Balkan Beats 18 by Balkan Hotspot

January | February | March

Issue #18

Photo: Â©Jack Cowles

BALKAN BEATS

BIMONTHLY MAGAZINE 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 lear ing,volunteering, active citizenship and d mocracy 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 Easern Europe with the rest of Europe. • To locate and multiply the special cultural attributes of our societies. • The break down of prejudices and stere types between Balkan countries. 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. This magazine is distributed free of charge.

UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS, NGO 9, Alamanas str., Agios Pavlos, Thessaloniki Tel./Fax: +30 2310 215 629 www.usbngo.gr Cover photo: ©Jack Cowles 2

January | February | March

ACT -REACT

NGO ACTIVITIES:

Agapis Diakonia

Eat, Play & Love around the world

Οδυσσέας School

THESSFEST:

Goran Bregovic

TRAVEL

INTERNATIONAL:

Turkey by Bus

A picture of Greece from the EYE of the Camera. Local Short Film Festival #3

Ohrid Pearl of FYR Macedonia

FLASHBACK:

65 77

Looking for the Missing Protesters

LEGION Zeppelin in front of the White Tower

MIXFIX:

BALKAN BUFFET:

Apokries

Potato Pancakes

Voice to Volunteer

ART TALENT CORNER:

Pictures of Unkonown Odysseys

NATIONAL:

SOCIAL - POLITICAL

The H-Ug project: Two siblings that want to Help Uganda

CULTURE

MUSIC:

VOICE TO VOLUNTEER:

GOOD PRACTICES:

CONTENTS

BALKAN BEATS

Issue #18

All you need to know about French elections

HOROSCOPE:

KEDί An Immensely Needed Documentary of Instanbul

Spring in on the way

New POS Terminal Regulations in Greece

SPORT:

SCIENCE NEWS:

Athens

NEW TECHNOLOGIES:

Biodanza The dance over the boundry of consciousness

A new Champion of Go rises, and it’s Google’s AI

Male contraceptive gel 100% efficient on monkey trials Flying cars are getting more and more concrete What about switcing to Paper 2.o 3

ACT REACT | NGO ACTIVITIES

Agapis Diakonia By Borja Blanco Babarro

Diakonia Agapis is one of the last organizations in Greece that took part in Erasmus plus program and it will be able to work with EVS volunteers from now on. This organization promotes the respect between the new generations and elder, working together in a seniors nursing home, trying to make their better providing quality of life through daily activities.

Photo: ©Maria Pilar Onate Navarro

It operates since 1990 in Thiva city, and offers its services to 30 elder persons. Daily activities in-clude ergo-therapy that volunteers are asked to bring innovative ideas and implement them. A sister organi-sation called “Ag. Vlasios” also operates in Livadeia region.

Volunteers: This organization is trying to find volunteers able to communicate in English and motiva-ted to learn some Greek. The candidates should be open minded, self-independent, responsible, and moti-vated to communicate with elderly people. In their daily work, using simple games and materials to work with their hands. It will be also appreciated applicants who play some instrument. The coordinator in this organization is Xenofon Strimpis. He was very kind to answer us some questions, with witch we can understand a bit more how this organization works:

Why did you decide to become part of Erasmus+ program? How was, until now the experience working with EVS volunteers? “Our decision mainly derived from the benefits that our organization and volunteers will have during the volun-tary service. In our institution volunteers would offer their fresh ideas with our elder and spend quality time with them leading to a higher quality living. On October we hosted for the first time volunteers from Portugal and Spain and this new experience for us proven to be successful. Volunteers spend time with the elder making activities with them, playing games and listening to music. We don’t regret at all that we are hosting volunteers and we believe that it is a positive ex-perience for volunteers too.” What are the goals of this organization? “The main goal is to offer care to persons that need it because they are elder or because they face chronic diseases. By the term care we mean that we offer clean, healthy, friendly and environment. Supportive actions to the case services are the mental health and the activities that accompany them in order to sustain a stable situation and a quality of living.” 5

ACT REACT | NGO ACTIVITIES

Photo: ©Maria Pilar Onate Navarro

Which aspects will the volunteers improve the most by working here? “Volunteers build up a trust with their energetic activities and pleasant communication. The emotions that elder feel with the volunteers help them socialize and forget, if possible, that live in an institution. Young people spread their energy and create an atmosphere that gives joy to elder.” And speaking about the future… Are you thinking to run some different project or activities? Do you know when will be the next application for work in this project? “We would love to get involved in training activities on volunteering. We also planning to host new volunteers on September when the current project ends”. One of this volunteers is Pablo. He is from Madrid, and he decided to apply after finish her master of Biomedicine. He wanted to enjoy one free year, meet people, new cultures, languages…. So he started to send applications for EVS. At the beginning he mostly applied for English speaking countries and German NGOs, because 6

to learn German language or improve English could help him in his studies and career. Even though he could not get to volunteer in one of this two countries, he admitted “I am learning things with great value and that I couldn’t imagine before. I’m mean, I’m glad”. He was chosen for Diakonia Agapis’ project, which fulfils all his requirements and with that he could offer his time to people, no matter the age. Before of this project he also works in voluntarism programs, mainly handicapped children,. Having this opportunity he didn’t think twice and he moved to Greece. At the beginning I ask him to explain us one normal day in their EVS life, to introduce us in their duty: “We start our work in the center at 09:00 am. The first thing that we do normally is prepare the living room where the elders are going to spend the morning, and once it is prepared we go floor by floor picking them up and going with them in the elevator to the living room. In this room is where we do our main labor, one previous thought activity that they will enjoy. This activity differs usually every day. The time that takes the activity depends on itself, but normally

is performed during 2 hours, among which they had a break for a coffee and fruit. At 11:00 we are the ones who take a little break in our labor to take a tea, and after that, we stay with the elders until 12:00, when we help the people in the center to carry the elders to a dining room, where they have the lunch. There, our activity is to make sure that everyone has everything that he or she needs during the lunch, or help feeding the elder ones that cannot eat by their selves. Once they finish the lunch, we carry them to their rooms, and help the nurses to put them in their beds. Then we have a lapse of time until our lunch time, which is normally 13:45 pm, that we employ to speak with those elders that cannot go to the living room in the morn-ing because of their physical situation. Once we finish our lunch, we go to our home. We usually rest at home and our plans in the evening depend on the day.” Now, what is more or less half of your project, is there anything you would like to change about your EVS, since your application. If you should choose only one moment from your experience in Greece, which one will you choose? “I would like to be here the as much as possible! So if I could change one thing maybe the

duration of my EVS. Otherwise, the project is as I expected, or even easier to develop, so I would not change anything. I real-ly like the center, the people who I work with and the workers of the center and also the city where it is located. On the other hand, I spent truly great times in the center with the elders, but if I have to choose just one mo-ment in Greece, it would be the on-arrival training that all the volunteers from Greece share in Athens. It was a really good time and I knew a lot of new friends, but also I took motivation and new ideas for my project. It was really nice to meet people who are in the same situation, and for me it was useful to open my mind.” Describe your EVS until now in a few lines. “Since I came to Greece there is no one day in which I thought it was a bad idea. I am really enjoying my project, once all the fears and shyness disappeared. It took less than a week to adapt myself to this new situa-tion, living out of home for the first time, but it brings the opportunity to live new experiences that are recommendable.” So, with this we can see how they fell really 7

talking everyday in the center with the workers and the elders” Describe your EVS until now in a few lines.

“I enjoy every day here. My project is even better than I had expected, because all my fears disappeared during the first week in the center.”

Another volunteer working here is Joana. Only daughter, she moved from Porto to Thiva. With 18 years old, and after finish the high school, she decided live 10 months; and I am sure, change her life. After this adventure she thinks to continue playing volleyball, like this four years ago, and study at university. These are some questions we ask her:

“It has been the experience of my life until now as I just finished high-school and right after came here. I love the language, I love the work with the elders, I love the people and I love the sensation of learning a lot of things every single day. Also the experience of living outside my parents house and having to take care of my-self as best as I can as well as caring about the others”

“All the people in the center are really lovely and make you feel like if you were at home.”

What were your motivations to choose this project? “Most of all I wanted to take a year off and do a project in another country. When I had to choose a project this seemed a perfect one has I love the elders and Greece, both the project and the country have so much interesting aspects that everyday I can learn new things” Πως μαθαίνει ελληνικά σας; “We have a Greek teacher that gives us classes at our flat and also we use the online course that the program offers us volunteers. And of course 8

Finally I ask to Joana and Pablo if they would recommend this experience, because they are two volunteers with different backgrounds, from different countries, with different expectations, working togeth-er for the same objectives. So maybe we can listen different conclusions. But don’t, they tell me some sen-tences like these “I would absolutely recommend this experience! It was a big step for me leaving my house and comfort zone for participating in this project, but once I was here I realize how good decision it was.”

ACT REACT | NGO ACTIVITIES

Photo: ©Maria Pilar Onate Navarro motivated and committed with their effort and the goals of the NGO, something good that not all volunteers from all organizations can say.

“Also the experience of being in another country and learn every day Greek custom or the language is an expe-rience that is great and every one that has the opportunity should take.” “I’m learning a lot, in the center and in the city where we live” “This project stirs my feelings. This kind of people give high value to any kind gesture that you do for.” “Sometimes they say or do something that makes everything worthwhile”

Contact: diakonia@imtl.gr Web: diakonia.agapis.imtl.gr www.youthnetworks.eu 9

ACT REACT | NGO ACTIVITIES

Photo: ©Francesco Mattioni

Eat Play & Love around the world By Marién Cuesta Garcia

IASIS NGO Food Festival, Athens On 16th December 2016, IASIS NGO opened its doors to young people of all nationalities to celebrate its 20th anniversary. IASIS volunteers organized an intercultural food event where volunteers from several organizations and refugees atended to the event.

Gastronomy and culture for all

The event started at 18:00 and finished at 21:00. We found two zones, the first one, an international food area and the second one, the games area. The food was varied as each volunteer cooked typical food of their country. We tasted dishes from some different countries such as Spanish ‘Paella’ and the Italian ‘Tiramis’ and ‘Pasta al Forno’. The volunteers of the organization cooked typical dishes from their countries but there were some other dishes that were picked up from some establishments in Athens. The restaurants were Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, French, Greek, etc. At the event there was sweet and savory dishes and we tried the best desserts and food. It was an event that united people from many different countries, volunteers and refugees too. Laura, a volunteer of the organization and

coordinator of the event, talks about how it was developed and her experience that day. Main goals Laura told us that the main idea of the Project was bring together as many young people as possible from the different countries. It is the main goal of the the Youth Center. We thought that it was a really nice idea to invite refugees at this event because it is the best way for them to integrate with other people. In fact, they are only in contact with other refugees and volunteers who already work with them therefore, it was a way of sharing culture for all. Personal experience of Laura She enjoyed the event very much. For her everything happened very quickly and it was a complete success. The refugees also enjoyed it a lot. You could see how they were talking too with all people of the Erasmus program and with EVS. The objective of the integration worked. Therefore it can be said that the ‘’Main Goal ‘’ worked. 11

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Photo: ©Francesco Mattioni

ACT REACT | NGO ACTIVITIES

Photo: ©Ethnic Flags

Photo: ©Francesco Mattioni

ACT REACT | NGO ACTIVITIES

Οδυσσέας School By Marién Cuesta Garcia

Photos: ©Paula Lagunas Garcia

Οδυσσέας was set up in Thessaloniki in 1997. This organisation aims to combat social inequalities, teaching Greek language for refugees, migrants, non-native speakers or returns. Forgetting this, the access to these lessons is free, offering more possibilities of the population with fewer resources. The solidarity school is located near the train station, in Αισώπουs street.

This organization not only provides Greek lessons, further activities carried out are: cultural visits to museums or nearby cities, parties, film screenings or theatre to improve the insertion of these people. This theatre group was created in 2000 by the students and volunteers of Οδυσσέας. During these years, the theatre has played a decisive role in the organisation: on the one hand, the theatre created in the Greece is a cultural way to educate in values, and on the other hand, to practice the language. With all this, many of these participants have had the great opportunity to travel to different cities. The Commander of the Organisation is Αντώνης and working with him, all the rest volunteer workers of Οδυσσέας. Most of them are teachers of Greek who tell us, they carry out this work in addition to their habitual work. We spoke with Μενέλαος, Greek teacher at a school that spends all the afternoons in Οδυσσέας for four years. He

told us that his own motivation is to help refugees and people with fewer resources: ‘I really like it, it’s something I cannot describe, and it’s very exciting. The people here are very friendly, the people are good. It is a very different thing than teaching at a school. That’s for work, and this is from the heart.’ We also had a talk with another worker there, whose motivation to work here since 2004, was “to try to make Thessaloniki better, since the previous years there were many migrants from the ex Soviet Union and Albania”, and because the government did not help them (or it did not want to help them) to participate in society, she has decided to help in this way. “I am a volunteer, here we are a small group, like a family that share ideas and we also share time.’ She works about 4 hours per week; before she was a teacher, but in recent years she has been involved in the technical part of the school, as a secretary. Over time, and because of the crisis, this school has become an academy of languages, not just for foreigners. Nowadays, not only Greek is taught, but other languages have arrived to the Οδυσσέας classrooms, such as English, French, German, Spanish, Russian or Italian. These lessons are mainly attended by the presence of Greek students. 15

ACT REACT | GOOD PRACTICES

The H-Ug project: Two siblings that want to Help Uganda By Carmen Russo

Photos: ©Konstantinos & Marilena Maragkou

What kind of results do you expect from a project that you start to imagine by just talking with your friends or with family? Would you ever expect that that idea chatted and created in few busy days, can lead you to be candidate as the Man or the Woman of the Year in your Country?

This is just what happened to two young Greeks siblings, Konstantinos and Marilena Maragkou, that one day said the magic sentence: “We have a dream”. Thanks to the project H-Ug, Help Uganda, that was ideated, created and implemented by these two guys, the editorial team of the magazine Votre Beaute decided to include Marilena Maragkou as a nominee for the national awards “Woman of the year 2016” in the category of social work. The national awards are about to take place in March 2017. First of all, who are Konstantinos and Marilena Maragkou? We are two siblings who share the same values and way of thinking. We grew up in Kallithea, in the south of Athens. Our mother comes from Cyprus while our father has his roots in Asia Minor. Konstantinos: I currently live in Slovenia and I study the European Master in Tourism Manage-

ment with the Erasmus Mundus Programme. I am a graduate of Classical Greek Philology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. For 9 months, I lived in Vienna, Austria, where I worked as a research assistant in the department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. Marilena: I work as a Project Manager of European Projects, I am a graduate of Management and Business Administration from the University of Piraeus and I hold a Master of Science in International Marketing from the Economics University of Athens. How did the H-Ug project idea start? K: It all started when we met Father Antonios from Monde. The idea came through contact with Father Antonios of Monde in Uganda, who together with his wife continue to fight on daily basis to ensure first the survival of children, secondly better living conditions and thirdly to send students to study in Greece and Cyprus with the aim to return back in Uganda to contribute to his effort. M: Knowing the needs through testimonies of people who live or just traveled there, we 17

Photos: ©Konstantinos & Marilena Maragkou

believed that we can provide a lot to this country. Once you are able to do something, why don’t you give it a try? Who helped you in developing this project? This project is based only on our personal initiative and funding. We found some sponsors who provided us with stationary for Uganda and many people offered to us stationary and gifts for Uganda. We had lots of support of friends and of people that we did not even know but not financially. What was the most shocking thing you’ve seen in Africa reality? A day is a fight for most of the families. We could see 6-7-year-old children walking endless ways to find a well and grab some water. Then, to carry this water all the way back and offer it to the family. A bottle of water should be enough for the daily needs of the family. Other shocking things? People working as itinerants carrying on their head 5 meters’ stuff, their merchandise and then trying to sell it. People sleeping in the corner of the streets. 18

Which are the real outcomes of your project? K: Practically, we created a partnership between Greek and Ugandan University: the mobility of the students will start soon. We facilitated the procedure for those who want to come to Greece to study full-time by giving to the Consul of Greece in Uganda a manual we have created in the framework of our project. We offered to schools stationary and contributed to their education level. M: The H-Ug project also changed me, nothing is the same and nothing will ever be the same. The experience in Uganda helped me to understand a reality through different eyes. It also helped me to appreciate goods. What do you think would be the possible impacts of the project in local communities in Africa and Europe? The project aims to the sustainable development of local communities especially in Africa but also in Europe, through education. Providing information to people in Uganda was enough not only to give hope to those people,

but also to show them how they can improve through education. The project strengthened also and gave the message about equal human rights with a focus on the right of education for all regardless continent and country. It opened doors for discussions with local communities in Europe. How can one help in your project? For the year 2017 we will collect stationary for students of all ages in Uganda. We will send a container for Ugandans when we have the appropriate amount to fill it. We will translate the trailer of our documentary in as many languages as possible. We want to create collaborations with companies that can provide us with stationary and other material. We want to create collaborations with NGOs. Next step? K: H-Ug team would like to be extended and include more people who are willing to contribute, travel and offer by any means in the framework of this voluntary and educational project. For the moment, H-Ug team will actively contrib-

ute in the container. Last but not least, the team aims to organise dissemination events in several EU countries to inform people about the H-Ug Project and show it as an example for activism and volunteerism. M: This beautiful trip was just the beginning for us and for what it will follow. What matters is what we do from now on this experience was the inspiration and motivation so as to do more and to continue this action. Your sweetest memory in all this time? Smiles and hugs everywhere! Our sweetest memory is when we were in the garden playing football with all the children, may not sound so special, but we were feeling completely free at that point. Well, if your answer at the initial question “Would you expect this sort of success?” was “No, this is impossible”, just remind yourself that “nothing is impossible”, if you really want.

ACT REACT | VOICE TO VOLUNTEER

This month we interview Stefania Nogara. A former EVS volunteer at United Societies of Balkans, Stefania now coordinates the Photorevoice project, an initiative aimed at showing the different uses of photography as a tool for personal and community development.

Voice to Volunteer

For this issue we decided to take a look back and reflect on Stefaniaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s volunteering trajectory that influenced her career and perspectives. Enjoy!

Photos: ÂŠStefania Nogara

By Alexandre Vale

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Photos: ÂŠStefania Nogara

ACT REACT | VOICE TO VOLUNTEER

We would like to get to know you! Introduce yourself to us! What’s your name, age and residence? What is your current ocupation/job? Hi! I am Stefania from Italy and I am 33 years old. I am a career advisor and a Photovoice facilitator, working mostly with young and adults from 25 to 65 years old. Talk about yourself before going on EVS. Who was Stefania before she decided partaking in this experience? In 2010, shortly after graduating in Psychology, I found a job for a private agency working with unemployed people. After two years trying to help people to find a job, I started to feel disappointed and incomplete. So I started to think about what was missing in my life. Something I had not done yet. “Living abroad” was the answer! So at the tender age of 29 I left Italy for Greece. It was love at first sight! Describe what was for you the best part of the experience. I lived in Thessaloniki for nine intense months during which, first of all, I learned to speak in English and then really a lot of other things! Just to make some examples: how to use Photoshop and video editing programs, notions of journalism, tips about how to organize events and how to contact local and foreign partners, how to write a project and to research funds to realize them. Everything was extremely useful for my present job and professional career. For you, what was the biggest life lesson you took from this experience?

Photos: ©Stefania Nogara

Thanks to it I came back to Italy full of energy and more connected with my passions and my professional objectives; I founded my own organization called “Photorevoice” and now I work mostly as a Photovoice facilitator in various projects and with different target groups.

To young people who are reading this and are thinking if they should or shouldn’t try EVS, what would you like to say to them? I would suggest to everybody to take part in the EVS but with a clear focus on the future that they would like to live after this experience. There is no sense in doing this experience just for having fun. 25

26 27

The first one

Goran Bregovic

Photo: Â©Goran Bregovic Media

CULTURE | MUSIC

Photos: ©Goran Bregovic Media

Goran Bregovic in Athens Music Festival By Marién Cuesta Garcia

Athens Music Festival brings together beloved artists from around the world, inviting them to collaborate on stage. The first guest of the Athens Music Festival was Goran Bregovic, who gathered for the first time on stage the Greek singer Giota Nega, in Diogenis Studio the last 17 th December. The Athens Music Festival has become a “meeting point” of important names of the world music scene with Greek artists. The night began with a concert by Giota Nega. They presented the hits of their last two albums and great songs selected from other artists with discreet Balkan timbres and original folk origins. The Athens Music Festival work together with the Solidarity Reception Center and the city of Athens (KYADA) and the social work of New Smyrna and Glyfada municipalities. Part of the income from the performances will be offered to support the activities of the Center 28

and each municipality to improve the problems of housing, food, health and reintegration of homeless people living in the city, as well as support of citizens and families to face serious problems in their daily lives. Goran was born on 22nd March 1950 in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia Herzegovina. His father was Croatian and his mather was Serbian. He is Yugoslavian, as he said. He is known all around the world for his soundtracks of several world-famous movies. Especially the films directed by Emir Kusturica. We can say that Goran is one of the most famous composers of the Balkan region. His production mixes sounds of Balkan traditional folk music with rock, Bulgarian music and other different styles. He is the author of the theme that represented 29

CULTURE | MUSIC

His collaborations include Iggy Pop, Cesaria Evora, Scott Walker, Ofra Haza, Isabelle Adjani and Johnny Depp.

There were around 3,500 and 10,000 spectators at these concerts.

He has recorded more than 40 albums and he is the author of the soundtrack of 31 films. The most famous films are ‘‘Time of the gypsies’’, ‘‘Arizona Dreams’’ and ‘‘Underground’’. Goran’s experience in the musical world is very long. After studying music in the conservatory, in particular violin, he formed his first musical band with 16 years old. The name of the band was ‘‘Bijelo Dugme’’. In 1974 he published his first album with his group Bijelo Dugme (the White Buttons) and got a great success, which makes him a rock star in his country. He and his band toured all over Eastern Europe countries. After his concerts he attended endless sessions of autographs. Goran became a musical idol.

“Rock”, says Bregovic, “occupied a very important place in our life at that time”. It was the one way we could express our discontent without being forced to scold us. The role of rock & roll in communist countries has been much more important than in the West. It was a way of exposing a different value system to the standard-bearers of communism. In the late 1980s, Goran Bregovic decided to dissolve his famous group which had sold millions of albums in his country, and Emir Kusturica called him to compose the music of his film ‘‘The Time of the Gypsies’’. Then, Bregovic met his Balkan roots and began to explore in to the music of the gypsies. At the beginning of the Yugoslavian civil war, he was in Paris, working in the film Arizona Dream. Goran Bregovic remained there during the war and lived in Paris. After that, he worked in Belgrade where he created a recording studio.

In the popular concert, offered in Piazza San Giovanni on May 1, about 500,000 people attended. In case there was any doubt, this fact confirmed its popularity internationally. In June 2002, Goran brought together three great singers with three different religions in the Basilica of Saint Denis. The Orthodox Choir of Moscow, a selection of Tetouan ropes in Morocco and his Weddings and Funeral orchestra for a special project called ‘‘My Heart Has Become Tolerant’’.

Time of Gypsies Film,1988

In June 2003, Goran was awarded like ‘‘Tolerant Heart’’at Festival of Sacred Music in Fez (Morocco) and at the Guggenheim Foundation in Bilbao.

Photo: ©Photobucket

Serbia in Eurovision in 2010. The popular song ‘‘Ovo Je Balkan’’.

The first one

Photo: ©Photobucket

Popular Concerts In June 1997, Bregovic undertook a triumphant tour with his band ‘‘Weddings and Funeral’’, presenting in live its most beautiful songs as ‘‘Ederlezi’’, ‘‘Kalasnikov’’ and ‘‘Mesecina’’.

Goran Bregovic

In 2009 he visited Guca, a small town in Serbia, which holds an annual metal band competition in August and receives about one hundred and fifty thousand people to listen the bands. From this live presentation came the recording of his album ‘‘Alkohol’’. Operas and tours around the world In 2004, Goran composed his first opera titled “Goran Bregovic’s Karmen with a Happy End”. He changed the letter ‘c’ for ‘k’ to Carmen’s name to give him an accent from the Balkans.

Underground Film,1995 Photo: ©Photobucket

Photo: ©Goran Bregovic Media

This city was the starting point to conquer the world again with his music, receiving honors and appointments as honorary citizen of Buenos Aires, Tirana, Athens and Honorary Doctor in Music of the University of Sheffield in England.

Photo: ©Archivia

In autumn 2010, the play entitled ‘‘Orfeo di Bregovic’’ was released. One operates with a part of Bregovic’s Weddings and Funeral band (Metals, Bulgarian voices and percussions) and opera and orchestra choir singers.

He has given concerts practically by all the countries of Europe. In South America has visited Argentina, Chile and Mexico. He has also given concerts in Australia, Jerusalem and Morocco. His music is recognized by all the cultures and nationalities provoking an irresistible desire to dance.

Arizona Dream Film, 1993 31

CULTURE | THESSFEST

A picture of Greece from the EYE of the Camera. Local Short Film Festival #3 By Rino Maffione

On the 26th of January the amazing WE center in Thessaloniki hosted the 3th Local Short Film Festival, organized by Extostis and, while the 4th one is coming on the 30th of March. It can be interesting to point out some of the themes emerged from the wonderful movies shown on this occasion. Now, some of you may argue: “What could you possibly understand about Greek movies as an Italian, especially considered the fact that they are… IN GREEK?!” and generally I would agree with you, but in my defence there were English subtitles and I hope the power of the cinematic art transmitted to me what the English couldn’t.

Photo: ©Rino Maffione

The first thing to say it’s that the location was AMAZING! The WE is a cultural and a sport center which is possible to practice almost any kind of sport or just chill out with the friends, and for this occasion it hosted a big projection room for the audience to enjoy the movies. As soon as I arrived the place was crowded. Any seat was taken and there were also people standing on the back of the room (one of them was me). The event attracted many young people and the air was vibrating with interest.

But now let’s get to the facts: during the festival were presented 8 short movies from different film makers and, at the end, the audience had to vote for their favourite. The winner of the festival was Sunodinos Moskidis with his film Taxi in which, through the narration of three different stories. He tells us about distant places that is at the same time a place from which you can be forced to leave, a place from which to return or a place wish to be. This is in fact the first theme that can be highlighted as one of the background theme

of the movies. What emerges is in fact the perception of an outside world away from Greece, different from Greece in many ways, for the good and for the bad, from which to come or come back, to wish to go. Also a world to imitate in the surrealistic and sour story of 10 Days That #rekt Eugene Muller, from Giannis Sukobaris and Tasos Grammatosis, in which the struggle of a guy to reproduce the American independence day in Greece becomes a fight for social revenge against a reality in Greece that, for the political and economical situation, seems broken. This is also one of the main themes in the background and, even if it never becomes a focal point of any of the stories, you can notice it’s presence. May it be in the sad story of two brothers who don’t have money to pay their mother’s chemio, like in Libelula From Gabriel Atanassiou, or in an abandoned house that becomes the setting of a strange story in Suknotita 13 from Antonis Grigorian and Nikos Tsoghidis. Those are just a few examples of the amazing short movies shown during this event that not only gives the opportunity to film artist to promote their productions, but also shows a picture of Greece from the eye of their cameras. A Greece that seems to have a great scar on it’s body but still intact in it’s warm soul that emerges in those movies. A great thanks and a bravo must go to both WE and Exostis for organizing and managing this wonderful event and I suggest you don’t miss the upcoming one. I will not. 33

CULTURE | THESSFEST

Apokriés By Virginie Blei

In Greece, Carnival is more commonly known as Apokriés. That means meat is over, an event that begins the preparation for Lent. The origins of carnival are in ancient Greece. It is associated with the Greek god Dionysos (The god with many feasts and wine). They were coined with enthusiasm, fun and sarcasm. These depend on the extension of the Christianity with a fusion of elements with Lenten season, which last 40 days.

Photo: ©Hanne Marie

The celebrations are similar to other European countries. The Lenten time in Greece will take about three weeks, because they know how to enjoy life. These weeks are called Προφωνή, Κρεατινή και της Τυροφάγου. In almost all cities there are carnival parades and many parties, like for example, on “Tsiknopempti”.

Makedonien The small town of Naoussa is 90 km west of Thessaloniki, it’s a town known for the best peaches, cherries, and dry red wine “Noussa”. Also, it’s a famous ski area and important centre carnival. “Apokries” is traditionally celebrated there, and it has a millennium old tradition, always with street parades and Sournas, the traditional wood-

wind. Also, there are the Jianitsares with their traditional costumes. In Naoussa, the carnival is very spontaneous, with a lot of enthusiasm and hospitality. Interview with some locals I asked different people in Thessaloniki about Apokriés. All of them told me that they like carnival in Thessaloniki. They are Fans of the costumes, especially the Bellroots, which are well known in the city. These are special because they can only be found here! Also, the costume parade is very famous in Thessaloniki. Many villages around Thessaloniki have a special instrument for Apokriés. For example, there are the drums, trombone and the Bouzouki. In my survey with the people of Thessaloniki, they also told me their craziest costumes. One of the best was a man who dressed as a ballerina, with a Tu-Tu. The people of Thessaloniki like costumes of animals, pirates, or the more traditional costumes for the event. Finally, I can say, that carnival (or in Greece Apokriés) is a big event that is fantastic to join. 35

CULTURE | BALKAN BUFFET

Potato Pancakes By Ignas Ramonas

Skanaus Hello, everybody! Today we will learn how to cook Pancakes from potatoes. I know, it could sound strange for the first time, but just try it. It is a typical dish in Lithuania, also in almost all Slavic countries. In these regions all grandmas are making these pancakes and thy are just AMAZING!

Photo: ©Betty Bannerman Busciglio

Note: remember, probably you are not grandma from Slavic countries, so your masterpiece can not be the same as grandmas from Lithuania, BUUUT, practice make perfect.

So here are ingredients that you need: • 6-7 potatoes (average size) • Black peppers 1tsp • Salt 1ts • 2 eggs • 1 onion (or depends from your taste) • Wheat flour, 2 tbsp • Sunflower oil Cooking process: Peel the potatoes, wash and grinder it with kitchen grinder. Peel the onion and chop in a small peaces. Also Put an egg and season with salt, pepper. Mix everything together. Then add the flour and mix again. Bake in a pan with hot oil on both sides. Potato pancakes are served hot with sour cream. Enjoy your meal! Or Skanaus! 37

CULTURE |ART TALENT CORNER

Photos: ©Jack Cowles

Pictures of an Unknown Odysseys Daily Tales of Refugee Life By Carmen Russo

A father holding his daughter because she is too tired to walk, a mother giving a kiss to her son wrapped in an Ikea blanket, a group of children playing football on the ground. Normal life moments.

expert cameras and you can properly understand it looking into the eyes, imitating the expressions and searching a story into the wrinkles that a long list of photographers shot in the several refugee camps in Greece.

But also a man with a stitched mouth in a sign of protest, a white sheet covering a little body on the beach, dozens of hands waiting for an egg. Dramatic real moments. Thousands of men, women and children entering in the first floor of the Warehouse A’ in the Port of Thessaloniki, faced a collection of pictures from the most known photographers of Greece, who told us through their images about the Refugees’ life. A life made of moments.

The Exhibition, curated by Hercules Papaioannou and Penelope Petsini, collects more than 160 pictures of 26 photojournalists that tried to draw the complete story of a refugee: the long road, the daily life in the camp, the fight for the rights. But also, the love, the games, and the moments of joy. A tale that one can build in himself just looking through all the pictures; a tale that is worth that million words; a tale of 851.319 people – data concerning just the year 2015- that one cannot forget going out from the Museum.

About 15 thousand people since the 1st of June 2016, with the average of 70 presences in the weekends and 30 during the workdays have been visiting the Photo exhibition “Another life: Human flows / Unknown Odysseys” at the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography.

“Another life: Human flows / Unknown Odysseys” is having a big consensus of the population and due to this interest, it has been extended until the 31st of March 2017. The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 11 am to 7 pm - Friday till 10 pm- and the ticket costs 2€. Students, groups and over 65 1€.

There is “Another life” captured by the viewfinder of

More info http://www.thmphoto.gr 39

TRAVEL |INTERNATIONAL

Photo: ©https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fragw%C3%BCrdig (Christian Koehn)

Turkey by Bus

What Should You Know?

Photos: ©https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:CeeGee

By Burhan Köse

Thessaloniki is a city with a great location, where it connects East Thrace, Turkey to Mainland Greece and Balkans. You can easily gain acces to significant points of the Balkans. You’re not guaranteed a speed-light-fast journey, but for sure there will be vehicles to board at least twice a day for a destination. Turkey is one of them. You can take the buses from KTEL. They operate twice or three times a day. It’s pretty easy and simple, but since you’re going to be tortured with this outdated travel method, you might as well extract some benefits out of it! Here are some of the things that you should know: Buses are never full Apart from exceptional dates, the buses are never full and you can even sleep in the seats. Try to be fast and get the last row seats so that you can lie on it like an almost-mattress. Sleeping is a very crucial part of this journey. Because, it’s for your benefit to skip as much time as possible. Bring homey stuff Just in case you want to sleep, bring your blanket. If you don’t want to sleep, bring your laptop. Wi-fi will save your life in this uninteresting journey, and a blanket will save your life in the passport controls. Passport control and routine searcheσ It’s very tense out there. They might check your passport 4-5 times without a reason, and search your belongings. However, you should know what’s up, in order to make use of having the liberty of carrying as much stuff you can. Since it’s not a

flight, you can load up your bag with anything you want, liquid foodstuff, alcohol, even minced meat if you’d like it. However, you should consider that you can’t take more than a litre of hard liqour. You can take up to 12 beers. While entering Greece, make sure that you don’t have more than 2 packs of cigarette on you. I do not mean cartons. Two packs of 20 cigarettes. You’ll have a little bit of problem. Finally, your blanket will be useful here, because you will constantly hop in and out of the bus. It’s very cold. Exploit the luggage liberty As long as you’re not moving a whole house or something, you can pretty much take anything you want, at any weight. They don’t really charge anyone with “overweight luggage” in the buses. In fact, many people use buses as a cargo service, loading huge loads of cheese and local products from their village, to the city. You should also make use of it. Carry whatever you want. If there’s something that you really enjoyed from your Istanbul trip, buy for the whole family, and for yourself for the upcoming 2 months. You can carry it. Plus, it’s good for the economy. Chat up The environment in this international bus is very friendly, since the buses are not that full. There’s not much of a barrier between the workers of the bus as well. People do realize that it’s a crappy journey, so they’re pretty much open to conversation to pass time. It’s great -and most of the time- very funny, and usually informative. 41

TRAVEL |INTERNATIONAL

Photos: ÂŠ Ebru Sener

Ohrid or Ohri, the pearl of FYR Macedonia, is really popular in the Balkans. The beautiful city that Evliya Celebi has long talked about in his travels. The name of the city in the Slavic vo hrid, which is on the hill, is Ohrid today.

Ohrid Pearl of 42

FYR Macedonia By Ebru Sener

Ohrid, the most touristic place in FYR Macedonia. You can take your tickets from the Skopje bus terminal to the city of Ohrid. When we went in August, buses were available at 6, 10 and 11 in the morning. By bus from Skopje you arrive at the city of Ohrid in 3.5 hours. Ohrid is a city on the shores of Lake Ohrid, among the high mountains. This is one of the cities where nature is generous. Small, cute, peaceful, and green ... Ohrid Lake, is a good choice for both holiday and relaxation with its historic churches, lush nature, hospitable people and peaceful streets. With thousands of years of history, Ohrid is rich in terms of historical monuments. Here you should spend 3 or 4 days to enjoy the city. The Cyrillic alphabet was born in Ohrid, and the Cyrillic Alphabet spread to all the Balkans. I like the towns that can be visited on foot. Ohrid, is a wonderful city for those who like to walk. There is a pleasant peace in the city. The old town part where the historic texture is well felt is worth seeing the fortresses, churches, monasteries from the Middle Ages and old mosques. It is possible to travel between narrow and cobbled streets, charming cafĂŠs, houses with balconies with sardines. 43

44 45

Photos: © Ebru Sener

TRAVEL |INTERNATIONAL

Photos: © Ebru Sener

Ohrid Lake The deepest and oldest crater lake in Europe, Lake Ohrid, and the town of Unesco are on the list of World Cultural Heritage. Approximately two-thirds of the lake area belongs to Macedonia and one third to Albania. What makes Lake Ohrid so special is that its crystal-clear waters are completely renewed every 10 years by feeding with water from both underground and mountains. Lake Ohrid, a large and clean lake, is a preferred area for swimming. Both the Ohrid city centre and the beaches are within short walking distance.

and surroundings of city, from one of the highest peaks of the city and take pictures.

Church of St. John Kaneo The history of the Sveti John Kaneo Church, built on steep rocks just off the edge of the cliff and regarded as one of the city’s most notable buildings, dates back to the 13th century. The church dedicated to theologian Saint Yovan is a mixture of Byzantine and Armenian architecture. Ohrid’s most beautiful landscape photographs are taken from here. When you go up, the landscape gets better and better. You can watch the magnificent view of Ohrid Lake.

Ancient Theatre of Ohrid One of the city’s most important sightseeing spots, the Ohrid Antique Theatre attracts attention with its architectural structure and excellent acoustics. The ancient theatre that has been restored many times, is still home to various events. You can visit especially at the event times to enjoy the theatre like old times.

Samuel’s Fortress The history of Ohrid Castle goes back to the 10th century. The castle was also used at the time of the Ottoman Empire and at that time it has attained its present appearance. You can watch the city view 46

Church of St. Sophia Ohrid St. Sophia Church built in the 9th century. At the time of the Ottoman Empire, the frescoes and paintings in the church were covered with plaster. Another minaret was added and the church was converted into a mosque. After the Ottoman Empire left these lands, the building, which passed through a large restoration between 1950 and 1957, was converted into church again.

Monastery of Saint Naum The St. Naum Monastery was built on the high cliffs along the Ohrid Lake in 905. St. Naum is one of the must-see places in Ohrid. The most enjoyable way to get here is to ride the boats from Ohrid Harbour. The boat to St. Naum leaves at 10:00 and after a journey of about 90 minutes, is docking at St. Naum Har-

bour and is staying here till 2:00 pm. About 16:30 the boat is back to Ohrid. In the vicinity of the St. Naum Monastery, there are natural water resources that feed Lake Ohrid. The spring waters accumulated and formed small lakes. Here you can enjoy a pleasant ride with boats. Bay of Bones Museum One of Macedonia’s attractions on Lake Ohrid. A museum, constructed by a bamboo and a shaman on the edge of the lake. The museum, which was designed in the year 2000, exhibits materials found during underwater archaeological surveys. The Water Museum is worth seeing in terms of reflecting the day’s lifestyle of prehistoric people that have been lived in this region before. Plaosnik Plaosnik is an archaeological site. In the whole complex there are Saint Clement Church, St. Panteleimon Monastery, babtissery, Sinan Celebi’s tomb. St. Panteleimon Monastery St. Panteleimon Monastery was built in the 10th century but was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 15th century and converted into a mosque. This mosque was demolished and converted again monastery and remained as a monastery.

Ohrid

Pearl of FYR Macedonia 47

TRAVEL | NATIONAL

Photo: © ©Georgina Smith

The venue for a number of sporting events and concerts, the Panathenaic stadium is definitely a place to visit! Also known as Kallimarmaro, which roughly translates to “beautiful marble”, the stadium sits in the centre of Athens. A tourist attraction that in the past has hosted thousands of fans, competitors, and sports commentators. Claimed to be the first modern Olympic games stadium, the ground is a magnificent view. As two British tourists exploring Greece’s capital, we were lucky enough to have a friend and local to show us around. Kostas suggested the stadium to visit and we all went on an adventure, as it is in the centre it was easy to get to whilst also passing other tourist attractions such as parliament and the national gardens. I was unaware of Kallimarmaro and was pleasantly surprised when we got there, I stood in awe looking at this huge arena where so much history has taken place. The information board near the arena explained to tourists the sheer size and impact the stadium has, with the first opening and closing ceremony being here in 1896. It had a capacity of 80,000 during this period and just imagining all those people there rendered me speechless, to think that all these people visited this place, and not only at that time but during the years after too.

Athens A stadium built of marble, a great history inside 48 By Georgina Smith

But, possibly the most important point about this now tourist attraction is that inside there is a museum. Not just any old museum, a museum that holds all previous Olympic torches. A room is lined with the torches that many were fixated on, that thousands of people went to the streets to see, that millions sat in front of their televisions to watch. Not even on a national level, but on a global scale. The Guardian newspaper claimed that the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games was watched by, at its peak, 26.9 million people all waiting for the torch to enter. Now this same torch sits inside the museum along with a print of the official poster. When I planned to visit Athens, I was completely unaware of this treasure and I would recommend anybody to go visit. There is an entry fee but I guarantee it is worth the money, plus if you have a student card you get a Reduced Admissions ticket! 49

Photo: © ©Georgina Smith

50 51

Photo: © ©Georgina Smith

SOCIAL | POLITICAL

By Signe Demant Hansen

Crowds gathered in Washington for the Women’s March on Washington the 21st of January Photo ©Mobilus In Mobili

Looking for the Missing Protesters By Signe Demant Hansen

“I can’t believe we still have to protest this shit.” This was written on one of the many banners at the Women’s March in Washington on the 21st of January. Americans stood up for their rights and all around the world people gathered in sympathy. From big cities to small towns. Even in Antarctica you could see pictures of people holding banners. And people gathered in Athens to. It was estimated that about 1000 people participated in the demonstration in the Greek capital. Thessaloniki on the other hand did not have a demonstration.

SOCIAL | POLITICAL

“

From Prague to Nairobi women and men gathered in the streets on the day of the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump to march for women’s rights. A message was sent worldwide that women’s rights are human rights. But the absence of a protest in Thessaloniki inevitably raises questions about the status of women’s rights in Greece.

“

A Challenge for Greece According to Konstantina Moschota the feminist movement in Greece does not operate in the same way as in other countries. Konstantina is the vice president of non-profit organisation Καταφύγιο Γυναίκας (Women’s Shelter). The organisation works for women’s right by informing and helping women that have been victims of domestic violence. One of several organisations in Greece that fight for this. She believes that the culture and logic behind women’s rights is still a big challenge in Greece. In Καταφύγιο Γυναίκας’ work, they often meet people of both sexes who do not think there is any problem. They either believe that women deserve to be hit or they are unaware of how widespread the issue of domestic violence is. “We don’t see it. Or we don’t want to see it,” Konstantina says. Nonetheless, she considers it important to gather on this occasion: “America is a big country and it does influence other countries so it’s important to stand up and show sympathy,” she argues. Besides even though it might not affect Donald Trump it will have an impact on others: “When people see these kinds of demonstrations it will activate more people to stand up.”

In her opinion one of the reasons why people did not gather for a demonstration in Thessaloniki is the fear of riots in the streets: “We have a lot of people who just want to get out on the road and break things,” she explains. Because of this she fears that these kinds of demonstrations may not have the intended outcome.

Burning the Bra Even though the woman’s rights movement is not very visible in the streets one of the ways it communicates is on blogs. Καμένα Σουτιέν (translation: burned bra) is one example of this. The blog is run by nine women with the purpose of informing about feminism. The blog answers some of the most essential questions such as: what is feminism? Καμένα Σουτιέν offers their readers this answer: “Feminism is a movement for political, social and economic equality of the sexes. Its central idea is the liberation of man from the social, political and economic oppression through all types of patriarchal structures.” Besides answering questions, they share articles about feminism translated into Greek and even produce radio. According to their website, their hope is that the blog can be used as a starting point for further readings and searches about feminism. Καμένα Σουτιέν has nearly 15.000 likes on Facebook and uploads materials daily. But where were all these people on the 21st of January? Another occasion to stand up On the 8th of March it is the International Women’s Day. A new occasion for women and men to create awareness on the issue of woman’s rights. Once again it will be celebrated all around the world. As for Καταφύγιο Γυναίκας the NGO is going to host seminars about violence against women and hand out material about the issue around Thessaloniki. Maybe this is the day for the people of Thessaloniki to stand up and fight for the gender equality in Greece.

Grey Lines with Black, Blue and Yellow (1923) A recent blogpost by Καμένα Σουτιέν was about the feminist artist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986). 55

SOCIAL | POLITICAL

Photo: ©The Daily Campus 56

All you need to know about French elections by Jonathan Scatena

On the 23rd of April, there will be the first part of French elections, that will define who will run for presidency during the second part, on the 7th of May. These elections may have a lot of repercussions all over the world depending on who will get elected. So here’s portraits of the 5 principal candidates who want to have a seat at the Élysée. Before reading these, you have to know that each candidate have a lot of propositions that won’t be detailed here, so we took the most representative ones. But if you want to make a more accurate opinion of them, you should read their full programs on their website. We also indicate their rankings in the POP (Plateforme des Opinions Publiques/ Public Opinion Platform) surveys of the 4th of February. Regarding of the last events, these rankings change a lot on every surveys, don’t take these as granted. 57

SOCIAL | POLITICAL

Photo: ©Daily Mail

Photo: ©

20%

Marine Le Pen Front National

Emmanuel Macron En marche!

François Fillon Les Républicains

She is Jean-Marie Le Pen’s daughter and the president of the Front National that is historically at the far right of the assembly, a bad image that she wants to abolish by claiming the out-dated vision of the left/ right politics. Her speeches are whistleblowing the current government, pretending that she is an anti-system candidate, that’s why most of her popularity comes from youngsters and low salary workers. she got elected at the head of the Front National with 100% of the votes.

Former banker and businessman at Rothschild & Cie, he became economy minister under François Hollande’s socialist government. His first goal is to get work for everyone, no matter how. In the last months he doesn’t stop getting higher and higher in surveys, using his charismatic speaker skills.

Former prime minister under Sarkozy’s government, the president who spent most of his time in a court. François Fillon is the candidate for richer peoples. He always extol the values of honesty and transparency, but shortly after his candidacy, a french newspaper revealed his wife activities. She earned around one million euro doing a fictional job. Since then, he’s getting lower and lower in surveys. His party is thinking about exchange him with another candidate.

Propositions: • Referendum to get out of the E.U and the resto ration of a national currency • Establishment of the national priority (Jobs and s cial accommodations for French peoples in priority) • Strengthening the police forces • Referendum on the death sentence • Restoring border control

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Le_Pen 58

22%

Photo: ©

25%

Propositions: • More weekly work time, especially for youngsters priority (Jobs and s • Going to retire adjusted according to professions • More financial help to workers and less to unployed

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Macron

Propositions: • Removal of the tax on rich peoples • Raising the legal weely work time to 39 hours • Giving financial help to immigrants 2 years after their arrival • Save 100 billions euro on public expenditures

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran_Fillon 59

SOCIAL | POLITICAL

Benoit Hamon Parti socialiste

Jean-Luc Melenchon Les Républicains

Former minister of social and solidary economy, then minister of education. He surprised everyone by winning the primary against the former prime minister Manuel Valls. He defends the poorest and has the most coherent career of all his opponent, that’s why he won the primary.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon is an independant far left politician who doesn’t agree with the socialists. He militates for the sixth republic and wants to fire all corrupted politician. He has some controversial points of view and share them on his very active youtube channel. The wind of democratic revolution storms in his mind.

Propositions:

11,5%

Photo: ©

17%

• To set up a 750e universal income for every french citizen • To tax every robots that substitute a human job • To reach 50% of ecological energy production • Establishment of a solidary visa for refugees • Legalize the sell of marijuana

fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beno%C3%AEt_Hamon

Propositions: • To randomly choose peoples who will decides laws • To give permission to the people to fire a politician • Protection of common goods (air, water, alimenta tion, health, energy and currency) • Interdiction to collect what nature can’t regenerate

www.rumboaleningrado.net/2012/02/jeanluc-melenchon-una-pequena.html 61

Shows that Greek Government is Unaware of Ground Reality By Burhan Köse

SOCIAL | POLITICAL

New POS Terminal Regulations in Greece

By 1st of January 2017, all business establishments in Greece had to have a sign that shows whether they have POS Terminal payment method, i.e. paying with cards. Previously there were many confusions and inconveniences regarding this issue. One would receive service, such as a restaurant, and they would want to make the payment only to realize there is no card payment method. With this belated solution, Greek government also tries to address the scarce usage of card payment methods. They want people to use their cards more, so that the tax evasion would decrease in daily purchases. There is a will to tackle this shortcomings, but let’s put the businesses and people who fell out of trust aside and consider them being fully co-operative with recent regulations- is it possible to easily act accordingly? There are two main obstacles that goes to show that Greek government is unaware of ground reality. First one is the availability of card payment system. God forbid if you actually want to pay something with your card. Prior to 2017 regulations, you could not even make card payment in TRAINOSE station in Athens. Even a monopoly in the heart of the capital would fail to offer this service. When it comes to the small businesses always want to make their payments in cash, so that they would avoid crippling business regulative taxes one way or another -a form of tax evasion so to speak. Ultimately, this failure of compromise between the big government and the small businesses result in a consecutive chain of unsolved problems. Government fails to collect one form of tax, because either people can’t pay it, or it easy to evade. This is

followed by numerous indirect taxes that compensate for the direct ones that are not paid. However, when this indirect taxes are also sky-rocketing, this will alineate small businesses from offering POS Terminal service. Because cash is instant, hot, you don’t have to wait to withdraw it from bank, and you keep the “full amount.” Secondly, the availability of cards. Greek banks are horrid, ancient, life-sucking environments, as much as Greek public offices. It’s interesting to see that even in private sector, this load of bureucracy and old-age methods are in practice. One would explain that the banks would attempt to better themselves, and catch up with the times. Because -hello!- for Money. But no. Gettting a bank card is a very draining process. First of all you have to prove various documents that you’re eligible to get one. You have to prove through documentation that you actually need it. If you’re a student, apart from your student certificate, you also have to ask for a specific document where the university clears out that you’ve got to have this card. The process is slower than usual. However, cash is fast. People will not have to ask for half-a-day off from their jobs, schools, etc. only to see the bank closes at 2 PM, before it’s their turn. The Greek Government is horribly unaware of ground reality. With all those belated solutions, we can see that they’re trying and actually willing to do something, but it’s not really efficient when you come up with solutions for the previous decade. But hey, at least you can pay with your card in Athens Railway Station now! 63

LEGION | FLASHBACK

LZ-85

A Martial Exhibition

Zeppelin in front of the White Tower By Burhan Kรถse

The night of 4th May 1916, a German zeppelin, LZ-85, was observed in Thessaloniki skies. On May 6th, its chassis was put on display in front of the White Tower. They were the years of intense warfare. In September 1915, Bulgaria wages war on Serbia. So, the port of Thessaloniki gains importance. Konstantinos, the King of Greece –who was married to the sister of the German Emperor Wilhelm II - was in favour of impartiality. The King and the Prime Minister Venizelos were having disputes over this matter. Due to this dispute, Greece joins war belatedly, though Venizelos welcomes Entente Powers who rush in to help Serbia.

By September 1915, the city gradually becomes an open air military HQ. The citizens and the soldiers live jointly. Thessaloniki’s role as a military base makes it an open target for the Central Powers. Though this time, the danger –for the first time ever in history- is spread out by “flying castles,” i.e. war planes. On 30th December 1915, German war planes were observed for the first time in Thessaloniki skies. They bomb arsenals and supply warehouses. These repeated attacks throughout the winter of 1915 are conducted so as to evoke fear, rather than demolishing the city. Meanwhile, Entente Powers establish gradually strengthening air defense systems. The hard work pays off, and they take down a German plane. Then, they exhibit it in front of a military base. However, war planes were not going to be the only aerial threat for the deprecated city of Thessaloniki. In the beginning of 1916, a new threat appears in the skies. This time, not only does it evoke fear, but also injury, death, and destruction: LZ-85. LZ-85 starts bombing Thessaloniki on 1st February 1916. People run around, and hide in fear. 66

LEGION | FLASHBACK

LZ-85

This “flying ship” aims for bazaars in Thessaloniki, so civilian casualties turn out to be high. The main building of Banque de Salonique, and other buildings around turn into ashes. LZ-85 pays the city yet another visit at the end of February. These attacks destroy the port, French military bases, and cause even more casualties. It becomes Thessaloniki’s nightmare. No one knows whe will be the next attack, and where they will be during the bombardment, until the night of 4th of May, 1916. Entente Powers receive an intelligence that says the zeppelin has crossed the border once again, and it’s on its way to Thessaloniki. An immediate state of emergency is announced. Every light in the city is dimmed out. The city waits for the zeppelin in total darkness. LZ-85 can’t detect any targets amid the darkness. So, it makes a maneuver towards the west of the city, and it flies over Entente navy. All of a sudden, the projectors of naval ships are turned on. Whereabouts of LZ-85 is detected, and the zeppelin finds itself amid a massive crossfire of navy and anti-aircrafts. The zeppelin is finally taken down. Since its altitude was not that high, some of the crew members survive, and they were taken as prisoners of war. Remnants of LZ-85 are piled up in a ship, and are carried to the city center, into the garden of the White Tower. The soldiers use the pieces that they can assemble in order to make an installation from the iron chassis of the trophy. This installation gains immense interest of the people who haven’t seen such an enormous thing up to that day. It remains in exhibition in front of the White Tower for weeks It becomes the talk of the town. The extermination of LZ-85 causes a huge moral boost among the citizens, and the Entente Powers. The exhibited installation remains there as a statement of relief, and even appears in postcards. 67

LEGION | HOROSCOPE

Spring is on the way. Clouds are to vanish, flowers are to blossom, and sunshine is here to stay for the upcoming months. In this course of annual rebirth, what are the things that are waiting for you? How are you going to be affected in this joyous period? Find out here!

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

This spring is going to be emotionally beneficial. You will find yourself filled with lust for life. You will be liked more than ever. Who will be able to resist your charm, anyway?

You will have a gradual increase in your prospects of love life. You might go through some unpleasant times. Don’t panic, it’s all going to be just fine. A relaxed month of May will lead you to a safe June. Control your temper!

You will reap what you sow. You will have some complications in your personal life, and your work environment. You are to spend a lot of effort in order to meet your own expectations. You will enjoy outdoor activities. The weather is to be warmer, so is your love life. Don’t be a perfectionist, and let it be.

You’re not really getting a hold of what’s happening around. You should stop feeling anxious when things do not go in your way. Have faith in your fate, and it is in your hands. Saturn and Neptune are going to disturb you, and you’re not going to fight against it? Triumph over your troubles. Don’t give up so easily.

Cupid’s in favour of you. Turbulences of your love life will finally ease up. Thank goodness that you’ve got that for you. Since in your work environment, and in your daily life, hardships are ahead. Don’t dictate dominance over your loved ones. Respect their boundaries, and give them their space. They will appreciate it.

Successful management of your emotions. It will happen, brick by brick. This success will also resonate in your other affairs. A productive June is ahead. Stay true to yourself, and keep your feet on the ground. Wait for the happiness to find you.

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces

It’s going to be a complicated spring for you. However, your friends will be there when you hit the ground. You will question the authenticity of your bonds with others. Though, you shall overcome. You’re strong. Just remember to let it all out with a relaxing vacation.

There is success in your love-hunting. Though, there will be people who want to disturb your daily course of life. You will win through all of your challenges. Don’t get carried away with euphoria of victory. Watch out for where your money goes. However, in your personal affairs, you might need to close your eyes and follow your heart a bit.

Love is knocking on your door. Your firm stance in financial affairs will lead you towards good prospects. Days full of creativity are ahead. During this period, accept all the challenges that you have. Overcome them all. And share! Don’t forget to keep your soul alive.

You want some escalation. You’re going to go for it. Spring will bestow its offerings to you, slowly. So, don’t try too much. People around you might be annoyed with such behavior. You need to find the balance.

You can’t always get what you want. Don’t shoot for the stars. Treat yourself. Don’t overload yourself with a burden that you are not capable of handling. Meanwhile, try to keep an open mind. You should make room for spontaneity in your life.

You will be baffled and distracted so easily. Don’t give up on hope, and most certainly, don’t give up on people. You will need them, since the reality will dramatically differ from your expectations. Keep distance with utopic thoughts, so you may go through this spring happily. 69

The dance over the boundary of consciousness

LEGION | SPORT

Biodanza By Carmen Russo

In these last years, a new discipline called Biodanza developed in many countries. Even though this training is based on music, it is quite different from the common idea that we have about dancing. In fact, no steps, no technique, no workout are required. It is defined as human integration system of organic renewal, of affective re-education and of re-learning of the life original functions. Its application consists in leading vivencias through music, singing, movements and group encounter situations. Actually, Biodanza is not so “new” as we may think, even if it is still not so known. When it started, between 1968 and 1973, it was called Psicodanza and was invented by the eclectic personality of Rolando Toro Araneda. From being an elementary school teacher, he cultivated moreover the interest in Psychology studying at the School of Pedagogical Institute of the University of Chile. After graduation, he obtained the chair of Arts and Expressions Psychology at the Aesthetics Institute of the Catholic University of Chile and he worked as a university teacher at the Medical Anthropology Centre, in the Medicine School of the same University. It was in this specific moment of his life that the interest of unconsciousness and consciousness led him to experiment a new way to dance. Thus, after a long process, this training arrived also in Europe and there are only two places in all the Greece, one of them in Thessaloniki. In taking the lead in the capital of Macedonia, it was Georgios Vafeiadis, psychologist-psychotherapist, Holistic Therapist, Atma Kriya Yoga Teacher and of course facilitator in Biodanza Sistema. Vafeiadis is in constant uploading and developing in the matter of this discipline.

“Biodanza finds its inspiration in the most primitive origins of the dance,” explains the psychologist “It’s important to clarify that dance, in an original sense, is a vivencial moment. Many people link the idea of dance to the performance of “ballet”. This is a formal view of the dance. Dance is a deep movement born from the most visceral part of man. It’s a life movement, it’s a biological rhythm, the heart and breathing one, an impulse of

connection to the species and it is an intimacy movement.” According to the theory of his founder Rolando Toro Araneda, in fact, Biodanza follows five big groups of universal functions, called Line of Vivencia. They are vitality, which increases of joie de vivre; sexuality, to whet the desire source; creativity, the ability to express; affectivity, the ability to create links with other people through love and transcendence, the connection with nature, and sense of belonging to the universe. “Biodanza works developing the unused functions to integrate them entirely and harmonize them with the other ones,”, underlines Vafeiadis and he continues to explain the main areas in which this training is useful for the one’s life: “It develops the ability to be themselves, to improve relations, to regain the joy of movement, increased sensitivity to body language and increase body awareness. Plus, practicing improves mood and vitality and develops their potential, communication mode, emotional expression. Finally, it promotes a new awareness of life”. Can Biodanza be practiced by anybody? According to the teacher Vafeiadis, of course it can. “Through the use of diversified shapes methodological it can be applied to three types of group: Specialty Group, persons with similar characteristics, such as babies, toddlers, teens, adults; Elderly, professional group and Heterogeneous Group, adults wishing to reinforce their feeling.” As the psychotherapist adds, this discipline can be useful in group of existential rehabilitation: persons suffering from psycho-intellectual disorders mood and psychosomatic factors, an existential rehabilitation system complementary to medical therapies. How can one start this training? “There is no song or movement that it could be suggested to start the process alone. It can only be applied as a group process. I can give you one example time with my class, and then you will understand the above statement.” concludes Georgios Vafeiadis. Would you give a try to Biodanza in Thessaloniki? Info at www.ananta.gr, or contact gvafis@gmail. com, or visit the studio at Olympiou Diamanti 25 (ano ladadika).

LEGION | NEW TECHNOLOGIES

A new Champion of Go rises, and it’s Google’s AI! By Rino Maffione

If you like board games, specifically strategy ones, then you have heard for sure about Go. But if you are not part of that large community of fans that spend their time and energy thinking about the best strategies to achieve victory, then you just need to know that Go was born in China 2500 years ago and has a lively and passionate community that spreads all around the world. Rated as the most difficult game ever invented, his fame has no limits and champions from all around the globe fight each other in long and difficult matches to decide who is the best player. But, in December 2016 a new player showed up on one of the most famous platforms of Go online with the goal to challenge the world best players under the nickname of “Master”. This mysterious new player proved immediately to be a real champion, winning 50 of 51 matches without loosing a single play. He proves to be so good that also the actual best Go player in the world, the 19 years old Ke Jie, appears on the list of the losers.

But a question raises spontaneuosly: why are we speaking about an old chinese board game in the tech section?

The answer is quite simple and also the Go players who faced Master understood it quite soon: behind the screen name of Master there was non others that a new model of Artificial Intelligence. But lets go with order. As many of you might know, the development of more complex and sophisticated artificial inteligences has become the first goal of contemporary

software houses and tech companies. From the big companies like Apple and Google, to the small startups on kickstarter, everyone is participating in the run of developing the best AI and it appears that the game of Go represents a good way to test the state of the art in this process. The complexity of this game, infact, makes it really difficult for computers to crack, so difficult that the first game without handicaps won by a machine against a human is dated just 2015. For this reason the game of Go became quite popular in the AI development community as a test to study how artificial intelligences work and improve them. In our story the AI behind this unprecedented series of victories goes by the name of AlphaGo. Developed by DeepMind, a company acquired by google in 2014, with the goal to develop a more intuitive AI through the game of GO. The name of AlphaGo should sound familiar to all the fans of this game. Infact, alredy in 2016 the Google AI won, in a live game, against Lee Sedol, one of the strongest player in the world, causing the Go players and tech communities to go nuts. This new series of victories proves how the study and developement of Artificial Intelligences is speeding up and achieving significant results really fast, but how does this have an impact in our everyday life? If you put your hand in one of your pockets (in my case the left one) I’m sure you will find the answer: through our smartphones. In the mobile side of the tech developement, infact, the run to the new feature is now focusing on the

LEGION | NEW TECHNOLOGIES developement of the so called personal assistants, softwares that let us use our phones and the millions of services we acces through it, using just our voices. Also in this field the developent is fast and impressive. This software still have difficulties to understand different languages than english, but beside the linguistical problem those assistants are capable of running a range of commands and answer to every question you could think of by searching online. Microsoft, Apple and Google itself are investing a lot of energy and resources in the development of personal assistants and to make them more efficient and effective they are implementing different forms of AI in their code! Especially, again, Google is known to be working a lot on Artificial Intelligences and Machine learning, so much that through the use of neural networks they got a computer to learn to understand what a cat is using only images found online. Now let’s imagine a software capable of surpassing humans in intelligence, strategy and learning, like AlphaGo for example, implemented in personal assistents with access to millions of personal informations stored in our smartphones. I heard someone say Skynet?

What actually seems to worry the most when we talk about AI is exactlly the risk for them to become more intelligent than men and to take control over us. Starting with asimov, all the best Sci-Fi literature warned us against making machines too smart, but at the same time they inspired the genius’ that nowadays are working hard to develop this kind of software. So do we really need to worry?

I think I will start to learn how to play GO. Oh and, by the way, the game it didn’t win was a tie due to connection loss. So think twice next time you complain about bad connection because it could save your ass. 75

LEGION | MIX FIX

KEDί

An Immensely Needed Documentary of Istanbul By Burhan Köse

The documentary takes place in mostly central districts of Istanbul, and fairly shows us the lives of seven different cats. Sari, Duman, Bengü, Aslan Parçasi, Gamsiz, Psikopat, and Deniz. All of them carry names that correspond to their personality, and how these joyful personalities contribute to the daily colours of urban Istanbul. There is no way that you’re running away from these guys. Somehow, they always find a way to be a part of your life. Whether you’re visiting Istanbul, living there, or just passing by.

I somehow perceive this documentary as a way that she attempts to touch upon a very serene, smooth part of her childhood. There are colours to life in the documentary. Colours that are barely possible to attribute to contemporary Istanbul. Colours that are not completely non-existant, but presumably more prevalent when Ms. Torun was an Istanbulite kid. She, and her team, brilliantly extracts those characteristic colours of Istanbul, with a little help from our little friends, and all together, they come up with a very interesting, wholehearted piece of work. You can see the trailer and dates of screenings in the website of the documentary: www.kedifilm.com Photo: ©Orkun Sandall

One of the most peculiar things that foreigners notice when they’re in Istanbul is the abundance of stray cats. They’re literally everywhere, in bazaars, streets, shops, restaurants. While you’re eating your meal, you may have company that asks for some. Or some “protection share,” depending on the mood of this little fierce citizen. These guys roam around the city with total freedom. Mainly due to locals taking care of them, and the interpretation of animal control in Turkey. We don’t really perceive cats as pest, so we keep them, and now there’s a whole documentary about them.

Ceyda Torun, the director, wanted to capture this intense presence of cats. She’s a born Istanbulite but her family had to leave the country when she was 11. This is probably why, you also will see that there’s a heart-warming, rosy setting to the trailer. 76

By Jonathan Scatena

Male contraceptive gel 100% efficient on monkeys trials

Flying cars are getting more and more concrete ! Airbus group CEO, Thomas Enders, is getting higher on his flying cars project. During the DLD conference (Digital Life Design) at Munich, from the 15th to the 17th of January, he announced that he wants to propose a prototype of a one place flying car for the end of the year. This vehicle would take off vertically to transport someone on short distances. The goal is to create an online reservation service using smartphone, Uber way. 78

hardly be reversed and the withdrawal which is 78% effective. And here comes Vasalgel™, a non-toxic and non-hormonal gel that is injected into the vas deferens, the tubes that carry sperm from the testes to the penis, blocking the sperm on its way acting like a barrier. It has been tested on 16 healthy monkeys and it is 100% effective without any side-effects. The gel theoretically should be easily removed using ultrasound, though this has only been tested in rabbits, not monkeys. But since it’s only blocking sperm, we still are vulnerable to STI, so condoms are still the best male contraceptive.

Many contraceptive methods are proposed to women, but male contraception has not been improved for decades. To sum it up, men have the choice between using condoms which are 98% effective, getting a vasectomy which is 99.9% effective but it can

LEGION | SCIENCE NEWS

Illustration: Lia Kantrowitz

Science

What about switching to paper 2.0? 15 billions of trees are cut each year (magazine Nature), it takes more than 10 liters of water to make an A4 paper sheet, to this, add multiples colouring agents, varnish and ink. This is the ecological footprint of the paper we use every day. Hopefully, in the journal Nano Letters, chinese researchers are introducing a new kind of paper made of Metal Hexacyanometalate Nanoparticles that can absorb UV light emitted by UV pens. After use, this paper can be erased by heating it up to 120°C and re-used around 80 times. But be aware, this paper can be used for writing purposes only ! 79

Funded by:

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.

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General Directors: Aristodimos Paraschou Michela Gennari

Editors: Jack Cowles Ebru Sener Georgina Smith Pedro Santos Rino Maffione Carmen Russo

Editorial Designer: Pantelis â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moustacheâ&#x20AC;? Toutounopoulos

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