INFORMATION BOOKlET

INFORMATION BOOKLETINTER-REGIONAL FORUM - GUIMARÃES 2015EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT PORTUGAL

APPEJ – Associação Portuguesa do Parlamento Europeu dos Jovens/European Youth Parliament Portugal Rua da Concórdia 45, 4465-601, Leça do Balio, Porto, Portugal www.pejportugal.com · geral@pejportugal.com

Welcome word from the Head-organisers Welcome word from the President The ForumProgramme Session elements Dress code explained Venues Meet the Organisers Meet the Board Meet the Chairpersons Meet the Media Team Meet the Jurors Participating SchoolsCommittee TopicsLegal notes Checklist Contacts

Table of Contents

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Welcome word from the Head Organisers

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Dearest participants of the Forum,

We’d like to welcome you all to the Inter-Regional Forum - Guimarães 2015! We are Mafalda and Miguel, the Head-Organisers of this event, and we are very happy to be offering you one of the most indescribable expe-riences you will ever have.

By now, only two weeks away from the Forum, we are already counting the days left as we are eager to start this adventure with you all. We are working together with all the Officials’ Team to ensure a most profoundly enriching event and our main wish is that you enjoy it and leave with your heart full of memories and new friends.

For now, we recommend that you read through this booklet and start getting familiar with the Forum and its different moments. As passionate EYPers, we know words won’t do any justice to this odyssey you will expe-rience, but they will bring you some clarity about it. Feel free to contact us with any remaining doubts.

To you, delegates, officials, teachers and other participants: a big thank you. We are very happy to have you.

See you soon,The Head-Organisers,Mafalda Rodrigues and Miguel Paiva

Welcome word from the President

Dear friends,

Guimarães 2015 is far approaching. Some of you might not know what to expect from this: debating with strangers about politics? Doing weird things around a school? Wearing fancy tuxedos?

The important thing is that you are about to throw yourself into EYP, an organisation that you may still not know much about. This is a brave move, and for this I am thankful to you. Thankful that you are willing to try new things, thankful that you are willing to break your shell of comfort, thank-ful that you put yourselves in our hands for some days and trust us.

As the President of this Session I promise to try my best to be there for all of you. Not that long enough I was in the position that you are now, and I have to admit that I was scared as heck. I tried to keep my cool, conceal my Spanish accent, and speak my mind about the Israel-Palestinian conflict. And I confess: I did not know much about any of this.

But by the time I stepped in the school were my first session was about to happen I soon realised that there were no strangers, only friends that I was yet to meet. That I may have not known much about politics, but in four days I sure learned more than in a month in school. That I did not need to conceal anything about myself, as everyone just accepted me the way I was. And I still need to find somewhere else other than EYP that manages to makes me feel this good about myself, about youth and the way we in-volve ourselves in the world around us.

So get ready, pack wisely and prepare yourself for Guimarães, because it will be a memorable one.

Warm hugs,Anna

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The Forum

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Overview: The Inter-Regional Forum of the European Youth Parliament Portu-gal will be held in the historic city of Guimarães, commonly known as the birthplace of the nation.From Friday, March 13th to Sun-day, March 15th, 90 young people from all over Europe will gather to experience a three-day programme, packed with all the fundamen-tal EYP elements, as well as other, complementary activities. For more detailed information about the var-ious elements that will make up Guimarães 2015, please see “Pro-gramme” and “Forum Elements”, on pages 7, 8 and 9, below.All forum Officials are asked to ar-rive until 08:30 WEST on Friday, March 13th. Arrivals and pick-ups will be arranged directly with the Officials.All Delegates must arrive at Gu-marães’ Youth Hostel (see ‘Venues”, on pages 11 and 12, below) until 14:30 WEST on Friday, March 13th. Arrivals will be coordinated directly with the delegates, who are expect-ed to have lunch before arriving.

The Theme: “Enlightened Europe: The Engine for Development”

Following the International Year of the Light 2015 and the European Year for Development 2015, this event will aim at sparkling the dis-cussion about uropean policy mak-ing. Inspired by the concept of light and enlightement - both abstract and concrete - the participants will have the ideal opportunity to re-think the European reality.To find more about the Committee Topics that will be discussed at the Guimarães 2015, please see ‘Com-mittee Topics’, on page 18 below. Also, the session theme is not to be confused with that of the Theme Party. To find more about that, please see ‘Forum elements’ and ‘Dress codes explained’,on pages 8-10, below.

Future in the EYP:

After the forum, the Jurors will de-liberate and select 6 Portuguese delegates that will have the chance to attend EYP Germany’s Summer Forum in Konstanz, from July 27th to August 1st. To find out more about the selection process, consult Evaluation Procedure and criteria in page 17.Regardless of the results, if after this experience you find out that you should keep on attending to Ses-sions and maybe being an Official, all you have to do is:

1. Go to www.pejportugal.com2. Click on “Registo”;3. Click on “EYP”;4. Fill in the survey!

Programme Complete adherence is expected of all participants. Should any last-minute changes occur during the forum, the participants will be informed by the Or-ganisers and will be expected to comply

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with their instructions. For any further questions regarding the programme, please see ‘Leaving the official pro-gramme’, under ‘Legal notes’, on page 22, below or contact the Organisation .

Day 1, March 13th, 2015

8:30 - 13:30 CJO training/team-building13:30 - 14:30 Lunch for officials 12:30 - 14:30 Delegates’ arrivals to the Youth Hostel and check-in14:30 - 14:45 Transfer to the Teambuilding Venue14:45 - 17:30 Teambuilding I17:30 - 17:45 Coffee Break17:45 - 20:15 Teambuilding II20:15 - 20:30 Transfer to the Eurovillage Venue20:30 - 21:00 Outfit change21:00 - 23:00 Eurovillage23:00 - 23:15 Transfer to the Youth Hostel

Day 2, March 14th, 2015 7:30 - 8:20 Breakfast8:30 - 8:45 Transfer to the Com-mittee Work Venue8:45 - 9:00 Settling in9:00 - 11:00 Committee Work I11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break11:30 - 13:00 Committee Work II 13:00 - 14:00 Lunch 14:00 - 17:00 Committee Work III17:00 - 17:30 Coffee Break 17:30 - 20:30 Committee Work IV20:30 - 21:30 Dinner21:30 - 21:45 Outfit change 21:45 - 22:00 Transfer to the Theme Party Venue22:00 - 00:00 Theme Party00:00 Transfer to the Youth Hostel

Day 3, March 15th, 2015 7:30 - 8:30 Breakfast8:30 - 8:45 Transfer to the Gen-eral Assembly Venue8:45 - 9:00 Settling in9:00 - 10:00 Opening Ceremony10:00 - 10:30 Coffee Break10:30 - 11:15 Resolution I11:15 - 12:00 Resolution II12:00 - 12:45 Resolution III12:45 - 13:05 Transfer13:05 - 13:10 Settling in for lunch13:10 - 14:00 Lunch 14:00-14:15 Transfer14:15 - 14:30 Settling in 14:30 - 15:15 Resolution IV15:15 - 16:00 Resolution V16:00 - 16:45 Resolution VI16:45 - 17:00 Coffee Break 17:00 - 18:00 Closing Ceremony18:00 - 18:15 Transfer to the Youth Hostel19:00 Departures

EYP sessions have at least three elements in common: Team-building, Committee Work and General Assembly. At Guim-arães 2015 we will be having those three... and some more. Read on to learn all you need to know about those.

Forum Elements

Teambuilding: (dress code: comfortable)

On Friday, following a 'kick-off' activity involving all the participants, the Delegates will gather in their respective Committees, together with other Delegates from different schools (including international Delegates) and a Chairper-son (who can be either Portuguese or from a different Eu-ropean country). Coming from different backgrounds and, most likely, never having met before, the Delegates will, by the end of the day, have got to know one another and learnt how to work as a closely knit team. Under the guidance and facilitation of their Chairpersons and the Board of the ses-sion, the Committees will engage in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities; some physical, others demanding cre-ativity, communication and problem-solving skills, but all of them fun and engaging, these activities are designed to help these mixed groups of people work as teams – and, espe-cifically, as members of the same Committee, who will be tackling the same issues during the Committee Work.

Eurovillage: (dress code: casual will do; regional/national costumes pre-ferred)

Each School Delegation at Guimarães 2015 will put together their own stand, featuring items from their city or region (or country, for international Delegates) – souvenirs, information brochures, national flags, everything is welcome – and, of course, many culinary specialties to be sampled. The EuroVil-lage will serve as everyone’s dinner on Friday, too, so be sure to leave no one hungry. Also, while it will be possible to heat up pre-cooked dishes, we would advise that you rely most-ly on dishes that can be served cold or at room tempera-ture. Cooking whole dishes will not be possible. Finally, while typical beverages are welcome, the Delegates (regardless of their age) will not be allowed any alcohol and beverages with alcoholic content above 16% vol.

Evening Socialising: (dress code: casual)

On Friday evening, following the EuroVillage, the partici-pants will be given some additional time to socialise and get to know one another in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. This will happen within the facilities of the Hostel.

Committee Work: (dress code: smart)

This is perhaps the central part of any session. The Delegates of each Committee will come together, now working well as a team after a day of Teambuilding, and sit down to discuss their given topic. Their goal is to write a Resolution on that topic with which they can all agree and, of course, defend at the General Assembly. This is no easy task: people from very different backgrounds often have as many different perspec-tives and will almost certainly have to reach compromises if they are to find agreement within the established time. To help, each Committee will continue to be accompanied by an experienced Chairperson, an older EYP Alumnus/a, who will ensure that all voices are heard and that the Resolution reflects the ideas of the whole group. While discussions may be heated, the end result will doubtlessly be that the Dele-gates will have learnt an incredible amount about the issue and really thought about the implications, developing and redeveloping their own views. The skills learnt during the Committee Work – discussing, debating, persuading, nego-tiating and compromising – will prepare the Delegates not only for the General Assembly, but for life.

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Theme Party: (dress code: themed)

When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. When in Guimarães... The city with a rich historical background will welcome you to a party to celebrate History: “One room, one hundred his-torical figures”. Following a full day of Committee Work, the Delegates will have the chance to unwind at the Theme Party. Bring an adornment – or even a whole outfit – that relates to it. World changing icons, people who are just remembered... Choose wisely (or just be silly?) and we are sure this will bean evening to remember.

Opening Ceremony: (dress code: work-formal)

On Sunday morning, all participants will gather for the Opening Ceremony. This will be the first truly formal (and, incidentally, also public) moment of the session and, as its name makes clear, will mark the moment when the Parlia-ment will go into session. Several important personalities will be addressing the Delegates, motivating them to debate and make their voices heard and, after the European Anthem has been played, the President will declare the session to be of-ficially open.

General Assembly(Dress code: work-formal)

In the Opening Cerimony venue, the participants will gather to debate the matters at hand. For each Debate, the Resolu-tion being proposed will be presented, defended, attacked, debated and voted on. As such, it will be of paramount im-portance that all Delegates are familiar with not only the topic of their own Committee, but also with those of others. While it is true that, in several cases, the European Parliament has gone on to discuss issues brought up by EYP Resolu-

tions, the aim of this activity is not to exert political influence, but rather to provide an educational experience.

Closing Ceremony(Dress code: work-formal)

Following the last Debate on the second day of the Gen-eral Assembly, representatives of EYP Portugal and of the various teams of Officials will hold a series of speech-es, helping the participants reflect on what we are certain will have been a lifechanging experience. In the end, we will close the session in the same way we will have opened it:

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Dress Codes ExplainedIn this section, you can find a short explanation of what each dress code means. Please remember that, while their descriptions are indicative, this dress code is, for the most part, mandatory. Also, bear in mind that Guimarães can be

ComfortableThis is how you should dress for the Teambuilding. While we all know that first impressions count, please bear in mind that you will be performing a series of outdoor activ-ities, some of which more-or-less physically demanding, so make sure you wear clothes that are comfortable and can get dirty. Depending on the weather, you might also need a warmer jumper.

CasualThis is what you can wear outside the official moments of the session, namely during the evening socialising on Friday and any other free time. Basically, whatever you feel com-fortable in is an option, as long as it is decent.

SmartThis is what you must wear for the Committee Work. While ‘smart’ attire may be difficult to pin down, it definitely excludes tennis shoes, sports trousers or jeans and t-shirts. In other words, we would recommend… for the gentlemen: a pair of dressier shoes and trousers, a button-down shirt with a jumper and/or a jacket; for the ladies: either that or a dressier skirt, with a shirt and a jumper and/or a jacket.

ThemedAs you have just read, this session’s Theme Party will be all about. Better yet, make it a whole costume! PS. Restrain from anything too reveiling or offensive, and be creative! Good luck!

FormalThis is what you must wear for all the more formal moments of the session, all throughout Saturday and Sunday. For the Opening Ceremony, the General Assembly and the Closing Ceremony, formal attire that is appropriate for a work/busi-ness environment will be accepted. This means, for the gentlemen: a business suit, dress shirt, dress shoes and a sober tie; for the ladies: either a suit, a tail-leur or a combination of a sober, knee-length skirt, a dress shirt and an appropriate jumper will do. In all cases: nothing flashy, please. For the EuroConcert, while remaining formal, your choice of attire can add a little bling. For the gentlemen: it might be time to bring out that special bow tie; for the ladies: this is when you can add a bit of glamour… or a bit of bling! If you will be performing at the EuroConcert, then you have much more liberty in choosing what to wear, as long as it is in keeping with the nature of your performance and within the limits of the decorum that is expected of all participants.

chilly, so check the weather forecast (try:http://www.accu-weather.com/en/pt/guimaraes/272362/daily-weather-fore-cast/272362?) for some of the most accurate predictions around and pack accordingly.

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Venues

Pousada da JuventudeLocated in the city centre, this venue is very near to the his-torical centre of Guimarães - Humanity’s heritage since 2001. The building has more than 100 years of history and it has been restored and equiped to provide to most of the partic-ipants a couple of restful and comfortable nights.

Residencial S. MamedeLocated very near to the city centre and at a 100m distance of the stadium of the main football team of Guimarães, it provides a panoramic view over Guimarães and its main monuments: the castle and Paço dos Duques de Bragança.

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Paco dos Duques de BragancaBuilt on the XV century by Dom Afonso, the bastard son of the King D. João I, Paço dos Duques de Bragança was orig-inally established as the residence of the ilegitimate royal son. Later it became the residence of the royal family rela-tives, from the dinasty of Bragança. From 1807 until 1931 it was used as a military Head-quarters and started a resto-ration process after that period. Nowadays is the residence of the Head of state in the north and, more importantly, our lovely General Assembly venue.

Escola Secundaria Francisco de HolandaOne of many to receive a complete overhaul over the past years, this school has also been build over deep historical roots. Founded in 1884, it was one of the first industrial schools of the country and in their building are many documents and artifcats related to the portuguese history.Amongst its facilities, we will be using: on Friday, its whole space for the Teambuilding; on Saturday various wings of class-rooms for the committee work and the canteen to our eurovillage.

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Meet the Organisers

Mafalda Rodrigues (PT)Head-organiser

Miguel Paiva (PT)Head-organiser

Ana Andrade (PT)Organiser

Carolina Carvalheira (PT)Organiser

Evgeny Sukhov (PT)Organiser

Miguel Silva (PT)Organiser

Sofia Paiva (PT)Organiser

Michael Machado (PT)Organiser

The team of Organisers is a central piece to any forum, and Guimarães 2015 is no different. During the several months of preparation leading up to the session, they have been – and will keep on – working tirelessly to ensure everything, from programme to venues, are ready to welcome all of you. During the forum, they will be the ones in charge of logistics, transport, food and all the many other ‘invisible’ tasks that must be performed for the event to run smoothly for all the participants. In other words: you may not get to see much of them, but, when you do (and you will, we promise you that), be sure to spare a smile and a “thank you!” – it will mean the world to them and we all know that happy people work better. For now, you can start by putting a name to the face of each of these committed nine individuals.

Inês Oliveira (PT)Organiser

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Meet the Chairs Team

Anna Borrel (ES)President

Rita Ferreira (PT)Vice-president

Adriaan van Streun (NL)Chair

André Oliveira (PT)Chair

Annie MacCo-nachie (UK)Chair

Joana Gordinho (PT)Chair

João Bernardo Gonçalves (PT)Chair

Carolina Macedo dos Santos (PT)Chair

The Board of the forum will be composed of three people, including the President and two Vice-presidents. These are all Alumni that have gathered considerable experience with-in the organisation and, thus, are able to lead and coordinate the work of the Chairpersons, as well as the interactions be-tween the various teams, both amongst themselves and with the other participants. On top of that, it will also be their task

Lourenço Cruz (PT)Vice-president

The Chairpersons play an important role in any forum. At Gui-marães 2015, there will be six Chairpersons, one per Commit-tee (the Board members will not be chairing any Committees, leaving them more time to better address the needs of all the participants). Like all Officials, the Chairpersons are old-er Alumni that have gathered relevant experience within the organisation and, thus, are able to lead and coordinate the work of the Delegates, from the activities of the Teambuild-ing to the debates of the Committee Work and, of course, their performance at the General Assembly.Prior to the session, they have each been tasked with putting together an Overview for their Committee Topics, which will then be sent to the Delegates in the form of an Academic Preparation Kit. To better prepare to facilitate the work of the Delegates, these six individuals will also be doing consider-able research and training.Needless to say, you will be seeing them around pretty much all the time, but, until then, have a look at their faces, learn their names and the Committees they will be chairing.

to run the General Assembly, making sure all parliamentary procedures are adhered to.Prior to the session, they are responsible for the academic side of things, including not only defining the Committee Topics, but also supervising the creation of a high-quality Academic Preparation Kit, and, right before the session be-gins, guiding the Chairpersons through a full day of training.

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Meet the Media Team

EYP events can be extremely intense and, even in the case of a three-day session, we are sure we will reach that last day and wonder: “Where did it all go?” The Media Team – which will consist of eight individuals, including one Editor, one Editorial As-sistant and six Journalists – will be there to capture and help preserve the memories of the different moments

Adi Grishaj (AL)Editor

Ioana Pop (RO)Editorial Assistant

Nuno Oliveira (PT)Journalist

Francisca Patrício (PT)Vice-president

Laura Teixeira (PT)Journalist

Catarina Ferreira (PT)Journalist

Mariam Kapanadze (GE)Journalist

and elements of the session.To do that, they will gener-ally resort to a series of me-dia, from traditional (printed issues of a magazine that will be distributed to all the par-ticipants) to social media. Just like the Chairs, the members of the Media Team have been selected several months ahead of the session.

María Granero (ES)Journalist

The three elements that compose the Jury of Guimarães 2015 are all older EYP Alumni. All of them have gathered experience in diverse roles as officials and have got what it takes to evaluate the delegate’s attitude, talent and ideas in order to select the

Evaluation Procedure and Criteria

Even if the evaluation procedure and criteria used at EYP events can somewhat vary from National Committee to Na-tional Committee, the differences are never too substantial.In Portugal, the Jurors will continuously observe the perfor-mance of all Delegates throughout the Committee Work and the General Assembly, taking turns and comparing notes until they reach a final verdict. As for the criteria the Jury will be looking at and evaluating, they are quite clear and straightforward. In no particular order: 1) knowledge of the topic and pertinence of the interventions; 2) creativity and originality of the stances taken; 3) language fluency and oratory coherence; 4) evolution throughout the session; 5) posture and attitude during the debate.

Announcing the Results

At EYP Portugal, we firmly believe that, while this event also serves as a selection process, its main purpose goes well beyond the mere selection of Delegates. This is not to take away the prestige of being selected to represent one’s country at an International Forum; however, we believe the focus should be put on ensuring all the participants have the best personal experience they possibly can. To that end, we prefer to leave the results unannounced at the session and communicate them to all the participants one week after the session has ended.

Meet the Jurors

Tiago Pereira (PT)Head of the Jury

José Eduardo Feio (PT)Jury Member

Markos Merkouris (HU)Jury Member

best 6 Portuguese delegates for EYP Germany’s International Summer Forum in Konstanz, from July 27th to August 1st.

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Participating Schools

Escola Secundária de Carvalhos;Escola Secundária do Marco de Canaveses;Escola Secundária de Rio Tinto;Escola Secundária de Tomaz Pelayo;Escola Secundária João da Silva Correia;Instituto Nun’Alvres;

Delegation from EYP Greece

Individual Delegates from:Escola Secundária do Padrão da LéguaExternato Delfim Ferreira;Escola Profissional Ruiz Costa;Escola Secundária Manuel Teixeira Gomes.

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Committee topics

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Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs - ECONChaired by: Carolina Macedo dos Santos (PT)E-currency revolution: Bitcoins and digital currencies are bringing about a monetary change. Whilst certain European coun-tries endorse the use of digital currencies, the European Banking Authority continues to issue warnings against their usage. What stance should the EU take on with regards to the opportunities and dangers presented by virtual currency schemes?

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety I - ENVI IChaired by: João Bernardo Gonçalves (PT)The Ebola Crisis: the paradox of modern medical aid. Even though multiple initiatives are annually held to provide devel-oping countries with tools to combat diseases and epidemics, worldwide incidents, such as the recent spread of Ebola, expose underlying cracks in the Health System. What can the EU do to strengthen health systems in developing countries to prevent future crises?

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety II - ENVI IIChaired by: André Oliveira (PT)Towards a low-carbon society: taking into consideration the EU’s Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon econ-omy in 2050, which further measures can the EU undertake in order to reach the ambitious target to reduce its CO2 emis-sions by 80% by 2050?

Committee on Industry Research and Energy - ITREChaired by: Adriaan van Steut (NL)SMEs turning environmental challenges into business opportunities: In line with the Europe 2020 Strategy Plan, the EU prioritised becoming a sustainable economy whilst setting ambitious objectives for climate change and energy efficiency. What SME-oriented actions can be taken at European level to help exploit the business opportunities that the transition to a green economy offers?

Committee on Security and Defence - SEDEChaired by: Annie MacConachie (UK)Terrorism: The intercultural clash. The recent tragic events in Paris stand as a reminder that the EU is facing a continuous and evolving terrorist threat. Over the past decade this threat has harmed not only EU citizens, but also the very values and freedoms on which the Union is based. How can the EU best address its security issues whilst respecting its role as a peacekeeper across the globe?

Committee on Transport - TRANChaired by: Joana Gordinho (PT)Transport 2050: With many European towns and cities suffering from chronic traffic congestion, mobility is increasingly dif-ficult and inefficient. Accounting for 23% of all CO2 transport emissions and with estimated annual costs of EUR 80 billion, addressing transportation problems is imperative for the EU's steps forward to sustainable mobility. What actions can the EU take as to fully and successfully implement the Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area?

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Legal Notes

General dietary requirementsThe Organisers will, if duly and timelyinformed, ensure that the participants’general dietary requirements (vegetar-ians, vegans, etc.) are met. For this, we ask that all participants inform us with enough time in advance and ensure the confirmation of their requests, being re-sponsible to get the right food and bev-erage types once at the forum, according to their confirmed requests. The partici-pants who make no special requests will be served the standard options and we ask that they comply with those.

Medicine and substance allergy pol-icyTo prevent any potentially problematic situations, no member of any team of Officials may, at any time or under any circumstances, provide minors with any form of medicine – generic or oth-erwise and regardless of prescription requirements. As such, we remind all participants (particularly those under the age of 18) to bring with them any type of medicine they may need, es-pecially those of regular, prescribed in-take, as it will not be possible for any Official to provide them.Regarding allergies or intolerance to any substances, we ask that you to be aware and inform us accordingly, whether the substance(s) in question be present in medicines or in any types of food or beverage (e.g., coeliac disease, lactose intolerance, etc). Regarding food and beverage allergies, the Organisers will, if duly and timely informed (please clearly indicate and list all foods and beverag-es you can/cannot consume), ensure that viable alternatives are made available at all moments when food is served. In cas-es of a normal food-service-queue, these foods and beverages will be served at the participants’ request. In cases of self-ser-vice moments, they will be set separately from the remaining foods and beverag-es. In all cases, they will be available in quantities consistent with the number of timely requests. As such, we ask that all participants make any requests in time, ensuring their confirmation, and that, once at the forum, they be responsible

for getting the right food and beverage types.

Smoking policyWe remind our participants that, in Portugal, in accordance with Law No. 37/2007 of August 14th, people below the age of 18 are not allowed to pur-chase or consume tobacco products of any kind. While we will not act as vigi-lantes, the Organisers reserve themselves the right to ensure minors do not smoke throughout the forum and will confiscate and withhold for the duration of the fo-rum any tobacco products in their pos-session. We would also like to remind our participants aged 18 and above that they are not allowed, under any circumstanc-es, to provide any tobacco products to underaged participants.

Alcohol and drug policyWhile Portuguese law allows individuals aged 16+ to consume beer, wine and ci-der with alcoholic content of up to 16% vol. and individuals aged 18+ to con-sume whichever alcoholic beverages may be legally purchased within the country, exceptions can be made to group events of various natures (e.g., school events). As such, at fora of EYP Portugal, the Del-egates are not allowed the consumption of any type of alcohol, while the remain-ing participants may, according to their age (and taking into account also the laws in their countries) consume bever-ages with alcoholic content of up to 16% vol. Regardless, consumption level must remain adequate and cannot interfere with the participants’ ability to behave appropriately at all times – particularly in the performance of the duties inher-ent in their designated roles. Breaking these rules will result in the participants’ (Delegates or otherwise) dismissal from the forum’s programme at their own risk and expense. As far as the consumption of drugs (‘soft’ or otherwise) goes, the EYP and, thereby, EYP Portugal operate a zero-tolerance policy. Any participants caught in possession, acquiring, selling or attempting to, soliciting, offering and/or consuming drugs of any kind will be immediately dismissed from the forum.

Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, in Portugal, as per Law No. 30/2000 of November 29th: 1) the possession and/or consumption of any kind of drugs remain illegal; 2) incidents involving the posses-sion (but not the consumption) of small quantities of ‘soft’ drugs will not elicit a criminal procedure, but will still result in administrative punishments, including the confiscation of the drugs and the possible (very likely) application of con-siderable fines; 3) incidents involving the possession of larger quantities of ‘soft’ drugs, the consumption of any quantities of ‘soft’ drugs or the possession and/or consumption of any quantities of ‘hard’ drugs will result in a temporary arrest, be criminally prosecuted and possibly re-sult in a prison sentence of one to twelve years. EYP Portugal reserves the right to, depending on the gravity of the offence, report the offenders to the police.

General rules of conductAll participants will be asked to sign EYP Portugal’s code of conduct, including rules regarding general expected con-duct, as well as all further disclaimers and the rules already covered in this booklet. We ask that you take that code of con-duct with seriousness and that you ob-serve those rules from the moment of your arrival, all through your stay at the forum and until your departure.

Leaving the official programmeManaging an event with more than 90 people is not an easy task. As such, to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible, the Organisers will need to be able to know where to find all partic-ipants at all times. This means that you cannot leave the forum for any amount of time without express permission from the Head-organisers and, for participants other than the Organisers, the Editors, the President or the Jurors, your imme-diate superior(s) – if you are a Delegate, your immediate superior will be your Chairperson; if you are a Chairperson or a Vice-president, that will be the President; if you are a Journalist or a Video-editor, those will be your Editors.

The following rules and requirements are valid all throughout the forum,

from the moment of the participants’ arrival and until their departure. The Organisers and the European Youth Parliament Portugal will not take any responsibility for any situations arising

from a lack of observance of these rules. Likewise, the participants are ul-timately responsible for their conduct, their wellbeing and the safety of their objects.

Check List

-Arrange your travel to and from Guim-arães. If you are a part of a Delegation, this will be coordinated by your Teach-er(s); if you are an Individual Delegate you must do it yourself and you are ex-pected to arrive at the Pousada da Ju-ventude de Guimarães, from 12.30 until 14.30 on Friday, March 13th and your departure can take place as early as 19.00 on Sunday, March 15th. If you are an Official, you are expected to arrive at the above mentioned Pousada by 08.30 on Friday, March 13th and your depar-ture can take place by 20.30 on Sunday, March 15th. The Organisers will be in touch to plan transfers from your arrival points to the meeting point on Friday, but please make sure you book your travel to allow enough time for these transfers. If this is the case for you, make sure you get your visa in time.

-If you require a formal invitation let-ter, please be sure to request it to the Head-organisers.Make sure your travel documents and/or your ID are in order and bring it/them with you to the session. Make sure you have valid travel and/or health insurance that is/are valid in Portugal. If you are a Delegate, this will be coordi-nated/taken care of by your Teacher(s). Individual Delegates should also make sure to bring said documents. If you are an Official, please make sure you take care of this, yourself (or ask your par-ents/legal guardians to do it, if you are a minor).

-Complete and submit your travel and participation form. If you are a Dele-gate, this will be taken care of by your Teacher(s). If you are an Individual Dele-gate, the Head-organisers will give you more information on how to procced regarding this matter. If you are an Of-ficial, please make sure you take care of this, yourself (if somehow you did not receive this e-mail, please get in touch with the Head-organisers).

-Transfer your participation fee. If you are a Delegate, this will be taken care of by your Teacher(s). If you are an In-dividual Delegate or a Portuguese Of-ficial, the Head-organisers will inform you on how to procced.

-This goes for all participants, espe-cially for the Delegates: once you have received the Academic Preparation Kit (which will be sent to you very soon), read it carefully and use it as a stepping stone to your own research. Also, while you should obviously prioritise the top-ic of your Committee, you should still make sure you dedicate enough time and attention to the others’, as that will be the only way of ensuring a good lev-el of debate at the General Assembly. In addition to a guide on how the Euro-pean Union and its institutions function and the Overviews for each Committee Topic, the Academic Preparation Kit will also include instructions for further preparatory work, so make sure to keep an eye out for those and stick to the deadlines therein.

-While Internet will be available during some moments of the session, it may be difficult to print any materials (es-pecially if this requires printing many pages). As such, you should definitely print out and/or save offline copies of all your research materials and docu-ments and bring them with you to the session.

-If possible, we would highly recom-mend that all Delegates bring their laptops and/or smartphones. If you do, please remember to bring all nec-essary chargers. Chairpersons must all bring their laptops and chargers. Jour-nalists must bring their laptops and, if possible, also their cameras and all respective chargers. Video-editors are reminded to bring their laptops, cam-eras and all other materials used in the recording and editing of videos. If you are an international participant, make

sure that you check whether any elec-trical current adaptors are required for you to connect your devices in Portugal and then remember to pack those, too!

-Prepare your regional/national foods, beverages and costumes, as well as any other representative items (bro-chures, flags, etc.) for the EuroVillage. Also, remember to pack them within easy reach, as all foodstuffs (especially perishable ones) will have to be hand-ed over to the Organisers during the check-in.

-Check the weather forecast for Gui-marães and pack accordingly, remem-bering to include: 1) enough sets of clothes as per the programme and the dress codes above; 2) your outfit/cos-tume for the Theme Party; 3) all toilet-ries and any medication that you are on and/or believe you will need; 4) a bath towel and any other specific personal accessories you will want to have with you.

-‘Like’, subscribe to and engage with the official Facebook pages of EYP Portugal and of Guimarães 2015 (see ‘Contacts’, below). Frequently check your e-mail accounts: on top of all the information we will be sending you, if you are a Delegate, you can also expect to hear from your Chairperson after the allocations have been made and the Academic Preparation Kit has been sent out.

If you have read this far, congratulations! To make it easier for you, here is a quick checklist of all the things you will have to keep in mind, take care of and/or bring with you to the session.

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Contacts

All general queries should be addressed to the Head-organisers of the session. Any more specific queries may be taken up with EYP Portugal.Matters of an academic nature will be dealt with by the Chairper-sons, who will contact their Delegates directly.

APPEJ – Associação Portuguesa do Parlamento Europeu dos Jovens/European Youth Parliament PortugalE-mail address: geral@pejportugal.comWebsite: www.pejportugal.com

Inter-Regional Forum of EYP Portugal - Guimarães 2015Email address: interregionalforum@pejportugal.comOfficial Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inter-Region-al-Forum-of-EYP-Portugal-Guimarães-2015

Head-organisersE-mail address: interregionalforum@pejportugal.com (reaches both)Telephone numbers:Mafalda Rodrigues - (+351) 915676118Miguel Paiva – (+351) 912702185

Session PresidentAnna BorrellE-mail address: annaborrell23@gmail.com

Under the patronage of I.P.D.J. and the Municipality of Guimarães

With the appreciated support of Hotel S. Mamede, Pousada da Juventude de Guimarães, Escola Secundária Francisco de Holanda e Paço dos Duques.