THE ARK

Table of Contents

REACHING OUT FROM OUTSIDE IN

PHILOSOPHY OF GROUP DYNAMICS

04 06

07DUBLIN BELFAST - 81ST

INTERNATIONAL SESSION

08# JUSTATAMPON

10THE MBTI

12TRUNKS OF WISDOM HOW TO SPOT A LIAR

14 16THE WORLD'S OLDEST

PROFESSION

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SOIL

18 19ABORTION NIGHTMARE

IN IRELANDBREXIT

20

22IN PRAISE OF GLUTTONY

REACHING OUT FROM OUTSIDE IN

EYP is of ten said to resemble a family. One major reason for this, among others, is that we grow so accustomed to seeing the same famil iar faces at each session that somet imes, af ter just a few events, one can easily claim to personal ly know almost every part icipant present . While enjoying this warm sense of community, i t is very easy to overlook how inherent ly wrong this situat ion actual ly is. EYP is not a privet club or an excuse for a get together between good old f riends. EYP is an opportunity for growth that should always aspire to be more inclusive and available for al l , regardless of their social situat ion or place of residence.

It was with this aim in mind that start ing f rom this year EYP Georgia int roduced a new type of event ? an Inter-Regional Outreach Weekend. Each weekend, which lasts four days, combines two mini two-day events, modif ied versions of t radit ional sessions and is held at two separate locat ions. Within, al l of the locat ions are sited in regions which EYP has previously not had much contact with.

Quite recent experience has shown us that such types of weekends tend to be very ef f icient among young people f rom peripheral sites. It should be ment ioned that despite of not knowing what EYP real ly was and what they were going to do, eyes of theirs were replete with enthusiasm and mot ivat ion. Though, those delegates st i l l need to f ree themselves f rom their own shel ls, they need to raise their voices and be heard. They need to be more involved in projects l ike EYP, because if we want to be real Europeans, European dust must be covering every st reet , every garden and each f lower.

By our weekend we enhanced, we made base for future development, we planted seeds in those regions which, we do hope, wil l grow into a very st rong and f ruit ful t rees.

EYP is al l about sharing our ideas, so everybody?s voices must be heard despite of where they come f rom. At last , Shrek t ravel led through a far, far away kingdom to hear blessing f rom the King and Queen.

P.S. Some of our ?outreachers? broke through and may be standing among each of you, next or right behind you, maybe reading this so, thank you for your faith in us!

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BY MARIAM PAGHAVA & NIA CHIGOGIDZE

PHILOSOPHY OF GROUP DYNAMICS

,, The whole is greater than the sum of i ts parts?

Aristotele

General ly, a group is def ined as the col lect ion of individuals who have regular contact and mutual inf luence, and who work together in order to achieve a common set of goals. This system of behaviours and psychological processes occurring within a social group is cal led Group Dynamics.

For a long t ime, i t was bel ieved that the act ions of groups were nothing more than those of i ts members considered separately. But then a German-American psychologist , Kurt Lewin, int roduced the interact ionism formula B = ?(P, E) which explained group phenomena, where a member's personal characterist ics (P) interact with the environmental factors of the group, (E) i ts members, and they together el icit the behaviour (B).

In order to prove the theory that group dynamics play key role in how society operates a very interest ing experiment was carried out : Dif ferent groups, comprised of high-school students, were given cards with three l ines on them.

Each group was commissioned to select a standard l ine. However, four out of seven groups unanimously chose an incorrect answer. While al l of the students, who had to do the task individual ly, answered correct ly. Apparent ly, group members were bringing their behaviour into agreement with group norms.

Nowadays, i t is widely bel ieved that group dynamics are al l about social inf luence, which is connected to the changes in behaviour shaped by the other people?s act ions. Studies about this topic involve casual stat ist ics about everyday l i fe. For instance, while dining with others, people eat more than they do when they are alone. The same goes for running - people run faster in the company of others.

Do you recal l those moments of discussions during the commit tee works when you compromised or changed your opinion for the sake of the group? If your answer is yes, then you have as wel l experienced the inf luence of group dynamics.

BY GVANTSA DOLBAIA6

DUBLIN BELFAST - 81ST INTERNATIONAL

SESSION OF EYP

Similar to NBA, EYP has its own al l stars, cal led an Internat ional Session. There are three Internat ional Sessions held every year, gathering bright and talented youngsters f rom over 35 countries. Right af ter the Tbil isi?15, the 80th Internat ional Session of EYP wil l be conducted in Leipzig, where Georgia wil l be represented by the delegat ion comprised of eight gif ted young people as wel l as one of the most experienced EYP Georgia?s alumnus -Ms. Ia Trserodze, who wil l take up the posit ion of a chairperson at the session.

However, the event which I am going to talk about is the 81st Dubl in Bel fast Internat ional Session, held in spring of 2016. The said session wil l be the f irst event in the history of EYP to be organised joint ly by EYP Ireland and EYP United Kingdom. Addit ional ly, under the theme of ?Crossing borders t ranscending conf l ict?, i ts part icipants wil l be crossing borders and thus, experiencing two cit ies and two countries during the session. Therefore, this part icular IS wil l give a unique

opportunity to al l the part icipants to real ise the inf luence that borders have in their l ives and impact that conf l ict has had on the United Kingdom and Ireland. Moreover, the session wil l have ?expert talks?, where delegates wil l be able to discuss their topics with experts and get to know their subject even bet ter.

Session is going to be presided by ?rem Tümer and the cal l for the Of f icials wil l be closed in a few days? t ime. And as Dubl in-Bel fast Internat ional Session has the potent ial to become one of the best and most memorable sessions in history of the organisat ion, I st rongly advise you to t ry your best to become part of this unforget table and mesmerising event !

7BY GUGA SUKHIASHVILI

# JustATampon

For over 200,000 years mankind has existed. And for over 200,000 years women have with persistent stubbornness bled every month. But even today, in a cul ture that so warmly embraces fart jokes, ful l of people who voluntari ly share embarrassing stories about their bowl movements for the sake of amusement, the mere ment ion of menstruat ion st i l l manages to f i l l any room with uncomfortable si lence.

It is hard to bel ieve that so much st igma and embarrassment could be surrounding such a natural and unavoidable bodily funct ion experienced by hal f the populat ion. Many of these prejudices have rel igious roots. Historical ly, menstruat ion was viewed as God?s punishment for the original sin and menstruat ing women were viewed as evil and unclean. In some cul tures menstruat ing women are st i l l banned f rom doing even such

simple everyday task as cooking food or even sleeping in their own bed, in fear of contamination.

Media portrayal also plays a big part in perpetuating the stigma of embarrassment surrounding menstruation. In most popular media, periods are viewed as joke punch lines, the comedic tools used to make women into irrational, raging monsters. Social media is no dif ferent, as recently as two months ago Instagram took down a picture of a completely dressed woman just because a period stain was visible on her pants. So it is understandable that so many women feel so ashamed of not only discussing these issues but of even being seen possessing any sanitary products. However, sadly the problem goes far and beyond the familiar and uncomfortable ritual of sneakily trying to transport your tampon or pad from your bag into your pocket and making it to the

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bathroom without the world spot t ing your appal l ing secret .

Worldwide, only 12% of women have access to clean and safe sanitary. This poor access to qual ity menstrual heal th and hygiene, forces many women around the work to resort to using subst itute materials, such as old rags, newspapers or leaves. Not only does this alarmingly increase the risk of infect ion, i t also has massive impl icat ions on the overal l wel l -being of women and adolescent girls. One in ten girls in Af rica and in many more developing countries misses vital school ing during their period, because of embarrassment of not knowing how to deal with the situat ion and fear of bul lying. This may not seem as such a big issue at f irst , however these absences can round up to girls missing 20% of the school year and instances as such leading to them dropping out of school al l together are not uncommon. Despite how almost brutal ly disturbing the fact that such

l i fe-paralysing ef fects could stem f rom such a common bodily funct ion, there is next to no awareness around the issue. This can once again be related to the ?del icate nature? of the topic, of people?s unwil l ingness to discuss it . That is why such inst itut ions as Plan are so important . Plan is an UK-based charity that recent ly started the JustATampon movement. Via this campaign, they aim to improve women?s access to af fordable sanitary products by dist ribut ing hygiene packs with recyclable sanitary towels. But they also hope to break the taboo surrounding menstruat ion by get t ing men more informed and involved in the conversat ion around periods and encouraging everyone to take pictures with pads or tampons just to show that these are not some scary, myst ical objects that should never see the l ight of day, i t is # JustATampon, a piece of st ring at tached to some cot ton, as harmless as it gets.

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BY NIA CHIGOGIDZE

THE MBTI

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a quest ionnaire that explores psychological preferences in people?s worldviews based on a theory suggested by Carl Jung, who noted that humans experience the world by four psychological funct ions: sensat ion, intuit ion, thinking and feel ing. There are four dichotomies in Jung?s theory:

-Extraversion (E) or Int roversion (I) - focuses either on the outer or inner world.

- Sensing (S) or Intuit ion (I) focuses either on the basic informat ion he/she takes in or ways he/she interprets things and adds meaning.

-Thinking (T) or Feel ing (F) ? concentrates more on logic and consistency than people and special circumstances.

-Judging (J) or Perceiving (P) ?prefers to either get things decided or stay open to new informat ion and opt ions.

The interact ions among these four dichotomies make up sixteen dist inct ive personal ity types, each ent it led with its dominant qual ity.

AN

ALY

STS

-INTJ?Architect a.k.a. ?The Virgin Newfag Trol l?

Imaginat ive and st rategic thinkers with a plan for everything.

- ENTJ - Commander a.k.a. ?The Evil Overload? Bold, imaginat ive and st rong-wil led leaders, always f inding a way, or making one.

- ENTP?Debater a.k.a. ?The God?

Smart and curious thinkers who cannot resist an intel lectual chal lenge.

- INTP?Logician a.k.a. ?The Analyser?

Innovat ive inventors with an unquenchable thirst for.knowledge.

DIP

LOM

ATS

- INFP - Mediator a.k.a. ?The Brainy Perfect ionist?

Poet ic, kind and al t ruist ic people, always eager to help a good cause.

- INFJ? Advocate a.k.a. ?The Princess Gandhi?

Quiet and myst ical , yet , very inspiring and t ireless ideal ist ic.

- ENFJ?Protagonist a.k.a. ?The Princess Jesus?

Charismat ic and inspiring leaders, able to mesmerise their l isteners.

- ENFP?Campaigner a.k.a. ?The Weirdo?

Enthusiast ic, creat ive and sociable f ree spiri ts, who can always f ind a reason to smile.

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EXP

LOR

ERS

SENTIN

ELS

- ISTP ? Virtuoso a.k.a. ?The Craf ter?

Bold and pract ical experimenters, masters of al l kinds of tools.

- ISFP ? Adventurer a.k.a. ?The Emo?

Flexible and charming art ists, always ready to explore and experience something new.

- ESTP ? Entrepreneur a.k.a. ?The At tent ion Demanding?

Smart , energet ic and very perspect ive people, who t ruly enjoy l iving on the edge.

- ESFP ? Entertainer a.k.a. ? Loose Morals? Spontaneous, energet ic and enthusiast ic people.

- ESFJ?Consul a.k.a. ?The Useless Bigmouth?

Extraordinari ly caring, social and popular people, always eager to help.

- ISTJ ? Logist ician a.k.a. ?St ick Up Her Ass?

Pract ical and fact-mined individuals, whose rel iabil i ty cannot be doubted.

- ISFJ ? Defender a.k.a. ? I Wanna Die for Your Sins?

Very dedicated and warm protectors, always ready to defend their loved ones.

- ESTJ ? Execut ive a.k.a. ?The Annoying Tsundere?

Excel lent administ rators, unsurpassed at managing things or people.

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BY ELENE AMBIDZE

TRUNKS OF WISDOM

?A very large plant-eat ing mammal with a prehensile t runk, long curved ivory tusks, and large ears, nat ive to Af rica and southern Asia. It is the largest l iving land animal .?  

Af ter reading this def init ion, i t is indeed clear to us that we are talking about an elephant .

We have a sharp image of what the word ?elephant? stands for, however, where do our associat ions come f rom?

There are three elephant species: the Af rican Forest Elephant , Af rican Bush Elephant and Asian Elephant . General ly, i t can be said that mainly Asian Elephants were tamed and used for dif ferent purposes, such as pul l ing t ree-t runks or entertaining in circuses. A wel l -t rained elephant would know up to 23 commands. The earl iest indicators of tamed elephants go back to the 3rd century BC.

Not only is an elephant said to be wise and st rong, but also evil and clumsy. They might seem clumsy because of their size, whereas, their reputat ion to be evil comes f rom early t imes, when elephants were used in war. The most wel l -known bat t le, where war elephants were used, happened when Hannibal crossed the Pyreneans and Alps around 218 BC in order to reach Rome. During the long journey, numerous elephants lost their l ives due to the

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extremely low temperatures and lack of food. War elephants soon lost their popularity as the expenditure was extremely high compared to the actual usage.

In circuses as wel l as in zoos, on the other hand, one can earn a lot of money as elephants are and have always been one of the biggest at t ract ions. Yet , accidents of ten happen between elephants and humans. The movie ?Water for Elephants? picked up these problems and showed the sensible personal ity of an elephant in a romant ic, t ragic f rame.

It becomes clear that elephants are more than just any animal . Like dolphins and apes, they are even able to recognise themselves in mirrors which make them sel f -conscious. Furthermore, these intel l igent animals can count and do simple addit ions, probably because it helps them check whether the herd is complete. Elephants seem to care about their dead fel lows and wander to vi l lages, whose inhabitants ki l led animals of the herd. We of ten say that someone has a big heart and elephants def initely do as their heart can weigh between 12 and 21 ki lograms.

But why do we have the elephant as a session logo? In 1972, Tbil isi was f looded, causing serious damages and taking human l ives, just l ike this year. At that t ime, the zoo was also under water and a single elephant escaped, roaming the st reets. The elephant became a hero, a long-t ime forgot ten symbol of the city.

The elephant of Tbil isi survived, but unfortunately his kind can be found in the Red Data Book of endangered species.

13

BY

NO

RA

SC

HM

IED

BA

UER

HOW TO SPOT A LIAR

We are being l ied to on a daily basis- f rom the l i t t le white l ies to the monstrous decept ions we hear on TV. Throughout history, we have been t rying to f igure out ways of detect ing l ies, start ing with the medieval torture devices to polygraphs, blood-pressure and breathing monitors, voice-stress analysers, eye t rackers, inf rared brain scanners and who knows what else is st i l l to be invented. However, despite such tools? success under certain circumstances, i t is possible to fool them with enough preparat ion. This is why none of them are considered rel iable or admissible in court .

But what i f i t is not these techniques themselves that are the root of the problem, but the underlying assumpt ion that lying spurs physiological changes? What i f we took a

more direct approach, using communicat ion science to analyse the l ies themselves?

Psychological ly speaking, we l ie in order to create a bet ter image of ourselves. However, our mind in its conscious state only controls about 5% of our cognit ive funct ion, including communicat ion. Therefore, while our brain is busy dreaming, i t lets plenty of signals sl ip by, since the rest of 95% occurs beyond our awareness. According to the l i terature on real ity monitoring, stories based on imagined experiences are qual itat ively dif ferent f rom those based on real experiences. This suggests that creat ing a false story about a personal topic takes work and resul ts in a dif ferent pat tern of language use.

The technology, known as the ?l inguist ic text analysis?, has helped ident ify four such common pat terns. First ly, l iars reference themselves less when making decept ive statements. They write or talk more about others, of ten using the third person to distance themselves f rom their l ie. Compare ?No party took place at this house? to ?I did not host a party here?. Which one sounds faker? As a reference, let?s take the famous example of the seven-t ime Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. When comparing a 2005 interview, in which he had denied taking performance-enhancing drugs, to a 2013 interview, in which he admit ted it , his use of personal pronouns increased by nearly

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third-fourth. Secondly, l iars tend to be more negat ive as on a subconscious level they feel guil ty about lying. For instance, a l iar might say ?Sorry, my stupid phone bat tery died, I hate that thing?. Thirdly, l iars typical ly explain events in simpler terms since our brains st ruggle to build a complex l ie. However, and this leads us to the last pat tern, even though l iars keep descript ions simpler, they tend to use longer and more convoluted sentence st ructure, insert ing unnecessary words and irrelevant but factual sounding details.

So how is this informat ion useful for your daily l i fe? You can start by ident ifying the four clues that give a l iar away: minimal sel f -reference, negat ive language, simple explanat ion and convoluted phrasing. However, as much as these t ips can help you real ise when someone is fool ing you, also keep in mind that most of the l ies we hear on a daily basis are, af ter al l , quite harmless and there is no reason to lose our minds t rying to ident ify each and every single one of them.

15

BY MARIA TEJA

THE WORLD'S OLDEST PROFESSION

Is prost itut ion a crime? This is a compl icated quest ion that is current ly being debated around the world as on August 11th

Amnesty Internat ional , a human rightS charity, announced its support for decriminal ising prost itut ion between consent ing adul ts. However, laws on prost itut ion dif fer by country. For instance, in Britain sex for sale is legal but pimping and brothels are not , while in the US it is i l legal in al l states besides Nevada. In Sweden and Norway there is a law that punishes just the pimps and johns.

The amnesty decision has found f ierce opposit ion. Coal it ion Against Traf f icking in Women, an NGO, wrote a let ter signed by former sex workers and famous actors, including Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet and Lena Dunham, which

argues that i t ?wil l in ef fect support a system of gender apartheid?, that prost itut ion as a t rade inevitably leads to the t raf f icking of vulnerable number of women t raf f icked women.

For instance, since sex work was legal ised in Germany the number of women t raf f icked to the country has boomed and it has become the ?Bordel lo of Europe?. Many campaigners and feminists argue that prost itut ion, whether voluntary or not , is a form of violence against women.The Right of Women organisat ion says that current legislat ions "enshrine men's right to buy women". In London, sex workers suf fer a mortal i ty rate that is "12 t imes higher than average".

While discussing this topic, many think that the ?Swedish model? is the one to be fol lowed. Instead of prosecut ing women for sel l ing sex, they made buying sex i l legal in 1999 and by that they are t rying to wipe out prost itut ion by reducing demand on it . With this kind of pol icy, st reet prost itut ion dropped of f , but then again there is no st rong evidence that this st rategy wil l actual ly work in other less developed

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countries. The Swedish experts report that however wel l -intent ioned this law could be, i t made l i fe more dangerous for sex workers. The pol icy has pushed their t ransact ions into the shadows, so now it is hard to tel l i f the working environment for them is safe or not . This law has not made any impact on cl ients to become less-abusive. Violence against prost itut ion can go unpunished as women may be less l ikely to go to the pol ice if they are considered to be at the margin of the law. Prost itutes may also be less l ikely to seek medical advice.

Sex workers' rights groups debate that many sex workers enter the industry voluntari ly. Earl ier this year, Amnesty Internat ional publ ished a draf t pol icy saying sex workers should be ent it led to the same rights as other workers. It argues that the criminal isat ion of prost itut ion "threatens the rights to heal th, non-discriminat ion, equal ity, privacy, and security" of a sex worker. If sex workers are al lowed to work together in one building, they wil l be safer, says IUSW. They wil l be bet ter able to negot iate condom usage, enforce their rules, turn down cl ients, talk to heal thcare workers and have typical labour protect ions that everybody else has.

State of Rhode Island did see that decriminal isat ion of prost itut ion increased indoor sex work but , on the other hand, number of rape of fences dropped of f by 31% . Strong arguments exist on both sides, but can hinge on whether their proponents bel ieve that prost itut ion should be t reated as a job, l ike any other, or whether i t should be discouraged.Prost itut ion, even if made i l legal , wil l not be el iminated, so rather than chasing the elusive goal of stamping out a t rade, the safety of prost itutes who do their work wil l ingly should be made paramount.

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BY ELENE AMBIDZE

INTERNATIONAL YEAR

OF SOIL

Soils are something we take for granted - the earth that we step on, the f ields on which our crops grow, the basis that carries a whole forest . Do we ever think about soils as essent ials of our daily act ions?

The Internat ional Year of Soils should contribute to the sustainable management of the said resource and inform about i ts uses and importance in order to raise awareness.

Food and water count to our basic needs and for both we need a heal thy soil . Humans have a certain amount of food that they require; with an increasing populat ion and addit ional ly, increasing weal th the demand rises. The global agricul tural product ion must be increased by 60% unt i l the year 2050. Whereas, 58% more food could be produced by a sustainable soil management alone.Fert i le soils store water and oxygen and contain nutrients that the plants take up, resul t ing in growth. The plants then act as a protect ion and stabil isat ion for the soils, prevent ing soil degradat ion and desert if icat ion.

Intensive agricul ture, monocul ture, deep t i l lage, overuse of fert i l isers and pest icides, the usage of heavy machines and similar, destroy a heal thy soil . When pol luted, the soil st ructure and water retent ion capacity undergo change and thus, biodiversity is decreased while erosion and degradat ion become a problem.

These problems as wel l as the soils themselves can have a direct impact on the cl imate change. Sustainably managed soils can store a major amount of terrestrial carbon, however if soils are unheal thy they even emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. With a cont inuous conversion of grasslands and forests to f ields for crops, exact ly this happened throughout the last centuries. These lands are exploited and destroyed, a t reasure of which one cent imetre of soil can need up to 1000 years to form.

In order to be heal thy, a soil has to funct ion as a l iving system that keeps us al ive.

BY NORA SCHMIEDBAUER

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Abort ion Nightmare in Ireland

With a major Amnesty Internat ional campaign ?My body ? My rights? spreading around the world, and the posit ive changes in a general level of contracept ion awareness, i t is st i l l fair to say that the current situat ion concerning the at t i tude to abort ion in some of the European countries is cruel .

Every day, at least 10 women and girls t ravel f rom Ireland to England for an abort ion. Around 4,000 make the journey to Britain or elsewhere in Europe every year, to be more precise. Those who cannot t ravel can become desperate. Some consider suicide or potent ial ly l i fe-threatening forms of sel f -administered abort ion to be their only opt ion.

Abort ion in Ireland is i l legal with the sole except ion of when the mother?s l i fe is in immediate danger. Women who are pregnant as a resul t of rape or incest face prison if they seek an abort ion, as do those carrying a foetus that has no chance of survival . Instead they must carry the pregnancy to term, with no regard for their mental or physical wel l -being, and the psychological impact on themselves and their partners of being made to give birth to a baby that cannot l ive, or is the resul t of rape or incest .

pregnancy to term, with no regard for their mental or physical wel l -being, and the psychological impact on themselves and their partners of being made to give birth to a baby that cannot l ive, or is the resul t of rape or incest .

To add to that , the Irish state heavily censors informat ion about abort ions abroad and heal thcare workers as wel l as pregnancy counselors are prosecuted if they of fer such informat ion. As a resul t of this pol icy, many women suf fer both physical ly and psychological ly, and some cases end up with the most t ragic consequences. One of these cases happened in 2012 with Savita Halappanavar, who asked for an abort ion several t imes af ter she began miscarrying and was in severe pain. The Galway hospital she went to refused to terminate the pregnancy, in accordance with Ireland?s Const itut ion. Savita died f rom sept ic shock. Her death was ent irely preventable.

19BY MARIAM KUNCHULIYA

Fol lowing David Cameron? electoral success, the prime minister has promised to reshape the t ies between Britain and Europe, before holding a referendum by the end of 2017 on whether to remain or not in the European Union. In the beginning the ?In? campaign was thought to be an easy win, but the publ ic opinion has started to shif t , as ?Brexit? is now a real possibi l i ty. Why do some Britons want to leave the EU and how would this af fect the UK?

The UK?s net contribut ion to the EU has steadily risen over the past years, f rom£3.3 bil l ion in 2008 to £10.5 bil l ion in 2013. Many Euroscept ics say it is unreasonably high. However, leaving the EU does not guarantee lower costs. If we think about i t , Norway contributes almost as much as Britain per head even though it is not in the EU. Some say EU t rade t ies prevent Britain f rom making more lucrat ive deals with Asia. In 2013, 5% of Brit ish exports went to India and China. But Germany sel ls more to these economies, as 10% of their exports went to the two Asian countries in 2013. Ant i EU-campaigners are also opposed to the f ree movement of labour within Europe. Far-right part ies l ike UKIP (United Kingdom

BREXIT

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Independence Party) say EU migrants steal jobs and l ive of f benef its. In spite of this, European migrants in Britain tend to be young workers who contribute more in tax than they take in benef its. The number of EU migrants l iving in Britain and Brit ish expatriates l iving in the EU is roughly the same- 1.8 mil l ion.?Out? campaigners say that Britain?s economy is shackled by EU regulat ions when actual ly the economy is performing wel l and this is one of the countries least regulated. A growth of 2.8 % in GDP has been recorded in the year 2014. Furthermore, leaving could even mean a net loss to the UK economy. Researchers f rom the Nat ional Inst itute of Economic and Social Research in 2004 est imated that an exit f rom the EU would permanent ly reduce UK GDP by 2.25% , most ly due to the reduct ion of foreign direct investment. Al though this analysis might be quite old and the world economy has changed a great deal as wel l , according to the think-tank?s current head, Jonathan Portes, i t is not the only one support ing this theory.

Economists at the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), part of the London School of Economics (LSE), est imated that af ter i ts exit , UK could suf fer income fal ls between 6.3% to 9.5% of GDP. These numbers have been compared to the loss resul t ing f rom the global economic crisis of 2008-2009 and they belong to the special ists? pessimist scenario. In a more opt imist ic view, in which the UK cont inues to have a f ree t rade agreement (FTA) with the EU, it wil l st i l l have losses of 2.2% of GDP.

Right now, 36% of Britons are leaning towards an ?Out? vote (ICM). Once unthinkable, ?Brexit? is in danger of becoming a real ity. Wil l people?s mindset change unt i l the f inal decision? Or do we only have a l i t t le over one year before we say our goodbyes?

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BY MARIA TEJA

IN PRAISE OF GLUTTONY

Nothing is more universal than the love of food. This fact itself explains why it is customary to hold Eurovillages at all international EYP events and give participants an opportunity of spreading their cultures and particularit ies by sharing the most sacred thing any nation has ? its food. The Eurovillage of Tbilisi?15 was a spectacular event, with all the represented amazing us with their elaborate and absolutely delicious presentations. To better celebrate the hard work that went into this event, we held a small survey to determine the most outstanding among the outstanding in dif ferent categories.

The table with the best decorat ions They say, good decorations can almost make the food taste better. The award of the most outstanding decorations at this Eurovillage went to Spain due to its colourful table decorations and national dresses that made a deep impression on our minds. Honourable mentions go to Ukraine, matching f loral outf its and crisp white table settings of which did not go unnoticed.

The number one thing everyone was too scared to t ry Usually, at every Eurovillage there are a few items on

offer that raise some doubts and that people approach with caution. At this Eurovillage this tit le was shared by sweets from Russia and bread with spicy sauce from Azerbaijan. But having tasted both personally, I can say that the hesitation was ungrounded as both of them proved to be absolutely delicious.

The Loudest Table The undisputable winner of this was the Georgian table. Whether it was because Georgia had the biggest table and the most wine or because the national stereotype of obnoxious loudness and roaring laughter hold true, there is no debating that the most of the noise and chaos of the night stemmed directly from the Georgian table.  

The Discovery of the Evening The Eurovillage is entirely about trying, learning and discovering new things to appreciate. So with that in mind, we asked participants what was the one thing they loved the most. And the runaway winner was chips from Belarus. These long and f lat pieces of goodness had people coming back to the table over and over again.

BY NIA CHIGOGIDZE22