgian war, and the EU took active part in the Geneva negotiations, aiming at the maintenance of stability and peace in the region. Moreover, since 1992-1993 EU was generously helping people affected by the conflict in Abkhazia and now has installed an unarmed civilian monitoring mission in order to stabilize a situation on the ground. In 2010, Georgia and the EU became official partners, according to the “Partnership for mobility” declaration. In general, Georgia has long been committed to actively cooperate with, and consequently join the European family.

Why has Georgia chosen Europe as its final destination? And is Europe truly the place where Georgia belongs?

Asked about their place of origin, most Georgians will probably say that they come from a small country in Eastern Europe. Even though the country is situated on the border of Europe and Asia, most Georgians choose to consider themselves as Europeans. As a popular Georgian politician, Zurab Zhvania, once said, “I am Georgian, therefore, I am European!” In fact, Georgians are proud to be the descendants of the first Europeans; archaeological excavations in the Georgian region of Dmanisi have revealed the crania of a prehistoric “couple” who probably migrated from Africa approximately 1.8 million years ago.

Later, in the third century, Georgia made a huge step towards Europe by adopting Christianity and thus accepting a certain value system that has grown into ideals of liberty and equality.

While with the Oriental culture pays more attention to collective rights, the Western culture attaches more importance to individual rights; Georgia has historically been trying to accept and

practice this fundamental principle, by contrast with other countries close to the Caucasian region. The country has historically been more inclined towards the Western ideals and values than some of its close neighbors, such as Iran, for instance. Iran has a state of rich history and represents Oriental culture; the country was “Westernized� during the 20th century under the rule of Shah Reza Pahlavi, but even after undergoing numerous social and economic reforms, Iran consequently returned to its Oriental ideals after a few years. The example of Iran demonstrates how modernization attempts can be unsuccessful if a country is not historically inclined towards the Western ideology and culture. Georgia, on the other hand, has historically been trying to put the ideas of freedom and equality into practice; in 1918, when the democratic republic of Georgia was first established, the country accepted a constitution practicing basic human rights and fundamental principles of democracy such as freedom of speech and elections. So, Georgia can be considered as more of a European country not only because of its geographical location, but also because of its culture and ideology.

Apart from the desire to practice the Western thought and traditions more actively, Georgia is also trying to reach its strategic goals through establishing closer relationship with the European countries. Closer ties with Europe contribute to further strengthening of democracy, which, in turn, leads to the development of a more stabilized economic system. During the past decade, Georgia has been trying to pass numerous reforms, modernizing the country according to the standards practiced in most European countries. Ands currently, Georgia has reached the Consultations on Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with EU. So by choosing Europe as a destination, Georgia is trying to reach its historical aspirations. In the current period, when the country is facing numerous challenges, the objective of becoming a member of the European family has gained increasing importance. So even though the title of the session somehow echoes the famous song by Destination Calabria, Destination Unknown, even at one glance, the country’s history shows that the destination is, in fact, well-known and familiar to Georgians.

by Tamta Gelashvili

First of all, WELCOME on behalf of the entire Journo Team. Congratulations to all of you for making it to this session. You have been smart enough to participate on the 6th Georgian National Selection Conference, but you have been more than lucky as you have become a part of historic 30th Session of EYP Georgia!

Some facts about EYP Georgia Nowadays, “European Youth Parliament-Georgia” is one of the most active and highly regarded youth organization in our country. Georgia joined EYP in 2007 and became an official member in 2008.During this several years, more than 20 sessions were organized by EYP Georgia. Nowadays we’re having thousands of active Georgian youngsters permanently taking part in different events organized by this organization. EYP Georgia has come a long way from organizing one session a year and having about a dozen active members, it has steadily grown into an internationally recognized National Committee that holds several sessions each year and sends six Georgian students abroad annually.

And...Guess what? EYP Georgia will host an International Session in 2013.I wish all of you to take part in this upcoming, remarkable event. Do not miss a chance to attend an International Session now here, in Georgia!

6th National Selection Conference has finally arrived!

This is it! The big one! The one we’ve all been waiting for. Finally 6th National Selection Conference is upon us and we are ready and raring to go! The biggest session on national level- National Selection Conference has finally arrived! This session is rather different from others. We are having 7 committees, 11 chairpersons, and more than 100 hours for fun and work together.

If you’re holding this newspaper it means that you are and always will be the part of 30th SESSION OF EYP GEORGIA. Congratulations! You are in a territory of knowledge, fun and of course spirit!

Don’t be afraid. You have been selected to come here for a reason. Trust in yourself that you are going to be able to handle this challenge. Forget about your worries and live every single moment of this session.

All of you have definitely heard, that along with this beautiful session another massive activity is taking place in Europe. The whole Europe right now has an eye on and breaths by and thinks on The UEFA European Football championship EURO2012 which is held in Poland and Ukraine. Some say that sports and politics are different semantic concepts, because the first one is controversy of physical power and strategic thinking – while the second is an expression of common views and interests inside society, but still there are many cases when these two concepts merge with each other and it generally causes bad consequences. Unfortunately, above-mentioned contest also acquired the same trends and I want to discuss the facts that drove me to this conclusion.

To start with, one of the first scandals that were raised before the championship started was the unimaginable violence of Ukrainian outside-cleaning department, which murdered 60,000 homeless dogs that were living in the towns where the matches had to be held. This act provoked many of the Europeans

outside the country and they even declared boycott against the tournament. Their protest was raised because nobody could find the connection between football and homeless animals, and if this action was made just for the safety of the guests, than why didn’t they cared about the civilians that lived there before.

Besides this fact, let’s discuss the concept of “fans” - supporters of national teams, these are the tourists that come in the hostcountry to attend and support the matches of their national team, their conscious during that particular visits are totally unstable and straightly fascistic as long as they think that their team is the leader of the tournament, as well as their nation. And this is the reason that causes a clash between fans of different nationalities. The same type of confrontation was occurred couple of days ago in Warsaw on the EURO-2012, between the Russian and Polish fans, which caused massive straggles and arrests before the match started. In spite of antagonistic treatment among these nations, other historical, political misunderstandings could also influence this conflict which again links the football with

politics and shows their invisible connections.

Meanwhile in Ukraine, another suspicious action is made by Russian fans – when in the match between France and England the whole stadium shouted “RUSSIA” without any reason of excitement, the same fact occurred on the match between Netherlands and Denmark. Was this a patriotic support toward the Russian national team that performs in another country at that time or, was it a challenge to the other nations and specially to the Ukrainians – showing that guest fans can dominate in on their territory? Well, I’m sure that the future events will show us the answer.

To sum up, I’d like to emphasize that UEFA really is an honest and respectful organization which continuously tries to reduce this kind of linkages between political and sportive views, but unfortunately nowadays this problem still exists and remains very acute. So let’s wait for better solutions and hope that expressions of our interests will be more joyful as well as the sport itself.

Interview with active EYPers, Ia Tserodze, Irakli Grdzelishvili, Devi Pirtskhalaishvili and Veriko Devidze, who have attended an Istanbul International Session in 2012.

1) How would you describe IS in three words?

I.T.: THE BEST EVER I.G.: Exhilatering... Breath taking... tiring D.P.: Unforgettable Cultural Bridge V.D.: Dynamic, emotional, adventuresome 2) What are the main differences between International and Regional sessions?

I.T.: First of all there are a lot more delegates on the IS. You also get to travel to the host country and experience breath-taking 10 days together with your old or newly-made friends. I would like to emphasize the fact that here you have the honor to represent your country not only yourself or the committee, which is the most significant difference between the regional sessions and the IS for me. The honor to say that you are from the Georgian delegation and you are going to make it proud!

I.G.: The main difference between the IS and the Regional session is its scale and academic level – there are only chosen delegates on the IS, selected from the NSCs – the session you are attending now : ) D.P.: quantity. diversity. quality.

V.D.: Diversity of the participants, quality and quantity of the activities.

3) Memorable and funny moments from the session.

I.T.: The story that I'm now going to tell you was not just a mere coincidence, it was nature trolling believe me. On our last day, 1st April, as you know it is the April Fool's day, we decided to go shopping. The weather? Not a single cloud in the sky, in fact we were even hot. So after hours of shopping, with our bargains in our hands we went outside the gigantic shopping centre aaaand then went inside again it was not just raining cats and dogs, it was an absolute catastrophe! But we had no other choice we had to get to the hotel SOMEHOW. So we ran outside and did not have a single dry spot after a second. Irakli [grdzelishvili] stood in the middle of the street (no kidding) to catch a taxi, while I was desperately talking with people on the bus stop in English, Russian even Georgian and using body language but it was all useless. Then when we finally got into the taxi he took us to some other place because it turned out at the last minute that he did not know the place of the hotel. When we finally reached the hotel on foot I looked in the mirror and nearly fainted because I thought I had seen a zombie. All in all, it remains as a truly unforgettable memory! But I'm still sure that it was nature who trolled us because of the April Fool's day! ahh Mother Nature!

4) What was the most embarrassing moment you have ever experienced on EYP session?

I.T.: When it comes to embarrassing moments and Ia. - there are PLENTY. First of all, there is a tradition already in EYP that I just have to get laughed at in the video. I have declared in one that I officially support men strip clubs in Georgia (they made me), I hooked up with one guy in the other and I rapped super bass in the last video, which was so embarrassing I've had numerous other embarrassing moments like the scarf getting stuck in my pocket during the sum up speech or me getting thrown into the swimming pool. Seriously! There are just plenty I.G.: Although there was an embarrassing moment as well – it was extremely hot during the GA, and I simply HAD TO take off my suit. And that was exactly when my committee was selected to make an attack speech, and I completely forgot about the suit and went to the tribune.. When I finished, the president reminded everyone to wear their while making a speech of a point. It was embarrassing!..

D.P.: when i was at Kutaisi Regional as a chair and took a shower with cold water in hotel (because of heating system problems.)

V.D.: saying a beginning part of a word in Georgian on GA on my very first session in Kutaisi 5) What was the most emotional moment, you are proud of yourself for?

I.T.: I've been a delegate nine times and I've done the sum up speech every single time. I've tried to make it emotional and creative every single time. The moment when your sum up speech is coming to an end but you are not done yet and the audience goes nuts with cheers and the applause I feel as if I have accomplished something universal. That is the sweetest sensation to see a smile on other delegate's or official's face and know that you have done well. The applause and the cheers are the sweetest melody and the feeling I get can't be written in word or described in letters, it just follows my heartbeat...

I.G.: I will always remember the speech I mentioned above as one of my most emotional moments which I am proud of : ) But there would be no IS and NSC for me, if there was no Public School Session 2010.. That session was splendid – I can not put into words the importance of the memories it brings.. That’s where I decided to believe in myself, and my bonds with EYP got strong..

D.P.: when we sang "Imagine" on the Closing Ceremony of Istanbul IS. V.D.: Sharing the real EYP emotion with the greatest people from whole Europe on 69th IS in Istanbul.

6) Your dream session so far – country\city\ect I.T.: My dream session as of right now is 71th International Session which is going to be held in Amsterdam. I am super motivated to go there and dream of visiting the Netherlands!

D.P.: Amsterdam IS V.D.: Tallinn IS 7) Being an EYP-er mean to you____ D.P.: Being a member of most young, powerful and international society V.D.: As Rachel Berry would say: "being a part of something special makes you special too".

8) Which EYP position is most comfortable for you ( where you spread your wings and fly as high as you can)

I.T.: I LOVE being both a delegate and a chair.

Being a delegate is exceptional, I adore the sum-up speeches and the debates and just the whole GA. Furthermore, the procedure of writing the resolution is phenomenal. But lately I had this huge desire to be a chairperson and was granted the honor of being one. It turned out to be spectacular! I feel as if I can really fly together with my delegates and our committee, all together one big team, one big family, a flock of birds I.G.: I have been a delegate for 5 times, journalist for 1, and now it is my first chairing experience. I have always liked being a delegate – defending my resolution, crushing other’s, debating, debating and debating all the time. But I simply love being a chair, I feel like now I am paying EYP back – the contribution it made in myself development, is tremendously significant..

D.P.: Delegate!

V.D.: Delegate!

9) If EYP was some subject, which one would it be?

I.T.: I think it would a key as for me EYP is always the answer, it can open any locked door or gate, any book of secrets, any enchanted chest.

I.G.: If I was asked to compare EYP to one object that would be the sun. Because it brightens our lives ;)) D.P.: an Airplane with full of party V.D.: A snow globe with a lot of sparkling flakes in it.

10) If you could switch places with any other EYPer for a week, delegate or journo, chair or organizer, boy or a girl... with whom would it be?

I.T.: Dr. Flowers I.G.: I sometimes want to change places with Mr Tornike Zurabashvili.. He has many exceptional qualities, presides the session, his experience is immense, and he has a co-chair like me.:)) 11) If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the leading role as you? (Out of EYPers) I.T.: you, sweetheart [Ani Meskhidze] I.G.: The one I would like to play the leading role as me is Giorgi Gvenetadze! : ) Don’t ask me why, you know my answer – he would just be a cool actor!

D.P.: Jesse Patiashvili (most appearance match with mine)

By Ani Meskhidze

Non EU member countries doing EYP! EYP Turkeya Member of EYP since 1999.

Aims: To promote and foster the general EYP aims within Turkey among the 16 to 20 age group and thus contribute to the Turkish approach to Europe the activities that the National Committee of EYP Turkey oversees, have now expanded to multiple regional conferences hosted in different schools all across Turkey, as well as a „two National Selection Conference per year“scheme.

Sessions: Six regional conferences, more than 40 sessions and also seven IYF (Istanbul Youth Forum) which annually gathers over 150 participants.

Other: Elected in September 2010, National Committee-IV is the body running EYP Turkey between years 2010-2012. It consists of a President, a Vice-President, a General Secretary, four Board Members, and two advisors.

Web-page: http://www.eypturkey.org/

EYP Ukraine Member of EYP since February 18, 2002.(De facto, EYPUkraine has been successfully operating in Ukraine since 2002) Aims: Experienced and talented young people are ready to volunteer their time and efforts to implement interesting projects is the most valuable resource they possess.

Sessions: During its lifetime, EYP-Ukraine has acquired professional expertise and valuable experience in organizing different kinds of youth events: regional and international sessions, national conferences, trainings and workshops etc.

Other: Annually EYP-Ukraine conducts a National Session selecting delegations to represent Ukraine at EYP international and regional sessions in Europe, as well as regional sessions in Ukrainian cities and other youth projects.

Web-page: http://eyp-ua.org/

EYP Norway Member of EYP since 2002 Sessions: EYP Norway organized 7 National Sessions and 3 International Sessions so far.

Aims: To assist the National Committee in organising the annual national session. To promote and facilitate international EYP activities to be held in Norway.To increase the knowledge about EYP in Norway.

To uphold contact between the members through social events.

Other: EYP Norway is currently active in Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim, Lillehammer and Tromsø, and they are growing in number and activities. Large amounts of effort was put in to the organisation of the International session in Lillehammer 2010.

Web-page: http://www.eyp.no/

EYP Switzerland Member: of EYP since 1997 Sessions: EYP Switzerland organizes a National Selection Conference every year. In 2012, for the first time in history four Regional Sessions have been held, and in 2013, EYP Switzerland will have the honor of hosting its third International Session in Zurich.

Aims: Raise awareness of European issues, encourage active European citizenship and motivate students to get involved in European politics and contribute to the personal skills development of the European youth.

Other : In Switzerland, the European Youth Parliament is represented for 15 years now with its own National Committee. EYP Switzerland is an association in compliance with articles 60ff. of the Swiss Civil Code. Its activities are independent of external political, commercial and financial interests, and all members contribute as volunteers only. Its 8 members are elected on a yearly basis, the organization’s yearly constitutive event for all members.

Web-page: http://eyp.ch/

Materials are collected from the indicated web-pages

By Nini Danelia

EMPL YOURSELF

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) chaired by Mr. President Tornike Zurabashvili will try to represent and advocate the needs and interests of all young people in Europe who nowadays do not have sufficient conditions to achieve their fullest potential as citizens of the World.

While many young Europeans are engaged with a broad range of local and global issues, they are not always so enthusiastic about participating in political and democratic processes. Even though they possess a broad understanding of democracy, traditional political structure and governance their voice is not always heard.

However, it is clear that youth has the best understanding of their own problems which are related to education, health and unemployment, discrimination on the bases of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. Thereby youth can highly contribute to the work of policy makers who are working to meet young people’s needs. Giving the youth an opportunity to be actively involved in the decision making process growth them into active members of a democratic society. By involving and empowering youth in the political processes, young people develop important skills and improve selfconfidence. Youth represent some of the most dynamic, creative and talented people of the society.

Delegates of committee on Employment and Social Affairs will try to find solutions about how the European Union and the individual member states can make plans to

guarantee larger participation of youth at regional and local levels.

"Youth - Investing and Empowering"- the new entitled strategy which adopted European Commission acknowledges that young people are one of the most vulnerable part of society. Thereby the key policy areas defined are youth education, employment, creativity and entrepreneurship, social inclusion, health and sport, civic participation, and volunteering. The new

strategy is one of the most effective decisions made towards youth’s full participation of all young people in society.

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) delegates will try to find answers on the main questions which will help them to write the resolution about the one of the most important problem of youth in Europe.

Dear EMPL delegates I wish you productive Committee work!

Enjoy with whole Committee work, have fun and remember that You decideYou act! You are the youth – you are the future!

by Ani Meskhidze

Europe and Alternative sources of energy The European Union is almost 55% dependent on imports for its energy consumption and it will be 70% in about 15 years. A large part of its oil and gas imports will come increasingly from Russia.

However, the last crises over Russia oil and gas deliveries through Ukraine have again triggered virulent criticism on Russian abilities of safe supply.

The point of this article is to introduce you the alternative ways of energy. The energy that doesn’t needs to be consumed and is provided worldwide.

These are the renewable sources of energy - energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat.

One major advantage of the use of renewable energy is that it is therefore sustainable and will never run out.

Renewable energy facilities generally require less maintenance than traditional generators. Their fuel being derived from natural and available resources reduces the

costs of operation. Even more importantly, renewable energy produces little or no waste products such as carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants, so has minimal impact on the environment.

Besides these facts, to take an example from consideration of solar and electric energy, we’ll obviously see the opportunities of natural resources even in the economical field. Statistics show that, if your monthly electric bill is 200 EUR, while the cost to set up a moderate-sized household solar energy system could be $15,000. Your monthly electric savings could cover setting of solar energy system as little as in five years, and after that time each individual could have the electric light for free. Also there is a very interesting fact that according to the Commission for Economic Opportunity, every 40 minutes the United States receives more energy from sunlight than it burns in a year from fossil fuels.

As for the resources that are transported from Russia to Europe– there are many

renewable substitutions of these products, for example synthetic natural gas (SNG) that can achieve the efficiency of 70%.

Costs are minimized by maximizing production scale, and by locating plant next to transport links (e.g. a port or river) for the chosen source of biomass.

To sum up, I wanted to show you that by developing the plants of renewable energy Europe could reduce EU dependence on the Russia, and it could be much more productive and environmentally profitable alternative way – rather than searching and establishing new distribution channels or arguing with present distributors about their politics.

by Besso Kefashvili

Since the 1950s, major European states have been trying to foster the process of European integration. One of the major steps taken towards this goal was the implementation of Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). According to the Article, all EU citizens have the right to free movement across the EU states, and so any restrictions on the basis of nationality are abolished. The right to free movement gives the EU citizens the freedom to travel, work, study, or live in any part of the EU states, given that the rights of other citizens are respected as well. EU citizens can also leave their country of residence and return back at any time. Furthermore, according to the Schengen Agreement, 26 European countries have completely removed internal traveling restrictions.

The right to free movement includes four major aspects: free movement of goods, services, capital, and labor.

However, the last of these so-called “four freedoms� has been actively debated recently. With the growing number of migrants, Europe has become another significant region of immigration, resembling North America. In most European countries, labor shortage is a serious problem; as a result, numerous legal migration programmes have been launched during the past few years in order to facilitate the free movement of workers. However, the number of such programmes remains limited, causing the divergence between domestic demand and foreign supply of labor and leading to illegal entry, stay, and employment of workers.

Increasing number of illegal immigrants, in turn, adds to the growing anti-immigration sentiment in the European society, leading to more active calls for population assimilation. Several countries, including some

of the Schengen Area members, have taken measures to implement stricter border controls; growing fear of illegal immigration and the increase in criminality rates associated with migrants have led several EU states to propose changes in the Schengen Agreement, specifically, the implementation of temporary internal border controls. However, these changes are debatable, especially because of the planned expansion of the Schengen Agreement through the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

Therefore, if, on the one hand, European governments are forced to comply with the fundamental principle of free movement and have to take into account the economic advantages of migration, on the other hand, they also have to consider the populist demands for assimilation and the dangers of illegal immigration and increased criminality rates. With the frequent calls for reformation of the Schengen border policies, the European countries have to respect the right of free movement and guarantee protection from illegal immigration at the same time; it is necessary to ensure that legal migrants, contributing to the economic wellbeing of Europe have no trouble entering the EU countries, and that the illegal migrants, or the ones seeking asylum or refugee status, have restricted access.

By Tamta Gelashvili

Multiculturalism in EU- weakness or strength?

“Beyond universalism comes the other factor supporting the EU’s survival: multiculturalism. It is a disputed model, but multiculturalism is more a source of strength than of weakness. The continent’s fusion of culture makes its people richer rather than poorer” Dominique Moisi

Anders Behring Breivik, the architect of the bombing and shooting spree in Norway has said that he

“believes

that

he

needed to carry

out these acts to save Norway”

and

society

Marxism

from

Muslim

“cultural

domination.”

The

Oslo and Utoya then, would latest of

and

most

anti-immigrant

Western

slaughters

and in

seem to be the

extreme

manifestation

and

especially anti-

Muslim sentiments spread in

Europe.

The

problem of multiculturalism

has again step

forward and got many scholars

and politicians

involved in debates.

However, many people think

that

multiculturalism is dead in Europe. Especially, is seems to be a dying policy among most European leaders who have for years seemingly encouraged separation and segregation rather than integration. Attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have "utterly failed", Chancellor Angela Merkel says. She said the so-called "multicult" concept - where people would "live side-byside" happily - did not work, and immigrants needed to do more to integrate - including learning German. The comments come amid rising anti-immigration feeling in Germany. A recent survey

suggested more than 30% of people believed the country was "overrun by foreigners". Moreover, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is the latest to join this chorus and France now has a Ministry of Immigration and National Identity. Anti-immigration political parties in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and France have raised similar qualms. This is a dangerous trend.

When there are strengthened radical movements such as anti-Islam activities and growing trend of aggression toward Muslim emigrants in EU states, to what extent should the EU seek to promote multiculturalism? With increasing migration among EU member states, particularly migration from former Soviet-bloc countries and Turkey, can we speak about enhancing EU Multiculturalism?

The delegates of EYP committee on Culture and Education II are asked to think about the problems mentioned above. We do believe that their open-minded debates and negotiations will contribute to the new multicultural policy of EU. Let’s wish them Good luck!

by Sophie Samkharadze

Smoking or Non-Smoking…Should There Be A Choice?

Have you ever been out in public and inhaled a cloud of smoke from a smoker? The truth is, everyone has encountered a situation like this before, but often we do not even analyze that we did so and that we harmed our lunges. Although, many people may agree or disagree with the fact, it is raelity.

‘Smoke’ – the very word conjures up a foul, unhealthy, suffocating, polluted environment with dark clouds of gases suffused everywhere. How, then, can smoking or rather puffing away smoke to create such a defiled environment be permitted in public places where your every little activity is disturbing your neighbor?

Smoking a cigarette is a “gift” of modern times but it has become fashionable nowadays.

Many

forming, increases concentration, and helps in killing time and to be in fashion. More than 5 million people have died over the world because of the smoking in 2000,and five thousand people in America die each year because they have breathed someone else’s smoke. Finally, if smoking was banned, there would be fewer smokers on our streets. Psychologists have proved that young people are more likely to acquire a bad habit when

smoking is commonly acceptable in society. On the other hand, some people say that ban on smoking outrages citizen who smokes or even marginalizes them.

During these days delegates of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety will work under this question: Should smoking be totally banned in public and workplaces or should there be separate smoking sections in buildings in Europe? Lets see how they’ll handle this challenge!

By Nini Danelia

psychologists have done detailed statistical studies, to investigate why people smoke? Their findings are indeed shocking. The reasons given by smokers indicate that it is habit

10 things EYPer should do!

1. You should make at least 10 friends 2. You should stay up for 24 hours without sleeping.

3. You should drink at least 2 liters of Coffee.

4. You should play Funcky Chicken and Zulu dance in public places 5. You should definitely hug all the journos.

6. You should kiss Erekle Antadze at least once.

7. You should figure out the pointing game.

8. You should stretch your second cheek to person who does attack speech against your committee.

9. You should fall in love with EYP 10.

You should double everything said above.

BY Sophi Ivanishvili