creact 02
DESCRIPTION
The annual newsletter of creACTive for 2012TRANSCRIPT
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
W.www.kreaktiv.mk
YOUTH ASSOCIATION / CREACTIVE / 2012 / COPYRIGHT