Board 2012

The members of EYP Switzerland elected a new board on Saturday, the 18th of February at the General Assembly 2012. The candidate profiles of the different board members can be found below.

Overview of board members:

• Board Presidency – Ueli Staeger
• Board Vice Presidency, National Coordination – Sophie Debrunner Hall
• Support National Coordination – Cecilia Mihaljek
• Communication – Konrad Staeger
• External Affairs – Delia Berner
• National Events – Lukas Bock
• National Conferences – Dominic Degen
• Finances & Membership – Filip Winzap

Board Presidency – Ueli Staeger

Age, occupation, hobbies:
22 years, Bachelor in political science and Arabic. I try to balance all the politics with making classical and modern music, and I enjoy good food, friends and good puns.

What are your school, university and life plans from February 2012 until January 2013?
I’ll finish my Bachelor degree this summer, then take a gap year and do two internships.

What’s your past experience as a delegate, official or within EYP Switzerland? What other experience relevant to your position do you have?
After having started EYP at the 2007 National Selection Conference, I developed a strong enthusiasm for what EYP does. Since then, I’ve participated in about a dozen of sessions as a delegate and official at sessions abroad. Since 2010, I’ve been on the board of EYP Switzerland, first in charge of fundraising and in function of Vice-President. Since February 2011, I’ve had the pleasure of presiding our National Committee.
I believe my studies of political science give me valuable insight in some of decisions our board is faced with on a daily base, and my involvement in the advisory council of Youth in Action Switzerland showed me how our organisation can interact with the broader field of youth organisations.

What is your vision for EYP Switzerland? In what ways should we change – and how do you intend to put this vision into action?
Much rather than change for its own sake, I wish to establish an atmosphere of creative continuity within our organisation. This past year has offered the 2011 board marvellous opportunities for innovation and change, and I like to think that the majority of those were successful. On the other hand, celebrating 15 years of EYP in Switzerland this past summer also showed that we ought to work and present ourselves in a sustainable, defined and “typically EYP” kind of way.
Having established a few major conceptual innovations, notably the Regional Sessions, it is now the time to solidify old and new institutions: We need to breathe even more life into them by letting excellent people work with them, by striving for excellence in our daily work, by establishing them as regularity. As a part of this effort, I will propose to the 2012 board to compile guidebooks for future organisers of the National Selection Conference and the Regional Sessions.
Additionally, I personally feel like we should be doing more for older alumni in Switzerland: we will be offering chairing opportunities at our Regionals, but I also wish to provide activities that touch upon the very nature of EYP, which is politics. In this regard, the second half of 2012 could see the introduction of a new type of event. On top of that, our members also should gain more ownership of our organisation’s future developments. To do this, I would like to include alumni in the establishment of a long-term vision for EYP Switzerland, and we will give members an opportunity to represent EYP by reinforcing the Regional Officers positions.
Regarding another important group of people involved in EYP Switzerland, namely Swiss students who participate as first-time delegates, I believe we can do more to further diversify the pool of participants. I would propose to look into ways of opening EYP to other secondary education institutions that coincide with the EYP’s ideals.
As numerous projects are coming up, notably the International Session Zurich 2013, I also believe we should use synergies between different project management teams. It will be my aim to facilitate these teams’ coordination for everyone’s mutual benefit.
Besides learning about politics, I believe that EYP is all about offering people a personal challenge and the opportunity to change in a welcoming and fascinating environment. Taking our EYP Switzerland to another level with charismatic professionalism is a mission that continues to motivate me, and I’d be delighted to work towards that goal in 2012 as well.

Board Vice Presidency, National Coordination – Sophie Debrunner Hall

Age, occupation, hobbies:
20 years, studying Politics and History at the University of Zurich. Theatre, photography, English literature.

What are your school, university and life plans from February 2012 until January 2013?
Having just begun my BA in Zurich, my plans are mainly to focus on my university studies – accompanied, hopefully, by more opportunities to travel to EYP sessions abroad. I’m also hoping to spend some time in the Summer of 2012 gaining work experience.

What’s your past experience as a delegate, official or within EYP Switzerland? What other experience relevant to your position do you have?
Since joining EYP Switzerland as a delegate in Interlaken09, I’ve been heavily involved in both EYP international in the positions of Journalist, Editor, Chair and Vice-President from a Regional to International level and and the National Committee of EYP Switzerland as regional officer, Head Organiser of the National Session Basel 2010 and a member of the board since 2011.
Having been to four international and ten other sessions in my time in EYP, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the organisation in a wide international context. My understanding of the functioning of EYP International as well as working practice of various different NCs allows me to liase well with other NCs when coordinating with them either one-on-one or at BNC meetings and throw the net far when it comes to advertising calls for officials for Swiss sessions.
Thanks to my personal experience both applying for and selecting for officials’ teams I understand selection procedures and am well placed to support new alumni of EYP Switzerland during their first steps as an official applying abroad.

What is your vision for EYP Switzerland? In what ways should we change – and how do you intend to put this vision into action?
During the past year on the board, there have been a great deal of positive changes and developments; the scale of the NC, the successful IS bid, three trainings and an unprecedented number of officials at foreign sessions to name a few.
The key areas in which I think EYP Switzerland can change for the better during this coming year are the following:
Reach. With the regional sessions in March and April, we can finally engage many schools who until now hadn’t been familiar with the organisation. Whilst continuity is key and we rely heavily of the support of schools who support us regularly, I think it’s time for EYP CH to expand the pool and offer the opportunities which the organisation provides to even more new schools.
International Presence. This has already taken a turn upwards but I’m convinced more is still possible. If elected to the new position for supporting alumni in their applications abroad, I’m keen to help demystify the often daunting application procedure and offer a hand to those who want to continue in EYP. Through strong National Conferences, EYP CH has become good at finding interested new delegates – but our retention rate, as one might call it, is not great and that is in part due to the complicated nature of officials’ selections – especially to someone new. That can be changed.
Continuity. There have been a number of incredibly positive changes in the last year, thanks to the hard work of many members of the NC. However, we run the risk of falling back if we don’t cement the new practices and make them the norm. During the year 2012 (especially with the workload of the IS coming up) I’m of the opinion that our key task is to solidify what’s been done already: make it the norm. Only when the shiny new developments have become the norm can we count them a real success: we’ve laid new bricks and it’s time for them to become the foundation so that in another year or two, we can start to build again.

Support National Coordination – Cecilia Mihaljek

Age, occupation, hobbies:
I am a few weeks short of 18, and currently in my second semester at the University of St. Gallen. Although I take great interest in modern art, music and literature, I have lately been active primarily in the field of debate and international politics. As a highly enthusiastic member of Model United Nations, I hope to maintain the same, if not higher, level of involvement in the European Youth Parliament.

What are your school, university and life plans from February 2012 until January 2013?
I aim to complete my “assessment year” by this summer, in which case I will start an economics BA in September 2012 (hopefully complemented by a part-time job).

What’s your past experience as a delegate, official or within EYP Switzerland? What other experience relevant to your position do you have?

In EYP:
Delegate NSC Basel, Switzerland 2010; IS Lviv, Ukraine 2010; IS Grenoble, France 2011.
Organiser: NSC Ticino 2011, Regional Session St. Gallen 2012 (Head Organizer), IS Zurich 2013 (Head of Finance & Legal).

In Model United Nations:
Delegate Basel Model UN, 2007-2009; Paris Model UN, 2010-2011
Chair: Basel Model UN, 2009-2010
Other: President of the General Assembly Basel Model UN 2011, Current St. Gallen MUN member and representative for JUNESMUN (Youth UN network of Switzerland)

What is your vision for EYP Switzerland? In what ways should we change – and how do you intend to put this vision into action?
“Change” is a delicate word when discussing EYP Switzerland. On the one hand, the Swiss unit exists only within the structure of the European Youth Parliament as a whole; yet on the other, it is uniquely shaped and directed by its own members. The predetermined international configuration should not stand in the way of our creativity and development, just like our independence should not be exploited to the point where we become incongruous with the network as a whole.
“Progress” better describes what EYP Switzerland has been going through in the last few months; something I hope will become a pattern. The introduction of four Regional Sessions in 2012 provides the perfect example: more schools will be reached, more alumni (both Swiss and international) will have the opportunity to be officials, and in the long term, EYP CH itself will grow both in size and experience. Although each RS is one of a kind, the familiar structure makes them compatible with both the Swiss system and the greater European one. Furthermore, as I have come to see through my own experience as an organiser, the goal of having four one-day sessions is ambitious but realistic.
My vision for EYP Switzerland is not one of colossal change and large-scale projects: the workload behind the Regionals, NSC and IS is not to be underestimated. Yet these events should not be seen as an obstacle, rather as a framework for development: working on what we have (thus improving the already high quality and appeal of Swiss sessions), introducing fresh aspects to these standard conference formats (e.g. expanding the teacher, or even parent program) and complementing them with formal workshops and fun get-togethers (keeping EYP Switzerland both close-knit and connected to the outside world).