Balkan Beats 28 by Balkan Hotspot

#28

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A BIMONTHLY MAGAZINE BY THE VOLUNTEERS OF THE UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS

Editorial

The 28th Edition The hot Greek summer is here and it is taking us all to a

relaxing mood, dreaming about vacations either in the paradisiac islands or somewhere else. Balkan Hotspot team feels the same! But next to travelling and enjoying the sun, our volunteers found time to be working on the new edition. That’s why our 28th edition of Balkan Beats is a Summer Special edition with fun, summer-related topics!

During the long awaited summer, people are in constant movement and travelling a lot.

In our Balkan Beats Summer Special edition, we have

prepared something for every taste. You can find great tips how to survive the hot summer at home as well as ideas how to get away from Greece! There is experience stories, creative stories, fun ideas and much more.

June was a month full of life. As it’s common from some years to this time, June it’s the month where

by Marleen Müts

entire cities get together and march for the LGBTQ+ rights, standing for a tolerant and equal world, where love it’s love. Thessaloniki wasn’t an exception, Balkan Beats joined and we are happy to show you a photo gallery that evokes the spirit felt during the March (page 22). In this world each day hotter, we present you some refreshing articles. Marleen teaches how to make the perfect ice tea (page 20) to stay hydrated in a very tasty way and Martin present us the perks of a cold shower (page 17). Check also a unique and original short-story created by Francesco (page 32).

July brought also the time to say goodbye to a lot of our volunteers, alongside with hello to the new ones. The editors are no exception, so this will be the last number edited and thought by us. A marvellous time arrives to an end as new ideas, points of view and editorial choices comes to our publication. Keep following our evolution, we will keep try to create the best content for our readers!

Balkan Beats, a part of Balkan Hotspot

Balkan Hotspot is the EVS (European Voluntary

changes in the Balkan and Eastern European Service) project of “United Societies of Balkans”, region and under the need for the creation of a a NGO founded in Thessaloniki in 2008 by a team better social environment. of active young people. Key areas of the organization’s activities concern The Balkans and Eastern Europe are geograph- the defense of human rights, the organization of ical regions with many cultural features which youth exchanges and training courses, which will offer a broad spectrum of actions and youth in- bring young people from Balkans and Europe tovolvement initiatives. The organization was cre- gether, the organization of local educational semated as a response to the pressure of constant inars and multimedia production. United Societies of Balkans is a Non Governmental Organization, founded in Thessaloniki in 2008, by a team of active young people. The organization was created as a response to the pressure of constant changes in the Balkan and Eastern European region and under the need for the creation of a better social environment. Key areas of the organization’s activities concern the defense of human rights, the organization of youth exchanges and training courses, which will bring young people from Balkans and Europe together, the organization of local educational seminars and multimedia production(webradio, videos, documentaries).

Main goals of the organization • To promote the values of non formal le- aring,volunteering, active citizenship and democracy for the creation of a better future for European youth. • To promote human rights, solidarity and respect for diversity. • To build healthy cooperation bridges between countries of the Balkan area and that of Eastern Europe with the rest of Europe. • To locate and multiply the special cultural attributes of our societies. • The break down of prejudices and stereo- types between Balkan countries.

UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS, NGO

Property of Balkan Beats The United Societies of Balkans, NGO, does not necessarily share the opinions expressed in Balkan Beats. It is illegal to reproduce any part of this publication without referring to the source.

www.balkanhotspot.org

This magazine is distributed free of charge.

9, Alamanas str., Agios Pavlos, Thessaloniki Tel./Fax: +30 2310 215 629 | www.usbngo.gr Cover © Margarida Andresen

Contents

Contents Summer tips

Festivals

Skiathos Summer escape

What to do in Spain in summer?

Film your travel memories

The Ultimate Balkan Hotspot Playlist for this Summer

Thessaloniki Pride 2019

Summer festivals are here

Untold festival

Social

A project in Palestine and Israel

A reminder for humankind

BB Creation

A Room with a View

Out of place, out of order

The Health Benefits of Cold Showers

Refreshing ice tea for the hot summer

Summer tips

Skiathos

A place to spend your holiday

by Agnieszka Trygar

Before I came to Greece, I did a small research, and on the computer screen I saw white

houses with blue windows and doors. At the beginning of October, I landed in Thessaloniki. Already in the first hours after arrival, I looked around to see these white houses. Of course, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m joking now. After eight months of staying in Greece, I finally saw my dream image from a web browser - white houses and crystal blue water.

Already on a boat from Volos (the price without

a discount of about 25 euros, the time depends on the company, around 2.5 hours), you see the beautiful scenery of the blue sea and the Greek coast stretching in front of your eyes.. The first one of the islands is Skiathos, on which I stayed for three whole days.

Around the city

The town of Skiathos is ready for tourists. Boats that will take you on a trip around the island, restaurants attracting with their delicious smell to the entrance, rental cars, scooters, etc. It is good to get lost in the small streets of the city and see the white houses and flowers writhing on them. Higher in the town this view is even more amazing.

ÂŠ Agnieszka Trygar

Summer tips

Skiathos city

Of course, in the town, you will see a lot of cats

lying in the sun. Important information: do not drink tap water, people who have searched for water, dug too deep and have reached the salt water, but don’t worry, in the city and beyond you will find taps with free water.

places with a local, you know where you are going and what for and with such a short stay, you save time. The island is not big, but you do not have any asphalt in every stretch of road. You can also move around the island by bus or you can try hitchhiking.

We moved around the island by car with a vol- What to see on the island? Visit the monastery,

unteer who carried her EVS (European Voluntary viewpoints and beaches with crystal water. The Service) on the island. How good it is to visit island is not cheap, and it is touristic, but I en-

Banana beach

View for city hill

Summer tips

View from Castro

courage you to see it. Skiathos is a green island “Mama Mia” it is a must to visit this island and and very charming. And for the fans of the movie the nearby Skopelos where the film was shot.

Street in Skiathos

Church in Skiathos

Summer tips

Summer escape

How to get away from Greece this summer?

by Emma Lesburgueres

The summer is a great period to change your habits and try new things. Why not go abroad

for some time? In this article, we provide you with some ideas to achieve a cheap and exciting getaway from Greece.

I did a Workaway in a youth hostel in Hvar, a pretty touristic island in Croatia.

Summer is full of possibilities. It procures a lot of opportunities to go abroad for a while after ten months of hard working or studying. Still unsure about your plans? Check this list of ideas; maybe they will inspire you!

Workaway or Helpx

Workaway is a website that helps to put in con-

tact hosts and volunteers. You pay a fee of 36 euros for one year, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re good to go. Most of the hosts will furnish your accommodation and food (and sometimes even pocket money!), so you will only need to pay for this fee and the transport tickets.

ÂŠ The White Rabbit Hostel / Facebook

You can browse easily the pages according to your wishes: location, number of people hosted, type of activities, etc. It can be everything from teaching your language to gardening. For example, I have done three Workaways to this day and worked in as many different settings: I volunteered in a street festival in Frankfurt, in a family in Hamburg, and a youth hostel in Croatia. These experiences all taught me something - different and unique each time. Then, when you find your dream hosts, you can

contact them by message and send them your motivations and the dates at which you are available. Try not to give up quickly as it can be sometimes long before you hear from anyone, especially in the summer period.

Summer tips

Youth Exchanges or Training Courses

Au pair

If you’re between 13 and 30 years old and you If you like taking care of children, you should want to go abroad for a week or two to learn new take a look at opportunities for Au-pairing. A stuff, Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges or Training lot of websites are dedicated to this kind of exCourses are made for you! change, like Gumtree or AuPair World. You can pretty much find host families in every country You can find a lot of projects that match your inter- so it should not be too hard to find a match, alests - LGBT, unemployment, culture and more - and though in some countries it is impossible to go apply to them. Once you’re accepted (hopefully), for only a short period. In most of the cases, the you will have nothing to pay. Transport, accom- family takes care of the accommodation, food modation, food: everything is already funded. So and pocket money. you can relax and take part in all the activities and workshops prepared, and get to know new people But be prepared for the interviews; the host from all over the world. In this way, you will gain families often require previous experiences in new knowledge and skills without even realizing it. babysitting.

Summer tips

What to do in Spain in summer?

Some perfect destinations to visit the country of the “tapas” in by Irene Cortés del Moral summer

Spain is one of the countries that receive more tourists in the summer season. Even in 2018, the record was broken. Specifically, there were 82.6 million foreign tourists. Is it because of the climate? Is it because of the prices? Or simply because of their beaches? Unfortunately, we don’t have the definitive answer yet, but we can tell you a few plans to do in this Mediterranean country in summer. Attend a music festival

This is one of the funniest options that we of-

fer to you. Going to a festival with your friends or your partner is one of the most popular plans among young people. Only in July, there will be 100 festivals throughout the country. There are festivals for all kinds of musical tastes, budgets and dates. You can attend musical events on the weekend like the Rabolagartija (15-17th August, in Alicante) or up to a week on the beach in the Arenal Sound (30-4 August, in Castellón). If you want a recommendation, this last one is perfect. You can enjoy the beach of the Valencian Community, camping with your friends for six days and enjoy Martin Garrix, 30 Seconds To Mars or Karol G. If you can’t decide, our final recommendation is to go to as many as you can, or your pocket allows you.

Festival de les Arts, celebrated in Valencia during Juny © Irene Cortés del Moral (Juny, 2018)

Summer tips

The Way of Saint James / Camino de Santiago

This maybe is the hardest plan of all you could

do in Spain during the summer, but it is undoubtedly one of the most satisfying. This peculiar way ends in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) but can starts from different parts of Spain or even from France or Portugal. It is a pilgrimage on foot, by bicycle, on horseback or even by boat to the capital of the región of Galicia, where the Cathedral of Apostol Santiago is located. The most popular way is walking, and the minimum Weekend in Cabo de las Huertas (Alicante) © Elena Revilla López (Juny, 2019) number of kilometres required to obtain the certificate of completion of the road is 100km. But don’t worry, you can do it in as many days as you Beach, beach and more beach need and at any time of the year, but without a If there is something that abounds in Spain, it doubt, the summer vacation is an excellent opis the beach. Especially the Mediterranean coast portunity to live this unforgettable experience. and the Canary Islands are the areas that receive more tourists during the summer. Although throughout the year people choose the coast for all types of holidays, in July and August most of the hotels hang on the door the famous “Sold out”. If you want to choose a coastal area where you can spend a few days of rest under the Spanish sun we recommend the Costa Blanca. This area is located in the southeast of Spain (region of Alicante) bathed by the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. In this destination, you can find relaxing plans such as a shopping day in the centre of Alicante, a party night in Benidorm or enjoy reading a good book in the rocky Cabo de las Huertas on San Juan beach. If you want to live all these experiences, it is possible thanks to the Tram, a cheap public transport that connects Arrival at the cathedral after six days on the way from Lugo (Galicia) © Irene Cortés del Moral (September 2018) all the cities and small towns that make up the So, see you in Spain this summer? whole Costa Blanca. Easy, right?

Summer tips

Film your travel memories

Some basic tips for creating a cool travel video

by Umberto Zeverini

Summer has come, and everyone is ready to spend their holidays in a fantastic place. What

about bringing the camera with you and record the highlights of your trip in a cool travel video to remember the emotions after many years? But before doing that, here are some suggestions to keep in mind.

FIRST OF ALL THE EQUIPMENT

When we visit a place, we are usually moving

from a location to another. This is the reason why the best option is to bring a zoom lens. A choice that gives us the possibility to record wide shots of incredible landscapes but also close-ups of telling portraits. However, the main advantage is that we don’t have to carry with us anything more.

rate (for example if you are recording with 25fps your shutter speed should be 1/50) If you want to create slow motions in post-production film with a high frame rate as 50fps to make it smoother. It is very important also to be as smooth and steady as possible when we pan (horizontal camera movement) and tilt (vertical camera movement).

FOLLOW SOME RULES

We always have to keep in mind the importance

of the camera settings, the camera movements and the image composition. Forgetting about that means a lot of suffering when we go home and start to edit our video. For example, before filming, be always sure that the camera is correctly exposed and remember that the shutter speed always has to be the double of the frame Examples of zoom lenses

Summer tips

The strap-trick is a technique to stabilize the camera © diyphotography.net

IT IS NEVER TOO MUCH

Realizing during the editing that something is missing can be frustrating. For this reason, it is essential to shoot as many clips as possible. It is better to delete unnecessary clips in post-production than not having enough material. But also don’t forget to enjoy the holidays instead of staying all the time behind the camera. Find a balance.

CONNECT YOUR SHOTS

If you want to create a smooth video instead of chaotic collage, you need to pay attention to the connections between the clips. It is not so easy but it is possible to use different techniques to

Picture from the bell roads festival 2019, Thessaloniki

obtain this connection, like a camera movement direction, a motion of an object or a person, dominant colours. This gives to your video more dynamicity and sets up a flow that keeps the eyes of the viewers stuck on it. Also, choose a good soundtrack and tie it with the succession of the clips.

THE CONTENT IS THE KING

Put less content of yourself and more about the new environment you are in. Probably you are visiting a place with different characteristics from yours, so try to highlight that. Describe it to the viewer by filming its singularities and what can cause a cultural shock. Find unusual subjects, make close-up of locals, shoot the daily life situations of the place you are discovering and try to reflect as much as possible its culture. In the end, we should keep in mind these tips every time we want to record something. These are pretty primary and general, but on the other hand, really important to create engaging, dynamic and interesting contents. But as said before, don’t also forget to enjoy your travel!

Summer tips

The Ultimate Balkan Hotspot Playlist for this Summer by Balkan Hotspot

Here at Balkan Hotspot we are ready for the summer, and we want to share with you our

suggestions for when outside it’s too hot, you want to stay at home and your mind needs a refreshment!

Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

Very nice for your eyes

The Birdcage (1996)

American queer classic, with a good balance between light and heavy topics

The Holiday (2006)

Doesn’t matter whether it’s Christmas or Summer, holidays and love it’s always a good combination

Babel (2006)

The first movie because of which I cried

Summer tips

Eat, pray, love (2010)

you can’t travel in this holidays, travel with Julia Roberts with this movie

Kubo and the two string (2016)

A stop motion animation about a journey, a search and fighting one’s own demons. Plus, it has nice visuals and music

Záhrada - The Garden (1995)

Dreamy, melancholic and refreshing

Mediterraneo (1991)

There is Italy, there is Greece, and there is sea

Submarine (2010)

Ladybird (2017)

A weird movie with an Fresh and smooth, a AMAZING soundtrack good teenage story

Summer tips

BOOKS

Bjorn Larsson “Long John Silver”

A good opportunity to travel and live an adventure with a great character Alessandro Baricco - “Smith & Wesson”

Theatre piece about a not-so-well-planned ad-

venture. A very funny reading

Thomas Olde Heuvelt - “HEX”

Inhabitants of a small

town are terrorised by the ghost of the Black Rock Witch. A contemporary horror story

Ernest Hemingway “The Old man and the Sea”

A classic of all the time, for who wants to learn a life lesson

Frank Andrews - “The Art and Practice of Loving”

Rethinks the concept of love, challenges com-

mon myths and gives exercises to go through live in a more loving way (available as a free PDF!)

Summer tips

José Saramago “Blindness”

Italo Calvino “Invisible cities”

I suggest to read one

chapter every night A “survival”, but also before sleeping, so metaphorical of the so- your dreams may take ciety dynamics, scary place in these imagiand thrilling nary cities.

E.M. Forster - “Maurice”

Written in 1914, but only released in 1971, Mau-

rice tells a story of love, sexual identity and society’s restrictions

William Saroyan - Leah Raeder “Tracy’s Tiger” “Unteachable”

Very

nice book, especially for who likes tigers. Metaphorical, with a nice message. Shere Khan approved.

Raw, with flawed char-

acters, and provocative, Unteachable is about a forbidden love between a student and MUSIC her teacher You can find our music suggestions on Spotify! Search for The Balkan Hotspot Summer Playlist and enjoy!

Summer tips Ice Ice Baby © weknowyourdreams.com

The Health Benefits of Cold Showers

Your body and mind will love you.

by Martin Naništa

Most people love taking showers but very few love taking a cold shower.

However, the practice of taking cold showers is still traditional for many nations. Cold showers or alternating between warm and cold has been shown to have significant health benefits. In this article, you will learn some exciting benefits of taking cold showers and how to begin doing them.

Fat Loss

When your body is exposed to cold, it requires

more heat to warm you up. To heat you, it has to process more energy, which means it has to burn more fat more efficiently than usual. Being cold can also activate brown fat, which is a sort of good fat, that helps generate heat, boost your metabolism, and burn fat.

Improved Circulation

Over time, cold water exposure enhances circulaYeah, cold water on my face

Better Immune System

Countless

tion. Since exposure to cold causes your blood flow to be redirected to your vital organs, your body is forced to circulate your blood more efficiently.

Temperature Regulation

studies show that exposure to the cold improves your immunity. Cold water immer- Regular cold showers help to reduce heat loss, sion has been shown to increase metabolic rates decrease your core body temperature, and regubecause it causes shivering and activates your late your overall body temperature. immune system. Experiment participants who participated in six weeks of immersions benefited from an increase in plasma concentration, as well as T helper cells and lymphocytes. In Sweden, it’s common practice to let small babies take naps outdoors in the cold. It has been shown that, these babies end up more resistant to disease and that they sleep more profound and more soundly. True story

Summer tips

Hot water vs. Cold water

ÂŠ cozzy.org

out drying your skin out as hot water can. The cold water helps keep your hair shiny and your Cold showers have been shown to help relieve skin soft, rather than itchy, ashy and dried out. symptoms of depression. Due to the high density of cold receptors in the skin, taking a cold Testosterone and Fertility Increase shower sends an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to A 1993 study conducted by the Thrombosis the brain, which can result in an anti-depressive Research Institute in England showed a link effect. So, if you need a pick-me-up, jump in the between having cold baths and having high testosterone levels. An increase in testosterone shower and turn it to the blast setting. can lead to an increase in fertility. Hot baths and showers drastically decrease sperm count. Healthy Skin & Hair So, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking to pop out a few mini-mes, The cold water helps to close pores. Closed pores and want to give your little swimmers a fighting keep your skin looking smooth and healthy, with- chance, make sure to turn your shower to cold.

Relief from Symptoms of Depression

Summer tips Next level © www.ice.club

Energy Increase

Besides the fact that there’s nothing quite like

ter hits. This helps open up your lungs (just like physical exercise does), bringing in more oxygen.

ice cold water to wake you up, cold showers can actually boost your energy levels. When you Better Sleep jump into a cold shower, the nerve endings in your skin stand up because of the ice world you Insomniacs are often just entered. Your heart starts racing and you advised to take cold showers. This might be start breathing rapidly as your body adjusts. because, after the iniLymphatic Movement tial shock of the shower, your body calms Your lymphatic system takes waste away from down and relaxes. your cells to help you fight disease. It’s separate from your blood vessels, but it’s moved around by the contraction of your mus-

cles. Cold showers cause your entire body to contract, and this forces your lymphatic system to push lymph Personal note: I’ve noticed that I fluids throughout your body, stopping them from sleep better and deeper when I take cold showpooling in one part of your body as they would ers. if the lymphatic system were compromised or Tolerance to Stress inefficient.

Inflammation Decrease

In general, exposure to the cold gives your body

a higher tolerance to stress. Over time, this leads to the strengthening of your body and imto help reduce inflammation after a workout. mune system. They alleviate DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness) by constricting your veins, thereby Last Words removing toxins from your blood. When you get out of the bath, your system is flushed with fresh, One of the main benefits of taking cold shownutrient-rich blood that can help repair muscles ers is developing the ability to subject your body to a certain level of stress in a controlled enviand tendons. ronment. By doing this, you teach your body to adapt to stressors and become stronger. WhethBreathing er it’s respiratory, circulatory, or simple temperaCold showers can get you to breathe deeply by ture regulation, you’ll find your body becoming forcing you to pause and hold your breath as a stronger. Mental and psychological health benesort of automatic reaction when the cold wa- fits from cold showers as well.

Ice baths have long been used by elite athletes

Summer tips

Refreshing ice tea for the hot summer by Marleen Müts

While the heat is catching us up, hydrating our body is essential. So, why not to try alter-

natives to the commercial ice teas and explore some more funky ways to have a cold drink on a hot day in the office, at home or at the beach. After trying the three different ways of ice tea in this recipe, why not to improvise with other fruits to find your personal favourite.

For making your own ice tea, you need Lemon-Mint option:

Tea (black or green) Fresh fruits Fresh mint leaves Ice Water Honey or maple syrup (optional) Preparations:

Firstly, boil the water (0,5l). You need to use either

two big spoons of tea or two bags of tea, depending on which you prefer. Pour the boiling water in a heatproof (glass) jar and add the tea. Pay attention on the temperature of the water that is good for your tea, not to burn the good qualities of the tea (usually it is between 75-85 degrees).

1 lemon A handful of mint 2 teaspoons of honey or maple syrup (optional) Ice For starting with your ice tea, cut the lemon in

half and slice it. Add it with mint leaves to the hot tea. Then leave it cooling down in the fridge for some hours.

When your tea is cooled down, add ice. If you

prefer, you can change the lemon slices and mint for the fresh ones. Optional is to add some honey or maple syrup. Decorate the serving with some some more fresh mint. Enjoy!

Watermelon-Mint option:

¼ small watermelon A handful of mint Ice In this option, don’t add watermelon and mint to

the hot tea. Put the tea to cool down in the fridge. When it is done, slice the watermelon, and add it to the tea with mint leaves. Add ice, serve and enjoy!

Summer tips

Peach-Orange option:

Lemon-mint ice tea with a bamboo straw

Green tips from Balkan Beats: 2 peaches It is always better to prefer loose leaf tea to the 1 orange teabags. That’s how you can save from the packIce aging! In Thessaloniki, a great place to buy all kinds of tea is To Tsai (Καρόλου Ντηλ 27, 54623 For making the peach-orange ice tea, slice the Thessaloníki). You can also go with your own jar.

peaches and remove the seeds. Slice the orange and add them both to the tea. Put the tea to cool For enjoying your tea in a more sustainable way, down in the fridge for few hours. Then add the don’t use a straw or use a reusable one (bamboo, ice, serve with fresh orange slice and enjoy! metal or why not to try a pasta straw).

Festivals

Thessaloniki Pride 2019 by Marinella Marinelli

Festivals

Summer festivals are here

How to choose your summer festivals?

by Justin Roche

As you know, the summer is the period of festivals. But what about the difference between

all these events? How to choose from all the different options? How to know, what you like? We will tell you!

To start, what it means, the term “festival”? In

the dictionary, it’s a “periodical series of artistic events belonging to a given genre and usually held in a specific place”. To explain more efficiently, it’s a celebration with different art for one or many days. Even if it exists a festival about all the different art (cinema, dance, circus, theatre, art, literature etc.) the first thing that we think it’s about the music festival. We will focus on these specific events.

The music festivals are numerous and occupied

cal artists and natural food for 2000 people and the massive festival, super commercial with 200 000 people, international artists, industrial food and support by the transnational companies, we can understand the difference of the mood! The (real) objectives of the festival are also important: to bring culture in a particular area, to win money (it will never be explicitly said!) or to support a good cause. These objectives chosen by the organization will influence the construction of the festival and the way how the public will live their experience. As a consumer of the festival, you can imagine these things. The idea of this article to take a step back. Because even if you go to a festival to listen to music and be drunk, you consume a product and can be an actor in your consumption by choosing which festivals you will go to this summer.

half of the total number of the festivals. There are some everywhere in the world, and in general, music festivals are the most known. But they are not all the same, and for the cultural diversity, it’s essential. We can separate per style of music of course, but also per size, values they defend or type of financing/organization. All these categories differentiate the finality of each music These last years, we can see much evolution in festival. For example, if we compare a little inde- the music festival world. These events attract pendent festival in a rural area who propose lo- more and more people, and we could believe in

Festivals

a fashion phenomenon. In consequence, many of them grow a lot and need to evaluate. Some of them choose to keep their original size, but the majority choose the easy way: growing and taking the risk of losing the initial values. And of course, some still keep theirs.

We can see also a concentration phenomenon

The consequences of this concentration are multiple: same programming everywhere, extensive advertising and exhibition stands held by giants of globalization, rising prices, loss of human values…

With these facts, we can talk of the industrial-

ization of the festivals but in general of the culture what takes place for some years.

guide per the infatuation of the public. I mean by concentration, the fact that many festivals That’s is essential for the consumer of these culare bought or organized by the same organiza- tural events to select which corresponds better tion, which is a big international corporation. to it. So, where you go this summer?

Amazing view of one of the biggest french music festival, “Les Vieilles Charrues.”

Festivals

Untold festival

A modern fairytale of Romania in the heart of Transilvania

by Dumitru Cojocaru

Summer is here and it is the time to find some cool festivals to participate. If you love electronic and trans-music, why not to take a roadtrip and go to the biggest music festival in Romania - UNTOLD. The first edition of this festival was from 30th

Stage of the festival

July till 2nd August in 2015, when Cluj-Napoca was designated as The European Youth Capital! During four days of the festival, an average of over 60000 people per day participated, which made UNTOLD to win the Prize for “BEST MAJOR FESTIVAL”, awarded within the gala “European Festival Awards 2015” in The Netherlands. This festival is like a fresh breath for the culture of Romania and all youth of Europe.

During all these years a lot of artists participated in this festival: Armin van Buuren, Avicii, Fedde le Grand, Duke Dumont, Tiesto, Hardwell, Alan Walker, Ellie Goulding, Marshmello, The Chainsmokers, Jason Derulo, Kygo, Black Eyed Peas, Don Diablo, etc. The fifth edition of the UNTOLD festival will take

Stage of the festival

View of the city Centre of Cluj-Napoca

place in the period 1st to 4th August 2019. The first confirmed artists are Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Bastille, James Arthur, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Timmy Trumpet, Boris Brejcha and Tale Of Us.

The atmosphere at this festival is indescribable. Everyone should live it at least once in their life. Feel welcome to discover the UNTOLD Fairytale of Romania.

Social

A project in Palestine and Israel

A collaboration with Palestine students

by Wali Benia

In 2017, I went to Palestine territory and to Israel, to create a web radio with Palestinian

students. A unique experience that changed my behaviour and my way of thinking completely. Nothing else was more challenging than facing these two countries where history and cultural differences participated in dividing the populations.

My experience in Palestine started with the cre-

and Radio France, our team had the objective ation of an association in France, the association of showing that it was finally possible to see the Mailting blog which had been created five years news in all its diversity. ago. The goal of this young association was to deal with the news with a diverse approach The aims pursued were then multiple: to prothrough journalism students and the creation of mote diversity in the media; practising and traina blog. Rich in different formations, the idea was ing in the profession of journalist; prepare the seto change the way of making journalism by live- lective contests of the major journalism schools; ly, colourful and dynamic pieces of information. meet and exchange around various topics and Sponsored by Aida Touhiri (a famous journalist) themes; develop and promote culture.

NABULSI PROJECT

With the presentations now made, it was time

to go back to the creation of the project in Palestine: Nabulsi project. It is the result of a general willingness to go ahead with information and to understand completely different contexts. It is a kind of a “funny” story because the choice of the country came up very randomly by our president. We had talked about the case of Palestine very quickly during a meeting, and we agreed instantly, without any doubts, knowing almost nothing about the issues.

We launched the process of finding funds and

The Mailting blog team

meeting with future partners. By the time we also found the reasons to go there particularly: by the fact of the political and geopolitical context which are putting Palestine in a specific situation where the Palestinians live under occupation. Moreover, the silence imposed by Israel, the

Social

media and Palestinian journalists controlled and even imprisoned without legitimate reasons are also problematic.

What were the objectives then? It was to create

an exchange of one month with the university an-Najah located in Nablus, Palestine. We wanted to share our practices around the digital and social culture with Palestinian journalism students. Set up a web-radio at the Institut FranĂ§ais Chateaubriand to exchange and to carry out reports about Palestine in Pairs.

When we arrived, of course we faced some lim-

Me during an interview

Al-Aqsa Mosque

ÂŠ Wali Benia

itations: it was occupied areas that crystallized a lot of tensions, so there was always a risk with which we had to compose. There were also a lot of checkpoints between the cities, which led to delays in our work because of the identity checks.

ÂŠ Wali Benia

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During this project, we had the opportunity to visit the old city of Jerusalem, where the three religions have their monuments (Al-Aqsa Mosque, Wailing Wall and Dome of the Rock). But also to discover the city of Nablus (the old town, bazar). Even if the conflict is everywhere around the place, the charm of the buildings, the fantastic food (houmous, homemade chicken with rice and vegetablesâ&#x20AC;Ś) and the people are enough to convince you to come back. Finally, we succeed to implement our web radio, and we did a live radio program (by working in common with the local students on the elaboration of the jingles, reports, etc.). We also made a daily vlog broadcasted every night on the Facebook page. We organized meetings with professional journalists who worked on the premises (notably Charles Enderlin). All this allowed me to have a greater understanding of Palestine and Israel.

All the participants of the Nabulsi Project

Wailing Wall during the prayer

ÂŠ Wali Benia

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A reminder for humankind by André Cruz

During the summer everyone wants to rest and have fun. But considering the world situa-

tion, we cannot say that all the people are in the same situation. In this article, the idea of many of us being in prioritized situation is presented.

humans we share several characteristics that can be easily recognized as a proof that we exist as one specie only - we can look, act, speak, think (etc…) differently, but some things connect us all. One of those things it’s our needs. According to the Oxford dictionary, a need can be described as a “require for something because it is essential or very important rather than just desirable”. Alongside our existence, several people studied and created some theories in order to organise our minds on what is that we really need and which things we need more. One of the most famous theories was made by Abraham Maslow, a psychologist. Maslow created a pyramid where in several categories he presented the needs he believed we have as humans. The pyramid structure was not random: on the bottom as base Maslow put what he called “physiological needs”, those who allows us to survive, such as breathe, food, sleep, sex, excretion. The follow-

Maslow’s pyramid - the hierarchy of needs

ing needs in the pyramid, by order, are: safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization.

Either we agree with this theory or not, its hard

to deny the importance of the two first levels of this pyramid.

As we know, according to the geography of our

world things can change drastically, either for the climate conditions, the distance to the sea level,the religion, the culture…

Taking the second level of Maslow’s pyramid as

a starting point (safety and security), the NGO “Vision of Humanity” creates every year a report on a global scale about the peace level of most of the countries in the world. To be able to arrive to the conclusions, the reports take

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Vision of Humanity World Peace Report 2019 ÂŠ visionofhumanity.org

in consideration several internal aspects of the country, such as the risk of an imminent internal conflict (the independence movements inside the countries). All the other aspects used are contextualized and well explained along the report that anyone can download in their website.

As we enjoy our summer peacefuly, its a good

exercise to reflect on the luck we have and be informed about how our specie is living around the globe. Balkan Beats is wishing you a peaceful and happy summer!

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A Room with a View by Francesco Cirica

What was the point in all

that, he couldn’t have told. Even focusing with all his strength, he wouldn’t get what the point was. The man was keeping to ask himself this very question - he didn’t know for how long now, if minutes or hours - staring at the silhouette of objects that the scarce light was defining amongst the shadows, in the heat of the closed hotel room.

When the guy at the reception promised him a

success indeed. The man was lying on the sheets while the sweat was slowly running on his back, steering his firm resolution to remain like that. Only the curtains were moving but still preventing him from having a glimpse of what was outside, on the unknown streets of that unknown city.

That’s probably what everyone

forgets to mention when it comes to traveling. Everyone tells you about beautiful beaches or amazing views. Everyone forgets to mention the countless hours of nothing, spent in a gas On the desk, there was a phone, but it was ut- waiting station or a hoterly silent. And even if it was ringing for him, he tel room. couldn’t have cared less and sent to a foreign city with no partners and no reasons, with noth- And then, it ing to do except waiting: what could be the point happened. in picking up the call? Maybe it room with a view, he didn’t imagine it would be so dull. From left to right there was a cupboard and a wardrobe, then a thin, tall lamp, a small desk and the exit door. From the right then he could see the exit door, the desk, the thin, tall lamp, the wardrobe and the cupboard. And again: cupboard - wardrobe - lamp - desk - door as it was a childhood lullaby — a song on loneliness.

A fan was buzzing in the corner, busy in its bold

attempt to moving the air around him with no

was the fan or

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perhaps a blow of wind, but for a second or two, the man was able to have a glimpse of what was there, just outside his room’s window.

At first, it’s just a flash of light, the building in front of him, white in the beam of the sun, then everything comes to its place. The bright green leaves of a tree, moving gently at the sound of the traffic as waves on a shore, suddenly interrupted by the rhythmic clinking and rattling of spoons and cups from a bar nearby. A loud, clear, beautiful laugh drives him into the streets, through a crowd of people where every face is a new opportunity, a new meeting, a new world that just waits to be discovered.

And behind them, new buildings, the sharp profile of a bell tower as he’s never seen the same and from its top the hills and the mountains, from which the view can cover miles and miles, reaching woods and meadows. Where he’s free to run-run-run on the soft golden grass, to rest his feet in the fair sand just before jumping into the sea. Letting the gentle, calm embrace of the waves cherish his body.

When the phone finally rang, it took him no time to reach out and answer the call:

- Hello - he said - I am here. I am ready.

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Out of place, out of order

Imagining the stories behind forgotten objects around Thessaloniki by Sacha Bogaers

Greece is a country with lots of abandoned material: many buildings are left empty, and the

streets are at times filled with discarded goods. Abandonment is like a portal for the imagination: all these objects carry stories with them. How did they get here, who owned them, and why are they no longer appreciated? In my time in Thessaloniki, I encountered many of such objects, and for some, these questions kept going through my mind. Finding no answers, I decided to come up with my own stories.

A lost trash can in Ano Poli

ÂŠ Sacha Bogaers

I came across this trashcan during one of the I finally got the chance to take this photograph first times I visited Ano Poli. I had just arrived in Thessaloniki, which was radiating with the summer heat. The trash can still had a friend at the time, and the image of two bins, next to each other, both upside down, fascinated me. Their lack of functionality captured my imagination, and they stayed on my mind for months. What is the position of trash cans when they are broken and upside down? They cannot be used, and they also do not make the environment look any prettier.

in December. One of the trash cans had disappeared. Did someone steal it? Who would steal a trash can, and where could it be now? At the same time, I was surprised to find at least one of them in the same position as I found it months earlier. A lost trash can, completely useless, and somehow stuck in time. Now that the summer heat is entering the city again, I find myself wondering whether it is still there. Perhaps it was taken away or fixed, or perhaps someone decided to steal this one as wellâ&#x20AC;Ś

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Time to swim?

seemed lost and without a purpose – or Ah, an inflatable pool. It reminds me of my child- they where they seemed to be plotting their revenge. hood, of hot summer days with similar pools, or slightly bigger ones, put up in the garden to cool For these poor abandoned fans, however, the stodown in. Last summer, I spent many hours on a ry has a happy ending. Since the summer heat has friend’s balcony with our feet in a quite similar started to make itself felt again, these beautiful pool like this one. This one, however, did no lon- white-blue objects have found their purpose yet, ger bring any pleasure, although it still had po- cooling volunteers down day and night. I guess tential: it was inflated and had water in it. I found there is some hope for these inferior materials, as it on the rooftop of a parking garage, not far from long as we remember to be sustainable. the port of Thessaloniki.

How did it get there? Did some parent try to entertain their child while they were taking care of shady business? Or perhaps someone found shelter in this parking garage, and was trying to get some refreshment… In any case, its bright colours were in stark contrast with the grey surroundings, and its abandoned state gave an impression of lost childhood dreams. I and these fans go way back. I remember it very

clearly: when I arrived at Thessaloniki in August 2018, the weather was hot and volunteers were in a constant state of melting. There seemed no hope for improvement, until one day, these beautiful objects came into our lives to provide some much-needed cooling down. Within a few months, however, the weather changed and they were no longer needed. They started to be discarded and put into corners of the house, where

Fans plotting their revenge

Agnieszka Trygar | 26 years old

Arianna Salan | 28 years old

Staying in Greece for 10 months until August 2019

Staying in Greece for 10 months until July 2019

Favourite topics are culture, food and economics

Favourite topics are migrations, social justice and sustainability

Emma Lesburgueres | 22 years old

André Cruz | 25 years old

Staying in Greece for 6 months until August 2019

Staying in Greece for 10 months until October 2019

Favourite topics are culture, art and technology

Favourite topics are humankind development and artistic expressions

Irene Cortés del Moral | 22 years old

Marleen Müts | 23 years old

Staying in Greece for 10 months until July 2019

Favourite topics are travel, LGTBQI+, meet people’s stories, culture

Favourite topics are healthy lifestyle, sustainability and culture

Martin Naništa | 28 years old

Francesco Cirica | 28 years old Staying in Greece for 10 months until November 2019

Favourite topics are sport, culture, cuisine

Favourite topics are Cinema, Art and Literature

Sacha Bogaers | 23 years old

Umberto Zeverini | 24 years old

Staying in Greece for 10 months, until June

Staying in Greece for 10 months until July 2019

Favorite topics are human rights, activism and art.

Favourite topics are culture, travel, art, sports

Wali Benia | 25 years old

Justin Roche | 21 years old

Staying in Greece for 6 months until April 2019

Staying in Greece for 6 months until August 2019

Favourite topics are culture (literature, cinema, music), sports and street culture

Favourite topics are underground culture, nature, communication

Guest

Staying in Greece for 10 months until July 2019

Dima Cojocaru | 22 years old Staying in Greece for 10 months until august 2019 Marinella Marinelli

General Directors: Editors: Aristodimos Paraschou André Cruz Christian Cibba Marleen Müts Graphic Designer: Alexandros Tagaridis Find us: www.balkanhotspot.org Usb_ngo.gr

Favorite topics culture, statistics, contests

The volunteers responsible for this publication are hosted in Greece in the framework of the European ERASMUS+ Programme, European Voluntary Service. This project has been funded with support from the European Commision. This publication [communication] reflects the views of only of the author, and the Commision can not be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.