Balkan Beats 37 - European Cultural Heritage

Balkan Beats

European Cultural Heritage

#37

FREE PRESS

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

Editorial

The 37th Edition European Cultural Heritage

by Anna Żukowska

Cultural

heritage is a complex, multi-faceted concept and, like culture itself, it is immeasurable and difficult to define clearly. It is above all a testimony to the way in which successive generations have lived. Heritage is also the landscape transformed by man. Thus, heritage can be considered as the history of places and the people who live in these places.

of science, but also of journalism and politics. This does not mean, however, that the conceptual framework of the term is universally agreed and unequivocally understood; there is no single definition of the term accepted by all.

In the 37th issue of Balkan Beats, our volunteers share their definitions of cultural heritage through their articles and photo galleries. There are not The term ‘’cultural heritage’’ now appears more only references to regional dishes and dances and more frequently in the language not only but also to language and travel in Europe.

Balkan Beats, a part of Balkan Hotspot

Balkan

Hotspot is the European Solidarity stant changes in the Balkan and Eastern EuroCorps (ESC) of “United Societies of Balkans”, a pean region and under the need for the creation NGO founded in Thessaloniki in 2008 by a team of a better social environment. of active young people.

Key areas of the organization’s activities conThe Balkans and Eastern Europe are geograph- cern the defense of human rights, the organizaical regions with many cultural features which tion of youth exchanges and training courses, offer a broad spectrum of actions and youth which will bring young people from Balkans and involvement initiatives. The organization was Europe together, the organization of local educacreated as a response to the pressure of con- tional seminars and multimedia production.

United Societies of Balkans is a Non Governmental Organization, founded in Thessaloniki in 2008, by a team of active young people. The organization was created as a response to the pressure of constant changes in the Balkan and Eastern European region and under the need for the creation of a better social environment. Key areas of the organization’s activities concern the defense of human rights, the organization of youth exchanges and training courses, which will bring young people from Balkans and Europe together, the organization of local educational seminars and multimedia pro- duction(webradio, videos, documentaries).

Main goals of the organization • To promote the values of non formal le- aring,volunteering, active citizenship and democracy for the creation of a better future for European youth.

• To promote human rights, solidarity and respect for diversity.

• To build healthy cooperation bridges between countries of the Balkan area and that of Eastern Europe with the rest of Europe.

• To locate and multiply the special cultural attributes of our societies.

• The break down of prejudices and stereo- types between Balkan countries.

UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS, NGO

9, Alamanas str., Agios Pavlos, Thessaloniki

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

www.balkanhotspot.org

This magazine is distributed free of charge.

Tel./Fax: +30 2310 215 629 | www.usbngo.gr

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Contents

Contents Volunteers’ Experiences

Europe

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04

Travelling through Europe for free

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Ukraine as a member of the EU - realistic or a dream scenario?

Dancing: An international language How I learnt Greek (in 6 months)

Culture

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Mix Fix

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Simone de Beauvoir: one life

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People as heritage keepers

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The faith in us - Turkish superstitions

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The Politics of Fairytales

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National dances hide character and history

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How is Greek and European Culture interconnected

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Effects of Covid-19 on Museums and Culture

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Polish traditional food - to eat or not to eat ?

© Dani Blesa Sala & Diogo Vilarinho

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Volunteers’ Experiences

Dancing: An international language

The history of Pontic Greeks

by Lola Itzá López Lungo

Does anyone remember how beautiful those times were when you didn’t have to wear masks,

there were no restrictions in shops, restaurants, all shops, and entertainment centers were open, and that you could travel everywhere without testing or checking if you are vaccinated? At the moment, I feel as if the above-mentioned examples were fiction, some imaginary reality. The coronavirus has changed the entire world and the lives of millions of people. Due to the pandemic, people became afraid of going out, going into the city, meeting friends, and a significant part of the population either lost their jobs or changed their working mode to remote work. I, as a student and volunteer, belong to this group because I have been studying online for almost two years, so I think that I have some experience in remote work that I would like to share.

The pandemic has had an effect on volunteers as well. Helping refugees is much more difficult when social distancing is required because teamwork and communication is heavily affected.

The Pontian are a Greek ethnic group that used to live by the Black Sea, in the mountainous region in the north of Anatolia peninsula (now Turkey). Vasilis Gioranidis, history and dance teacher, Pontian himself, explains that the first evidence of them moving to that region goes back to the 8th century BC. Since it was a highly isolated place, they barely had contact with other civilizations through history. This is clearly perceived in their dialect, which remained close to Ancient Greek.

Nevertheless,

due to the “ethnic cleansing” programme of the Young Turks starting in 1915, Pontian Greeks were forced to leave their land so as to survive the extremely violent persecution they were enduring. This migration turned definitive with the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923.

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Let’s take the time to imagine how it would

be to leave the place you grew up in. The hard decision to say goodbye to the place your ancestors have been living for centuries, knowing that you do not have the choice either to stay or to come back. You can’t take with you the flowers nor the fruits or the smells. With the minimum of material belongings, you start your journey.

This is how, luckily, you get into a ship with your fellows. After weeks of travelling in the sea, you arrive to land at last! An island in the Aegean Sea, since now you are a refugee and you must quarantine. Still, when your feet touch solid ground again, the landscapes have changed.

Now the trees come in different shapes and shades. All the group’s hearts are longing for home… Until someone takes out a lyra. The music and the voice surround you as if you were

Volunteers’ Experiences

inside of a cloud. Everybody makes a circle, holds hands, and starts to dance.

20, 40, 50 years old… Almost all of the dances This is the event that remained etched in the are performed in a circle. People stay together, memory of Pontian Greeks. Through dance, as a unified group sharing their roots. people express and mark the feelings coming with every life situation: joy, sorrow, marriage, Dancing carries traditions, it is a bridge beexile. Today, particularly in the Pontian case, tween the past and the present. Nowadays it is the predilected way of showing love and we dance songs that might have been written affection, especially to the family members (te- centuries ago. The Pontian case is enlightening in that matter: dance is a part of identity. Here meteron, “ours” in Pontian dialect).

I would like to add a little reflection. National movements make us believe that we are es“Dancing carries traditions, it is a sentially different and should stay apart from bridge between the past and one another, since our differences would be inthe present. ” compatible. The other is perceived as a danger.

Yet when in the 1990s, Pontian people could go Indeed, dancing traditional Pontian dances back to the mountains, they experienced that is very important since childhood. As Vasilis their dance moves were highly similar to the keeps on developing, usually in Pontian dance Turkish dances of the region. And so, beyond groups you will be able to find dancers from 5 to language and religion, they danced together.

The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

In 2003, the UNESCO adopted the Convention

Pontic Greek family in Trabzon

© Wikipedia

for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. This includes, for example, “oral traditions and expressions”, “knowledge and practices concerning nature” and of course, “performing arts”. I believe it is possible to say these, in all different shapes, were born with humanity, since they are part of what we call “culture” and every society has their own.

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Volunteers’ Experiences

If cultural practices have always existed and

transformed through time just as the society they originated from – language evolves, new dance styles appear –, then why do we need to “safeguard”? From what do they need protection? According to the Convention, “globalization and social transformation” renew dialogue among communities, but may also “as does the phenomenon of intolerance, give rise to grave threats of deterioration, disappearance and destruction of the intangible cultural heritage”.

Safeguarding provides the resources needed in order to identify, document, and ensure the transmission of such heritage.

Now, what do we consider “heritage”? Is it only what the UNESCO recognizes as such? Prof.

Rodney Harrison, specialized in Heritage Studies at UCL, states that we must separate official from non-official intangible cultural heritage. It is not because a construction, natural place or practice is not registered in a world list, that it is not of local value. Heritage is not free of politics and might be defined as “a dynamic process involving competition over whose version

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of the past […] will find official representation in the future”. (What is heritage ?, 2010).

As you can see, this is a complex matter. What

is important to retain is that we can understand as heritage the tangible or intangible practices that help us understand who we are: where we come from, what our roots are. And this, regardless of our nation. There is no one superior to another and it is a richness to be open to them and available for discoveries.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage’s logo

Volunteers’ Experiences

Dances of the World event

A joyful gathering in Thessaloniki

On September 30th, the United Societies of

Balkans volunteers gathered around the port in order to share their traditional dances. Everybody was welcomed to join. From Romania to Spain, passing by Italy and Hungary, European dances were at the heart of the day. You did not need to know them beforehand or to be a master teacher in order to explain/understand the basic steps, and then performing all together.

“We dance to express enthusiastically and learn open-mindedly.”

What is it like to share a dance from your coun-

try? Gosia, a volunteer from Poland, declared that what she enjoyed the most was realizing that, no matter where the people came from, they were enjoying the dance as much as Polish people did. Diving into it, trying to do our best and having lots of fun.

© Anastasiia Hrechka

Vasilis gives as well his precious insight of the event, when we closed with the Greek dances.

“When we were dancing, at that time when the Lyra player Christos came at the center of our circle, I was so excited… We were dancing Pontian dances at the Port, at this special place where my grandparents arrived a hundred years ago! It was very emotional for me, especially because there were so many foreigners, from all over the world… People far away from their home”.

When asked about the relationship between

dance as a national heritage and at the same time an international language, he replied: “All of us are carrying our national heritage. Dances of course are a part of this. But… Especially dancing is a way to show your heritage to other people even if you don’t speak their tongue and vice-versa. When you dance you share your past, your history and also your story.”

We dance to share enthusiastically and learn open-mindedly, beyond words. And I believe those are the best words to conclude.

So let’s dance!

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Volunteers’ Experiences

How I learnt Greek (in 6 months)

by Santiago Oribe

Normally, when I meet new people around they tend to think that I study some kind of philology or whatever related to languages. In fact, I’m just a physicist who happens to be strongly interested in languages. The reason for this passion of mine is still partly unknown to me, but the thing is that I love learning (about) different languages.

Before I tell you about my love story with Greek, I’ll just talk a bit about the history and the peculiarities of this fantastic language.

Modern About the Greek language

First of all, let’s say that Greek belongs to the

Indo-European language family, which means that it is genetically related to languages as diverse as English, French and Hindi. Unlike languages such as Latin, which gave birth to Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, etc., Greek has remained essentially the same language for roughly forty centuries of uninterrupted history.

This of course doesn’t mean that Modern Greek and Ancient Greek are the exact same thing, it rather means that there’s a continuity between different stages of the Greek language, since it never split -according to most linguists- into different dialects that would in turn become independent languages.

Greek is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and has nowadays about 13 million native speakers around the world. This name refers to the modern standard language, which is to a large extent based on the “demotic Greek”, which was spoken by the vast majority of the people on a daily basis, although it has some influence from “katharevousa Greek” (the learned version of Greek that was used in formal contexts until the second half of the 20th century) and other historical forms of the language.

In general, Greek roots are everywhere in many

languages in the whole world. Some of the words that have Greek origin do come directly from Ancient Greek (“democracy”, “philosophy”, etc.) or Byzantine Greek (“bishop”, from the Greek επίσκοπος ̉ [epískopos], ‘supervisor’), whereas the majority of the words from scientific disciplines were coined using Greek roots, but were never Greek words on their own (“allergy”, for example, comes from the German word “Allergie”, which was created from the Greek words άλλος ̉ [álos], ‘other’ and έργον ̉ [érgo], ‘work, function’).

My experience

That’s enough theory, I guess. Let me share my

Ancient Greek script

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© unsplash.com.

experience with you.

Volunteers’ Experiences

helped me get familiar with the sentence structure and it was also quite useful for learning a even know about the existence of Thessaloniki lot of vocabulary. On the other hand, the course when I first saw that name among the possi- I took did give me a very good grasp of the funble destinations for my Erasmus. Whatever the damentals of Modern Greek. reason for my last decision may have been, the thing is that I tried my luck in this amazingly Even though I was continuously discovering special city. That’s more or less how my adven- new words, I realised very fast that I wasn’t reture with Modern Greek started. ally making progress and I took the determination to change that. How I did begin to make At the end of January 2017 I met a Greek girl actual progress is a funny story. Somehow in who had come to my university in Spain for her the end of November I got hurt on a foot while Erasmus. That was essential for what would going downhill on a mountain, so I couldn’t happen. We became friends and when I chose walk well for a week and I stayed home. You to come here as an Erasmus student I immedi- stay home for a week and what do you usually ately thought that I’d like to learn the language do? Well, of course you just start reading some of the country. I didn’t really expect that I’d slides you have on Greek grammar. And so did manage to get a very good knowledge of my I obviously. During that week I spent perhaps target language in a relatively short period. Ac- a couple of hours a day or more on studying tually, I just wanted to be able to communicate Greek grammar, up to probably B1 or B2 level. with locals and to show them that I’m interested in their culture. I couldn’t have imagined how After studying a little of Greek grammar, my deep my relationship to the language and its next step was to start texting my aforemenpeople would have become!! tioned Greek friend and some other few people directly in Greek; writing as spontaneously as I enrolled in an intensive free online course offered by the School of Modern Greek of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki just one month before coming on Erasmus and I studied the basics of Greek (A1 level) from the end of August until the end of September 2017. In the meantime, I was also following the Greek course on Duolingo. Duolingo is maybe not such an exciting language-learning tool, but it

Something I don’t like to admit is that I didn’t

Me at the top of the White Tower in October 2017

© Santiago Oribe

Me enjoying Heraclitus’ fragments

© Santiago Oribe

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Volunteers’ Experiences

In the beginning of February I started to sys-

I could, while trying to recall the correct form for the verbs, the correct cases, etc. By doing this I learnt many words and also some grammar. The good thing about written texts is that you can take your time to think about whatever you will write and you can go over the answers again and again if needed.

tematically attend the language exchange event (tandem) organised by the United Societies of Balkans and I met a lot of local people (some would become good friends) with whom I spoke only in Greek. Not only did they speak in Greek with me, but they also had the patience and kindness of correcting me whenever I made mistakes.

In December the same year I first went out with In the following months I kept practising my

people to speak only in Greek. My Greek was very poor, so I could barely speak, but I did learn some new and useful words. Also, listening to the language for more than two hours in a row made me realise how much I was already able to understand and boosted my self-confidence.

January 2018 was a turning point in my language-learning adventure for two main reasons. First, I had my exams at university and, instead of studying from four different books in English for my Astronomy – Astrophysics course, I preferred to translate my professor’s slides from Greek into English. This way I learnt a lot of Greek (more formal Greek) at the same time that I learnt astrophysics. The second reason was the fact that I decided from the end of January to speak only in Greek with my Turkish flatmate, who already spoke Greek very well.

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Greek, I essentially incorporated it into my life: I talked to Greek friends and more and more to locals in general, I read some articles, I started watching some videos on physics in Greek and then some series, etc.

And that’s it. I took an A1-level course, I com-

pleted Duolingo’s course and I read a little on grammar. Then I went on to just get as much exposure as I could to Modern Greek and to use it in real situations. I learnt the Greek language by making it a substantial part of my life. The process was somewhat gradual and quite frustrating at times, but the fact is that surprisingly in a period of 5-6 months I got to speak Greek fairly well. I hope that my personal experience will encourage some people, if not to learn Greek, at least to discover a bit of this profoundly beautiful language.

Culture

The Politics of Fairytales

by Maniscalco Riccardo

Fairytales, heritage and identity in Europe Here the storytelling animal used all its imagina-

tive power to form and perform small narrative accounts where witches, speaking animals and called Europe lived a very special animal. It other wondrous figures could interact with hucouldn’t run faster than its fellow living beings, man beings and influence their fate. nor was it particularly strong or intelligent. Similarly it couldn’t soar free in the skies and the But fairytales still remained only a small part marine depths remained a mystery to it. How- of all the tales it told. And words weren’t the ever, it possessed a characteristic that made it only mean. At first came the paper, later radio unique: it told stories. From the cuddle to the and finally television and digital media. As time grave its life was filled with big and small tales. went by fewer and fewer members of the speThe adventures of Gilgamesh, Pinocchio and cies liked to listen to the good old fairytales. It Angela Merkel punctuated its days together came a point when the fairytale storytellers in with the newest gossips about the neighbour’s Europe were so few that they could be almost children or some gruesome news story. Of all all put in the same room and not fill it. This fact those narratives that imbued its life there was scared some of the animals. They didn’t know however one like no other. It was called fairytale. how to solve this situation, till one day, around

Once upon a time in a far away piece of land

Typical characters of fairytale

© Pixabay

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Culture

“Μέρες Παραμυθιών”, the storytelling festival in Thessaloniki, might be considered as an example of the European Storytelling Revival

© Action Art

the time when The Beatles still used to perform maids or Attican farmers find microphones and live, they finally decided to meet and discuss lights to liven up their stories? Who would have allowed them to access a theatre stage and this situation. perform in front of an audience? Why would “What happened? Why are we not telling fairy- somebody pay to listen to such tales? It was tales anymore? We are losing all the knowledge clear: the new storytelling movement distanced that our fathers and mothers gave us. An invalu- itself from the local and familiar environments able treasure! We have to do something.” It was where fairytales used to be “traditionally” told. the dawn of the European Storytelling Revival.

Could those thus still be considered fairytales?

Was this still storytelling?

Years passed and the original group of people became bigger and bigger. Festivals and events Yes and no. The stories themselves didn’t marked now the fairytale calendar each year. change much. The members of the European Yet the storytelling they wanted to save wasn’t Storytelling Revival were indeed extremely atthe same anymore. Indeed, nobody ever before tentive in preserving the original plots. But this told fairytales that way. How could Bavarian very attention affected a major characteristics

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Culture

of fairytales: their adaptability. Oral narration is as a matter of fact defined from the interplay of tellers and listeners, from fluidity, from how something is constantly added or subtracted to fill the specific setting where the telling event is happening. Like people don’t bathe twice in the same river, so stories are never told the same.

The fixation of the story in a fixed storyline risks to remove this element. But why does this happen?

Why is it so important to have a fixed repertoire?

The reasons are mainly historical and politi-

cal. The world surrounding fairytales indeed changed a lot and very quickly. Especially one specific process could be deemed accountable for most changings: the rise of national states.

In the course of the 19th century the idea that a people (a Volk, for all the German lovers) is historically and inextricably connected to a piece of land became pervasive in all European countries. In order to prove the eternal conjunction of those two elements and the pre-historical existence of the nation it was necessary to look for symbols. Flags, anthems, famous personalities of the past and local dishes and costumes were all used to implement and legitimise a sense of identity and belonging. In this process some of those phenomena got labelled as a shared “heritage”.

Famous buildings, like the fabulous German castle of Neuschwanstein, are often used as marker for specific national identities and so charged with symbolic power.

© Pixabay

“Heritage” is however a vague word. The origi-

nal meaning was used to hint that something, mostly some physical landmark, was inherited from the ancestors and as such worthy of safeguard. Since the claim of ancestrality and immutability over time legitimised the existence of the nation, the same principles had to be applied to the heritage that gave to the nation its sense of existence. However, dances, dishes, clothings, folk celebrations and similar phenomena are not the same as churches and monuments. They know nothing of physical national borders and are far away from static phenomena. Neighbours constantly influenced each other changing and adjusting “heritage” to fit the local taste of the time. Greek ouzo and Turkish raki are not so different from each other after all. Also, phenomena that we are used to think of as typical of some place are for instance extremely new. Take the pizza for example, one of the landmarks of Italian identity. Actually, the way we know it today is an invention of 19th century Neapolitan chefs.

As a matter of fact the very name of the most famous pizza, Margherita, refers to that of the very beloved first Italian queen.

So why is the European Union striving for the

identification and tutelage of a European heri-

The mediterranean diet is an example of an immaterial heritage that has been claimed from many countries as fundamental to define themselves and their people.

© Pixabay

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tage? It is once again a political intent. Massimo D’Azeglio said after Italy’s unification:

“We have made Italy. Now we must make the Italians.”

Similarly EU would now like to create the Eu-

ropeans. Exactly like the fathers (and very few mothers) of nation states envisioned in heritage promotion a tool for the creation of a sense of community, so too since the ‘90s the EU is involved in an effort to promote material and immaterial heritage as community-bonding and identity engendering.

And fairytales are in the middle of this pro-

cess. Many storytelling festivals happening around Europe benefit indeed from EU funding, mainly because European Union policymakers envisioned in them a moment where encounter and sharing of stories can help foster a mutual sense of belonging and shared identity. Storytellers of course seized the new opportunities that granted them income and validation for the work they do. In addition sometimes storytellers and policymakers, like many laypeople, consider fairytales similarly adopting the perspective of heritage preservation. Folktales are envisioned here as an unaltered static product inherited from the past and to be preserved in its original and authentic form. Fairytales get here stuck and reified.

But things are changing. Like fairytales adapt

Queen Margherita of Savoia, eponym of the most famous pizza.

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© Wikicommons

to their setting so the storytellers adjust themselves to the spirit of the time. New questions about appropriate representation and pertinence with the original context of telling are provoking big discussions in the world of fairytales storytellers. We should ask ourselves too what is the place of fairytales in our life, why do we tell them. Are they an heritage for us? A landmark of our identity? Why do we think it is important to tell and preserve them? Couldn’t we after all tell other stories? There are so many others around us... Any way we answer all those very political questions, whether we would like fairytales to become a fundamental step of a shared Europe or not, the “happy ever after” at the end of this story is yet far away to come.

Culture

National dances hide character and history

by Zofia Nyka

Few countries in the world have at least one

national dance, and it so happens that Poland has as many as 5 of such dances! Polish folk dances are derived from the customs, lifestyle, traditions, history and beliefs of the Polish people, thus emphasizing diversity, beauty and richness through song and dance. Poland is certainly a country rich in culture and musical tradition and the first information about their existence is contained in chronicles dating back to the fifteenth century. These dances, originating from the Polish countryside, were so popular that they found their way to the royal court and were even included in the works of classical composers such as Chopin.

national dances. A true Polish folk dance is one of the most joyful and magnificent spectacles that tourists can enjoy in Poland. These dances are performed all over Poland but the first step to understanding the essence of these dances is to delve into their history.

Mateusz Misztal is one of those people who

have been dancing folk dances for almost half of his life. despite being a young person, proudly maintains Polish traditions. He has been dancing for exactly 13 years and when I asked him how it happened that he started dancing he laughed and jokingly added that he started folk dancing by accident. His friend was looking Despite many centuries of history, Poles have for a dance partner and since he had a sense kept the tradition and continue to dance their of rhythm and musical ear she did not have to persuade him for long. “At first it was an interesting way of spending free time, but later I could not imagine my life without folk dancing,” he added. When he was in high school, he enrolled in the “Boruta” Song and Dance Group in Zgierz, with which he first went to foreign folk festivals. Unfortunately, his group disbanded after some time, and as he loved this dance so much, he decided to join another group, “Bychlewianki”. With this group Mateusz goes to foreign festivals and shows people beautiful Polish folklore, which is very rich and diverse.

Mateusz Misztal

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Culture

Few countries can be proud of such great folk music around the ballroom. The dancers are reculture”, as he mentions. quired to be completely serious, with an upright posture and no hip movements, elegant hand Poland has 5 national dances and in order for gestures, a straight back and a head held high. you to better understand the essence of them I will try to briefly describe each of them.

The Polonaise is still danced nowadays in Poland as the opening march for student proms.

Polonez Preparations for this ceremony take weeks but the end result is amazing and worth the effort.

This is a Polish, very elegant ballroom dance of the 18th century. Danced at a tempo of 3 / 4, Krakowiak rather slow, with an accent at once and a moderate and steady tempo. It is now considered It is a dance that originated in the southern the oldest Polish national dance. Formally it part of Poland, in the city of Krakow. This city was called “Wandering Dance” and was popu- is well known as the former capital of Poland in lar among peasants, but after gaining popular- the 16th century and also as a place which in ity among the nobility the name was changed those days was vibrant and a centre of folklore, to Polonaise (in French it means “Polish”). social life and the arts. Horses are especially Couples are led in straight and curved lines by loved in this region of Poland, which was inleaders, and partners stand sideways to each cluded in Krakowiak by introducing a familiar other and do not dance but walk to the rhythm of galloping stride.

Folk dancers in traditional costumes from Kraków (regarded as Polish national costumes).

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© Wikipedia

Culture

© Wikipedia

Children dancing the Kujawiak

Krakowiak is the only one of the five Polish national dances to have a metre of 2 /4 . It is a lively dance, danced in groups with complex movements. It is characterized by a syncopated pace, lively costumes, loud clatter of heels.

It is danced in pairs, dressed in typical Krakow costumes, which are the most famous among Polish folk costumes and in the world are considered a symbol of Polishness.

Kujawiak

This is a national Polish dance from the central Polish region of Kujawy (from which it takes its name) from the 19th century. This dance originated from Kujawy wedding ceremonies and went through many changes between peasants and nobility and each group added a style to the dance. It is usually danced in a circle and its characteristics are slowness, calmness, metre

3 / 4. The melody gives this dance a flirtatious character and the steps are mainly based on a gentle gait and turns, which are slow, reciprocating and the pairs quietly turn, swaying slightly.

Some people say that this dance reflects the

Kujavian landscape, which is wide and calm, such as quiet swaying like tall grain stalks in the wind, and there are also many names in this region indicating the direction and types of dance figures.

Oberek

Oberek originated in the villages of Mazowsze

in central Poland dating back to the 17th century. It’s name comes from the fast rotations (is derived from the verb obracac – to spin) that the dancers perform, and is undoubtedly the fastest Polish national dance. It has become

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popular in almost all regions of Poland due to its fast tempo (3 /4). Oberek dance is lively, joyful and energizing, cheerful, fast and danced in pairs set to each other in a circle, which rotate around the whole circle and around their own axis (to the right). The steps of the dancers must be light and flexible and the movements of the feet must be pulling and it is said that to be a good Oberek dancer you should dance with tiny steps with a full glass of water on your head, not spilling it while dancing.

Polish nobility and became a national dance. It became so popular that it was danced at European courts, for example in France.

A typical Mazurka step can be described as a

fast gait with incorporated jumps and clicking of the heels. The basic movement is very complicated, containing many difficult figures. This dance is also characterized by a fast tempo of 3 / 4 with an accent on 2 or 3. It is also characterized by diversity, because it can be found danced in a gentle manner (peasant Mazur in regional Mazurek folk costumes) as well as in a military manner characteristic costumes of soldiers in uniIt is lively, energetic, fast, and flowing. Mazur (with forms) as well as in operas and ballets. is a dance of contrasts, considered one of the most difficult Polish national dances. Mazur It is interesting to note that the Mazur is so comes from Mazowsze - the central part of Po- popular in Poland that most Polish patriotic land - from the 16th century, and from the 17th songs have a mazur tempo which can be seen century it was danced all over Poland. At first in the Polish national anthem, called the Mait was danced by peasants in different regional zurek Dąbrowskiego. versions but eventually it was taken over by the

Me while dancing the Polonaise at the prom

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© www.magiel.waw.pl

Culture

How is Greek and European Culture interconnected

The impact of the Greek language to the development

by Georgousi Petrina of the European Culture

Wasn’t it in ancient Greece that works of greatest importance and richness of ancient civ-

ilization were created, imprinted and inherited? It cannot be denied that the intellectual life of Europe (its philosophical, moral, political, and aesthetic thinking) dates back to the work of Greek thinkers. Greek is an inexhaustible language, which has not only survived for 3,000 years, but also lives through other European ones. Being one of the oldest written languages in the world, Greek has over the centuries directly and indirectly influenced and enriched the vocabulary of almost all European and some of the world’s languages. It is the one that documents and reflects the continuation of Hellenism from antiquity to the present day marks.

Ancient Greek values and the World

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832),

ancient Greeks values; those of freedom, digniwho was reading Homer at the tender age of ty, truth and faith, about which Greek philosoten, said: “What is the heart and the mind for phers, writers and poets were the first to speak. humans, is Greece for humanity”.

There is no doubt that the contemporary European Community was developed based on the

“The Greek language brings together the richness and homogeneity of German, the clarity of French, the musicality of Italian and the sobriety of Spanish.”—French poet and scholar Claude Fauriel (17 72 - 188 4).

Ancient Greek writing

© 123RF

Apart from the above mentioned, still implemented in the European Union are the fundamental principles of justice and democracy, that contribute to the maintenance of stability and peacefulness.

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Culture

Another important contribution of Greece to

the world culture is the Olympic Games, which have always been a symbol of friendship, respect and good sportsmanship. Even the Olympic flame, lit every four years, is the representation of continuity between ancient and modern games. According to Greek mythology it represents the fire of Zeus which was stolen by Prometheus. His aim was to give it to humans as a gift for the development of the civilisation.

What about the role that Greece plays in the

consolidation of Orthodox values? It is a pillar of orthodoxy, given the power of the Greek faith, which is preserved for many centuries.

The Greek language

Did you know that the Greek language is spo-

ken by about twelve million people all around the world? These are the population of Greece and of Cyprus, as well as the Greek diaspora- in the USA, Australia, Canada, the Black Sea countries and Russia.

The Greek language is an Indo-European lan-

gelists proclaimed the coming of Christ. Is the one, in which the most important monuments of Orthodox were imprinted; works of spiritual content and inexhaustible richness.

It

is the language of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. It is the language of the Holy Scriptures, of the Byzantine chronographs and of Solomos, Kalvos, Palamas, Elytis and Ritsos.

“I was given to write, dear friends, in a language spoken by only a few million people. Nevertheless, it is a language that has been spoken for thousands of years without interruption and with minimal differences. My country is small in space and vast in time.”—Odysseus Elytis, Nobel Prize Awards, Stockholm 1979

The Greek language in the modern

guage that serves as a vehicle for the spread of Western World Christianity. Is the one that Apostles and Evan-

Despite the fact that Greek is not such a wide-

Ancient Greek writing

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© 123RF

spread language, it is impossible to imagine modern Western culture without it. Given that it is a language, in which the first European literature, philosophy, theoretical sciences and medicine was developed, the Greek language defined the temperament of European humanity and, thus, it determined the mentality of European citizens to a great extent.

Culture

World in hands

© Must go

According to a study conducted by research-

main scientific fields (e.g., Physics, Physioloers of the Athens University of Economics and gy, Psychology) and the terminology each one Business, the Greek language is one of the richest uses is also Greek (e.g., dyspepsia, mania). of the world, consisting of almost 7,000,000 words!

Over time, this language was transformed and

evolved through dialects, such as the Aeolian,the Doric, the Attic, the Ionian and the Epic.

Then it was further shaped and enriched during the Classical period and expanded to the world during the Hellenistic period. Through Latin it spread to all European languages that borrowed a large deposit of words, roots and vocabulary of the Homeric dialect.

It is no coincidence that the basic concepts of

thought and expression in English and in other European languages are purely Greek words (e.g., analysis, problem, hypothesis). Both the

“The whole world lies in our hands, when we are eager to learn new languages and be fully engrossed in their culture and history as well!”

Why

does this happen? A possible reason might be that the power and the beauty of the Greek language and its words lies in the fact that the Greeks did not only name the sciences, but also create, cultivate and pass them on to the rest of the world.

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Culture

Effects of Covid-19 on Museums and Culture

A new reality rises, a new identity is shaped

by Aggeliki Patakiouti

The article talks about tangible and intangible cultural heritage, taking into account the

global coronavirus pandemic and its impact on culture. How did the Covid-19 influence civilization? Did the inclusion mean a cessation of expression? Did the pandemic push museums into a new era of information digitization?

Museum of Reina Sofia Madrid. Trilogia Marroqui 1950-2020

© Aggeliki Patakiouti

Under the pandemic control

Cultural heritage, according to UNESCO, includes three categories of heritage. The first is Tangible culture, such as monuments, buildings, archeological sites, books, works of art, and art objects. The second is Intangible cul-

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tures, such as oral traditions, customs, folklore, the arts, language, way of life, and values, and the third is Natural heritage, such as natural sites with cultural aspects, ie cultural landscapes, and natural, biological or geological formations.

Culture

MOMus- Experimental Center for the Arts Thessaloniki. “Together, So Far, So Close

“How can a digital and real balance be maintained at the same time?”

In 2020 the pandemic formed a new, different

reality in which museums were forced to regain their audiences and planning at the same time the future in different terms. The International Council of Museums (ICOM) has conducted two surveys to record the effects of the pandemic, which send a signal of danger to the future of museum organizations. According to the ICOM surveys, only one in five participants visited museums online, 23.8% of visitors browsed through videos and images, 20.8% in digital collections, and 19.8% in virtual exhibi-

© Thodoris Patakioutis

tions. According to the Network of European Museum Organizations (NEMO), most of the museums suspended their operation in March 2020 throughout Europe, while at the same time seeking emergency measures for the sustainability of the cultural sector.

Picasso Museum Malaga. Miquel Barcelo “Metamorfosis”

© Aggeliki Patakiouti

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Culture

(Museum of Reina Sofia Madrid. Charlotte Johannesson “LIevame a otro mundo”)

The effects of the pandemic have hit the econ-

© Aggeliki Patakiouti

face. However, how can a digital and real balomy and society hard, with new design strate- ance be maintained at the same time? gy solutions being sought to prevent negative short-term effects, but also to identify new me- A long trip to digitalization dium-term solutions for museums. It is, therefore, a fact that the “museum” will not be the The ICOM research shows that museums have same museum as before the pandemic. The used their collections digitally, podcasts have shift to digitization is a very important issue multiplied, webinars have been organized, and that museum organizations worldwide must opportunities for sharing experiences and ideas are being spread around the world. Museums were able to function as places of creative con“It is important to keep alive our ciliation and social cohesion. The use of digineed for culture!” tal technology in museums can transform the visitor experience. Among the strategies to in-

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Culture

crease the number of visitors to museums, the utilization of their digital presence plays an important role. Museums have developed digital initiatives in the field of social media, content flow, virtual tours, games, online exhibitions, educational content, etc. It is important to conduct more user experience recording research to develop more effective digital technology design strategies. In addition, museums face an uncertain future in terms of physical traffic, as virtual traffic is increasing in the Covid-19 era. However, the virtual visitation cannot completely replace the physical presence, the direct contact with the exhibits, but also the social conciliation offered by a natural space.

Giorgio de Chirico Museum Volos

It is important to find a balance between the

human factor and the adoption of technological developments. Technology is not an end in itself, but it is a means of engaging the visitor in times of pandemic and non-pandemic, improving their experience, and creating accessibility for all. Will museums, however, be able to maintain what they have gained so far, their identity, their public, and their income? It is an opportunity in these conditions that reshape and redefine each of us, the visitors to become co-creators and the museums not to lose their educational purpose, highlighting difficult issues, such as old stories, in modern ways. It is important to keep alive our need for culture!

© Thodoris Patakioutis

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Culture

Polish traditional food - to eat or not to eat ?

by Anna Żukowska

I’ve never considered myself a picky person when it comes to food. And I never thought

that I would miss Polish cuisine. Especially that I have been a vegetarian for 4 years, and yet - traditional Polish cuisine contains a lot of meat dishes. My arrival in Greece made me realize how diverse Polish cuisine is (especially in spring), how much I miss cooking and, of course, that all foreigners love PIEROGI.

What formed nowadays Polish cuisine? in Polish cuisine you can find German, Jewish,

Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Tatar-Turkish influThe former Republic of Poland was a cultural ences. The availability of different products mix characterized by various traditions. Hence, as well as the wealth of Poles living in a given

Golabki z mlodej kapusty

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© Kwestia Smaku

Culture

Pierogi Ruskie

region had an additional impact on the development of Polish regional cuisine. The flavors of Polish dishes can be divided into many varieties depending on the region they come from.

We can, among others, distinguish traditional Polish cuisine: Silesian, Masovian, Galician and Kashubian. Despite the unique taste of simple Polish dishes, our cuisine is considered to be one of the most caloric in the world.

© Kwestia Smaku

The main ingredients in the diet of Poles are cereal products, and the most frequently consumed product is white bread. We cannot imagine meals without meat and legumes such as broad beans or beans. In Polish cuisine, dairy products, eggs and cottage cheese are of great importance. The basic ingredients used in Polish cuisine are: sauerkraut, beets, cucumbers (pickled and gherkins), cream, kohlrabi, mushrooms, various types of sausages. The

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Culture

a two-course meal. Eating so many meals every day, we need to diversify our daily menu.

Polish cuisine is diverse, but the most popular dish is undoubtedly pierogi, which are a kind of showcase of our country. Every foreigner coming to Poland eats and delights in pierogi. This old Polish dish is nothing more than a salty or sweet filling wrapped in a piece of wheat pasta.

It is said that a real Polish dinner must consist Traditional Polish dishes - What do the of a cutlet, potatoes and salad. Cutlets are a whole range of Polish dishes, but the most popular Poles eat? of them are: pork chops, minced and de volaille.

In Poland, usually 3 to 5 meals are eaten a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner or breakfast, What distinguishes us significantly from other lunch, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Contrary European cuisines is a whole range of various to appearances, it is not the first meal of the soups, the most popular of which are broth, day that is the most important and the most sour rye soup and tomato soup. Soups are abundant for us, but the dinner, that is usually served as the first course at lunchtime. dishes owe their unique flavor to carefully selected spices, such as: marjoram, dill, cumin, parsley, and pepper. Among the sweets, cakes and cookies dominate. A glass of vodka is recommended for a typical Polish feast, which will facilitate digestion. Trying to define its tastes in general, it should be said that salty, sour, spicy and sweet and sour dishes reign supreme.

Polskie zupy

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© Shutterstock

Culture

Cabbage soup - a soup made of sauerkraut, vegetables and several types of meat - at least one should be smoked meat.

Interestingly, there are many dishes in Polish Oscypek - hard, smoked sheep’s milk cheese

cuisine whose name is misleading. They can be confused with foreign specialties, but they are typically Polish dishes: Russian dumplings, Ukrainian borscht,or Greek fish.

made in Podhale. It is a typical Polish product, produced only in a few voivodeships in the country, which was entered on the list of products protected by European law.

The most popular Polish dishes :

Tartare

- Starter made of minced or finely beef, oil, chopped onion, egg yolks and Hunter’s stew - made on the basis of sauer- chopped spices. It is eaten raw, without heat treatment. kraut (or sweet) with bacon, sausage, onion and mushrooms. Today, it is most often prepared Polish food - to eat or not to eat ? from pork or beef, seasoned with tomato paste.

Although Polish cuisine is not the healthiest, Dumplings (pierogi) - a type of noodles that are the variety of dishes makes it delicious. They among the flour dishes. They are made of boiled are delighted with our soups or dumplings all potatoes, wheat flour, eggs and salt - these in- over the world. Of course, you should not overgredients are used to knead a uniform dough. do it with caloric dishes, because you will only extra kilos. Nowadays, traditional dishes Stuffed cabbage - made of minced pork, rice gain can be prepared in a fit or vegetarian and vegan or groats, onions, mushrooms and spices, version. Apart from the fact that they will be wrapped in white cabbage leaves. less fattening, the taste will remain almost the Potato pancakes - made from grated raw pota- same, and that’s what it’s all about. toes, flour and eggs. This dish comes in many different variations: salty, sweet and highlander (with meat and vegetable sauce).

Cucumber soup - cooked in a meat and vege-

table broth with the addition of grated pickled cucumbers, carrots and potatoes.

Pea soup - long-cooked peas combined with

lots of smoked meat and sausage, potatoes and carrots.

Oscypek

© Shutterstock

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Europe

Travelling through Europe for free

by Michelle Wischnepolski

We all know the saying “When you are young, you have time but no money, when you are

older, you have money but no time”. It is a vicious circle that sets boundaries for young people and stops them from making new memories and experiencing new cultures themselves.

Some youngsters might just accept that sad truth and go on with their lives, but I decided to help you break this circle. Today we will take a look at some ways to experience a new culture and increase your tolerance and open-mindedness without having to be rich or spend all of your savings.

Why Europe?

The German sociologist Ulrich Beck once said “Europe is the embodiment of […] diversity”.

And he was right. There are very few other places in the world that are so rich in history, that had so many different emperors, leaders, dictators and revolutionists. Europe was at the centre of two world wars, has brought out some of the brightest minds that have ever existed: Einstein, Gauss, Goethe, Marx, the list is long.

From small brick houses to tall skyscrapers

Europe offers an incredible variety of architecture, ancient churches and luxurious castles.

Whether in a cozy café or a modern restaurant, everybody will find a country that has their favourite national cuisine because the food is so different depending on what region you are in.

For people who enjoy cultural events, Europe is a heaven of theatre, concerts, dance and let us not forget about the nearly endless number of museums and exhibitions. From contemporary art to historical statues everything can be found in this heart of cultural life. As Europe has had stable political, trade and social relations it is also considered to be one of the safest places to travel to.

Travelling for free

Free food and accommodation You have motivation but no place to stay? The Cinque Terre, Italy

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© Pixabay

internet can fix that. The website “workaway. info” gives hosts from all over Europe the opportunity to find a suitable traveller who can

Europe

take care of specific tasks for them for a couple of hours a day. In exchange for gardening, cleaning, teaching, cooking and other things they grant you free accommodation, free food and sometimes even some pocket money. It is a website that is secure and often used by work-and-travellers because it is considered to be quite flexible and easy to use.

above give you the opportunity to form great friendships and get to know your surroundings through the perspective of a local.

If you would like to stay completely by yourself, then house sitting might be a good option. On websites like “trusted house sitters”, “mind my house” or “house caters” people from many different countries are looking for travellers who could look after and take care of their “So pack your bags, buy yourself apartment or house. This type of accommodasome more mobile data and start tion comes with certain responsibilities, such your very own small adventure!” as cleaning or feeding the pets, but it is still a rather easy way to find a place to stay that If you are looking for a place to stay but you might also include a fully stocked kitchen. don’t have the time or opportunity to work, then “global free loaders”, “couchsurfing” or Last and definitely the most expensive are the “servas” is what you are looking for. On these typical European traveller hostels (www.hostelwebsites locals offer to share their apartments world.com). If you do have a small budget for or houses in order to enjoy the cultural enrich- your adventures, then you might also take stayment. If you like the location and profile of ing at a hostel into consideration. Most hossomebody and they are offering a room, then tels, especially in the bigger cities, offer dorms you can simply contact them over the website. where you can share a room with multiple other You should try to choose the person you stay people. This can be difficult to get used to, eswith carefully, since these people are strangers pecially if you have never shared a room before.

But most of the time it is also a good reason to after all. spend the whole day outside and discover as If you are a woman and you don’t feel comfort- much of your surroundings as possible, while able with staying at men’s apartments by yourself, then the “host a sister” community is there to help you. This (much smaller) Facebook group was made specifically for women who are seeking or offering a place to stay. Join the group, write what you are looking for and connect with women all over Europe who would be willing to host you for free. There is also the “host a brother” Facebook group, which is the equivalent for men, but it is sadly not as widespread as the female version. All of the options Berlin Cathedral, Germany

© Pixabay

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Europe

additionally sharing this experience with room- to win one out of 70.000 tickets without having to pay anything for it. Travelling by train is not mates from all over Europe. only comfortable, but also environment friendly In order to decide on which alternative is best and offers a good sphere to meet fellow travelfor you, you need to reflect your own priorities lers. This “ticket lottery” is called “Discover EU” and wishes and plan your budget carefully, but and also has a Facebook group where people even with a small amount of money there are from all European countries can exchange exstill a lot of ways to find accommodation. periences and advice.

Free transportation In case you don’t have access to an Interrail ticket, you will have to go back to the old-fashioned Now that you have a place to stay, the only method: hitchhiking. European countries have

problem is how to get from one destination to the next, but even that matter can be settled with some research and a little bit of creativity.

It is a known fact that many people buy Interrail tickets that enable them to travel throughout Europe without having to pay any extra fees.

The price of these tickets vary from 180 to 700 Euros, depending on how long and how often you want to travel. However, if you don’t have the financial resources to make such a big payment, there is also an option which is not as well-known. Every year, the EU gives young Europeans around the age of 18 the opportunity

the lowest rate of road accidents and the lowest crime rate against pedestrians in the world, add the many highways and country roads and you will have a hitchhiking paradise. There are some things you should consider though: Avoid hitchhiking in the dark, try to stop cars with families and couples rather than people who are driving by themselves, and consider looking for a travel buddy. Hitchhiking with two people is always a lot safer than hitchhiking alone. In any case you should always have your phone location shared with somebody who checks it regularly and try to keep a tool for self-defence on you. These are only preventive measures though, usually the drivers are nice and happy to learn more about your culture.

Daily Discounts Collecting coupons

The nature of Norway

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© Pixabay

and vouchers from all kinds of different stores and activities is tiring and annoying, so the EU decided to make saving money easier for youngsters. The European Youth Card unites all discounts in one

Europe

card, whether you are looking for planes, trains, restaurants or accommodation. For only 19 Euros in total you can make use of daily discounts and shopping opportunities all over Europe for a whole year. The EYCA App helps you keep track of all the discounts available and also has a digital version of your card, so losing it is not an option. Another option would be the IYTC card (for people under 30) or if you are a fulltime student, you can also claim the ISIC card.

These options are available for only 15 Euros a year and grant you access to many discounts and student rates worldwide. For such a small amount of money, the purchase of any of the cards above is completely worth the investment.

Volunteering When entering the world of volunteering, you

need to be prepared and willing to take on a whole different set of responsibilities and experiences. Of course travelling while volunteering in a different country is nice, but it is only a small part of what makes a volunteer service such a great tool for personal growth and the development of empathy and cultural understanding. It is the thought that the outcome of your work might not only benefit you, but also the people who surround you or somebody who you might not even know. You are willing to stretch your habits in order to adapt to a new mentality and lifestyle, which causes you to experience the local life from a completely different angle. If enough time and effort is being put in, you might be able to go from observing to

being part of the new culture. This experience will also enable you to meet people who are like-minded and have similar interests as you, so prepare to find some friends for a lifetime.

Even though there are a lot of volunteer services that require you to pay a fee, there are also some more affordable options. The most commonly used websites to find one of these volunteering opportunities are “Eurodesk Opportunity Finder”, “Youth 4 Europe” or the “European Youth Portal”. Here you can find programmes that are financially supported by the EU, which usually means that your hosting organisation provides accommodation, food and monthly pocket money for you. Through programs like the European Solidarity Corps or Erasmus+ you can support NGOs who work with refugees, children, disabled people, elderly people, women, animals and other minorities.

You can filter the options by country, type of work or duration of your stay, in order to find a suitable volunteer service for yourself. If you would like to start your own project, then the

Zakynthos, Greece

© Pixabay

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Europe

solidarity projects or the youth exchanges of go out of your comfort zone. So the ideal travthe European Solidarity Corps are a perfect fit eler is not somebody you are, it’s somebody you slowly become. The places that you ar for you. will help you gain a more complex and diverse Since the global volunteering community perspective on the world and its happenings, a is very well-connected, you can also scroll quality that will be of very good use when trythrough the “European Solidarity Corps Oppor- ing to evaluate recent events. The golden rule tunities” Facebook group or the “Erasmus Plus for engaging in new experiences while travelProjects” Facebook group. Here, organisations ling is the YES-rule. Whatever the offer is, try and associations uptake their projects and are to always say yes and tag along, even if you looking for volunteers, both short-term and might be demotivated or shy at first. It makes long-term, on a daily basis. If you keep an eye a good and open-minded impression and will on all these sources, you will definitely find a help you stumble into adventures and meet felgood match and have the opportunity to work, low globetrotters. As long as you are interested in learning, seeing and doing new things, everyhelp, enjoy and relax, all at the same time. thing else will fall into place.

Why travel?

Travelling the world and living in different countries teaches you everything that books won’t teach you. In order to tackle all of your problems you have to be flexible, adaptable, but also be persistent and determined. These are not qualities that just magically appear when crossing the border of your own country, they are habits you develop when being forced to

Our Balkan Hotspot volunteer team

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Of course there is no reason to idealize this

continent, Europe has many flaws, a lot of social injustice and both inner and outer conflicts.

But it is also a pulsating place of innovation, aesthetic and people with open arms. It will help you grow personally on one hand and interculturally and intellectually on the other hand. So enjoy the people, enjoy the food, enjoy the views and make some new memories!

Europe

Ukraine as a member of the EU - realistic or a dream scenario?

by Anastasiia Hrechka

As a child I have been always told that all doors are closed in Ukraine. That in order to succeed I have to leave. That success and opportunities are only available in Europe. This is the kind of mentality I grew up with. That‘s why my mom made the decision for me and immigrated to Germany when I was ten. And I was a part of this decision. She took me with her. Often I ask myself how my life would be if I would stay in Ukraine. How would it be if Ukraine would be a part of the EU? My life would be completely different now. The life of the whole Ukrainian community would change. Because I am not an exception. I am one amongst many.

The question is: Does Ukraine have a realistic “Anatoliy Zlenko, [a Ukrainian politician,] said

chance of claiming membership of the EU? Especially considering that the Ukrainian community sees Europe as an inexhaustible source of wealth and fortune and desperately wish to be a part of it.

that “behind our back, other words were spoken [by EU politicians] – that Ukraine was too big for the EU and that by its dimensions, culture and history, it would not fit into the European Union”. Still, Ukraine is a priority partner for the EU. This is what the eastern partnership document says about their relationship. Through the Association Agreement including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area signed in 2014, Ukraine and the EU are in a special relationship. The bilateral trade grew by more than 50%, Ukrainians can enter 149 countries visa free, 40% of Ukraine’s trade is now with the EU. Generally, a lot of progress was made in the sections of Economy, governance, society and environment and connectivity with the help of the EU. However, this is not enough.

The

EU runs out of tools. Disappointed by Ukraine’s lack of dedication concerning the corruption and oligarchism, the slow transformation of institutions, economy and society and the lack of political solution for the Donbass conflict, the EU Commissioner Günther Verheugen said:

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Europe

“I think that anybody who thinks that Ukraine should be taken into the EU should perhaps come along with the argument that Mexico should be taken into the USA”.

However, on the EU-Ukraine-Peak on the 12th

of October, 2021, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that Ukraine is on a good path to join the EU. Still, she emphasised that a lot of things still need to be done and Ukraine has a long path to go.

In an interview the Vice-Commission president Valdis Dombrovskis certified that an expansion of the EU in the coming future is not realistic and will not happen.

These results make Ukraine devastated. Zelenskyi, the Ukrainian President, said that more than seven years have already passed in which Ukrainians proved that they share the European values and that Ukraine will surely make the

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European Union stronger. Zelenskyi is trying hard to improve the situation in Ukraine: A law against oligarchism was passed on the 23rd of September. That’s why the Ukrainian community is even more furious and disappointed by the results of the EU-Ukraine-Peak. “Ukraine still has a long path to go.“ - Impatience grows every second.

Here is a statement of a young Ukrainian stu-

dent about the results:

“In my opinion youth in Ukraine has more Euro-

pean views on life than ever. Nowadays we are developing with extraordinary speed.

Despite the conditions in Ukraine which are

obviously not as favourable as in other European countries, we are trying to engage in self development. There is a big amount of really successful Ukrainians, many famous inventions and researches were done by Ukrainian scientists. Being a student I want to say that in spite of all problems in our country, the ma-

Europe

jority of the young generation is very intelligent and conscious of their actions. If you want to study, there are enough opportunities to develop “We are all not perfect“ - Ukraine is not an exyourself. A lot of lecturers are very professional ception. Being one of the priority partners of the EU, Ukraine has made a lot of progress in and motivated, so they are doing a good job. different areas. Young people are motivated I have to admit that having more opportunities and most of them share European values. to study abroad or to become an exchange student, would be better for us because this expe- So does Ukraine have a realistic chance of rience can help us to improve our educational claiming membership of the EU? I would say no. At least not in the coming years. system which evidently is not perfect.

We are very upset because of the fact that we

Sources:

are not a part of the European Union but we are doing our best to improve our country and ourselves.

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-should-come-clean-onukraine/

More and more Ukrainians are thinking about

https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/ukraine-eu-gipfel-101.html

the meaning of life, they are trying to care about our planet and to lead a European way of life.

But I would like to add that every country has its own way of developing, we all are unique but we need to consider the development of all countries because we all are not perfect.”

-Ukrainian woman, 18 years old

https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/system/ files/2021-03/eap_factsheet_ukraine.pdf https://dgap.org/en/research/publications/mismatched-expectations-are-straining-eu-ukraine-relations http://www.policy.hu/pidluska/EU-Ukraine.html https://euobserver.com/opinion/152721

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Mix Fix

Simone de Beauvoir: one life

3 books by Simone de Beauvoir you should add to your reading list.

by Clara Rodier

Simone de Beauvoir in full Simone-Lucie-Ernestine-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, was born

in 1908 in Paris. Considered by feminist movements as a pioneer of women’s liberation, her whole life was a demonstration that one can be a woman and lead an independent and free life. She was a French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist, and social theorist. She became, in the Paris of the 1950s, the symbol of the free woman, claiming her place as a writer alongside the great post-war intellectuals. She had a significant influence on both feminist existentialism and feminist theory. She was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. Here are the three most popular books you need to add to your reading list.

Essay

The Second Sex (1949): “No one is more arrogant toward women, more aggressive or scornful, that the man who is anxious about his virility”. —S. de Beauvoir ( The Second Sex , 1949)

Published in 1949, The Second Sex is De Beauvoir’s nearly 1,000-page written in two years and become a standard of fe minist culture.

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This essay is a critique of patriarchy and the second-rate status granted to women throughout history. In this book, she asked existential questions “what it means to be a woman?” “are we born women?”. The Second Sex advocates

Mix Fix

sexual independence, lesbianism, defends abortion and questions the role of mother. Revolutionary ideas in 1949 when the book was published. The book was received with great controversy, with some critics characterizing the book as pornography and the Vatican placing the work on the church’s list of forbidden texts. Nowadays The Second Sex is considered to be a bible of contemporary feminism and also the starting point of second-wave feminism.

that would divide the world into two hegemonic blocs. The milieu described is that of the “mandarins”, a title for left-wing intellectuals, former members of the Resistance, who intend to

“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” —S. de Beauvoir

Novels The Mandarins (1954): Simone de Beauvoir was Winner of the 1954

Goncourt Prize, the most prestigious French literary prize with “The Mandarins”. This novel accurately and sensitively depicts the French intellectuals group of the post-war period and the debates surrounding communism. This book is inseparable from its historical context; the post-war period and the rise of tensions

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Mix Fix

“N’oubliez jamais qu’il suffira d’une crise politique, économique ou religieuse pour que les droits des femmes soient remis en question.

Ces droits ne sont jamais acquis.

Vous devrez rester vigilantes votre vie durant. ” “Never forget that a political, economic or religious crisis will be enough to call women’s rights into question. These rights can never be taken for granted. You will have to remain vigilant throughout your lives.”

and Sartre’s own circle of friends at the time, including Albert Camus and Arthur Koestler.

Autobiography

Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter (1958): In Memoir of a Dutiful Daughter Simone de

Beauvoir describes her upbringing in an impoverished and downtrodden bourgeois French family, and then her turn away from the readymade life her family offered her. In this very first autobiography she depicts her as a rebellious teenager against the conventional expectations of her parents and her class and her determination to establish herself in her own intellectual right.

Friendship, travel stories, philosophical muscontinue their anti-fascist struggle in building ing, love, and learning are all key elements of socialism. It is generally believed that the char- the story. Her work expresses her anti-conacters are based on members of de Beauvoir formism towards the society of the time.

—S. de Beauvoir

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People as heritage keepers

Responsibility to all the communities

by Carol Väljaots

All of the people experience community life

completely differently. But the longer we live without thinking develop an idea of the perfect and travel, the more communities we see and community.

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Is

there a perfect place for people on this people in the communities build values, tradiearth? Who knows. But even without realising, tions, places, objects and so much more.

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The people in those communities are changing,

but everything they built usually stays. Some of those things we can call cultural heritage.

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I’m sure that you will find the reason why we

around in this magazine but I want to focus on have to keep the cultural heritage wandering the people.

People are the ones who have the responsibility

of keeping our cultural heritage alive. To keep the memories of history - no matter if bad or good.

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No matter where we are from, with what back-

keep our surroundings and before stepping to ground or where we plan to go. It’s on us to the future, respect history and traditions.

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The faith in us Turkish superstitions

Responsibility to all the communities

by Muhammet Şahin Akkaya

There are many superstitions today. Different from each other. Is there any superstition

that sounds very different to you? Or let me ask you, have you ever thought about how different the superstitions can be in Turkey?

What is superstition?

Superstitions are beliefs or practices that are

found in different forms in many societies, usually stemming from ignorance, lack of scientific knowledge, and fear of the unknown. Superstitions are often associated with luck, divination, and certain spiritual beings. It is known that some superstitions bring good luck, some superstitions bring bad luck, and some are just for protective beliefs. Perhaps these superstitions are similar in most parts of Europe, but we need not go far to look for slightly different superstitions. If we take a look at the easternmost part of Europe, at Turkey, we can see that there are different and interesting superstitions.

Protective superstitions

feature in Turkish culture. In Turkey, they call it “Nazar Boncuğu”. They believe that the blue beads, designed to resemble the shape of an eye, are protective for everything and everyone, animate and inanimate. The people attach them somewhere to the person or the object.

It is quite common to see a person carrying a blue bead in Turkey, or to see a blue bead on top of a Turkish friend’s house.

Another protective belief of Turkish culture is

to pour a bucket of water on the back of a person going on a long journey. While the water is pouring from the back of the person to go, the following words are said. “Go like water, come like water”. As it is said, it is a hope that the person will go and return like the flowing of water.

Let’s start with the most well-known, the blue You may have heard before that Turks are kind

bead, which is thought to have a protective and friendly. So much so that this is even reflected in their superstitions. When they are giving a knife or scissors to another person, first they spit on it and then hand the knife to the other person. Although it doesn’t sound like a very hygienic, it is believed that this spitting is done to discredit the knife. Since the knife is a tool that people have used for centuries to kill each other, it is considered a tool to start a fight.

For this reason, the knife is vilified by spitting on the knife in order to maintain permanent peace and friendship between the two sides.

Blue bead

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© Engin Akyurt @pixabay

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Could human reactions be superstitions?

Compatibility of superstitions with religion

The belief of hitting the wood after a bad wish

has survived to the present day and is one of the common superstitions among the people.

This is not only unique to Turks, but also seen in many different European countries. Due to its height and strength characteristics, oak wood was believed to have special powers in ancient times. The superstition of knocking on wood was born for the belief of awakening and activating these special powers. After the Turks hit the board, he says it in a sentence like “GOD BLESS”. Although it is known that superstitions are incompatible with religion and that superstitions are accepted as sins according to the religion of Islam but Turkish superstitions have become a whole with the religion of Islam over time.

There are some superstitions that are related to religion. For example, a Turk who enters a house or a room never puts his left foot before the right one because the good angel sits on his right shoulder and the evil angel on his left shoulder. They both wait on the threshold, so he must leave the good angel first.

Knocking on wood

© Istock/cagan

Itching, which is one of the reactions of the

human body, is a sign of superstition according to Turkish culture. If the right hand itches, the money will come, if the left hand itches, the money will go. The reason for this is that money is usually given with the right hand during shopping, and the left hand is used if money is to be taken from someone. According to the Turks, if the soles of the feet are itchy, it is thought that the person will go on a journey.

According to the belief, the person should go somewhere because he cannot stand in his position. Tinnitus, which is another of the human body’s reactions, has also been interpreted according to Turkish superstitions. If your ears are ringing, it means someone is talking about you. In fact, if this tinnitus lasts for a long time, it is even thought that others are talking about you for a long time.

Turkish Superstitions vary from region to re-

gion. In Turkish lands, which have hosted many civilizations, superstitions have now gained a place as a part of daily life. In fact, aren’t these superstitions something that holds the culture together and transmits it for years?

Tinnitus

© Istock/Marianvejcik

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U SB TEA M Anastasiia Hrechka | 18 years old

Anna Żukowska | 30 years old

Favourite topics are mental health, architecture and equality

Favorite topics are ecology and volunteering

Carol Väljaots | 22 years old

Clara Rodier | 22 years old

Favorite topics are activism, traveling and photography

Favorite topics are environmental social issues and animals.

Dani Blesa Sala | 24 years old

Michelle Wischnepolski | 18 years old

Favourite topics are music, graphic design and languages.

Favorite topics are feminism, travelling, books and psychology

Santi Oribe | 25 years old

Zofia Nyka | 22 years old

Favorite topics are natural and social sciences, philosophy and history

Favorite topics are law, traveling and sport

Diogo Vilarinho | 24 years old

Şahin Akkaya |

Favorite topics are graphic design, social media and video

Favorite topics are worldwide contests, sports, international relations

Guests

years old

Aggeliki Patakiouti

Lola Itzá López

General Directors: Editors: Aristodimos Paraschou Anna Żukowska Christian Cibba Graphic Designer: Alexandros Tagaridis Find us: www.balkanhotspot.org Usb_ngo.gr

Petrina Georgousi

Riccardo Maniscalco

The volunteers responsible for this publication are hosted in Greece in the framework of the European ERASMUS+ Programme, European Solidarity Corps. 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.