AlexMEU’14MAGAZINE

Alexandria Model European Union 2014

Meet the board...before & after!

THE 2 SIDES OF THE STORY

MEU HEROESMission is accomplished!

A LIFECHANGINGExperience!

“Congratulations!You are accepted in AlexMEU’14”

This is how it all started!

ontentsCIntroWhat is Step Up? What is MEU?04

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Who were they?Stories of the board members with MEU

From Two PerspectivesThe two sides of the story!

Life Changing ExperienceThe journey of MEU’14

Mission AccomplishedThe untold stories of the model

The Delegates DayOne amazing day at the Court of Justice

AlexMEU’14 ClosingIt’s time to say goodbye... or see you next year!

WHY MEU?10 reasons to join MEU’15

Delegates out of the bubbleA showcase of the hidden talents in the model

Express YourselfFeaturing some of the top shared posts about MEU’14

This magazine is dedicated to each and everyone who spent their time, effort or resources for this model to succeed. Each one in MEU’14 had his or her own role and contribution – no matter how small it may appear – but without even the small-est things, this model would never have existed!

Thanks to everyone who made MEU’14 possible...

an MEUer

A youth initiative based in Alexandria, Egypt. Empowering youth capabilities through sus-tainable development.

About Step Up:“Step Up is a youth initiative based in Alexandria, Egypt, launched on March 16th, 2010 The founding members are a group of young civil activists that have experiences in organizing and designing indirect youth to youth education proj-ects.

Vision:Step up is a group of youth aims at developing the Egyptian community through enhanc-ing the capabilities of youth. We believe in the role of youth social participation as a fundamental way of achieving a sustainable circle of development that serves the whole community. Ultimate team work, knowledge, creativity, proficiency, transparency and hard work are not only goals that we want to reach in the community but also the standards of our way of life.

Mission:Implementing youth to youth projects, through creative use of available resources, on both the local and international levels Engaging youth to the Egyptian civil community through our activities, on the basis of vol-unteerism and development

Goals:Our vision can be practically fulfilled through: 1. Effective local and international networking. 2. Informal youth to youth education through workshops, simulations, forums and confer-ences. 3. Cultural and artistic activities. 4. Social entrepreneurship oriented activities. 5. Youth entertainment activities. 6. Updating youth with information regarding scholarships, youth exchange programs and trainings.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIPThe Entrepreneurship program aims at spreading the culture of Business and Social Entrepreneurship among Egyptian youth from them to become Entrepreneurs and help their country’s economy grow fur-ther for the well-being of the whole society.

INFORMAL EDUCATIONStep Up’s Informal Education Program is concerned with conducting programs of education designed for the purpose of im-proving the skills and education of Egyp-tian youth. We believe that education is a fundamen-tal building block for human development; it is one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty and is a powerful driver for development of individuals and societ-ies —stimulates creativity and innovation. Our aim is a new generation of Egyptians that has the drive and the ability to move their country forward.

Arts & CultureWe believe that the expression freedom, is a right for all human beings without any distinction and we see that Arts and Cul-ture are the only one face of freedom of expression, they are the way to change reality for the better, the art reflects and show the reality with its positive and neg-ative side. The culture, which is the only expression of every art or thought or opinion, and anoth-er self-expression, which will provide us the right and ideal atmosphere for discussion to find new and innovative solutions to the problems of Egyptian society.

JuniorsOur Vision is to improve the essential life skills of young people age 12-16, discover and develop their potentials to ultimately put them on the first step of their future career, as giving care to the roots will en-sure a fruitful outcome that will strengthen the trunk and guarantee the shiny effect of its green leaves.

Step Up Programs. . . .

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The European Union has proved to be one of the most inspiring, effective and genius economic and political unions the world have ever known, we can even say that is not just a political economic union but a historical human being experience as well.

For us as a group of youth living in the Middle East, getting closer to the his-tory and the nature of this unique system is something beneficiary from many aspects:

First:Studying experience of a number of nations that decided to overcome their history of wars for the purposes of peace, security, development and wealth not on the basis of fake con-cepts but on realistic basis that speaks the language of balance of powers to achieve the higher aim “The Union”.In simple words; Europe reshaped the human civilization by a system designed for human beings and not angels, and this makes it unique. We believe that young people of our re-gion really need to know more about such experiences to be able to rise above the any dif-ference us Egyptians have among each other and unite for the higher purpose, and later on to be able to establish a union between all Arabs and again rise above our differences for a greater goal, while always looking at the EU as our role Model.

The slogan of the Model is as the slogan of the EU:

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“United in Diversity”

Second:Getting closer to the EU system will let the participants deal closely with some important values like understanding the other, the benefits of the win –win relations, the value of sol-idarity, cooperation and completion , the importance of stepping above the historical prob-lems to enhance the abilities for future challenges, and the importance of making a shelter that protects all the citizens of the union in all their aspects of life, freely, and regardless their races, countries and religions.

Third:As Egyptian youth, we are keen on getting closer to those who are sharing us the Medi-terranean. The European – Egyptian relations are very strong from many aspects; history, geography, economics and politics, which means that building bridges of knowledge and mutual understanding between young people on both sides are something essential for a better future to these concrete relations.

Choosing a youth to youth Model to achieve just goals is one of the best effective suitable methods as mentioned in the next point.

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Mohab Essam – Project Manager

“In 2012 it was my first time to be a participant in any project. Before it, I was a staff member in many civil society projects and most of it were in the media and marketing field. I decided to live the experience of the delegate through AlexMEU’12. And that was the best experience I have ever lived in civil society. MEU was a real life changing experience and made a new perspective for me about civic engagement. My journey continued as an AC in MEU’13. My personality and skills developed perfectly on the professional side and on the social side. In 2014 I decided to pay my debt and share all the experience I gained from MEU through being the project manager of Alex-MEU’14. Bottom line, get the best out of every experience and always believe in yourself. You can do anything no matter what anyone says, YOU CAN DO IT.”

Ahmed Adel – Vice Project Manager

“Being a part of this great family is a lifelong pleasure for me; in life we learn to always go forward and that is exactly how it is at MEU. Form being head of operations and logistics committee in MEU’13 to vice project manager at MEU’14 responsibility increases but so does the experience and knowledge and bonds with the greatest of people.”

And What They had Become?

WHO WERE THEY?

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Ahmed Hassan – Head of Capacity Building Committee

“Whether in 2013 when I was a staff member or in 2014 when became head of capacity building committee, I have learned and gained so much from these two years; a strong team that I have worked with and learned from and true friends that can be there for life. The thing is I have learned responsibility and the ability to give away any kind of knowledge I have in order to pass the torch to another generation of youth who can build their communities. And one final word, Work hard, have fun, no drama.”

ahmed aly saleh – head of the organizing Committee

“Success is not only the quality of your work but it’s measured by the impact of that work on other people.”

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Abanoub Magdi – Head of Human Resources Committee

The difference between being a board member and a staff member is that I deliver what I learned from my experience and even more. I needn’t to prove myself, I want my committee prove them-selves and their success is my success.

Moustafa E. Nofal – Head of Academic Research Committee

“Dearest fellows, it has been a year since the last MEU, I had a great deal of experience and knowl-edge that enhanced my capabilities and also aggrandized my prospects. Step Up Youth Initiative gives you tons of opportunities to expertise and to leave a mark upon others, simply you don’t want to miss those chances. I wish you all the best of luck in your lives.”

Wessam Bakar – Head of Media & Marketing Committee

“I have been engaged in MEU for 3 years now, and every year has a different impact on me. I was a media staff member in MEU’12 and MEU’13, and after the great deal of experience & knowledge I gained and the people I got to meet, I just couldn’t get enough, so the journey went on; I became head of the media and marketing committee in MEU’14, I can simply say that: “Once a MEUer, al-ways a MEUer”.

Tareq shams – Vice Head of Media & Marketing Committee

“Well, I guess it’s hard to know from where to start; I spent three years in step up, the journey start-ed from Lighthouse’12 to AMSC’13 and MEU’13. I have learned a lot and met such great people. The main target of media is to show what is happening inside the model by videos, photos and articles. There is a great quote “work is fun”.

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Shereen Nader Abdelhady – Head of Academic Committee

The journey started when I decided to make a change and be different, I started the journey in 2010 when I entered as a delegate in MEU’10. I didn’t understand everything in the beginning, it was just weird to find a lot of people who are trying to help you for no reason. I knew the meaning of change and sustainable development in the conference when I felt the responsibility of being a president of Netherlands. I couldn’t keep this improvement to myself, I decided to keep the sus-tainable development and let the others learn what I have learned and improve themselves. I will always owe Step Up a lot for making this change. Step Up is a way of living and a way of giving. Be your own kind of Beautiful.

Mazen Hossam El-kordY – Head of Public Relations committee

“It’s a great thing taking an opportunity to make a difference and to develop your skills and knowl-edge, and taking an experience in the civil work through a powerful initiative such as Step Upwhich helps in making our society better.”

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“Being an MEU delegate last year changed the concept of education to me and made me realize it in a whole new way. As for being the President of NATO this year, I wanted to add the concept of engaging the delegates in their society through the idea of “social campaign” and to let them enjoy the experience of being a delegate as much as I did last year”.

Christine rizk – president of THE NATO

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“I was honored to be a delegate in MEU’12 and espicially at the EIB “first batch”. At that phase I was learning skills and gaining information. I have dealt with many people with different backgrounds, I didn’t think that I will be able to deal with those backgrounds espicially being young just 17 year old school girl. The conference was the turning point I was able to present and defend my project I also gained marketing skills and how to work in a team. After that I applied to be an Academic Committee member at Model of Security Council 2013, and then I started to know how the staff really work hard just for the sake of the delegates.2 years later, MEU 2014 I am the president of the European Investement Bank. It is not easy being a president of such a hard council with keen and smart delegates and hard working staff mem-bers to draw a plan. It may seem easy but it is not, and if it is, the harder is to implement it!I really hope that the delegates will learn and gain the experience that I got and still getting from MEU. My dearest delegates you are awsome and smart and hard workers!! I really enjoyed working with you. I Hope to see you as staff members and presidents next year!”

Cinderella Ayman – President of The European Investment Bank

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I used to be so scared that I used to hide in my seat in order for the AC giving the session to not see me and therefore won’t ask me even if I know the answer, but I improved a lot and somehow they saw that I could be in team France and I went from criteria B to criteria A. MEU is one of my proudest achievements. I am sure it’ll be one of yours as well.

Sandra Wafiq Assaad – president of THE Council of EU

“It was my deepest pleasure to get the acceptance call as being a delegate in AlexMEU’13. I knew since that my life was going to be changed into a whole new track. I was so proud to be a part of the first ‘’Conseil Européen’’, as so I gained lots of friends, skills and academic knowledge.This experience as a delegate gave me the willing to work hard on myself in order to present next time in AlexMEU’14 as the president of ‘’Conseil Européen’’.This year was a whole new level for myself, I truly got into the way of major responsibility. We worked hard, my beloved staff members and I, so that we can deliver a new message. And that’s what happened.. as we delivered new calibers, new presidents for the civil society.”

Nour nohaD – Le Président du Conseil Européen

“Being accepted as an MEU’13 Delegate was a great accomplishment in life, it isn’t about the spirit, friends and family, it’s about “VALUE & VISION”. The Court of Justice was a turning point last year for me. I guess the least thing for that place is trying to give back the experience I took, away from thinking about positions. I just wanted to make another successful place, which will add to the pages of glory of the MEU.”

Hesham Mansour – president of The courT of Justice of The EU

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“MEU’12 was one of the best experiences in my life and a phase that changed a lot in me. That is what encouraged me to apply for the presidency this year. Though this time the feeling was totally different and indescribable; I’m not just seeing the change & progress in me but in other people as well, and that’s what made it special and close to my heart. Every time I think I was a part of your change, it draws a smile deep inside.On behalf of the Parliament’s staff, we want to tell you try to enjoy this period to the max and don’t miss a moment because it’s once in a life time experience.”

Sarah Yacoub – President of The European Parliament

“There is always two sides to any story, and at MEU you are either a staff or a delegate however each has his own way of seeing a day at MEU”.

Here you have an interview with the TWO PERSPECTIVES!

Could you describe one of your typical days at MEU for me?I always learn something new every day, every staff member, every delegate has this one thing that is unique about him that made him worthy of his place.A day at MEU is a day where I can express myself freely in a healthy atmosphere to innovate and make a difference.

The most challenging part is when I am out there ready to give my presentation, trying the best to deliver the information to the delegates in the easiest and most efficient way.

This might seem funny but the most enjoyable part is the same as the most challenging part; when I am out there giving my presentation there is a certain feeling you get that feels you with enthusiasm to go and give it your best.

Maybe the only negative part is if I mess up on stage because one small mistake can ruin weeks of practice.

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What part of the day do you find most challenging?

Are there any negatives to your day?

How would you describe the MEU experience?

What do you find most enjoyable?

In 4 words “A life changing experience”.

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FROM TWO Perspectives

To rediscover myself, to make new friends and to learn new academic knowledge and soft skills.

Yes of course! MEU is THE BEST thing that ever happened in my life.

The best day I had was in the historical simulation, I was officer in “Le Conseil Europèen” and the memories hit me and I remembered when I was a delegate and now I am a staff member, I see the look in delegates’ eyes and it remind me of myself, that really filled me up with joy.

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If you could start all over again, would you still apply for AlexMEU14? Why?

What is the best day you had so far at MEU? Why?

What do you seek from MEU?

Mr. AhmedWahdan

Academic Research Committee Member

Staff

FROM TWO Perspectives“The Two Sides of the Story!”

Ms. Hadil AliDelegate

Delegates

Could you describe one of your typical days at MEU for me?Registering and mainly paying for blackbox, attending first session and if it’s a morning shift so thank god I didn’t get busted! Workshop time YAAY! Break which is never enough then ARC time, second session and at last HR time.

Coming on time on morning shifts.

The workshop time. You are always thinking about what’s today’s value so you try to get as much as you can out of the workshop and at the same time be determined to reach your goal every time. I had the time for acting many times within the workshops and that’s something that I liked personally Moreover, The whole day is enjoyable whether it’s a session, the ACs work on making the sessions fun , light and beneficial or the workshops the fun and interacting time. You can never quit going and that’s the absolute indicator that the day is more than enjoyable.

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What part of the day do you find most challenging?

What do you find most enjoyable?

FROM TWO Perspectives

FROM TWO Perspectives

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No, the occurrence of something negative is not the mainstream in MEU. Maybe few incidents that weren’t meant for but there’s nothing particular.

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Are there any negatives to your day?

How would you describe the MEU experience?Life changing experience, on personal and mental levels.

Personal development, more knowledge, broadening my horizons and I can say I achieved them all.

Hell yes, because of the whole experience. The people you meet there and quickly be friendly with, the change you can see every day in yourself, the memories are unforgettable!

Cultural day and outing day, we had a lot of fun. I didn’t attend the historical conference unfortunately but from the feedbacks I wish days would pass and for confrence day to come.

At the end of the interview we can clearly see the one thing that has

no controversy is that MEU is A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE!

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If you could start all over again, would you still apply for AlexMEU14? Why?

What is the best day you had so far at MEU? Why?

What do you seek from MEU?

“The Two Sides of the Story!”

Whenever you attend any step-up event you will hear this exact same phrase “life changing experience” and it might sound like the most cliché phrase you can ever hear. But for us it is a way of life, it is exact-ly how we feel. You simply can’t be part of MEU and expect your life to stay the same.

We are inviting you to take a dive with us into this experience to know how exactly it can change your life. And we will start from the very beginning, the beginning is that moment when you feel like you need to do something useful with your life, it is the mo-ment you fill in an application and wait for a phone call that gives you the chance, a phone call that sets you for an interview whether you are applying as a staff or as a delegate it is always the same feeling on that interview day, you got your chance and now you are so worried about wheth-er you are going to rock it or you are going to blow it. You finish this interview with no clue how exactly did it go. Days pass and you might forget about the whole thing. WHEN! The phone call that changes your life comes “Congratulations you are ac-

cepted in AlexMEU14”.

From that day forward everything chang-es, your routine, your personality and your priorities and it is always to the better. You finally feel like you have a goal in life. Starting with the opening ceremony and the first encounter with greatness, the greatness of the place, the greatness of the people you look up to and take as role models wishing that after such an experi-ence you would be in their places. At that moment you are officially a part of the MEU family.

Moving on, the preparatory stage starts, and you are given daily sessions that fills you with knowledge and apart from the academic content you get, and the new information that you add to your deposit, your routine changes as you have a daily challenge to wake up on time for a morn-ing shift, you start reading more even if you weren’t much of a reader to keep up with what you are given, you start analyz-ing the daily news to share them in the dai-ly current news during the sessions. You

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A Life–ChangingExperience

“Congratulations! You are accepted in MEU’14”

become more responsible, more caring for what is going on in the world. During the workshop everyone is out of his bubble where you participate and engage in pre-sentations, you break through your fears and stand on a stage addressing hun-dreds in front of you. The skills you learn are essential for your life and career you get to learn presentations skills, communi-cation, leadership, public speaking, negoti-ation and more.

Now you reach the stage of full commit-ment where MEU is an essential part of your life you reach a more advanced stage, you are waiting to know which council you will be part of. Some of you know where they want to be others are disappointed at first as they go to a place other than what they have in mind but at the end you figured it out; that you are in your exact most suitable place and aside from your big family you have this other small family “your council”.

Whether you are a minister of European Parliament, a judge in the court of justice, officer at the NATO, banker at the Europe-an Investment Bank, minister at the coun-cil of European Union or Conseil Européen. You know your role by heart and act upon it. You start seeing things differently ac-

cording to who you are now even if you were never interested in banking or law or politics.

We reach a crossroads and when you think about it you can never wrap your head around how time flew this fast and how close you are to the end, it is the turning point when you start comparing your life before and after MEU and also start think-ing what are you going to do after it is all finished!

We finally reach the phase everyone is in anticipation for, you reach the conference with mixed feeling, once more the feeling of greatness, power and responsibility for such an event and on the other hand the feeling that the journey is coming to an end. You come aware that it might be over but the memories will last, the friends and family you made will stick with you forev-er, the knowledge you gained will get you through life. That is how it is in MEU, and that is what you are missing if you are not a MEUer. And if by then I asked you to de-scribe the MEU experience for me you will simply say 4 words...

A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE!

“Congratulations! You are accepted in MEU’14”21

We are in 2169 where Time has become the universal currency; it’s used to pay for day-to-day expenses and can be transferred between people or capsules. The court of Justice is giving you a 1-day of it’s time and taking you to a trip where you are going to know new things from their delegates. So don’t waste the precious time you were given and enjoy every moment.

Your day will start with Mr. Youssef Mohamed and Ms. Sally Salah and a quick discussion about Dirty Politics.

Politics is the access to a political goal while Dirty Politics is the access to a political goal illegally. As Oscar Ameringer said “Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from rich,

Mr. Ahmed Attia, Mr. Gamal Eldin and Ms. Nermine Saaid will tell you more

about “The Butterfly Effect”

In chaos theory, the Butterfly Effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lo-renz who discovered the effect when he observed that runs of his weather model with initial condition data that was round-

by promising to protect each from the other”.Elections, imperialism and economics are the main reasons for the dirty politics.

Just Remember You can! And you must take a Step UP!

Court of JusticeDelegates Day

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Mr. Mohamed Gamal will tell you a story it may sound weird and unbelievable but it proves that “The impossible is

possible!”

It’s called “Insane coincidences —The Titanic disaster story”

There is a story published 14 years before the Titanic disaster happened. It recount-ed in details everything that happened to the Titanic ship before it actually happened with a different ship name only!

Ahmed Elsayed, Nadine Alaa and Reem Ibrahim will help you to Manage

your time!

To improve time management you have to make a To-Do list, manage your priorities, set deadlines, stop Multi-tasking, set your priorities, delegate responsibilities and re-ward yourself.

And to stick your goals and reach them you have to make it small, give yourself a day off, surround yourself with success and prepare for success.

To realize the value of one hour ask the person who has just missed the train. To realize the value of one second ask the person who has just avoided an ac-cident!

ed in a seemingly inconsequential manner would fail to reproduce the results of runs with the unrounded initial condition data. A very small change in initial conditions had created a significantly different outcome.

Examples for the butterfly effect in the world: The Revolutions in the arab spring, Steve Jobs and Lional Messi.

Do you believe in coincidences?

Time is the coin of your life.It is the only coin you have and only

you can determine how it will be spent.

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Announcement From the Wolf-pack:

Dear Inhabitants of the earth,

We just discovered that the Spacetoon planets are real!

We decided to give the chance to the people of one planet to come and live with us. So each planet will sent us rep-resentatives to convince us that they are the most deserved people to live with us. So the decision is in your hands, listen carefully and choose wisely peo-ple!

The capacity builders will acknowledging you with the

Negotiation Skills.

There are two Styles of negotiation; Distributive Negotiation and Integrative Negotiation.

And there are distinct forces for negotia-tion; time, information, options and being friendly.

The quick tips and tricks:

1- Last minute offer

2- Never negotiate when you don’t want to

3- No closed ended questions

4- Always take advices

5- Never accept first offer

6- Don’t let your ego negotiate

7- Aim high

8- Remain flexible

Ms. Omnia and Ms. Sandy Emad will delight you with the history of cartoon

in Egypt.

Ali mohab was the one who established the first cartoon’s studio in Egypt. There are also alot of famous cartoons we all watched it in our childhood like: Bakar, El-Moghmron El-khamsa and Captain Maged.

Brain, Drugs and chocolates!

how could these three affect each other?

Mr. Kirlouz George, Ms. Hend Ahmed and Ms. Rana Tawfick are going to tell

you more about them!

THE BRAIN is the most complex organ in our body. It’ is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system. It’s located close to the primary sensory organs. From a philosophical point of view, what makes the brain special in comparison to other or-gans is that it forms the physical structure associated with the mind.

Do you know that the Frontal Lobe is re-

Now it’s the Culture campaign time!

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Ms. Nadia Hamdy and Mr. Ahmed Samy are foreshadowing what might face the world and the community in the future. They talked about the the current and future rise in sea level associated with

global warming.

Only one hour left for the end of the given time! Imagine that you only have one hour to live. What are you going to do and how are you going to spend it?

You have to Learn to spend every day in your life doing something new! listen each day to a new song, read new books, learn a new word from different language, read a new article about a topic you never read about and use every minute of your life to make yourself happy!

The delegates of the court of justice did magnificent efforts. They showed us how to use a day to it’s maximum and how to make every minute of the day useful for others. It was a memora-ble day and you should really be proud of yourselves!

sponsible for planning, emotions, prob-lem-solving and public speaking. While the Temporal Lobe is responsible for process-ing sensory input, comprehending lan-guage and storing new memories while the Parietal Lobe plays important roles in inte-grating sensory information from various parts of the body, knowledge of numbers and their relations and in the manipulation of objects.

DRUGS are a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diag-nosis of disease or used to otherwise en-hance physical or mental well-being. Drugs may be used for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders. Some drugs can cause addiction and habitua-tion and all drugs have side effects. Many drugs are illegal for recreational purposes and international treaties such as the Sin-gle Convention on Narcotic Drugs exist for the purpose of legally prohibiting certain substances.

CHOCOLATE is a mood elevator; it’s good for the mind, body & spirit! It stimulates the release of endorphins, natural hormones produced by the brain that generates feel-ings of pleasure and promotes a sense of well being. Chocolate may also make a person feel better by directly interacting with the brain. One of the ingredients in chocolate is tryptophan, an essential ami-no acid needed by the brain to produce serotonin. Serotonin is a mood-modulating neurotransmitter; the brain’s “happy chem-ical”. High levels of serotonin can give rise to feelings of happiness!

What does the future hold?

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Three months is a long time, but in Alex-MEU’14 it was enough to change their life!Three months the staff members spent in preparations. they made a great effort to pass on their knowledge and experience to the delegates.Three months the del-egates spent in learning and improving

There is no end to knowledge. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and you are done. through your whole life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, you are in a process of learning. Your learning process didn’t stop by the end of Alex-MEU14, you has just started to influence others with what you have learned through the past three months and to increase your knowledge. The fact is that the journey, your jour-ney, has just started so learn as if you were to live forever!

“The End of AlexMEU is just the begining of a new Chapter in our story!”

their skills. Everyone in this journey learnt at least one new thing and gained new good friends.After weeks of preparations finally the long waited day is here.Our magical night has just started with a breathtaking entrance for the delegates.

The Closing

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The day started with Mr. Mohamed Zaki, president of Step Up Youth Initiative. He addressed his words to AlexMEU’14 dele-gates as they now have a great respon-sibility to pass what they have learned through their journey in MEU to the com-munity and increase their knowledge, he also thanked the staff members for their great effort in the past three months. He thanked two of the people who he believes has influenced his life; Shadi El shaafii and Moustafa Hazaa and also for their great effort in step up and AlexMEU in the prior years.

“The theme of the model this year is De-

mocracy as we are living in an undemo-

cratic atmosphere hence our role in MEU

this year was to create a world where De-

mocracy takes over!”

“The closing is not our end , you are the one who decides when the end is!”said Mr. Mohab Essam the project man-

ager of AlexMEU14.

Movig to Mrs. Hadir Ashraf, Deposito-

ry Library Project Coordinator, she talked

about the role of the BA in supervising the

performance of Alexmeu this year.

“Team AlexMEU has been fasci-nating us for 5 years” she said.

Mr. Ahmed Adel, vice project manag-

er, promised that AlexMEU15 will even be

more successful.

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“Your performance this year is my greatest accomplishment thank you my dear delegates!”said Ms. Cherine Nader, Head of the Ac-

ademic Committee.

“I want to thank everyone in my committee they have shown a great deal of efforts in the past three months”said Mr. Wessam Bakar, head of the

Media and Marketing committee. He also

made an important announcement about

the ALEXMEU’14 Magazine in the end of

his speech.

With a loud applause from everyone, Mr. Ahmed Hassan, Head of the Capaci-

ty building committee, took the stage.

“I want to thank the capaci-ty building team, I really have learnt so much from you” he said.

“I want you to remember your-self and how you were at the very first day in the model and compare it to what you have ac-complished until this moment” said Mr. Abonab Magdi, Head of the Hu-

man Resources Committee.

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“I want to thank the 6 Heads of the organizing committee who helped me so much through my journey in MEU and also i want to thank every member in my Committee”said Mr. Ahmed Saleh, Head of Operation

and logistics committee, and he added

that from his point of view the success of

the model this year is measured by the in-

fluence of the hard work of the delegates.

“Thank you delegates of the EIB for the unbelievable perfor-mance!”- Ms. Cinderella AymanPresident of European Investment Bank

“We are here because of you!”- Mr. Nour El-Din NohadLe Président du Conseil Européen

“I would like to thank my com-mittee for helping me introduce the public image of MEU14 in the best possible way”said Mr. Mazen El-Kordy Head of Public

relation committee.

The presidents of the six councils then took over the

stage to honor AlexMeu’14 staff members for their hard work

throughout the model.

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The Long waited moment of the day is finally here, It’s the honoring of AlexMEU14 delegates! Our day reached an end with a talent show and

the Step Up band.

“Acceptance! That’s why I ap-plied for AlexMEU this year”- Ms. Sarah YakoubPresident of European Parliament

“I waited for this day for 4 months! I can’t believe that this amount of energy and skills are found in one place!”- Ms. Christine Rizkpresident of the NATO

“I gained from the council of EU more than i have given it”- Ms. Sandra AsaadPresident of the Council of EU

“We believe in what we do!”- Mr. Hesham MansourPresident of the Court of Justice

Endings are always a new beginning for something bigger and even greater. And today we might have reached the end of AlexMEU14 and as a final world, the only thing that can be said at this moment is THANK YOU! thank you for the knowledge, thank you for the friend-ships, thank you for the experience and most of all thank AlexMEU’14 for the MEMORIES.

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To begin with, they are not role models, they don’t have all their lives figured out but what they do have is; ambition, moti-vation, power to change and the will to be part of something big, something that they believe in.

There were seven heroes and they were set on a mission, each and everyone of them knew their task by heart;

An Academic Committee member AC had a task to present a session to the dele-gates and wrap their heads around it in the easiest possible way, an Academic Research Committee member ARC had a task of searching for the information need-ed for the session then we have a Pub-lic Relations Committee member PR who was able to find a place for all of this to take place, also an Organizing Committee member OC who had a task of organizing everything about the day and a Capacity Building Committee member CB who had a task of preparing a creative workshop for the delegates to learn a new skill and a Me-dia Committee member Media who had a task of documenting and saving memories of that day and finally a Human Resources

Committee member HR who had a task of evaluating every single second in the day.

Each had a different task but they all had one mission and that was for the day to go as perfect as possible for the delegates. Unfortunately things don’t always go as planned and obstacles come in our way all the time.

“ There is always a solution and an alternative as long as there isa family ”

MISSIONACCOMPLISHED

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After practicing and rehearsing her presen-tation the AC was on her way to Bibliotheca Alexandrina when her car broke down and she was caught in traffic, she called the OC who is always there earli-er than anyone to organize the place. Tension rose when the word spread that an AC might not make it on time for her session but likely after revising the timeline and discussing the matter with other staff members the OC was able to rearrange the timeline and delay the AC’s session for 15 minutes, in hope that she would make it by then. Eventually she did! She got over her fear, nervousness and tension, left all that hap-pened behind her and stood their giving the session in confidence and brilliance as if nothing had happened.

Soon thereafter it was 15 minutes before the CBs workshop when the CB found out that the main video he prepared for the session had an error, he just felt disap-pointed to present the workshop without the video that added a certain essence to the workshop. He started thinking of alter-natives but he knew that he is not alone and many can offer to help and it was the Media member who stepped forward in that matter as he was a videographer and was able to redo the video with the CB. It is 5 minutes now before it is time to show the video but the Media member is still working on it.

Will there be a video or will the CB have to go without the video?!

2 minutes ....

1 minute ........

Exporting ............

Export completed!

Done, the video is ready! Once more situation is saved at the last min-ute. The workshop went great and the delegates were en-thusiastic, interest-ed and impressed.

At the end of such a day the HR member that was witnessing every-thing that went throughout the day gave his evaluation; but it was not about who was great and who wasn’t it was about how every hero can’t go without the other, it was about how if one fell they all fell, it was about how everyone forgot where they be-longed and knew that their committees are not their identities, it was about how each committee helps the other. That is the act of a family. That is how a day goes against all odds, without ruining it for a simple mis-fortune. There is always a solution and an alternative as long as there is a family. That is how heroes work, and that is how...

MISSION IS ACCOMPLISHED!

WHY MEU10 reasonswhy you should apply for AlexMEU’15:

Because it takes place at Bibliotheca Alexan-drina where; you feel the luxury of the halls, gain access to free Wi-Fi! And the main library.

Because it is the only place where an Egyptian is on time or otherwise he will pay for the black-box.

Because a delegate gets a chance to be a staff member.

Because the friends you make at MEU are friends to keep for life!

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03

02

04

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Because it is where creativity speaks and tal-ents are revealed.

Because you get to live the European dream.Because everyone aspires to be a president and MEU is the place for it.

Because it is the only model with a French council (Le Conseil Eroupeen).

Because you get to go around the world in one day through AlexMEU14 culture day. Because UNITED IN DIVERSITY!

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DelegatesOut of The Bubble

What Makes A Poet?

Passing by a street, I saw a flower.Tender and fragile yet had its power.

Was it Red or white or was it pink?Let’s not babble, I saw it wink.

I’m not demented, I’m not insane.The flower asked for help, she was in pain.

In her death vase, she begged me to deliver her missive.Which was short, concise, yet impressive.

She said “I know I can’t be saved, save our mother sister”The witty flower meant nature,

during her life time was she a solicitor?The “she” pronoun was misused and abused.

I’m sorry Grammar, I wanted them to be amused....Oh, the words of the flower lingered to my mind.

What makes a poet is for you to find.

By: Salma Hammad

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My Journey in The EIBThey say that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and mine was a Step-Up to a new level in my life. Let me just say that I never expected to be accepted in MEU’14 and I thought it to be one in the mil-lion chance but being a part of that big entity changed my life.

The huge impact came since joining the EIB because I didn’t put a goal in mind in which council of the EU I want to join. When I joined they said that they chose a group of people with special traits that make them unique which made me feel like a big deal. I have to say that the EIB helped me also in my study as I am a student in the faculty of English Commerce.

When you talk about the EIB it’s not always about banking, accounting or funding but also economics, feasibility studies, proposals and so much more so I learned all of that and I am not perfect at them yet but I have come a long way.

Let me tell you what I gained through this great journey:

First, a group of friends that I became at-tached to them, learned a lot from, shared their experiences, felt their emotions, laughed with them and at the end I became another man thanks to them because they became like a family to me.

Second, the sessions that included a hard work, sleepless hours and a huge dedication for what they believe and by they I mean the ACs who I felt their passion through their work and in those sessions I learned a lot thanks to the variety of subjects.

Then, I have to talk about the skills I gained

such as debating, negotiating, research skills, presentation skills, time management, crisis management, team work and so much more. Since joining the EIB those skills were pre-sented and taught with different and exciting styles every time that made me love to learn.

After that, comes the main goal of the EIB which is the character transformation that they wanted you to go through to walk out as another man who gained new traits and hab-its that replaced the old ones and don’t forget that’s the main goal of the civil work.

The final one has to be “The Delegates Day” in which we switched seats with the staff mem-bers for one day only which was a huge fun to me and all of us but also learned about what the staff goes through to make our day as nearly perfect as it is. I was assigned as member in the HR committee and let me say I enjoyed the experience but felt their pain and I fully appreciate all of their hard work. You see it is fun to be in charge but you also carry the full responsibility that puts a huge weight on your shoulders and changes you forever and that what responsibility does.

In the end I must say I really enjoyed this jour-ney from the beginning till now and I am look-ing forward to the conference but now I get to store a lot of memories that I will never forget from the start of the day with the registration until its finish with the feedback evaluation and at this point I say to myself “I don’t want this day to end”.

So huge thanks to everyone who made every-thing possible and made sure that we will walk out not the same. That was my journey what about yours?

By: Mohamed Abd ElRazek

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عالمات استفهام مرمية فى الطريق

الزم تدقق و تفهم المضمون

قالوها زمان: قبل الطريق تختار صديق

و حياتك دى لوحة و انت بتختار اللون

فى منا بيحبه اسود الحزن عمى عينيه

و اللى لسه شايف وسط الضلمة نور يسترشد به

صعب تفضل عاقل و كل اللى حواليك مجانين

صعب تطلع فوق و كله بيشدك للطين

لو عالحقيقة بتدور .. سلط عليها الضوء و نور

و الحياة ديه طلعت أقبح مما كنت فيوم تتصور

فكر و افتكر كم واحد للحق زور

هاتلى واحد بيقضى يومه من غير ما على نفسه يحور

و كأن النفاق أصبح جزء من طبيعة البشر الصدق و األمانة؟ هاها فشر!؟

الظلم انتشر لجل ما نرضى نفوسنا و عجرفتنا

و العدل اتمحى انتهى و حل محله الفتنة

يا ذا الهموم انهض و قم

وابـتعـد عـن من يـأس

وكن على االهوال جلدا

فــال يــغـرنـــك نــعــيــم

وال تــقـل حـظـي قـلـيـل

وال تـجـزع لحـكـم الـلـه

يا من عصى ربا كريـمـا

اغـتـنـم دنـيـاك و اعـمـل

يــومــئـذ ال تـدري مـن

فتمضي كالمديون يسـأل

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أنا آسف يا آدم ألن والدك فجروا

أول جريمة كانت أخ و أخوه قتله

النفس االنسانية .. ضعيفة بطبعها

ما بالك بوجود شيطان جنبها يوزها

يهزها .. بيع صاحبك و أهو كله عشان المصلحة

اطغى و حلل كل الربك له نهى

انسى دينك و اعمل بس لدنيتك

انسى اللى خلقك و انسى إن عمره ما سهى

عايشين زى الثعالب كل واحد بألف وش و وش

لكل البيسمعنى أهال بك فى زمن الغش

زمن الضحكة عملة نادرة و النفوس عمرها ما ارتاحت

و القلوب كلها غادرة و الكذب ريحته فاحت

النرجسية اجتاحت طب براحة واحدة واحدة

ليه شايف انك بس فوق ده احنا من طينة واحدة

أنا آسف يا ربى ألن الكره انتشر أنا آسف يا نفسى ألنك من جنس البشر

تــر شـعـاع أمل يعم

و عن كالم اليأس صم

و في حـياتـك ال تـذم

إن الـنــعـــيــم ال يـــدم

أمــا كـفـاك مـن نـعـم ؟

وقــم لـه صـلـي و صـم

أمــا أنــذرك الــهــرم ؟

فـيـومـهـا ال يجدي الندم

جـنـى عـلـيـك ومـن تـلـم

مـاذا دهــاه و لــم غــرم

By: Ahmed Wahdan

By: Ahmed Elsayed

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هذه قشرتى الخارجية .. أنا سرطانة البحر ..

حين تثور الرياح و تلطمنى األمواج و تلقى بى -على صغرى- على الصخور .. أحتمى خلف

قشرتى .. قساوة تلك القشرة هى حماية كل هشاشة داخلى كل ما يسكننى من

تعلق بأشخاص، أماكن، ذكريات و كل ما يمألنى من مشاعر ، أحاسيس ، ضعف

و خوف ! أحفظه داخل قشرتى .. مع كل ما يحتمل فى نفسى من .. حزن ..

أقصى لحظات ضعفى هى أقوى لحظات قسوتى ..

لكنى أبدا لن أترك البحار ألختفى بين فجوات الرمال مثلما فعل أترابى ، فالبحر موطنى ، هو من يفهمنى و يسبر أغوارى

فى غدقه ، ثورته ، هدوءه ، عمقه ، نسيانه ، حنوه ، عطاءه .. و تمرده !

لن أقبل أبدا بالدة الرمال .. فجنون البحر يمألنى

انا أسكن البحر و البحر يسكننى ..

لذا ال تعجب حين أحنو عليك ثم أقسو كالصخر

ال تزعج حين أمأل حياتك ثم أنزوى

ال تهلع حين أقبلك و أبكى ..

فأنا يا حبيبى محكومة القمر ... مسكونة البحر

معبودة الرياح ... منبوذة الرمال

معشوقتك أنت ... سرطان البحر

مصدر طاقتي:

تعبت من كثرة تنهدى، كل شىء من حولى يكبلنى .. يقيدنى .. فلم اعد احتمل

، لم اعد احتمل تلك الطفلة المدللة بعد اآلن .. نظرات الناس إلى اختلفت، تحكمات

أهلى، ثقافة مجتمع بكامله بات يخنقنى.

اصدقاء يتغيرون .. تائهة فى دوامة .. احاول ان استنجد بقشة .. صراع بداخلى ..

اصبحت ذلك الشخص الغريب كائن لم اعتاد تلك السنين !!

من أنت يا نفسى ؟! تارة متمردة بصوت أسد ثائر على وتارة تتمنى و لو ترجعى إلى

جحرك تتنعمى ببعض السالم ..

سارحه فى عالمى هنا نظرات هناك ابتسامات غضب بداخلى ثورة، زحمة، افكار!!

تكفى كل هذا .. فأنا خائفة .. اشعر باالرتياب من كل ما يحيطنى فلم اعد ارى هذه االرض الصلبة التى كنت اقف عليها .

اجرى .. اجرى .. ا اعرف ! هروبا .. حربا .. تعبت اريد من يمدنى بالطاقة، بالوقود

الستكمل.

اريد العودة إلى جحرى حيث الفرح .. السالم .. حيث الراحة .. حيث الالشىء.

الشىء الوحيد الذى اعرفه هو انك هناك يا اهلل . هناك تنتظرنى فهذا هو سر راحتى .. تاركا كل شىء يدور خارج قوقعتى .. غير

مكترث لهذا الصراع .

نعم ،فأنا اريدك بشدة .. فأنت وقودى.. أنت مصدر طاقتى .

فبك و منك كنت و أكون و سأكون .... !

By: Caroline Sameh

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Hala

Emad

HalaEmad

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MEU’14

Hala

Emad

MarinaAlfred

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ARTISTS

Express Yourself

42

A7b nafsy wel donya w arga3 abos lel 7ayat b 2igabya w a3raf eh momayzaty w 3youby w arda awiiii bel RABNA katbhouli w en el sodaf bt5la2 el akdar w eni a7b nas bel sor3a dih w aftakdhom 3ashan mashoftohomsh mn 5 ayam !! W eny a2oul ra2y mn8ir ma5af mn rad fe3l el nas maho msh kolna zay ba3d FE3LAN MEU14 RAGA3NY LEL 7AYAT

# MEU_علمني

بالنسبه ليا كان غير اي حد فانا اتعلمت اني افضل أحلم اني انجح واتعلمت ازاي اتكلمو اني اعمل صحاب و احافظ عليهم و حاجات كتير جدا اتعلمتها فعال

# MEU_علمني

يعني ايه أكون انسان# MEU_علمني

ان في ناس بتبقي بتعمل اقصي مجهود علشان تساعدك او تفرحك و هما واليعرفوك وال شافوك قبل كده

# MEU_علمني

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اني اتصرف ........ واعمل شيئ من ال شيئ# MEU_علمني

ان الدنيا لسه فيها ناس كويسة مش بس الناس اللى انت تعرفهم هما الكويسين

# MEU_علمني

1. So many things about EU and Nato 2. How to feel like a real president3. Deplomats must be confedent and strong4. CB’s are awesome and creative5. To trust my English6. The president of NATO Is the most powerful and kind person in the whole world 7. Strong country is not only measured by money or economy, it is also by its perfect diplomats and its strong president8. Harmony in the team is the key for success 9. To live the dream 10. Never to put an end for motivation 11.12.13.14....1000. To love MEU

# MEU_علمني

مخافش و انا بقول رأيي# MEU_علمني

The Magazine’s

TeamBehind every success story, there is always a team that worked together and spent their time and effort to achieve their goal.Below are the names of the people who worked on this mag-azine along with their respective roles:

Writing & Content Creation:Hadeer HeshamJaylan Mahmoud

Graphic Design:Ramy ElbastySalma Soliman

Photography: *Marwa El-Deeb

*This magazine features a collection of photographs taken by different members of MEU’14 Media Committee.Cover photo taken by “Marwa El-Deeb”.

Articles, drawings, and poems in the “Delegates out of the bubble” are all created by the dear delegates of MEU’14.

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ponsorsSWe are proud to have the following names amongst the or-ganizations & companies that supported MEU’14 and made it happen.

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@AlexMEU_ facebook.com/AlexMEU