may 2021
voices
MAGAZINE FOR ALL YOUNG PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD
Editorial
Едиторијал
Hey, it’s May!
Еј, Мај е!
What do you think about May? Isn’t it a very special month? Did you know that no other month of a given year starts or ends on the same day of the week as May does? May is a month full of change. In May the climate changes, the society changes, our brains change, feelings change, people change, the main actress of his favorite Netflix series changed, we change, you change, I change and you change again. Maybe we should change the beginning of the year to the 1 st of May. It would be at least a unique weekday for a beginning. Or even better, we should change our concept of time right away. This “beginning and ending”-nonsense is getting annoying anyways. There is nothing like beginning or ending, we are just too primitive to grasp that. But not in May, in May we are smart and forget all we’ve got taught for the sake of not feeling lost in this threatening place we call world. The world changes in May!
Што мислите за мај? Не е некој многу посебен месец, нели? Дали знаете дека во ниту еден друг месец од годината, првиот и последниот ден од месецот никогаш не се повторуваат? На пример, доколку 1 мај е во сабота, во ниту еден друг месец од годината, „први“ нема да се „падне“ во сабота? Мај е месец полн со промени. Во мај климата се менува, општеството се менува, нашиот мозок се менува, чувствата се менуваат, луѓето се менуваат, главниот актер од омилената серија на „Нетфликс“ се смени, ние се менуваме, вие се менувате, јас се менувам и вие повторно се менувате. Можеби треба да го смениме почетокот на годината во 1-ви мај. Тоа би бил барем уникатен работен ден за почеток. Или уште подобро, треба веднаш да го смениме нашиот концепт за времето. Како и да е, оваа глупост „почеток и крај“ станува вознемирувачка. Нема ништо како почеток или крај, ние сме премногу примитивни за да го сфатиме тоа. Но, не во мај, во мај сме паметни и забораваме на се што мислевме со цел да не се чувствуваме изгубени во ова заканувачко место што го нарекуваме свет. Светот се менува во мај!
Maybe May will set us free. Maybe May is nothing but an excuse. Maybe May starts with reading an article that’s gonna inspire you! Maybe May will be the beginning of your year. May this edition of Voices be with you! Christopher Machold
Можеби мај ќе нè ослободи. Можеби мај не е ништо друго освен изговор. Можеби мај започнува со читање напис што ќе ве инспирира! Можеби мај ќе биде почетокот на вашата година. Дозволете ова мајско издание на „Воисес“ да биде со вас! Кристофер Махолд
VCS DIRECTOR: Nikola Stankoski COORDINATORS: Andrej Naumovski Goran Adamovski Goran Galabov Selina Niemi
VOLUNTEERS: Christopher Machold Clarissa Leute Yvan Barbeau Emmi Rissanen INTERN: Rute Cardoso
WRITERS: Dzaner Shengjuler Goran Galaboff Klaudia Matera Patrycja Oleś Lucile Guéguen TRANSLATORS: Kristina Stamenova Ejona Limanaj
DESIGNERS: Selina Niemi Rute Cardoso Christopher Machold Clarissa Leute Yvan Barbeau Emmi Rissanen Lucile Guéguen
CONTACT: Volunteers Centre Skopje Emil Zola 3/3-1, 1000, Skopje +389 22 772 095 vcs_contact@yahoo.com www.vcs.org.mk
Voices magazine is coordinated, designed and created by ESC and local volunteers with support of Erasmus+ program.
content topic of the month 4
VOICES May 2021 - issue 5
8
The ABC of Ethical Volunteering Abroad
Emmi Rissanen
24
Еми Рисанен
АБВ на етичкото волонтирање во странство
poetry 7
I missed you today...
Goran Galaboff
reportages 8 10
Travel Agencies “Drown” Again
Rute Cardoso
A, B, C, D, E, K’s of Nutrition
Dzaner Shengjuler
12
Yvan Barbeau
14
Wikipedia, a Bastion of Idealism on the Internet How Nigeria became the second biggest film industry in the world
14
Christopher Machold
16 Purity Culture: Raising a Generation in Fear of Sex
18
Clarissa Leute
Easter is coming… with chocolate!
Yvan Barbeau
20
Language Research based on School Education and Innate Language Abilities
22
Klaudia Matera and Patrycja Oleś
China’s most powerful diplomatic tool
Lucile Guéguen
24
Yvan Barbeau
Wikipedia, një bastion i idealizmit në internet
20
VOICES - 3
topic of the month
The ABC of ethical volunteering abroad Over the past decades traveling to distant places has become all the time more and more easy and affordable. Alongside this trend, also new, alternative forms of traveling have emerged. Many people have chosen to volunteer abroad to fuse the fun of exploring an exotic country by working in a local charitable organization. Despite, at first glance, volunteering sounds like a fair deal, the phenomenon has also attracted criticism. VOICES spoke to former volunteers and a director of Forever Angels, a charitable organization in Tanzania.
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тема на месецот
V
olunteering abroad has become all the time more and more popular way of seeing the world. While volunteering, the traveler stays in a foreign country to work most often for a charitable organization. The type of work done can, for example, be something in the fields of healthcare, teaching, or agriculture. Typically, the destination country of volunteering is somewhere in the global south, and the volunteers are from the rich, Western countries. Especially young people favour volunteering as a way of traveling during their gap years and other spare time between studies and work. The term voluntourism, on the other hand, is used for a few weeks’ trips where few days in the program are dedicated to “volunteering.” Social work students Elli Jutila (25) and Mia Hiekkamäki (31) from Finland went to volunteer in an orphanage in Bali, Indonesia. Jutila describes to VOICES that the experience taught her about “the significance of human dignity, different cultures and the diversity of life.” As the most important outcome of her stay, she defines “the genuine encounters with the children and youngsters” and having given them the opportunity to get to know her and a distinct culture. Hiekkamäki shares that for her, the experience “shaped her world view” and also “provided a professionally new perspective.” Finnish Youth worker Jussi Louhimaa (27) also had an eye-opening experience when he went to do volunteer work
in his field in Tanzania. “I got a lot of perspective to the standards that people live in,” he explains to VOICES in a video call and contemplates how people back home “have so many things that they [Tanzanians] don’t have,” yet he sees the Tanzanians to “have many things that we don’t value anymore.” Louhimaa believes the experience has changed his mindset somehow; “I think about some things differently nowadays.” Besides the individual effects of volunteering, the stays can also be beneficial for the hosting organization and community in the destination. As with any tourism, volunteers boost the local economy when they buy goods and services from local traders. Also, with adequate skills for the given tasks, the volunteer can truly be a great help for the organization and influence to develop their practices.
The other side of the coin There are still many factors to consider when it comes to volunteering abroad. Especially orphanages receiving volunteers have been set a critical eye on, as it has been found out that in several countries, children have
been separated from their parents and brought to live in orphanages just to preserve the volunteering business. Based on what she saw, Hiekkamäki also tells having pondered on the fact that “multiplicity of Western donors might easily lead to someone making profit out of the vulnerable children.” Despite the fact that she counts on the practices of the orphanage they volunteered at, she says that they also visited other places that “did seem suspicious.” “There are definitely ethical challenges related to volunteering,” she sums up. Also, matters of developmental psychology should be considered when working with children. Jutila tells having felt injustice about the impacts of “the western tourists coming to visit the children.” “There is no certain stability that every youngster and child need in their life,” the future social worker argues. What also concerns many is the predominance of the wealthier, western societies in relation to the poorer postcolonial ones. The critical approach even suggests that voluntourism is an alternative form of neo-colonization, meaning that
VOICES - 5
topic of the month
the host communities see the volunteers as something superior and higher in the hierarchy. Also, research has brought up that the carbon footprint volunteering travelers leave behind for taking multiple long and short-distance flights to reach their destination countries is undeniable.
First, research – “transparency” is the key So, when planning on volunteering in a faraway destination, there are a variety of things the traveler should take into consideration if they want to be ethical. VOICES spoke to Amy Hathaway, a founder, and director of an organization that provides care for orphaned children in Northern Tanzania. During the 15-years path of their organization Forever Angels, Amy and her staff have gone through self-reflection and developing the volunteering in their organization to be as ethical as possible. “First of all, just do your research. It’s so important”, Hathaway advises on choosing an organization to volunteer with. “Statistically, across the world, 80% of orphans in orphanages are not orphans, and they have at least one parent alive”, she sheds light on the dark reality. “Orphanages are purely existing for financial reasons.” Hathaway also describes some sad examples of the orphanages that volunteering fuel, like “parents paying for their children to stay there
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believing that they are schools,” or because “the children are getting good English education from volunteers.” “Basically, those sorts of places are splitting up families,” she shares. If someone is interested in volunteering in orphanages, Hathaway encourages them to make sure the place they are going “promotes family reunification.” In whatever field of organization, the volunteer is going to, the founding director also suggests checking their finances. “If they don’t want to show you them, then an alarm bell should ring already,” she warns and concludes that the organizations “should be transparent.” Hathaway also highlights the importance of not going to do work that you do not know how to do. “You need to ask yourself; do I have the skills to do this?” she proposes. “Would I be able to do it in my own country, is a very important question,” she adds. Hathaway defines “taking students with no qualifications to do a job that they are not qualified for” as risky and unethical, and she reminds that those positions could often be filled locally by someone who has more skills to do them. For Hathaway´s organization, the pandemic has caused an unintentional
experiment of not having volunteers for the first time after their initial stages. She says that the time without volunteers has demonstrated how important support they actually are for the Baby Home. “To have a volunteer there really makes the experience of the children so much better just in terms of activities and being engaged and education-wise,” she concludes and also laments that “the children have lost all their English.” Hathaway also wants to highlight the significance of the volunteering experience for the volunteers themselves. “I think it opens young people’s eyes to the inequality of our world,” she explains. The experiences of the volunteers who spoke to VOICES also prove this change of mindset is undergone after their stays. Emmi Rissanen Sources: https://www.worldvision.ca/stories/ voluntourism-the-good-and-the-bad#2 https://www.sciendo.com/article/10.2478/ ejthr-2019-0010 https://www.foreverangels.org/index.html
поезија
I Missed you today... I missed you today… Went all over my stupid head So empty, dark…cobweb space, I couldn`t find a single trace. Yeah..! I missed you so bad! Today…Tomorrow as well, Life-long, every single day, An image-blurry, Almost forgotten face, Whatta mind can be… Jail…or Promised Land? You were out? Vanished today? As someone`s erased you, Cleared all that you left, But I know that You always come back! Just NOW…Today! I dived deeper into myself And found you…You cannot be gone… In my heart where you belong! Did I mention to you? I missed you today… Goran Galaboff Taken from: ALL THE PROJECT GIRLS
VOICES - 7
reportage
Travel Agencies “Drown” Again
Employing about 10 000 people in Macedonia, the tourism sector was hardly hit by the pandemic - travel agencies fear the future. But there’s still hope, and its name is summer and more help from the government. The sector doesn’t give up and waits for the open borders, the easement of restrictions, and financial aid to get back on track.
T
ourism has been one of the most affected sectors during the covid-19 pandemic. “Our sector is a very specific one for this covid situation, and we are having a lot of problems: we don’t have work, and we can’t have plans for the next period”, confesses Amela Idrizi, from Best Travel in Skopje. Without sufficient help from the government, travel agencies also joined the hospitality sector protest in front of the Ministry of Finance on the 20th of April. Travel agencies have the largest share of the tourism-related companies in the country (28%), only matched by the hotels’ share of also 28%, according to a recent study on the effects on the private sector – tourism and hospitality in Macedonia. “As a country, you have to help the agencies now when they need it, and they will give you back”, urges Ana Marija Aleksova, owner of the travel agency Staff and representative of the sector on the public protest. 8 - VOICES
Especially at a time where people are not traveling nor planning to. “For the summer, the reservations are so low”, laments Idrizi. “We don’t have reservations”. Since Best Travel primarily works with outgoing tourism, closed borders and PCR test requirements affect the company. “We have destinations without PCR tests like Albania and individual, under-request destinations like Dubai, Maldives”, adds Idrizi but for the moment is not enough.
“
I just hope the borders will open and everything returns to normal - if not, everything will go to Hell.
Elena Stepanoska Office manager at JK Travel
The only hope is the summer. “We are still trying to save the summer, but it’s tough because we still don’t know if everything will be fine with the borders opening, the flights…”, shares Elena Stepanoska, office manager of one of the JK Travel offices in Skopje. The agency is working on some destinations like Turkey, Greece, and Albania, but the reservations are still low. “In Albania, this [PCR test] is not a problem - they make reservations, at the moment, and the sales are going but not very good because we have the police hours and people are not very interested in traveling”, explains Stepanoska. “I hope, after this, the sales will start.” The Maldives and Dubai are also prominent destinations, but there is a requirement for PCR tests. “We can see that only richer people can afford them, but they are not very interested, at the moment”, says Stepanoska, mentioning a Bulgarian company they cooperate
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Acording to a recent study that analayzed the tourism sector in Macedonia and the pandemic, 83% of the polled companies expected revenues to drop by over 50% in the last quarter of 2020. with and that only had the plane half full with passengers. Also, people are not that fond of the idea of getting tested now “because they are afraid they will test positive”. While there are still some people “calling and asking and coming to make a reservation in the hope they will travel”, others are afraid. “Now, it is very quiet; almost nobody is traveling this month - usually what they are looking for is from the end of May to the summer”, she says, pointing out that the preferred destinations are the ones without PCR test like Albania and Serbia. However, there are some countries that people are not interested in at all. Bulgaria is one of them – “Nobody asked. Before we were selling Bulgaria packages like every other country nearby but this year not”, tells Stepanoska, guessing this is due to the pandemic and the political situation. African states, the East, and the rest of Europe are also not on the list of requests anymore. Groups are not that common traveling, especially because of the reduction of seats in transports. The sales are low also because instead of having multiple choices for hours of departures, now, there is only one bus for each place. “At the moment, there are mostly couples traveling to near destinations, like here in Macedonia, for example”, she mentions. Since JK Travel is an outgoing company, they usually don’t work with Macedonian hotels, but with the pandemic, they had to adapt. “With the situation, we started to sell Macedonian
packages, so I think it will be the same this year - we will have Macedonia and the countries around us too”, explains Stepanoska. However, focusing on the country may also not be an easy option for some companies. “People from Macedonia make those trips by themselves; they don’t use travel agencies for that”, states Izidri from Best Travel, who doesn’t have requests for Macedonian destinations. “I think the smaller agencies are being very hit by this situation, and they cannot survive. We are having problems, I can only imagine how it is for them”, says Stepanoska sadly. According to the previously mentioned study that analyzed the tourism sector in Macedonia, no firm was not affected by the pandemic. 83% of the polled companies expected revenues to drop by over 50% in the last quarter of 2020, and 66% were very worried about reducing the activities on the domestic tourist market. Still, from the same study, 66% of the companies inquired stated the measures taken by the state regarding the tourism and hospitality sector did not help them. “The situation here with our government and the economic packages they are giving as help stopped”, explains Stepanoska about the sector that’s not a priority and yet employs about 10 000 people in the country. “I just hope the borders will open and everything returns to normal - if not, everything will go to Hell”, she concludes. “We have to pay the employees, the bills, and when you don’t work, you have nothing, you have money for
“
As a country, you have to help the agencies now when they need it, and they will give you back
Ana Marija Aleksova
Owner of the travel agency Staff
nothing”, explains Aleksova. “That’s why we need financial help - money for the business to exist, for travel agencies not to close”, she urges. The demands were regarding the campaign “home is home” – an initiative where the government gives 100 € vouchers to Macedonian citizens to travel around the country –, the vouchers from previous reservations from last year, and the direct financial aid. For the first problem, travel agencies ask for the voucher to be used through them, since it’ll be a greater help for the sector – “from this money we will pay to the hotel, to the guide, to everyone who is included in tourism”.
66% of the companies inquired stated the measures taken by the state regarding the tourism and hospitality sector did not help them. For the second one, they ask for the deadline of the vouchers to be extended one more year since there is still a lot of uncertainty for this one. “We don’t know what will happen this summer. I don’t believe Europe will open for us this year, we are not that positive and optimistic about this”, she says sadly. Last but not least, they ask for financial aid. “Last year, they gave us 6-month salary, and one time they gave us a grant from 1500 to 7000 euro per company, but for one company to live for one year, this is nothing”, explains Aleksova. This year, they only got two months’ salary and “that’s it”. But it’s not enough for the situation is still going. “This is happening all over the world, but other governments are thinking about it, and the people don’t have to go [to protests] like this for the government to help”, she declares. “I have to stay positive and hope our government will think healthy and decide to help us”, hopes Aleksova.
Rute Cardoso Pictures: Rute Cardoso Sources: https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/24058/1/ Finalna%20Studija%20Turizam%20i%20 ugostitelstvo%20Covid19%20ENGLISH%20 Version.pdf
VOICES - 9
reportage
A, B, C, D, E, K’s of Nutrition
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf – A Room of One’s Own 10 - VOICES
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n important factor affecting human life and development at any stage of their life span is nutrition. It follows us in the earliest stages of our lives until old ages. To survive, grow, develop, produce, and live a healthy life, good food is necessary [1]. During the pandemic, I would encourage you, the dear reader, to pay more attention to what you eat, remember that, “what you eat, you become.” Therefore, this time let us talk about vitamin A, shall we? Vitamins are compounds that people require in small amounts to maintain their well-being. For instance, did you know that in 1500 BC – the liver (rich in vitamin A) was used by the ancient Egyptians to treat night blindness? [2] That being said, vitamin A is required in small amounts for the proper functioning of the vision, growth, development [3], and many other scientifically used terms which are not our primary focus at the moment. This vitamin is fat-soluble, meaning that upon consumption, our bodies store it under the skin where the fat is located, which further means that if you eat carrots in excess, you can turn to orange color. Even though it is hard to define the deficiency from this vitamin, in extreme cases, it causes irreversible blindness, an increase in morbidity and mortality, as well as adverse outcomes such as anemia, slow growth, and development [3]. So, would you like to know the sources of vitamin A? Yes? Then, let us not waste any more time. As every child knows, carrots are a good source of this vitamin; eating 100 g of carrot can meet the persons’ daily requirement. Aside from this, green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, lettuce, beet greens, turnip greens, collards, kale, and more, are good sources. A variety of dishes can be prepared or used for salads from the above-mentioned vegetables. If you are interested in getting your vitamin A from non-vegetal sources, then keep in mind that animal liver and egg yolks contain enough of it to meet your daily requirements [4]. A healthy mind is found in a healthy body; thus, we all are responsible for our nutrition, and the adverse outcomes, as a result of not eating properly. Now you know the importance and the sources of vitamin A. Be aware that the quantity in micronutrients such as vitamins is essential unless you want to walk around your neighborhood all orange and people staring at you strangely. Stay safe and healthy through nutrition.
Dzaner Shengjuler
Sources: [1]https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/66509/WHO_NHD_00.6.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y [2] http://courses.washington.edu/medch562/NEW2015/pdf/562_lecture1lx_2016.pdf [3] file:///C:/Users/Neko/OneDrive/Desktop/9241546123.pdf [4]https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/lybrate+english-epaper-lybraten/10+interesting+facts+about+vitamin+a-newsid-100986894
VOICES - 11
reportage
Wikipedia, a Bastion of Idealism on the Internet Whoever possesses a good internet connection has probably used Wikipedia at least once and has a bit of knowledge about it. But do people know why and how it was created, and what is its place in our virtual world?
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W
hen Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger created on the 15th of January 2001 their free and open-collaborative online encyclopedia, they would probably have never imagined the destiny their website would have in the future: Wikipedia is indeed not only one of the most consulted and famous online encyclopedias in the world; it has thanks to its multiple particularities - a unique and irreplaceable position in our virtual environment. Let’s begin with a brief history of Wikipedia, which bespeaks of its revolutionary aspects; even though its creation occurred well after the World Wide Web, these both inventions share common aims and ideals: the World Wide Web was indeed conceived as a means to connect people and make a place where information becomes more accessible. It intended to create a world of global democracy - so to say - where anyone, anywhere, can use a computer to learn more about everything and improve one’s knowledge. Throughout worldwide hyperlinks access, everybody became allowed not merely to consume content but also to create it. For this reason, Wikipedia was viewed -and remains soas a tool that was aimed to shake the plutocracy’s hold on established media and other elitist hierarchies. More broadly, it has created a place for global citizens to express their views without being threatened by governmental censorship, which is an important step in mankind’s development. This step was guaranteed by its success, which, in turn, keeps providing a great incentive for people to contribute to this tool of democracy. The history of Wikipedia is not, though, exactly the one might think about when talking about such an influential website: in fact, Wikipedia was simply at its beginning the sideshow of Nupedia, another virtual encyclopedia created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, which at the time of its launching - October 1999 - already had the revolutionary aspects that Wikipedia possesses: a free encyclopedia that can be updated in real-time. Moreover, like its successor, it was a secondary, not a primary source, that quoted information from the media or academic papers rather than publish original research.
However, and this is a big difference with Wikipedia, Nupedia had a strict approvals process, as bespeak these words of Jimmy Wales: « it was very formal and very top-down, you had to be approved to write anything, and you were expected to submit a completed essay.» This long submission process put a quick end to Nupedia’s life expectancy, as the site only published twenty-one articles after a year. But Jimmy Wales and Larry Page had meanwhile already launched Wikipedia on the 15th of January 2001 as an experiment that ditched the checks of Nupedia. The new site exploded: « one of the things that were interesting,» Wales remembers, « is that in the early days, people started writing things that were pretty good. They were very short and basic, but there was nothing wrong with them ». Over time, several core policies were established, among which the fact that pages should be verifiable, meaning that other visitors can check the information comes from a reliable source. This is part of the principle of open-collaboration defended by Wikipedia, which can be defined as «any system of innovation or production that relies on goal-oriented yet loosely coordinated participants who interact to create a product (or service) of economic value, which they make available to contributors and noncontributors alike.»
hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, an American non-profit organization funded mainly through donations. Contrary to many websites, it stayed faithful to its non-profit objective while others progressively disappointed us by transforming the web into « an expensive place.» Likewise, Wikipedia remains free of any adverts and does not collect any data from its users., which is a considerable advantage in our world of mass surveillance. Twenty years on from its humble beginnings, the online encyclopedia has managed to offer an alternative source of knowledge, that is a more technical (or specific) one, a one which is much more diverse, and by being so it has managed to displace established sources of knowledge. Though it has been criticized for its uneven accuracy and for exhibiting systemic bias (in 2018, nine out of ten editors were male), the great gift of Wikipedia is how it teaches us to question sources of authority. Yvan Barbeau Sources: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ magazine/wikipedia-is-the-last-bastion-ofidealism-on-the-internet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
There are now 321 Wikipedias in different languages and over six million entries on the English language site alone. Combined, Wikipedia's editions comprise more than 56 million articles and attract more than 17 million edits and more than 1.7 billion unique visitors per month. Its speed is impressive, as the articles are edited 350 times a minute on average. But Wikipedia’s valuable contribution to the internet may also be found elsewhere. Despite being in the top ten most-visited sites in the world in 2020, it is the only not-forprofit on this list. It is indeed VOICES - 13
reportage
How Nigeria became the 2nd biggest film industry in the world
I In 2009, the UNESCO rated the Nigerian film industry as the second-biggest film inudstry in the world. While this might be an unknown fact to many people in Western societies, the story behind can provide a different understanding of both the film industry itself and how different preconditions and approaches can be successful in their own ways.
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t isn’t a secret that the US American culture has a strong impact on many other countries around the globe. Especially US American movie productions have dominated the film market for centuries and thereby influenced many other societies, particularly the European. In 2018, 63.2% of the films that had been distributed to the European Union were US productions, 29.4% were European films and only 2.1% were films from other countries. Within those 2.1%, there must be films of those film industries that are actually amongst the largest in the world when it comes to the number of film productions. While it might be known that India produces the largest number of films every year, much fewer people could name the country with the second-biggest film industry in the world – Nigeria. Let’s broaden our horizons and find out how and why Nigeria became the second-biggest film industry in the world, and why probably nobody of us has ever seen a Nigerian movie before. It is widely assumed that the starting point was an event that took place in 1992. When filmmaker Kenneth Nnebue imported a stockpile of blank videotapes from Taiwan and had some struggle in selling them, it came to his mind that it might be a good idea to put a film on them, so he could sell them easier and even
for more. So instead of producing a movie for the cinema first and selling it through VHS after, Nnebue recorded the film straight to VHS. The movie was called “Living in Bondage” and was a massive success with hundreds of thousand sold copies. Inspired by this success story, many other businessmen and filmmakers saw their chance and invested in video movie production as well – the home video film era started. The industry was characterized by speed, low cost, and informality. Many movies were shot in only two weeks, meaning with pre-production and editing they could be produced and ready for sale in just one month of work. In contrast to cinema productions, which were dependent on foreign funding, schooling, and inspiration, the video industry was profitable and self-sufficient. It was an industry that hasn’t originated from governmental policies or anything similar but emerged as a response to economic, social, and political struggle, developed by Nigerian entrepreneurs. It became one of the fastest-growing sectors in the Nigerian economy and has created thousands of jobs. But all of this couldn’t have worked if there would be no audience for the movies. Since the majority of the films were shot in the shortest time with a minimal budget, their quality was comparatively much
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lower. Here it comes to a change in perspective and a different understanding of what ‘quality’ for the audience of those films actually means. Even though the aesthetics and appearance of the movies were much worse compared to e.g. expensive Hollywood productions, they had something that seemed to be more valuable to the Nigerians than anything else – a local narrative. People could identify themselves with the films, their stories, their unique cultural aspects, their languages. Even though some of the movies can be counted to genres like horror, comedy, or romantic, there were also uniquely Nigerian themes like mythic parable, witchcraft melodrama, or Christian morality tale.
African nations, for example in the way people dressed and in the use of Nigerian slang. Several governments and public figures saw this as a threat to their own cultural heritage and tried to take measures in order to prevent the “Nigerianization” of their countries and Africa. Even further, the popularity of Nigerian movies was not limited to the African continent only. In fact, one of the largest markets for the Nigerian film industry is the Nigerian and African diaspora. Especially for those groups of Africans living outside of Africa, the appearance of streaming websites and VoD (Video on Demand) platforms offering African and especially Nigerian films made it even easier to widen their range.
Another factor that explains the success of Nigerian movies is that this local narrative actually takes a really wide spectrum. Nigeria is not just Nigeria. It has many different ethnicities and languages. The vast majority of the films were produced in one of Nigeria’s 500+ indigenous languages, making the movies even more local and distinct. On the other hand, “more general” Nigerian films didn’t solely appeal to people in Nigeria, but to Africans in general. Their stories were relatable and much closer to their own culture than the ones of movies made in Hollywood.
At that stage, the Nigerian film industry has already changed a lot compared to its early beginnings. Instead of low cost and low “quality” video productions, more and more films were made with higher budgets, improved in visual aesthetics, and were produced for theatrical release again. Those improvements combined with the Afro-centric made the Nigerian movies even more appealing. It was and still is a try to compete more and more with industries like e.g. Hollywood, which are still way more successful in terms of revenues. Throughout the years and due to the improvements the Nigerian film industry undertook, its importance for the Nigerian economy became even bigger. The industry generates 600 million dollars per year and is, after agriculture, the second largest employer in Nigeria with more than one million people working in this field. The success story goes on.
It didn’t take too much time until the Nigerian films dominated the African continent. Although piracy was a big issue and a threat for Nigerian Filmmakers, it cannot be denied that it was also one of the reasons why the popularity of the Nigerian film industry expanded so quickly. The movies strongly influenced cultures in many
Recently, some of the big Nigerian movie productions were able to reach international success, but those are still exceptions. But this doesn‘t has to be necessarily a bad thing. Since we just learnt from the Nigerian example, most of the people want to get picked up where they are, meaning they want to see what they know and can relate to. For Nigerian movies to become more appealing to people in Western societies, they probably would have to give up what made them successful in the first place, their local narrative. So instead of waiting for Nigerian films to become the same as US films, why not trying something new and watching an authentic Nigerian movie. Who knows, maybe you’ll like it more than you think.
Christopher Machold Sources: https://www.statista.com/ statistics/572603/film-industrymarket-share-by-country-of-origineu/ https://medium.com/@bschnell/ stop-comparing-nollywood-tohollywood-reorienting-westernunderstanding-of-nigerian-cinemab5cf3152d294 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Cinema_of_Nigeria https://www.canon.co.uk/view/ nollywood-hollywood-nigeriancinema/
VOICES - 15
reportage
Purity Culture: Raising a Generation in Fear of Sex
“Save yourself for marriage! Otherwise, you lose your value to God and your future spouse” The message I’m describing has a name. It’s called purity culture. 16 - VOICES VOICES
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urity culture was born in the 1990s as a response to the AIDS epidemic. At the core, purity culture promotes abstaining from sex until marriage.
More than that, they spread messages like “Women’s bodies are dangerous and capable of causing men to sin” or “Even sexual thoughts are sinful before marriage”. Some promoters go as far as saying that hugs are dangerous since they lead to sexual arousal. Silence is their way to go since they believe that talking about sex will encourage unmarried people to have sex. The teachings resulted in anxiety and fear. Men have suffered from erectile dysfunction, women vaginismus from decades of shaming around sexual desire. In the American evangelical church, many girls take a purity pledge from a young age. “Believing that true love waits, I commit to God, myself, my family, my friends, my future mate, and my future children to be sexually abstinent from this day until the day I enter a biblical marriage relationship”, the pledge states. The rhetoric uses vivid images and comparisons. Some youth groups pass around a cup of water, have everyone spit in it and then ask if anyone still wants to drink it.
They compare girls who had sex before marriage with chewed gum. A tape that’s lost its stickiness. A torn-up piece of water. Or an unwrapped gift.
All of them equate to the same theme: your worth is tied to your purity. The campaign involved famous Disney celebrities like Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and the Jonas Brothers. Using young actors was effective since they made the message look fun and more approachable to a large audience. Lately, singer Demi Lovato spoke up about the effects of that upbringing. “I lost my virginity in a rape,” Lovato says in her documentary, Dancing with the Devil, revealing that a fellow actor sexually assaulted her when she was 15 and starring on a Disney Channel show.
“I was a part of that
Disney Crowd that publically said they were waiting till marriage. I didn’t have a romantic first time with anybody. So, what, I’m supposed to come out to the public after saying I have a promise ring?” . In recent times, more and more survivors are criticizing purity culture. One example of necessary activism is Brenda Marie Davis. Feeling guilty about losing her virginity, she got married to a man she didn’t love in an attempt to right her wrongs. In her
My Christianity depended on Purity.” “The church calls out culture for being obsessed with sex, tobut the church’s obesession with not having sex is equally consuming. In places like Texas, where sex education is limited, abortion and teen pregnancy rates remain high. The Netherlands and California, however, offer comprehensive sex education, and the proof is in their fruit. With comprehensive, fact-based education, abortion and teen pregnancy rates fall. Teaching young adults inaccurate information about their bodies and then shaming them when they fail to follow purity culture’s outdated guidelines is not a healthy or helpful form of sex education. There is no problem with the free choice to be abstinent. Yet, there is a big problem with religious leaders using remarkably unhealthy tactics for getting people to arrive at that choice. Clarissa Leute Sources: Book: Brenda Marie Davis – On Her Knees: Memoirs of a Prayerful Jezebel https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ archive/2021/03/purity-culture-evangelicalchurch-harms-women/618438/ https://lindakayklein.com/what-is-purityculture/ https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1133&context=ur used-to-teach-kids-about-sex/
book “On Her Knees,” she describes battling her faith and her shame. “The problem was because Purity is an idol (a validated and worshiped idol), I didn’t know who or what I’d be without my totem.
VOICES - 17
reportage
Easter came… with chocolate!
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An important celebration of Christianism, Easter was celebrated on the second of May 2021 in Macedonia. But do you know what is its religious meaning and how it is celebrated in different parts of the Christian world today?
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or those who do not know, Easter commemorates the Resurrection of Christ and the belief that he rose from the dead and continued helping people and doing good deeds. Easter is celebrated on Sunday each year because it is the moment when, according to the tradition, Jesus returned to life three days after his crucifixion in Calvary. There are, however, different ways to celebrate Easter across the globe among Christian communities: in Macedonia, Orthodox Christians are preparing for this holiday several weeks earlier and the preparations involve a forty-day period of fasting, prayers, and penance. When it comes to the fast, these forty days are also known as the Great Lent, and it is a period when many faithful people give up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence. This fasting includes a dairy free and in some cases also oil free diet. The reason for that is that it is believed that Jesus spent forty days in a desert fasting and praying. That is why Orthodox Christians devote the fasting period to God, showing repentance and high self-discipline. Of these forty days, the most important are the seven last days, also known as the Holy Week, which in fact are the last seven days of the life of Jesus.
Considering the importance of this holiday, locals have adopted many rituals and customs that sometimes even seem strange to foreigners but, in fact, represent their devotion. The housewife in a Macedonian Christian family has several duties that she has to do and the most important one of them is dying eggs. Before dying the eggs, the housewife should not be hungry because it is believed that it brings bad luck and diseases. When the three
On Holy Thursday, housewives prepare all the food required to keep the family going throughout the holy weekend. Good Friday is the day when Jesus was crucified, so Christians in Macedonia avoid eating anything else, but fruit, vegetables and nuts, even fish and oil are omitted in that way they express deep faith in God and Christianity. In France, Easter has lost a huge part of its religious significance. However, the day that follows Easter is a public holiday. To celebrate this exceptional event, everyone gathers with family around a copious meal consisting of lamb (which symbolizes Jesus Christ’s innocence). And of course, like in Macedonian tradition, eggs and chocolate food constitute a huge part of this event. The egg is indeed one of the most important symbols of Easter. This latter is an ancient symbol of new life and rebirth. In Christianity it became associated with Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. The custom of the Easter egg originated in the early Christian community of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion. Yvan Barbeau
eggs are ready, the first one is placed near a door or window that looks to the East, so that when the sun rises it shines upon them with the rays of God. One of these eggs will be consumed by each member of the family on Saturday night when the clock hits midnight, and the other eggs will be eaten the following days with salad.
Sources: Easter in Macedonia | My Guide Macedonia Pâques en France - Quelles origines ? Quelles traditions ? (agirenfrancais.com) Les fêtes de Pâques et leurs traditions | J’aime mon patrimoine (jaimemonpatrimoine.fr)
VOICES - 19
reportage
Language Research based on School Education and Innate Language Abilities
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語
Språk
idioma
język 言語 língua язык sprache kieli
LANGUAGE јазик nyelv
How come that so many people are not able to speak a foreign language after graduating from school? This is the most usual question so far, but no one has given a proper answer yet. Is it so hard to pick up basic linguistic knowledge?
M
aybe the educational program and school methods are to blame. Are well-educated mentors and their efforts not enough to encourage students to learn? The question is ''Are we even able to indicate the problem related to this mystery?''.
mentors, unsatisfactory educational programs, or unsatisfactory teaching methods. To obtain opinions on the above-mentioned issues, we conducted an anonymous questionnaire in which we received 44 answers to each question asked. Our first question was: "Do you think that the knowledge you received in primary school about foreign languages has enriched your linguistic skills?" As many as 56.8% claim that the knowledge of foreign languages passed on to them in primary school did not enrich language skills sufficiently, and 22.7% selected the option "No". From this, we can conclude the percentage of people who are not satisfied or not satisfied enough is as high as 79.5%.
Learning a foreign language is usually a big challenge - it can take several years indeed. Despite many years of effort, it may turn out that you are still unable to communicate with other people in a foreign language. The reasons for this may be, among others: certain internal language barriers, methods, educational techniques not suited to individual needs or predispositions, insufficient motivation on the part of
Who is to blame? The last question provides paramount knowledge based on the conducted research but was only mentioned to give a clearer view of the received information. “What do you think is the cause of poor language skills?''. The poor program of studies plus the lack of motivational technics used by linguistic mentors was the answer of almost half of the people (43,2%). Other 29,5% believe the educational program has visible deficiencies and is not working successfully for everyone.
Do I need to be motivated? Do I need any tools to improve the results of gaining this knowledge?
After running some research and conducting a survey, the problem seems much more profound than it is supposed to be. First of all, we may pay attention to the fact that respondents in the survey aren't able to choose only one or two factors responsible for this issue. In some parts of the questionnaire, ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers weren't enough to understand the subject, but they showed how voluminous the issue is.
What are the results of this research?
private English lessons are paid (if they are not financed, for example, from the public budget), so not everyone can afford this type of education.
Another aspect analyzed for the respondents to our questionnaire is the satisfaction with the method of teaching foreign languages in schools - the big majority (90.9%) answered they were not satisfied. In connection with this disproportion, it is worth analyzing the answers to the question, "Do you think that private lessons are more effective than teaching foreign languages in schools?". Here, we can also notice a vast predominance of one answer - 93.2% of respondents believe that private lessons are more effective than schools. It is known; however, that
Well, the question is as simple as the answer. Motivation is a paramount factor in the whole process, which is simply called ''learning''. Without motivation, we aren't even able to leave the bed so how can we learn a foreign language without it? When it comes to useful tools, we should pay attention to polyglots' recommendations. As we know, various ways are helping with the whole educational process but unfortunately, not every method was created to learn languages. Besides, not every method will work for you, as we all have different expectations and brains. For some, flashcards are successful enough, while for others, memory maps will work even better. Klaudia Matera & Patrycja Oleś
VOICES - 21
reportage
CHINA’S
MOST POWERFUL DIPLOMATIC WEAPON
What has two black eyes, constantly eats bamboo leaves, and appeals to everyone ? Pandas ! This peaceful animal is adored all over the world.
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iant pandas are native to Sichuan, a province located in the southwest of China renowned for its spicy food and some of the other surrounding provinces. With less than 2 000 animals living in the wild, the giant panda was considered endangered mainly due to excessive poaching, continued habitat loss, and a very low birthrate. A lot of time and effort has been spent on saving the animal from extinction. China has established several panda reserves and state-of-the-art research centers across the country in an effort to conserve the bear. In 2016, the giant panda was down-listed from endangered to vulnerable on the global list of species at risk of extinction. To many Westerners, the panda merely represents the featured animal on the logo for World Wildlife Fund and probably comedic kung-fu cartoons. In China, the black-and-white-spotted bear is more than this: it is regarded as a majestic national treasure and an iconic animal that embodies special symbolism and meaning. Giant pandas are part of the bear family, but they are quite different from other bears. In the Chinese language, the word for “panda” is “熊 猫” (pronounced “xióng māo “), ‘熊’ (“xióng”) for “bear” and “猫” (“māo”) for “cat” because it has unusual cat-like eyes. Because of its black and white spots, the animal also reminds of the Chinese yin and yang that represent order and harmony in the universe. Besides, the black-and-white bear is a peaceful and vegetarian animal that only eats bamboo and does not hurt or harm other animals. The panda was also recently chosen as the mascot of both the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics held in Beijing. The Chinese love pandas and take them as a symbol of national pride. Over the centuries, the giant panda has become an emblem of peace, harmony, and friendship in Chinese culture. In the 1950s, China began giving out giant pandas to other nations as gifts in gestures of goodwill. Panda diplomacy has a long history: it is thought to have started in the seventh century when Empress Wu sent a pair of pandas to Japan. The tradition of
sending pandas overseas resurfaced under Mao Zedong’s rule. During the Cold War, Mao gifted several pandas to its communist allies such as the USSR and North Korea. Eager for better relations with the Americans, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai decided to send two giant pandas to the United States as symbols of friendship: in 1972, Ling Ling and Xing Xing were donated to the National Zoo in Washington following President Richard Nixon’s visit to China. As capitalism took off in China, the country decided to charge for the privilege. In 1984, China began renting out pandas to zoos across the globe for up to one million dollars a year. The wave of panda loans gained momentum in 2008 following the Sichuan earthquake that devastated China’s main panda conservation center. Officially China’s panda-loaning
“
There are actually two Chinese ambassadors in Washington: me and the panda cub at the National Zoo.
Cui Tiankai (崔天凯)
Chinese Ambassador to the United States
project is part of a captive breeding program to help save the giant panda from extinction. Lending pandas to other nations is a beneficial solution for China to rehouse its pandas as well as a lucrative source of funds to finance the development of panda reserves. As of 2019, 49 giant pandas lived in captivity outside China, living in 26 zoos in 18 different countries, including Japan, Malaysia, United States, Mexico, France, Germany, Russia, and Finland. In reality, pandas are a powerful diplomatic tool used by the Chinese government as a soft power influence. By entrusting other nations with its national treasures, China wants to take advantage of this resource to enhance its prestige worldwide, often with apparent strategic intent. The pattern is simple: whenever China wants to
strengthen political ties, it offers a panda. Several studies highlighted that many panda transactions involved the signature of major trade agreements as a diplomatic gesture aimed at expressing a desire to build a longterm trade relationship. For instance, panda loans in Canada, France, and Australia coincided with trade deals for uranium. Huan Huan and Yuan Zi arrived in France in 2012 on a 10-year loan from China until 2022 in the hope that it would further repair tensions and smooth relations between Paris and Beijing. More recently, China rushed to loan pandas to Malaysia and Singapore after the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement was sealed. China also uses pandas to exert political pressure on countries. In 2005, one Taiwanese official declared: “The pandas are a trick, just like the Trojan horse. Pandas are cute, but they are meant to destroy Taiwan’s psychological defenses” after China promised a pair of pandas to Taiwan. Although Taiwan has been governed independently from China since 1949, the mainland has been claiming the island as part of its territory. At first, Taiwan rejected the pandas, but two years later, the newly elected president reconsidered the offer and accepted the gift in a gesture to strengthen ties with Mainland China. Tuan Tuan (团 团) and Yuan Yuan (圆圆)— whose combined names mean ‘reunion’ (‘团 圆’) in Chinese — arrived in Taiwan in 2008. The names were given to pandas often carry subtle political messages. Unknowingly, pandas play politics. In 2013, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, stated, “there are actually two Chinese ambassadors in Washington: me and the panda cub at the National Zoo.” Lucile Guéguen Sources: www.history.com/news/panda-diplomacythe-worlds-cutest-ambassadors www.ox.ac.uk/news/2013-09-25-china-makescute-use-panda-loans www.ft.com/content/8a04a532-be92-11e79836-b25f8adaa111
VOICES - 23
reportage
Wikipedia, një bastion i idealizmit në internet
Kush ka një lidhje të mirë interneti, me siguri ka përdorur Wikipedia të paktën një herë, dhe ka pak njohuri për të. Por a e dinë njerëzit në të vërtetë pse dhe si u krijua, dhe cili është vendi i tij në botën tonë virtuale?
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ur Jimmy Wales dhe Larry Sanger krijuan në 15 janar 2001 enciklopedinë e tyre në internet, falas dhe me bashkëpunim të hapur, ata ndoshta nuk do ta kishin imagjinuar kurrë fatin që faqja e tyre e internetit do të kishte në të ardhmen: Wikipedia me të vërtetë nuk është vetëm një nga enciklopeditë online më të konsultuara dhe më të famshme në botë; ajo ka - falë veçorive të saj të shumta - një pozicion unik dhe të pazëvendësueshëm në mjedisin tonë virtual. Le të fillojmë me një histori të shkurtër të Wikipedia-s, e cila sugjeron aspektet e saj revolucionare; edhe pse krijimi i saj ndodhi disa kohë pas Rrjetit gjithë botëror (World Wide Web), të dyja këto shpikje kanë qëllime dhe ideale të përbashkëta: Rrjeti gjithë botëror me të vërtetë u krijua si një mjet për të lidhur njerëzit së bashku dhe për të bërë një vend ku informacioni bëhet më i arritshëm. Ai synonte të krijonte një botë të demokracisë globale – kështu si të thuash - ku çdokush, kudo, mund të përdorë një kompjuter për të mësuar më shumë për gjithçka dhe për të përmirësuar njohuritë e dikujt. Përgjatë hyrjes në mbarë botën në hiperlink, të gjithëve u lejohej jo vetëm të konsumonin informacion, por edhe ta krijonin atë. Për këtë arsye, Wikipedia u pa -dhe mbetet akoma- si një mjet që kishte për qëllim të fuste plutokracinë në media të përforcuara dhe hierarkitë e tjera elitare. Më gjerësisht, ajo ka krijuar një vend për qytetarët globalë që të shprehin pikëpamjet e tyre pa u kërcënuar nga censura qeveritare, e cila është një hap i rëndësishëm në zhvillimin e njerëzimit. Ky hap u garantua nga suksesi i tij, i cili, nga ana tjetër, vazhdon të sigurojë një nxitje të madhe për njerëzit për të kontribuar në këtë mjet të demokracisë. Historia e Wikipedia nuk është saktësisht ajo për të cilën mund të mendohet kur flitet për një website me kaq ndikim: në fakt, Wikipedia në fillimin e saj ishte thjesht, shfaqja dytësore e Nupedia, një enciklopedi tjetër virtuale e krijuar nga Jimmy Wales dhe Larry Sanger, e cila në kohën e lancimit të saj - Tetor 1999 - kishte aspektet revolucionare që posedon Wikipedia: një enciklopedi falas që mund të azhornohet në kohë reale. Për më tepër, ashtu si pasardhësi i tij, ai ishte një burim dytësor, jo një
burim kryesor, që citonte informacione nga media ose punime akademike, në vend që të botonte kërkime origjinale. Sidoqoftë, dhe ky është një ndryshim i madh me Wikipedia, Nupedia kishte një proces të rreptë aprovimesh, pasi sic thotë Jimmy Wales: «Ishte me të vërtetë shumë zyrtare dhe shumë lart-poshtë, duhej të aprovohesh për të shkruar ndonjë gjë, dhe ti pritej të paraqisje një ese të përfunduar ». Ky proces i gjatë i dorëzimit i dha fund shpejt jetës së Nupedia-s, pasi faqja publikoi vetëm njëzet e një artikuj pas një viti. Por Jimmy Wales dhe Larry Sanger ndërkohë kishin lancuar tashmë Wikipedia më 15 janar 2001 si një eksperiment që hodhi poshtë kontrollet e Nupedia. Faqja e re shpërtheu: «Një nga gjërat që ishte interesante», kujton Wales, «është se në ditët e para, njerëzit filluan të shkruanin gjëra që ishin mjaft të mira. Ata ishin shumë të shkurtër dhe themelorë, por nuk kishte asgjë të keqe me ta ». Me kalimin e kohës, u krijuan disa politika thelbësore, midis të cilave, fakti që faqet duhet të verifikohen, që do të thotë që vizitorët e tjerë mund të kontrollojnë që informacioni vjen nga një burim i besueshëm. Kjo është pjesë e parimit të bashkëpunimit të hapur të mbrojtur nga Wikipedia, i cili mund të përkufizohet si «çdo sistem inovacioni ose prodhimi që mbështetet në pjesëmarrës të orientuar drejt qëllimit, por të koordinuar lirshëm, të cilët bashkëveprojnë për të krijuar një produkt (ose shërbim) me vlerë ekonomike, të cilat ato i bëjnë të disponueshme për kontribuesit dhe jokontribuesit »
se është në dhjetë faqet më të vizituara në botë në vitin 2020, është i vetmi jofitimprurës në këtë listë. Në të vërtetë organizohet nga Fondacioni Wikimedia, një organizatë jofitimprurëse amerikane e financuar kryesisht përmes donacioneve. Në kundërshtim me shumë faqe, ai i qëndroi besnik objektivit të tij jofitimprurës ndërsa të tjerët progresivisht na zhgënjyen duke transformuar uebin në «një vend të shtrenjtë». Po kështu, Wikipedia qëndron e lirë nga çdo reklamë dhe nuk mbledh asnjë të dhënë nga përdoruesit e saj, e cila është një avantazh i konsiderueshëm në botën tonë të mbikëqyrjes masive. Njëzet vjet nga fillimet e saj modeste, enciklopedia online ka arritur të ofrojë një burim alternativ njohurie, që është më teknik (ose specifik), një që është shumë më i larmishëm, dhe duke qenë kështu ajo ka arritur të zhvendosë burimet e përforcuara të dijes. Megjithëse është kritikuar për saktësinë e saj të pabarabartë dhe për shfaqjen e njëanshmërisë sistemike (në 2018, nëntë nga dhjetë redaktorë ishin meshkuj), dhurata e madhe e Wikipedia është mënyra se si ajo na mëson të vëmë në dyshim burimet e autoritetit. Yvan Barbeau Përkthim: Ejona Limanaj Sources: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ magazine/wikipedia-is-the-last-bastion-ofidealism-on-the-internet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
Tani ka 321 Wikipedia në gjuhë të ndryshme dhe mbi gjashtë milion hyrje vetëm në faqen në gjuhën angleze. Të kombinuara, botimet e Wikipedia përmbajnë më shumë se 56 milion artikuj dhe tërheqin më shumë se 17 milion redaktime dhe më shumë se 1.7 miliard vizitorë unikë në muaj. Shpejtësia e tij është mbresëlënëse, pasi artikujt redaktohen mesatarisht 350 herë në minutë. Por kontributi i vlefshëm i Wikipedia-s në internet mund të gjendet edhe diku tjetër: pavarësisht VOICES - 25
topic of the month
АБВ на етичкото волонтирање во странство Во последните децении патувањето на далечни места станува сè полесно и подостапно. Покрај овој тренд се појавија и нови, алтернативни форми на патување. Многумина се одлучија да волонтираат во странство со цел да направат некаков спој на задоволството што го носи истражувањето на егзотична држава и работењето во локална хуманитарна организација. И покрај тоа што волонтирањето се чини фер спогодба на прв поглед, овој феномен предизвика и бура од критики. „Воисес“ разговараше со поранешни волонтери и со директорот на „Forever Angels“, хуманитарна организација во Танзанија.
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тема на месецот
В
олонтирањето во странство станува сè повеќе популарен начин на патување. Додека волонтира, патникот престојува во друга земја и најчесто работи во хуманитарна организација. Работните задолженија можат на пример да бидат од областа на здравствената заштита, образованието или земјоделството. Вообичаено, волонтирањето се одвива во некоја од земјите во развој, а волонтерите доаѓаат од богатите, западни земји. Младите луѓе гледаат на волонтирањето како можност за патување особено во периодот на пауза помеѓу студиите и почнувањето со работа. Терминот voluntourism, пак, означува повеќенеделно патување каде неколку дена од програмата се посветени на „волонтирањето“. Студентките по социјална работа Ели Јутила (25) и Миа Хиекамеки (31) од Финска имаат волонтирано во сиропиталиште во Бали, Индонезија. Јутила сподели со „Воисес“ дека искуството ја научило за „човековото достоинство, различните култури и разноликоста на животот“. Најважниот исход од нејзиниот престој го поистоветува со „срдечните средби со децата и младите“ и фактот дека им овозможила да ја запознаат неа и нејзината култура. Хиекамеки вели дека искуството „и го оформил светогледот“ и и даде „нова перспектива од професионален аспект“. Финскиот младински работник Јуси Лоухима (27) се здобил со искуство што за него било вистинско
откровение додека волонтирал гледа со доза на критика откако беше во Танзанија. „Се здобив со нови објавено ека во некои земји децата гледишта во однос на животниот се разделени од нивните родители стандард на луѓето“, вели тој и и живеат во сиропиталишта со цел забележува дека луѓето кога се да се продолжи со волонтерскиот враќаат дома „имаат толку многу бизнис. Врз основа на она што го има работи што тие (Танзанијците) ги доживеано и Хиекамеки вели дека немаат“, а сепак, тој воочува размислувала за фактот дека дека Танзанијците „имаат „многумина од западните многу нешта што ние донации би можеле да веќе не ги цениме“. завршат кај некој Навистина постојат што профитира од Лоухима верува дека искуството му го предизвици во поглед ранливите категории променило начинот на деца“. Смета дека на етиката кога на азмислување: сиропиталиштето станува збор за „Во последно време каде што тие поинаку размислувам волонтираа е волонтирањето. за некои работи“. веродостојно, но таа тврди дека посетиле и Покрај индивидуалниот други места кои што „се чинеа ефект врз волонтерите, престојот сомнителни“. „Навистина постојат може да им биде од полза и на предизвици во поглед на етиката кога организацијата домаќин, како станува збор за волонтирањето“, и заедницата. Како и со секој заклучува таа. вид на туризам, волонтерите ја раздвижуваат локалната економија Исто така, додека се работи со деца, со тоа што купуваат производи и треба да се земе предвид и развојната услуги од локалното население. психологија. Јутила раскажува за Згора на тоа, доколку волонтерот тоа како почувствувала неправда во располага со соодветните вештини однос на влијанието „на западните за зададените активности, може туристи кои доаѓаат да ги посетат да биде од голема помош на децата“. „Ја нема стабилноста организацијата особено во поглед на која му е потребна на секое дете и нејзиниот развој. млад човек“, вели идната социјална работничка.
Другата страна на медалот Постојат многу фактори што треба да се земат предвид кога станува збор за волонтирање во странство. Особено на сиропиталиштата кои примаат волонтери се
Она што е исто така загрижувачко за многумина е доминацијата на богатото, западно општество во однос на посиромашните, постколонијални земји. Критичкиот пристап дури го дефинира волонтирањето како алтернативна форма на неоколонијализам, односно заедницата
VOICES - 27
topic of the month
домаќин гледа на волонтерите како на супериорни, поставени повисоко на скалата на хиерархијата. Истражувањата, исто така, покажуваат дека јаглеродниот отпечаток што го оставаат волонтерите за време на нивните долги и кратки летови за да стигнат до нивната дестинација, е неоспорен.
Истражување – „транспарентноста“ е најважна Има неколку работи што патникот мора да ги земе предвид кога планира волонтирање на далечна дестинација особено доколку сака сето тоа да биде етички. „Воисес“ зборуваше со Ејми Хатавеј, основач и директор на организација што се грижи за деца без родители во Северна Танзанија. За време на петнаесетгодишното постоење на нивната организација „Forever Angels“, Ејми и нејзините колеги поминаа низ процес на самоанализа како и придавање колку што е можно поетичка основа на волонтирањето во нивната организација. „Најпрвин, истражувајте, тоа е многу важно“, советува Хатавеј при изборот на организација за волонтирање. „Статистички гледано, 80% од сираците во сиропиталиштата низ цел свет не се сираци, и барем еден од родителите е жив“, ја расветлува сивата реалност. „Сиропиталиштата постојат само поради финансиски причини“. Хатавеј исто така дава тажни примери на сиропиталишта каде „родителите плаќаат за престојот на нивните деца верувајќи 28 - VOICES
дека тоа се училишта“, и л и бидејќи „децата имаат можност за квалитетно образование на англиски овозможено од волонтерите“. „Во основа, со ваквите постапки се разделуваат семејствата“, вели таа. Доколку некој е заинтересиран заа волонтирање во сиропиталиште, Хатавеј ги охрабрува волонтерите да се осигурат дека местото каде сакаат да волонтираат „го промовира семејното обединување“.
некој кој што има повеќе способности за да ги извршува. Според организацијата, пандемијата спроведе експеримент во кој ненамерно за прв пат од формирањето на организацијата нема волонтери. Таа вели дека времето поминато без волонтери е доказ за тоа колку е важна нивната поддршка за Baby Home. „Присуството на волонтерите придонесува за подобрување на искуството на децата во поглед на активностите и образовниот процес“, заклучува таа истовремено пожалувајќи се дека „децата заборавија да зборуваат англиски“.
Без разлика за каков вид на организација станува збор, директорот и основач на „Forever Angels“ предлага волонтерот да ја провери и финансиската состојба на организацијата. „Ако тие не сакаат тоа да го споделат со вас, тоа значи дека нешто не е во Хатавеј исто така сака да го истакне ред“, предупредува таа и значењето на волонтерското заклучува дека искуство за самите организациите волонтери. „Сметам „треба да бидат волонтирањето Статистички гледано, дека транспарентни“. им дава можност 80% од сираците во на младите да Хатавеј исто станат свесни за сиропиталиштата така истакнува нееднаквоста на низ цел свет не се колку е важно нашиот свет“, волонтерот да објаснува таа. сираци, и барем еден не се зафаќа со Волонтерите кои од родителите е жив. ги споделија своите работни задачи за кои не е компетентен. искуства со VOICES „Треба да се запрашате: се исто така доказ дека ги имам ли потребните настанала промена во начинот вештини за да го правам ова?“, на размислување особено по предлага таа. „Многу важно прашање: завршувањето на нивниот престој. можам ли да го работам ова во мојата земја?“, додава таа. Хатавеј го Еми Рисанен дефинира „ангажирањето студенти Превод: Кристина Стаменова без потребните квалификации за да работат нешто за кое не се Sources: квалификувани“ како ризично и https://www.worldvision.ca/stories/ voluntourism-the-good-and-the-bad#2 неетичко и таа потсетува дека тие https://www.sciendo.com/article/10.2478/ позиции можат да бидат пополнети ejthr-2019-0010 од страна на локалното население и https://www.foreverangels.org/index.html
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