LINK No.83
1 rst November 2016
Table of content • ABOUT US 4 • K.A.N.E STAFF 8 • PROGRAM OF THE YOUTH CENTER 12 • NEWS FROM FRANCE 14 • TALES OF AUSTRIA... 16 • BREXIT ! 20 • HOMETOWN MALAGA 32 • HORSE RIDING 34 • MY SENDING ORGANISATION 38 • BRESTFEEDING EVENT 41 • INTERVIEW WITH EVS 42 • RECIPE: CHOCOLATE CRINCKLES 48 • INTERVIEW A LOCAL VOLUNTEER 50 • PERSONAL PROJECT 52 • ZOOM ON KALAMATA! 54 • EVS’ DAILY LIFE 56 2
EDITOR: Molly O’Doherty
CONTACT US: DESIGN: K.A.N.E Laura Gimenez Social Youth Development Youth Center of Kalamata CREDIT PICTURE: Plateia Othonos 10 JLC Photography Spokane/ Kalamata lesliehay/ daphneakc 24100 GREECE STAFF MEMBER OF KANE: Filaretos Vourkos TEL: Fotini Arapi +302721110740 Jelena Scepanovic Nantiana Koutiva EMAIL: info@ngokane.org EVS: Tea Križanec URL: Rüya Hazar https://kentroneon. Oskar Shrattenecker wordpress.com/ Aurora Passone http://www.ngokane.org/inLaura Gimenez dex.php/el/ Rosa Vernooij Renée Hoogenboom FACEBOOK: Sara Amghar https://www.facebook.com/ Arthur Gallagher kentroneon/?fref=ts Aroa Liébana Rellán Molly O’Doherty Óscar Villarraso López Martyna Czypicka 3
About us : Hi, This is Rßya from Istanbul,Turkey. I am 28 years old. I have studied Maritime Transportation and Management Engineering in Istanbul Technical University. Then, i started working on tanker ships as an officer. So, i was once an old mariner, than after leaving ships become a full time traveller and now i am a volunteer in Kalamata until next middle of May:). I am into sports, cultural activities and travel. Hi there, my name is Renee, I am seventeen years old and I am from the Netherlands. I arrived last monday and I will stay here for ten months. My work will be therapeutic horseriding and in the keviab. I just finished highschool and I didn’t wanted to study immediately, then I came across EVS and it turned out to be the perfect thing to do this year. Because I am doing something good and I will learn a lot from it. I hope that when I come back I will have new friends and have a lot more life experience.
4
Hello my name is Oskar Schrattenecker, I am 18 years old and from Linz/Austria. I am doing Evs in Kalamata. The main reason for me to do Evs was because i didn’t know what I wanted to do in my future so hopefully I get orientation during my Evs. Also since first of January in Austria you can do a long term Evs instead of your military service, so this was a nice opportunity. I started my Evs one month ago on 18. of April and my project lasts for one year, I work in the Youth center of Kalamata. Me and 6 other Volunteers live in an apartment near the Youth center, Hi everyone! My name is Rosa and I am 17 years old. I come from a small town called Woerden in the Netherlands. I just graduated from high school, so now I am taking a gap year before I will go to university. I like hanging out with friends, watching a movie, going for a hike and cooking. I will stay in Kalamata for 9 months to work in the Day care centre for autistic children. We visited Kalamata in the beginning of August for one weekend, so we got to see a little bit of Kalamata already. The people here have been really nice, but it is so different from the Netherlands. I hope to become more independent here and meet new friends. I am also looking forward very much to learning about autistic children and how to approach them. 5
Hey guys! My name in Martyna and I’m new volunteer from Poland! I’ve grown up in Poznan (west side of the country). I’m 26 this year and I try to enjoy every minute of my life! I’m crazy about Greece, this is my favourite place in Europe – however I love to travel and I take every opportunity to see the world. In my free time I like to read and spend time outside of the house. I love to eat, this is my biggest passion! I’m totally a beauty freak.
Hi ! My name is Laura and I’m 24 years old. I come from a small town in France called Le Thor (yeah like the north god), it’s around Marseille. I have a bachelor degree but I wanted to do something else this year, something that will give me life and work experiences: I wanted to be useful. I’ll work in KANE’s office as the webdesigner of the team and I’ll stay in Kalamata for 1 year; I’m really looking forward to it! I have quite a lot of hobbies; I love to draw, write, read, play video games, watching movies and tv show and so on.
6
Kalimera to all of you, I am Sara, I am french and I am 21 years old. Since yesterday, I am a new volunteer in Kalamata and will stay here for a year (maybe more ...?) in order to give some help to the horse riding center of kalamata and the Kefiap as well. More over, I will give french lessons at the Youth Center of the city. I met people I will work with and I am really excited to start being part of the project. Horse riding center is a real peacefull place for anybody who needs to connect his mind with his body. The couple of therapist working there are sensitive and receptive people, so if you have any physycal pain, just go to the horse riding center :) !
Hi ! My name is Aroa, I’m from Madrid in Spain but I live in Màlaga, the south of Spain. In Spain I’m working in a secondary school for dance, I’m the teacher for hip-hop, funks, break dance and classic for teens. I have 18 years and I love dance, photography and watch movies with my friends. 7
Greetings dear readers! Tea is my name and art is my game. You’ll be able to see me around Kalamata through the next nine months of my EVS. I came from Croatia and apart from Croatian lessons I will be leading the Creative arts workshops in the youth centre where we will be doing different kinds of creative projects. Hopefully, I will learn a lot of new things during my stay here and have a chance to share my skills with you. When I go back home, I will be finishing my studies at the university (Art history and Indology). Can’t wait to meet all of you and I hope we’ll create wonderful artsy things together!
Hello, my name is Arthur, I’m coming from France. I will stay in Kalamata for a 12 months EVS, working at K.A.N.E office. I will animate some workshops here and participate in media communication. I’m glad to be here and experiment the greek way of life.
8
Hi ! I’m Oscar, I’m from Spain, I live in Màlaga, so close to Africa. I love the fashion world and I worked as organiser and teacher of modeling in lot of fashion shows. I’m an animal lover, I have a tiny dog called Fredy. Music is very important in my life, I’m listening music every time. I like traveling every time I can, I think exploring the world is the most interestng in your life.
Hello everyone! My name is Molly and I come from the UK. I’ve moved here from a city called Bristol in England. I am going to be working in K.A.N.E.’s office. I’ll be helping with the programming, development and evaluation of activities. I’ll also be helping out in the Youth Centre and running an English Conversation workshop. I love cooking, watching films and doing yoga. I also really enjoy helping people to connect with their local history. Before I came here I was working in museums and archives for many years. I am really excited to be in Kalamata and I feel very lucky to be here working as an EVS volunteer. 9
Kane’ Hello, I am Filaretos Vourkos. For the last 10 years I am working in the field of Non-formal education as avolunteer, youth worker and youth trainer. 6 years ago,I decided to create the Youth Centre of Kalamata, in orderto initiate youth work in Kalamata and promote active citizenship as factor for change.
Hi, I’m Jelena Scepanovic, an EVS coordinator in KANE and the volunteer of the Youth center. I came from Montenegro 2012 as an EVS volunteer. I really liked the idea of the Youth center and the work that KANE does, so I decided to stay and be part of it.
10
’ staff Hi my name is Fotini Arapi and I am project manager in K.A.NE. organization and responsible, among other things, for all sending motilities (sending EVS volunteers, participants in training courses, interns, etc). Apart from my work in K.A.NE., I also volunteer in the Youth Centre of Kalamata, a volunteer initiative managed by a team of local volunteers. I am very proud of and I love the Youth Centre, its dynamic atmosphere, and most of all, its natural inclusiveness that allows everybody to feel “at home� there. See you around :-D
My name is Nantiana! Im 23 years old. I live in kalamata! I were living for 5 years in patras! I were studying there greek philology and now im teaching greek to youth center in kalamata. 11
Youth Center’
12
’s program !
13
NEWS FROM FRANCE
By Arthur
France records biggest monthly drop in unemployment in 20 years It said 66,300 fewer people were looking for work in September, bringing the jobless total to 3.49 million in mainland France and more than erasing August’s increase in job seekers of over 50,000. It was the largest monthly drop since 1996 when the government started its current method of tracking unemployment. Protesting French police officers converge on National Assembly in Paris Hundreds of police officers converged on the National Assembly in central Paris on Wednesday to protest an ever-increasing workload, outdated equipment and rules restricting their ability to defend themselves. At the end of the day’s protest, the government promised an extra €250 million, and a review of officers’ rights to defend themselves when under attack.
14
Calais ‘Jungle’ cleared of migrants The final hours of the Calais “Jungle” came amid chaos, flames and explosions yesterday, the culmination of years of efforts to clear Europe’s largest migrant camp. “Mission accomplished,” said Calais’ regional prefect, Fabienne Buccio. “There are no more migrants in the camp.” Much of the shantytown was reduced to ash and rubble after departing migrants, allegedly helped by British anarchists, set fire to tents and wooden shacks.
Thousands of young men, streamed out of the blazing camp carrying bundles, backpacks and cases as gas canisters that had been used for cooking exploded in plumes of flame. The prefect said buses had taken about 5,000 migrants to accommodation centres set up in some 450 locations around France. About 1,000 were left in Calais last night. The authorities warned there would be no more buses from today, when bulldozers are to clear what remains of the camp that came to symbolise Europe’s failure to deal with the migration crisis. 15
Tales of A
16
In Austria we have a lot of traditions that may seem wierd for foreigners, as an example we have the «Maibaum-stehlen» translated as the «Mai-tree-stealing» where we put the stomp of a big tree in the main
Austria...
By Oskar
square of every village and other villages have to steal the trees from each other. But probably the most disturbing one is the «Perchtenlauf», in the period between December and January, we have this Tradition. A bunch of people, mostly a special club or organization, dress up as kind of Devil creatures. But not in a simple way like at halloween, these costumes are handmade and are very precious, it’s set out of a wooden mask manufactured by hand and very precious mostly
17
between 150 - 800 € second hand, and a full body suit made out of black, white or brown long fur sometimes mixed. Most of the time they also have small sticks or a bunch of wheat as a whip with them, it is not unusual to really get hit at the legs or arms, so when you are at a Perchtenlauf you have to know that you might have some bruises afterward. So these people around 20-40 in number dress up as devils, sometimes some woman also dress as witches and follow them, and gather to make the «Perchten-lauf».They run as a group in a village or city and make a loud noise, scaring the people and children. They usually gather somewhere
18
a little bit outside of the city and walk to the main square. On their way they scare the people by ÂŤattackingÂť them or running with full speed at them and stoping at the last possible moment. Basicaly they behave like demons or devils. Also they have loud bells on their costumes, so they make a lot of noise. The main reason was to scare the winter away, so the Winter is not so long and cold. Also there was the saying that the demons take misbehaving children with them to hell, so the children are behaving good. Over the years it became a big tradition in Austria, and we have special days for the events.
19
BREXIT, a sheepish* Brit’s perspective
*sheepish = a shy face that you make when you feel embarrassed or ashamed On 23 June this year a dramatic event occurred. That’s right Britain, in all her self-importance decided that, “no we don’t need you guys. We’re going to go it alone!” and the drastic decision was made. That’s it. We’re out. Bye bye boys and girls, see you later. But what exactly is Brexit? Why did it happen? How will it actually work? Have no fear, this article is here to give you the answers to these important questions. What is this word Brexit? Quite simply Brexit is a joining of the two words Britain and 20 Exit. Similar to the term “Grexit” it is a short way of talking
about the entire concept of Britain leaving the European Union. When did it happen? On 23 June 2016 a referendum (a general vote on one political question) was held in the UK. The British population were asked the following question: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union? Most of the population who were of legal age were able to vote. They were given a choice between the following two options: A. Remain a member of the European Union B. Leave the European Union 71.8% of the eligible population voted. On Friday 24 June the result was announced. 52% voted to leave the EU and 48% voted to stay a part of it. So the Brits want out? Yes, in a way... Based on the vote, the majority of the people chose to leave the EU. However, as you can see from the figures, the result was very close. Just over half the population chose to leave and nearly half the population chose to stay. So this means the UK had to pack her bags and bid farewell? Like a naughty teenager, her clothes were thrown out on the street? Her European mamma screamed that she must leave home straight away? Not exactly. The referendum result did not automatically mean that Great Britain had to leave. In fact the referendum result is not a legal obligation. In order for the country to leave the EU Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon** needs to be triggered. Once this has happened the negotiations for the UK to leave can begin. **The Treaty of Lisbon is a 2009 international agreement signed by EU member states .
21
But the people spoke? You gotta listen to the people right? In a manner of speaking, yes. Whilst the referendum result is not a legal requirement there is a general view that the democratic opinion of the British people must be respected. The country was given a choice and the majority chose for the UK to exit the EU. So this made it unlikely that the decision could change.
When will it happen then? On what date will these European ties officially be severed? On 20 October, the British Prime Minister Theresa May made it official. There will be no second referendum. She stated clearly that leaving was irreversible. She announced that Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon will be triggered by the end of March 2017. The negotiations can last for two years. So the terms for Brexit are expected to be agreed by April 2019.
22
Sheesh, it’s going to take a long time then? It is indeed. In fact it could take longer. Some politicians have predicted that it could take up to 6 years for Britain to finally exit the EU.
UK because of it? Bloody hell! Why will it take so The main areas that Brexit is expected to affect are trade, long? the economy and migration. The process of exiting has many steps. The other 27 coun- A key focus of negotiations will be whether the UK retries that are members of the mains a part of the European European Union have to agree single market or not. If Britain to the terms of the exit, which means 27 national parliaments leaves the single market then approving them. Only once this it will need to negotiate “free has happened can the terms be trade” agreements with other countries. The country would okayed by the European Parneed to be part of a “Free liament and can it actually be Trade Zone” in order not to made official. have taxes or tariffs on services or goods entering and So there’s a lot to arrange leaving Britain then? Since Britain joined the EU in 1973 there have been 43 years A Free Trade Zone? worth of agreements and trea- Yes, a geographic area where ties made. These would all need goods can be produced and exto be negotiated on, which could ported without customs duties having to be paid. take a while. Also the act of a whole country leaving the EU So what about migration? through Article 50 has never As part of the European happened before, so noone Union single market the UK alknows exactly how long it will lows free movement of people take. As the BBC News put it, from one EU country to ano“...it has never been done bether. So this is something that fore and negotiators will, to some extent, be making it up as might also change. The terms of how/how many people imthey go along.” migrate into and emigrate out of the UK might change. For Blimey! Sounds a bit crazy. example, a work permit sysWhat’s going to happen to the 23
tem might be introduced. This would mean that only people with certain skills or people working in specific professions could be allowed to come to live in the UK. And the economy? Apart from the obvious effect on the economy in the future if trade relations change there is also a more immediate effect. Since the referendum result in June there has been a lot of uncertainty. This has had an impact on business and on the economy. How this will continue in the future we are not so sure. So no one knows what the hell’s going on? That’s one way of putting it. Right now we can see that the pound has already lost its value. A lot of big businesses and international companies are talking about leaving the UK. However the impact hasn’t all been negative. For example, for some companies that export products from the UK the pound’s loss in value has meant that they have seen an increase in business. So back to the juicy stuff. Why oh why did people vote to leave the UK? Here are some of the main reasons why people wanted to leave:
24
Immigration Immigration has been rising in Britain for years. One of the reasons for this increase is due to more countries joining the European Union. Being a part of the EU allows the free movement of people. Many people from other EU countries have come to Britain to live and work in recent times. Critics of Britain’s EU membership say that leaving the EU would give Britain more control over her borders. They say that a reduction in immigration would give more jobs to the
people that remain.
Security Trade and investment Those campaigning for Brexit Those against EU membership believe that being in the Euargue that leaving means that ropean Union makes Britain the UK can be freer. She can set more vulnerable to terrorist up her own trade agreements attacks. They feel that being with other countries, and buindependent from the EU will sinesses will be free from EU make it easier to see who regulations. is entering and leaving the EU critics say that with less country. rules and regulations Britain will attract more investors. Membership fees More jobs will be created as In order to be a part of the trade and investment increase. EU each country has to pay a membership fee. Brexit campaigners claimed that these fees were too high and that the UK would save money by if she didn’t have to pay them anymore. Independence and sovereignty European Union sceptics (people that are critical of the EU) say that European institutions have taken power away from the British parliament. Being outside the EU would give Britain more control over her own affairs. By exiting the UK could also launch itself as a truly separate country in the world.
Anti-EU movements Some feel that the UK leaving the EU will start a trend for anti-EU movements. Other countries will be motivated to leave the “European project” (another way of talking about the EU). As more people leave investing and trading with the European Union would become riskier. In this climate Britain would then become an appealing place to invest in and
25
trade with. Eurosceptism Finally, that old favourite, sceptism of the European Union! Ever since we became members of it in 1973 there has been a strong sceptism of the European Union in the UK. This anti-European Union feeling has been felt by many different people. This includes both major political parties – the Conservative party on the political right and the Labour party on the centre-left wing of politics. The rise in popularity of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) is an expression of this. These people have a general suspicion of the European Union. They feel that Britain is being controlled by EU bureaucrats and that we would actually do better if we were to be independent. This is based on a strong view of Britain’s importance in the world. Because of this sentiment and the rise of UKIP the previous Prime Minister David Cameron felt compelled to call a poll for people to vote on Britain’s EU membership. Despite the fact that personally he wanted Britain to remain in the EU! Are they right though? Is Britain really better off without her European family? Of course there is another view. Many people in Britain were deeply saddened and angry about the referendum result that was announced on 23 June (including myself!). For them being in the European Union is positive. They feel that membership brings obvious benefits to the UK and leaving is likely to cause her huge problems. So what do these guys say? Here are some of the main reasons why people wanted to stay in the EU: 26
Trade and investment
Those for the EU say that membership of the European Union has clear financial advantages. Being a part of the EU’s Single Market makes it easy for Britain to trade with other countries. Once we leave it will make it more difficult to trade. There are no guarantees that the same deals can be struck with other countries. In addition, as an EU member the UK can make decisions about trading rules. We will no longer be able to have a voice in this after leaving. Pro-EU campaigners argued that Internationally, Britain’s position will be affected by her leaving. Banks and companies will no longer view Britain as a “gateway” to Europe. This will mean that businesses will stop investing in the UK, and they are likely to move their headquarters out of the country. Banks may also start to go, affecting Britain’s role as a financial centre. A loss of trade and investment may also cause a decrease in jobs available. Membership fees Those in favour of the EU
stated that whilst Britain has to pay membership fees in order to be a part of the EU this is a cost with a clear gain. The financial benefits explained above mean that in terms of money, Britain gains as much as she gives. In fact these benefits can be said to outweigh the membership costs. Cooperation and influence Some say that in a globalised world Britain needs to work together with other countries, not to become isolated. Actually by being a part of the European Union the UK has the power to influence what happens within Europe and in the wider world. The European Union also works hard to secure peace and democracy globally. Leaving the EU may well have a negative effect on Britain’s relationship with other countries (including the United States). Security Pro-EU campaigners think that as a part of the European Union Britain can increase security by sharing information, records and security 27
practices. Only by working together with other countries can she ensure the country is protected. Immigration Immigration has increased in recent years but it but many feel that it is needed because it brings positive benefits to Britain. When people move to the UK they bring vital skills and labour. Emigration to other countries also provides job opportunities for British people. Progressive EU laws Some of the most important laws relating to rights at work like equal pay, non-discrimination and maximum working hours have come from the European Union. Without membership these laws will not be protected and could be removed or changed.
28
Research funding Every year the EU gives a massive amount of funding for research to universities and other institutions. Leaving will mean eventually losing this funding.
Pro-European sentiment While there are people who feel skeptical of the European Union it is worth noting that there are also many people who feel very positively about being a member of the EU. They believe that they are European and that being a part of Europe is a good thing. They think that Britain should work together with other European countries and not separate herself from them. At the time of the referendum all of the centre-left and left wing parties in the UK wanted Britain to stay in the EU. These included the Labour Party, the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru (the Welsh party) the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats. The prime minster himself (David Cameron) wanted the UK to stay. And the new prime minster, Theresa May also wanted the UK to stay.
The sheepish Brit’s perspective So you’ve heard the cold hard facts, the arguments for and against Brexit. What you’re probably wondering is what is my view? What do I think about all this drama? Well, on the morning of the referendum result I was due to catch a plane from London to Lisbon. That’s correct, I was going on a summer holiday. I was going to lie on the beach and eat ice cream! I woke up, turned on my phone and opened up a newspaper website. With shock I read the headline, “UK votes to leave EU after dramatic night divides nation”. ..So we had voted to leave. I felt sick. As I packed my bag, caught a train to the airport and made my way through the security area I felt an overwhelming sadness. (Yes, great start to the holiday, right?) I went on Facebook and saw many of my friends expressing the same feeling. Anger, frustration, disappointment. Why such strong feelings? For me being a part of the European Union has such obvious benefits that leaving just seemed crazy. The “European project” means that we work together with other countries, we share trade, laws, skills and more. By leaving we had decided to abandon all that. We were no longer putting faith in something that we had committed to. It was a victory for the anti-European view. Yes, of course I am not naïve; I know there are many problems 29 with the European Union. The economic and refugee crises
have also made everything more difficult. However it is my view that this was not a reason to leave. If we wanted to strengthen the EU, to improve it, we needed to do this as a member. Outside of that we had no power. Besides, why would you go and decide to unravel 43 years of membership, 43 years of agreements? To me the long, complicated process involved in exiting was a reason on its own to stay. In fact undoing our whole membership seemed just bonkers***. ***crazy, mad in British speak I knew that one of the biggest reasons that many people had decided to vote to leave the EU was down to the clever connection that exit campaigners had made between immigration and jobs. Like everywhere there is an unemployment and job security problem in Britain. Many exit campaigners managed to make people think that if we could only stop the number of people coming into the country there would be more jobs for everyone else. While an increase in immigration may cause difficulties the campaigners failed to notice the fantastic skills and knowledge that people from other countries have brought to the UK. In fact it is no secret that a big percentage of the nurses and doctors who make up our National Health Service come from other European countries. Without these people Britain would be an inferior place.
30
Another link that people made between leaving the EU and problems in our country was to do with democracy and people’s rights. I think it is fair to say that right now many people feel disillusioned with politics in Britain. They feel that their vote doesn’t mean anything and that they don’t have a voice in what happens in the country. Again, a clever tactic used by the anti-EU campaigners was to make people think that European Union bureaucracy was what was stopping ordinary people from having control. They made it seem like
leaving the EU was the best way to get this control back. However I think that these problems are not caused by European Union membership. They are caused by issues within British politics, by global crises. So it seemed to me that a lot of people voted to leave because they felt angry and let down. They felt a sense of hopelessness and they thought that leaving the EU would change that. However I think they made a mistake. I think they got confused. Because these problems, this anger, it was not caused by Britain being a part of the European Union. While I don’t think I can end on a completely positive note I want to share with you my personal experiences of being a part of the EU. For me it has given me the chance to travel, volunteer and attend workcamps, exchanges and seminars in new countries. Through these experiences I have made new friends, learnt about other cultures, seen beautiful sights and gained new perspectives on my own country. In fact this exactly what I am doing here in Kalamata. I am volunteering here with the European Volunteer Service. This is a European Union funded scheme which encourages young people to get to know other countries and themselves through volunteering. And no, they have not paid me more to write this article ;-) Although I know the Brexit decision is not going to change, I sincerely hope that some of the good things about being European will not be forgotten. And yes, I did lie on the beach and eat ice cream. It was great.
By Molly
31
Hometow
32
Malaga is a city and a municipality of Spain, capital of the province and located in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 572,947 inhabitants in 2015, Malaga is the sixth largest city in Spain, the second of Andalusia and forty-six of the European Union and the largest among non-regional capitals. In addition, it is the urban area most densely populated conurbation formed by the set of locations that are situated along 160 km of the Costa del Sol and the center of a metropolitan area, which surpasses its municipal boundaries, covering 12 other municipalities. They totaling 987,813 registered inhabitants. It is estimated, however, that Malaga is the fifth metropolitan area of Spain, where more than 1 million people live. It is located at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea and in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, about 100 km east of the Strait of Gibraltar. Its municipality covers an area of ​​398,25 square kilometers extending over the Montes de Malaga and
wn Malaga the Guadalhorce Valley. The city is located in the center of a bay surrounded by mountain ranges. Two rivers, the Guadalhorce Guadalmedina and the cross flowing into the Mediterranean. Founded by the Phoenicians in the eighth century. C., making it one of the oldest cities in Europe. Malaga was a municipality first federated and after Latin law of the Roman Empire and a prosperous Andalusian medina four times capital of his kingdom, which was incorporated into the crown of Castile in 1487. During the nineteenth century the city experienced a remarkable industrial and revolutionary activity that stood as the first industrial city in Spain and made it worthy of the «always indefatigable» titles and «the first in danger of freedom». Scene of one of the bloodiest episodes of the Spanish Civil War and star of the explosion of the tourist boom of the 1960s and 1970s, Malaga is now a significant economic and cultural center and an important communications hub on the coast Mediterranean.
By Aroa
33
What is hippotherapy, Doctor ??? Hi readers ! This time I would like to share a bit about hippotherapy because since I started my project in a horse riding center I am really convinced that this type of therapy can help a lot people with different kind of issues (mental disability, physical, social...) that’s why I think this approach really deserves to be known by more people.
34
Basically, hippotherapy is a re-education method whose aims to improve physical and psychological abilities but also self-confidence of a person in need thanks to a horse (nowadays you have many kind of therapy with animals). According to therapists, trying to cure yourself by creating a special relation with an animal like horse (or cats and dogs) is really efficient because the animals don’t «reply» to you with double messages like typical humans; they can’t implie for instance. When you interract with them, their reaction is unique so it’s perfect to relax because you know that the animal is not judging you, which is really important in the therapy process. As a user, you slowly must open yourself to the horse to make the therapy really effective for yourself and take all benefits from it. Feeling at ease with the horse is the first step, then the user will maybe feel more at ease with other people in general and in some daily situations.That’s all the point of this approach. 35 At the horse riding where I am working, the couple of the-
rapist are specialized in speech therapy and physical therapy and in both cases the horse can play a big role for the user during session. In terms of communication, the horse can become a motivation to speak for people who have communication issues like autistic people (in some cases of autism, the person is not able to communicate clearly its feeling or its mind) or people who stutter because whenever the user feels really confortable with the horse, he will try to interract with the animal, in anyway, which is a first step toward an improvment
36
of your communication skills. Of course, just riding a horse is not enough, it’s really important for the therapist to stay next to the user during session and to give him or her exercices to do. These exercices are mainly physical and always require coordination and sense of cooperation with the therapist and the horse, which helps a lot people whose disability spoils the
social abilities. Actually, the exercices that people do in a horse riding center are also makable in a physical therapist firm but the process is completly different, and I can talk about it because I used to frequent a physical therapist firm and the thing is that some exercices can be boring but when you are riding a horse at the same time you are practicing, you are really enjoying and you don’t realise that you are working your muscles for instance. All the interest of this type of therapy is really in the fact that the horse becomes an efective energizer to focus on physical exercices without feeling that it’s only about effort but also about having fun and somehow, about fulfillment step by step. I’ve also mentionned the improvment of self-confidence. Actually, when you have to set a special relation with a horse, one of the first thing that he has to understand is that «you’re the boss». In flock, horses always choose the Alpha horse (or the boss) to reffer to. So basicaly, the horse must understand that you lead the situation and that he has to follow all your orders. Above all during a session because otherwise, he will just do what he wants to and it can be risky for users. Even when you have no disability it can be difficult to prove to an animal bigger than you that you are the boss so imagine how it can be for a disabled... But I can tell you that you reach this goal you really feel more self confident. In the center I noticed that some people don’t feel really comfortable about talking to other people but they feel the contrary when they interract with a horse, isn’t promissing ?
By Sara
37
MY SENDING O
Hello our dearest readers! I’m Martyna and I’m a EVS volunteer from Poland. I live in Kalamata for one year – during academic year 2015/2016 in was studied at the University of Peloponnese within the confines Erasmus + exchange. that year I met amazing people, and it shouldn’t surprise you, most of them were working for Youth Center! Back then I’ve decided I want to spend more time in Kalamata, broaden my horizons and work for here for you and with you! Thanks to Semper Avanti, my sending organization, I’m able to catch my dreams!
38
ORGANISATION About Semper Avanti Semper Avanti Association was founded 15 years ago, in 2001. The work of the Association is multifaceted, they collaborate with many non-governmental organizations around the world, but at the center of their attention and actions is Polish youth. Semper Avanti activities are divided into three main segments: 1. Youth and democracy – to build confidence in young people and help them understand the processes and democratic procedures; Actions: • creation and support of youth councils; • creation and implemented the project Youth Regional Council of Lower Silesia (northwestern region of Poland); • organize local and international seminars and simulations of work European Parliament, city councils, etc.; • prepare and run local and
international conferences. 2. Youth and the labor market – active support young people in the transition from the period of learning to seek and gain work; Actions: • preparation and implementation foreign internships projects for secondary schools – in 2016 their offer will benefit more than 300 students; • to raise the profile of non-formal education in Poland.
39
3. Youth and tolerance – promote tolerance, openness and European and global identity. They promote the idea of human rights and equality between people; Actions: • organize workshops for young people; • create international projects, exchanges and trainings; • send Polish volunteers abroad and hosting foreign volunteers in our country. Summarized, the main development areas now are: • Youth mobilites and EVS; • Youth in democracy; • Youth on labour market; • International Youth Exchanges; • Voluntary Service – national and international field; • Cultural Events; • Conferences, Trainings and Seminars for young leaders and youth workers. Learn more: www.semperavanti.org Pictures are from: FB/Stowarzyszenie-Semper-Avanti
40
By Martyna
By Oscar
41
INTERVIEW WITH AN EVS VOLUNTEER Rosa: Please introduce yourself. So, what are your age, hobbies, etc? Sara: My name is Sara, I’m 21, I’m from France. More precisely, I live in Lille which is in the north of France nearby Belgium. I like many things actually. I really like the cinema, travelling, sports. More precisely, all relaxing things like yoga, contemporary dance. And, what else? I really like hiking. R: As you said, you really like travelling, is there also a destination where you would really like to go if you had the time and money? S: If I was really rich, I would simply go everywhere haha. But if I had to choose I would definitely want to go to Japan, because I’m really keen on the Japanese culture. It’s so different from our European culture. I would also want…. No, Japan, Japan first!
42
R: And what do you like about Japan? Is it mostly the anime, the Japanese music or is it the culture in general? S: Everything together. I think that they really have the sense
of poetry in everything. In design, fashion designing, object designing, graphism. Everything is really poetic. With really simple things, they manage to make beautiful things. Even in film music, they always make it very deep. I mean even animation. If you take Hayao miyazaki’s animation, it’s like the opposite of Disney. Disney animations are mainly for children, but miyazaki’s are for children and adults at the same time. This is because it’s really deep and full of metaphors and meaning. I really like it! I also appreciate their sense of… in French we say pudeur. It can be translated as the holding back of intimate feeling from others. R: You also said you like hiking. Did you do this while you lived in France or don’t you have that much experience, but you like doing it here in Greece? S: Actually, I like physical challenge, because hiking and doing sports is challenging your body. It’s not natural to push your body to do those
kind of things, so that’s why I really like it. I also feel like it’s a kind of meditation. When you’re walking you’re thinking or not thinking at all. So I like to hike or practicing sports, because firstly it costs you a lot of energy when you put all your motivation in it and secondly because it’s alone-time for me. It’s good to have some time that you don’t have to spend with others. Sometimes it’s really good to be with people, but it’s also really important to know how to spend time alone. R: What do you do here in Kalamata? What is your project? S: Actually, here, my main project is to work at Kefiap centre. This is a place where disabled people come in the morning to have some workshops like cooking workshops, gardening workshops. In the evening I’m a volunteer for Amalia en Panaiotis. It’s a couple of therapists. Amalia is a speech therapist and Pannos is a physical therapist. Together they work with children to treat the disabilities or diseases of the children. Some children are autistic, some of them are late in their
43
development. R: You were talking about working with children, disabled people and also with horses. Do you have any previous experience in this field? S: No, it’s new for me, but I actually feel really comfortable doing it. I think that somehow I will probably choose a working field related to taking care of disabled people by therapies. I really start being interested now. R: Okay, so the experience already helped you to think about the future. But what did you do before you came to Kalamata? S: I was first studying arts and then fashion designing. I liked it at that time, but when you have to do some internships and when you’re in the reality of the field, it’s not that interesting. During my internship last summer I had to stay in a fashion company for 3 months and I didn’t like it. I didn’t feel the use of it. I remember the conversation I had with one of my colleagues. I asked her if she doesn’t feel ashamed sometimes to work for the fashion industry. There are a lot of people dying for the fashion industry. It’s really unfair. Besides that you also have the philosophy, the fashion history, which is really interesting. Because actually fashion can also explain a lot in society. It has a big role I think, but at the same time socially it tears people apart. It creates unfairness, so I don’t really like it. I also just don’t understand why there are so many people in a company being paid to tell people what to wear. We had this colleague, called Françoise, and her main role was to find some really good pictures on pinterest to make a moodboard and a collection to guide women how to dress. To me it was really stupid! 44 R: But don’t you think people want to dress really fashio-
nable, but they don’t know how and this is a good guideline for them? S: I think for anything you just have to follow your own feelings. Do not wear something, because you heard that it’s really cool and fashionable at the moment. R: Normally I would think that a fashion student is also a fashionista, but now I hear you talk do you consider yourself as a fashionista? S: No, I really don’t care! When I was a teenager, I was a bit more into following those kind of things. I spend every evening in front of my wardrobe to look for something to wear the day after and now I just don’t give a sh*t about it. When you talk to someone, it’s a conversation between minds and not between clothes. Most of the time the people that I found interesting didn’t give a shit about fashion.
or are you more down to earth? S: Sometimes I feel like I am a spiritual person, but I’m not really constant. I’m not a monk. I am not always in spiritual mood and I’m not interested in every aspect of the spiritual world. I can also be very down to earth sometimes.
R: You have Moroccan roots. Do you consider yourself Moroccan or do you mostly feel like a ‘française’? S: Actually when you have some North African roots, but you live in a European country it’s really hard to avoid your roots. This is just because the Arabic people have a strong sense of family and roots. When I go to Morocco just for vacation, everyone reminds me that I am Moroccan and that I have to follow religion and stuff. So you can’t avoid it. The only way to avoid it is to not see your family anymore. Sometimes it’s really difficult to have both nationalities, because when I am in French R: You are now talking about I feel more free as a woman a conversation between minds and as a person. When I’m in and before you were talking Morocco I feel a little bit more about yoga. Do you consider limited, because people really yourself as a spiritual person expect things from you. 45
R: Is this also part of the Northern France spirit, that people are very on their own and very independent? S: I think it’s the case for most of the European countries. Maybe in the Mediterenean countries the sense of family and community is a bit stronger. But in Northern Europe people are luckily not always judging what others are doing. In North Africa the sense of community is really strong. If you do something, firstly everyone knows and they will judge really fast. For example, if you kiss your boyfriend on the street and your family doesn’t know that you’re with someone, your neighbour will tell them. Everyone is always watching everyone. Somehow it can also be good, because you will never feel alone. You know that you will always be supported by someone, but the bad part is that this support can be really heavy sometimes. You’re really not free. In Northern Africa even people who don’t belong to your family, can replace your family members. If you go out and something happens to you, a friend or neighbour will take care of you as if it was a member of your family. It can be good, but it can be a problem, because they think that they have the right to tell you what to do. R: Now we are talking about the French culture, I think that the people from Northern France are known for a quick and efficient lifestyle. Do you prefer that lifestyle or the Siga Siga-lifestyle that exists in Greece? S: I prefer the Siga-Siga-life, because since I’m here I really feel healthier mentally. I think that this stressful life can really start to influence you. At work you will always hear people complaining about their job, their salary and their life, but they don’t change anything. At some point it will really start to eat you. Before I came here, I was a little bit depressed. The weather in France is really shitty, people 46 are always complaining, everything is really fast, everyone
is always at their smartphone. R: You think that this lifestyle is bad, but isn’t it also good because it is much more effective than the Greek lifestyle? S: Actually no system is perfect, you have to find a way to face the bad points. I think in terms of a healthy life, it is much better to relax sometimes. When I started my project with Amalia, I still had the French mindset of effective working and they found it really strange. They just wanted to make me understand that I don’t have to go fast all the time. I can also just take my time to do things. R: What shocked you the most about the Greek culture so far? S: I would say the fact that the drivers really don’t give a shit about the pedestrians. In France, at least they stop. Here they really don’t give a sh*t! Now, just to test the drivers, I will walk really slowly just to provoke those bastards. Just because it’s really annoying that they don’t stop. Furthermore Greek people really have no problem with being late and unpunctuality. Last time I had to meet my mentor and was 10 minutes late and I was really sorry. He really didn’t care that much. R: Do you know any Greek words? And what is your favourite? S: I know a few words right now, like Maláka. But my favourite word is λοιπόν, because it sounds like pony. People are always saying it, even though there is not always need to say it haha. R: Thank you very much! Now let’s enjoy our Dutch cookie. Bonne soirée! S: Merci.
By Rosa
47
CHOCOLATE CRINCKLES Warning! They will smell of chocolate and attract unwanted guests. They will look cool and impress everyone around. They will melt in your mouth in all of their chocolaty glory! They are Chocolate Crinkles. These instructions have been passed on from generation to generation, mutated as they reached distant countries and now I bring them to you in one of their purest forms. 1. step – chocolate. Choose your chocolate wisely. You will need 200g and don’t forget to check that cocoa percentage! Make sure it’s over 50% but don’t go over 75%. Melt it over steam. (Alternatively, you can do it very VERY carefully directly on the stove but please refrain from doing so except in extreme situations. And don’t you dare getting ideas like putting some water in, the Chocolate God will punish you!)
48
2. While your chocolate is hapily changing it’s crystal structure, take around 200g of flour and sift it (I know you don’t feel like doing it but the smoother it is, the better. Yes, you can skip it if you’re that lazy.) Take a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of baking powder and throw it in with the flour. 3. Take 60g of butter and whisk it with some vanilla extract and 100g of sugar (you can suptitute this sugar or part of it for a
healthier version, for example with shredded coconut). Add one egg (no need for separating the yolk, you’re lucky this time). 4. Mix in the chocolate. (If you ate it while you were anoyed about the sifting, repeat step 1) 5. Leave the mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours or over night. No, you cannot skip this step, I’m sorry. 6. Take the biggest oven dish you can find, put some baking paper (if you have any) and using a brush (or your fingers) spread a tiny bit of oil so your cookies don’t stick. Turn on your oven to 180°C. Then, take two small bowls or plates. Put some icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) in one are regular sugar in the other. 7. Make small balls of cookie batter, roll them in sugar (which will absorb moisture) and then in icing sugar and put them in the oven dish. Bake for about 10min. You will see them crack in the oven leaving a veiny pattern of chocolaty goodness. They should be a bit soft when they’re done and then harden while cooling. Don’t overbake them or they will be dry. 8. Hide them in a top-secret place (preferably with a retinal scanner) if they have to survive until guests arrive.
By Tea
49
Interview with a local volunteer
Oscar : Please Introduce Yourself! Eirini : Hi, I’m Eirini I’m 22 years old, I’m studying filology in the University of Kalamata, I’m from Sparta, I’m a volunteer in the Youth Center and other Greek organization, I’m here from 2012, I like sports, music, go out with my friends and watch movies. O : How long have you been here? (Youth Center) E: From the middle of september. 50
O: What do you think about Youth Center? E: They have a great oganization, they offer differents things and you meet new people, thay makes you feel like a part of it. O: Why did you decide to participate as a volunteer? E: Because I wanted to help and Ialso have friends here, working in the youth center ! O: Thanks for your time ! E: You’re welcome.
By Oscar
51
PERSONAL PROJECT My personal project idea is mainly, If there are many problems waiting for solution, maybe we can combine the solutions together and make them help each other to improve the results. I both wanted to «save the nature» and «help people» . My idea has derived from my experiences with people whom i are closed to me. When i was eight, i have lost my 2 months old little sister having heard failure. I remember how my mom devastated. Just after her lost, many years she struggled a lot. However, than, she started dealing with our garden. After her effort, and while growing all those many vegetables, her mood started increasing rapidly. She started showing her love to those tomatoes, by saying them «my little love, my little girl» ... However, she was completely aware about the situation and she told me that doing this and saying those words to them, makes her relaxed and remembers my lost sister with good memories. Over 15 years, she has made a good process on agriculture. 52 When she is on the garden, she is happier. And, recently ano-
ther thing happened. One of my best friends lost her baby. She was psychologically down. I advised her, to grow a tree or adopt one and take care of with it. Remember, your unborn child may have grown like this, but instead this tree will bring life and health to the world, through your action by growing it. Not only lost babies and children, there are many broken dreams in this world, and hurt us as much as their grief. I believe, if we direct people’s lost dreams, problems or other good wishes to the nature and make them grow a tree to overcome from their issues (addiction, lost of their loved ones, unachieved dreams.. etc) We can create forests, or MOST IMPORTANT we can create burned down forests back, by using the misery in this world... What do you think? We can create beauty, out of beast!
By Ruya
53
Photo : Tea Krizaniec
Photo : Ruya Hazar
Kentro Neon Kalamatas invites you to participate in a photo contest which aims to discover the beauty of our city. Regardless of the technical capabilities of your camera (or even your phone!), be open to your own creativity and new challenges! The competition is a cyclical event – each month we will indicate a new theme. Set the zoom both on people, society, the events taking place in the city, as well as everyday situations!
54
Photo : Ruya Hazar
Photo : Χαρά Σταυριανοπούλου
#PhotoContest #ZoomOnKalamata #OCTOBEREDITION
Theme for November: The sweetness of doing nothing. You can vote for the most beautiful picture in #PhotoContest #ZoomOnKalamata ! All photographers did their best, so now it’s YOUR TIME to choose a winner! The winner will be chosen by YOUR “LIKES”! Photo : Jelena Scepanovic
By Martyna
55
EVS’ DA Hello everyone ! The new team of EVS is now completed and we are going to spend a wonderful year all together! Maybe it’s the time to discover a bit more about us... in our daily life with all the funny thing it brings. Cultural differences, language barrier, missunderstandings, funny situations.. Here is your monthly edition of EVS’S DAILY LIFE. [OSCAR in a deep conversation about shampoo] : «I don’t know the fuck I will do when my shampoo finish...» [RUYA speaking about Tea’s hairs] : «Her hair are as clean as baby’s ass.» [OSCAR, randomly] : «Mothersucker!» [SARA] : «chique and
fatty» [ROSA (to SARA) ]: «You know, in every friend group you have a Dori from Finding Nemo and you are our Dori!» [SARA]: «Actually, some friends call me Dori... actually, i think it’s offensive.» [SARA]: «Ruya, your life won’t end at thirty... unless you have a serious accident.»
56
AILY LIFE [ARTHUR speaking about his eyebrows] : [OSCAR, about EVS’ «I have big caterpillars» volunteers] : «Why this people hate me?» [LAURA] : What’s wrong with my cojones?» And that’s it for this month, see you in No[OSCAR, about mens] : «I vember ! ^^ like daddies.» [RUYA, about her hair] : «There was a point where it looked nice, but I didn’t wanted nice... I wanted crazy !» [OSCAR] : «In Spain, we have a lot of hair.» [LAURA, trying to figure out a movie] : «... Is it the one with the guy on a car?»
By Laura
57
The volunteers responsible for this publication are hosted in Greece in the framework of the European Erasmus+ programme, KA1/youth - European Voluntary Service. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.