European Youth Parliament program prepares future leaders for Ukraine (11/04/01)

European Youth Parliament program prepares future leaders for Ukraine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Vasyl Myroshnychenko was born in Ternopil to a husband-and-wife team of doctors. You would think that the familial influence would be such that he would have considered a medical career. Well, he did not. The 20-year-old student who grew up in the Khmelnytskyi region and now studies in Kyiv has set off on a career path that undoubtedly will veer far from that taken by his parents.

In Ukraine the road he plans to take will be filled with hazards, for Mr. Myroshnychenko, 20, wants to become a politician in the uncertain world of Ukrainian politics, where backroom deals, political betrayal and backstabbing of a political sort and, even of a more lethal nature at times, are nearly the norm.

Mr. Myroshnychenko, who clearly is not planning on taking an alleyway or the gutter to achieve his goal, is learning the game of politics not under the tutelage of some Ukrainian oligarch, but with hundreds of other young people from across the European continent as a member of the European Youth Parliament.

He said membership in the organization, which holds its sessions in different locations in Europe three times a year, has helped him to become familiar with how European politics works in the well-established parliamentary systems of the Old World and to become more aware of the current political realities of modern Europe.

"The major objective is to familiarize European youth with how parliamentary systems work, as well as to increase awareness among the youth about the processes that Europe is currently going through," explained Mr. Myroshnychenko in almost flawless English.

A third-year student at the Institute of International Relations in Kyiv, Mr. Myroshnychenko said he believes that Ukraine must head west towards European integration, as well.

"Ukraine is a European country and should be doing everything possible to move towards Europe, to become more like Europe," explained the young politico.

Mr. Myroshnychenko, who describes himself as an "activist," joined the EYP after a fellow student and friend, Olha Smirnova, became the first Ukrainian student to take part in an EYP session. The two had met as high school students when both were part of a U.S.-sponsored student exchange program.

Ms. Smirnova organized the EYP in Ukraine-making it one of 26 European member countries-after directly contacting the director of the international organization in Fontainebleau, France, where EYP is headquartered. Ms. Smirnova completed the requirements for membership, including the development of an extended essay on "Why I want to be a member of the EYP," before attending her first EYP session in Bern, Switzerland, in the summer of 2000.

Mr. Myroshnychenko, who was already approved for membership by the time of the December 2000 session in Oxford, England, as one of the six founding members of EYP-Ukraine, actually went to his first EYP session in Stockholm, Switzerland in the summer of 2001.

There he and the other 200 to 300 young members from all the countries of Europe participated in parliamentary-type debates of the full EYP body, as well as in smaller panels, on various topics of current interest in Europe. In the end, as they always do, the participants developed proposals, which were voted into a resolution that was presented to the European Parliament of the European Union.

Mr. Myroshnychenko said he was impressed with the process from the outset. "It gives youth a chance to express their opinion and have a say," explained the 20-year-old. "Their recommendations do not necessarily influence the politicians, but they express the thoughts of that youth which will one day take over."

The EYP is an apolitical, independent educational charity established in 1987 by its founder and current president, Bettina Carr-Allinson, who is a former Dutch diplomat.

"It was created to provide a forum where young people from all European countries could meet to work together, learn from each other and express themselves freely about current affairs in Europe and the rest of the world without any political connotations," explained Ms. Carr-Allinson in a dispatch to The Weekly.

She explained that the members are given various topics to research in their own countries, which they then debate during the triennial sessions. The goal is to develop problem-solving skills as well as to identify long-term visions and goals. Another objective is to give young people an opportunity to become sensitized to cultural and ethnic diversity and to accept differences "through tolerance and respect."

The EYP is open to all young people age 16-19 in Europe who are self-motivated, independent thinkers and speak either English or French, said Ms. Carr-Allinson.

Delegates to the sessions are chosen through a process of selection in regional and national competitions that are organized in cooperation with the respective ministries of education of the countries of Europe, including Ukraine and Belarus

In Ukraine, where some students complete high school at age 16 the process is a little different. There the EYP board of directors, of which Mr. Myroshnychenko is vice-president, works with the Ministry of Education, as well as by advertising and through personal contacts, to get the word out about the competition, which includes an essay-writing contest and an interview procedure. He said EYP-Ukraine received some 200 applications from all over Ukraine before the May filing deadline for delegates for the session to be held in Porto, Portugal, this month.

The winners are selected based on the amount of student activities and the degree of their foreign language skills. Also, they are asked to explain how they will contribute to European student life with their membership in EYP and how they will benefit from it. Generally six new students are chosen to go to each session, which is the maximum allowed in the EYP charter for non-European Union countries (delegations from EU member countries get 12 delegates each).

In addition to preparing for and attending international sessions of the EYP, the Ukrainian group organizes youth conferences and meetings in Ukraine. Most recently, on October 20, it held a seminar on the topic of "International Terrorism - The Global Problem of the 21st Century."

The individual country groups must develop the funding to send their delegates to the international sessions, although EYP headquarters does subsidize weaker organizations, such as the one in Ukraine, by giving them reduced participation fees.

Among the organizations and individuals that have supported EYP-Ukraine at the five sessions in which they have been involved are the British Council and the British Foreign Office, NATO, Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe, the Swedish Embassy-Kyiv, the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy-Kyiv, the Fund for Intellectual Cooperation (Ukraine XXI Century), Kraft Foods Ltd., ZAT Obolon and philanthropist Bohdan Hawrylyshyn.

Because the EYP is dedicated to staying above the political fray, EYP-Ukraine, like all the other country organizations, takes no contributions from political parties, explained Mr. Myroshnychenko. He said his organization also has to keep its distance from most other Ukrainian student organizations because too many are controlled by political parties.

"It is very bad that they have no say of their own, but only say what the party wants," said Mr. Myroshnychenko.

As for himself, the EYP-Ukraine leader said he has no shortage of political thoughts and opinions and is not shy about expressing them. He said that if he were forced to pick a political persuasion at this moment he would tend towards the social democratic ideology, although he stressed that as a Ukrainian he has strong national democratic inclinations. He said specifically that he greatly admires the political system of Canada, which he likened to social democracy.

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