Call for:
PARTICIPANTS join europe’s largest design network spend two weeks working with designers and architects from over 30 countries
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some previous MEDS projects 1
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1 Extroverted Chapel - Istanbul, Turkey, 2011 2 Through the Digital Eye – Ljubljana, Slovenia 2012 3 Clocks – Dublin, Ireland 2014 4 Let Your Ear Be Your Compass - Ljubljana, Slovenia 2012
5+6 Sound Forest - Ljubljana, Slovenia 2012 7 A Conversation of Space - Ljubljana, Slovenia 2012 8 Lecture - Ljubljana, Slovenia 2012 9 Water Temple – Ljubljana, Slovenia 2012
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WHAT IS MEDS? MEDS is a network formed in 2010 that hosts annual workshops for young people with an interest in design. Run by students, for students, we are grassroots and non-profit organisation. We aim to promote the positive role of design in society as well as interdisciplinary and cross-border collaboration in design. We have previously held workshops in Turkey, Slovenia, Portugal and Ireland and meetings in Belgium, Cyprus, Kosovo, Slovakia and Spain. What is a MEDS Workshop? The ‘Workshop’ is a two-week event that takes place in August each year, and is the main ‘meeting’ of MEDS. Within the workshop are a number of projects led by Tutors (design students or professionals), who have applied to create their concept - along with their team of eager and talented Participants - during the Workshop. The Workshop has a central theme that all of the projects are based on. This year it is “Ground Zero” - a chance to start anew, as if we are the only people left to rebuild civilisation on Tara. We have 40m2 of wood, a toolshed sponsored by Bosch and around 15 projects to choose from.
MEDS after the Workshop Outside the Workshop, MEDS is an international network of dedicated designers that support one another in personal projects. MEDS participants have become tutors at other workshops, organise events in their own countries, and organise MEDS Workshops.
Participants are assigned to projects based on their choices according our homemade ‘Happiness Algorithm’ (an unbiased distribution of participants according to project choice, gender and nationality). They then collaborate with the Tutor to complete a project, and at the end of the two weeks present their work to the other participants and local people. Previous workshops have ranged from building permanent pavillions, clocks and furniture over photography, film and fashion, to upcycling, documentation and local interventions...
The MEDS network is currently expanding into an exclusive online platform, still in development. What can MEDS do for me? We’re a giant design crazy family. Participants benefit from a network of hundreds of design students from over 30 different nationalities and departments. Develop not just as a design thinker but as a design leader. We’re all about learning new design skills and experiencing different cultures. Participating will contribute to preserving the beautiful Tara National Park, and look very good on your CV!
There is of course a strict schedule of fun activities, including: working on your project, lectures and labs, getting to know your fellow MEDS crew, and - of course - partying with them.
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“There is pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more.� - Lord Byron
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THE THEME: ‘GROUND ZERO’ For two weeks in August we will be leaving the city lights behind. Far from contemporary civilisation without shops, neon lights and deafening background noise, we will wipe the slate clean and become ‘naked minds’ again. Imagine we are rebuilding society from the ground up – a fresh start – rethinking all aspects of life using our design skills and sensibilities.
The goal is to find inspiration in traditional work, craftsmanship and nature to realise our own designs. Not to get distracted by the outside world but seeking creativity from within, and from others in this unique group. It’s a meeting of people, nature, material, culture, language and opinion. There is a story that needs to be told. Come to Tara and help us write it.
MITROVAC: base camp want to be in a design crew that’s half way up a mountain in Serbia? 6
250 Design students 30 + nationalities 15 days on 1544m mountain 3 30m of seasoned timber When? 02 - 16 August 2015 Where? The chosen country for 2015 is Serbia. We will be holding the workshop in the village of ‘Mitrovac’ in Tara National Park. (Mitrovac is roughly 25km from Bajina Basta) How do I get there? You can fly into: Belgrade, Sarajevo or Pristina. There will be a bus transfer provided from Belgrade to Bajina Basta to the base camp in Mitrovac. All the interntional airports also have regular buses to Bajina Basta. Where are we staying? We are staying in a two hectare holiday complex. Seven pavilions with 2- 12-bed apartments and separate or shared bathrooms, balconies and lounge spaces. The surrounding area will be used for various activities during the workshop, and the ‘Kacara’ Restaurant will be serving two traditional Serbian meals per day. Participation Fee : €295 Includes: - Accommodation - 2 meals per day - Participation in workshop (tools, materials) - Bus from Bajina Basta to Mitrovac - Welcome pack (T-shirt, maps, etc) Not included in Participation Fee: - Transport to and from Belgrade - Additional food - Party and extra activity packs or excursions
For more information please visit: http://www.medstara.com
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international night All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, all play and no work makes Jack a mere toy. Aside from the workshops, lectures, excursions, learning and working we also like to celebrate the fact that we’ve all come together. One of the biggest parties during a MEDS workshop is the International Evening. All participants bring typical food and drinks from their home countries. Once everything is prepared, tables are set up for each country and you can go from table to table tasting amazing foods and sipping drinks to get you in the mood for when International evening turns into International night!
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how to apply
Applying to be a participant This year we have decided to give you the choice of To register your application please fill out the how you would like to apply to be a participant at application form which can find on the homepage the MEDS workshop in Tara: or here : http://goo.gl/forms/lC5LOkS4Fw 1) Essay on the Theme of ground Zero 2) Design a Tshirt 3) Project Poster (For presentation night during MEDStara) 4) Photo, Photo series or Film on ‘Ground Zero’ 5) Give a Pecha Kucha Talk x) Fitting projects (ask your NC)
National Contacts (NCs) Countries have one or two representatives (NCs) and a certain number of places for participants. Find your NC’s email below to contact them about the eact deadlines and details of your country’s entry competition.
All applications are to focus on the Topic of ‘Ground Zero’; the notion of rebooting society with a focus on the role of Design. The workshop will be a back-to-the-roots, holistic approach to creating objects and structures.
Particularly interested in film, photography, graphics or publishing? We’re looking for new talent to join our in-house media crews DOC and REC For more information on ways to get involved, contact: medseurope@gmail.com
NATIONAL CONTACTS: Albania - Elkeda Kalaci & Anisa Lloja medsshqiperi@gmail.com Armenia - Mariam Arshakyan & Elen Arakelyan meds.armenia@gmail.com Belgium - Petra Everaert & Nomie Deschuyteneeer medsbelgie@gmail.com Bosnia and Herzegovina - Senad Alibegovic medsbih@gmail.com Bulgaria - Teodora Vukodinova & Maria Baykova meds.bulgaria@gmail.com Croatia - Bruna Stipanicic medshr@yahoo.co.uk Denmark - Sarah Sonne Glatz & Nicholas Ransome meds.denmark@gmail.com England - Alastair Brook & Ian Campbell medsengland.design@gmail.com medsengland.architecture@gmail.com Germany - Nushin Isabelle Yazdani & Mariano Eckert meds.germany@gmail.com Greece - Nikoletta Christidi medsgreece@gmail.com Hungary - Sarkadi Zsolt (Safi) medshungary@gmail.com Ireland - Jack Lehane & Jason Ladrigan ireland@meds-workshop.com Italy - Marta D’Elia medsitalia@gmail.com
Kosovo - Gent Dauti & Shpend Azizi medskosovo@gmail.com Macedonia - Vladimir Georgiev & Jana Andeva medsmakedonija@gmail.com Netherlands - Janneke Earl & Quirine Henry medsnederland@gmail.com Poland - Maciej Warot and Anna Gajowiec medspoland@gmail.com Portugal - Joana Martins & Bruno Maurício medsportuguesa@gmail.com Romania - Smaranda Ilie & Diana Stoicescu meds.romania@gmail.com Serbia - Marko Naumovic office@medstara.com Slovakia - Julia Holla meds.slovakia@gmail.com Slovenia - Masha Mazi & Katarina Mravlja slovenia@meds-workshop.com Spain - Raquel Alvarez meds.spain@gmail.com Switzerland - Andrina Stauffer & Olivia Schneider meds.switzerland@gmail.com Turkey - Oytun Gur Gunel & Ceylan Besevli medsturkey@gmail.com If your country is not on this list, you can apply to the International Team at: medseurope@gmail.com
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MEDS is more than the sum of its parts. Yes it hosts a workshop once a year for over 200 international students from various design related fields. Yes, the workshops cover a wide variety of topics, themes and activities and are led by talented tutors. Yes, it is an organization made up of skilled individuals who work together on their own projects after the annual workshops, but more importantly the MEDS experience is whatever you tailor it to be individually. No two people attending MEDS will experience it in exactly the same way. You might be looking for hands on experience, working with tools, in a group, on a project that will introduce you to new techniques or methods, or you might want to meet people with more experience in your field or try to help others with less experience in your field, learn about a new field within design entirely. Simply meeting like-minded people and sharing ideas is reason enough to join the MEDS community. So come to Tara and start something when 250 design students meet
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