Final Report INCM JATO 019 by easa.macedonia

INCM JATO 019

FINAL REPORT

TRPEJCA VILLAGE 05.10.019 - 14.10.019

Dear EASA JATO, This letter is an offering of gratitude from the Macedonian EASA JATO team to you all – the people that attended this INCM; the people that supported this INCM; and all of the people that have been, still are, and will be part of this extraordinary community. We will not use too many words, but we will try to maybe say just enough so we can be more clear about our overwhelmingly warm feelings. This INCM was a preparation. A preparation for us to decide who we really are; a preparation for the forgotten Macedonian people for brighter days; and a preparation for the EASA community in the direction of movement we caught a glimpse of, and for which we tried to offer the preparation for the big steps to come, letting go of the old ways. We wanted to offer and understanding that there is nowhere to go, nothing to do, and nobody we have to be except exactly who we are being right now. We are where we decide to be. We should stop trying to be somewhere, but just start being there. We cannot experience what we don’t know, and we don’t know we are there because we haven’t experienced it. It’s a circle, which we wanted to make a happy one. We wanted to let you see something you have not experienced and thus acknowledge it, and then experience it. Knowing opens the door to experience, not the other way around. We have come to realize that doing is a function of the body, and being is the function of the soul. The body is always doing something – it’s either at the behest of the soul – or in spite of the soul. The quality of our lives hangs in the balance. And those people in the village that had so little but offered to us everything they had, showed us how simple it is to be loving, selfless and joyous. We understood in this whole process that our souls don’t care what we do for a living – our souls only care about what we’re being while we’re doing whatever we are doing. It is a state of beingness the soul is after, not a state of doingness. Of course, the INCM is a gathering where doing things is very important to create a better version of our community, but this time we just wanted to do something that will also help the soul, and achieve that balance. While doing what we need to do, to support the experiences of the souls – happy, sad, weak, strong, joyful, insightful, good, bad, male, female. We wanted to be prepared for the change in awareness that is coming. If we don’t go within, we go without. To us, you have all been Light Bringers, and we hope we have also brought you gifts. See you tomorrow! With love always, EASA Macedonia

CONTENTS section 1 INTRODUCTION history timeline section 2 THE BIDDING the idea and the organizing team bidding preparation theme: JATO location: the village of Trpejca locals / hosts timing INCM Vitosha 2018 section 3 EVENT PREPARATIONS establishing EASA JATO-Skopje meetings communication dividing the responsibilities location logistics accommodation budget financial statement public relations sponsorships presentations food waste general logistics excursion to Krushevo website and social media graphics newsletters and communication with NCs fees

4 8 12 14 16 18 19 20 24 25 26 28 30 32 34 35 38 40 42 44 48 49 50 52 53 54 56

section 4 THE EVENT people of the INCM helpers days of the event section 5 AFTERMATH the effect of EASA on Trpejca the effect of Trpejca on EASA affecting a place what we learned section 6 SUPPORT support

60 64 68 78 80 82 84 91

INTRODUCTION

HISTORY TIMELINE

EASA

INCM

Liverpool, England - Starting up the EASA Experience 1981 Delft, Netherlands - Architecture of an Uncertain Future 1982 Lisboa, Portugal - Social Spaces 1983 Aarhus, Denmark - Turning Point in Architecture 1984 Athens, Greece - Interpretation and Action in the City 1985 Torino, Italy - Architecturi Latenti 1986 Helsinki, Finland - Architecture and Nature 1987 Berlin, Germany - The Dimensions Between 1988 Marseille, France - Heritage et Creative 1989 Barcelona, Spain Karlskron, Sweden - Exploration 1990 Vienna, Austria Kolomna, USSR - Regeneration 1991 Budapest, Hungary Urgup, Turkey - Vision 2000 Environment 1992 Oslo, Norway Sandwick, Scotland - The Isle 1993 Krakow, Poland Liege, Belgium - Consommer L’inconsumable 1994 Plovdiv, Bulgaria Zamosc, Poland - Beyond the Borders 1995 Berlin, Germany Clermont L’Herault, France - Dream Builders! 1996 Torino, Italy The Train, Scandinavia - Advancing Architecture 1997 Ljubljana, Slovenia Valetta Malta - Living on the Edge 1998 Tallinn, Estonia Kavala. Greece - Osmosis 1999 Zürich, Switzerland

EASA

INCM

Antwerp/Rotterdam, Belgium/Netherlands - Similarities 2000 Tal-Fanal, Gozo, Malta Gökçeada, Turkey - No Theme 2001 Berlin, Germany Vis, Croatia - Senses 2002 Bornholm, Denmark Friland, Denmark - Sustainable Living 2003 Ljubljana, Slovenia Roubaix, France - Metropolitain-Micropolitain 2004 Belgrade, Serbia Bergun, Switzerland - Trans, Transit, Transition 2005 Brighton, UK Budapest, Hungary - Common Place 2006 Moscow, Russia Elefsina, Greece - City_index 2007 Motovun, Croatia Letterfrack, Ireland - Adaptation 2008 Nicosia, Cyprus Val Camonica, Italy - Super(m)ARCHet 2009 Schaan, Liechtenstein Manchester, England - Identity 2010 Copenhagen, Denmark Cadiz, Spain - deCOASTruction 2011 Baku, Azerbaijan Helsinki, Finland - Wastelands 2012 Vienna, Austria Žužemberk, Slovenia - Reaction 2013 Bucharest, Romania Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria - Symбиоза 2014 Berlin, Germany Valetta, Malta - Links 2015 Glasgow-Forres, Scotland Nida, Lithuania - Not Yet Decided 2016 Madrid, Spain Fredericia, Denmark - Hospitality. Finding the Framework 2017 Lapland, Finland Rijeka, Croatia - RE:EASA 2018 Vitosha, Bulgaria Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland - Tourist? 2019 TRPEJCA, MACEDONIA Valga, Estonia - Apathy 2020 Valka, Latvia - Just INCM Kragujevac, Serbia - Reality 2021

THE BIDDING

THE IDEA and how it gathered the ORGANIZING TEAM In 2015 Irena and Hristina had their first experience with the EASA community on EASA Links in Malta. This encounter changed our understanding of architecture, human relations, and ourselves in general, which lead to many successes and failures we experienced as a team later on. Ever since this EASA event we always felt that we would like to pay our respects and gratitude to the community but we didn’t really know how this can be possible. In 2016 before EASA Not Yet Decided in Lithuania, Hristina was assigned to be the NC of EASA Macedonia, and this was the year where some discussions started popping up about a potential bid for an INCM in Macedonia. However, time was just breezing by and all conversations were stagnated because in this point of NC role transitions, Macedonia didn’t really have a team that could take on such a task, especially since it was not really clear what the INCM was about since no one in the new team had ever attended this event. In 2017 the Finnish team organized INCM Impact/Intact, which was the first INCM that Hristina took part in. It was a time of personal growth, gathering an overwhelming amount of information, endless conversations with people, and new ideas being born. We will forever be grateful to Morta Pilkaite, Blathmhac O’Murry, Filip Pracic and Mattia Petrolani for all the answered questions, brainstorm conversations, and endless support in the wonderful cold Finnish days; and the Finish team for organizing such inspirational event that shifted the energy and commitment in the small team of two Macedonians at that time. Few weeks before going to RE:EASA we met Darko, whom we’ve known for few months but never really talked too much with, at a party for the architecture master graduates of the university in Skopje. At some point, we found ourselves spilling out everything that we were thinking and talking about EASA and INCM, and after listening until the end, Darko asked – ‘ Why don’t you do this in Trpejca? I will help you ‘. We hugged him and realized that we have already fallen in love with this person, and the team started growing.

Our strategy was to get as many people as we can on the EASA that year, so we suggested to those that have already attended the event to apply either as a tutor, helper or a guest; so we could ideally have all places for participants open for new people. That year the Macedonian team that attended EASA was quite big â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there were 7 participants, 4 tutors, 3 helpers and 1 guest, among which were Aleksandar, Veronika, Andrej and Iva. Aleksandar was of course our support and part of the EASA team for many years. He had been tutoring for couple of years at that point with the Soundscape workshop, and working with music in general for many years, which in a way predetermined his INCM responsibilities to technical equipment quite early on. Veronika was a Macedonian participant on EASA in Malta and Denmark. There has always been a relationship filled with love between us, but somehow we always lost touch after meeting on EASA. But we knew that we wanted her on our team, and her taking part as a helper on RE:EASA was very insightful and helpful, which again, somehow predetermined her responsibility on the INCM which was Helpers. We had been studying with Andrej in the same year in university, but coincidentally never exchanged a word until we noticed his attention to detail and commitment to do things properly. After seeing him taking a stand for the student body with the professors, we knew that we want him in the team. After that there were few invitations convincing him to apply as a participant on RE:EASA, which fortunately he ditd in the last 5 minutes of the deadline. Iva was a flower that lifted up the energy in the team with bad jokes from the start. We never knew her before her application for RE:EASA, but she had the best application that year and offered us her unconditional love with a lot of snack crumbs in our beds. After coming back from Croatia, Hristina and Darko went to village to explore the possibilities, and by the middle of August of 2018 we had a final location.

As we approached our explanation in our presentation in Vitosha; the process of forming this team, the relationships with these people we have known for years but we always leave only to come back to them, and the strong feelings of togetherness and love reached on the level of a group of 500 people, gave us the direction of the theme and what we would like to achieve on a personal level with this INCM – not only our personal experiential aspect, but every person separately and together that would attend the event. We really wanted to have a Macedonian word that would represent our theme as an invitation to the community, and after a very short conversation of ‘How about ‘JATO’? It can’t make more sense than that.’ ‘Mmmm JATO.. That’s actually very good. Епа ај.’ we had found the word for our theme. The last week of August we approached every person that we felt in love with individually, presented what we have been thinking about and asked them if they would like to form a team with us. We were extremely lucky that every one of them said yes, and full-heartedly gave everything they had to make the event an outpouring of love and gratitude.

BIDDING PREPARATION The bidding ideas were lingering for few years, so in reality there was a very short and efficient preparation for the actual bid. We had a meeting where we agreed on what we want to be the contents of our bid, what we would like to express with them, which are the tasks we need to do to achieve this and what are the time frames so we finish on time. The big tasks that we were working on were presentation, video, support and concept development. Each task was divided into smaller tasks and there were different smaller teams of 2 or 3 people working on them, for example, for the presentation there was a list of things we want to show divided into slides, and each person chose which slides they work on; or for the video there was a team of 2 that went to the village to film, and then another editing team who made the final product; etc. It was very important to get all the approvals and support we could get for this event beforehand, so we were contacting the city of Ohrid (under whose authority falls the village of Trpejca), the chairman of the school, and the locals in the village, presenting them with our ideas and asking for their opinions and support. We also contacted the Architecture faculty in Skopje, the Chamber of Architects and some local companies, so we can have a clear image of how this would be perceived and if there would be any institutions interested to help us if we do get the approval of the EASA community. Of course, most of the replies before and after the INCM Vitosha were different (read more in the Support section of the Report). The reality in this point of time was that the personal aspect of why we want to organize this event was very clear to us, but the concept that would affect the community in a way that is not personal seemed quite vague. We always had the thought that to evolve the community, first the individual must evolve, but how to specifically affect the practical discussions was not very defined. In the time of the bidding we knew that we wanted to improve the communication and understanding of the practical function of the community, but we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the answers in how to do that yet. For this reason the INCM Vitosha was of great importance to us, to watch, listen, feel and experience, in order to take that opportunity as a stepping stone in what would come next.

THEME: JATO JATO in Macedonian can directly be described and translated as FLOCK in English. This is the flock of animals or people that is constantly changing places. This form of a moving family that always separates and then comes back to their own grounds. Being part of the EASA community for some years now, there is a very important experience of the first encounter we have noticed is repeatedly happening. It is always filled with a lot of care and refreshment of the new person these people we’ve known for so long have become. While talking about these encounters and feelings, specific themes kept coming up - like the home and family and connection, so we kept thinking how interesting it is that we are a part of this constantly changing and constantly traveling community, but the feelings never change. Even though the people and the places change, the feelings they carry with them are always constant. These are the two focus points in the base of the theme JATO – the idea of family and home, and the idea of consistency through change, or continuity through change that we wanted to bring forward. If we adopt this mindset of ourselves as this arbitrary family we are a JATO of people. A JATO that is migrating to different places of the world, welcomed by the local community with great hospitality which they impact, and at the same time leaving the environment intact. JATO that is reanimating the previous EASA experiences in continuity. We were interested to see what would happen with the flock when we put it into context, and settle every country in different village house. The theme of JATO becomes very clear in this way, because the EASA community, which has no physical structure, integrates into another community in its truest form. This we found to be a wonderful chance to evolve ourselves individually and together, by taking every moment and connection with the locals to observe and understand directions on how decisions can be made. By forming a relationship with a real community that survives together based on mutual decisions, just in a different context than ours, we hoped to take a chance to compare the different layers and learn the offered lessons. By cohabiting in this way, both sides – the EASA and local community – would experience the impact they have on each other, which could be greater than any impact we have experienced before.

LOCATION: THE VILLAGE OF TRPEJCA From the very beginning we were quite confident that the village of Trpejca is the location that’s strongly connected to the theme and what we aimed to achieve with it. Trpejca enabled us to show all the different elements that make the beautiful nature of our country, and its locals helped us display our culture and tradition. One picturesque village in the heart of a National Park, “captured” between one of Europe’s oldest and deepest lakes-Lake Ohrid and Galicica Mountain, which offers a unique experience enhanced with traditional people, delicious local food, amazing views and fresh air. We felt this was enough for the united communities to create a fruitful atmosphere for a thriving event. Since we were planning for the accommodation to be in the houses of the locals, living together under one roof, we noticed it would be very easy to move around the village, even though we’d be spread all over, everything is within walking distance of maximum 10-15 minutes. Something quite convenient was that the village is 20 km from the city of Ohrid, a city that represents a part of the most specific Macedonian architecture, and both cultural and natural UNESCO World Heritage site. Another different but interesting experience for the attendees. Since no one from the organizing team originates from Trpejca, the first step was to visit it, talk to the locals and determine possible venues for the event. What encouraged us the most and gave us confidence in the choice of location were the reactions of the locals when asked “What if we bring 200 architecture students from all over Europe next year to Trpejca?”. Their common positive answers gave us an instant sign of hospitality and vibe of belonging. Although we were always prepared for unforeseen problems, the first and positive instinct proved to be accurate until the end of the event.

LOCALS / HOSTS There are only 300 inhabitants living in the village, so it was easy to get to know almost everyone and even easier for them to recognize us just from the second time we visited the village, always welcoming us warmly, asking when are we bringing our friends. An experience that was new and interesting even for us, all living in bigger cities. We realized that such a close-knit community could be of great benefit and help during the event as well as during the preparations. Most of the villagers are elders, meaning they are almost always present in their homes and eager for interactions with their guests, which was really important for the concept of the theme.

TIMING In terms of setting the dates for the event, although we took into consideration the start of the academic year in most universities, we wanted to take advantage of the last warm and sunny autumn days, when the beauty of the village is enhanced by the colors, scents, tastes and sounds. The warm weather would allow us to bathe in the clearest waters in Macedonia and one of the most beautiful beaches on the lake. So, connecting two weekends was the best solution for everyone to be able to attend while experiencing Trpejca in the best light possible. This time of the year the locals are always in their yards, taking care of the garden, livestock, making ajvar, gjomleze, rakija, wine, pickled vegetables, jam and various delicious meals. Most of these specialties are traditionally prepared in the fall, which is amazing to see, smell, feel, taste and maybe help in the process of making. Another learning and bonding experience for both communities - living in eachotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural habits brought us closer to oneness and peace.

INCM VITOSHA 2018 The beautiful mountain Vitosha has been soothing to our feelings of excitement, uncertainty, stress and acquaintance with something new, as for all the organizers (except Hristina) this was the first INCM we attended. It was a perfect atmosphere for understanding the character of the event, which we experienced for the first time. Since we aimed to organize an INCM it certainly was the best idea for all of us to be present in order to see how the event functions, all the things we have to learn, take into consideration, adapt or improve. We were honored that our proposal came alongside three other amazing proposals provided by three amazing teams: Turkey, Malta and Latvia. After spending the day together our feelings of anticipation were calmer as we shared the proposals and concluded that all the suggestions were very good. Some ideas were unique and different from ours and others had different approaches to ideas very similar to ours.

EVENT PREPARATIONS 23

ESTABLISHING EASA-JATO SKOPJE The first thing we did after we came back in Skopje, was preparing documents for registration of EASA Macedonia as an NGO. For that purpose, we hired a lawyer that helped us with the application papers. We submitted the documents at the beginning of November and by the end of December EASA JATO â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Skopje was established as an NGO. After this, we opened an official EASA JATO â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Skopje bank account. This procedure is necessary for applying for grants, open calls and getting any kind of financial sponsorship. One thing we realized a bit late, was that we did not do our best with choosing the right bank since they are taking high monthly fees for keeping the account, so we would suggest to always look up the conditions of different banks before settling on one.

MEETINGS Something that we all agreed upon from the beginning, even before bidding, was to spend a lot of time together. This was partly because we were very different people that don’t know each other very well, and if we want to be able to work together for more than a year with mutual respect we would have to appreciate and acknowledge each other’s strong points, weak points, and breaking points. Meeting at least once per week allowed us to give each other tasks and a mild pressure that we need to finish them in the next seven days. This meant that the tasks could not be too overwhelming, so we had to break them down and make structured plans for each task that needs to be done, and we would just update the plan on every meeting and move on. Having one big task broken down to many smaller ones, also gave us space to be efficient and move on quickly, as well as having space for the unexpected things that are changing every day not to move us from where we stand, but to just adjust and continue working in the new direction. Having weekly goals and each other’s support was a very important strength that we believe the team built up in those days. Ideally everyone would attend the meetings, however even if only 3 people were available that week, or there were not many updates to share, we would still meet every week just to have a conversation on how everything is going. It is incredible how productive those conversations could be. During the event, we didn’t do an amazing job with the team meetings, but that was because they were mostly not needed. By this time we had already learned how to communicate to each other in a way that the information would reach everyone as soon as one person received it. Living together and having all activities in a compact area was of great help from the aspect of reaching each other at all times very easily. In this way unintentionally we would meet up for a meal or a cup of coffee.

COMMUNICATION Another thing that made things much easier to handle and deal with was the mutual communication. It was very clear to everyone that we need to talk to each other at all times about all things. Starting with just a consultation on a problem or a small insignificant update or a reply to an email or Instagram conversation, every person on the team knew exactly was is happening at all times. Between the meetings, we would group chat or call throughout the day about things that could be worked out in this way, and select and put aside things that should be discussed on a meeting. This turned out to work very well from the aspect of fluidity of information, fast reflexes concerning a problem, and working and presenting as a team in general - which was one of our goals. Another very important part of the communication was complete and utter honesty between us as people. We had long conversations on the topic, trying to define the relationship we want to have, which was a relationship of love, acceptance, gratitude, understanding and honesty. Of course, this did not mean that things went smoothly just because of those conversations, but even when there were arguments; anger and misunderstanding, the base was always honesty, straight-forwardness and not taking things to heart. The close relationships were there, but there was always a layer of air when it came to work and critiques on how to do a better job. This was another point that developed into a strength of the team by the time the highest stress happened before the event.

DIVIDING THE RESPONSIBILITIES In the months between INCM Vitosha and INCM Jato we turned into sponges. We were talking to as many people as we could on many different topics, trying to figure out how to improve. Something that we always went back to was the advices the Finish team gave in their closing presentation on the INCM Impact/Intact in Finland in 2017. One of those advices was - when dividing responsibilities, always have a partner. It took us quite some time to understand who is dealing with which responsibility best. In the year of work, the responsibilities switched a lot between different people until they settled into the responsibilities every team member had on the event. This happened in this way, mostly because things were always decided and worked on in the whole team, so even though we tended to have one partner, somehow each person always ended up having six. However, something that is very important to have in the team is at least two people responsible for coordination and task redistribution from start to finish. In general, we divided the workload in the following tasks/responsibilities: - Registration & Legal Matters - Finances - Sponsorships – State Institutions & Private Sector - Public Relations & Social Media - Transport - Merchandise - Accommodation & Hosts - Food - Discussions Space – Tent - Community Center – School - Bar – School - Discussions & Moderation People of the INCM - NCs/Helpers/Guests/Moderators/Bidding Teams/Organizers Having those as the big tasks, some of them needed to be worked on during the whole year, but others only in different points. For example, the Registration was a paperwork task that needed to handle in the first month after coming back from Vitosha; the Finances went on even after the event was finished; and the Bar was only during the event.

For the event the responsibilities of the organizers were divided in three sections: 1. General Responsibilities Aleksandar Balzadarski – Technical Equipment Andrej Dojchinovski – Infopoint Darko Mojsoski – Transport Hristina Sekuloska – Biddings & Discussions Structure Veronika Osmanli – Food & Bar Irena Milojeska – Infopoint & Presentationts Iva Jovanova – Merchandise & General Help Aleksandra Kostadinovska – Photography 2. People of the INCM Responsibilities Andrej Dojchinovski & Irena Milojeska – NCs & Guests Hristina Sekuloska – Moderators, Bidding Teams & Past/Future Organizers Veronika Osmanli & Iva Jovanova – Helpers 3. Accommodation Responsibilities Andrej Dojchinovski – Belgium, Montenegro, Albania, France, Helpers (1st Shift), Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy. Hristina Sekuloska – Macedonia (& Moderators), Croatia, Netherlands, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Switzerland. Veronika Osmanli – Hungary, Greece, Ukraine, Portugal, Georgia, Helpers (2nd Shift), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Austria, Spain, Germany, Finland, Turkey, Sweden. Irena Milojeska – Serbia, CLEA, Luxemburg, Moldova, Lithuania, Slovenia, Czech Republic. Iva Jovanova – Poland, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Ireland, England, Romania, Iceland, Scotland, Belarus, Malta, Slovakia.

LOCATION LOGISTICS The only downside to the location before the event was that we were all living in other cities and we didn’t have cars. Because of this shortage, in order to be resourceful we had to divide into small teams and go multiple times, which resulted in strenuous visits and lack of time to complete all the tasks. The bad schedule of the travel carriers also added to the difficulties. We paid all initial expenses out of our own pocket, which is something future organizers should be prepared for if they don’t find sponsorship at the early stage of organizing. In conclusion, it’s very important to plan the travel costs and have cars at hand. The facilitating circumstance was that we didn’t have to come to the village long before the event, as we could work on the main preparations elsewhere, thus saving on accommodation costs. INCM VENUES The preliminary venues were the village school for a community center where the info point would be located, as well as a community room and storage, and a bar next to the lake. In terms of food, the initial idea was to prepare our own food in one of accommodation houses, if conditions allowed. The school premises have proven to be a good space for transformation and adaptation to the needs of the event. We were easily granted permission to use them, by the Municipality of Ohrid, as well as their support, provided that we did not disturb the school classes. Although the facility was not in the best condition, we saw an opportunity with a little effort to transform it into a cleaner and better space, in order to also be used by the locals after the event. The school principal expressed his support by self-initiating measures to remove some minor hazards of the building. Considering being more budget-friendly and resourceful, we came to the conclusion that renting a tent for the discussion space would save labor, time, money, and we’d avoid purchasing materials that couldn’t be used after the event. With the same mindset, instead of renting a separate bar space, the common room at night was transformed into a bar, with the info point right next to it. This way, we not only saved resources, but also provided a more flexible way of using the space, as well as orienting all the main activities and needs of the community in one place. Having considered all the options we concluded that the most convenient way would be to only prepare the breakfast, and the other two meals would be provided by a nearby restaurant that uses local produce to prepare traditional Macedonian food.

ACCOMMODATION Although most locals have confirmed since our first visits that they’re interested in accommodating students and have expressed their support, we began the technical preparations for the accommodation two months before the event. Firstly, we went through all the houses in the village, met the owners, reviewed the conditions and concluded how many people we could accommodate.Tourism has long been one of the main occupations of the people in Trpejca. As a result, many of the houses have been converted into luxury guest suites in the summer, with business-oriented owners who don’t even live in the village after the summer. That kind of atmosphere didn’t fit neither the theme nor the budget. On the other hand, we were quickly and easily charmed by the atmosphere of traditional houses where mostly elderly locals or families lived. We couldn’t remain indifferent to the modest, kitschy but immensely warm interior, enhanced by the scent of a traditional home-cooked meal, strong rakija, old rugs, hand embroidered decorations, warm hugs, kisses, compliments and endless hospitality. Perhaps because we reminded them of their own grandchildren, from the beginning they showed an understanding of our organization and the problems we had with the budget, so they expressed a desire to help as much as they could. We agreed on a small fee to cover the cost of the period we would stay with them. For easier navigation in the village and to symbolize a temporary INCM village, we placed numbers and flags of the countries living there at the gates of the houses. The houses were marked on the village map provided in the welcome pack. The fact that we had to arrange a number of houses throughout the village with a well-planned schedule was the reason why we asked the EASA community to give us a precise and definitive answer for their presence at the event. To our disappointment, many reported canceling a day or two before or during the event, and some did not even report their cancellation. For this reason we did not only have a big budget loss, but we had to rearrange the houses and layouts that were so detailed and well planned. This caused us unplanned and unnecessary problems for which we shouldn’t have wasted energy during the event. Hopefully this kind of behavior won’t be an issue for future events.

BUDGET From the beginning we knew that there was no other way to make INCM JATO happen than to cover a significant part of the costs through sponsorship and grants. The very first budget calculations we started with were quite overestimated, at around 37,000.00 â&#x201A;Ź. This was mainly because we had to guess certain costs, since there was no way of finding out the correct prices at that time, and we always guessed higher for safety. As work progressed and things started getting clearer, the needed budget started getting lower. But more importantly, as the event kept getting nearer, and we kept getting negative or no responses at all to our sponsorship requests, we were forced to significantly reduce our budget goal to the very minimum required for (a less successful) INCM. A month before the start of the event, we had still not succeeded in securing the minimum necessary funds, and by this point we thought we were doomed to failure. Finally, during the last two weeks before INCM JATO, some of our sponsorship requests were approved and the budget goal was reached, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when we finally knew that we were going to make it.

Some sponsors sent funds to our bank account and we had the freedom to choose how to spend them, others sent us the money and we were only allowed to use it for specific items from the budget. Some sponsors agreed to cover certain costs directly, so we handed them the invoices and they paid them - this way the money didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to go through our organization and that was a relief for us (these have still been calculated in the financial statement since we knew the exact numbers). And then, some sponsorships we received in the form of certain services being provided to us, and these have not been calculated in the financial statement since we do not know the costs of those (e.g. the mobile toilets we had on site of the event). Lastly, some sponsors provided us with free products, and these have also not been taken into account in the financial statement.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT INCOME

26,600.00 €

Fees Sponsorship

17,000.00 € 9,600.00 €

EXPENSES

25,630.00 €

Accommodation Travel Food Drinks Discussions tent Printing Technical equipment, tools, materials Administrative Pre-INCM activities Other BALANCE

7,000.00 € 2,400.00 € 7,200.00 € 1,720.00 € 2,250.00 € 1,860.00 € 1,600.00 € 900.00 € 400.00 € 300.00 € 970.00 €

*Note: Some of the numbers have been rounded to give better overview of the financial statement, considering the conversion from denars to euros. The remaining money will be used for printed copies of the Final Report, as well as small local EASA-related activities in the following period (like promoting the upcoming events etc.)

INCOME

Sponsorship

Fees

EXPENSES Other Pre-INCM Activities Administrative Tech. equipment, tools, materials

Accommodation

Printing Discussions tent Travel Drinks Food

EXPENSES IN MORE DETAIL TRAVEL

2,400.00 €

Bus tickets, gas/petrol etc. Excursion - renting 3 buses Excursion - entrance fee

1,000.00 € 1,300.00 € 100.00 €

FOOD

7,200.00 €

Catering Fruit Excursion lunch (burek) Restaurant receipts Supermarket-bought food

6,000.00 € 120.00 € 130.00 € 250.00 € 700.00 €

DRINKS

1,720.00 €

Beer, cider, soda (all from same company) Wine, liquor, tea, coffee etc. Natural juice

1,000.00 € 470.00 € 250.00 €

DISCUSSIONS TENT

2,250.00 €

Tent renting Bean bags renting Floor tarps

1,700.00 € 480.00 € 70.00 €

PRINTING

1,860.00 €

Welcome packs Everything else

1,260.00 € 600.00 €

PUBLIC RELATIONS Before we start explaining how we managed things connected with the public relations, we must emphasize one really important thing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Macedonia is a small country and Skopje is a city where you can reach a lot of information easily but you need to know the right person for the right thing (or a friend of a friend of the right person). Therefore, at the beginning, we did not really know where to start or which medium needs to be contacted to promote our work and we basically started with writing official mail to all the TVs, magazines, online magazines and radio stations. And we did not get any reply. Then there was a desperation phase of couple of months until we started writing on private social media of the reporters or the daughter of the producer or the news editor. For our big surprise, they replied to us immediately and we were invited on three national televisions, had three interviews (two of them are the first two links below) and three articles on online magazines. The format of the interviews was to promote EASA and INCM JATO and also to ask for any kind of sponsorship that can help us in organizing the event. However, we had a nice time but we did not get any feedback. So we continued on working and posting stuff on our social media but we were beyond disappointed of how much our work was disrespected and not taken seriously. Two weeks before the start of the event one of our friends connected us with one medium called Investigative Reporting Lab, which gave us the opportunity to explain every single thing that happened to us (this is connected with the freedom of journalism in Macedonia) naming every single national or private institution, ministry and people from the government who acted like they are helping us when in reality they did not care. If you see the video (for those who do not understand Macedonian language) it looks like we are happy and we are talking about how thankful we are for everything that is happening with our organization, but in fact, we are actually talking about how miserable is our country in terms of helping youth initiatives.

To be honest we were extremely scared with going public with all those names but it actually turned out that this is the only way we can get any recognition of what we are doing, so a lot of crucial things happened a week before the event just because of that interview. Random people started posting lists on Facebook of how can people help us with organizing the INCM starting with the basics like sponsorship for toilet paper up to asking for financial support (more about this in the SPONOSORS section). TV Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90q6OFUAuGg (link interview from 1TV) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DToGAK_K0pE (link interview from TELMA TV) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4je9y4kbs (link interview from Investigative Reporting Lab) Online magazines: https://marh.mk/trpejca-incm-jato-2019/ https://magazin.antoris.mk/incm-jato-2019-makedonskata-arhitektura-i-kultura-na-evropskata-arhitektonska-scena/ https://www.radiomof.mk/makedonski-studenti-po-arhitektura-zhiveeja-uchea-i-rabotea-so-vrsnici-i-profesionalci-od-cel-svet-vo-shvajcarija/

SPONSORSHIPS As we said in the PUBLIC RELATIONS section, in Macedonia you need to know the right person for the right thing. When we established our organisation in the Central Register, we started looking for national grants and open calls for projects connected with culture, visual arts and tourism since we do not have a lot of them that are actually connected specifically to architecture. We started with a proper official approach to all potential supporters, however it bore no fruit. Here is a list with a rough time frame of our activities during the past year: OCTOBER We approached every possible embassy in Macedonia with an official mail where we were asking about a possible arrangement of a meeting because some of the embassies here are famous for giving funds to young creatives for cultural projects. OCTOBER We applied at the open call from the Ministry of culture in the section of funding projects connected with architecture and visual arts. We did this by applying as individuals since we did not have our organisation registered yet. NOVEMBER We contacted every possible company, institution, foundation, association, insurance companies, banks, food industries, architectural offices, faculties, civil engineering companies in Macedonia for searching for any kind of sponsorship followed by an e-mail and phone contact. DECEMBER We contacted the embassies again because we did not get any reply before. DECEMBER We applied on the open call from the Agency promoting the Macedonian tourism. JANUARY We got a reply from the Croatian, Dutch, Polish and Hungarian embassy for a meeting about the possibilities of helping this event to happen. JANUARY-FEBRUARY-MARCH Still contacting everyone and everything, still no feedback. FEBRUARY-MARCH Dead period because of the prime minister elections. MARCH Approved financial support from the Chamber of architects in Macedonia, Dutch Embassy, Polish Embassy, Ministry of culture. APRIL-MAY We contacted again every single architectural studio. Still no reply. JUNE We contacted everything said before for the 1293845 time. Still no reply.

JULY-AUGUST EASA TOURIST HYPE Before Switzerland, we sent a desperate letter to the prime minister of Macedonia, but to be honest, we did not expect any reply. After we came back, we were contacted by a special adviser of the prime minister and we had a meeting talking about some possibilities given that we only have not even two months till the start of the INCM. For a whole month we were hopeful that we can have some support because as we said on the presentation in Vitosha, we could cover a bigger amount of expenses from the fees (accommodation and food), but we did not have money for the tent, sound system, transport, for the bean bags, for the toilets and for a bunch of other smaller things and unexpected expenses. Then the IRL interview happened ( more in the PUBLIC RELATIONS section ). After this, we were EXTREMELY scared and panicked, but actually this is the time when the good things started really happening. We had a pretty long and productive conversation with Tedy in Switzerland, where he said that we should not quit searching for support till the very beginning of the event or even during it. So it really was like that. After that interview we were contacted by a couple of architectural studios, agency of youth and sports finally approved the financial support, and we were called from the cabinet of the president of Macedonia (they gave us transport and toilets ). We also got a bit of support from our family: Iva’s father gave us money from his company, Hristina’s parents paid for our breakfasts, Irena’s mother gave us the projector, Baltazar’s father made the juices, Veronika’s father did magic with the electricity and with our internet <3.

PRESENTATIONS Since the Dutch and Polish Embassy were one of our main sponsors, we were expected to emphasize their importance on our event. Therefore, we decided that we would make something noteworthy and suitable for the INCM. We invited the Dutch and the Polish NCs to make a short presentation, which will tackle some architectural problems and topics. For this purpose we decided to make the OPEN DAY with a program for those who are interested to visit our event and follow an agenda of happenings which will introduce them to the INCM. This day included the Dutch and the Polish presentation, cocktail from the French institute and the famous BBQ party with Macedonian traditional dancing. The Dutch presentation was held by Saskia and Dorien where they were presenting about their event NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED which took place in Delft in 2018 connecting it to a very relatable issue that is concerning the architecture students in general and in Macedonia also â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the importance of student activism in architectural and social practises. The Polish presentation was held by Joanna and Olga and our friend Elena Andonova from Macedonia which was related to the Polish architectural influence in the Macedonian modernism, and about the significant faces in the Polish architecture Oskar and Zofia Hansen.

FOOD From the very beginning in the process of organising, we knew that we wanted to serve only traditional Macedonian food including dishes that are typical for our cuisine and basically dishes we eat at home. Our original plan was to hire a cook and try to find sponsors for food in terms of easing the expenses for that part of the event. Very soon after, we realized that this is not possible from two aspects â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we did not have the space and we did not have the time (and as we said at the sponsors section, the food companies were either ignoring us either giving us fake promises that we knew they would not keep from the experience of similar initiatives). This was the moment when we started thinking about searching for restaurants offers, although we were scared about that option because we thought that this would cost us much more than we calculated in the first estimated budget. However, there was no other option so we kept on searching for a potential restaurant. At first we approached Ribar, JATOs favorite restaurant in Trpejca ( or Central Perk as Louis would call it ) and the one next to it, but they said they did not have the capacity to cook for around two hundred people. Then we asked some catering companies and restaurants in Ohrid but the proposed prices were very high. Finally, we found a very reasonable offer from restaurant Ostrovo in St. Naum (a place next to Trpejca) which included lunch and dinner. This was a really good option in terms of quality of the food and lowering our responsibilities because their offer included: preparing the food, transporting the food to the school and also serving the food, but since we had food helpers they let us do that part. We were paying the food per person per day, so before the official start of the event we gave them a list for each day of the event with a specific number of people and specific time for the food serving, but we also agreed on making changes day by day since we got problems with people canceling their attendance during the event and not paying their fee.

The main cook of the restaurant proposed a menu which is suitable for the event, and with the tiny changes we added, we managed to create the perfect menu with perfect food. Us, as organizers are living proof of that fact because we all gained 3 or 4 kilos. Unbelievably our only problem with the food was that it was too much, because the cook expected that we eat much bigger portions and eat much more bread. So the first 2 days we had a big amount of food leftovers (which ended up like a food for the domestic animals) and because of that we reduced the quantity for the following days. The breakfast was prepared by our food helpers in the helpers house and was based on light oatmeal combined with different fruits and spices each day (apples, bananas, pears, coconut and dry fruits). Below you will find the official menu of INCM JATO (you probably will not find familiar names because these are traditional Macedonian dishes): DAY 1 LUNCH Sarma (vegetarian/vegan and omnivore) Bread (regular and gluten free) DINNER Potato манџа (vegetarian/vegan and omnivore) Bread (regular and gluten free) Cucumber salad DAY 2 LUNCH BUREK (pizza, cheese) Vegan sandwiches DINNER Beans (with and without sausages) Bread (regular and gluten free) Cabbage salad Dessert: TULUMBA DAY 3 LUNCH Gjomleze + tomato salad and sour cream Gluten free meal DINNER Lentils meal (with and without pork) Bread (regular and gluten free) Roasted peppers

DAY 4 LUNCH Pindzur + cheese Bread (regular and gluten free) DINNER Stuffed peppers (vegetarian/vegan and omnivore) Bread (regular and gluten free) Cucumber and tomato salad DAY 5 LUNCH Ajvar + cheese Bread (regular and gluten free) DINNER Ohrid trout fish + baked potatoes (for omnivores and pescatarians) Broccoli + baked potatoes (for vegans and vegetarians) DAY 6 LUNCH BUREK (pizza and cheese) Vegan sandwiches DINNER Turlitava (vegetarian/vegan and omnivore) Bread (regular and gluten free) DAY 7 LUNCH Vegetables pottage Bread (regular and gluten free) DINNER Musaka (vegetarian/vegan and omnivore) Bread (regular and gluten free) Tomato + cucumber salad DAY 8 LUNCH Pastrmajlija (vegetarian/vegan and omnivore) DINNER BBQ PARTY DAY 9 LUNCH Ajvar + cheese Bread (regular and gluten free)

DINNER Roasted vegetables Bread (regular and gluten free)

WASTE Selecting and dealing with waste is a big issue in our country. In the past few years, the citizens are getting more and more aware about this situation, but even though they want to reconsider those habits, local authorities do not provide facilities for sorting waste and recycling, not even in the big cities. As you have seen, Trpejca is a very small village and the only spot for that were the garbage containers next to the upper gate at the school - and of course those were for every kind of waste. As we were around two hundred people that attended at that specific time, the waste produce was much more than usual. So we decided to transport the garbage in the nearest spot for selecting waste which was in Ohrid. As we mentioned in the FOOD section, the first couple of days we had some issues with the quantity of food we get from the Ostrovo restaurant. They expected that we eat much bigger portions, so those days we had a big amount of food leftovers. However, we asked the villagers that take care of livestock if they want extra food for the animals, so thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how we made a perfect balance and everyone was happy and full.

GENERAL LOGISTICS The approach we used for planning all responsibilities regarding the logistics was by imagining as detailed as possible all the actions that are going to happen, and all the resources and people needed to execute them. Our priority in planning was to avoid buying things that we would not use or that would become waste after use. We were trying to be as rational as possible. Especially when you are on a tight budget and have no sponsorship for certain products, the research for the cheapest and the best solution is painstaking but worthwhile. The first step was to get the necessary supplies that were more expensive or couldn’t be found nearby and figure out a way to transport them. We managed to get a van and a car packed with all the necessities. Everything else needed was either brought from Ohrid, or delivered by suppliers. The first step in preparing the premises was cleaning the school and the surrounding area, making repairs, leveling the terrain for the tent. All this was important to complete before bringing the goods, bar equipment, and tent mounting. The second step was mounting the bar/info point, setting up the power supplies and arranging the communal room and storage. The tent and the technical equipment were rented and mounted by outside companies so we were freed from participating in that process. We want to express our eternal gratitude to Vesna-the school janitor, her husband Ilche and all the locals that helped us with everything we needed. From the very first day Vesna won our hearts by presenting herself as a part of us, working with us all the time and reducing our stress by solving problems on her own initiative. That’s when we felt the cohesion between the two communities has started. In addition to moral and physical support, we didn’t need to buy tools and various work equipment because everything the locals had was always at our disposal, as if it were ours. Regarding the supplies, part of it was a sponsorship. The beer was bought and delivered by the suppliers all at once in the quantity predicted for the whole event, due to a refund agreement. The hard liquor, kitchen and other supplies were purchased multiple times as needed. After every shift the bar and kitchen helpers with the responsible organizers determined what needs to be restocked. Thanks to the helpers we had two cars available for whatever we needed to buy or do in Ohrid. It would’ve been even better if we rented a van to transport bigger equipment and more goods at once.

EXCURSION TO KRUSHEVO The idea for the excursion originated from our vision of a perfect atmosphere for a discussion workshop in front of one of the world-famous museums of Yugoslav brutalism â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Makedonium. Thanks to the support of our Faculty of Architecture, organizing the excursion wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t time consuming, since the only thing we had to do was determine the number of people and provide enough burek for everyone to be happy and ready for a fruitful discussion.

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA Website At the beginning of the process when the website was mostly needed we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the funding to make a proper website that would be paid and done professionally, therefore we did it ourselves by making a wix account. We used the website mostly about uploading the merch and getting useful information about EASA and our organization out in the world. Luckily with time, we reached through to many social mediums , like televisions and architectural magazines so in the hunt for sponsors/ supporters we used those publications for the informational part of the reaching e-mails we were sending, alongside with the brochures for the event filled with offers and so called sponsors packs. Social Media In our discovery, the most approachable platform was Instagram and of course Facebook. We tried to be frequent with posting and tuning the people in through those platforms including sharing photographs from the location- Trpejca. By making the events for the Active Students series we organized, we managed to reach to a larger group of architectural students and multidisciplinary students in Skopje in general.

GRAPHICS We used the graphic design as a way to give a hint of the nature of the event/theme and what they represent. Our first need for graphic design was for the bidding presentation when we wanted to create the JATO identity and visualize the elements of our location and theme in front of the NCs, and then later it was also crucial when we decided to launch JATO merchandise in order to raise the funds needed for various administrative, technical and travel costs of the organization, as no sponsorship was in sight in the beginning. Some of the organizers together with the graphic designer created the initial designs for the merch, as well as a few representing elements from our country, location, landscape, nature and culture. We realized that the design of the merch elements should be playful, free and warm-representing the vibe of the village and our culture, while all official documents, materials with important information would be in a strict and orderly style, with a minimalist aesthetic-representing our approach towards the event. We used the graphic designer only for the initial designs and everything created afterwards was naturally coordinated and developed by all the organizers.

NEWSLETTERS AND COMMUNICATION WITH NCS The consistent transfer and flow of the information is very important, and it was especially important for this INCM. We have witnessed a lot of inconveniences that the organizers have faced because of improperly transferred information and also ignorance of the NCs. This was something we could not afford to happen on this INCM, because of the simplest reason, amongst many others – we had to manage 200 people individually to stay in 30 different families’ homes. For this to happen properly without too many unexpected situations, we needed to keep both the EASA community and the local community as much informed as possible, and very importantly – as much transparent as possible. We believe honesty is a virtue of high value and we wanted to set it as one of the cores of this INCM. We were quite strict in our approach, and we based it a lot around deadlines, which we found to function very well. We were limited with time, and layered schedules, which meant that we had to be very clear with everyone where we are standing and what are the consequences if we all don’t work together properly. We started with the stream of information concerning the INCM on the INCM JATO presentation in Switzerland, where we gave updates of how we are managing things, what has changed, and which is the timeline that we expect the attendees of the INCM event, as well as ourselves as the organizers of the event, to follow. We gave a short explanation on why we need the help of the EASA community to respect these guidelines, which later was explained in the newsletters in more detail. The communication with NC’s was through a total of seven newsletters they received every Friday on the general EASA emails that were also uploaded on the Facebook NC group. There was also a shorter version with the topics that are concerning everyone who would like to apply with any other role that was uploaded in the EASA Friends Facebook group. However, later on we realized that there are many people that are not in the EASA Friends group or new NCs that do not have access to their general EASA emails, that were not receiving these newsletters, so we suggest to the future organizers to make sure who has access where beforehand and maybe send the newsletters to the private emails of all the Helpers and Guests after those lists are decided on.

We also used Instagram to upload some urgent information, or to emphasize the deadlines as they were approaching. The countdowns on the social media were quite fun to do. Having a set day of the week for sending updates through the newsletters, which for us was Friday, gives a bit of a push to the organizers as well as the attendees. As organizers we used this as a tool for motivation to work hard enough, so that in the span of seven days we have actual results that we can update on; and for the attendees this answers many questions that start to rise up more and more before that event starts, as well as gives them a base that is building up so they know exactly what is happening and by that being almost directly involved in the whole process. It was very important for us to involve the community and to be very transparent in the whole process, because we believed this would strengthen the sense of a team working together â&#x20AC;&#x201C; because we did work together, we received many advises, suggestions and words of support during this preparation period of many people â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and also make it easier for everyone to follow the process and respect the given deadlines. Before starting the series of newsletters, we made a rough plan on which would be the contents in each newsletter based on some predictions on what would be important for the attendees to know in that point of time. Having a set list for every newsletter beforehand, gives a clear idea of the goals for the tasks that need to be finished, but also having this list not completely defined gave us opportunity to summarize the most frequent questions we were asked each week and include those answers as a section in the upcoming newsletter. In the next pages are found all seven newsletters that were sent to the NCs and EASA community in general. When reading them you will find many of the information from some of the sections in the Report repeating and a lot of repetitions in the newsletters themselves also, however we believe they bring clarity on how the things were moving in the last couple of months before the event. Link to all the Newsletters: www.drive.google.com/open?id=1MfIoLJsXOVnHUD6iRhwRIzFNkSys1oaM

FEES (Most of the information in the first part of this section is a repetition from the newsletter contents in the previous section) After many discussions on how to approach the fees issue, we decided to continue the logic of last year’s INCM fees, which considered not only the economies of different countries but also their geographical positioning and the location of Macedonia, as the INCM host country. We decided to set a fair fee amount for all counties which was from 100 to 150eur. With this decision we wanted to show respect and understanding to all students in countries near and far from the host country, by taking in consideration the high travel costs for the countries that pay the highest fee ( and in this setting would have the highest travel costs ) and for the countries that pay the lowest fee ( and in this setting would have the lowest travel costs ). Always talking about the EASA community leaning towards being equal and flat, we think that this gesture of respect from our side and the acceptance of the change in fees from all countries ( which would equalize to some point the EASA support that goes for the INCM organization ) would show respect and support towards the INCM organizers and also to the family countries that are part of the same community. The ‘100 to 150eur’ option, means that we asked all countries to participate with the universal 100eur fee, however we opened the opportunity for contributing up until 150eur if the NCs feel they would like to make this contribution - which many NCs actually did support us in this way. Something that was very important to put an emphasis on was that we are open for c onversation from all NCs that disagree or are not able to cover this participation fee, because we felt very strongly that we want to have all of the NCs and the countries they are representing on the INCM so that all of the JATO joins together to work towards mutual evolution, and most importantly we didn’t want money to be a problem in attending the INCM JATO 019.

Every person of the Bidding teams and Past/Future Organizers was considered to be representing the country they are bidding with/organized an event in, and this meant that for these representatives the universal 100 to 150eur fee would be implemented. Considering that the dates of this year’s INCM are clashing with working university days and considering our strong wishes to involve as many people from our EASA community on this event as possible, the organizing team has decided to divide the Helpers’ responsibilities in two shifts. This meant that every Helper could take part of the INCM for 8 nights and 9 days, and would contribute a universal fee of 60eur. Following the continuity of last year’s INCM in Vitosha, which served us as an example of growing the INCM experience by allowing as many people which are not NCs or Helpers to take part in the event as Guests in a location with limited number of participants, we decided to implement the three shifts method again, with a universal 20eur fee per night. Every Guest had the opportunity to stay for minimum of three nights with a 60eur. contribution, or maximum 6 nights with an 110eur contribution. These guidelines were respected by almost all attendees of the event. However, as the event was approaching we were faced with a really big problem caused by a certain group of people. In the span of two weeks before the event, about 20 people sent a cancellation email with a quite nonchalant tone. ‘In the span of two weeks’ means that there were such emails two weeks before, every day of the last week, on the day of the start of the event, during the event itself, and even people that sent a cancelation email few days after they were supposed to arrive to the event.

THE EVENT 59

PEOPLE OF THE INCM People of the INCM

RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA SERBIA SERBIA SERBIA SERBIA SERBIA

| | | | | | | | | |

Alexandra Zinkevich Mariia Ivanovskaia Olga Sizoy Victoria Tsygankova Konstantin Frolov Šejla Župljanin Luka Smišek Tamara Nešić Elena Džinović Marina Urosevic

HELPERS The helpers are a very important link in the organizational chain and represent the technical mechanism of the EASA events. Their commitment and contribution help the organizers transform the thoughtful planning into a successful event with satisfied attendees and a fluid flow of actions. Helpers should always take initiative for completing the tasks in the most efficient way together and help each other overcome obstacles, flaws in the workflow. Helpers should stay in the assigned duties for the entire shift mainly because of the method of trial and error – they become faster and more experienced over time, and can easily think of creative ways for solving problems for the assigned tasks. This INCM a two-shift system was implemented for the helpers.The reasons for this are the working university days and the circulation of participants, but also the support and help the organizers needed before and after the event. By introducing the two shifts of 8 nights and 9 days, each helper was able to stay almost a full length of a regular INCM event. The shifts overlap for a day in order for the helpers to gain experience from the shift before them. This way the helper communication link strengthens and the organizers are at liberty to focus on other important things. Even though we had a good number of helpers in total and a very organized schedule, we always felt a little short of a helping hand, because most of their arrival and departure dates didn’t match the shifts’ dates. In conclusion, the number and efficiency of people in general is crucial for well rested and productive helpers and organizers. One organizer was responsible for the helpers’ schedule and for the helpers during the event. After the first few days we concluded that it’s best if each organizer coordinates with the helpers assigned to their responsibility for the event. Helpers meetings are very important for reflecting on the flaws of the workflow and determine ways they can be improved. We had one meeting with the organizers and helpers from the first shift and another with helpers from both shifts in order to share experiences, strengths and weaknesses. The helpers from same duties communicated well with each other and sorted out problems without always having to contact the organizers.

Helper Duties and responsibilities INFO POINT (one helper per shift): Shift 1(07:00-13:00), Shift 2(13:00-19:00) & Shift 3(19:00-01:00): - General Info Point tasks: -check in, check out, giving out welcome packs, bracelets, disclaimer paper, taking/returning deposit; -selling tokens; -selling merchandise; -making/selling coffee, tea and toasties, selling snacks and alcohol during day; -answering questions; -contacting/reaching organizers. Shift 4(01:00-07:00): -General Info Point tasks; - cleaning Community Room with helper from Bar. * After every shift the helper counts sold tokens and money TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT&LOGISTICS Shift 1(07:00-13:00): -setting up tables for breakfast, bringing breakfast from Helpersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; house; -bringing tech. eq. from Bar to Tent and setting up for presentations and discussions; -arranging lazy-bags; -cleaning tent and opening sides for ventilation -cleaning waste and organic waste buckets after breakfast. Shift 2(13:00-19:00): -help with bringing the lunch packages; -checking technical equipment; -cleaning tent and opening sides for ventilation; -cleaning waste and organic waste buckets after lunch.

Shift 3(19:00-01:00): -checking technical equipment; -cleaning tent and opening sides for ventilation; -cleaning waste and organic waste buckets after dinner;. -bringing tech. eq. from Tent to Bar and setting up for the night. Shift 4(01:00-07:00): -cleaning tent and opening sides for ventilation; -cleaning waste in/around the tent; -guarding the tent. FOOD Shift 1(06:00-10:00, two helpers for preparing breakfast; first kitchen helper for Shift 2, second kitchen helper for Shift 3) -preparing breakfast; -bringing breakfast and setting up serving stations; -serving breakfast; -cleaning serving bowls; -rationing food for next dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s breakfast. Shift 2(13:00-15:00): -serving lunch; -cleaning up serving area. Shift 3(19:00-21:00): -serving dinner; -cleaning up serving area. BAR (one helper per shift) Shift 1(21:00-03:00): -restocking bar; -preparing serving stations (measuring cups, cutting lemons, bringing ice); -making/serving drinks. Shift 2(01:00-07:00): -making/serving drinks; -counting used quantity of beverages; -cleaning up and guarding Bar and Community Room w/helper from Info Point.

DISCUSSIONS Flexible shifts (depending on the discussions-two helpers): -typing everything during bidding discussions (except discussions in smaller groups); -typing everything during EASA Topics and General Topics; -helping the moderators. HELPERS: -First shift

-Second shift

1. Ana Ivanovska 2. Ahmed Amine Jabri 3. Alessandro Gabiskiria 4. Lucia Majica 5. Eszter Gall 6. Ignas Čeponis 7. Ivo Lazaroski 8. Vanja Trajkovski 9. Marija Trajkovska 10. Diana Zarnescu 11. Andreea Samoila 12. Dušica Ilić 13. Marko Brkić 14. Francesca Cassar

1. Ana Ivanovska 2. Ahmed Amine Jabri 3. Alessandro Gabiskiria 4. Eleonore Devolder 5. Konstantine Gaprindashvili 6. Archil Chikhladze 7. Karla Fotevski 8. Stefan Tankov 9. Zora Soleva 10. Teodora Todorova 11. Ilina Trajcheva 12. Milos Andonovic 13. Andra Hrenciuc 14. Albin Mehmeti

DAYS OF THE EVENT INCM Jato 2019 took place in the village of Trpejca from 5th until the 14th of October with extra 3 days before and after the event, when we organized the space and cleaned the village. Throughout the event we implemented different layers of the theme JATO, mainly focusing on connecting and merging with the local context and people and the theme of communication, because we strongly believe that the jato family should have a fluid communication to function in the best possible way. DAY 1 – Arrival Day Welcoming the first birds in the flock. First panic moment, when a huge group of people arrived late during the lunch time, but also one of the most exciting moments of merging with all the people. The school was floating with positive energy and we pushed it forward with an opening party from a local DJ from Skopje. DAY 2 – Excursion Day First burek for dinner day! We gathered after the group breakfast and with exactly 3 full buses we headed towards Krushevo. Although it was colder that expected, everyone were aroused with energy that the Ilinden Monument flooded us with, also probably because we were at the highest point of the tiny city of Krushevo. We had a presentation from a pro, Sara, alongside with the moderators and we practiced the jato way of living by going away in tiny groups and gathering back in a whole bigger one to make the exchange of gathered knowledge. DAY 3 – EASA Bidding Day Waking up early and focused, of course. Everyone headed towards the big white tent, where we had the France, Italy, Russia and Serbia EASA 2021 bidding presentation. After the presentations we did a speed dating round and then split into tiny consensus groups. As the past has shown, the night was long and fruitful. We stayed up late hours but we had peaceful discussions. Although, this was the least peaceful day weather wise, first rain, first wild winds…

DAY 4 – Discussions, discussions After the breakfast we went straight to it, dividing into tiny groups and discussing the already acknowledged EASA values. The long and smart night went on till late hours but people were still pretty awake. We also did rounds of everyone voicing out their opinion and at the end of the day, around 3 o’clock, we reached a consensus for EASA 2021 to be organized by EASA Serbia with the theme Reality. After that we celebrated Balkan style with shots of cherry rakija and loud round dancing and chanting. Happy hours! DAY 5 – EASA Topics The breakfast was skipped since we welcomed it straight from the bar. We allowed ourselves to sleep in a bit, oops. The tent was open and well vented that day since the weather was luckily on our side. Most of the jato birds went on with the discussion in the lake even. We split into groups and discussed the EASA core values. DAY 6 – INCM Biddings The routine is known, quick breakfast with warm coffee and running towards the tent to catch the favourite colored bean bag for a comfortable INCM presentations experience. After the presentations, we did a round of speed dating, sometimes grouped in twos, then in trees, then foursomes. The entire process of splitting and gathering in groups flowed effortlessly, without anyone needing any signs to gather or come back to the tent, because as we learned, you can never follow the time frames completely because some conversations need more time to give a solid conclusion. It was decided that we would invite the bidding teams, the Czech and the Latvians inside the tent so we give them feedback of what knowledge we gathered from their presentations. So to prepare for that, firstly every tiny group wrote HOW they understood the bids and afterwards they presented their key points through every group’s tiny moderators. After the feedbacks, in the late hours consensus was calmly reached and we decided for the Latvian JUST INCM. What followed was a party in the bar with the grand Louis Berlin performance everyone was waiting for and nobody expected combined with a Joonas and Michael DJ Set.

DAY 7 – EASA Topics day This was probably the warmest day of all. Everyone was already feeling tired of all the discussions so far and given the weather and context conditions we all felt a bit spoiled today and took some rest on the beach. The community was flowing in clear discussions by the water of Ohridsko Lake, sometimes in it as well. In the somewhat middle of this day, the Jato gathered as a whole and we memorized our short journey in Trpejca with the group photo. DAY 8 – Open day Open day or again sleep in and go to the beach day. Of course it wasn’t like that because everyone was in the tent to listen to the presentations we had. In correct order, first were the lovely Saskia and Dorien from EASA Netherlands, then Elena Andonova from the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje about the cultural heritage of the MoMA in Skopje together with Olga from EASA Poland. After the full day of presentations we had a little wine tasting cocktail as a welcoming gift from the French Institute followed with probably the most energetic moment of the INCM event, the barbeque and dance with traditional Macedonian music with the locals. Every age difference was holding hands and jumping to the music on the basketball-football pitch outside the school like Matisse’s painting. DAY 9 – General Topics Day It’s sad to name this one as departure day although it was the last one in the program and since everyone was still kind of present, the little warm common room was still full, probably because it was tiny, so we’ll name it general topics day. In the evening, in the mentioned common room we had a short review on what we learned during this event and what are our looks for the future. The EASA working groups we decided on previously had a report of their own to share with everyone. What followed was little recap of the last INCM in Vitosha filmed by Alexander and some short video reportage of this one made by Michael, we sensed a comic side on this one. After the long night hours many went to sleep and many went back to their homeland. It was definitely not a departure day but more of a departure moment, because just like that, easy, the flock gathered and flew away.

DAY 10 – Reflecting on Trpejca The village was calm this day since it was only a group of tired organizers, some brave helpers and some nostalgic birds of the flock left. We listened to the sound of the lake and made peace with the ending of the event. We said our goodbyes, some tears spilled, laughs as well, we tried to have a movie night but fell asleep, we tried. It was a nice day to say „Se gledame naskoro! – See you soon!”.

AFTERMATH

THE EFFECT OF EASA ON TRPEJCA One of the main ideas rooted deeply in the theme of “JATO” was the concept of merging the EASA community with the local community of the village, and the presumed outcome of both communities positively affecting one another. Now, with INCM JATO over, we can without a doubt confirm this presumption as more than successful. Going back a little to the time when we first started introducing our concept for INCM JATO to the villagers of Trpejca, their initial responses were full of doubt: “Who are these people? Why would they come to Trpejca? Students from all over Europe? They must be young and wild and want to party, we’re not sure we want that in our home…” Fast forward to the final days of the INCM and they were sad that everyone was leaving. They had quickly grown to love these foreign students whom they had let inside their homes. Surprised by how calm and pleasant, kind and friendly, cultured and respectful everyone was. Those were the hosts’ own words. “They are more than welcome to come back!” they all said. But more importantly, they were all happy with how lively their village was during the ten days of the event. Trpejca is quite a popular place during summer, but never in autumn. Never in October. So this was quite a refreshing experience for them. Truth be told, we were loud at times, making noise, playing music late into the night and what not. But no one seemed to mind. Well, no one except the one unfortunate Finnish tourist who so unfortunately happened to arrive one of the last days when we had a party. He was so angry and kept yelling about how we were disturbing the whole village with our nonsense. But that wasn’t true. No one from the village felt disturbed. No one complained. In fact, they were quite pleased that something was taking place in their village and that people were having a good time there. We know this because we asked them. It is safe to say that we left Trpejca a little happier than we found it, with a lovely memory that will stick with the locals for a long time.

THE EFFECT OF TRPEJCA ON EASA The locals werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only ones who benefitted from our presence there. We benefitted as well. A lot. It was impossible not to notice the positivity everyone was getting from the hostsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hospitality. It was present in their smiles after being treated with some homemade treats, or some freshly picked fruit. After having a salad and a few rakijas with the host family. After managing to hold a full conversation without having a mutual spoken language. Easians felt very welcome; they felt at home while far away from home. It greatly impacted the overall mood of the INCM. We believe this created a much more pleasant working environment, which in turn positively affected productivity. And surely, after the end of it all, each JATO attendee left carrying a small bit of Trpejca in their heart.

AFFECTING A PLACE The village school, which we inhabited with our community center, was in very poor condition when we found it, with the exception of the two small classrooms where the 3 pupils had classes. The rest was almost a ruin, with a leaky ceiling, broken windows, and full of dust, spiderwebs and junk. It was practically a dead space, only ever being used for voting whenever there were political elections. With our decision to put it to use, the school principal agreed to make some small repairs, like closing the porch ceiling and fixing the lights and electricity, mainly for safety reasons. We also did some easy fixes to make the space usable, like closing the broken windows with plastic cover etc. Initially, we had considered the idea of properly renovating the school and leaving it fully functional after the INCM had ended, but noble as that idea was, it would have been a great financial burden and not rightfully justified since there were no existing plans to put the whole building to use in the near future, mainly because of the very small number of schoolchildren in the village. In other words, we would have renovated it for nothing. So instead, we looked for the simplest and cheapest ways to make the place temporarily functional. From an architect’s point of view, it was quite interesting to observe how a dead space can be brought back to life not through physical architectural intervention, but rather through a happening. What was reduced to a bleak lifeless storage room became a cozy sitting room, a bar, a party hall, a discussion space, even a little cinema. An ugly old porch became an exhibition space. An empty basketball court turned into a barbecue spot, and later a dancefloor. And much to our delight, not a full month after the INCM, the villagers held an exhibition titled “Ethnological treasures of Trpejca” in that very same space, with JATO remains (such as the bar and decorations) still standing inside as souvenirs which they had kindly asked us to leave behind.

WHAT WE LEARNED During the whole year of organizing the INCM we were faced with a lot of challenges, most of which were related to getting financial support for the event. We learned how hard it is to have your idea recognized and supported in a society still struggling to reach higher European ideals. We hear a lot about the apathy and lack of initiative of young people in our country, but while it may be true to a certain extent, it is not as bad as the lack of interest of both the private and public sector to support such initiatives, especially when coming from people with no political or other “noteworthy” background. In that tedious process we had to deal with a lot of bureaucracy and ended up learning quite a bit about how certain things work and picked up some new skills along the way. We learned that you have to be persistent and believe in your idea, despite the apparent obstacles. There’s always a way to overcome them. At many points it felt like we were standing at the doorstep of failure. Moments before the INCM started, it felt like waiting for chaos to unfold. But in the end, everything went better than expected! We happily closed what all attendees described as a very successful and memorable INCM. There is another thing that we didn’t really learn since we already knew it, but nonetheless were constantly reminded of. Everyone else has said it, and we’re no different: TEAMWORK IS VERY IMPORTANT! The teamwork within the organizing team, the teamwork between the organizers and helpers, the teamwork of the whole JATO. A bit on the unfortunate side, we also learned that when you’re an organizer, you don’t get to take part in many of the activities of the INCM, discussions being the most important of them. Ironically, the people who put in the most effort to make it happen are the people who end up being least involved in it. There is an ever-present feeling of responsibility that just doesn’t let you join in. You’re always alert, constantly making sure that everything is functioning properly, arranging the next thing, planning the thing after that and on and on and on. That feeling never truly leaves you until the whole thing is over. And in the few instances when things calm down for a bit, you know deep in your heart that you’re going to use that precious little moment to rest. Perhaps this was due to the fact that we weren’t a very big team. Or perhaps a bigger team would have made no difference. A lot of times we found ourselves just sitting aside and watching it all take place before our eyes. And it was beautiful. There is a particular sense of fulfillment when you see that you’ve made a wonderful thing possible. And nothing can replace that.

SUPPORT

SUPPORT We are grateful for the support we received from our partners, sponsors and supporters. Firstly because they managed to recognize the potential of the Macedonian students of Architecture and the responsibilities we held during the one year of organizing process; and secondly because without their support and supplies the INCM JATO 019 would have not been possible. We would also like to express our gratitude to the EASA Community for supporting EASA Macedonia by ordering some of the Jato Merchandise which was a really important starter point for us at the very beginning. *Thanks to the thoroughness and reliability of the Final Report INCM Lapland 2017, we were guided and confident in the conception of the INCM JATO 019.

PARTNERS

Агенција за млади и спорт

SPONSORS/SUPPORTERS

JATO FAMILY

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