After 2 months of EVS in Turkey

After a bit more of 2 months of being in Turkey I am coming back with more news,

It took me some time to mobilize my self and write because I was still handling with a very different reality – obvious you will say: “I am in another country, no?” Well yes and no in the same time.

I lived and worked in other countries for longer time and I also worked in different ways in Turkey and with different Turkish organizations but this time being such a long project and such a wide perspective for sure I feel like I am in a place I was never before :)

The time has different value here, the volunteer and youth work has different meaning and way of manifestation, active participation doesn’t exist to much in the sense we are using in Romania and speaking about Forum Theatre, Street Campaigning or Global Education this looks like are coming from Mart and they are still watched with suspicion. Oh ya!!! My work here is not easy because even if I was saying before :I have the skills, the motivation and large possibilities in Turkey something else is needed: motivated people as well in Turkey (Izmir more specifically were I am located).

Only 2 months passes, patience and flexibility are the biggest lessons until now, maybe I am in cultural shock :)...seems that is not easy ...buuuuut it cant be impossible no?

A short overview on the last 2 months

• The volunteers in Izmir are many in numbers but few in active involvement; is a student orientated organization with student clubs in each university in the city and the region and each university is implementing a large number of project in different areas of society (mainly charity orientated or for disadvantaged groups: lessons for poor children, spending time with old people or violenced women or teenagers, etc) but not doing anything in what means awareness in different topics, empowering community members, stimulating active participation – well this is my job to make them active in this direction also – and Is not easy I can say;
• I had some workshops on Image and Social Theatre (for various groups from 3 universities) – for them this workshops are more to know me (because I am the only EVS at the moment in the organization), what I want to do and to have fun – still i didn’t created a team for in-depth training;
• I found a group interested in street animation – made by some volunteers in TOG and young people interested in street art- i will join them for a while and maybe with this group I will develop the street actions with social message;
• The TOG had a National Youth Council where I met volunteer from all the country and other EVS from Istanbul (i did some workshops on Street Animation with a huge success – but that is not leading to street campaigning on a social team yet:
• The TOG structure has no centralized coordination and is not easy to organize their volunteers; they are working mainly on self organization for volunteers but this makes it very difficult for me because I don’t know the language and they don’t know English;
• I help some staff people to write some projects proposal and to make some EVS selection for a project in Romania;
• Turkish Language is not so easy i was expecting and I am not sure learning with a student (with no teaching experience) is a good option – but lets wait and see (i need also o study more of course)
• Living in house of 4 people were only one person speaks english can lead either to: make me learn turkish fast; either make them learn english fast; either make us ignoring eachother!!!
  

More to come for sure,

“Challenge YOU and YOUR community” represent an EVS project (European Voluntary Service) implemented by A.R.T. Fusion(Romania) and TOG (Community Volunteers, Turkey) financed by trough Youth in Action Programme by Romanian National Agency.

The opinions expressed in this article belong 100% to its author!

“Challenge YOU and Your community”- EVS project

I am starting a new adventure today!

After different challenges in application process and after high level of stress waiting the results my project - "Challenge YOU and YOUR community"was accepted!!! This is a one year adventure because Turkey capture my soul so why I should not use my skills, experience and energy for making a change as well in Turkish society?

I have what is needed: skills, motivation and large options of possibilities of change in Turkish Society. I have big expectation for this year and I hope I will reach all my objectives.

Below you can find more information about this project and initiative and in the upcoming months i will come back with more information about how Turkey “receives” me and updates about how I am implementing my project.

The aim of the project is to stimulate the active participation (as a value of European Union) of young people in problems that concern today society by using participative art, creative street animation methods and innovative campaigns.

I will realise a stage of 12 months in Turkey. The project is representing my idea based on my volunteering experience and skills and I want to put them in practice in a society that needs and that is also attracting me from the cultural point of view.

The methods that will be used in this project :

• social theatre as a method of social intervention
• non formal education workshops on development education
• street campaigning

The objectives of the project are:

• to train more than 60 young people to be multipliers in social theatre
• to raise awareness and personal involvement in what matters the Millennium Goals for Turkish general young people.
• to implement various campaigns that raise awareness in different topics (additional more than 50 young people will be trained and develop street campaigning skills
• to stimulate the volunteering among young people
  

Individual EVS project ; Sending organization: A.R.T. Fusion Romania (click)

Hosting Organization: TOG Turkey ;

Stage period: 10february 2009– 10 February 2010

EVS – European Voluntary Service (implemented trough Youth in Action Programme – Action 2)

(Project applied at Romanian National Agency of Youth in Action Programme (click))

"India" like a street dog

These days are 3 months from the day I left India....

Is taking me a lot of time to gather my thoughts about this experience and share it with people across countries...

I said to myself during my 2 month there:

• I will never go back to this country,
• I don’t like this people...
• sometimes I was hating them,
• they are full of stupid pride about being an Indian
• Is terrible to feel totally ALONE in a overpopulated country
• Is horrible to carry years of history (that is not even yours) in your skin colour and not receiving any chance to be different
• ..............

Time is passing...the experience I had there is following me like street dog looking/waiting for something.....

I move on the personal disappointment and try to understand!

I will go back...BUT never alone!

I will go back with details on the blog also ...(alone;)

Meanwhile, home work until the next post : what is the first thing that comes in your head when you think about India???

Street Animation for social problems-tool kit

Based on the experience I had myself in street campaigning and on the projects we developed in A.R.T. Fusion (www.artfusion.ro) using this methodology I was responsible for developing a tool kit for using Street Animation for social change. (click on the "tool kit....)

It was the biggest writing project I took under my responsibility and I also took care of the graphic and editing of the material. We believe is a useful material for NGO workers that are willing to try out these methods for a social cause.

Is written in a youth friendly style and include a description and tips/tricks for o large series of methods, space for personal reflection on your role in society and how can this methods be used and the last part of the kit includes concrete steps of how to develop a project for social change that has a component of street campaigning.

For the moment the material is only in Romanian, but everybody can still have a look on it. If you have any questions, comments or you want to have this material in English please let me know,

Enjoy it!!!