link July 1rst 2017
N°95
Summer in Greece : Yes it’s finally summer in Greece ! Brace yourselves EVS Team most of you are not used to those incredibly high temperature ! Put a lot of sunscreens and take care of your skins ! Summer is also the time for holidays/travels, music festival and beach parties ! We are happy to welcome interns (canadian and french) that will stay two months working in KANE and in others partner organisations.
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About us
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EVS, K.A.NE.
Youth Center - program 14 Sara Amghar 13
Kalamata for 2 euros
Joana Ganilho Marques 14
Museum of greek children art
Aroa Liébana Rellán 19
Jaime Vidalt & Interview with Emily
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Interns Street Music Day Street Festival Promotion
Martyna Czypicka 28 Renée Hoogenboom 31 Sara Amghar 33 Sofiene Lahdheri 35 Óscar Villarraso López 37 Renée Hoogenboom 39 Molly O’Doherty 41
Glory of Beauty Vierdaagse Birds eat platic Photo report Milan Healthy Snacks Living in a different way
K.A.NE. Staff members of KANE: Filaretos Vourkos Fotini Arapi Jelena Scepanovic Nantiana Koutiva Vyron Giannakopoulos
K.A.N.E Social Youth Development Youth Center of Kalamata Plateia Othonos 10 Kalamata, 24100, Greece
EVS: Anna Szlendak Aroa Liébana Rellán Joana Ganilho Marques Laura Gimenez Mariam Sassi Martyna Czypicka Mehdi Jaffar Molly O’Doherty Óscar Villarraso López Renée Hoogenboom Sara Amghar Sofiene Lahdheri Tea Križanec Yana Volkova
info@ngokane.org +30 272 111 0740 kentroneon.wordpress.com ngokane.org/index.php
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@kentroneon
WHO ARE WE ?
ANNA
Kalimera! I am Ania and I come from Poland. I will be working for KANE and running Photography and Ukulele workshops. I studied photography in the Institute of Journalism of the University of Warsaw and worked for press photo agencies when I lived in my country. I enjoy every form of photography, I use both digital and
film camera, I also create my own pinhole cameras. Besides, I am totally addicted to travel.
AROA
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RENEE
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.
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.
MOLLY
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.
LAURA
MARTYNA
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 videogames, watching movies and tv show and so on.
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.
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MARIAM
Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things is the best way to grow, and this is what EVS is all about. My name is Mariam, I am 24 and I come from Tunisia. Passionate by traveling, arts, adventures as well as meeting new people and discovering new traditions, places and cultures. I decided to leave all of my normal steady life in Tunisia to come seek inspiration and and explore a new way of living in Greece, in the beautiful city of Kalamàta. I would use all of my
knowledge and dig even deeper to give the best of me, but also try to learn everything I can from other volunteers, from locals and daily life experience, either languages, dancing, music instrument, sports etc.
JOANNA
OSCAR
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Hello ! My name is Joana, I’m 29 years old and I’m from Lisbon, Portugal. I studied fine arts, art education and museology and I just arrived Kalamata for a 12 months EVS project. I’ve worked for a lot of time in bookshops and I love to read. I like quiet places where I can be in touch with nature. I’m a curious person and I’m always
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.
SOFIENE
Taking a decision to leave everything what you have and take a deep plunge into something unknown is never an easy one. I took such a decision, left my job and decided to take one-in-a- lifetime opportunity to do my EVS in Greece. My name is Sofiene, I’ am 26 and I am from a tiny country in North Africa called Tunisia. I am a photographer, videographer, graphic designer and I am here to share my experience and knowledge as well as expand it and acquire new skills. I’m social, open minded and always curious about different cultures and meeting beautiful people.
TEA
Greece, the final frontier. This will be the voyage of a young volunteer. Her continuing mission - to explore strange new places, to seek out new skills and new forms of art, to boldly go where no volunteer has gone before... Greetings dear readers! Tea in my name and art is my game. I will be working for KANE and leading the Creative Arts workshop in the youth center as well as teaching croatian. Please don’t let my fragile looks trick you, as I am a level 6 elven ranger of the Vanyar
clan, my patronumes.s is an Eevee and I am aivailable for tea parties and board game.
MEHDI
There are at least as many things to know as there are humans and countries. EVS enables the possibility to know much more about our World. Καλημερα, Hello, my name is Mehdi, I am 24 and I come from France. Passionate about Life and Nature, my biggest motivation is to learn from other cultures, from people, from life. I decided to quit my job there too, so I could catch the opportunity to experience something unique in Greece, in Kalamata, and all the
Greek cities I will have the chance to see. I will bring you all I have, and I will learn from everyone all I can. 9
SARA
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 :)
YANA
I am Yana from Ukraine. For 5 years I was studying architecture in university and I fond of everything about it as well as about natural building. Before coming here I was working as a project coordinator of the workcamps and as freelance graphic designer for different social festivals and non-governmental organizations. The last 4 years I’ve been travelling to different places in Europe such as eco-villages and rural areas helping people and promoting volunteering for
peace. All kind of arts, nature, voluntarism, and travel -- my biggest passions in life.
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K.A.NE.
FILARETOS
jelena
NANTIANA
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.
My name is Nantiana! I’m 23 years old. I live in Kalamata! I was living for 5 years in Patras! I was studying there greek philology and now I’m teaching greek to the youth center in Kalamata.
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fotini
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
VYRON
would describe Vyron as an imaginative fast learning and inventive generalist with a passion for remarkable food and the great outdoors. That’s enough talking about myself in third person. Hello, I am Vyron Giannakopoulos, I consider myself a curious and open-minded person. I have studied the science of Geography and as the newest member of KANE I am here to help by managing the creative projects of EVS volunteers, planning events, creating new projects and
doing anything that will add value to our organisation. In my free time I like exploring new places and learning new things. But feel free to contact me on any issue if you need help. Namaste
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Kalamata for 2 euros EVS life implies many changes for a period of time. For me, it helped me to appreciate even more the things I buy. For example, today I used my last 1E80 to buy a freddocapuccino, and I can say that I enjoyed it more than usually because I knew that I wouldn't get another one right after. A freddocapuccino to take away usualy cost between 1E50 and 2E. But this is not the only product you can got for this amount of money. After 10 months living in Kalamata, I have stored a serious and valuable knowledge about cheap (and pleasant) life here. You want to enjoy Kalamata for 2E in your pocket, you futur EVS ? Take a pen, a notebook and copy the followed list. 1. A veggetarian pita (a greek must to eat) : 1E80 2. A souvlaki ( a stick with meat) : 1E50 3. 100g of feta (greek cheese) : 1E80 4. 1kg of orange at the open market of Kalamata ( making your own orange juice with greek oranges is such a pleasure in the morning) : 60 cent 5. A freddocapuccino : from 1E50 to 2E. 6. Entrance ticket for the castle of Kalamata : 2E. 7. Spanaki pita (spinach pie) : 1E80. 8. A small bottle of ouzo (a greek alcohol) : 2E. 9. One pack of greek coffee in supermarket : around 1E50. 10. Cinnamon biscuits (you'll find them in every bakeryshop in Greece) : Don't remember the exact price because usually the price is per kg, so it cost even less than 1E is you buy only one.
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SAYING THE UNSPEAKABLE IN THE MUSEUM OF GREEK CHILDREN’S ART, ATHENS The International Council of Museums (ICOM) established International Museum Day in 1977 to increase public awareness of the role of museums in the development of society. In 2016, more than 35,000 museums hosted International Museum Day’s events, in 145 different countries. The worldwide community of museums celebrates this date on 18th of May; this year, the theme is Museums and contested histories: Saying the unspeakable in museums, and it challenges us and people all over the world to think about how museums can help us to better understand the incomprehensible aspects of the contested histories inherent to our History. It also invites museums to rethink their role and to reinforce their social approach, working to benefit society, to promote peaceful relationships between people and a future without taboos, which could lead us to a deeper understanding of one another. But how do museums decide what should be shown and what should be hidden? How do they select a point of view? Should a point of view be selected at all? How to embrace the whole perspective of an event that is socially painful or unclear? We know that there is no such thing as complete objectivity. We can’t aim to tell things as they are because, in the end, part of our understanding is always social, cultural and, ultimately, the experience of something is also personal: we cannot perceive things outside ourselves. Museums can be places to address social issues; but they can also me places to rethink our paradigms, our truths, and the way both of them are socially built. For a long 14
time we saw History, as well as institutions which speak for it, as unidirectional, holding monolithic truths. Today more and more often we see museums raising questions, being part of the discussion about what we were as a society, what we are now and, the most important, what we want to be. Museums can help us remember the past, our roots, but also our collective mistakes, our collective shame, our collective pains. It helps us mediate our world by mediating the relation between me and the other. Nina Simon, in the book The Arte of Relevance, says that sometimes our mechanisms to avoid the big questions damage our credibility along with our relevance. Peacefully addressing traumatic histories and issues that divide us as a community through multiple points of views, museums open themselves to dialogue, based on empathy and not on moralism. In order to be relevant museums must avoid authority; relevance is not universal, what matters is different for each one of us. We see the world through our own lenses, our set of beliefs, education and social experiences; but how can museums help us to better perceive ourselves not as a community but as individual persons?
Museum of Greek Children’s Art, in Athens, can help to address the issue. This is a museum centered on art created by children. It’s collection include 8,000 drawings and 3d artworks created by children from 4 to 14 years old and it is enriched each year with new drawings and three-dimensional artwork, from entries to the art contests as well as creations from the museum’s workshops. 15
The Museum's aim is to highlight the uniqueness of Children's Art, addressing it to children and adults, parents, teachers, artists and scientists, in collaboration with several institutions, professional and researchers. There are currently three exhibitions on display: The Studio With Ghika; Alone or Unique: diversity & racism; and Caring with Art: From the ego’s microcosm to the world of we. All themes focus on education through art, and they tackle issues as children’s rights, diversity, racism, acceptance, isolation, inclusion, care, respect, solidarity, in a language they can understand: their own language. But they also address self-care, not just in exhibitions but in their several educational activities. Learning to take care of myself, I take care of the world and the people who surround me. Learning to take care of the world and the people who surround me guides me to
look after myself. This is the motto of Caring with Art Exhibition, composed by 122 objects made by children, between 1945 and 2016. It is organized in small narratives that address physical and mental health, intellectual and creative (self)care, and then evolve to bigger themes related with caring about the world around us: our city, our family, our colleagues, our schools, our planet. By putting the children in the center of the narrative and then move to a broader perspective, it helps to situate children in the world, and as part of the world, not only with rights but also with social obligations and with an active voice. By putting the action on the children side, they empower their thoughts and teach them that they can transform those thoughts into drawings, into 16
words, into actions. By inviting them to engage in museum’s activities, the museum itself is being a social agent to civic education, teaching children that the future world depends on their attitude, lifestyle, and the ability to think, to decide and to make things happens. At the same time, they are becoming a role model to actively demand a better world, built together in a responsible and inclusive way. Every exhibition has an interactive section that challenges the audience to (re)create narratives through artistic activities, games, fairytales and books, which help to approach those subjects in a more stimulating way. Museum activities sometimes create a dialogue with external cultural references. For example, in this exhibition “Little Prince”, from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, is used as a way to teach how the care towards a subject can be a bridge for caring about something else also.
From an adult perspective, and I did several of the proposed activities, there are two that I want to mention. One invites us to think about daily actions that help us to take care of ourselves: with a simple paper where there are four different boxes to fill, and color pencils, the museum asks a very simple question that took me too long to answer (for sure much longer than every child there): what are your daily routines, to take care of your body and your soul? We are not used to addressing ourselves anymore, our inner needs, and that can be a challenge with very productive results if we engage. The second activity proposes us to address ourselves in both a poetic and a very a straightforward way. There is a reproduction of Little Prince’s glass dome and we are asked to draw the most precious thing we have in life, the one we most want to protect, and put there, under the dome. It’s not so easy sometimes to take care of ourselves. Society relies on family to teach us how to deal with ourselves, how to love ourselves, but in a world where the time we spend with our families is becoming smaller and smaller, in a world where we live more isolated than ever, with less guidance and more distant role models to follow, and also less real ones, it is urgent to address self-care and emotional education. Each child is a 17
unique person with a unique context, and not all contexts are healthy or happy. And our conception of the world, our frame, is also related with those important first years and the experiences we had. What is relevant for us is not just a choice, and in the end, We don’t always choose the doors we see. The world chooses – in ways both beautiful and hideous, based on circumstances as much as individual will, to put it in Nina Simon’s words. There are personal wounds that are invisible and also unspeakable. Museums can build doors that allow us to unlock our own. Addressing controversial issues like isolation, loss, loneliness, bullying, negligence and trauma in early childhood, and do it in an environment such as this, helps to raise awareness on the child about what is acceptable and what is not, in a way to which they can relate. Even more importantly, it passes a significant message: they are not alone. In the end, museums can help us situate ourselves in our common world, but also in our interior one. They can help us understand how the world works, but also how we work, individually. Accepting the difference is not just towards the other, it’s also towards us. We need a more inclusive world, a more understanding world, and this can be built with patient, tolerance, and kindness. If we learn to be kind to ourselves we will be already half-way there. And museums can help. Note: to celebrate International Museum Day, the museum invited children aged 5-11, living in Greece, regardless of their nationality, along with their parents and caregivers, to wander through the Museum’s exhibitions and to draw all together the unspeakable, communicating through the common and universal language of Art.
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Jaime Vidalt Jaime is one of my favorite dancers in the world, he is one of the people that inspired me to start dancing. He is a dancer practically from a very young age, he began to dance at age 5 in dance school of neighborhood, in which in a short time his level was going up very fast. At age 7 he entered one of the best schools in Madrid, where he had the opportunity to belong to the team of one of the best dancers in Spain, who participated as a teacher in one of the most famous dance programs in Spain " Fame, everyone to dance. " To this day, at 23 is one of the dancers of Ana Mena (my favorite singer and actress). For many dancers who want to be part of the world of dance, Jaime is an inspiration for us all, since it makes us see that the houses begin on the ground and not on the roof, even if we are on a low level, in a school Of neighborhood where we are hardly seen, if we know how to wait and we are constant with the daily work that the dance implies, we can become great dancers and be seen at last by thousands of people, and we can even like him to inspire other people to leave Its hiding place and made visible through dance, a very effective way that many people use to vent themselves and even to think or focus on some specific subject. The dance for Jaime is his way of life, his way of expression, his way of making himself seen to others, of thanks to his effort and constancy, and the most important making people see that dancing is also about boys and that dreams are fulfilled if you persecute them. For this reason Jaime Vidalt is my favorite dancer, because apart from training in dance, he achieved it thing is that he never forgets where he started and the work that cost him to achieve it.
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Interview with Emily Aroa : Have you ever been to Greece before? Emily: No, I have never been to Greece before. Aroa: What do you think about Kalamata? Emily: I like Kalamata because it is a small city, it is not very busy and have nice beaches and good food. Aroa: What is your work in the association? Emily: We are crowdfuntang for the Kalamata Street Festival and helping with the new EVS volunteers. Aroa: Do you like what you do? Emily: Yes, I really like what I do here. Aroa: Do you like living with so many people? Emily: It is hard sometimes, like when the people don’t clean, but I like be with 20
other people from different countries because it is a new experience. Aroa: How is the relationship with your roommates? Emily: It´s good. Aroa: How about your first month in Greece? Emily: It is good, I like to stay here. Aroa: If you had to describe this experience with a word, what would it be? Emily: FUN. Aroa: What do you like most about this experience? And which less? Emily: Meet new people. I don´t like waking up early. Aroa: Do you have a favourite place in Kalamata? Which? And why? Emily: The beach, because it is relaxing and we don’t have one at home.
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The interns Ellen Hi! My name is Ellen Hiltz, I am 20 years old and from the province of Nova Scotia in Canada. I am very excited to be spending my summer in Kalamata, I love the city already. I really like to travel and learn about the world in many ways. I like to go on adventures and I am interested in politics. I just finished my second year of university where I am taking a leadership degree. I am still trying to decide what I want to do after I graduate. I am very excited to be interning with K.A.N.E this summer and am looking forward to the street festival. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer will bring!
cURTIS Hi, my name is Curtis Wackett and I am an intern at KANE. I am 19 years old and come from Toronto, Canada. As an intern at KANE I am helping with coordinating the short-term EVS coming to help with the Kalamata Street Arts festival. I am currently a student at the University of New Brunswick where I am completing a Bachelor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies with a minor in Political Science. I run track competitively for my university and next year hope to play collegiate volleyball. Outside of volleyball and fitness I enjoy playing piano, swimming, hiking, travelling, and listening to live music. I first arrived in Kalamata on May 28th, and am very excited to be working on the upcoming Kalamata Street Arts Festival. 22
Prior to arriving in Kalamata I was studying Economics and French In Paris for three weeks with my co-intern Emily. Having lived in Kalamata for a month now I really enjoy the beach, the people and the food! I hope to see you at the Street Arts Festival at the end of July!
Emily Hello, my name is Emily Roy and I am 19 years old. I am from New Brunswick, Canada and I am starting the last year of my bachelor’s degree in September. I am studying philosophy and sociology. I love reading, water colour painting, dancing, swimming, going to the beach, makeup and fashion. I also enjoy volunteering at my local elementary school because in the future I want to be an elementary school teacher. Before I came to Kalamata I spent 3 weeks in Paris studying French and Economics. I arrived in Kalamata on May 28th and I will be here until August 1st. This summer I am completing an internship with KANE for 23
my university. At KANE, I will be working on crowd funding for the Kalamata Street Festival. I am very excited to have the opportunity to work on this project and help KANE by volunteering at the street festival. I’m glad that I get to spend my summer here in Kalamata.
Luke My name is Luke Arsenault. I am twenty-one years old and am from Canada. As part of my university program, of which I am currently in my fourth and final year, I had to complete one of the many international internship placements sanctioned by my University. Long story short I chose, and have ended up in Kalamata, Greece. So far I have been quite enjoying my time in Kalamata. Be it the almost daily beach trips, warm weather, good food, etc. these and many more things have contributed to my time here so far being fantastic. Given that I have only just began my time here I look forward to the many opportunities I will have to learn and grow throughout my time in Kalamata. Many more adventures to come! 24
Street Music Day
Last year, over 750 cities around the world threw citywide music celebrations on June 21. It all started 35 years ago in France. In 1982, Jack Lang and his staff at the Ministry of Culture dreamed up an idea for a new kind of musical holiday. They imagined a day where free, live music would be everywhere: street corners and parks, rooftops and gardens, store fronts and mountaintops. And, unlike a typical music festival, anyone and everyone would be invited to join and play music, or host performances. The event would take place on the summer solstice, June 21, and would be called Fête De La Musique. (In French, the name means both “festival of music” and “make music!”) Amazingly enough, this dream has come true. The Fête has turned into a true national holiday: France shuts down on the summer solstice and musicians take over. Almost 8% of the country (5 million people) have played an instrument or sung in public for the Fête de la Musique. 25
Three decades later, the holiday has spread throughout the world and is now celebrated in more than 120 countries. This year Kalamata as well became part of worldwide celebration of music. The event started with 2 workshops: first workshop was about creating musical instruments out of materials you can find everywhere and even in your trash, and second one was about creating costumes out of plastic trash -- the aim of this workshop was to raise awareness about abnormal consuming of plastic bags. During the workshops young musicians from the philharmony came to the same space to play music all together. In that moment I felt real spirit of music day. Musicians and music lovers, artists, citizens of Kalamata, young and old -- a lot of people gather together to celebrate music together! When our instruments and costumes were ready, we march on the streets of Kalamata screaming: “Οχι είναι πλαστικα! Οχι είναι πλαστικα!” which means no more plastic. People who were passing by were puzzled by happening -- but our goal was so send a message and everyone could decide for her or him self -- to receive it or not, to interpret is as he or she prefer.
NEVER blame each other !
The final part of the evening was a music jam and music improvisation from young local and some already very experienced musicians. It was such a great collaboration. Different styles, different genres -- rock, hip-hop, jazz -- together merged into one fantastic 3-hour musical improvisation.
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The Kalamata Street Festival is a broader cooperation of several local associations, organizations and informal groups with the coordination of the Youth Centre of Kalamata and the youth organization K.A.NE. It is a non-political, non-religious festival based 100% on volunteerism with free entrance, and funded by people like you. The festival continues to grow every year, however, the bigger the festival, the more resources we need. Be part of our team and support one unique cause: the sustainability of one great event! This year, the Kalamata Street Festival will take place 27-28-29-30 July 2017.
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Sun skin protection Summer in Greece… 35oC, sea, sand, cold coffee… Sounds amazing, right?! Most of us will spend holidays at the beach, enjoying free time and hot sun. And, unlikely for you, most of you won’t use any sun skin protection. Do you realize that UV rays account for 80 per cent of skin ageing? Long-term UV exposure can also lead to pigmentation, reduced skin elasticity and a degradation of skin texture, including yellowing. Do you know that sun is a biggest risk factor for skin cancer? Avoiding this risk factor alone could prevent more than 3 million cases of skin cancer every year! In 2010, new research found that daily sunscreen use cut the incidence of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, in half! Statistics are horrifying and unfortunately people still don’t want to use SPF creams! Everyone wants to get tanned very quickly, because “it’s pretty”. I can assure you – skin cancer is not pretty at all. What to do, to give your skin 100% skin protection, prevent skin diseases and get tan in healthy way? Follow the article!
What SPF is? Many times you were wandering which cream take with you to the beach. SPF 10, 15 or maybe 50? What SPF really means and why it’s so important? “Sun Protection Factor” is a measure of how well a sunscreen will protect your skin from sun rays! “If your skin would normally burn after 10 minutes in the sun, applying an SPF 15 sunscreen would allow you to stay in the sun without burning for approximately 150 minutes (10 minutes x 15 SPF = 150 minutes). This is a rough estimate that depends on skin type, intensity of sunlight and amount of sunscreen used. SPF is actually a measure of protection from amount of UVB exposure and it is not meant to help you determine duration of exposure. For best protection, experts recommend using a minimum SPF sunscreen of 15, applying the proper amount (2mg/cm2 of skin, or about one ounce for full body coverage), and reapplying every 2 hours.” 28
(https://www.badgerbalm.com/s-30-what-is-spf-sunscreen-sun-protection-fac tor.aspx)
Moles, tattoos and face – only SPF 30 (or higher)! If you have moles you should put SPF more often (but applying only on the mole, not whole body). Even non-cancer mole should be over better protection, because UV light from the sun and tanning beds can both cause melanoma and increase the risk of a benign mole progressing to melanoma. Also tattoos need little bit more attention, because after long sunbathing, ink can become paler then it was before. In pharmacies and drugstores you can find very useful sticks. When I’m on the beach I prefer to use high SPF – 30 or more. Your face skin in very sensitive and it’s expose to the sun all day long – when you’re going for a coffee, you’re waiting for a bus or you’re taking a walk with your dog. Give your (face) skin some love and don’t torture it – use SPFs.
What about make-up and daily routine? It’s not a problem! Beauty companies thought about everything! First of all you can find regular creams with SPF. So they can be moisturizing, firming, brightening, mattifying, etc. and as an extra they have SPF, so you can use them every morning! It is awesome, isn’t it? Make-up also won’t cause a problem! You can easily find foundations, BB and CC creams with SPF. But be careful! If you use SPF foundation avoid pictures with flash! Your face will be white on all photos! Statistics: https://www.aad.org/media/stats/conditions/skin-cancer
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The reason I am leaving Greece in the summer So the reason starts with a tradition in my hometown. It's called the Nijmeegse vierdaagse. Nijmegen is my city and vierdaagse means something like 4 days, there is no literal translation. It's an event that we are holding since 1909 and it is every third Tuesday of July. It's a walking event were participants walk multiple days in the area around Nijmegen and it is the biggest multiple day walking event in the world, that’s why now they also call it walk of the world. If you want to participate you have to subscribe for the distance you want to walk each day - you can choose 30, 40 or 50 kilometers. Now, I never walked the vierdaagse because I love the festivities around it to much! Like people who live on the route throwing big parties during the day to support the walkers. They throw these sort of house party's next to the route and there is music everywhere and you can hand out flowers to the walkers or give them water. And the amazing thing is that everyone is always so happy even when sometimes starts raining. I have the best memories of when I was little girl handing out flowers and most of the time you get gifts from the walkers of soldiers took me with them to walk for 5 minutes. So I loved the vierdaagse and still do. But now that I am older there is something I love more and that is the summer 31
festival now they call it vierdaagse festival. So on Tuesday the vierdaagse starts, but the festival starts already on Saturday and ends on Friday the same day as the vierdaagse. And it is crazy, people who live in nijmegen just go on a holiday because you can not come in or out of the city. In the whole city they make stages for performances for all kinds of music! And bars extend to the street. It's during the day and the night and it is amazing. And than on Sunday there is a big firework show. And since last year I work behind the bar during the festival. Which is amazing! My bar, normally quite small, expands to the square in front of it and they build a stage where various artists come during the week. And we have like 12 bars outside so we also work with a lot of people for one week. And even though we are with so much, the work is quite heavy so after one week you really have a bond, which is the best thing ever.
So yes I am leaving Greece in the summer, but my heart would just hurt if I will not go to the vierdaagse. And i can recommend it to anyone if you like a good party you have to come. And if you love walking you should come! This event is for everyone young and old, and it doesn't matter what kind of music you like, there is something for everyone. And it is getting more and more international, the vierdaagse already was but now also the festival attracts more and more people from around the world.
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Birds eat plastic, plastic eat birds On the 31st of May, local volunteers and EVS will work together on an interactive presentation of some of the workshops which take place at the Youth Center of Kalamata (aka Kentro Neon). Before this presentation, I had the opportunity to help Yana, one of the EVS, to organize the presentation of her trash art workshop. After an inspired brainstorming (# "let's do this and this and that!" ), we choose to create fake birds out of used plastic.
Yana joined the EVS team in Kalamata to work on environmental friendly projects. By creating that kind of sculpture, the idea is to raise awareness about how we use the plastic in general, but more specifically the impact of the plastic “forgot by accident" in the nature. It is not difficult to understand how much the promotion of plastic reusing is needed in Kalamata. As we all know, it is really easy to get plastic bags in supermarkets here since it is free.
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This may have a role in the importance of plastics found at the beach, by the rivers and by the roads of the city for example. NO reason to worry about to carry your groceries, you have an unlimited access to the power of plastic... with all the serious consequences for the planet it implies.
One row of colorful fake birds, looking at each other and maybe looking at you. Maybe asking you about the last time you took your regular bag to do your groceries and not the plastic bags.
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Sofiene's photo report
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During the Street Music Day, Trash costumes, Graffiti workshop, and of course music !
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Milan Milan is a city known worldwide for being one of the capitals of fashion,but it has many interesting things that not everyone knows. I traveled to this city to visit one of my best friends and go to the concert of my favorite band, my intention was not to do tourism, but I have seen beautiful things that I think everyone should see. As I said, Milan is known for being a city where fashion is the main trade, you can see it in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where are 3 of the best fashion brands in the world, Versace, Prada and Gucci. Next to the gallery, there is the first tourist monument of the city, the Duomo, surely you have heard of it, it is the most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen in my life.
Another of the things that you should visit is Il Parco Sempione, it is a huge park, where you can sit, eat, do sports or just chill, this is undoubtedly the most liked place of the city, it's amazing.
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Italy in general, is a very religious country, and has many churches throughout the cities, but one of them impressed me a lot, It had a room where the walls were filled with skulls and real bones of people that died in an epidemic 200 years ago , It was very creepy but I liked it a lot.
I don't know if I am the only one but using the subway i'm very bad, it is supposedly made to facilitate the visit the city without any problem, but not in Milan, it is very complicated and it is very easy to lose yourself, I thought that Madrid was Crazy but this is worse, this is the only bad thing about the city. I went for a week, and it wasn't enough to see everything that this city can offer you, all the corners have something special, for sure I will return one day.
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Healthy snacks during the day During the day a lot of people intend to eat small things, this is of course not bad at all. But if you do it it is better to choose a natural healthy snack. These will give you more energy during the day. For me it was quite hard to think of them. I wanted to eat healthier and breakfast, lunch and dinner was not so hard. But than I would get hungry during the day and I didn't really know what to eat. But over time I researched it a bit and I found options, which were also easy. Because if you search for what you can eat you will find so many options which are difficult to make or cost a ton of time, which most people don't have. So I found things that I like and I want to share it. 1. Raw vegetables with hummus. Make sure you always have a small box of hummus in your fridge. It's really nice to dip your vegetables in. Or if you want some more variation you can also take hummus with another taste like paprika hummus. You can find it in the supermarket but if you want to do it more healthier you can also make it yourself! If you search the internet fir sure you will find a lot of easy options. 2. Fresh fruit Of course this is always good! A healthy and sweet snack and easy to take with you to for example your work. Or even when you go away for the day. 3. A small hand of nuts A small hands of nuts each day is very healthy. They are full of vitamins, good fats and nutrition thats why they are the perfect snack. But keep it with a hand because they are really healthy but they do have a lot of calories. And also make sure they are raw because the more they did with them the unhealthier they get. 4. Crackers Take a cracker with something healthy on it like hummus with rucola or another natural spread. Even better is to make your own crackers, if thats to much work than you can eat whole grain crackers. If you do want to make you own a good option is to search how to make line seed crackers, these ones are really easy to make. 39 39
5. Boil an egg This is full of nutrition, and is filling so you will not be hungry until, your next meal. 6. A piece of pure chocolate I really love chocolate! But if I eat it I try to eat the healthy version which is as dark as possible I like the one with 72% cacao. And after one piece you actually have enough. 7. A green smoothie I love them! They give you energy and are full of vegetables with a lot of vitamins. They are ideal especially because you can prepare them before! And in the summer they are also quite refreshing. Also you have a lot of varieties so mix and play a bit and find you perfect drink and healthy snack. 8. A small bowl of yoghurt with fruit/nuts For if you are quite hungry. Choose natural yoghurt I love the greek yoghurt which is also really healthy. Mix and play a bit with what you put in the yoghurt and you have the perfect snack.
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Living in a different way, with strangers from other lands An introduction to mobility projects Volunteering, learning and sharing with people from different cultures If this is not your first time reading Link then you’ll probably know that those of us who write here are EVS volunteers. What exactly is EVS? EVS stands for European Voluntary Service. It is thanks to doing this “service” that we are all able to live here in Kalamata, Greece. If you are curious this article will provide you with more information about EVS. On top of that it will also give you a flavour of some of the other projects that you can participate in.
Mobility projects
Mobility projects are not something to do with using scooters or wheelchairs (although you never know there may be a project out there that includes them!). They are European Union initiatives designed to give young people the opportunity to be mobile, that is, to move around freely, within Europe and further afield. In what way can they experience this movement? Participating in a mobility project involves moving from one country to another, to learn about/with people from other cultures. This learning can take place by doing activities, working and receiving non-formal education, as an individual or together as an international group.
European Voluntary Service
European Voluntary Service (EVS) is a programme where you can spend from 3 weeks 1 year volunteering in an organisation or public institution abroad. It is international 41
volunteer service where you not only spend this time in another country but actually live there and get the chance to participate in local life too. EVS began in Europe but it is also available in some non-European countries. Nowadays there are projects available in Africa, Asia and South America as well. You can apply as a European Union resident and if you live in a non-European Union country too. The programme is funded by the European Commission so your food, accommodation and travel costs are covered. To participate you just have to be between 17-30 years old. Youth exchanges A youth exchange is where a group of young people from different countries come together to meet, live and work on a shared project for a short period of time. It can last between 5-21 days and is always international. This means that if you participate you are either travelling to the country where the exchange takes place or you are meeting people from other countries in your native land. The activities involve learning outside of a school environment through workshops, exercises, debates, role-playing and outdoor activities. Each country has a group leader who guides and supports their group during the events. There are no costs for participating in an exchange. During the project everything is included (accommodation, food and travel). You can take part if you are between 13 -30 years old. Workcamps The word workcamp for some conjures up images of something organised for people during war-time. In fact various working “camps� did take place in wars. However the 42
concept of them is much older than that and is one strongly connected with notions of peace. In a workcamp young people come together for between 1 week- 1 month to live and carry out community work as an intercultural group. It is also international and usually involves people from at least two different countries participating. The age limit, if there is one, depends on the project. By doing this work you have the chance to learn new skills, discover things about yourself and other cultures, as well as giving your time to a local community. I mentioned earlier that mobility projects stem from the European Union. Workcamps are a little different in that they involve European values of peace and intercultural learning but they are not always funded by the European Union. Therefore sometimes you have to pay either for your travel or make a contribution to the costs of the project. All of these costs and what they are used for should be fully explained by the organisation that hosts you. How can I get involved? To apply for any of the three types of projects listed here you need to find an organisation in your home country that can “send� you on a project (this is called a Sending Organisation). This will usually be an NGO or not-for-profit organisation. You can contact them for a list of available projects, or find them on their website. They can then provide you with more information and help you to make an application. The organisation providing the project in the other country is known as the Hosting Organisation. They will cooperate together with your Sending Organisation to host you. Where can I find a sending organisation? For EVS For youth exchanges For workcamps More information You can find more information about all of these projects here: Volunteering through the EU Workcamps EVS Youth exchanges
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LINK
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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.