the year when the world

ended!

2012

creACT

No 2

Welcome

TABLE OF CONTENTS:Welcome................. 32012 Highlights ......... 4

Youth Center Kreaktiv............ 5Theater Play PAD.............6Super Heroes......... 7Ward Vanlishout........... 8

Scottie Petrovski............. 9Lubica Drangova.........10evs.mk...........11Libertas .............12TOSHYLO 2.0.........13

International Projects...........14

THE WORLD OF CREATIVE AND ACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE

Dear reader,

welcome to the second issue of our yearly newsletter creACT. 2012 its been a really productive

year for us and for our members.

This year we marked it with more than 15 hosted EVS volunteers, we have organized 2 training

courses, many articles published in LIBERTAS, we created the theater performance PAD, we had

the leadership camp in Moklishte, Kavadarci for our Juniors club, we celebrated week against

racism and 5th of December volunteers day, PTPI won golden award, we became full member of

SEEYN and creACTive’s web site won 3rd place for site of the year. Yes, a truly successful year!

Enjoy reading!

Dragan Markoski - Coordinator of creACTive

Highlights 2012

KREAKTIV.MK

WON 3RD PLACE

FOR SITE OF

THE YEAR IN

MACEDONIA

CREACTIVE BECAME A

FULL MEMBER OF THE

SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN

YOUTH NETWORK

PTPI - CREACTIVE CHAPTER WON GOLD REWARD

DURING 2012

CREACTIVE HAS SENT 7

AND HOSTED 14 EVS

VOLUNTEERS

OUR FORMER PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER SCOTTIE

PINKSTER NOW PETROVSKI GOT MARRIED IN

MACEDONIA! ALL THE BEST TO HIM AND HIS LOVELY

WIFE HRISTINA!

YOUTH CENTER KREAKTIV KAVADARCI

Formed in 2009, the youth center KREAKTIV remains a unique place where

Macedonian young people can spent their free time and engage them self in

a variety of non-formal education and leisure time activities.

The center is open daily from 11am to 9pm and it is a place where young

people can come to socialize, learn or just have fun. Young people and other

members of the community can freely join the workshops of English for

kids and adults, juniors volunteers club, happydarci news magazine, debate,

drama, music and dance, literature and many others.

The youth center, Kreaktiv, started a project that called “Youth Against Drugs”. In this project,

local volunteers, together with some European Volunteer Service volunteers, created the

theater group of Kreaktiv and worked on a project, a theater play, on this topic. After 6 months

of hard work, in May, 2012, the big premiere of this drama, PAD, took place. Thirteen actors,

plus technical support from the rest of the Kreaktiv team, took part in this drama. The script,

acting, promotion, design, and overall support of this project was carried out by the members

of the youth center. The idea wasn't to show some professional acting, but to show how youth

see the issues concerning drug use from their point of view. The play was seen by about 300

people in the city cinema; the play was put on a total of two times. This project helped many

young people to think about this subject and also worked as motivation to continue more

active work in the field of theater. Now, Kreaktiv has a stable theater group that works on a

variety of projects. These kinds of projects and activism works very well to keep our youth

active and motivated and to keep supporting their ideas, intellect, and helping them to express

themselves. PAD THEATER PLAY

Summer Camp Super Heroes Return

For the second time, Kreaktiv has organized a summer camp, for ages 15 to 20, called "Super Heroes Return". This camp took place from the 6th to 10th of August at the monastery, St. Nicholas. A group of 20 young people joined the program which was designed to educate them through games and other non-formal education methods. The idea was to create an atmosphere and activities which would be beneficial to the development of existing and creation of new skills. These activities developed their autonomy as youth, creativity, public speech, teamwork, organizational, and leadership skills.

Using non-formal methods through simulation and games, the youths spent several days being motivated and encouraged to use their creativity in unique ways. All of this with one goal to help youth become active citizens and form a group that would organize different kinds of projects in Kavadarci.

This camp was created for youth, by youth; it was run and organized by people in that age group. The coordinative body was made up of international, inter-generational, and local volunteers in Kreaktiv.

Ward Vanlishout - BelgiumWard Vanlishout is a former European Volunteer Service (EVS) volunteer from Belgium that served at Kreaktiv from March 2011 – to September 2012 after extending his year-long stay for an additional six months. Ward heard about this EVS project through his sending organization after they had received a call for application. After looking at the project he knew immediately that the organization would be perfect. Ward was looking for an organization where he could work with youth, engage them in formal and non-formal methods of education, have a flexible work schedule, have the freedom to develop his own projects, and move to a country where he would learn a new language. Based on these criteria, Kreaktiv had everything he was looking for and was a perfect match.

Ward’s first impression was that Kreaktiv was a bit chaotic, but was a warm and open place where he felt welcome from the first moment that he stepped inside. It may be a little hard to adapt at first to a new setting and a new culture. At times, he felt like an outsider with the other EVS volunteers but never at Kreaktiv with the youths. The youth were open-minded and eager to discuss things with him. He got to experiences a variety of new opportunities such as coaching a theatre project, he learned how to make videos, and organized an international training workshop.

When asked if he would recommend the Kreaktiv youth center to other potential volunteers, he said, “Absolutely.” At Kreaktiv you’re free to develop your own projects as well as assist in already existing programs. Kreaktiv is a very supportive organization but the volunteer must also be “up to it”, to use the freedom and flexibility in a responsible way, and sometimes also be persistent in trying to get people to partake in the programs.

His last recommendation for volunteers is to enjoy every moment while you are there. The warmth of the people, the friendships, the food, the wine, and the general culture of Kavadarci; but don’t drink too much rakija. Be patient and flexible, those are two very important things. There is a lot of good will in Macedonia, but the perception of time runs differently here than in other parts of Europe; “ima vreme - there is time.” Don’t hesitate to remind people to help with things; you will probably have to do that from time to time. Lastly, bring some Belgian beer, they all love that.

Scottie Petrovski is a former Peace Corps (PC) volunteer from Michigan, America that served at

Kreaktiv from September, 2009 to May, 2012, but has extended his service and is currently

working with youth in Bitola until January, 2013. While he was here, Scottie helped the

organization in its development process along side his counterpart, Aleksandra Ristova, the

coordinator of Kreaktiv in Kavadarci. When he arrived in Kavadarci, his initial impression of

Kreaktiv was very positive. Over time, he realized that the general atmosphere in Kreaktiv was

something that he himself created. If he was positive, the feeling in the youth center was

positive. Using a new language was somewhat intimidating, but at Kreaktiv it was a bit easier

since the majority of the people there speak English. The staff and other volunteers were very

motivated and eager to start activities with the youth.

After about a month, Scottie began to find his place at Kreaktiv. Every week he had team

meetings with the staff and European Volunteer Service (EVS) volunteers and if he needed to

say something he felt that he was heard at these meetings. But overall, finding your place at the

youth center is up to you. As far as new experiences go, he had several. The work environment

in Macedonia is very different from what it is in America. Sitting down with colleagues in a café

during working hours may seem odd at first, but it helps you get to know your colleagues better

and therefore you all work better together.

His number one goal when coming to Kreaktiv was to develop it into a respected organization

in Kavadarci and he feels that he met that goal by the time that he left. He also accomplished

learning the language and making some very life-long friendships. His most memorable

moment at Kreaktiv was saying “goodbye”. The center threw him a wonderful farewell party

and even made a video for it (check it out online). His biggest challenge was organizing and

managing events that were held and he really had to learn how to work within the city and use

tools that he never knew existed. Scottie highly recommends Kreaktiv to both PC and EVS

volunteers.

Scottie plans to return again to Kreaktiv, with his Macedonian wife that he met while serving in

Kavadarci. He may even wind up living close by in Bitola for a fair duration of time. His final

advice for volunteers is to BE FLEXIBLE and never give up. Keep pushing yourself into new

experiences; Macedonia has a lot to offer, you just have to open yourself up to it.

Scottie PETROVSKI - USA

Lubica Drangova is a former European Volunteer Service

(EVS) volunteer from Slovakia that served from October, 2011 to June, 2012. She found out

about EVS from the internet with her boyfriend. After reading

about the program, she decided that she wanted to go to

Macedonia and thought that Kreaktiv was a perfect choice.

Lubica says that at first she was worried about working at

Kreaktiv. “Am I ready for the youth?” “Will they think that I am

boring?” But once she started working there she realized that it

was going to be a great experience.

When she came to Kreaktiv, Lubica wanted to be a supporter and an inspiration to the youth.

Amongst the various new experiences that she had, she

learned how to use new programs such as Photoshop

and Moviemaker, gain new energy and inspiration, and overall learned how to be a

better person. When asked if she would recommend this project to other EVS volunteers, she said,

“for sure yes, but they must have a positive attitude towards

youth.”

Lubica Drangova

Slovakia

Her most memorable experiences were finishing the play “PAD,” the

countless hikes, hugs, and dances, and all of the successful

workshops that she helped to put on. She hopes that she can return

soon to Kavadarci and see everyone that she had to say

goodbye to. To future volunteers, she suggests that you think about youth activities and projects that you are interested in doing before you come to Kreaktiv and not to forget to visit Makedonska Kuka.

EVS.mk

is an effort of creACTive to bring European Voluntary Service closer to

Macedonian young people. The web portal briefly explains the

procedure for becoming an EVS volunteer and it provides access to

currently open EVS placements. EVS.mk is also a place where former

and current EVS volunteers of creACTive share their personal stories

about volunteering experiences abroad.

LIBERTAS

In 2012 the online youth magazine LIBERTAS wrote and shared thoughts

on literature, dance, education, international mobility, international

organizations, environment and other topics.

We invite you to the following link http://issuu.com/kreaktiv where you can

enjoy reading the different articles and learn more about various issues

Training Course - TOSHYLO 2.0 4th to 9th of May 2012 in Kavadarci, Macedonia

This international training course gathered EVS mentors and coordinators for a 5 day

training course aiming at motivating and empowering participants to improve the

quality of EVS projects for youngster with less opportunities and sustained by the

joining of the organization to a new established network, only for EVS project for the

target group. Outcomes of the training course were increase of quality of EVS projects

and the establishment of a new developed network by making a charter and action

plan, for the benefit of young people facing difficulties in terms of social inclusion.

Spain - April 2

012

International partner projects

Spain - April 2

012

Iceland - February 2012

Switzerland - August 2012

Germany - July 2012

Sweden - December 2012 Ireland - May 2012

Youth association creACTive

Street Rade Konchar 2a

1000 Skopje, Macedonia

P.+389 2 61 30 709

E.hello@kreaktiv.mk

W.www.kreaktiv.mk

YOUTH ASSOCIATION / CREACTIVE / 2012 / COPYRIGHT