Delegates from our school that were selected to attend the national round of EYP (European Youth Parliament) took part in the Kolín 2023 session. As per usual, the event began with team building, which is a crucial aspect of any collaborative project, and this was no exception for the participants of the EYP event. The first day of the event began with a team-building session that aimed to break the ice and create the roots of new friendships among the attendees. Once we arrived at our accommodation, we eagerly awaited the start of the session. Finally, the moment came, and we gathered on a small meadow near our lodging, where we were greeted by the organizers.
The general team-building session began with some games to help the participants feel more comfortable with one another. However, the actual team building began when we were divided into our committees. Each committee was assigned a classroom to work in and engage in activities to help everyone break down barriers and form new friendships.
Aside from the committee work, one of the memorable aspects of the event was the food. On the first night, participants had a Global village where every school brought the food of the country they were representing. There was a great variety of cuisines, including Italian, American, British, Spanish, and Japanese.
The committee work took place on the second day of the event. On Friday, the participants were divided into committees and the goal for that day was to gather information from the topic overview and identify problems, which they called OCs, that could be fixed or mitigated by the EU.
Now for the most favourite part - coffee breaks which our lovely organizers prepared for us every afternoon. During the first part of committee work, participants had a short coffee break where they could relax, grab a snack, and mingle with other delegates. Some committees had already finished identifying their OCs, while others were still working on finding more issues to address. Most committees ended up with six to eight OCs, which they needed to develop solutions for during the second part of committee work on Saturday.
Throughout the day, we debated with our fellow committee members about our ideas, and our chairperson provided support and encouragement to speak up so that the committee could come up with a solid resolution to be presented at the General Assembly on Sunday.
The General Assembly, which was held on the fourth day of the event, was the most anticipated part of the EYP for many participants. This was where all the resolutions created in the previous days were discussed. The General Assembly began with the resolution of the LIBE I committee, which found solutions to the problems of attempted suppression of journalism that is quickly rising and ended with the resolution of the FEMM committee, focusing on the wage gap. Other committees focused on proper treatment and prevention of eating disorders, artificial intelligence, problems surrounding self-medication, accessible and sustainable travelling and many more. Fortunately, all of the committees’ resolutions passed.
The event also had some fun activities, including a farewell party where Czech songs were played in the first half (there was even a competition in Polka dancing), and then for the rest of the night, we danced to the party songs selected by the organizers. Overall, the event was a great success, and we went home with new friendships, memories, and valuable lessons in teamwork and collaboration.
Jana Eisenhammerova, 2. A
Zdroj fotografií: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanYouthParliament/
