East& West Conected by EVS

8/9/2019 East& West Conected by EVS

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30March 2015 06 April 2015

Contact Making Seminar

`

ear participants,

On b half of Alt rnativi t am w would lik to w lcom you as a part of our proj ct. W will

b pl as d to hav you h r . W hop all tog th r to mak a gr at proj ct. W hop this info

pack will b us ful for you and h lp your pr paration p riod.


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eneral information about Bulgara

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 15th largest city in the European Union with apopulation of 1.2 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha andapproximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula. In the next few pictures you will see some famoussights of Sofia.


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Martenitza- On March 1, Bulgarians give martenitsi to their family, friends and neighbours. This may

be in the form of a simple bracelet of entwined red and white wool or a brooch of red and white wool

tassels. Front doors are decorated with enormous red and white pompoms or with woolen dolls called

Pizho and Penda. Pizho is the male doll and is usually crafted from white wool. Penda is the female, red

doll and is distinguished by her skirt.

Kukeri - is a traditional Bulgarian ritual to scare away evil spirits, with costumed men performing the

ritual. The costumes cover most of the body and include decorated wooden masks of animals (sometimes

double-faced) and large bells attached to the belt. Around New Year and before Lent, the kukeri walk and

dance through the village to scare evil spirits away with the costumes and the sound of the bells, as well

as to provide a good harvest, health, and happiness to the village during the year.


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Nestinarstvo -It involves a barefooted dance on smouldering embers (, zharava) performed bynestinari (). It is usually performed on the square of the village in front of the whole population

on the day of Sts. Constantine and Helen or the day of the village's patron saint. The ritual is a unique

mixture of Eastern Orthodox beliefs and older pagan traditions from the Strandzha Mountains.

Traditionally, the right to perform the ritual would be hereditary and the head nestinar may be succeeded

only by his or her son or daughter, and only when he or she is too old or ill to continue performing it. The

head nestinar's house is sacred, because it houses the stolnina () a small chapel where icons of

several saints are arranged, as well as a sacred drum used specifically for the ritual and believed to cure

the drummer if he is ill.

The name koledari comes from the Church Slavonic word for Christmas i.e. Koleda. The carolers

traditionally start their rounds at midnight on Christmas Eve. They visit the houses of their relatives,

neighbours and other people in the village. The caroling is usually performed by young men, which are

accompanied by an elder one called stanenik. Each caroler carries a stick called gega. They wish the

people from the village health, wealth and happiness.


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The speaking language in Bulgaria is Bulgarian. Also English, German, French and Russian is spoken inthe country's resorts, hotels and restaurants. Most of the young people are also able to communicate onone of those languages. The Bulgarian alphabet is Cyrillic, but on Signs along international motorways, at

the airports and resorts are also spelled in Roman letters Below you can see how the Bulgarian letterslooks like.

Taratoris a cold soup made of yoghurt and cucumber (dill, garlic, walnuts and sunflower oil are

sometimes added) and is popular in Bulgaria.


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Lyutenitsaor Lutenica is a national relish of Bulgaria. The ingredients include tomatoes, peppers, onion,garlic, black pepper, vegetable oil, sugar and salt.

Banitsais a traditional Bulgarian food prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of

cheese between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven. Banitsa is served for breakfast with plain yogurt,

ayran, or boza. It can be eaten hot or cold.

Kofteis a Middle Eastern and South Asian meatball or meatloaf. In the simplest form, koftas consist of

balls of minced or ground meatusually beef or lambmixed with spices and/or onions


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Pulnena piperka/Pulnena chuska(stuffed peppers) is an Eastern European dish consisting of peppers

filled with minced meat and rice.

Shopska salad-It is made from tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, raw or roasted peppers (preferably roasted),

sirene (white brine cheese).

Musaka-made by potatoes, mash meat, eggs and milk on the top. Baked in oven.


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The Bulgarian currency is called ,,Lev and its approximately 0.51 euro. The official rate of theEuropean commission is : 1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian leva. In the town of Blagoevgrad the best rate that

you can find and change EURO to Bulgarian lev is 1.950. On the pictures below you can see who theBulgarian money looks like.

On the diagram below you can see the average minimum and the maximum temperatures in Celsius foreach month. Also you can use http://www.wunderground.com/q/zmw:00000.2.13598 to check the

weather.


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8

-2-10 -15 -15

-1

5 10 1020

102 0 0

18 20 2535

177 0

-10 -10

10 1722

30

The temperatures in Celsius per months

Minimum Maximum Average

eneral information about Blagoevgrad

Blagoevgrad is city in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Province, with apopulation of 70,881 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the Blagoevgradska Bistritsa River.The city is theeconomic and cultural centre of southwestern Bulgaria. It is located in the valley of the Struma River at

the foot of the Rila and Pirin Mountains, 101 km south of Sofia, close to the Greek, Serbian and Republicof Macedonia borders. Blagoevgrad features a pedestrian downtown with preserved 19th centuryarchitecture and numerous restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, and boutiques.Blagoevgrad is home to twouniversities, the South-West University "Neofit Rilski" and the American University in Bulgaria.


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Alternativi International

Association Alternativi International is youth non-governmental, non-profit making organization workingin the territory of Blagoevgrad region. The main objective is to encourage personal and professional

development of young people through non formal education and also the building up and development ofactive citizenship among them. The organization is an alternative for young people in the region to realize

their potential and become an active part of the society. "Alternativi International is founded by peopleseeking the positive change for young people in Bulgaria. For that reason the main target group is

youngsters aged between 17 and 30 years old. We also aim at providing equal possibilities for youth withfewer opportunities. The organization gives them the opportunity to develop their selves by participating

in various initiatives and events at local, national and international level. The association organizesinformation days and campaigns, cultural events, discussions and debates on different issues, etc. The

organization, in partnership with students from the city, issues and youth newspaper, to inform youngpeople about career opportunities, trainings, work placements, internships, cultural happenings and so on.The organization is working with the aim to develop intercultural dialogue and understanding between

young people from whole Europe crossing all the differences. We are developing initiatives fighting the

racism and xenophobia among youth from different religious, ethnic, cultural, geographical or economicalbackground.

Here you can see the pictures of our office:


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The project East&West connected by EVS is a contact making seminar for exchanging experience and

good practices among youth workers from 5 EU and 5 non-EU/partner countries and will take place inRazlog between 1th and 8th of December 2014. This project will give opportunity to experienced youthworkers to meet, to get to know their organization s activities, to match up, to discuss important elements

of EVS projects and hot to increase their quality, to exchange experience and good practices, to establishpartnership among each other and plan future projects together. The main aim of the project proposal isbuilding partnerships and network of organizations working with EVS among EU and partner countries.

Specific objectives are: exchange of experience and good practices among the organizations in order todevelop more quality and effective projects; promoting cooperation and increasing the number of projects

between program and partner countries; promoting volunteering and EVS in particular. The project willinvolve youth workers, leaders and coordinators of volunteers from EU and partner countries which

would like to develop quality projects and effective and long-lasting results. The aims will be reachedtrough different non formal methods and suitable activities in order all partners to be involved in all

project stages. As a result of the project cooperation there will be developed a book of good practices

from EVS projects which we will distribute among our partners and other youth organizations workingwith volunteers in order to have international dimension and effect of the project. A blog will be createdfor the project which will encourage the cooperation from the two regions-to exchange experience andgood practices, to show the project results and make the project more visible and effective. The project

will also have effect on other Bulgarian organizations and youth who are interested in volunteering troughan open forum of the participating organizations.

Organization Number of

participants

From To Type of

transportation

Travel

costs in

euro/per

person

Alternativi

International

2 pax Blagoevgrad Razlog - -

Youth

association

,,DRONI

3 pax Tbilisi Sofia Bus/Train/Plane 275

Educational

initiative

centre

3 pax Lviv Sofia Bus/Train/Plane 175

ASIST 2 pax Chisinau Sofia Bus/Train/Plane 175


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NAYORA 3 pax Baku Sofia Bus/Train/Plane 275

HODINA H 3 pax Pelhrimov Sofia Bus/Train/Plane 275

ARGONAUTA 2 pax Murter Sofia Bus/Train 275

Asociatia

Millenium

Center Arad

3 pax Arad Sofia Bus/Train 80

Asociation

Juvenil Inter

2 pax Andalucia Sofia Plane/Bus/Train 180

Armenian

progressiveyouth

3 pax Yerevan Sofia Plane/Bus/Train 275

!!!Participation fee of 15 euro will be deducted from each participant

while presenting the tickets for their journey !!!

The hotel we will accommodate the participants will be one of the nicest in the area. Its located in thebiggest ski/ golf resort on Balkans. The hosting organization will cover accommodation + all inclusivemeals for breakfast, lunch and dinner + coffee breaks + pool/ sauna and Jacuzzi


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PLEASE REMEMBER YOU SHOULD NOTBUY THE TICKETS BEFORE YOU GET

CONFIRMATION FROM US!

PLEASE SEND THE YOUR TRAVEL INFORMATION TO THE FOLLOWING EMAIL:[email protected] and wait for confirmation from our side.

Your arrival point will b Sofia airport and from th r w will manag to provid you with

transportation to v nu or you will r c iv a d tail d info pack how to g t from th airport to th

proj ct v nu .

NB!! Please make sure your passport (not ID card) is valid at least 6 months after your

departure from Bulgaria.

Also for those of you who need visa official letter will be sent from our association to

you and your sending organization. Please also contact them for support with you

documents.


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Association ,,Alternativi International

Official address; 9A ,,Kara kioi2760 RazlogBulgaria

Office address: Youth House of Blagoevgrad-1st Floor1 "Bistritsa" str

2700BlagoevgradBulgaria

Email: [email protected]: 00359883499125 / 00359895180486

Facebook: Alternativi InternationalWeb: www.alternativi-bg.org

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East& West Conected by EVS