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YIC Newsletter_ September 2012
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September October 2012 #3
Upcoming Clubs
Mondays:
14:00 – International Club
(Sona Sahakyan)
16:00 – English for beginners
(Volodya Khachatryan)
17:30 – Conversational English
(Kimberly VanKirk)
Tuesdays:
15:00 – Spanish Club
(Anna Harutyunyan)
16:00 – English for beginners
(Volodya Khachatryan)
Wednesdays:
15:00 – Turkish Club
(Yeranuhi Hovhannisyan)
Thursdays:
16:30 – Farsi Club
(Galya Hovhannisyan)
More info on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/
groups/yic.members.group/
with
As part of YIC’s mission to develop and promote active citizenship and
participation among youth, the organization offers youth a variety of opportunities to
become involved in events, activities, and trainings happening in Armenia and across
Europe.
One of the latest opportunities was the training course “Peace Initiatives - Conflict
Management Skills - Youth Participation in Conflict Transformation,” that took place
in Tbilisi, Georgia from September 18th – 26th. The training brought 28 European
youth workers- representing over 10 different countries- together in order to foster a
cross-cultural dialogue and allow the participants to share and exchange approaches
to youth participation in conflict regions. YIC members Armine Khachatryan and
Suzan Muradyan attended from Armenia.
Using a variety of non-formal education methods - including simulation exercises,
group work, debates, theatre, and evaluation - the training focused on how to
strengthen the role of young people in peace-building activities in regions of conflict.
The training also provided participants with the opportunity to visit some local
historical places and learn about the culture and history of Georgia, as well as to
introduce their own countries and cultures to each other during an Intercultural
Night.
The training was implemented by the Slovak-Georgian Society in cooperation with
the Academy for Peace and Development in Georgia.
Armine Khachatryan and Suzan Muradyan
Training Course in Georgia
Conflict Transformation
During the month of September, YIC was busy preparing
for the arrival of the new European Voluntary Service
volunteers- five of them, all from different countries. This
time, YIC will be hosting volunteers from Denmark, Poland,
Austria, Romania, and Portugal.
The volunteers will work on projects to raise European
awareness and encourage cultural exchange in Gyumri. The
project is a response to a strong interest in- and the need to
facilitate access to- European culture, particularly for young
people from disadvantaged backgrounds, which will largely be
done through the framework of “European Corner” at YIC.
Additionally, during their service in Gyumri, the volunteers
will organize language and cultural clubs at YIC to teach
members about their respective cultures and languages.
The project also aims to enlarge the scope of knowledge of
local youth about European citizenship, to inform youth
about other cultures, and to help others recognize that what is
different is not necessarily wrong; rather, it is an opportunity
to acquire new knowledge and understanding. The project will
actively involve local youth in creating their own future
through developing their personal lives and contributing to
the community in which they live.
Besides the activities and information from “European
Corner,” the volunteers will work at local secondary schools
and universities, where they will interact directly with local
students. The project will also be part of a wider campaign
aimed at promoting youth activity and volunteerism in
Armenia. Nelli Minasyan
EVS Hosting
Mixture of Cultures in Gyumri
Above: YIC’s five EVS-volunteers (from left to right): Kristoffer
from Denmark, Luís from Portugal, Aleksandra from Poland,
Victoria from Austria and Iustina from Romania.
Left: The EVS-volunteers are hosting European Club every
Thursday at 15.00, starting from Thursday 1st November. Watch
the video commercial here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-2H_p26zQs
Let the SUN shine brighter for EVERYONE
Since April 2012, YIC volunteer Syuzanna Galstyan has
been participating in the Joint Civic Education (JCE) country
program. Within the framework of this program, which
included training in project management, Syuzanna and
Karine Mkhitaryan (another program participant) designed
and implemented a project at the F. Nansen boarding school
in Gyumri. The project was called “Let the SUN shine
brighter for EVERONE,” with the idea that all children are
born with equal rights and the sun must shine “equally
bright” for everyone.
There are not many boarding schools in Gyumri, but within
the few that do exist many of the children do not have the
opportunity to work or cooperate with people outside of the
boarding school, which can cause many of them to feel cut
off from society. The project therefore aimed at providing the
opportunity for children at the boarding schools to cooperate
with other children in a way which- to some extent – would
help facilitate and smooth the process of social integration.
Through encouraging this cooperation, the project also aimed
at developing the children’s communication and team-work
skills.
The project consisted of the following stages:
• getting to know each other through juggling activities and
interactive games
• teaching stencil art
• exhibition of the children’s artwork
• presentation of the project at Youth Initiative Centre
Originally only 15 children were scheduled to take part in
the project, but due to the children’s strong interest and
desire to participate, more than 15 children were involved. In
the weeks since the workshop, some of the participants have
continued to keep in touch with each other, which
demonstrates the success of the workshop in achieving it’s
aims.
The project also sparked the enthusiasm of some youth and
provided motivation for them to become more active. Several
local and international YIC volunteers were involved in the
project, and many of the local volunteers showed great
interest in taking part in the JCE program. Due to the level of
interest, Syzanna Galstyan led a follow-up workshop at the
YIC office to provide information about JCE, the available
country and cross-border programs, project management
training, and information about her own project.
Syuzanna Galstyan
Near the end of September, residents of Gyumri had a
unique opportunity to see the city from a new perspective -
through art. Flavie Laporte, a French EVS volunteer working
at YIC, wanted to organize a project during her voluntary
service that combined artwork and cultural exchange. To do
that, she arranged an art residency project for three French
artists from the Pas Vu Pas Pris Association in Allevard,
France. From September 20th - 29th, these artists stayed in
Gyumri and worked with three Armenian artists from the 5th
Floor Cultural Group.
The project was designed to encourage art awareness and
understanding, and aimed to increase accessibility to art and
culture. During the first few days of the project, one of the
visiting artists- a French sculptor named Sophie Dody -
invited local youth to learn about visual art through an
interactive, four-day workshop. Together, participants
designed an original, life-sized statue of a woman made only
from wire and coloured paper. For participant and YIC
member Gagik Grigoryan, the workshop was a new
experience, unlike anything he had done before. Afterward,
the youth participants presented their artwork at a local
exhibition at the Berlin Art Hotel.
Meanwhile, the French and Armenian artists also created
their own artistic pieces, each designed to show the
contrasting landscapes of Gyumri. During this process, the
artists visited the district of Mush, where they collected
various discarded objects and materials – including pieces of
cement, metal scraps, and trash to be recycled for use in their
artwork. The final exhibition of the artists’ work, entitled
“Building Ruins,” included live performance, installation art,
photography, and video. It was open to the public from
September 28th through October 4th at the Style Gallery in
Gyumri.
Kim VanKirk
Art Residency in Gyumri
We caught the member of July, Arthur Yessayan, for an interview:
How did you find YIC?
My friend Anna told me about it.
What is the best thing about YIC?
YIC manages to bring together open-minded young people
with a new way of thinking, and I really like to communicate
and cooperate with them. YIC joined together young people
with a non-standard way of thinking and free mentality, who
are different from the majority of society and the standard
way of thinking; and I like to communicate and work with
these people.
What is the most important thing you have learnt at
YIC?
I think YIC has taught me to identify stereotypes and apply
a comprehensive approach to resist those stereotypes that
could have detrimental effects on society.
What do you like the least at YIC?
YIC has many members, and many of them don’t know
each other. I am sure that if we could become acquainted with
each other and put together our efforts, it would greatly
facilitate YIC in achieving its intended goals.
What future plans do you have connected with YIC?
I would like to become more actively involved in the
projects.
What hobbies do you have?
I am always trying to do things that I really enjoy, and when
it is possible I am also trying not to do things that I don’t like.
In this sense, it is pertinent to say that my job is, at the same
time, one of my hobbies. Apart from my job, there are things
that can be considered hobbies. As my job is very closely
related to computers and technology, my hobby also has tight
connections to those things. I am fond of surfing the Internet
and finding all that is beautiful and noteworthy, and storing all
that stuff in my computer.
What is your profession and where do you work?
I work at Shirak Technologies in Gyumri as a Hardware
Design Engineer and Programmer. I graduated from the
faculty of Radio-Physics at Yerevan State University, with a
major in Microelectronics. Then I studied programming and
electronics for two years, specializing in Hardware
Description Languages at the Gyumri Information
Technologies Center.
Is there anything at YIC you would like to change?
First of all, YIC implements a great number of projects
which can have a very positive impact on society in general,
and young people in particular. But these programs typically
involve YIC members and other young people who don’t
need to change their way of thinking. So I think it is very
important to involve young people in these projects who
really do need to change their mentality.
The profile of a volunteer should have a positive character
for the society. In this regard I can offer you to create the
internet video-blog and to
promote it through different
types of media. The second issue
I would like to speak about is that
sometimes successful models are
not followed. YIC has many
international volunteers and YIC
can achieve its goals with their
help.
I would like to emphasize two points which, from my
viewpoint, YIC could give some consideration. First, I think
YIC has an aim to make positive strides toward a better
society with more young people involved in volunteering.
Though YIC implements many youth projects in which its
members can participate, young people who are not YIC
members are often quite unaware of them. So the first point is
to raise the awareness of other young people about the
opportunities through YIC. I would suggest organizing a
video blog where all the YIC activity could be shown.
Additionally, there could be TV and radio programs which
could inform about the activities of YIC.
The second point I would like to mention, again from my
subjective point of view, is the fact that YIC doesn’t always
follow the best practices of, for example, foreign NGO’s in
solving common problems, though it hosts many international
volunteers from different NGO’s around the world. At least
in resolving some technical, managerial, and development
tasks that are common across the globe, such an approach is
ubiquitous.
Why should people be aware of YIC?
The importance of being aware of YIC, in my deep
persuasion, rests on the possibility that young people who are
not YIC members could imitate YIC members in their style of
acting and living. Interviewed by Nune Minasyan
Interview with the member of July - Arthur Yessayan
Contacts
Address: Shirakatsi 177a, apt.2, Gyumri 3118, Armenia
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.yic.am
Tel/Fax: +374 312 4-94-97
EVS Sending
Vanuhi volunteering in Spain
Hi! I am Vanuhi, and I am doing my European Voluntary Service in Santander, Spain. I began my EVS in August 2012 and will
complete it in January 2013. Santander is very nice, and a comfortable place for EVS. I work with blind people here as part of my
volunteering service. I often accompany them and help with their daily tasks. Sometimes we just go for walks and spend nice
time together. It´s very interesting to work with blind people, and to see how independent and creative they are. I am happy to
.
have such friends! Working
with them also helps me
learn more about the
traditional and modern
lifestyles of Spanish people in
the region of Cantabria.
Soon, I will also start art-
therapy workshops for
Spanish people in Armenian
language.
The first weeks of my
service were difficult, but
with the help of local people
and other volunteers I
overcame all the difficulties
and now I enjoy my
volunteering. EVS has given
me an opportunity to
develop myself both
personally and professionally.
“EVS es fantabulosa”
(fantastic & fabulous)!!!!!
Vanuhi Shushanyan