Youth Exchange in Macedonia

Participants from Moldova with Romanian passport for a Youth Exchange in Macedonia , Strunga

Centre for Rural Development – SEE is organizer of this event which will be from 10 till 18 of March 2012 and will held place inStruga, Macedonia.

This Youth Exchange is an opportunity to meet new possible project partner/promoters working with youngsters, coming from Youth in Action programme and partner countries and to set up international projects within the framework of the Programme.

Below in this document you will find practical information about your travel to Macedonia, your stay in Struga and other practical issues for you. Also there are contacts of people that you can ask anything additional that you want to know.

… About the project

The Youth Exchange would take place in the city of Struga form 10th to 18th of March 2012 with 50 participants from 10 countries: Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Slovakia, Turkey, Russia, Moldova, Greece and Romaina.

The “Street pARTy” youth exchange is continuation of the two previews youth exchanges “Street pARTy” 1 & 2 which took place in Ukraine, 2008 and in Serbia 2009, This exchange is an international meeting focused on developing mutual understanding of European citizenship, improving youth mobility in the Neighbouring partner countries, raising intercultural learning process of young people and their international experience in general.

The main project theme is street art as an alternative way of expressing actual problems towards the society and also promotion of street art in rural ares. The activity program is based on non-formal and in-formal methods that will ideally reflect and fulfill the project aims and objectives. The expected project outcome foresees promotion of art in rural area and interaction between young participants and local community through street art performing.

The activity will take place in March 2012 in Macedonia and it is a result of previous projects and partnerships which were mentioned above. It will involve 3 different parts of Europe: Member states of EU, South-East Europe and Eastern Europe and Caucasus. The international meeting will gather 50 active and creative young people who are coming from 10 countries.

… The project place

Venue of the YE will be in Struga, R.Macedonia. Macedonia is a beautiful country in the center of the Balkan Peninsula. Throughout the centuries it has been a crossroad for many people and cultures and even today there is evidence of ancient times. Struga is a small town with 20000 inhabitants and popular tourist destination situated in the south-west region of the R.Macedonia,15 km(9 m)from Ohrid.A city of poetry(“The Struga Poetry Evenings”),culture,history and a long tradition.The Black Drim River flows through the heart of the city after it journeys from the springs near St. Naum through Lake Ohrid.Struga is a multi-ethnic town with Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Roma, 4%Vlahs and other ethnic groups.

From the savory cuisine to their love of music,dance and general merrymaking,Macedonians know how to make guests feels at home.Combining this qualities with the countries dramatic mountains and canyons,its deep lakes and rivers,Macedonia have something for everyone.

The Youth exchange will take place in Hotel Solferino.

… Tasks of young participants

before the activity:

prepare a short presentation of best example of art in their work. The preparation can be in paper, on power point, trough video, photo or est.

prepare 1 hour intercultural evening presentation;

bring artistic tool/instrument if they have one;

during the activity:

make Youth in Action Programme presentations;

make intercultural evening about their country;

active participation in proposed workshops;

perform and interact with local community in action “Street pARTy”;

participate in ongoing evaluation sTEAmgroups time;

organize farewell party.

after the activity:

evaluate project at the end of the youth exchange “Street pARTy 3”;

discuss and plan follow up activity after the project activity in their home country;

write feedbacks and/or articles about the project “Street pARTy3” in local newspaper, promoter web-sites, etc.

…Special needs

If you have any special needs, we would be grateful to know it before the project.

In case you are vegetarian or don’t eat some meals, let us know because the Macedonian menu is not enough adapted to satisfy the vegetarians taste. To avoid any problems with food we would be pleased to inform us about your needs in advance.

… the Programme of the Youth Exchange (in attachment)

The youth exchange will be run according to the adapted program based on the concrete group expectations and participant needs.

…. Working language

The communicative English will be dominant working language for the participants and group leaders.

… Travel issue

According to the rules of Youth in Action Programme the project grant is covering 70% of travel expenses for the youth exchange. The contact persons are expected to arrange journey for their national groups to the project place by the cheapest means of transport and fares (APEX airfare, 2nd class train ticket, etc.)

…Reimbursement

The travel expenses will be reimbursed in amount 70% from the total price for participants who will attend the youth exchange only after we will get all original tickets by post after the activity.

…Insurance

The contact persons are in charge to arrange the travel insurance for participants, which will cover their travel to Macedonia and back as well as their stay in Macedonia.

Unfortunately, the grant can not cover this kind of expenses.

…Visa issue

In case you will need to make visa to Macedonia, we can help you and prepare invitation letter for the Embassy. Please, make a list of your group with all needed data’s for visa. We will need to know:

Name and surname

Date of birth

Passport number,

Date of issue

Date of expiry

… Arrival and departure time

The program of the youth exchange “Street pARTy 3” will start on Saturday, 10th March 2012 in the afternoon and will finish onSunday, 18th March 2012 in the morning.

All participants are expected to come to Struga till afternoon 2 p.m. Afterwards our volunteers will accompany you to the project place. Please, inform us in advance about your arrival time to pick you up from airport/railway station/ bus station

… Conditions

Accommodation, food, activity, culture programme and 70% of travel expenses are covered from the project grant.

… Feedbacks

We would be grateful if you have any feedback to send to us (mail to: crd_see@macedonia.eiu.org) maximum till 20th February 2012

As well you are welcome to send your proposes to our e-mails!

… General facts about Macedonia

· National name: Macedonia/ Makedonija

· Capital: Skopje

· Currency : Macedonian Denar (MKD) 62 Denars are approximately 1 Euro

· Population: 2.100.000 ≈

· Language: Macedonian and ethnic minority languages (Albanian)

· Religion: Orthodox;

· Time difference: GMT +1

· Climate : Mediterranean

… The weather

Springs are warm in Macedonia, but in Struga the weather can be cloudy and windy. There will be sunshine but there also might be rain. So bring light clothes but also be prepared for lower temperatures in the evenings.

Please bring traditional food and drinks from your countries for the intercultural evening. If you want to make some kind of presentation of your country on this evening please inform us what kind of equipment you will need (beamer, DVD etc…).

Here are some suggestions for what would be nice to bring: traditional food, CDs with music, postcards and photos from your city, promotional materials etc.

Also on this evening we will make presentations of your organizations so please bring whatever materials you have for this purpose.

If you are interested just send a confirm in an e-mail to search4programs@yahoo.com till 20 February 2012 at 12: 30

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