We are 5 years old WINTER. with 2014 # 1. YIC ջան դու ամենալավն ես. Թող այս 2014 տարին նոր բարձրունքներ բերի

Transcription

1 WINTER with 2014 # 1 We are 5 years old YIC ջան դու ամենալավն ես Թող այս 2014 տարին նոր բարձրունքներ բերի Հետաքրքիր նախաձեռնություններ ու գաղափարներ

2 Stamp it Yourself January, 2014, Aghveran, Armenia Stamp it Your Self international training course on youth policy took place from January 24-30, 2014 in Aghveran. The TC aimed at developing participants competency in enhancing youth workers involvement and active participation in youth policy development and implementation. The project was implemented in the framework of the European Commission Youth in Action programme. The training brought together 28 young people from Armenia, Turkey, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Czech Republic and Ukraine. During the project, the participants had the chance to develop their knowledge and understanding on youth policy and gain skills in empowering youth to be more involved in youth policy development and implementation on a local level. The recommendations package focused on youth participation in decision-making and youth policy development and implementation. The recommendations were presented to the head of the youth policy department of the Ministry of Youth and Sport Affairs of Armenia. During the meeting, the head of youth policy department presented national youth policy, its actions and developments. The participants in turn presented and shared their own experience and the improvements in their own countries. During the TC, participants also had the chance to develop their follow-up projects. The project team will coordinate the process and will support the participants to implement their ideas. The participants of the training course also had the opportunity to get to know to each other s cultures and traditions during the intercultural evenings and through non-formal activities. Let's get it over December, 2013, Dilijan, Armenia The Gyumri Youth Initiative Centre NGO in cooperation with Czech Zemekoule under the framework of Let s get it over project of Youth in Action hosted 24 participants from Armenia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Croatia, Ukraine and Estonia on December 03-09, 2013 in Dilijan. It was a 7-day international training course on conflict management in youth work aimed at helping the youth-workers in demonstrating a more constructive and systematic approach when dealing with conflicts. Artur Najaryan Artur Najaryan

3 Armenia s Breaking Backbone 18 December, 2013, Gyumri, Armenia On December 18th, 2013 YIC NGO member, Gedeon Simonyan showed a screening of Armenia s Breaking EVS Sending Youth Initiative Centre NGO gave an opportunity to Chinar and Gevorg from Gyumri to take part in a short term European Voluntary Backbone, an environmental documentary. Service under the framework of the European Commission s "Youth in Action" programme. The Vysocina in European Whirl project took The movie, filmed by AEF members, presents the problems place in Czech Republic from January 26 to February 23, caused by mining on Armenian territories. You can watch the movie trailer by following this link: Here are our two volunteers, Chinar s and Gevorg s impressions: Rafayel Begoyan I would like to share with you my impressions during my voluntary service in Czech Republic. Willing to make some changes in my life, I decided to participate in this project. I also wished to be in a new environment and learn new things about other countries, cultures and traditions. I also got the chance to meet new people, show them the history and culture of Armenian people, and finally see new places. My voluntary work went really well. After sharing information about our countries we found many similarities and differences. The project was held in Pelhrimov, Czech Republic. It was hosted by HODINA H organization in February. The project aimed to initiate and create many different events for the local children, youth, adults, and elderly. Thanks to the project, I learned a lot of new things and gained experiences that will be useful in my life and help me move forward with bigger steps. During the project, every volunteer was met with challenges that he/she never had experienced. Nevertheless, the project turned out to be really fun. I have been left with really good impressions from my voluntary work. I miss those days and realize I can t get them back. I encourage all young individuals to be courageous enough to take part in similar projects held in foreign countries. Those projects can really change your life. It s very nice to see young people who are willing to help others, share knowledge, and learn from one another. I m happy to have experienced this small yet very valuable opportunity. Chinar Grigoryan

4 On the morning of January 31 st our alarm clock rang and our hostel plunged into chaos. The girls were running around trying to put make up on in 5 minutes. The evening before, Marie gave us the bus tickets and told us to be at the bus station at 8:00 am. After numerous efforts to get ready, we finally arrived at the bus station and found out the tickets were for 8:30 am. Then we were on our way to Prague. I wanted to sleep but at the same time I didn t want to miss the beautiful landscapes outside. After two hours, we arrived at the bus station in Prague and were asking people how to get to the city center. In the center of Prague, there was an amazing atmosphere. Near Veneslev memorial, we met a nice a pair of nice guides Marie and Karl. We begun our tour by walking through Old Tie square. At 12:00 am we watched the astronomical clock in the square. After the unforgettable impressions, we went to Charles Bridge. Our guides agreed to accompany us to our hostel, where we would leave our luggage and continue the tour. But there was a problem, as we didn t book a room in advance and had to book it right then there. Because our booking took a long time, Marie and Carol left us. After we booked our room and checked in, we went to the narrowest street in the world situated in Prague. However, when we got there it turned out that it was not a street but the road to a restaurant located between two buildings. Unfortunately, the street was closed and we could only take a photo of the gate overlapping the street. Then we went to the Church of Saint Vitus and that was really amazing. It was already dark outside, but the moonlight was bright. It felt like a fairytale. We were so impressed that we got distracted and lost each other. After two hours of useless searching for Ucha and Nastea we decided to go back to the hostel. It turns out they were waiting for us there the entire time. We decided to have a rest in the hall. That s when Ucha and I started to argue about Armenia and Georgia. Later, an Italian traveler joined us and we had a long conversation. Then I saw a girl who was talking on skype. She then turned to the camera and started speaking to me. Later I found out she was Armenian. Later, our team decided to go to a pub. Suddenly, while walking, we found out that the French guys disappeared. So we went back and were looked for them everywhere. We still couldn t find them until we passed by a casino and saw them there. I never thought my first time at a casino would involve searching for someone. They were playing roulette. I asked the French guys to return. I even begged them on my knees but they didn t want to come. So we went to a pub called Batalion. The next morning we woke up very early to leave the hostel in time. We went to the city center to have breakfast. After the breakfast we went to see John Lennon s wall. Then we went shopping. After two hours, we met at the Florence bus station. We hopped on a bus and arrived in Pelhrimov in two hours.. We went home and rested. Inn the evening we had a party with whole group. NEXT LEVEL! (bonus life?) January 31-February 7, 2014, Vienna, Austria Recently Vahe Darbinyan and Karen Petrosyan took part in a 6-day Youth in Action -funded East-West training course NEXT LEVEL! (bonus life?) in Vienna, Austria which was held from January 31 to February 7. The training course targeted youth workers representing youth organizations from EU and CIS countries. The main topics of the training course were strategies and practices for sustainable international youth work and social entrepreneurship. During those 6 days we learned about social entrepreneurship, east-west cooperation, and how young people can find innovative solutions to social problems youth are facing in their own communities. We also got acquainted with the win win game/ a tool also called non-zero-sum game in game theory; a situation when cooperation or group participation leads to all participants benefiting. Attention was also given to designing joint projects and making new partnerships with participating organizations. In the end we were introduced with the new Erasmus + programme and how youth can use it to boost skills and employability as well as activate youth in their countries. Overall it is important to mention that the training course gave us an opportunity to learn new tools, methods, and techniques that we can use in our daily work with young people. Vahe Darbinyan Gevorg Melkonyan

5 YIC Strategic Plan Meeting December, 2013, Aghveran, Armenia Staying true to it s adopted principles the core team of Youth Initiative Centre devoted this winters biannual strategic meeting to the development of the organization s strategic plan for Prior to the meeting organization had conducted in depth research of it s members needs, SWOT analysis of the organization, had examined relevant state and international youth policy which served as a solid base for discussions and brainstorming during the meeting. The team of the organization composed of the current staff, board members and funding members of the organization focused on four pillars of the organization s activity-programmatic strategy, human resources strategy, public relations strategy and financial strategy. Throughout the meeting which was facilitated by the chairperson of YIC s board the team of organization was working in small groups as well as in the bigger team, occasionally involving in the communication the members of YIC s board who are based outside Armenia. In the result of the meeting the draft strategic plan was built which was later shared with the members of the local advisory board and YIC s active members for their comments. As a follow up to the meeting in January 2014 YIC staff designed relevant action plans for 2014 which together with the strategic plan were adopted by the board of YIC. Apart from it s value for organization s further development the meeting served as an opportunity for YIC team retreat. YIC Birthday 28 December, 2013, Gyumri, Armenia On December 28th, Youth Initiative Centre YIC NGO presented a summary of it's activities of the last 5 years. Since it's foundation, YIC has aimed to assist civic activism and youth development through an increase in youth participation and initiatives. The center has held many different effective projects over the last five years.. Rafayel Begoyan Gayane Araqelyan Contacts Address: Jivani 71, Gyumri 3105, Armenia Tel / Fax: ( ) newsletter@yic.am Website: Translation: Rafayel Begoyan Editor: Rafayel Begoyan Main Editor: Artur Najaryan