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July-December YMCA Bitola Issue 39 & 40Year XI
NEW Volunteer Stories to get you INSPIRED!
Tell us your stories!
When was the last time you served the community?
Have YOU been to SUMMER CAMPrecently?
10 years &40 editions of Notif Y!
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VOLUNTEERISMLETTER FROMTHE EDITOR
MOMENT OFINSPIRATION
06From Baltic to Balkan
After 11 Months, Back at HomeHolland: The Adventure of My Life
Day of the VolunteersThe Best Volunteers in
Macedonia Were RewardedUpcoming Events
Y-TRAINING22Volunteer at Another YMCA
Training for PR in CroatiaWe Learned to Write
At What Point is Our Civil SocietyHate Speech on the Internet
Veni, Vidi, ViciCommunicate Creatively
Youth in Decision MakingUpcoming Events
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CAMPS40YMCA Camps in Europe
The Young Men’s Leadership Project
What Campers Had toSay About YMLP Camp
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Y-MOVIEYoung Men’s Leadership Project
YMLP Promotional Video
Public Relations Promo Video
Spanish with Angel
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ACID TRIPLE52Magical Experience in Bitola
Summer in FlamesPerformance in KosovoPerformance in Croatia
Closing Performance of BitFest
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48 Y-COMIC HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
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YMCAMACEDONIA
YMCABITOLA
8070 LIFE INBITOLA
ABOUTNOTIFYABOUT
YMCA BITOLA
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Toxic Planet 2
Releasing the Art of Comics
From the People of Bitola, To the People of Bitola
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YMCA World Challenge
Guide to a Sweeter Lifept. 3
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The Morning Prayer, The Coffee
88Painting Kole KaninskiPrimary School
Do We Have Sustainable Civic Society Organizations?
Voice of the Youth
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National Secretaries in BrusselsWhere West Meets East
YMCA Europe FestivalYMCA Annual Reports
The Balkan Project
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I do not know. Our ways are different than your ways. The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. There is no quiet place in the white man’s cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in spring or the rustle of the insect’s wings. The clatter only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around the pond at night? I am a red man and do not understand. The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of a pond and the smell of the wind itself, cleaned by a midday rain, or scented with pinon pine. The air is precious to the red man for all things share the same breath, the beast, the tree, the man; they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days he is numb to the stench. But if we sell you our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred as a place where even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow’s flowers. So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will make one condition - the white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers. I am a savage and do not understand any other way. I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train. I am a savage and do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be made more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive. What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected. You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the
moment ofinspirationChief Seattle’s Thoughts
lives of our kin. Teach your children that we have taught our children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. This we know; the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny.We may be brothers after all. We shall see. One thing we know which the white man may one day discover; our God is the same God. You may think now that you own Him as you
wish to own our land; but you cannot. He is the God of man, and His compassion is equal for the red man and the white. The earth is precious to Him, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.The whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste. But in your perishing you will shine brightly fired by the strength of the God who brought you to this land and for some special purpose gave you dominion over this land and over the red man. That destiny is a mystery to us, for we do not understand when the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses are tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires. Where is the thicket? Gone. Where is the eagle? Gone. The end of living and the beginning of survival.”
(Continued from the previous issue of NotifY)
This we know;the earth does not
belong to man;man belongs to
the earth.”
Dear Readers,For 10 years, Notify has been your companion and 40 issues are already left behind us. We grow together, inspire the people to be active and inspire each other in order to make this world a more pleasant place for living.The last three issues of Notify we made a total redesign of the content and the general look of this magazine.The last three issues, the number of Notify downloads from the internet has increased by 120%!Keep writing, and we will never stop appreciating and sharing your stories!Thank you for your feedback and your company all these years!
Letterfrom the
Editor
Viktor IlievEditor-In-Chief
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Y M C ABITOLA
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the au-thor, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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VOLUNTEERISM06From Baltic to Balkan
After 11 Months, Back at HomeHolland: The Adventure of My Life
Day of the VolunteersThe Best Volunteers in
Macedonia Were RewardedUpcoming Events
0810121618
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Stories from Volunteers... In this issue of Notify we offer you a few interesting and inspirational personal stories told by volunteers. On the 13th of September, in YMCA Bitola, we had an interesting event-experience sharing of projects from the European Volunteer Service, between a few volunteers who had just come back from their EVS project, volunteers who had already started their EVS project in Bitola and the ones who were interesting in starting an EVS project in the future. In addition read part of those life stories.
connected with graphic design and audiovisual culture for three years already, so this seemed to be a chance not to miss.
The Complete Weirdness It was certainly not easy to get used to life in a different country and in a much smaller city than the million people Riga. For the first month I hated Bitola with all the hot weather and weird people and mostly nothing much to do. I terribly missed home and even the beauty of Macedonian mountains could not remedy my nostalgia for the sea.
Meantime I was also starting to get my first lessons. That the fastest way to gain the weird foreigner status is the confession that I don’t drink coffee (yes, and I’m still alive!). That it is no use to arrive anywhere in time if you don’t want to be the only (wo)man standing. That any procedure, even the simplest one, could take much more time or more weird direction than you’d ever imagine. And after almost being struck by a car on a pedestrian crossing – that the BMW drivers comply to their fame even in Macedonia.
3000% in FacebookA turning point was my EVS on-arrival training which held place in Sarajevo, where to my great surprise I realized – I miss Bitola and the people there. Apparently the adaptation process had been going on even without my awareness of it. From that point on the life got only better: the weather became cooler, I met new people and gained more tolerance against the different, and was happy to start working with the tasks IMKA Bitola assigned to me: the Notify magazine, making videos and helping in event organization. The out-of-office time – traveling and partying – was also very enriching: during the EVS months the amount of my Facebook friends from all around the world was raised by 3000% and I managed to visit ten countries.
A Piece With MeNow looking back there is just one thing I regret – that I was not open enough to enjoy my experience from the very beginning, giving too much attention to how things should or shouldn’t be: before coming to Balkan I never realized how stressful and hasty I actually was. Being among people whose tradition, lifestyle and mentality differ from the ways you are used to cannot leave you unaffected, so life in Bitola has taught me many lessons and made to reconsider my perceptions, behaviors and thinking patterns. It is not possible to tell yet what is the outcome as the process is still happening. But I am truly happy that I decided to take the challenge and give myself this opportunity of intercultural learning, self–development and adventure. And, although the memories about life in Bitola are becoming more and more surreal, I know I have taken a peace of it with me.
It is a very cold and windy Sunday evening in Riga, my hometown and the capital city of Baltic country Latvia, and I’m sitting with my best friend in our apartment drinking some wine and waiting for a cheesecake delivery. We chat about the weekend spent and the duties for the working days to come. My cat has comfortably settled in my lap, purring. I’m just a month here, but it is already hard to believe that not long ago I was actually living some 3000 kilometers away from home.
It was not an easy decision to leave everything – my flat, my job, my family and friends – and take the challenge of going for five EVS months in Bitola. However, I had been looking for a suitable project
toBalkanWhen I arrived, I hated it. But step by step Bitola changed my mind.“It was not an easy decision to leave everything; my flat, my job, my family and friends; and take the challenge of going for
five EVS months in Bitola.”
By Paula Prauliņa
FromBaltic
“Now looking back there is just one thing I regret – that I was not open enough to enjoy my experience from the very
beginning”
“A turning point was my EVS on-arrival training which held place in Sarajevo, where to my great surprise I realized – I miss Bitola and the people there.”
Photos by Karli-Marie Reyes
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“To make friends from all over the world and be invited to visit them whenever you want, to have enough fund to visit your favorite city in Europe; to listen to your favorite band play on a concert, to learn a
new language… Isn`t that enough?!”
After 11Months ofEVSService,
Back at Home
NotifY: What was your impression from Slovakia, as a host country?
A.K: At first looks exactly like Macedonia, but with time you are starting to notice the differences. Its regulation is better, in every point of view, from aesthetic to administrational.
NotifY: Tell us about the project you were involved in and what were your tasks?
A.K: I volunteered in the Center for free activities, in the northern part of Slovakia and my position was assistant-teacher in different clubs and events.
NotifY: Did you have any free time and how did you spend it?
A.K: Most certainly I did. We often used it to travel in some of the European countries or to visit some of our colleague/ volunteer in the inland.
NotifY: What is your experience and impression from trips to other countries?
A.K: As I mentioned, we traveled a lot. Firstly, I would like to mention: Berlin (two times), Prague (three times), Budapest (two times), Makarska, Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Milan, Madrid, Lisbon and Vila Nova de Milfontes (south western Portugal), than I visited many towns in Slovakia like Bratislava, Nitra, Banska Shtavnica, Koshice, Poprad, Prehov, Zhilina, Chadca, Kremnica, Gelnica, Levocha and etc. The biggest impression I got from Slovakia were the High Tatras, then the national park “Slavic Paradise” and the beautiful castles that you can almost see in every town in Slovakia.
NotifY: Did you learn anything by
participating in this project and what?
A.K: Of course I did learn a lot, especially I learned to learn from life. It is a great experience with children, colleagues, new culture, new language, independent life…
NotifY: Can you tell us top 5 things that made a good impression on you?
A.K: First and foremost: the participation in this kind of institution that provides non formal education, the honor to have colleagues who are coordinators in the same institution, filled with energy and knowledge, people who know how to work with children, is the highest
knowledge and treasure in life. Also, to live with strangers, so-called roommates, from Denmark and Poland, share with them every moment of happiness and weakness, is something I also treasure. To make friends from all over the world and be invited to visit them whenever you want, to have enough fund to visit your favorite city in Europe; to listen to your favorite band play on a concert, to learn a new language… Isn`t that enough?!
NotifY: Would you like to share something you consider special and unusual for the youth in Bitola and the rest of our readers?
A.K: I have to mention here the
experience of hitch-hiking while travelling all over Slovakia. Did not matter if it was about group of six people or only two girls, It went well and smooth. Then the beautiful trips to Berlin. The first was in the Fall and It was a great chance to take extraordinary pictures because of the colors in the city in that period of time, then the second trip brought me the beautiful and lovely friendship with Klemens and Alex- Germans who unreservedly introduced us to the beauty of Berlin. Then the visit of Portugal (on the way there a visit to Milan and Madrid) and the feeling of being for the first time on the Atlantic Ocean. As for the volunteering, I have to mention the trainings/ seminars with 30 other volunteers from all over the world, then the youth
opinion sharing, between my organization and an organization from Sweden, on topic “Racism” and other small and big things that made every day of my life as a volunteer wonderful.
NotifY: What would you recommend to the people who want to go to the EVS in the future?
A.K: It is a call for the people who want to learn something new in life, to communicate and live in a different environment, to gain experience that cannot be gained in other place, project and not even school: apply for one of the European Service Projects and enjoy the benefits it offers.
An Interview with Ana Kuzmanovska
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house and the backyard, and preparing food. My third and most beautiful volunteering experience was taking care for different types of birds in a specially bird habitat.
Notify: Did you had some free time, and how did you spent it?
Viktor: Yes, we had and we mostly spent it for hanging out and travelling.
Viktor: We worked on giving support in factory for making door rugs, then in a horse farm, and in the Foundation Olde Vehte, where we stayed.
Andrej: The project lasted for 2 months with 30 participants from 10 countries, and we all lived together in a house. We had some working places where we helped from Monday to Friday (9am–4pm). The project’s mentors maintained meetings where they helped us if we had some problems.
Enis: “Fireworks” project was short term group EVS with 30 young people. We stayed in a beautiful, typical Dutch house where we lived as one big family. We were divided into 6 groups and each group had own mentor dealing with the volunteers’ management, giving assignments to the volunteers, support the volunteers in their complains, etc. My tasks as a volunteer often has been changing because of the inconstancy of my work place. First I volunteered in a factory that makes door rugs for the American market. I participated there from the very beginning of the process till the end. After 3 weeks spent there, I started volunteering in the house where we lived. There, I was assigned for every day hygiene in the
Notify: General impression of Holland as host country?
Viktor Tanchevski: Holland is a beautiful country with fine climate. We had warm welcome from project’s organizers.
Andrej Vujashinovic: Cleanness and the whole organization impressed me the most, also the people who are warm and always prepare to help.
Enis Ramadanov: Holland impressed me in a positive way. Organization of the whole project, from the very beginning until the end was in a high level. I am very satisfied from accommodation capacity, living conditions, and from the people who were responsible to make our stay more easier and more interesting.
Notify:Tell us something more about the project where you participated, and also what were your tasks?
“For all those who want and have an opportunity to go on
EVS, I will recommend without hesitation to use their chance,
because after that big adventure nothing will be the same!”
- Enis
Holland:the Adventure of My Life
Three volunteer’s stories and experiences of the group project European Volunteer Service in Holland
Andrej: Our free time during the week we spent it for hanging out, games, parties, watching movies, and for the weekends we used it for travelling.
Enis: I had enough free time, which I mostly used it for meeting local people, learning their culture and tradition, their habits and customs. Also, all the volunteers were hanging out through different type of fun, visiting the monuments of this country. However, most of the free time I used it for travelling around Holland and the neighboring countries.
Notify: Did you had opportunities for travelling and visiting other places, and if yes, then what left you special impression?
Viktor: We were in Amsterdam, big city with lot of museums, monuments, cafeterias with free to smoke marihuana, and girls with lack of morality. Also we were in Eindhoven and Paris, beautiful city with lots of monuments.
Andrej: Every new travel was a new experience for us. Our first trip was to Brussels that we organized
“It’s a once in a lifetime chance that you need to experience.”
- Andrej
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it as competition with only one rule: who will be the first on spot without using public transport. On the way to Brussels we met a lot of different people from whom we learned new things, and we also presented our country and culture. Every our next trip continued with hitch-hiking which was a new adventure. Paris was our first excursion where we were all together, and the view from the Eiffel Tower presented the whole city. However, the biggest impression left me Amsterdam, the city that never sleep, the Dutch architecture and beaches in Den-Hague.
Enis: We visited all biggest cities in Holland, and also we had opportunities to visit Paris, Brisel, Antwerp and Luxemburg. All the places had left me big impression especially the way we arrived there by hitch-hiking. During these travels we met different types of people and we visited countries’ monuments.
Notify: Did you learn something from participating in this project and what?
Viktor: We learned lots of nice things, how to work in team, to help each other, to share our knowledge and experience, to gain trust in each other, to respect
to our superior, etc.
Andrej: During those 2 months we lived in a house with 30 different people from 10 countries. From the living with that people we learned different types of living, how to handle in bigger group, how to find mutual language without making some conflicts, and the most important of all is that we discovered and learned new things about us. We gained with bigger self-confidence, knowledge and experience which will be useful in our life.
Enis: I learned a lot of things which will be useful in my life. I met a lot of people and many cultures, I gain a very good friends, also I learned a lot for myself, for my character, and my points of view. I learned to develop and manage on my own in different situations in foreign country. This trip opened me new horizons and stimulated me to volunteer again.
Notify: Can you name something that impressed you?
Viktor: sailing with kayak through river, the parties and travels.
Andrej: Holland as a country and the participants with whom we spent incredible time.
Enis: Amsterdam, the people’s hitch-hiking attitude, the castle Versailles in Paris, friendships between volunteers in the house.
Notify: Do you want to share something that you consider as really interesting and unusual for the young people in Bitola and our other readers?
Viktor: With getting out of home you can learn new and unknown things which can’t learn or read anywhere else and with that the doors will open through the world.
Andrej: Participate on different projects where you could learn for different cultures, different people and to learn more about yourself.
Enis: Definitely those are the alternative ways to travel and accommodation for less money like hitch-hiking and using the social network www.couchsurfing.com.
Notify: What are you going to recommend for other people who want to participate on EVS?
Viktor : Don’t hesitate and use this excellent friendship.
Andrej: It’s a once in a lifetime chance that you need to experience.
Enis: For all those who want and who have opportunity to go on EVS, I will recommend without hesitation to use their chance, because after that big adventure nothing will be the same!
“During those 2 months we lived in a house with 30 different peo-ple from 10 countries. From the living with that people we learned
different types of living, how to handle in bigger group, how to find mutual language without making some conflicts, and the most important of all is that we discovered and learned new things about us. We gained with bigger self-confidence, knowledge and experi-
ence which will be useful in our life.”- Andrej
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Fifth of December, many people concentrate around the world to throw one of the best celebration, which was born a long time ago, but it’s successful in twenty one century. Are you thinking about what it could be? Probably you don’t have so much idea about it, but nowadays the five big continents are immersed in the biggest project ever. Yes! You are right! We are talking about VOLUNTEERING!
How it could not be otherwise, Bitola celebrates this event in the cultural centre. The assistance was a success. Many teenagers, young people and not so young of
them were expecting several presentations which take place there.
YMCA Bitola, the Youth Cultural Center and the American Corner Bitola were explaining all volunteering programs which youth from Macedonia can do around the world like the work camps, the local volunteer service, European Volunteering Service (EVS), UN volunteers and other YMCA volunteering
The Day in Which People Were Rebornto Make the World Better!
“nowadays the five big continents are im-mersed in the biggest project ever. Yes!
You are right! We are talking aboutVOLUNTEERING!”
opportunities. Speaking about volunteering, Macedonian people can develop their work
skills, apart from getting more experience life. They can participate in workshops and activities with many topics like: environment, minority rights, anti-racism, anti-drugs, art & culture, medias and communications, youth sports, disabilities, gender quality and many more. The only thing they
by Angele Aguilar need to do is just apply for one of this amazing programs!
The main anecdote of the event was when the volunteers who are working now in Bitola explained to the audience their personal experience and situation in the country, how they feel, what duties they have, personal opinions about Macedonia, etc. Moreover, they also answered all the questions which the audience did.
Finally, I would like to say that my personal experience is being awesome. I’ve never expected from a so small country like Macedonia so many differences and surprising culture they have. I feel like at home!
“The main goal of this award is promoting volunteerism, per-ceiving the positive volunteer practices, as well as developing and promoting volunteerism.”
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of the volunteer work went to the Association for animal protection “Anima Mundi”; the award for volunteer practice went to the international high-school “Nova”; the award for the media went to the Daily News “Dnevnik”. Also the minister Ristovski assigned certificates to the members of the National Council of development and volunteerism and awarded their efforts in promoting volunteerism, a
On the occasion of the International Volunteers Day, 5th of December, The national Council of development and volunteerism and the Ministry of Welfare and Social Politics, at the end of 2012, awarded the volunteers with the national prize for volunteerism. The main goal of this award is promoting volunteerism, perceiving the positive volunteer practices, as well as developing and promoting volunteerism. Establishing the annual national award for volunteers is a part of the Strategy for promotion and development of the volunteerism (2010-2015) which the Ministry is working on.
The awards were presented in 4 categories: the award for volunteer of the year went to doctor Jovan Krstevski - volunteer in the organization Red Cross in Skopje; the award for organizer
The best volunteers in Macedonia were rewarded!
by Katerina Bozinovskaspecial recognition was awarded to the Red Cross for its great contribution in developing volunteerism.
Traditionally, the Youth Cultural Center from Bitola had the pleasure to organize the assigning the awards of golden, silver and bronze certificate for best volunteers. The bronze certificate went to Djengis Berisha, prominent member of the civil organization Roma SOS from Prilep, and Margarita Popovska, initiator of the humanitarian action “Give a hand, give your life”. The silver certificate for volunteer engagement went to Alexandra Davidovska from Kumanovo. The golden certificate, this year went to Lazar Nanev from Kavadarci, the leader for the affirmation of promotion and development of the juvenile justice.
The EVS program offers you an opportunity to work on a project in non-profit organization in a European country and thus gain an unforgettable international experience. You choose the State and project, and costs are covered! You can find open placements for EVS on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/evsmakedonija.
If you want to learn more about EVS, visit our website www.ymcabitola.org.mk or contact us on [email protected].
VOLUNTEER with EVSUPCOMINGEVENTSVOLUNTEERISM
www.ymcabitola.org.mk www.facebook.com/ymcabitola.org.mk
OPPORTUNITIESLeave the daily monotony and don’t stay passive!
Get Involved!We offer you opportunities to learn,
travel, volunteer and discover new horizons!
Take these opportunities that are in front of you, learn, build your personal resume, gain experience, grow as a person, and take
your future in your hands!
VOLUNTEER @ YMCA BITOLA
STAY INFORMED
Open positions for local volunteers at the moment:- Assistant in Y-Movie- Program assistant- ResearcherNOTE: We don’t expect professionalism, but enthusiasm!
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Y-TRAINING22Volunteer at Another YMCA
Training for Public Relations in Croatia We Learned to Write
At What Point is Our Civil Society?Fighting Hate Speech on the Internet
Veni, Vidi, ViciCommunicate Creatively
Involving Young People in Decision MakingUpcoming Events
242627283032343638
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Volunteer at
another YMCa!
„Volunteers for Europe„seminar to promote international volunteering
by Viktor Iliev Representatives from 12 national YMCAs have gathered in the beautiful city Gorlitz situated on the border between Germany and Poland, to explore the possibilities for exchange of volunteers among the YMCA’s throughout Europe. In this seminar we opened many relevant issues connected with the internationally volunteering with putting more focus on the specifics on the European Voluntary Service. Through various best practices
presentations, group work, discussions, country profiles presentations, simulation of exchanges and personal EVS story from Germany we learnt a lot.
Eventhough the EVS program is the same throught Europe, still it has some specifics depending on the countries. That is why as YMCA we can provide additional support system to our young people who want to learn by doing – volunteering in another YMCA in another country.
Since Volunteers for Europe as program groups of YMCA Europe in the past period was a bit passive, we also discussed and took different responsibilities in order to strengthen this group.
Special thanks to YMCA Germany that provided full support in organizing this event.
It was nice to meet all these wonderful people who work on different programs with
volunteers back in their countries
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At the end of September 2012, a seminar was held in Crikvenica, Croatia which was attended by participants from more than 15 European countries and 2 from YMCA Bitola.
Topic was “Аctivity and visibility of civil society organizations in the media and in general public.”
The purpose was to achieve a greater and easier promotion of various NGOs and education of young people who will be able to work in that direction.
As a final result of the seminar was the realization of flash mob activity with the intent to increase public awareness about certain issues. That for
On December 15, 2012, in the business startup center in Bitola was held training about writing projects organized by YMCA Bitola, designed for young active enthusiasts. The training was led by YMCA Bitola Viktor Iliev and Stephen Robinson of the U.S. Peace Corps in the Republic of Macedonia.
The purpose of the training was for the participants to learn new or supplement their knowledge of the topic: planning and writing projects. The training was attended by 25 young people who had their own ideas for a particular project realization. A series of lectures were thoroughly worked through useful tools and exercises that were transferred to participants by alternating application of theory, practice and discussion. Dividing the participants into groups enabled their mutual understanding, exchange of ideas and sense of teamwork. Grouping of the participants and successful combination of learning and practice during the training helped to be felt what it means the actual work on a project and how it is managed.
Participants were clearly interested and ready for a new challenge, so they didn’t remained indifferent in expressing their creativity through training. That is proved from the positive feedback that five hour training for such an interesting and useful topic is too short. Macedonian-English combination of teaching motivated young participants to get involved in finding solutions to the major problems and involvement in real projects - which was the main objective of the training.
by Katerina Sambevska
Training for Public Relations in Croatia for NGOs
As a final result of theseminar was the realizationof flash mob activity with
he intent to increasepublic awareness about
certain issues.a number of the participants was a new activity, which is the idea of these seminars: to be beneficial to the young people for their upgrades, meeting people and sharing experiences which will then be transferred to countries where they come from.
We Learned to Write!
by Natasha Dimitrievska
Participants were clearly interested and ready for a
new challenge, so theydidn’t remained indifferent
in expressing theircreativity through training.
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At What Point is Our Civil Society?by Simona Velkoska
In my great pleasure, thanks to YMCA Bitola I visited one excellent training which took time from 28-30 September in Veles. In the training there were participants from different organizations and different towns all over Macedonia. I learned new things on the training, from the trainer and also from the participants. Divided in different groups, the participants shared their previous experience in different areas connected with the Civil society in Macedonia. I had the chance to hear a lot of educational good and also bad practices present in our civil department.
The main topics were connected with the civil organizations, civil initiations and actions, civil society, civil activism in the multicultural societies, and also topics connected with the political acting of people. The training was held by Gjuner Ismail, Sasho Ordanoski, Zoran Bajaroski, Zdravko Saveski and Artan Sadiku, these trainers are experts for their
areas and also for people who are well introduced with the civil department in our country. Because the training was very interactive and we were working in small groups , we had the opportunity to meet all the participants. We had a lot of fun in the evenings and we were hanging out
all the time. After the training, we left feeling happy and satisfied promising that we’ll keep in touch with each other, hoping that we will continue our excellent cooperation in certain areas.This civil activism training was financed by USAID and it was implemented by the Foundation of the Open Society Institute Macedonia, the Youth Educational Forum, Strategy Research Center and Documentation Forum, Civil Communication Center and the Reactor - Research in Action.
The main topics were connected with the civil organizations, civil initiations and actions, civil so-ciety, civil activism in the multi-cultural societies, and also topics connected with the political act-
ing of people.
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The main topic of the workshop was raising the awareness in young people of how to manage with the hate speech on the internet. Participants were stu-dents from high schools and faculties, young people, representatives from all ethnic groups who live in Bitola, young people with special needs, then young people who are members of the youth of political parties and young people who are members of NGO`s.
The main goal of the trainings was to gain knowledge and education for
Fight Against the Hate Speech on the Internet
by Jovica Paunoski
The main topic of the workshop was raising the awareness in young people of how to manage with
the hate speech on the internet.
human rights and building capacity and networking young people from different communities to act consciously against racism and discrimination in our everyday online language. Also we made a video with messages, brochures and CD-s connected with the hate speech on the internet.
This project of AMOS was realized on the 15th of October to 15th of December 2012 and it was supported by the European Youth Foundation and the Chamber of Europe.
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I CAME t o YMCA Bitola in September 2012 in order to learn something
new, to become more successful person and to gain experience that will improve my life. I found their fan-page accidentally and I noticed the matching between my interests and their needs - YMCA needed young volunteers and I was looking for an organization for young activists. I was very pleased by the people, organization, working atmosphere and the reputation of the organization and I used this chance to become an active member of the organization.
I SAW many people and events, gained new experiences and I confronted
different situations. Only a week after my confirmed membership, I was very lucky to participate in the YMCA World Challenge event organized by YMCA Bitola, where I learned what practically working on a project really means. Because, by then I skipped the theory behind the projects, after a short period of time I had the chance to participate in the training for writing projects and in that way to fill the gap of theoretical basis. I was learning fast how to
“Veni, Vidi, Vici” by Natasha Dimitrievska
i came, i saw, i conquered !
The need for theoretical background in the field of projects encouraged my participation at this training. The positive
conclusions from the event only supported my desire for more knowledge about writing and project management and the future desired practical work within YMCA Bitola. This training was a step into achieving my goal and direction for finding my path.
managed with projects.
After 2 months only (19th of December 2012), in Skopje, in “Porta” hotel, I had the pleasure to participate on the one day workshop, a project by USAID Civil Society (Organized by the Foundation Open Society Macedonia SOROS). The workshop aimed to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations that have submitted grant applications in the framework of the USAID civil society through perceiving mistakes made in the already applied projects. The workshop was
attended by two representatives of various civil society organizations from Macedonia in order to learn additional tools that they can use in the future in their organization. The workshop was led by Neda Korunovska.
During the workshop we learned more about the successful applicants and identified the biggest advantages of so far supported projects through already made statistical analysis. The main topic was the most common mistakes and the biggest weaknesses in the applications for grants. Based on the previously rejected projects, reasons were presented because of which the grants of the organizations were rejected in order the weaknesses to be corrected and recorded and to strengthen their capacities for planning projects in the future.
The need for theoretical background in the field of projects encouraged my participation at this training. The positive conclusions from the event only supported my desire for more knowledge about writing and project management and the future desired practical work within YMCA Bitola. This training was a step into achieving my goal and direction for finding my path.
Did I CONQUER? it will p r o v e
future written, applied and realized projects that will be better and more numerous. My collaboration with YMCA Bitola so far has been very successful and in future I expect a lot of new experiences, positive impressions, rapid progress in the organization and realization of personal and common goals.
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“The goal of this training was
representatives of NGOs from Bitola
to acquire thebasic skills neededto communicate with the media.”
In December 2012, at the YMCA Bitola Konstantin Petrovski held training about public relations. Konstantin Petrovski is a member of the YMCA Bitola and is former editor of the weekly magazine EGO Bitola.
The goal of this training was representatives of NGOs from Bitola to acquire the basic skills needed to communicate with the media.
The training lasted for two hours through a workshop attended by twenty participants. Participants learned one of the basic skills: writing press release. In addition, participants shared their experiences in their previous communication with the media, asked questions about the problems that they meet in their daily work and tried to find creative ways to communicate with the media.
This training is the second of its kind organized by YMCA Bitola in 2012 by the same lecturer.
by Konstantin Petrovski
Communicate Creatively:Workshop for Public Relations
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Macedonia is a signatory to the Convention of the Rights of the Child by the United Nations since 1993. But how much the Convention is respected and how those rights are respected in institutions where children are most involved-schools?
Taking into consideration the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in United Nations where it is emphasized the need to improve the participation of children in schools as an institution where most children spend their time, the Coalition of youth organizations SEGA in 2011 in five cities (Prilep Kavadarci Tetovo, Debar and Kumanovo) successfully implemented the first part of this project to increase children’s participation in decision making in schools. In the second half of 2012 SEGA continued to implement in five more cities in Macedonia (Gostivar, Bitola, Struga, Ohrid and Stip) in order to improve the democratic participation of children in school life. YMCA Bitola was responsible for realizing of the activities in the city of Bitola.
In this component of the project for the first time in school elections were organized presidents in classes in elementary and secondary schools. The process
includes all steps towards democratic elections, with no suggestions from the adults to choose their representatives in the school and president of the class and the class community. The purpose of this activity is to raise awareness of the importance of democratic processes from an early age to build a democratic culture among children and to develop future active citizens. After that, followed the introduction of children ombudsmen and building the capacity of the newly established youth organizations and children ombudsmen through training on several topics: youth participation, advocacy and lobbying, project cycle, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a series of workshops on leadership, teamwork, communication, keeping appointments etc.
The experience of SEGA showed that practice to consult children when making decisions that affect them directly, both at local and national level, has not yet been established. According to the monitoring process implemented by SEGA, as tools participation are used informal conversations and meetings with principals, teachers and pedagogical-psychological service. In schools children are not included through existing forms such as class and school communities.
Since 2010, in partnership with the Pestalozzi Children’s Foundation, SEGA implements the project: “Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Macedonia”, which is part of the long-term cooperation with this foundation in the field of implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Macedonia.
involving young peoplein decision making
“The purpose of this activity is to raise awareness of the importance of democratic processes from an early age to build a democratic culture among children and to develop future active citizens.”
Project “Implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the child in the Republic of Macedonia” contributed to building of the capacity of young people for their involvement in decision making
by Viktor Iliev
“The experience of SEGA showed that practice to consult children when making decisions that affect them directly, both at local and national level, has not
yet been established.”
UPCOMINGEVENTSY-TRAINING
www.ymcabitola.org.mk www.facebook.com/ymcabitola.org.mk
OPPORTUNITIESLeave the daily monotony and don’t stay passive! Get Involved!
We offer you opportunities to learn, travel, volunteer and discover new horizons!
Take these opportunities that are in front of you, learn, build your personal resume, gain experience, grow as person, and take your future in your hands!
ATTEND TRAINING
STAY INFORMED
Check our web site www.ymcabitola.org.mk and find the latest offer on free placements for trainings which we think are great opportunity and will be from great value if you take part on some of them. Most of them are with low partici-pation, free from the total costs or with complete covered costs. We continuous-ly update the list of events so you can find open calls at all the time. If you have
some questions email us at: [email protected] or visit us.
COMING UP...“Looks like teen spirit”
“Looks like teen spirit” is a training that will take place in Baia Mare, Romania in the pe-riod 30 May to 7 June. This training will bring together 30 youth leaders and young vol-unteers from Moldova, Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, Italy, Malta, Ukraine, Kosovo and
Romania in working with inclusion of differences based on personal responsibility.
“Fighting youth unemployment through empowerment”It is a training that will take place in Bitola, Macedonia in the period 17-25 March. It is
aimed to support 30 youth workers and youth leaders from 10 countries working with un-employed youth in strengthening their personal, social and professional competence, to
share how to stimulate mobility and active participation of unemployed young people and finally increasing their employability through their personal empowerment.
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YMCA Camps in Europe
The Young Men’s Leadership Project:Lessons I Learned in Summer Camp
What Campers Had to SayAbout YMLP Camp
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The initiative of cooperation within camping field has been put forward by the Programme Initiative Centres of YMCAs in the Balkans. The idea corresponds well with the proposition of YMCA Ukraine of closer cooperation between YMCA Europe and overseas partners within programme area. That would be a form revitalising the idea of Partnership Conference, but with bigger contribution of the overseas partners to shaping the strategies of YMCA Europe.Following that initiative, in the period 16-18 November, а core group we gathered on a study visit at YMCA Thesalonica in Greece, but also to explore and discuss the opportunities ahead of us. Here we share some of the conclusions.Healthy Living is one of priority programme areas of YMCA Europe. Youth and children camps are one of those forms of activities where the principles of healthy living can be implemented in an attractive and safe way. Moreover, thanks to a long tradition and high
“This is the result of big experience that has been achieved for decades of practice and constant improvement. The overall idea
of this proposition is using these achievements for working out common training system and standards that could be
implemented in other YMCA movements.”
standards, the YMCA may achieve the position of a tycoon in this kind of youth activities in pan-European dimension in a few years.The overseas YMCAs (Canada, USA) and several European YMCAs have all the necessary qualities, and thanks to them, are widely recognized in communities. This is the result of big experience that has been achieved for decades of practice and constant improvement. The overall idea of this proposition is using these achievements for working out common training system and standards that could be implemented in other YMCA movements. This should make YMCA camps as new Programme Group within YMCA Europe and a brand name recognizable in all Europe. All this looks like a big task, however, the Extended Programme Team of YMCA Europe is prepared for this kind of challenges.
YMCA Camps in Europe
by Adam Rychlik – Executive Program Secretary of YMCA Europe
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As an instructor, the bulk of my week was spent teaching media classes and while the goal of my class was to educate the campers, I think that I probably gained as much from the class as they did (if not more). It has been many years since I graduated university, and unfortunately I have never had the opportunity to work professionally in my field, so naturally my passion has waned a bit over the years. For me, standing in front of a class of eager young minds was a wake-up call. I truly felt in my element and the campers’ enthusiasm was infectious. I found myself connecting and bonding with my students, re-sparking my desire to teach. At the end of each day I found myself exhausted, but exhilarated at the same time.However, after five hours in the classroom, our day was hardly over. The evenings were filled with elective classes that ranged from learning new languages and sports to designing the 2012 camp flag. It was also a great opportunity to relax a little, hang out, socialize, and get to know each other a little better. Each night was full of fun, entertainment, and side-splitting laughter.
The Young Men’s Leadership Project was one of the last programs I imagined being involved with. Don’t get me wrong, I love civic leadership and working with young people as much as the next guy, but it never occurred to me that I would be able to fit in or connect with a group of high school boys. In fact, my last memorable experience with high school boys was when I was in high school… and I can safely categorize those good ‘ole days under ‘abysmal.’Of course, of the lessons I’ve learned in the Peace Corps, the themes of being flexible, opening myself up to new experiences, and never saying never seem to arise a lot more than I ever thought they would. After the awesome experience I had with my high school and faculty teams on the Model UN Project, I knew it
was time to take the leap; and as the fates would have it, YMLP and YMCA joined forces, the stars aligned, and BAM there I was smack dab in the middle.Little did I know, YMLP would come to be one of the most rewarding activities of my first year in Macedonia and it wasn’t until I experienced YMLP camp for myself that I realized, my fear of not being integrated is a big part of what YMLP camp is all about - finding a safe place where EVERYONE fits in.For those of you who may be unfamiliar, “The Young Men’s Leadership Project seeks to develop the core values of social inclusion, commitment to democratic processes, and civic engagement in the emerging leaders of Macedonia in an inter-ethnic environment while
The Young Men’s Leadership Project:
by Karli-Marie ReyesLessons I Learned at Summer Camp
It wasn’t until I experienced YMLP camp for myself that I realized, my fear of not being integrated is a big part of what YMLP camp is
all about, finding a safe place where EVERYONE fits in.providing them with the personal and professional life skills that will make them effective and responsible citizens.” The project is organized by Peace Corps volunteers and YMCA Bitola, YMCA Kent (England), YMCA Gabrovo (Bulgaria), and OSCE.The project includes a week-long multi-ethnic summer camp where young men throughout Macedonia can experience hands-on learning activities on topics like health, environmental awareness, media, project management, democracy and social inclusion; as well as out of
These are the young people who will become the future leaders of this amazing country and for one brief moment I was a part of some-thing bigger than I could possibly imagine.
the classroom learning experiences in areas like leadership training, team work, personal development, and just plain having fun. The project also seeks to inspire camp participants to take everything they’ve learned and begin their own grass-roots organizations/projects in their own communities. Since one of the goals of the camp is promotion of social inclusion the camp is English language only, and is truly a safe space where young people from all walks of life can come together as friends.This year’s camp was held near the village Tajmiste located between Kicevo and Gostivar. The first few days were filled with hellos and welcomes between camp coordinators, counselors, junior counselors, instructors, and campers; settling into the site; organizing schedules; planning logistics; and taking in the fresh clean mountain air.
After dinner was cleared and the sun began to fall behind the beautiful mountain backdrop it was time for campfires, stories, marshmallows. Every night I got an opportunity to get to know a different group of campers a little better, to hear their stories, their interests, and their passions. I was blown away by the smart, motivated, and talented young men who stepped out of their comfort zones, left their communities and jumped into the world of YMLP. I was truly inspired each and every day.The last night of camp we celebrated our achievements with an awards ceremony which inevitably culminated in a boisterous party with traditional music and dance. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a beautiful blend of diverse Macedonian culture with diverse American culture. It was sad to say goodbye to the beautiful campground, amazing campers, and incredible staff who made the event such a success, but I was left rejuvenated and motivated like never before. These are the young people who will become the future leaders of this amazing country and for one brief moment I was a part of something bigger than I could possibly imagine.
I was blown away by the smart, motivated, and talented young men who stepped out of their comfort zones, left their communities and
jumped into the world of YMLP.
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which really touched me.
YMLP camp 2012 What campers had
to say about
Jordan Mickovski, Red Team
For me, the best night of camp was when we were at “low camp.”
I got to hang out with the Brits andplayed horseshoes, had marshmallows, and because of Robinson’s story
Predrag Pandiloski, Black Team
Riste Karashabanov, Red Team
Dalibor Dimitrov, Green Team
Bojan Mircheski, Orange Team
I learned a lot of things and it will help me to
develop myself as a great person.
In Project Design and Management class I learned about different goals
It’s great learning
I think that YMLPis a great way to
have the knowledge,fun, and way of living
here at the camp.
new friends.
something newabout other religionsand cultures. It’s the
best way to meet
my summer with something
I applied for YMLP campbecause I had some really
good recommendations from myfriends that were at YMLP last
year and also I like to fill
well as having new experiences. fun and educational as
and objectives and how to plan our projects. We played a game wherewe had to divide a deck of cards so that everyone got the same
amount of points; it showed us that we always need a plan.
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Y-MOVIE4850
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Young Men’s Leadership Project
YMLP Promotional Video
Public Relations Promotional Video
Spanish with Angel
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Young Men’s Leadership Project
YMLP Short Promotional video
Public relations Workshop Promo
Spanish With Angel
New Videosfrom Y-Movie
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ACID TRIPLE5254
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Magical Experience in Bitola
Summer in FlamesPerformance in KosovoPerformance in Croatia
Closing Performance of BitFest
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Magic is craft, skill and art where the magician seemingly violates the natural laws. Magic is something that is not related to the rational, but with what you imagine, and that’s why it is so attractive. But the truth is that the magic don’t happens in the hands of an illusionist, but it takes place in the consciousness of the people, what they are experiencing is real magic.
New Macedonian Association of magicians exists for two years and in its relatively short existence, has achieved significant results. In collaboration with a group of Balkan magicians 5th and 6th of September at
“A Magical Show was held called “Via Egnatia Balkanika” where the audience has witnessed a special art that contains a mixture of tricks,
points in rhyme and bizarre magic.”
by Katerina Bozinovska
the Cultural Centre in Bitola a Magical Show was held called “Via Egnatia Balkanika” where the audience has witnessed a special art that contains a mixture of tricks, points in rhyme and bizarre magic.
Initiator of this festival is Goran Mitrevski with stage name Gandini, who together with Desislava Dimitrova with stage name Scherazade from Bulgaria, Piksi and Zeka from Serbia, Gogo Georgievski and Dudo from Macedonia with its performance allowed the audience to get closer and to be familiar with magic illusionism as a means of communication and entertainment for
all generations.
There are more rules in magic, three of which are basic:
first - never reveal the trick; second - never repeat the same trick before the same audience and third - never do the trick that is not well trained because you broke the first two rules. But the golden rules of magic includes having a sense of how to leave the audience unsaturated. This time the audience really was not saturated and therefore look forward to re-organize such magical spectacle.
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Closing PerformAnce of BitFest
Bitola Cultural Summer (Bitfest) is one of the longest cultural summer activities in Macedonia. It lasts three months and abounds with a wide and varied program. This year, as in previous years, Acid Triple was part of the closing ceremony.
In cooperation with the Municipality of Bitola and a group of bars on Main Street, David Morales was the main star of the event “the Wide Alley in White.” Acid Triple had the honor to perform on a live set on such worldwide known artist. The audience numbered over 10,000 guests enjoyed his music and a performance from Acid Triple. Cooperation with the Municipality and the city continues.
The event left a special impression that only the
fusion of different artists in mixed groups of jugglers and musicians can. It was a special experience for the
Croatian audience.
by Goran Mitrevski
Performance in KosovoAs a leader Acid Triple, I had the opportunity to participate in the festival in honor of the 4th of July in the KFOR military camp “Bondsteel” in Pristina, Kosovo. It is an international evening, with national dishes and presentations of various states, as well as an art show, where I entertained the audience as fire juggler with performance, as well as magician-illusionist. It is an honor to present some of our activities in front of this kind of audience, which was attended by nearby families of all employees. We also had the opportunity to have a mini tour at the camp.
In July, the group performed in Virovitica, Croatia as part of their cultural summer of VUF Festival. Some of the artists with whom we traveled were the group Cerkezi which are popular with its musicians, Face Paint Art, and the juggler Spinus.
The event left a special impression that only the fusion of different artists in mixed groups of jugglers and musicians can. It was a special experience for the Croatian audience. Although the performance was planned on the spot and trained in only three days, the professionalism of the artists allowed for performance to be impeccable. The future promises to be bright, as we are already in negotiations to establish further cooperation with these three groups, jugglers, musicians, and dancers alike. Virovitica as a city is an unusual and striking place with warm and hospitable people and we recommend to you to visit.
Performance in CroatiA
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Y-COMIC5860
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Toxic Planet 2
Releasing the Art of Comics
From the People of Bitola, To the People of Bitola
Each issue, YMCA Bitola’s Y-Comic sector will bring you a new translation of the comic Toxic Planet 2 by French artist David Ratte. The comic follows characters through a world ravaged by global warming and toxic waste. The biting humor of Ratte mixed with his poignant message about the importance about ecological awareness make for an entertaining and educational read.
Within the celebration of liberty day of Bitola “4th of November”, for a second time this year, there was an exhibition of comic books illustration. It was called as an exhibition “from the people of Bitola, to the people of Bitola”, this exhibition proved that there are great, young talents in Bitola, who work this type of Art called- comic book.
Set in the heart of the popular street in Bitola “Shirok Sokak”, in the café bar “Dante”, on this exhibition one could see art-work from these exellent artists: Aleksandar Popovski, Mihajlo Dimitrievski, Viktor Lozanov, Darko Ristevski, Maja Kovachevska, Nesomai, Adrej Dojchinovski, Blagica Zdravkovska and Alexandra Boshevska. The exhibition lasted for one week (till 11th of November) and was a great pleasure for all Art lovers of the 9th branch in the Art- the Comic Book.
Releasingthe Art
of Comics
by Jovche Krsteski
The following year we hope to continue enriching the culture of comics, as we did the previous two years, allowing the people f Bitola to enjoy the illustration of Comic Books made by the most famous world trends of Comic Books. The exhibition was organized by the youth association YMCA Bitola and was supported by the Municipality of Bitola.
“this exhibition proved that there are great, young talents in Bitola, who work
this type of Art called-comic book.”
see photos on next page
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From the People of Bitola,to the People of Bitola
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HEALTHYLIFESTYLE
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YMCA World Challenge
Guide to a Sweeter Lifept. 3
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“I am sure that no man can derive more pleasure from money or power than I do from seeing a pair of basketball goals in some out of the way place”
- James Naismith
by Ivana Spirovska
“ T h o u s a n d s of people on 5 continents were mobilized on this day and tried to break the record in
throwing basketball.”
Some people called him coach, others called him doctor. The question is: What was he really? An orphan whom the circumstances gave strength to fight to get what he wants or a genius who instead of focusing his energy on books and science, surrendered himself to his greatest passion, sports? At the end of the day, It does not make a big difference how people really called him, in the world history he will always be remembered as the innovator of the most adored sport - BASKETBALL.
As a man who can accomplish everything he puts his mind on, he totally devoted himself on his new invention. He started with barely nothing but a single peach basket tacked up on a poll and ended up with a brand new idea for recreation. Naismith did not stop just with an idea. He worked tireless on new rules which were foundation of the new sport. At last his effort paid off. His idea was supported by the YMCA and was quickly spread all over America. The hard work of this great man, brought us today the pleasure of basketball.
We gathered on this special day, 13th of October 2012, to bring back the main idea of Naismith to invent this sport. Thousands of people on 5 continents were mobilized on this day and tried to break the record in throwing basketball. The event was supported by UNESCO and FIBA. In
Macedonia the event was organized by YMCA supported by KK Mladost and took place in Bitola.
On the 12th of October, here in Bitola, in order to promote the event, we made a pre-event, flesh-mob, where we walked with a small basket in our hands and a ball on the famous street Shirok Sokak, and we gave the ball to the people passing by. We interviewed them and asked them to throw the ball in the basket. And I have to say it reflected positively on the event which was held the following day. Everything was captured by the media.
The following day, the weather was warm and everything was going according to plan. Luck was on our side. Children, teenagers and even adults and parents, participated in breaking the record. Everything was marvelous. Children were playing, trainers were organizing games, volunteers were counting, every single detail was captured and filmed. The event was a great success. YMCA “scored” once again.
The purpose of this world challenge was not only to break the record, but to promote healthy way of leaving and to encourage young people to play sports and take care of their health: “In healthy body, healthy spirit”.
However, these facts are not sufficient to be able to use fresh foods in favor of our health. We should know the basic principles of their impact on the maintenance and balance of our bodies:
Starting from the digestive system, sugars enter our bodies at different periods depending on the product we consume. It is not the same whether we eat honey or white refined sugar, because the sugar in honey gradually utilize and provide us energy for a longer period, unlike white sugar that give us energy quickly, but just as quickly takes us along with
(Excerpt from the previous issue of NotifY...)
...When we talk about sugar it usually refers to the most frequent in the human diet: glucose (or grape sugar), fructose (or fruit sugar) and their compound - sucrose (or regular sugar). But they are not the only substances that can be found in large quantities in the sweets we eat or in diet products. They are usually replaced by so-called artificial sweeteners, even though they have a sweet taste they are not classified as sugars by chemical structure...
“This means that the more sugar you enter, the more sugar you’re hungry - so-called yo-yo effect that makes you feel more fatigue
and raise our weight kilo per kilo.”
(Continued from the previous issue of NotifY)
to a
SweeterLifeGuide 3part
our general body balance.
How is this happening? Simply, the greater the level of sugar in the human body, the more it secretes the hormone insulin, which aims to restore the balance. But this can never be done with great precision, so it incurs variations of our natural balance in both directions, towards more and less sugar. This means that the more sugar you enter, the more sugar you’re hungry - so-called yo-yo effect that makes you feel more fatigue and raise our weight kilo per kilo.
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YMCAMACEDONIA
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National General Secretaries Met in BrusselsWhere West Meets East
YMCA Europe FestivalYMCA Annual Reports
The Balkan Project
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From November 6-8, 33 participants took part at the first National General Secretaries Forum organized by YMCA Europe in Brussels, Blegium. Most of the participants were National Secretaries representing YMCA movements across Europe and the work developed during the Forum focused on the following objectives:
To create a new working platform within YMCA Europe formed by NGS´s.
Follow up on the implementa-tion of YMCA Europe’s Strategic Plan 2011-16 focusing on the 3 priorities and the 3 flagship pro-grammes defined in the Plan.
Discussion on specific issues that are relevant for National Movements.
Approach to the main European institutions based in Brussels.
The internal work done during the Forum set the bases and the agenda for the upcoming months. Collectively, the NGS’s agreed to strengthen the YMCA network in Europe, to design our future approach to the EU and to focus on concrete initiatives in the programme field.
NATIONAL GENERAL SECRETARIES MET IN
BRUSSELSby Juan Simoes Iglesias,YMCA Europe Secretary General
The group also had meetings and informative sessions with representatives from the European Youth Forum, Europe Aid, the European Social Fund and the European Commission. A visit to the European Parliament ended with a sharing with Mrs. Corien Wortmann – Kool, Member of Parliament and Vice President of the EPP Group. This session was facilitated by Cees Bremmer, NGS of YMCA The Netherlands.Ed Eggink, President of YMCA Europe and Selma Zadi, Executive Secretary (Movement Strengthening and Resource Mobilization) representing the World Alliance of YMCAs together with Gerard Tosserams (Change Agents
Trainner), shared their inputs during the Forum. Spaces for open discussion and group work were created during the event. A draft of the Forum´s report was sent to all participants immediately after the meeting finished. NGS Forum dates for the years 2013 and 2014 were agreed.We want to thank all the participants for their contribution and commitment. A special note of gratitude to YMCA Canada for their support and to YMCA Belgium for their warm hospitality and inspiration during the Belgium evening led by Cedric Roulent and Hugh Robert Boudin.Thank you !
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In the period 15–20 October in Istanbul under the motto “Where West Meets East” happened Catch the Vision conference. This conference was attended by 52 participants, facilitators and guest speakers from 24 countries, with geographical coverage ranging from Iceland to South Africa, from Canada to Russia. This event in Istanbul can be seen also in a symbolic way bridging the past and the future events.Haluk was our host at the YMCA building in Istanbul dating from 1880, close to Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque in the middle of the historic places.Beside the typical conference elements, this event was enriched with having also training component. The main parts of the agenda of the event were:1. Youth Empowerment introducing the YMCA “Change Agents” model2. Intercultural Learning through mix of exercises, lessons and share of best practices3. “Do No Harm”, a practical and useful conflict/diversity sensitive мethodology and4. Change Assessment, providing a palete of assessment tools to find out if our good practices are really good.
Thanks to the hosts, YMCA Turkey, we had wonderful cultural day visiting an outdoor model museum going through the amazing history at glance and a boat trip sailing around Istanbul through the beautiful views of Bosporus to Аsia.The follow up of this event is within the wider project “Roots for Reconciliation” which continues with other events in other interesting places in the period to come.Lots of inspiring wise people from many countries and even continents in such a beautiful place discussing on relevant issues. YMCA is definitely much more than just a song!
Where West Meets Eastby Viktor Iliev
Istanbul, another mix of cultures following the Balkans, Caucasus and the Middle East where YMCA Europe hold its “Catch the Vision” conference
In the middle of 2012 were published the Annual Reports for 2011.Take a look at the activities of YMCA in the World, in Europe and in
Macedonia.
http://www.ymcabitola.org.mk/download/en_annual_report__2011.pdfhttp://www.ymcaeurope.com/ymca-europe-annual-report-2011
http://www.ymca.int/resources/annual-report/
YMCAAnnual Reports
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WH
AT’S
UP
IN T
HE THE
BALKAN PROJECTOn 27-28 July 2012 was organised 8th Kulpin Fest. The festival was attended by several popular groups from Serbia and guest band from Romania. After the main festival program there was organised DJ after party. During the festival was built up camp where 40 visitor of festival were accommodated (from Serbia and foreign countries). During the two days of the festival were welcomed more than 2000 people. The main media sponsor of the festival was a national TV station RTV (Vojvodina, Novi Sad). We are looking forward for 2013 Kulpin Fest.
SERBIA
A new project Tenis School in YMCA Bosnia Herzegovina оrganized by Azra Bogucanin, CEO of YMCA Bosnia Herzegovia which operates in Sarajevo. Its classes are for children and young adults, operating outdoor during the summer and indoor during the winter. More pictures on their website:http://tennissarajevo.beep.com/tennis-sarajevo-kids-school.htm
On December 23rd the YMCA Montenegro team of thirty six mountaineers has visited Bjelasica mountain in the north part of Montenegro exploring its resources and enjoying its beauty during the weekend. On the St. Nicolas Day YMCA organized event in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro in which 164 children from multi-ethnical and multi-religious families enjoyed the children program and Christmas presents. For this event YMCA Montenegro raised funds and in-kind contribution from the local community of total value of 3000 Euro.
MONTENEGRO
Tennis School at YMCA BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
The Balkan Project as the coordinated long-term process for the development of YMCAs in the Balkan area was initiated in 2000. The period 2012-2014 is the next important stage of it. The countries where YMCA exists are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Romania and Serbia. All of them create one focus area. The main goal of the project is the continuous support and facilitation of the development of national and local YMCAs in the Balkan Peninsula. It is supported from the Swiss HorYzon and the Y’s Men International-Denmark.
In the period 10-19 August 2012 happened a new youth exchange called “Together in the Spotlight” in Baia Mare with participation of 30 young people aged 18-25 from 6 countries: Belgium, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain and Turkey. The main theme was social inclusion through street animation methods. Participants organized a street animation show in the old center of the town including elements such as: pantomime, acrobatics, juggling, dancing, theatre. The project was funded by the European Commission through the Youth In Action Programme.“iMpossible” was great event organized by YMCA Romania with Youth in Action support. 27 youth workers, leaders, volunteers and youth coming from less opportunities areas (beneficiaries of inclusive programs) from: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Romania had 10 days of training in Baia Mare and Izvoare. See one of the videos created during this training:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqpCjLIloyU&feature=youtu.be
The purpose of the YWCA Bitola is the organization to become synonymous like a lawyer of the rights of those stereotypes, disease and domestic violence that have put the margins of society. Our mission is exactly that, i.e. reduction in the rate of domestic violence, the fight against diseases of the reproductive organs, training women who want to run out of stereotypes, support for those who want to educate, to be leaders, those who have something to say. We are here to listen and help them.Our priorities are: Young women leaders - one of the global priorities of the World YWCA movement is precisely the notion of women leaders; sexual and reproductive health and rights; fighting HIV and AIDS as one of the leading infectious diseases, claiming over 25 million lives over the last 30 years, and violence against women, which is, and will be long-time priority for local activities programs and services in the YWCA movement.Our team is consist of people who have experience in civil society, experts, doctors and professors who actually are the indicator of our commitment and motivation. Enthusiasm that we have at the beginning will continue in the future to contribute to the creation of a more equal world. Through campaigns, consultations with medical team training and surveys, we always will stand shoulder to shoulder with those who fight, and those who need help. Web site and Facebook profiles of YWCA Bitola are:www.ywcabitola.yolasite.com and www.facebook.com/YWCABitola
BA
LKA
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ROMANIA
MACEDONIAYMCA Bitola supported founding of YWCA Bitola club!
Stories taken from the YMCA Balkans web site. For more, follow: www.ymcabalkans.com, www.facebook.com/ymcabalkans
“Kulpin Fest” in Backy Petrovac!
2 international trainings organized!
Mountain hiking and Christmas kids celebration
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YMCABITOLA
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Painting Kole KaninskiPrimary School
Do We Have Sustainable CivicSociety Organizations?
Voice of the Youth
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06.10.12
Paintingat Kole Kaninski Primary School
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In November and December in Bitola were held two focus groups as part of the project “Comprehensive Assessment of the processes of good governance with a focus on strengthening of the young people” which is being implemented in six municipalities by OSCE.
On the first of these meetings presented were the project, objectives and expected results, among which as the main result will be the development of sectoral analysis of the situation in the municipality with a focus on strengthening of the young people. The meeting shared different experiences and it was talked about the engagement of the institutions that works with youth, and youth involvement in governance processes in our municipality.
At the second meeting, presented were the results from the research on the situation of young people in Bitola that covered all participating institutions and participants of these meetings and after it was discussed about the research findings. Also, as a topic about social entrepreneurship was opened and the opportunities it offers.
The Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) in cooperation with the European Center for Non-Profit Law (ECNL), for the representatives from civic society organizations from Bitola, on 19th September 2012 held an informational event for several aspects of the Law for Associations and Foundations. The aim of the event was to contribute to improved sustainability of civic society and to better
by Katerina Bozinovska
Do We Have Sustainable Civic Society Organizations?
“the participants had the opportunity to be de-tailed informed about gaining status of organiza-tion of public interest and economic activities as
an opportunity for civic society sustainability.”
understand and apply the provisions of the Law for Associations and Foundations.
Given that increasingly withdraw and reduce funds for the NGOs in Macedonia, in order to survive, it is necessary to seek alternative sources of funding, which is necessary that civic society organizations should be oriented towards direct economic activities. Thus, the participants
Voice of the Youthby Viktor IlievCivic Engagement and Participation at the Local Level
The meeting shareddifferent experiences
and it was talked aboutthe engagement ofthe institutions that
works with youth, andyouth involvement ingovernance processesin our municipality.
These meetings was attended by all relevant institutions in Bitola working or involved in work with young people in the city: representatives from primary and secondary schools, civic and private sector, as well as representatives of the municipality.
had the opportunity to be detailed informed about gaining status of organization of public interest and economic activities as an opportunity for civic society sustainability.
The biggest challenge is non correlated interpretation of the provisions of the various institutions. Civic society organizations are not sufficiently addressed about the opportunities and obligations arising from dealing with economic
activities, both in terms of tax laws, and in relation to accounting rules, the personnel engaged and so on. In terms of public benefit status was concluded that at the moment does not offer particular benefits for civic society organizations, which is one reason for the lack of interest in getting it. Another reason is insufficiency of information about the procedures for obtaining the status of organization of public interest.
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LIFE INBITOLA
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88 The Morning Prayer:The Coffee
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by Ivana Spirovska & Darko Vidanovski
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Black as devil, hot as hell,pure as an angel, sweet as love
Coffee Clubs on the “Sirok Sokak” and ask yourself the same question? When started this tradition, where is the source? As residents of this city we all asked this question at least once in our lives. The answer lies in the long and rich history of this city of consuls. Many years ago, this area was ruled by the Turks, very well known invaders in that period. As compensation for the grief they caused and bloodshed made, they brought the beautiful Turkish coffee. Bitola, then called Monastery, has become a major center of the Turks. That is where this tradition of drinking coffee has originated from.
Every morning, every afternoon, every night, Bitola’s residents receive their daily dose of coffee. One thing is certain about coffee: where it grows, sells, where it is consumed and prepared, there will always be lively controversy, strong thoughts and good conversation.
Therefore, dear residents of Bitola, enjoy your sweet treat in every part of the day. If you ever think it’s too late for your coffee, think that somewhere in the world now it’s a morning!
The Morning Prayer –The Coffee
Bitola every morning starts with the same prayer:“You magically cup of coffee, bring me through the mess in this city today, help me to stay calm and civil with people around me, no matter how tough day is waiting for me, forgive my em-
ployer as you forgive me. Amen”
“Black as devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love”, according to the French statesman Talleyrand, this is a recipe on the beautiful Turkish coffee, which for centuries lures people with its sharp smell. Some call it addiction, some sweet treats, but the coffee is much more: your mind editor, counselor and companion in difficult situations in life.
There is an old proverb which says: “The day is known by the morning.” In people in Bitola the maxim is: “The day is known by the morning coffee.” In Bitola every morning starts with the same prayer: “You magically cup of coffee, bring me through the mess in this city today, help me to stay calm and civil with people around me, no matter how tough day is waiting for me, forgive my employer as you forgive me. Amen”. Addiction or not, coffee signifies the good start of the day. Hot morning coffee on Sirok Sokak and long gossip talk are helping people in Bitola to start the day with less bitterness and negative energy and with greater optimism.
Do you ever walk by the continuous series of
YMCA Bitola is a non-profit, nongovernmental, non-religious and inclusive youth association which aims
to provide opportunities for local youth and to actively work with them in our community. YMCA Bitola is part of the YMCA family spread throughout 119 countries
worldwide reaching over 58 million people. YMCA Bi-tola was established in May 2002.
We welcome all people with a focus on youth.We are focused on activities from public interest: non-formal education, culture and art, healthy lifestyle, civil
society and children rights. We accomplish our activities through: trainings, seminars, workshops, camps, festi-vals, international study visits and other activities. We work on both local and international level. Multimedia
products from our activities include: documentary mov-ies, short videos, comics and promotional materials.
YMCA Bitola works with young people on their personal development of body, mind and spirit by providing opportunities that nurture their responsibility, stimulate their creativity and celebrate the diversity of all God’s creations.
Empowering youth!
Mission
Motto
Why Donate?YMCA Bitola is not ad hoc organization; it was established in 2000
and registered in May, 2002. YMCA Bitola works on long-term basis, not just short-term projects. We have a strategic
plan that describes our plans and future directions. YMCA Bitola is open and public: on-line we promote
the activities, keep an up-to-date website, use Face-book, etc. YMCA Bitola works transparently: we
publish quartetly Report/Newsletter, as well as pub-lish Annual Report. YMCA Bitola offers you a choice
about where to donate and which programs you want to support, depending on your preferences. YMCA
Bitola will issue a written confirmation of your donation. Upon request, we can also provide documentation about the use of your donation. Because your donation supports not only our local work, but the larger world that Bitola’s youth
is a part of. Because in the past we have served directly and in-directly thousands of young people. Because we see your support not
only as financial, but also as moral support.
See our web page: www.ymcabitola.org.mkor follow us on our Facebook: www.facebook.com/ymcabitola.org.mk Phone Office: +389 47 529 366Phone Mobile: +389 70 594 341
YMCA Bitola is a respected local organization that provides opportuni-ties which empower young people to meet the ever-changing future with greater courage, wisdom and love.
We nurture and support:Courage - Responsibility - Respect - Creativity - Care
Vision
Values
The main goal of the Association is to provide activities and opportunities in the fields of non-formal educa-
tion, promoting healthy lifestyles, arts and culture, and civil society that develop positive values and attitudes
among young people.
Contact
About YMCA Bitola
Donate to YMCA BitolaWith your support we can do more!
A donation is voluntary and unconditional assistance in money, goods or services which does not create any direct benefit
to the donor nor the obligation for return by the recipient.
How Can I Donate?As an individual, with a single or recurring (monthly or annual) donations for the activities of the YMCA Bitola in an amount that you will determine. We
also accept in-kind donations such as services or material goods. As a legal entity with a single or recur-
ring (monthly or annual) donation for the activities of the YMCA Bitola in amount that you will determine; a joint part-
nership with YMCA Bitola for activities of mutual interest; with a donation of part of the income of sales of your products or services; or by donating your products and/or services.
Become a Member of YMCA Bitola
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The purpose of NotifY is promotion of public and youth activism, youth participation, volun-teerism and other activities that support people’s involvement in the community through sharing of all interesting activities happening at YMCA Bi-tola or in which YMCA Bitola members took part.
Viktor IlievKaterina Bozinovska
Jovce KrsteskiKarli-Marie Reyes
Goran MitrevskiPaula Praulina
Angel AguilarIvana Spirovska
Darko VidanovskiKaterina Sambevska
Simona VelkoskaJovica Paunoski
Natasha DimitrievskaKonstantin Petrovski
Juan Simones IglesiasAdam Rychlik
About
NotifY TeamTexts Written by
Published by YMCA Bitola March 2013
Write us at: [email protected] or www.facebook.com/ ymcabitola.org.mk
Art and Design
Viktor IlievIvana SpirovskaElena JonovskaBranko SpirovskiKevin Bouvier (Toxic Planet comic)
Karli-Marie ReyesBranko SpirovskiDarko VidanovskiAngel AguilarDenis Arslanovski
Translation & Adaptation
NotifY comes out every three months starting from January 2003 and is prepared by a team of YMCA Bitola volunteers. It is distributed for free in an elec-tronic format via e-mail. Everyone who is interest-ed in receiving the NotifY edition can go on www.ymcabitola.org.mk/notify_for_me. NotifY is for our members, partners and colleagues, and for every-one interested in getting involved in community life.
We appreciate your feedback and support
Read this issue in Macedonian Language
Editor-In-ChiefViktor Iliev
Subscribe to NotifY now!
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