INFORMATION BOOKLET

EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT (EYP)

European Youth Parliament (EYP) is the largest youth platform in Europe that encourages political debate, intercultural encounters, political and educational work and the exchange of ideas among young people. The EYP consists of a network of 37 European associations and organisations in which thousands of young people are active in a voluntary capacity. The umbrella organisation and the biggest sponsor of the EYP is the Schwarzkopf Foundation. Council of Europe’s Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has also granted his patronage for all the International Sessions organised by the European Youth Parliament. The European Youth Parliament was founded in Fontainebleau, in 1987, with the aim of educating the young Europeans and providing them a unique network to shape Europe’s future, as well as to develop professional, social and personal skills.

Since its inception, tens of thousands of young people have taken part in regional, national and international sessions, formed friendships and made international contacts across and beyond European borders. The EYP has thus made a vital contribution towards uniting Europe and drafting new a sense of “European”. Through simulations, EYP functions as a non-partisan organisation, supporting independent thinking and facilitating young people to realise their potential and responsibility for their own future. EYP also aims at contributing to the young participants’ personal development and employability by improving key qualifications such as language skills, communication, negotiation and participation skills.

The participants of the European Youth Parliament, aged between 16 and 22, go through a selection process in their home countries in order to attend conferences all over Europe. They differ from their peers according to the following criteria:

• Excellent language skills• Ability to work in a team• Cultural sensitivity• Ability to adapt to a multicultural environment• Political awareness• Leadership skills

"I have noted with interest the work of the European Youth Parliament to promote dialogue and sharpen democratic awareness among young Europeans.“

José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission

What is EuroTurco Forum?

EuroTurco Forum is a conference to be held on September 7-12 2014 at İstanbul Bilgi University Santralistanbul campus, in cooperation with EYP Turkey and Bilgi University European Youth Society. Participants will be university students currently studying in Turkey or abroad. 40 out of 100 participants will be Turkish, with the rest coming from different corners of Europe. With the addition of the Officials Team, total number of participants will be 145.

8 committees will be working on their own topics and creating a resolution paper specifying the problems and the solutions related to their topics. After discussion in committees, the participants will debate and vote on all the resolution papers at the General Assembly. In addition to this process, on the 5th day of the conference, NGO representatives will join their partner committees and together create project proposals, which will be equally presented at the General Assembly.

Our aim is to bring the EU and Turkey together, discuss Turkey’s EU accession process in light of a Euro-Turco synthesis and offer effective solutions to problems that arose during this process, as evidenced by the session theme, “Back to the future of a European country”.

Our Aims

•Promote international understanding, intercultural dialogue and diversity of ideas and practices.

•Combine Turkish and European issues in order to raise awareness.

•Contribute to the personal skills development of European youth.

•Provide a forum in which young people from all corners of Europe and Turkey can express their own opinions, without reverting to role-play

•Include university students more to the European Youth Parliament as delegates and encourage them to be democratically active citizens.

•Give participants different and more professional viewpoints about their topics.

Participants

100 delegates from all over EuropeA total of 45 chairs, journalists and organizersNGO representativesExperts who will be in the committees as advisors

"The Council of Europe has put its faith in youth since its creation and believes in the positive role that younger generations can play in our societies when given the opportunity.

I am pleased to learn about the success of the European Youth Parliament´s activities and look forward to an opprtunity to meet you personally."

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu

Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator of Turkey

European Youth Parliament in Turkey

European Youth Parliament Turkey has started its journey back in 1999 as a student club in a private high school, and came a long way since. Today, European Youth Parliament Turkey is a legally registered association, and is able to reach out to students from many public and private schools.

EYP Turkey, having been recognized as a National Committee since 2005, is voluntarily run by young people who actively take part in EYP. The organization has more than 120 registered members, and this number grows every year. Different events organized by EYP Turkey annually reach to more than 650 young people both from Turkey and abroad.

As well as organising its own conferences in Turkey, EYP Turkey also sends 8 delegations to conferences in different parts of Europe, with a number of 80 students in total each year. The primary aim of EYP Turkey is to provide young people with the opportunity to get to know what the European Youth Parliament is, to contribute to the personal development of the Turkish youth as well as to develop intercultural dialogue, and to represent Turkey in Europe at its best.

In addition to the two National Selection Conferences and two International Youth Fora that are organised on a yearly basis, EYP Turkey has also had the privilege to host the 69th International Session of the European Youth Parliament in Istanbul. This upcoming year, EYP Turkey will be hosting the 78th International Session of the European Youth Parliament in İzmir. Through various events, supported by the Lifelong Learning Programme, Vehbi Koç Foundation, Turkish Airlines, Schwarzkopf Foundation, Istanbul Chamber of Trade and Youth in Action Programme, EYP Turkey reaches to more than 650 young people annually. EYP Turkey’s Executive Board consists of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary-General and four Board Members, and all actions and decisions are being overseen by the Supervisory Council consisting of three people.

"I appreciate your organisation´s important contribution in providing a forum for discussion and promoting awareness among Europe´s youth on relevant European issues."

Vladimír Špidla former European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

Conference ElementsTeambuilding

On September 8, after getting into their committees, participants are going to start the first official day with Teambuilding.

Key step for the proper functioning of the debates, Teambuilding must create teams from every committee. Breaking the ice and creating a climate of confidence, of respect and of cooperation in order to create a working environment for open and efficient committee work is the aim.

Committee Work

Each committee deals with a subject relevant to the European and Turkish relations, Turkey’s EU accession process or the daily life of EU citizens. Since each participant has a different approach to the subject, the matter becomes one of finding points of agreement and of reaching a compromise. Experts may contribute to the Committee Work by discussing the solutions suggested by the youngsters, or by bringing up different aspects of the subject.

Project Preparation Day with Partner NGOs

Other than the regular committee work, on September 11, each committee will be working on a new, related topic in cooperation with non-governmental organizations. All day the committees and the NGO representatives will work together and come up with project proposals. These proposals will be presented and voted at the General Assembly on September 12.

"I would like to express my support and encouragement for the 2006 event of the European Youth Parliament in Tampere. This will give you valuable experience in democratic participation in Europe."

Olli Rehn European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs

Expert Talks:

During Committee Work delegates will be able to meet with experts on their respective topics, gaining the opportunity to benefit from their knowledge and to ask questions and share ideas with the expert. This in turn will give them the opportunity to reflect what they learnt from the expert talk in their resolutions, enriching the debate.

General Assembly:

At the end of the forum, all participants are brought together in the General Assembly. Each committee presents and defends their resolution, which is then debated in the assembly following parliamentary rules of procedure, and finally put to vote.

Evening Activities:

Other than the four main parts of the session, Eurovillage and Euroconcert are going to be included in the session. Eurovillage is an opportunity for the participants from different parts of Europe to present their native food and beverages to the participants. Moreover, participants will be able to discover the authentic culture of all the represented countries in the musical field through Euroconcert.

"It is a high priority for me, the President of the European Parliament to establish closer relations with the citizens, in particular with the younger generation. Their active involvement in the process of decision-making needs to be encouraged and supported.

Jerzy Buzek former President of theEuropean Parliament

Programme

Day 1: Officials’ Teambuilding (September 7th)Noon Arrivals for the Officials’ TeamAfternoon Officials’ Teambuilding Evening Officials’ Dinner

Day 2: Teambuilding (September 8th)Morning Registrations for DelegatesAfternoon TeambuildingEvening Committee Dinners

Day 3: OC + CW (September 9th)Morning Opening CeremonyAfternoon Committee WorkEvening Eurovillage

"I would like to congratulate you on the success encountered by this ongoing project that reaches more than 10.000 young participants each year, through its regional, national and international projects.“

Josep Borrell Fontelles former President of theEuropean Parliament

Day 4: Committee Work Morning Committee WorkEvening Euroconcert

Day 4: Committee Work (September 10th)Morning Committee WorkAfternoon Committee WorkEvening Euroconcert

Day 5: CW with NGOs (September 11th)Morning Preparation of ProjectsAfternoon GA PreparationEvening Farewell Party

Day 6: GA + CC (September 12th)Morning General AssemblyAfternoon GA of Project ProposalsEvening Closing Ceremony

"I rest convinced that initiatives like the European Youth Parliament are essential to bridge the gaps between our nations and to foster a new generation of true Europeans."

Janez Potocnik European Commissioner for Environment

Partners of European Youth Parliament

The European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission have been supporting the European Youth Parliament for a long time. President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek and the General Secretary of the European Council Uwe Corsepius are also in support of EYP. Resolution booklets and drafts created at EYP sessions are mailed to several international organizations; UNESCO, the European Council, and the EU Institutions. Moreover, national and international sessions organized by EYP have always attracted significant media attention. European Commission and European Council members have attended international EYP sessions in the past.

Some significant names who have attended these conferences are listed below:

Josep Borrell Fontelles, former President of the European ParliamentJacques Barrot, former Vice-President of the European CommissionJan Figel, Commissioner for Education and CultureLaszlo Kovacs, Commissioner for TaxationDr. Ralf-Rene Weingartner, Youth and Sports Director

The organizations below have supported the EYP in the past years:

Public Institutions:European CommissionEuropean ParliamentGerman Ministry of Foreign AffairsSwiss Secretary of Public Education and ResearchNorwegian Ministry of Foreign AffairsNorwegian Ministry of Education and ResearchCzech Ministry of Youth, Education and SportsSenate of ItalyEnglish Foreign Affairs and Internal Affairs Offices

Private Companies:Alba Group, Bance Itesa, Coca Cola, Chrysler, Deutsche Telekom AG, Digital Data, Dimita AG, Duales System Deutschland AG, First Hotel Alstor, Ford, Hotel unter den Linden, Katjes, Kellogg’s, McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, Novartis, Rica Hotels, Roche, Rolls-Royce, Siemens, Sparebank, 1 SR-Bank, Stavby silnic azeleznic, Volvo, VSP Data AG

Foundations and NGOs:DLKB Foundation Berlin, Dräger Foundation, Evens Foundation, Haniel Foundation, Robert Bosch Foundation, foundation “Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft”, the Freedom of Expression Foundation.

"Clearly, the European Youth Parliament debated some important questions, and I am delighted to see that your work is raising such interest in European issues among young people."

Terry Davis former Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Contact Us!EuroTurco Forum Project Coordinators

euroturco@eypturkey.org

European Youth Parliament Turkey National Committee

info@eypturkey.org