Attending a concert, an opera or a ballet has always been an ambiguous and contradictory experience. The lofty piece of art has never left a tone of detachment, as there were distinct moments of clear attraction and times of endless boredom. Tracing the reasons of this contradiction, it became clear, that the duos, trios, artistic groups or bands win the championship for our attention. The awkward moments of stage’s solitude and loneliness get easily lots in the enthusiasm and astonishment of a marvelous group performance. Artistic endeavor is contagious: it spreads, permeates, brings and ties creative minds. EYPigeon has always been run by a solo, until today. The old proverb says: “Two Minds are always better than One” One might say that the star time of proverbs, aka superstitions has already passed, and the world has become a world of competition

between the better and the best. No doubt, a healthy competition can do much good for an artistic person, but what about cooperation within the duo, the cooperation within the band?

Our duo, Alex and Oleksii (or Alex & Alex, if you want) are more than excited to re-launch EYPigeon. The most significant project of the PR Department of EYP – Ukraine has been entrusted to us. Some people may consider us as creative and artistic persons, therefore expect from our cooperation something incredible. We will try to equal the hopes, and even to exceed them. The first issue is just the start of our collaboration, so you may not find it very different from the previous edition, but it is just the beginning, and more changes are coming.

Two Is Always Better Than One

We Are Who We Are

French Speaking ClubLet me share a small story with you. There was a handsome young man, all excited about his first session abroad, chatting with everyone and raising his awareness of

foreign cultures. He met every single session’s participant, but one – the inexpugnable and clandestine young lady from the French delegation. Her piquant French

presumptuousness and constant refusals to speak English, only exaggerated man’s strong feelings. With no knowledge of French, driven by the insatiable desire and guided by his

feelings, he started learning another language. He joined the French Speaking Club of EYP Ukraine and is going to fulfill his dream. Join in, if you feel the same!

EYP Ukraine’s Movie ClubDo you think EYP is too formal and only politically oriented? If you do, you probably have not heard about the newly established project of the European Youth Parliament Ukraine – the Movie Club. The specially designed by the PR Department project is a

perfect mixture of mastering English language and accumulating knowledge in the sphere of film industry. The first meeting has been conducted and all the participants

had a great opportunity to watch the “Submarine” laying on the comfy sofas of the movie theater. The visual masterpiece, directed by Richard Ayoadi understated the common

perception of movie production and remained murky in the participants’ minds for the rest of the evening.

Contageous EYP Love

The succession of legendary sessions of EYP-Ukraine in 2013 started in a vivid and inspiring fashion in Ivano-Frankivsk where the 7th National Session took place from 6th to 10th of February. The session was a unique experience of discovery for most of the participants that still recollect its memories with warmth in their hearts and smiles on their faces. Some could still remember having their first sleep on a train with actual specific bed and snoring neighbours, fellow loud EYP-ers and a unique atmosphere created by the songs transmitted through

the loudspeakers. Waking up to a rhythmic clatter of the train wheels on tracks is something not everyone is so lucky to experience.The moments of interaction between the Session and the city were beautiful. The amused faces of the inhabitants of a quiet city when encountering a noisy crowd of 100 weird speaking youngsters were priceless. However, even those citizens of Ivano-Frankivsk who were not lucky enough to meet the participants on the street could, without a doubt, soak in the true EYP teambuilding spirit when watching the local

news. How could they not show a whole place in front of the City Hall full of dancing and singing people, who are said to be Europe’s future?Though I won’t surprise anyone by saying this, one of the highlights of the session happened on the last night – Euroconcert. Not only did the participants use this opportunity to reveal their talents and passions, but all the spectators and guests were incredibly inspired by the performances. This was indeed one of the truly special moments that happen only a few times in one’s life.

By Tetiana Korniichuk

NEVER, PLEASE, NEVER APPLYas a journalist for an International Session of

EYP

By Lidia Zhgyr

Does it make sense? First of all, you will not be selected, secondly, the jury members will make fun of your application, thirdly, who is a journalist – embryo of a chair? No, stop thinking about it.Or maybe… Just imagine: 300 people, represented by 36 nations, 300 outstanding minds which are vigorously trying to make this world a better place, and everyone knows you not because you have long hair, but because you are a journalist (that one with long hair). Your media team is so mind-blowing, that you would marry them all and shoot yourself. Your editor is amazing. She is your Chair, you sister, your best friend, your Mom and Dad. Yes, she may give you a spanking for missing a deadline, but her shoulder is so soft when you are exhausted and seeking for inspiration to finish another article on “Whatever at this session is cooler than in Ghent”. And you can use someone’s camera with a brain-killing lens just anytime for a cookie, or a smile, depending on the owner. Your fellow delegation makes

you proud at every step, and you don’t need to follow them to make a proper media coverage for our NC. They are already the favourites of the camera and get into each and every video. They do not follow the Session’s inside jokes. They create them. They don’t even need to get on the stage during the GA to convince the proposing committee that their resolution doesn’t worth paper. Dr. Flowers loves them. You can criticise your committee’s resolution like an expert and make your delegates crazy, but prepared for the GA like nobody else. You feel the power, especially when you need to spend a whole night and make a vast research on the topic in order to find at least a lame drawback in the resolution. Journalist’s position at an IS is the opportunity to take. The emotions, experience and the sweet aftertaste… Nothing can compete with it. And, as practice states, it is open for new people. So, accept the challenge and apply as a journalist for International Sessions! Or, don’t… leave this fame with me forever

Until the very first moment when the plane safely landed in the gray Belgian capital I could not believe the fact that

Ghent2013 is finally here. Nothing possible could describe how ecstatic I felt, when the 8 month of anxiety and anticipation instantly turned into the

lifetime adventure.Met by one an organizer and passed to

another like a precious parcel delivered by the post officers, I reached my destination

point – Ghent. Taking off at Ghent St. Pieters Railway station, the mundane

world was left behind, and I entered the Belgian miracle. Passing by the tall

medieval churches, wide canals, local breweries and thousands of fixed-gear

bikes, I entered the first venue of the session and met the Media Team of my

life. Thrilled by prospective opportunities, filled with passion, exaggerated by the

fervor of competition with Munich IS and guided by the skilled editors – Randolf

and Robin, Ghent2013 Media Team

stepped over the edge of reality, bringing the highest quality media products to live.

Shifting venues, we walked through ages fulfilling the main theme of the session – “Youth in Progress”. Feeling like a lord at the Ghent city Hall during the Opening Ceremony soon metamorphosed into a

liberal-hipster party sense at the famous Vooruit and then over and over.

In the constant flow of camera and keyboard’s clicks, loud songs and endless

adventures we ended up standing in a huge circle, breaking all the walls of national identity and building bridges of cross-cultural friendship. We have

changed the lyrics of “Imagine”, we have changed ourselves and changed the

world around. No matter of the session’s position, we stood like peers: rejoicing,

crying and longing for

the passing-by Belgian miracle.

By Alex

Guz

enko

You Only

Ghent Once

Long time has already passed since I have had my first foreign

journalist’s experience at Aschaffenburg RSC. Together

with Alexandra Gipsh who was a jury member there, I have faced

the most valuable experience of life in Germany which has

helped me greatly onwards. There are couple things you

should learn about EYP-DE.First of all, if you are met by the organisers and taken to the venue by car, you might expect all the session to be

super-comfy and highest level of service. Please, calm down,

there are also drawbacks of this efficiency-oriented nation.

For example, if you find out that you are going to stay in

a school, prepare yourself for nights in sleeping bags on

camp beds and freeze in the night, because they used to

switch the heating off on the weekend. You should

also know that in Germany the food usually tastes as

it looks, so be careful and trust your associations. Another

observation is that vegetarian food tastes better than normal

there…Impressions… Impressions are incomparable, and after

months of recollections only the brightest ones are on the surface,

but the general experience is 100% positive. Look, how

dramatic it is –to escape from the school to a 0 degree street

to the accompaniment of Alicia Kyes’ “Girl on Fire” trying to

save all the electronic devices with you because someone has

accidentally switched the fire alarm on and the building is

going to be flooded by fire safety system. Astonishing, huh?

AschaffenBURN!

By Lidia Zhgyr

One would call it a miracle, when out of nowhere there is sprouts a magnificent stream of prospective opportunities that is accessible to everyone,

that chaotically flourishes and brings joy to everyone in demand. 13 years ago the stream was weak, but now it is a rapid river that brings one to the ocean of possibilities.Of course the metamorphosis was not conducted by itself, it embraced days and years of hard work of the Board and Leadership members. As citizens of ancient Greece believed that the world stands on a giant turtle and three elephants, the European Youth Parliament Ukraine has the same structure, but represented by different names – Board and Leadership. As an average democratic policy making structure, all the crucial decisions are made during various meetings. May was abundant in meetings, as many clarifications and changes had to be made.As the spinning axis of the European Youth Parliament Ukraine, the Board usually conducts 2-3 meetings per month for the sake of negotiating, establishing and eliminating any flaw that pops out. For the past couple month the Board re-discussed the division of responsibilities, presented monthly reports, negotiated meetings with potential partners, coordinated projects and supervised the preparations for the future events. “The goals have been set, and we are working on achieving them with the best possible outcome” – said the Board Members.Recently Leadership members had a very fruitful meeting, aimed on restructuring the role of the group as well the selection criteria. The ambivalent question was raised due to the existence of reluctant members in the group. Negotiating, the members have agreed upon the case, that the selection to the Leadership group has to be stricter, and if one does not comply with the rules, he/she should be expelled.It is impossible to have a magnificent organisation out of nowhere. It is the highest product of all the inputs of many people, which we all are proud to call the Board

and the Leadership.

The Policy MakersBy Alex Guzenko

BlackWhite

Spring Overture

by Alex Guzenko and Peter Vladimirov

and

Not long ago the famous troupers of a magnificent orchestra of EYP-Ukraine gathered to present their brand new tune called 6th Kyiv Regional Session. Theatre’s entrance doors were opened for all comers, but not all of them had obtained permission to enter, as the number of seats did not coincide with number of willing people. Not all of them received an entrance e-mail, due to the strict selection. But ones who did were waiting for event with passion. Fidgeting hairs and biting the nails with anxiety, the curtain fell, and the action began. On the 26th of April, all the musicians vigorously took their instruments, the conductor –Ms. Mila Pestun and her assistants Bruno Moreira and Anna Lachykhina raised her baton over head and in a few seconds spring melody began spreading out. It was a three-day concert that gathered virtuosos from all over Europe in Kiev. Apt musicians entered the scene with one aim - to inspire participants and to become inspired. The virtuosos of the CJO team came from Belarus, Portugal, Serbia, and of course from different

regions of Ukraine. The performance was viewed by many delegates – local and coming from abroad: couple of Georgian and Belarusian guys and a girl from Serbia.The concert hall or in other words, the city of Kyiv was a perpetual source of astonishment and admiration for the Serbian foreigners. The rainbow colours, reminiscent of their liberal committee topic, were noticed so often, that any local citizen would ever expect. They have also proclaimed that the session went far beyond the limits of the Regional level, and was more like a short International Forum.Many committee songs were played by 80+ delegates from all over Europe, exposing various European issues, but all the tunes fell under the general theme “Value Europe”. After 2 days of hard work, all the participants learned how to create their own melodies, which were put on paper in the form of the resolution booklet. The peak of magnificence

of the concert came at the General Assembly, where all the 6 committees had an opportunity to present their masterpieces.The artistic edge of the performance did not end only on music. The session’s Euroconcert highlighted other talents of the participants: the touchy poem reading by the Organiser’s team, extraordinary dancing by the Media Team and the object-oriented performance of the Chairs Team. The creativeness of the event was depicted in every issue of the session’s newspaper – “the Wide Angle”.Gaping at the stage, the participants were thrilled by all the performances, and once the curtain rose back, the music stopped, leaving the participants in the complete silence. Standing in the circle and staring at each other like a bunch of romantic couples, the participant shaded their first PED tears, full of happiness and longing for the past couple days.

Did you know that, L is for... Legendary Leopolis

There is a relationship

between gasoline prices and obesity. When gas prices are higher,

people tend to be less fat.

Four of the richest countries in the world with some of the highest personal income,

Bahrain, Brunei, Kuwait, and Qatar, have no tax at all.

Half the population of the world earns only 5% of the world’s total

wealth

It’s the 10th event of

EYP-Ukraine in Lviv.

Lviv hosted all kinds of events, including mini-session, regional

session, national selection session, international session and happy hours, of

course.

Leopolis is the first economical forum of EYP-Ukraine.

Lviv has its own Statue

of Liberty. It is a sculpture on a dome of the house on Freedom

Avenue built by architect Yuriy Zakharevych and decorated by sculptor Leandro Marconi in

1874—1891

On one of the rooftops there is a beautiful white horse. It can be seen from the Lviv City Tower (or

Lviv Clock Tower) on the Rynok Square

One cannot simply miss the stairway to heaven in Lviv, right in the city centre just few steps

from Rynok square, on Virmenska Street.

By Natalia Kalyn

Why Leopolis? Are any Mason signs hidden under it to make sure that the event will be successful?

Marichka: It’s a wonderful Latin name of the city that emphasizes the nobility of lions - the guards of the city. And well, masons are really everywhere, even if you do not see their signs, it does not mean that they do not exist.

Nazar: Different languages have different names for our city – for example, Lwów in Polish or Lemberg in German. But no one uses Latin language now, it’s dead. So, we’ve chosen it not to offend anyone or express commitment to any nation. Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

What is your favourite place in Lviv?

Marichka: There are thousands of them! Cosiness of «Viennese buns», non- traditional exclusivity of «House of Legends», mystery of High Castle…I like it like crazy!

Nazar: I prefer “Gloria Jeans Coffee” – you know, a place where you can work like a boss. And yes, “House of Legends” is a very EYPish place.

Marichka: Oh yeah, I like Gloria as well. It’s a favourite place for law students Nazar: Stryiskyi Park is also worth of visiting, it’s really wonderful. Also, I have one more favourite place – Arena Lviv but I don’t think you can get it

What inspired you to Head-Organise such a cool event?

Marichka: Nazar will agree with me that our dream to organiae something grand in Lviv was born during a trip to Chernihiv where we participated in the regional session in 2011 as the delegates.

Nazar: That’s true story. Since then, and even more after InterRail, we raved about LEOPOLIS!

Lidia Zhhyr, one of the Head Organisers of the 4th InterRail Tour of EYP Ukraine agreed to answer a couple of our questions:

Could you please tell us about your previous EYP experiences that led you to become an HO of the 4th InterRail Tour?

This will not fit in two sentences. I had 14 sessions already and the 3rd InteRrail was one of the brightest experiences in EYP and it encouraged me to undertake the organisation of the following one.

What does your position in this InterRail entail? What was the preparation you had to do and how did you manage to cope with it?

I was an email answerer, a fundraiser, a psychologist, a crisis manager, a crisis creator, a Facebook page promoter, everyone. I met Julia who became my co-Organiser, making me really happy about organising together and diving into the work flow.

Was everything going according to your plan and are you happy with the results of the 4th InterRail Tour?

I’m overwhelmed with happiness about this event which has finally taken place in 15 Ukrainian cities.

By Kostia Lyabuk

Why Do I Love InterRail?

The “4th InterRail” Tour is an educational project of

EYP Ukraine focused on the local youth in the regions of Ukraine. During one week five teams of CJOs conducted a set of 15 Mini-Sessions in different cities of Ukraine. The country was divided into five regions and each region embraced a chain of three cities. Each of the five CJO teams held three Mini-Sessions in a row. One Mini-Session lasted for 2 days and brought its participants into 4 committees – the average of 10 delegates each. The event resembles a standard framework of an EYP session and includes the following stages: Teambuilding, Committee Work and General Assembly. The 4 Committees worked on the

topics of Human Rights protection, Economical, Cultural, Political and Ecological issues. The Committee’s aim was to reach a consensus in the consistent solution of a particular issue. The Resolution was presented, debated and voted upon at the ‘General Assembly’ (GA). The umbrella topic of the 4th InterRail Tour was “From Association to Agreement”. InterRail’s CJO team included 5 Presidents, 2 Editors, 15 Chairpersons, 5 Journalists, 15 Local Organisrs, 5 Travel Organisers and 2 Head Organisers. Every city had approximately 40 delegates which embrace 600 delegates in total. One CJO team consisted of a President, 3 Chairpersons, a Journalist and a Travel Organiser.

28th of September was the day that gathered quite a bit of active youngsters for the autumn General Assembly of the European Youth Parliament-Ukraine. As always, the event took a grand stand. Joyous exuberation from the people who had recently attended the foreign Sessions and the surprised faces of the organisation’s potential newcomers prevailed the meeting’s attention span. Apart from the less formal part of the meeting, the debates related to the new Board’s Elections came to pass. The point when all the candidates to the Board had the words spoken and given answered replied. The following week of online voting brought new faces in the NGO’s Board. The results of the elections are:

President - Yegor Vlasenko ;Board Member on Public Relations - Olena Yermakova; Board Member on Fundraising - Lidiya Zhgyr; Board Member on Human Resources - Kateryna Yegorova; Board Member on Regional Development - Mike Rozhkov; Board Member on International Activities - Tetiana Korniichuk; Secretary of the Board - Elizaveta Skorobreshchuk.

We would like to thank everyone for the participation in the elections and wish success to our newly selected Board members!

Welcome OnBoard

The Issue is Brought to you by:

Editors:Alex Guzenko and Oleksii Prylipka

Journalists:Lidiia Zjgyr;

Natalia KalynTetiana KorniichukPeter Vladimirov

Alex GuzenkoKonstantin Lyabuk

Front cover design by:Anastasia Lavoshnikova

Peter Vladimirov