Clubs in August

As YIC is on holiday

for much of August,

we will continue with

old and new clubs in

September.

More info on

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.c

om/groups/yic.members

.group/

July with

August 2012 #2

EVS volunteer Kert Kivaste

“Even if you expect it to go by fast, it still goes by faster than you expect!”

This is the line I’ve been using quite a lot recently as my EVS service is

about to end. From my previous experience with projects 6-12 months

long, I knew that half a year can go by extremely fast; therefore I tried to

make the most out of it from the beginning. I was mentally ready... or so I

thought, as now 5 months later it still feels like it went by in a flash.

I came from my nice, small, and completely flat country – Estonia – on the

9th of March 2012 to start my European Voluntary Service. The 22nd of

August would be my departure day.

During these past months I have held several different clubs in YIC, led a

series of soft skills training workshops for local volunteers, helped create

these newsletters, taught English at the Armenian Caritas “Little Prince”

Social Center, and of course was busy in July with helping to execute

Volunteering Month with YIC.

The time here has been a wonderful experience in my everlasting journey

of self-development. To start with, I had never lived abroad for such a long

time.

Although I would

surely do several

things differently if I

were to start over, all

in all it was an

absolutely fantastic

experience and I’m

especially grateful

that it happened in

such an inspiring and

motivating

environment as the

Youth Initiative

Center.

Kert Kivaste

Everyone who applies for EVS has a personal motivation and purpose, sometimes regardless of

the specific project. But I’m sure that my friends and I did not expect that I would become more

emotional after my project! That achievement was inconspicuous, but I’m very happy for that.

The only question I had after I read the project description for the first time was,

“Romania...What do I know about Romania? Nothing! So why not try?” And so I applied. I was

also very excited about the project description and happy that I would have a chance to learn

about forum theatre and street animation. I also knew that our team would consist of 9 other

young people, so there was a good chance to make new friends. I remember very well the day

that I was told I had been selected; I was very excited and happy that there were people next to

me to share my excitement. I started counting the days until my flight, until I would go to a

country about which I knew nothing.

When the day of my flight arrived, I felt excited but serene, ready for this new period of my life.

I had some trouble during the beginning of the project- I didn’t like Bucharest initially, I didn’t

know my teammates, and the hostel was too small for us and the guests, so the start of the project

was difficult for me. But after getting to know each other, I became friends with many of my

teammates, and we started to understand and support each other. And concerning Bucharest, once

my mentor- who was the best!- showed me “her Bucharest,” I really liked the city. Oftentimes I

walked through the city with my friends and discovered new things about Bucharest and

Romania.

During the project we worked together to organise a forum theatre festival, which included

sharing information about the festival, creating teaser videos about it, and performing street

animations to promote it. We even performed our own play, and as I had one of the main roles, I

needed to be very emotional; and I’m proud that I was able to do it better than any of us

expected. At the end of the project we discovered how much we had bonded with one another,

with our NGO, and even with Bucharest- so much so that some of us didn’t want to come back,

because two months is very short.

“EVS with YIC”

“Volunteering Month with YIC”

The month of July was very productive for YIC NGO, filled with both indoor and outdoor

activities in Gyumri. YIC, with the support of local and international volunteers, launched a series

of activities for local youth within the framework of the “Volunteering Month with YIC” initiative.

The activities were designed to promote volunteerism as a mechanism for youth participation. As

one of the primary advocates for voluntary work and youth participation in Northern Armenia, YIC

recognizes the importance of undertaking actions with local youth to get them more active and

help develop their potential to deal with the problems faced in the community, and encourage

youth to bring about the change they wish to see.

”Volunteering Month with YIC” was the promotion of voluntary initiatives, and was carried out

through the following activities:

Designing

T-Shirts

The month of July debuted

with a very creative

activity, which was the

designing of T-shirts to

promote volunteerism and

the Youth Initiative

Center. T-shirt painting

took place on the 2nd of

July at the YIC NGO

office. Local and

international volunteers, as

well as many active

members of YIC, gathered

together to hand-paint

unique shirts that

expressed the importance

and joy of volunteering.

This event was

purposefully created to

warm up the participants

for the set of vast and

varied activities that would

take place throughout the

rest of July.

Hugging Day

Within the same week, on the 4th of July, YIC NGO decided to take to the streets in order to

rally Gyumri residents to support and increase the community’s awareness of volunteers and

volunteering. YIC staff members, as well as volunteers and active YIC members, took a break

from the office to walk around the main square and along the pedestrian street to offer hugs and

smiles to passers-by. Everyone was pleased to find that people were quite friendly and many

appreciated the hugs and commitment to volunteering. The aim of the event was to promote

volunteering as an unpaid but very significant act that can have an enormous impact on both

the larger community and the volunteers themselves. Each participant of this event also held a

sign with the slogan “Volunteering = Hugging,” with the idea that you get similar feelings from

hugging as from volunteering.

Parents’ Day

Just as a ship cannot sail

without the support of the

entire crew, an organization

needs the support of each

member in order to reach its

full potential. So, in

recognition that each member

of YIC has a family that

supports and encourages their

participation in YIC’s events,

the Youth Initiative Center

invited parents to the office in

order to thank them for their

support and share information

about the NGO. Parents were

delighted to hear that their

children were involved with

something beyond reasonable

explanation.

Outdoor Painting

with Children

This artistic event was specially created

for children from the Hyus and the OLA

social centers. The purpose of the day

was to encourage the children to express

their thoughts and understanding about

volunteering. YIC gathered everyone

together near the main square behind the

famous Amenaprkitch church before

rolling out a “red carpet” of paper for

children to draw on. Children of all ages

imagined a world of volunteerism and

hope, and transformed this strip of paper

with their illustrations. This day was

very successful because it involved

caring children whom are very

significant to the immediate and

future development of Armenia.

Armenian

Constitution Day

On September 21st 1991,

almost 21 years ago, Armenia

gained independence from the

Soviet Union. This important

day was one of celebration for

Armenia and Armenians in

general. And on the 5th of July

1995, the country officially

reformed the constitution for

an independent Armenia.

Hence, May 5th has been

recognised as a public holiday

which Armenians cherish and

celebrate with traditional songs

and dance in Yerevan.

Additionally, each city and

village celebrates this day with

its own traditions and its own

style. YIC decided to mark this

day by drawing attention to the

rights and privileges

guaranteed by the Constitution.

YIC members prepared posters

and fliers with constitutional

information, which were

distributed by international and

local volunteers to passers-by,

along with many

congratulations!

European Voluntary

Service Action day

YIC NGO actively sends and hosts volunteers

within the European Voluntary Service. Hence,

EVS Action Day was dedicated to the

promotion of EVS to Armenian youth in

Gyumri. The participants each hung a poster

around their neck that exemplified their

voluntary service experience in one word (i.e.

self-discovery). YIC and EVS volunteers

circled around the city, explaining the activity

and inviting those who were interested to join

them.

Youth In Action Info Day

The following day, it was time to bring the

residents of Gyumri to us. For Info Day, YIC

invited interested parties and stakeholders-

including local NGOs and local youth- to learn

about the YiA program and the opportunities

for EVS. YiA multiplier Anahit Minasian from

the KASA Foundation gave a presentation

about how organizations can host EVS

volunteers, and then YIC’s own EVS volunteer,

Kert Kivaste, spoke about his current and

previous experiences as a volunteer, what he

has gained though volunteering, and what

organisations can potentially gain by hosting a

volunteer.

Birthright Armenia Info and Action Day

Birthright Armenia is an international organisation that gives the opportunity for diaspora

Armenians to visit Armenia and volunteer with different NGOs, governmental organizations, or

educational institutions. The Youth Initiative Center frequently collaborates with Birthright

Armenia to host international Armenian volunteers. Diaspora Armenians not only get the chance

to explore their country, but also to gain practical skills while volunteering with Armenian

locals. As July was a month dedicated to the promotion of both local and international

volunteering, YIC wanted to show support for the various organizations and programs available

to Armenian youth that encourage volunteerism in Armenia.

Flying Kites

Flying a kite can demonstrate optimism and moving forward, and can represent one’s hope for a

flourishing and thriving future of their country. Moreover, flying kites usually leaves participants with

positive thoughts and a hopeful spirit. To encourage such a spirit of positivity in Gyumri, YIC organized

a kite-flying event in which YIC members and interested passers-by made paper kites and decorated

them with volunteering slogans that had been thought up by local youth. Flying the kites was a symbol

of moving forward into a field of positive energy and hope.

Also during the busy month of July, a small group of active YIC members were invited to

travel to Turkey to attend an international training within the framework of the Youth in

Action (YiA) program. As expected, the trip to Turkey turned into an unforgettable

experience for all of the Armenian team members. The program, called “Nature-History-

Adrenaline,” was primarily centered around the Butterfly Festival that takes place annually

in the vicinity of Uzundere, near Erzurum. Besides the festival, the program was designed

to give an opportunity for young people from five different countries to meet one other,

share their unique cultural traditions and customs, introduce their respective countries,

develop new friendships and networks, and find out more about Turkey itself.

The training was oriented toward sports activities. The team from YIC had a great

experience visiting Tortum Lake and the waterfall, which is the third highest waterfall in the

world and offers rafting and canoeing activities. The teams were also taken to Erzurum

University to visit the campus; while there, they were invited to the sports campus where

they enjoyed a wonderful volleyball game and hiking. In 2009, Erzurum hosted the Winter

Olympic Games and thus has wonderful skiing resorts and skating facilities, which includes

a ski jump facility that is the highest in Europe. The Armenian team had an amazing

experience ice-skating in one of those facilities. Another wonderful, challenging experience

was during a camping trip in an area near Uzundere. The teams camped for three days and

took photographs of the beautiful butterflies and fascinating landscapes. Visiting historical

places and mosques, tasting the delicious cuisine, exploring the shopping centers, and

making new friends added to the overall joy the teams experienced. The trip to Turkey was

an unforgettable benchmark that will stay in their hearts forever.

Training in Turkey

One of YIC’s most well-known clubs- the International Club- organized an Indian

Wedding as the closing event in a series of cultural activities within the framework of

Indian Month at YIC. During the months of May and June, the International Club put

Indian culture in the spotlight to promote cross-cultural awareness in Gyumri, and

organised several activities designed to introduce traditional Indian events and history.

The simulated Indian wedding, which was the culminating event, focused on enhancing

people’s knowledge about India, Indian culture, traditions, customs, and national cuisine.

The first part of the event introduced participants to the ceremony and rituals particular to

a Northern Indian wedding, which was represented through an incredible performance by

the “bride” and “groom” and a separate explanation of each of the rituals. During the

second part of the event, guests were invited to experience another traditional Indian

custom – to sit together and enjoy traditional Indian tea and sweets. The entire event was

accompanied by Indian music and dances, and was attended by the First Secretary to the

Indian Embassy in Armenia.

Contacts

Address: Shirakatsi 177a, apt.2, Gyumri 3118, Armenia

E-mail: yic_ngo@yahoo.com

Website: www.YIC.am

Tel/Fax: +374 312 4-94-97

Indian wedding