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SYLLOGOS
Pontiac Greek people used to live in the shores of the Black Sea long time before of the exchange of population between Greece and Turkey. Generally, they were playing lyre and davul, just like the Turks who live there. Once they came to Greece from Black Sea, they continued their culture alive.
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ontiac Greek Student Association (or syllogos) was founded by students to introduce their culture and to conduct several activities for Pontic Greek people. Generally, they teach pontiaka (dance) to all people and they prepare special travels or entertainments. So, we had an interesting conversation- interview with the members of “Syllogos”, see what they told us! Can you introduce your syllogos? The name of our organization is “Sillogos Pontion Foithton & Spoudaston Thessalonikis” (Association of Pontian Students of Thessaloniki). It was founded in 1946 in Thessaloniki by a team of Students from the Aristotle University. We want the Pontiac students to keep in
touch with the Greek Pontiac Culture and to protect it. What kind of dance are you teaching? Are there only Pontiac students in your syllogos? In our association, we have only traditional Pontiac dance courses and although in our syllogos most of the people are Pontiac, there are also some people who are not. They take part in all of our activities and they learn about our culture. What kind of instrument are you playing? Many students of our association play the lyre, the most common Pontiac instrument. We also play the ntaouli (davul), the aggeion (tulum) and the siliavlin (gaval). What does your costume mean? Is it modern or traditional? Our traditional costume does not have a special meaning; it
is the common costume that our ancestors were wearing in Pontos. Are you doing different activities? Our association has many activities such as our annual Dancing Party, seminars about Pontiac culture, radio shows, volunteer blood donation, lyre courses, and participation in conventions, excursions and charity. Have you ever been in any festival before? Our association has been in many folklore festivals in Greece, Germany and Turkey. We share our culture and learn about different cultures. These exchanges were great for us. On March 22th, our association visited Konstantinoupoli (Istanbul) for a trip. One day we will dance with Idemm Association. We are very happy about this because we
had the chance to meet with people with whom we share a common culture. Is Trapezounda important for you? Do you have any plan to go to Trapezounda in the future? Trapezounda and the other cities of the Black Sea are very important for us because our ancestors were born there and lived there until 1922. We want to visit Trapezounda and other regions of Pontos in the following years. Many friends of mine have been there and everybody had a great experience. Turkish people are dancing pontiaka. What do you think about it? We have the same culture. A lot of people dance Pontiaka (horon) and also they play lyre (kemenรงe) in Turkey. When we go to Turkey or when they come to Greece we dance together. This is a great feeling. 2014 European Youth capital in Thessaloniki. What are you
doing for this? 2014 is a special year for our city because Thessaloniki hosts the European Youth Capital. We have already come in contact with the organizers of this program and we will arrange some events in order to show our dances, culture and history to the young people of our city.
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION;
AN OVERVIEW OF THE GREEK SITUATION
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On March 21st 1960 in Sharpville (South Africa), police shot dead 69 protesters who were demonstrating against apartheid “pass laws”. After the tragedy, the United Nations General Assembly decided to establish March 21st as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This day is not only a commemoration to remember the international community of the massacre, but also a bid to be united against the forms that racism, intolerance, and discrimination can take all around the world. Economic global crisis effects have reignited the racial hatred, intolerance, and discrimination throughout the world. Greece has not been immune to this fresh wave of hatred which sparked off with the beginning of its economic crisis and political uncertainty.
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acism has undoubtedly always been present in the world societies in which we live. Perhaps, in some societies, the situation in terms of human rights standards has been improved, but the racism plague has not been completely eradicated yet. As it has happened many times in the past, the economic crisis has also once again triggered a new surge of racism, intolerance, and mainly European countries have been shaken by the rebirth of racist movements and parties, e.g. Nationalist Party of Bulgaria (Bulgaria), Our Slovakia (Slovakia), Swedish Resistance Movement (Sweden) or Golden Dawn (Greece). However, the issue is much broader and is not only about the neo-Nazi attacks on people
coming from other countries. What frightens the most is the fact that the mainstream is so often manipulated by the wide-ranging political rhetoric which makes acceptable –for a mere interest– the criminalisation of migrants, refugees, or minorities, going too far to think fair the violation of the most fundamental human rights. In Greece, a mixture of structural and temporary factors, including the bailout conditions, have contributed to undermine the rule of law, as well as they have arisen violence racism issues particularly in 2013. In April, 35 Bangladeshi strawberry pickers were injured after having been shot by three Greek foremen, for the simple fact that workers demanded their due wages. Violence
and social insecurity in Greece worsened in September, when a musician anti-fascist activist was killed by an alleged member of Golden Dawn. Serious riots broke out all around the country, undermining the social cohesion and the rule of law. The situation led the Greek state to crack down on Golden Down and start legal investigations on it. The party’s leader, five parliamentarians were charged of managing a criminal organisation, and ten Greek police officers were accused to be linked to the party. In November, Greek government also drafted a bill of sanction against hate speech and incitement to violence, extending in so doing the scope of the existing legislation and practice against the racist violence. Recently, the Greek Ombudsman has warned Greek media to foster and reproduce stereotypes and discrimination against a defined minority group, as regards the case of Maria’s abduction, a child aged four who was found at Roma camp in Larissa (central Greece). The Ombudsman’s report found that Greek media acted incorrectly in showing children images of their personal lives in details, without taking accurately into account that this is only allowed in cases where it does not represent a pain or harm for the child. In addition, a written parents or guardians’
permission must be got before the children’s filming, as it is established by the Greek Law and the Greek National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV). Therefore, Ombudsman recalled Greek media to what should be issued regarding the children, drawing also the attention to not incite racism, xenophobia and intolerance. Roma people in Greece, as well as in the others South Eastern European Countries (SEE), have often been discriminated and persecuted. As it has been pointed out in Human Rights Watch – World Report 2014, Roma segregation in Greek schools amounts blatantly to discrimination, and there are frequently cases where Roma are mistreated by law enforcement agencies. Moreover, significant statistics, which raise concern about ethnic profiling, come from the report: an estimated 1,131 operations in Roma camps all over the country have been carried out by the Greek police in the first nine months of 2013. Human rights international organisations are expressing many concerns regarding the security policy conducted by the Greek state in order to control its boarders from irregular migrants, as Greece has become in the recent years the gateway to get
into Europe for many people fleeing from difficult areas in the world such as Africa, Asia, and lately Syria. Many criticisms have been arisen by International Human Rights Organisation to the Greek state as regards to the refugee push backs to Turkey – in which a number of 10 people at least died last year -, and, most of all, to the so called underway police operation “Xenios Zeus”, the ancient Greek god renowned for hospitality, where abusive stops and arbitrary detention of migrants have been reported. In January 2013 an anti racism police unit was created in order to prevent attacks on migrants and asylum seekers. Nevertheless an NGO network has recorded 104 incidents by the end of the last August. Ultimately, Greek antidiscrimination policies are still weak compared to the average of the other European countries. There are further difficulties associated with nationalitycitizenship discrimination as it is not clearly forbidden by the law, and the public is suffering a lack of protection concerning the racial profiling. Moreover, these victims of racial discrimination are not in a position to enjoy fully their rights, as in many cases they have to face a long process with no other dispute resolution or class actions.
ELEFTHERIAS HOLOCAUST MONUMENT AMID THE POLEMICS
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The ancient Romaniote and the Ladino-speaking Sephardic communities had been living in Greece for 450 years following the expulsion from Spain (1492). Thessaloniki became a global hub for the Greek Jewish community in the Balkan region, so much that the city was being also known as the “Second Jerusalem”. In March 1943, the Nazis started the deportation of the Thessalonian Jews from the square currently called Plateia Eleftherias (Freedom Square), where Nazis rounded Jews up and led them to the railway station. From there they were put in cattle cars and sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. In 1997, Thessaloniki authorities inaugurated a Holocaust monument in Eleftherias Square, where in 2012 a plate bearing all the names of the martyrs of Thessaloniki who died in the concentration camps was added. The Thessaloniki administration has been deciding lately to create a museum that will be located at the old railway station. The Jewish community has concerns about the holocaust monument, because it is unclear if the monument will be moved once again from Eleftheria Square.
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efore the Second World War, the Jewish population of Thessaloniki numbered around up to 55,000, of whom 49,000 had been deported in 1943. The number of the losses among the Jewish population was shocking, and only 2,000 of them could survive from the deportation camps. Today the Jewish population of Thessaloniki comprises about 1,500 people, whilst the overall amount of Jews in Greece totals roughly 10,000. As every year on January 27th, all around the Greek State, commemoration events take place for “The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust”. In Thessaloniki, the official opening with a memorial service was held on January 26th 2014 in Eleftherias square, in which all the authorities of the city and
representatives of the Jewish community participated. Before the commemoration ceremony, on December 22nd 2013, the mayor of Thessaloniki, Yannis Boutaris, announced a plan to build a Holocaust museum, by explaining that “this is the fulfilment of a historic responsibility for Thessaloniki.” The museum will be built at the old railway station, namely where the Jewish were crammed in cattle cars and led to concentration camps, and it shall be finished in 2020. The Jewish community of Thessaloniki has accepted Boutaris’ project, precisely saying that “the project was a long-held dream and particularly important at a time when Greece is struggling to deal with the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, which has 18 seats in Parliament”. Moreover, they
also add that “at a time when anti-Semitism and extremism are on the rise throughout Europe, this project will help educate the society, strengthen the collective memory and help combat the phenomena that in the past led humanity to its darkest era.” However, the main question that Jewish representatives are wondering about is if the holocaust monument will be removed from Eleftherias square, or simply relocated to another even less desirable side of the square. As the president of Thessaloniki’s Jewish community, David Saltiel, has been stating lately to Times of Israel “We have proposed that if it will be transported, it would be in the centre of the square, where we will put also the names of the Jews who perished around it.” He also added that “despite repeated requests, Salonika Mayor
Moreover, Boutaris’ project has given rise to polemics amongst all the people who believe that Eleftherias square is a symbolic reminder of all those holocaust victims. Criticism has been addressed to Boutaris by Ilias Pessah, a young Thessalonian physician and political activist. About the general meaning of the renovation plans, he emphasized the fact that “There is no other Jewish monument in Salonika. There is no other place in Salonika more important and symbolic than Eleftherias square. This square represents the Ground Zero area for Salonika’s Jews. That place is where everything started and finished.” Pessah also added that the creation of a new Jewish Studies program in Thessaloniki’s university, as well as December news of the project to build a future Holocaust museum, are merely a pie in the sky, as they are not sustained by any financial fund.
This is the place where the monument is supposed to be moved and the museum to be built.
Yiannis Boutaris’s office declined to officially respond to questions from The Times of Israel.” The history of the Holocaust Monument in Eleftherias square has been quite troubled, because its position has always been changed for the sake of practical reasons. The inauguration of the Holocaust Monument dates back to 1997, when it was located in front of the Baron Hirsch hospital. The construction of a parking lot was the reason why the monument had to be moved around to another place of the square, which was quite hidden. From then on, the Jewish community has constantly pushed the administration of the city for concrete measures about making the monument more visible. Many times Saltiel stated “We are not willing to take it every year from one place to another”, but the complaints have never been taken on board the arguments that the representative of the Jewish community has presented.
About the museum, he precisely pointed out “this museum would be built on land outside the city centre, donated by the municipality and the Railway Organisation of Greece, at the Old Train Station from which Jews were transported to death camps.” As the editor of the Times of Israel, Amanda Borschel-Dan, reported on an editorial, an undisclosed source of the municipality –acquainted with the issue – would have stated that the monument’s removal “is just a rumour with no relation to reality at all.” The source added: “The monument will be removed in the context of the renovation and replaced so it will be highlighted in a better way. We plan to remake the square, which is basically a parking lot now, and make it into a real square. In this context it will be replaced in a place that would highlight it better.” At the moment, the question is still up in the air, and honestly it leaves no room for taking any kind of position. The mayor Boutaris is well acquainted with the importance and contribution of all multiethnic groups in the city, and together with the Jewish community he will find a way to solve these complaints that have been rising lately.
THESSALONIKI’S NIGHTLIFE SECRETS Thessaloniki is historically an interesting city, but also its party life is not to be underestimated. Convince yourself. But still it would be a pleasure for me to share some of my Thessaloniki nightlife secrets with you. Thessaloniki is one of the most beautiful cities in the Balkan Peninsula. Here you can never get bored because the city has many entertainment places to offer you. All of them are concentrated in the city centre, which is well linked with the outskirt by the public transports. Even though I live in the upper part of Thessaloniki, I have never had any kind of problem to reach downtown by bus. Here there are many people who speak English, so after all it is not so difficult to find a way to communicate with them. As I haven’t learnt Greek language yet (which is a quite complicated language), I am able to survive here by using English. The inhabitants are really friendly to the foreigners and I would underline that almost everywhere in the city you can easily get information about the important places you have to visit. As far as I have seen, there is the embarrassment of the choice, since bars (with live music), discos, pubs can easily satisfy a wide range of tastes. Thessaloniki gives you the opportunity to do whatever you like to do; you can always find a place to go for another beer, in case you really want to stay out till the morning. I dare to say that the city never
sleeps, especially in the weekends when the life becomes hectic and the streets get overcrowded by young people. I bet that it is not coincidence that Thessaloniki was chosen as the European Youth Capital for 2014. However, I have to say that in general the prices of drinks are quite expensive. On the other hand, you can get the traditional alcohol drinks such as raki, rakomelo (raki with honey and cinnamon) for an affordable price. If you want to have dinner, you can gather with your friends in some tavern and taste the delicious Greece food. For instance, I am totally in love with souvlaki and I just cannot stop eating it. This popular Greek fast food consists of small pieces of grilled meat (such as lamb, beef, chicken) on a skewer, and it has to be served on the skewer for eating with your hands, in pita bread with vegetables and sauces. I noticed that in Thessaloniki, there are plenty of fast food restaurants such as pizzerias, souvlaki shops and bakeries, which are quite cheap and most of them work twenty-four hours a day. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about when you are out at night because the city is really safe without any kind of criminality. I know that this is just my perception, but I think it is not so far away from the reality. Ultimately, I can say that I will never forget all the nights that I have spent so far in Thessaloniki.
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In Balkan Beats 4, Philipa Nokolova wrote about the project Skopje 2014, so we decided to spend there a weekend to check ourselves how it works. Do you want to know our impressions?
ince we are living in Thessaloniki, it is very easy to reach the border of FYROM. Once you pass all the controls, Skopje, the capital of the country, is 2 hours away. The first thing we can see in the country (if we do not take into account the casinos) is the old highway Alexander the Great passing through spectacular mountains. The second thing is Veles, a town in the middle of the country where the bus makes its first and only stop. Not the highway, neither this village are taking the attention needed by the government. As we are approaching the capital, the highway name changes to Mother Teresa, the 1979 Nobel Prize who was born in Skopje in a family of Albanian origin while the Ottoman Empire was ruling the Balkans. Once we enter the city there are two remarkable things (three, if we count the alphabet). The first one are the red London-style urban buses that are driving the city, they bought them because they wanted the city to be pictorial. They did it. The second one is the amount of young children that are asking for money to the foreigners that are arriving at the bus station. They even spit at you if you do not give them what they want.
SKOPJE 2014/Vol.2
Once you are in the city, you only need to follow the Vardar River and you see the great success of the project Skopje 2014. On the south bank of the river, you will see lot of cafés and beer places, while on the north bank you will see huge governmental buildings with an oldWestern-European style with the inscription on the façade of the year they were build in Roman numbers: MMIX (2009)
of national flags. In this point, you have two choices, walking a minute away to reach the “Victory” Arch or the Memorial house of Mother Teresa. Nevertheless, the old city stands on the other side of the river, where you can see another huge statue of Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, traditional shops, taverns, stone streets, mosques and the castle, with a great view of the city.
If you do not have any map, do not worry, you will not be lost. There are several maps along the river with the main touristic attraction. However, you will not see all of them, since they are under construction or planned to be constructed. Maybe next year, when Skopje 2014 is over the city will be built up.
If you keep on this side (the side of Philip, the side of the new governmental buildings, the side of the castle) you can see the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle. It looks like governmental propaganda.
Between the two sides of the city there are several bridges linking the two banks. They are very useful for both students and tourists, since you will see the statues of all the important people of the country along the history. Thinkers of the 5th century and singers of the 21st. They are all there explaining you the history of the country. If you keep on the south bank you will reach the main square of the city, where you will see the huge, massive, eccentric statue of Alexander the Great (Warrior in a Horse) surrounded by thousands
Finally, we dare you to take a picture of all the statues that you will find in the city, but it is very difficult, since every two meters there is at least one statue reminding you how many important people this country has gave birth to. After being there, it looks like the birth of a new nation, a new country and new people. They are trying to build a new, their own and original culture, tradition, identity as a way of self-fulfilment, since they are spending all the money in creating a beautiful façade of the city, but forgetting about the people, who do not care about this national narrative, but about living.
INDEPENDENCE DAY
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ρόνια Πολλά, Ελλάδα! Greek flags on every balcony, kids carrying small flags on the street and bakalarios skordalia in every single table. This is how Greece celebrates on March 25th its national day. On this day, Greeks commemorate the Greek War of Independence (1821 – 1832) against the Ottoman Empire, until Greece was recognized as an independent nation in May 1832. So, in every city there is a parade to commemorate it and although the big parade takes place in Athens, we send Sahin to Thessaloniki and Diego Chania to check how they celebrate it there. Thessaloniki The weather was very nice on the 25th. I went to check the parade because it was a very important day for Greek people since they gained their independence 193 years ago. Therefore, young and old people were walking on Leoforos Megalou Alexandrou. Children had come to watch and celebrate this festivity, their festivity. All the people were waving their flags. Soldiers, the Red Cross and different traditional groups introduced their costumes. People started to clap as the organizations were passing by. People were really excited because they know that they have to gather together in special days like this. Chania It was rainy in the very morning but soon it changed. The sun appeared to help the people of the parade carrying the flags. The most excited were the children, but even dogs were in the Market (the place where the parade was taking place) to watch the one hour parade. Army, students and traditional associations came together to celebrate the Independence Day, and even though all of the groups were very welcome, there were two remarkable moments. The first one was the breathtaking applause that people with disabilities received while they were proudly walking on the street with the help of their mentors. They are part of the society and people recognised their value. The second one was also the never-ending applause that the Cypriot student association received after shouting over and over again “Έξω Τούρκε από την Κύπρο” which in English means “Turkey, Get Out from Cyprus.”
FROZEN
BREAKING FEMALE STEREOTYPES
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Snow White was the victim of an evil woman who managed to become a queen thanks to a marriage, Mulan was unfit to fight because she was a woman, Wendy was an early version of a desperate housewife and Cinderella accepted the love of a man that was unable to identify her without the prove of a glass shoe, like if he only liked the fancy Cinderella and not the humble one.
It is quite clear then that the image Disney has given of women for the last years has been everything but the one of independent women who do not need men to fulfil their destinies. Fortunately, two of the last movies from the studio founded by Walt Disney have changed that message: both Brave (Pixar) and Frozen introduce strong feminine characters that reject the interference of men in their business and lives. More specifically, it is the last one, premiered in 2013, that has completely changed the image of women in Disney world. Placed in the fictional kingdom of Arandelle, Frozen introduces us two sisters: the princesses Anna and Elsa. Elsa is the oldest one and she was born with the gift (or the curse) of the magic of ice, a
gift that puts in risk her sweet and adorable sister, Anna. Forced to lock herself in order to avoid hurting the people she loves, Elsa succeeded her parents in the throne after their death in a tragic accident. This fact, a young woman ruling a kingdom on her own, is without any doubt a great step forward on the narrative of the princess tales that Disney usually releases. Elsa does not need to get married with any man in order to be crowned, she is the rightful queen and she bears the power all by herself. Moreover, during her crowning day ball, she gives a statement that makes clear to the audience that they are dealing with a feminist character, and perhaps a feminist film: her sister Anna introduces her to Hans, a
handsome prince from a far away land, and tells her that they are getting married, she asserts that she cannot marry a man she has just met. An advice that princesses like Aurora from Sleeping Beauty would have found useful in their lives. However, without any doubt, the most empowering moment of the whole film is the musical number “Let it go�. Elsa, alone in the mountains and after cursing her kingdom into a sudden winter, accepts herself and leaves behind all her repressed feelings. She finally embraces herself and proves that she can do things that are beautiful with a power that she thought it was a curse from what she had been always told. Furthermore, at the end, Elsa makes it clear for us: a woman
can be both strong and sensitive without losing any authority. Anna, on the other hand, her younger sister, plays a more conventional role in Disney stories: she is the beloved child, the sweet and funny talkative princess with a (extremely) clumsy touch. Anna is the conventional hero of the story, the one that the little girls around the world will feel identified with. She wants to travel, to live adventures and to have an amazing love story, but she is not going to sit down and wait for it, she is kind of a proactive woman. Apart from that, she does not hesitate and she decides to go after her sister in order to save both her and the kingdom with the help (sometimes useless) of Kristoff and Olaf, a snowman who is one of the funniest sidekicks of Disney history. Definitely, Frozen is a great step forward for Disney regarding women. Its characters are strong enough to face powerful men, but that does not mean that they behave like men (like Mulan or even Merida from Brave do). Maybe Frozen will not only be remembered like the highest-grossing nonsequel animated film worldwide, but like the one that started a new era for Disney and its treatment of women.
“I am neither a man nor a woman but an author” Charlotte Brontë
#ReadWomen2014
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very New Year´s Eve we are making different wish lists in order to start with a positive mood the New Year, we are sending Christmas to our beloveds and preparing lot of food to share with our families. In accordance with this tradition, the writer and illustrator Joanna Walsh decided to create New Years bookmarks with a list of female authors on the back and send them to her friends. This idea came up after reading some initiatives of reading more books written by women. The bookmark initiative was a huge success and her friends asked her to publish the name of the 250 most important female writers. So, she decided to create a hashtag on Twitter where everyone could say the name of their favourite female writers. This hashtag is
#ReadWomen2014. This initiative consists of making visible the work of female writers all around the world from all the different ages under that hashtag. The main target is to promote literature written by women, which has been underrated for so many centuries for the patriarchal society. According to some reports, even though women read more than men do, women read mostly books written by men and Mrs. Walsh decided to change this habit, first identifying the problems surrounding female writers and readers, and secondly supporting this project. Nevertheless, the main idea of this revolution is not to give notoriety to random female names. Joanna Walsh is also very critical with the editorials, since they are publishing
novels written by women under girly covers, even though the content is not at all “pink”. In addition, she also ask for the readers responsibility, because since they are the ones who are reading, they should be aware of what they are doing and feel free to choose whatever they want to read and whoever author they want to read. Mrs. Walsh also says that it is very difficult for a woman to succeed in this industry, since unless you have won any recognised award, you are going to be invisible. Last year (2013) three of the “lucky” women were Alice Munro (Noble Prize in Literature), Lydia Davis (Man Booker International Prize “the brevity and precision of poetry”) and Eleanor Catton (Man Booker Prize for Fiction). Although there is still a long way to equality on this topic, every revolution starts with small actions and if you are tenacious, you can place the women writers in the place they belong. If you want to follow Joanna Walsh on Twitter, feel free to look for her on @badaude Moreover, lot of people heard about this initiative and they want to join it, and if you are interested in participating in the world wide universe that Joanna Walsh has created, we can show you five ways to get involved. For instance, in Edinburg there is the Looking Glass Books and they created the “#readwomen2014 book club” where they share their experiences reading books written by women. Another way to participate is “tweeting” the reviews of the books you are reading under #reviewwomen2014. It is a good way to find the reviews of the books you want to read. The third point is taking advantage of the social media: share quotes on Facebook status, tweet images, pin it... Spread the word. The next step is to talk to your local bookshops and ask the owners to display some initiatives to involve the readers and ordinary people. And last, but not least, follow @readwomen2014 and #readwomen2014, there you will find all you need to celebrate this women year, in literary terms. Coming back to the topic of the awards, we said that three women were awarded in 2013, but only 13 women in total (since 1901) have been awarded with the Nobel
Prize in Literature. Although it may look like a small amount, it is the second category after Nobel Prize in Peace. As a reminder, the Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded “in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction.” So, under this statement, the 13 awarded women are: Alice Munro (2013), Herta Muller (2009), Doris Lessing (2007), Elfriede Jelinek (2004), Wislawa Szymborska (1996), Toni Morrison (1993), Nadine Gordimer (1991), Nelly Sachs (1966), Gabriela Mistral (1945, Pearl S Buck (1938), Sigrid Undset (1928), Grazia Delada (1926) and Selma Lagerlöf (1909). Although only 13 women were awarded with the Nobel Prize, we are seeing several changes as for instance, in the last 10 years four women received this award (almost half of the total awards of the decade). Nevertheless, it is good to point out that, although it should exist an affirmative action, also we should take into account the quality of the work, not only the gender. And even Elfride Jelinek wondered if she had been awarded the prize mainly for “being a woman”, and suggested that among authors writing in German, Peter Handke, whom she praises as a “living classic”, would have been a more worthy recipient. This is just an award. An award that only one person can win in one year, so it is good to remind that the most important thing is the readers responsibility. We should be able to choose what we want to read taking into account all factors. And here it comes the affirmative action, which is the policy of providing special opportunities for, and favouring members of, a disadvantaged group who suffer discrimination, in this case women writers. I will join this initiative because I believe in the cause, will you?
ClaraZetkins Everybody knows, or at least should know, that on March 8th is International Women´s Day. However, there are only few people who know who are the reasons for celebrating this festivity. Here you can find the story of Clara Zetkin, the first woman, along with Rosa Luxemburg, who fought for women´s rights. International Women’s Day is a festivity that tries to focus on respect, appreciation and love towards women regarding women’s economic, political, and social achievements. Even though it started as a Socialist political event, the International Day blended in the culture of many countries. Nevertheless, in some regions, this festivity has been evolved in a different way; today it has lost its political flavour and became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way similar to a mixture of Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Her biggest success was the organization on 19 March
1911 of the first International Women’s Day. Delegates (100 women from 17 countries) agreed with the idea as a strategy to promote equal rights, including suffrage, for women. The following year, on March 19, 1911, IWD was marked for the first time, by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Women demanded the right to vote and to hold public office and also protested against employment sex discrimination. However, there is big story under the celebration of the International Women´s Day (currently, every March 8th), and this story has a female name: Clara Zetkin. She was a German Marxist theorist and activist who fought actively for women’s rights. She was born in 1857 in Germany and even though she studied to become a teacher, she developed strong relations with the women’s movement and the Labour movement in Germany. She had a very active role in the German politics as she took part of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Communist Party (KPD), which she even represented in the Reichstag during the Weimar Republic. When Bismarck banned the socialist activity in Germany in 1878, she had to leave to Zurich and then went into exile in Paris, where she played an important role in the foundation of the Socialist International socialist group. Zetkin was very interested in women’s politics, and among her actions we can
find the fight for equal opportunities and women’s suffrage. The best examples are the development of the social-democratic women´s movement in Germany and the editing of the SPD women’s newspaper Die Gleicheit (Equality). In addition, she became in 1907 the leader of the newly founded “Women’s Office” at the SPD. She was also very sensitive with the war topics and so she organised an international socialist women’s anti-war conference in Berlin in 1915. However, due to her anti-war opinions, she was arrested several times during the I World War. Among her political successes, Zetkin was one of the co-founders of the Spartacist League and the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany. In 1919, Zetkin also joined The KDP and represented the party from 1920 to 1933 in the Reichstag. One of the most special moments of her life was the interview with Lenin on “The Women’s Question” in 1920. Nevertheless, she was still active while playing a fundamental role in German and international politics since Zetkin was a member of the KPD’s central office, she was a member of the party’s central committee and she was also a member of the executive committee of the Communist International. Then, in 1925, she was elected president of the German left-wing solidarity organisation Rote Hilfe and in August 1932, as the chairwoman of the Reichstag by seniority, she was entitled
to give the opening address and used it to connect workers in the struggle against fascism. This huge career well deserved some recognition and, among her awards, she got the Order of Lenin in 1932 and the Order of the Red Banner in 1927. Zetkin was memorialized on the ten banknote and twenty mark coin of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (East Germany). In 1954, the GDR established the Clara Zetkin Medal (ClaraZetkin-Medaille) to honor women particularly active for women’s rights. When Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party took over power, the Communist Party of Germany was banned, following the Reichstag fire in 1933 so Zetkin went into exile for the last time, this time to the Soviet Union dying near Moscow in 1933. She was buried by the wall of the Kremlin in Moscow.
MariaFernandes
ON BEHALF OF THE VISUAL
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Art is a way of expression that some can deal with verve. Maria Fernandes is part of this. Through her young gaze, she invited us to share some of her life’s snippets. Let’s focus on this French artist.
Maria Fernandes- 21 years old- is a photographer and painter based in Strasbourg. Capturing life with lightness, faithfully adapting poetic thoughts in silver films or digital shots by the help of Photoshop or not, Maria’s immersed us in her world filled with travels in the literal sense as in the figurative one, along with colours in harmony with an oneiric overall. Moreover, her reality in black and white is sinking. ‘’Women in the centre of everything, in the centre of the firmament, in the centre of the life’’ How graceful are the feminine body curves. We can we find much poetry in them. This fact is understood by Maria Fernandes. Therefore, her work is mainly lined up on women. As she says herself: “I try to bring a fantastic and psychological dimension for my pictures.” The liability of this statement can be seen in this picture brightened by paint and abstract forms. Because... what is the nude reality without a little bit of fancy? She called this work Cotton Field because of “the softness of the colours, the wave´s rough movement, and still the symbolism of the feminine.” For this work, Maria explains: “The basis of the picture is a silver photography developed in a large-frame, then I painted on it with some gouache and I took a picture of the result with my digital camera to do the latter retouches with Photoshop.” So yes, women, but not only, as you can see in the second photography, unveiled to our eyes the magnificent cathedral Our Lady of Strasbourg (Notre-Dame de Strasbourg) in Alsace. Victor Hugo branded it as: “Prodigy of the gigantic and of the delicate” (“prodige du gigantesque et du délicat”). She finds her inspiration in her everyday life, but “above all in the music, in the fantastic movies, and lately in this artist from London (United Kingdom), that I discovered last year, Lia Melia, who uses an unusual process for her work, cooking on aluminium some solvents and powder pigment. For some of these works, the result is a perfect blend between the marine grace and the ardency of the fire.’’ To find the works and inspirations of Maria Fernandes, you can visit her: Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/78947702@N07 Tumblr : www.paonsfeather.tumblr.com Her Blog : www.bribesdevies.blogspot.fr
GIRL BANDS: NOW AND THEN
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Think about women in the industry of music. I am sure you have in your mind many solo artists like Madonna or Aretha Franklin or front women of bands like Blondie, but how many bands formed only by women can you name? The Supremes, Spice Girls, Destiny’s Child, Girls Aloud… and most of them are vocal bands, bands where we do not know and usually we do not see who plays the music and only the singers matter to the audience.
irl-band was a term born in the 60’s to describe these soul and R&B bands that were born thanks to recording houses like Motown, with great voices and look-alike girls. The Supremes are probably the best example of this trend: Diana Ross and her companions achieved 12 number one singles in Billboard Hot 100 and her clothing style was imitated by many women not only in the United States. With the arrival of the psychedelia and glam rock of the following decades, this concept of girl band declined and more bands with only female musicians were popular, but never at the same level as their male colleagues. The Go-Go’s, probably the most popular one in the 80’s, with more than 7 million albums sold worldwide were the first allfemale band who wrote and performed their songs to top the albums chart in the US. Later on, it was the time of the R&B as we know it and bands like TLC and their
natural heirs, Destiny’s Child, reigned in America during the 90’s. They were bands mainly formed by attractive Afro-American women, with stunning vocal and dancing skills, who took advantage of the pre-eminence of the video clips during this decade being omnipresent in channels like MTV.
bands. The Brits had their girl bands, Atomic Kitten and Girls Aloud, but they never achieved such a huge worldwide success as the Spice Girls did.
Despite this fact, the 90’s were the decade of a British girl band, Spice Girls. After years of American hegemony in this field, the United Kingdom reacted with the creation of the Spice Girls, until now the most successful girl band ever. Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton, Melanie C and Melanie Brown were the five women selected through casting that led the Girl Power of the 90’s. Selected lyrics with feminist content and a studied image made them worldwide popular and they sold over 55 millions of copies. Just like that.
Until now, with the exception of the rock bands of the 70’s and 80’s, all the girl bands shared the concern of the image and their members were usually beautiful and attractive women. Women have been many times slaves of their image and of the Western beauty canon that has been imposed for decades. This situation achieved a point where the quality of the artists is not important as long as she (it may also happen, in a lower proportion, with male artists) is beautiful and meets the standard of the magazines covers. Does Victoria Beckham stand up from the crowd for any other reason that is not her image? If you have heard her singing, I am sure you know the answer.
Nevertheless, Spice Girls did not last for long, maybe dying from their success and leaving the already mentioned Destiny’s Child as the queens of the girl
Hopefully, the last years this panorama started to change. It already did in the late 90’s with Sugababes, a girl band that defied the stereotypes in several fields. Nevertheless,
it was just a mere illusion that did not repeated until the arrival of new bands in the late 00’s and the 10’s, that are really challenging what we thought of women in music. Those Dancing Days is an already split up band that for six years from 2005 toured around Europe with their twee pop. They sang, they composed and they performed their songs without paying so much attention to their image. Even though Those Dancing Days were popular in the alternative press of Europe, they did not achieve such a public success, not like the girl band that is rocking the world right now, Haim. Formed by three sisters (Este Arielle, Danielle Sari and Alana Mychal), this band is on the cover and on the mouth of every music magazine and radio station in both America and Europe. They claim that their influence comes from bands like Destiny’s Child and TLC and singers like Mariah Carey, but their sound has been constantly compared to that of Fleetwood Mac with R&B touches. And that is not the only thing that makes them different: their image, even obviously studied, does not follow the standards of the fashion industry. They are fashionable in their own way, they use make up as they like and they do not seem to care that much about having the stereotypical girl band look. Maybe it is just a beginning, but it seems that Haim have not only arrived to entertain their fans with their music but to change the image and role of women in the music industry. It was about Goddamn time.
ATHANASIA LAZARIDOU
A RAY OF HOPE FOR WOMEN IN TIMES OF THE CRISIS
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Nowadays everyone is talking about the crisis, about difficulties on the labour market. By the way, what is the situation of women on the labour market today? I met Athanasia Lazaridou, the responsible for Counselling Services at the ERGANI Centre in Sykies (Thessaloniki) who patiently answered all my curious questions. Please, get to know this strong and committed woman and learn about her work, plus be inspired by some innovative and surprising ideas that can help women, but also men, to cope more easily with the crisis.
Kris: Athanasia, thank you for your time that you dedicate with this interview to our magazine. First of all our readers would like to know who you are and what you do in ERGANI and what ERGANI does. Athanasia: I am Athanasia Lazaridou and I am a counsellor and the responsible for counselling services at the ERGANI centre. We help women who want to find work or who are willing to be entrepreneurs. These are our two main fields we work in. Kris: Can you tell our readers when ERGANI was born and how the organisation looked like back then? Athanasia: It all started in 1991. In those days it was an informal, lose
structure. Sociologists and psychologists from the district wanted to create a centre of support for women. It was hard for them to work for equality. First, they went to the mayor of Neapoli-Sykies. He was really understanding and
welcoming and supported them. That is why the place where ERGANI is situated has been free for us for 23 years until now. We only pay the electricity and the calls. So, until today, our first partner is the municipality.
Kris: How and when did your work for ERGANI start? Athanasia: Back then, me and another girl, who came twice a week, were the only ones in the office. We and our director were responsible for the things going on at ERGANI. Further counsellors would come for appointments with the beneficiaries. Those were difficult times. Kris: You were a small team and you had a lot to solve alone. Athanasia: Yes. In the beginning, we just had a few appointments during the week. Apart from that, we had appointments with people from the private sector, too. Now, after about 13 or 14 years we are much bigger. But it was a good start. It all
started with “NOW” (“New Opportunities for Women), one of our first projects. The counsellors informed the beneficiaries about projects. Those of them who had brilliant ideas were funded by the European Union. Then, there is “diktio”, networking for entrepreneurs. It was the beginning of our commitment concerning networking. Some of the women who started with that have their own business till now. Kris: Networking is so important nowadays in times of difficulties on the labour market. Can you give us an example how you can connect people at ERGANI? Athanasia: Let’s say, a woman has a business connected to preschool for example. Other beneficiaries who are experienced in education and need a job in a kindergarten can get in touch with them via ERGANI. But I have to admit, nowadays it is much harder. Kris: What have changed? Athanasia: The same entrepreneurs nowadays do not have the possibility to employ anymore. They try to survive. They have to pay high taxes even if they are in a bad situation. But it is their only chance. So they keep their business going. Kris: How do you collaborate with entrepreneurs nowadays in times of crisis? Athanasia: If they do not have any work for others they still commit themselves to the networking. They give or take part in workshops in our centre. Kris: Talking about surviving. How can you, as a counsellor,
and your colleagues survive? Athanasia: Through the projects launched by the EU, the government or both in collaboration. It depends on the year. There are big projects about minorities, single mothers and long-term unemployment. We propose projects to beneficiaries and apply for them. Some of them are approved. We get some money to pay the counsellors, the calls and the electricity. Kris: What do I have to do if I want to be one of your beneficiaries? Athanasia: You can call us and then have your first meeting with us on a Monday, which is also our Open Information Day. Then you are already a member and can take all the services we offer. The counsellor will give you advice. As I am the responsible of all the counsellors, on Mondays I am here in order to listen and talk to you from 5 to 6. And as a member you will have your own file. Kris: So, as a member, I have a profile, or a file that no other person can have access to? Athanasia: No one can have any insight in those personal data. You will feel really safe. Those files have not been opened for 23 years now. Our work is based on trust. It is important that you can release everything here while talking to me or one of my colleagues. Kris: How can I imagine those appointments? What would we be talking about? Athanasia: You will tell me what you have in mind, what your targets are. Maybe you need psychological
or legal support. Maybe you want to open your own business. According to your needs we will also decide if we will consult our external members, lawyers, sociologists, social workers, economists and psychologists, so that in the end we can find the best solution for you. Kris: You are talking about partners and members. Who is involved in your collaboration? Athanasia: The municipality, the Professional Chamber of Thessaloniki, the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, the Exporter’s Association of Northern Greece, the Development Agency of Eastern Thessaloniki, the Centre for Vocational Training and the Network of Women Entrepreneurs of ERGANI (“diktyo”). For three years, also The University of Western Macedonia has been a member now. Kris: Can you give an example for how you work together? Athanasia: We have a list of experienced mentors. They offer their knowledge for free. Young students for instance
learn theoretically how to open a business. In the end, they can go further with their fresh ideas. Kris: Are young people courageous enough to create their own business nowadays? Athanasia: Nowadays even if you grew up in a family with some entrepreneurial background, it is more complicated than in the past. People have to be creative and overcome obstacles. Kris: What is the situation like in the municipality? How can ERGANI help in the worst case? Athanasia: I think the situation is really hard right now, but not only here. That is why we created a project for people who are under the wage limit. There are people, families without food, electricity or water. We created six structures with the target that people can save money and feel supported. Kris: Can you please give us an example? How can we imagine those structures? Athanasia: We provide food for families. It might be humiliating to wait in a long queue. That is why we arrange appointments. Social
workers are there. And every person or family has their turn. Apart from that, we have free social gardens. They have to take care of the cultivable area during a three-year employment and can therefore get carrots and potatoes free and have a nice talk with the other gardeners. A new structure is the Time Bank. People exchange voluntarily services without receiving money. Example: You need a babysitter and afterwards you return the favour by painting the babysitter’s living room. We even have doctors and hairdressers among the about 150 beneficiaries. Kris: Do you also have volunteers working for ERGANI? Athanasia: Yes, we do. Two are really supporting us right now. About ten or twelve are in close contact with us. They call and want to be informed about actions. Two years ago, we had a team of 25 volunteers. It is very difficult. Kris: So it seems that it is difficult to manage the work with so many volunteers. Athanasia: Yes, definitely. We have so many projects. If I am going to work with a team and I will explain things, it must be the same team from the beginning to the end. We do not have the time to repeat all the information for newcomers. Another problem is that at the start
not everybody is aware of the meaning of volunteering. Some of them wanted to find a job. Kris: How can you overcome this problem? How can help youngsters who want to find work? Athanasia: We have a project called Youth Epoca. There are people under 30 years old from Spain, Belgium and Greece. We had a meeting in Madrid in March about how to train people in order to enter the labour market. ERGANI already has a team of volunteers. Now we have another project. It is LMM (“Let’s Move the Market”). By the way, the coordinator is from Italy. Eight countries are invloved. It is about youth problems but also innovation and actions. We create tools for entrepreneurship. Our proposals are uploaded so that the youngsters can find it online and get some help. Those are two really important projects. Kris: I can feel that all this is not only your job, but your passion. Athanasia: Indeed, it is. I am in love with my job. Kris: I am happy that there are people like you who make us feel hopeful and courageous. Thank you Athanasia, for your time, for this really joyful interview. For more information: ergani.gr
PRESPA lakes
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ast time we talked about a big city, so now it is time for some nature! Open spaces, pure air and green landscape are waiting for you in the region of Prespa where you can find the Prespa
lakes! Go to the KTEL Makedonia Bus Station of Thessaloniki and take a bus whether to Florina (tickets both-way 24€, trip duration 2h45m –via Edessa- or 2h20m –via Egnatia), whether to Kastoria (tickets both way 30€, trip duration 2h30m). Once you arrive to one of those cities, the most common and successful way to reach the Prespa lakes is hitchhiking! Do not be shy! People in that area are very friendly and they are used to see young people on the wayside looking for a ride. Prespa is the name of two lakes located in the northwestern corner of Greece at more than 800m above sea level, surrounded by mountains and forest and shared by Greece, Albania and FYROM. This is the reason why it has always been a melting pot of people and cultures. Prespa does not only mean beautiful flora and fauna (bears, wolfs, chamois and wild boars), but also history. One of the most famous monuments in the area is the byzantine Basilica of Agios Achillios, located on the island of Agios Achillios, in the Small Prespa Lake. Meanwhile, the shores of the Big Prespa Lake host decorated churches and monasteries dating from late middle ages. Finally, the best way to enjoy the place is just sitting on the shore of the lake with a cap, a scarf and a pair of gloves and just watching the mountains in front of you while breathing the freezing air.
CRETE IS DA PLACE, beaches!
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When you think of Greece, the first image that comes to your mind is the thousands of kilometres of line coast and the thousands of islands that Greece owns. So, now that summer is coming, let´s move to the biggest one. Let´s move to Crete (Κρήτη).
rete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, and even though the biggest city and capital is Heraklion, we recommend you to stay in Chania. This cute city is the second largest and the capital of the regional unit of Chania, in the west of Crete. Accommodation In Balkan Beats 4, Ignacio Prados Ansede wrote an article about airbnb, an easy way to look for accommodation. Nevertheless, if you go there without any plan, you will find many “Rooms for Rent” or even “Rooms to Let” easily, most of them in the old city. Follow the signals and you will find plenty of places. The problem is that you will lose lot of time by searching for a place to stay and time is money! Chania As we said before, Chania
is an extremely cute city. In addition, it is very young and lively and all the narrow streets of the old town are hiding different treasures. It is a city that pours all its charm into the sea and you will feel from the very beginning the salty smell of the sea, the calm of the Cretan lifestyle and you will feel lighten up by the lighthouse that welcomes all ships into the Venetian harbour. The Venetian harbour divides the city in three parts. The Old Town, that pays attention to the port; the West side, that has lost the Cretan character; and the East side, more quiet. The East side is not designed for tourists, so it is easier to see natives eating in the taverns, playing tennis on the beach or playing “rembetika” sitting in the windows looking at the sea. It is up to you to decide how to enjoy the city. If you are going during the low season, you may find
snow in the mountains so go to the lighthouse and take a look at the mountains that are behind the city. You will feel the heat of the sun and the soft wind coming with the waves while watching snow on the top of the mountains. This is why Crete is so amazing! One of the most important things when you are travelling is finding a good place for eating and drinking. Do not worry; Chania is crowded with good places for this essential need. As soon as you step on the Venetian harbour you will find lot of taverns serving different kind of fish, mousaka and different special offers. Nevertheless, this kind of places has lost the traditional identity. Our first recommendation is Iordanis (Apokoronou 24, T). This is the most famous place where you can find the traditional Bougatsa and it is also the oldest one! Take into account that they only open
in the morning, so go there for your breakfast. (www. iordanis.gr) Next one is “To Pigadi Tou Tourkou”. The most amazing thing about that place is that a mixture of cultures. Venetian building, food from North Africa, British owner and Turkish waiters. You will love it. Nevertheless, our biggest surprise was the “Black Sheep.” They had very good food, served in big quantities without losing quality, good price and live music. Also another surprise was the Irish Konor, since during the happy hour (every day from 18h to 20h) a pint costs 2.5€ Rent a car Once you are used to the city, it is time to move to another places of the island. Although there are good bus connections between the cities, the best way to move from one place to another in the island is renting a car. You can find small cars for 20€ per day. The main problems here are the roads and directions. The streets in the cities and villages are very narrow and there are usually cars parked in the middle of the street, so you will have to zip from one leg to the other. As soon as you get to the mountains, the roads are losing width and they are usually unidirectional, so pay attention while you are driving and take care of the signals. Although you can find both the names in Greek and English, they are hidden between the bushes. That is one thing Crete should be
aware. Finally, if you want to drive as a local, be aware that they are expecting from you to drive like them. What does it mean? It means that you will have to drive on the shoulder of the road, even though you have space in your own way, just to make the overtaking easier for everyone. Elafonisi, rosy sand paradise Now that you have a car, head to Elafonisi, the best beach not only in Crete but also in Greece according to Tripadvisor. Isolated from the civilisation (two hours away from Chania in an impossible road), its main characteristics are the goats that you will find on the way, the pink sand and the crystal water. The shells are the responsible of the pink sand. If you are going during the low season, you will find it empty of tourists. Just for you. The problem in summer is that it can be overcrowded. Nevertheless, it is totally worth it. Goats, goats and more goats As we have said, you will find lot of goats in your way to everywhere so try not to disturb them, they are part of the place and plus, you will appreciate the cheese. Retymno Even though it is smaller than Chania it is cuter because the Old Town and the New Town matches perfectly, you cannot say that the new part does not fit with the character of the city. The only problem is that all the hotels in the beach side do
not fit with the style of the city. It has also a Venetian harbour and a Lighthouse in the entrance, but first of all, climb into the fortress that is taking care of the city. Our best place for eating is next to the mosque, very cheap and tasteful. Kournas Lake Just 15 km before reaching Rethymno (from Chania) you will find the huge beach of Georgioupoli. There, turn into the mountains and you will find the Kournas Lake, an amazing calm place for a rest. You can swim and take small boats to travel from one place to another. Tripadvisor Crete is paying now too much attention to tourism and they are paying too much attention to Tripadvisor. Although we consider it a good way to have feedback and to plan the trip, you can feel betrayed since every single shop has a Tripadvisor certification and if feels like you cannot trust them. These are the Tips for western Crete. It is a big island and you need more than two weeks to get to know the whole island. In next editions, we will talk about the East (where the capital and Knossos stand) and the unknown and virgin South and Samaria Gorge. My personal recommendation, find a place with a great terrace and blue chairs facing the sea and enjoy the Cretan lifestyle!
RANDOM THOUGHTS, RANDOM PEOPLE
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This was my first participation in a Youth in Action project and I have to admit that it was a unique experience. What made it so special? Was it because of the participants or the organizing team? Was it because of the nature of the project? Or maybe a combination of all? Well, I really cannot tell.
understood from the first moment of the project that it was going to be a great one, but I only realized it while I was trying to look back in my memories. I tried to find some special moments to point out that none of them stood out. There were only random thoughts in my head just because the project was pure... awesomeness (Ok I may exaggerate a little bit!). So in the rest of the article I will try to put my thoughts about the project in an order. The title of the project was “Taking Part in European Elections” and it took place in Agros, a small village in the middle of the beautiful island of Cyprus. The workshop lasted for 5 days and the main objectives were to learn how the European Union works and especially the European Parliament, to find out why young people move towards abstention from European Elections and to offer solutions on how to promote participation in the upcoming elections from a youth perspective. During the project, I had the opportunity to meet lot of people, exchange ideas and have
a lot of fun with 40 young people from six different countries (Cyprus, Slovenia, Spain, Italy, Romania and Greece). The first day of the program started with some “know each other better” games, organized by Vasilis Christofi and the rest of the team who were all great persons, which I loved eventually. After that, we had to take an interview from another participant, draw their portrait and then present it to others. I had so much fun that morning by trying to draw the portrait of a friend, whose name in this case was Stella (I am very sorry Stella). In the evening, we started to get deeper into the objectives of the project and we discussed about youth participation in European elections. It was really interesting to see 40 people having their own point of view on the subject but all eventually agree in some certain topics. This was a great example for me on how people from different countries and cultures can eventually communicate and work together!
The following days, we continued discussing topics concerning EU and European elections. We also visited the Parliament of Cyprus, in Nicosia, where we had the opportunity to meet with Mrs. Eleni Theocharous, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), and MEP candidate Mr. Charis Polykarpou, who gave us their interesting points of view and beliefs about EU and especially the youth! One of the greatest moments of the project was the simulation of the European Parliament! Each one of us picked a member state of the EU randomly and we had to support “our” country’s position about immigration policies. It was so funny pretending to be Malta’s MEP! I look forward to do it again very soon! Well, I told you we had so much fun but until now you have only read about meetings and discussions! Actually, we had fun while discussing, having dinner and even while fulfilling our tasks. In addition, I will never forget the nights I spent there! Personally, I had never had
such a good time with people I knew only for a few days! I feel like I want to thank them all for these moments! I remember especially the intercultural nights when every team had to present their country and to bring some typical products from their countries. All teams made great presentations but Italians were the best I think. Those guys are crazy! I made a presentation about the city that I live and, more specifically, about Thessaloniki 2014 European Youth Capital, where I am a volunteer. I am so excited
about this experience and I have learnt many things by being a volunteer there, things I have not even imagined until then! So, will all of those experiences have an impact on my life? Did I gain anything from my participation? Of course! First of all, I gained many new friends who I already miss. Secondly, I learned to communicate and work with our fellow Europeans and I understood that even if we come from different countries and cultures in the end of the day we all are the same.
The other thing that I learned is that my vote has power and if every European citizen used his or her power, the EU would be a better place for everyone! Finally, I gained a new belief about the future of the EU. I will never forget my participation in this project and I hope to visit Cyprus again! In the begging of the project, we were 40 random people from different countries and when we left, we were Javier, Francesca, Charis, Corina and Bojan! So, that is the reason why this project was so successful and unique.