“Bike & Upcycle” Erasmus+ Youth Exchange

From 2-10 October 2022 in Bitola, N. Macedonia was held this Youth Exchange with participants from Croatia, Denmark, Bulgaria and N. Macedonia. The participants were faced with the topics of transport, environment, climate change and sustainability. They were able to get deep insights into the situations of the other countries that were partners in this exchange, which let them compare the situation with their own home country. They reflected on the similarities and differences in their urban transport realities, and they better understood the context they live in. The working methods were based on non-formal education principles. There was diverse indoor and outdoor workshops that started with introduction games, then team-building games, lectures, brainstorming activities on various related issues, study visits, movie nights and individual and group reflections. Learning by doing methodology was implemented in the outdoor settings – riding bicycles in the city, bicycles repairing, discussions and mural painting. Participants rotated in different group activities such as digital activism, bicycle repairs and artistic expression. Related articles from our website see here from MK, here from DK, and here from BG. This project was approved by our National Agency.

YMCA Western Balkans Initiative Strategy

Initiatives that unite and call for a joint search for solutions in the interest of offering better quality and more sustainable programs for the youth of the region are always worthy of respect. In the last decade, the YMCA organizations in the Western Balkans developed with undiminished capacity and reached the level of offering quality program activities for the young people in the region. But the last 2 years with the Covid-19 pandemic have shown us a different reality and more or less brought out certain anomalies and shortcomings in the functioning of organizations. Although to some extent in similar or different levels of organizational development and context of action, the YMCA organizations from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia in the spring of 2021 started joint online meetings with the aim of discussing the new normality that has been imposed on us and discussing the relationship of the organizational problems we are currently facing. So, as key areas in which we need to strengthen in the next period are the areas of good management, management structures, work on project-based activities, dependence on grants, weak sustainability of projects, weak coordination at the regional level and readiness to act with joint EU projects on larger project applications. In the several held joint meetings, in addition to realizing the challenges and the fields in which we need to act, we also worked on the preparation of joint project applications, during which we submitted two. The initiative continues with unabated dynamics in 2022, in which we hope that with the reduction of the pressure from the pandemic, we will finally be able to have meetings with physical presence. The “Western Balkans Initiative” also started with activities that include regional visits to partners. At the first physical meeting after a long time since the initiative started, all involved countries Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania met at the YMCA office in Kosovo. The connection between national strategies and how they fit together into a larger, Balkan narrative was discussed in more detail. We look forward to what this group will bring to the youth of the Western Balkans!

Peacemakers Global Week

From the Macedonian group of participants This summer, about 50 young people gathered in Oslo, Norway within the framework of PEACEMAKERS GLOBAL WEEK 2022. It was a week of discussions, learning, action, and interesting meetings on various issues around global world trends that also affect young people. With participants from many countries, Global Week is an event where one gets a sense of how small the world is and where the cosmopolitan spirit is built. This event is an opportunity to better understand how young people from different parts of the world work and how they think about important world issues related to tolerance, justice, and peace. The “Global Week” took place in the period from 11-17 July 2022 in Oslo under the auspices of the Global YMCA-YWCA of Norway. There were participants from 3 continents, and we were four from Macedonia, Marina, Andrej, Tea, and Bojan. The activities during the entire event included various games through which we got to know each other and our cultures. In a very short time we realized that although we come from different countries, we all have different characters, we all come from different religious and national origins, and we all come from different cultures, we realized that we are united by one thing: our will to learn something more and our desire for a better tomorrow for all of us. The topics we worked on were related to discrimination, violence, stereotypes and prejudices towards young people from foreign backgrounds, racism, and racial discrimination, ethnic stereotypes and segregation, prejudices and discrimination towards refugees and immigrants, and a bit about global warming. In addition to the serious part, there was of course also the intercultural evening in which we presented our countries and cultures through our traditional food and a few words more about our country. We had endless fun and unforgettable days spent. We left Norway full of emotions, friendships made, and lifelong connections. We all finished the trip to Oslo with new experiences, learned things, friendships, and memories that we will always carry in our suitcase called life.

Youth Center in every Municipality

Opening of the youth center in Bitola is ongoing work in progress. In the meantime, the Union for Youth Work held press release with the status of the youth centers across the country that you can see it here. In the winter of 2020/2021 the first educational program for recognition of youth work on a state level was held. This program also provides means for formal recognition of youth workers who are working with youth for many years informally. YMCA was part of this process, and it is now among the first organizations in our country that has state recognized youth workers among it’s staff.  Since 2019 YMCA is in collaboration with several local youth NGOs in order to foster establishing youth center in the city. The process for recognition of the youth work in Macedonia is lead by the Union for Youth Work, which is a network of organizations that promote youth work in which YMCA is one of the co-founding member associations.

Synergy Training for Personal Development in Ravnogor

By Petar Kuzmanovski and Viktor Zafirovski From June 1-8 a synergy training was held in Ravnogor, Bulgaria organized by the Synergy Bulgaria team, which conducts such training for personal growth and development. The training was led by Markos and Julia, the leaders of Synergy Bulgaria, and was titled “Charge your future” like when you charge a battery on a charger. The training was attended by 23 young people who wanted to learn something more about themselves. The content was focused on achieving personal development through a series of specific outdoor and indoor exercises that challenged our limits. With that, the trainers tried to achieve a new kind of personal integration, of our qualities and skills that we want to improve to have a healthier and more fulfilling future. The event was attended by participants from several countries such as Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. It also contributed to the international moment in the group, as there were participants from countries with which I had never been in contact. There were only two participants from Macedonia, Viktor and I, and the overall experience was very interesting and challenging. Especially the part that was about outdoor activities, like the part where we were left to fend for ourselves in the nearby surroundings around Ravnogor and how the synergy training made us understand the ideas of “creativity” in a new way and make it applicable in solving the problems we were thrown into. I think that all the participants were involved in everything and that they used a lot of the experiences to start thinking about how they can make changes in their lives in the future that will always feel energized. You can see a short video of the training here.

Empowering Summer Camp Youth Leaders (ESYL)

By Kristina Talevska After the short break, in May the ESYL training for camp leaders in the YMCA continued. Again in The Netherlands, in May 2022 leaders from several YMCAs from around Europe gathered to learn about camping, camp rules, camp games and other activities relevant to them as future leaders. This event was an unforgettable experience that will forever remain in our memories. For us it was a huge opportunity to learn new things, to meet new people and a new country, to expand our knowledge, skills, and creativity. After the necessary postponements of this camp due to the pandemic situation this whole event was a great refreshment and a return to reality. This camp took place near a small town called Leusden and is part of a large network of YMCA camps in the Netherlands. Several countries participated, such as Romania, Macedonia, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Spain, and of course, the hosts from the Netherlands happening between May 25 and 29. Within a short time since we arrived, we all bonded and it wasn’t long before we started talking to each other as if we had known each other for years, with no awkward moments, no shyness, no introversion. Everyone showed a genuine interest in the country the others came from, its culture, daily life, habits, food, and traditions. We don’t know if it was because of the effects of the pandemic wave, but it was certainly good to feel human warmth and togetherness as before. Since at this camp we were preparing and reminding ourselves how it is to work with other people, important topics we covered were leadership, being a good communicator, being a team player, what it means to be a volunteer coordinator, creating workshops, and feeling spontaneous throughout that process. The three of us from Macedonia, myself, Darko, and Andrej went through a program that helped us to return to the good old tested camping routines and to get new strength for the future.

Youth Guarantee

YMCA with its representative was included in the workshop entitled “Youth Guarantee” realized in May 7-8. It is a project implemented by the National Youth Council of Macedonia – NMSM in cooperation with the Coalition of Youth Organizations – SEGA and with the support of UNDP, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Employment Agency and involves work on the promotion of the Youth Guarantee through field workers. The “Youth Guarantee” measure enables young people up to the age of 29 who are not in employment, nor in education or training (NEET) to get a suitable job offer, continue their education or be involved in any of the active employment programs and measures within four months after they registered as unemployed persons in the Employment Agency.

Critical Mass #62

In May 2014, the citizens’ initiative Bitola #naTocak initiated the first #Critical Mass. Then, for the first time, we called the citizens to come out and send an unambiguous message to the public officials that the traffic in Bitola is practically violence on the asphalt that is nurtured and nourished by the policies that have been practiced for decades, especially in recent years. All this results in pushing and chasing the citizens who move in alternative ways (on foot, on bike, with supportive equipment due to physical disabilities, parents with small children, etc.) from the city streets and forcing them to switch to moving by car as the only way which is safe under the given conditions. Here, after 8 years, the city is not only facing the same problem, but is starting to relentlessly fight with the sudden increase in the number of vehicles, which creates an additional suffocating traffic jam, and citizens who want to be active and move in alternative ways to be thrown into the fire along with the heavyweights on the streets. What we expect from local elected officials is to show a rudimentary sense of safety to move around the city and invest in sustainable modes of movement through safe and comfortable pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. As concerned citizens, we have always been an ally of the Municipality, pointing out to the local authorities that this traffic system is unsustainable and that the Municipality, after decades of investment only in the replacement of asphalt and widening of the streets for the purpose of flow and comfort for cars, it is time to turn back and to see that he has forgotten his citizens who move daily in the city streets in extremely unsafe conditions. In spite of the fact that the citizens came out on the streets 61 times with clear messages, the influence of the Municipality remains 0 kilometers of bicycle infrastructure built. In the meantime, numerous widened and newly opened streets are being built without planning bicycle traffic. Numerous promises for a final turnaround and planning of investments, so that Bitola becomes first of all a city for people, and not a city choked with motor vehicles. In the last local elections all parties and groups that make up the city Council were UNANIMOUS that our reactions are justified and necessary and that they will advocate for changes in traffic planning. When we already have that consensus, we see no reason for further delays. Bitola can become a cycling city in one mandate if it is set as a strategic objective. For now, we don’t see that. While the whole world invests in sustainable lifestyles, we remain stuck in the past.

YMCA West Balkan Initiative

West Balkan Initiative started during the pandemic period and with the idea of improving self-sustainability, good governance, and idea-sharing for strategical funding as a group in the balkan region. The leaders of YMCAs in N. Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, and Serbia hold regular meetings where they discuss joined strategies and national plans in order to create the action plan for this West Balkan Initiative. The goal is to develop every YMCAs local movement, reaching out to more communities with this joint effort, sharing our mission and vision. Follow our facebook page for updates on this!