Participation in the Community Service Fair
On December 7th, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., this year’s Fair for Volunteerism was held in the Foyer of the Culture Center – Bitola. It featured 11 non-governmental organizations from Bitola and the region, as well as the work of local volunteer clubs, which presented their volunteer opportunities and shared their success stories and projects. Among the 11 organizations that took part in the Fair was YMCA Bitola. This was a great opportunity to connect volunteering opportunity providers and high school students in the city. The fair is the sixth such fair in a row, which is organized by the American Corner in Bitola and is primarily intended for high school students, students, and young professionals. The other organizations that took part were Sefra International, MKC Bitola, Together Macedonia, Interact, Lions International, Sumnal Bitola, CEDI, Zlatno Pero, and the Center for Culture from Bitola.
Local Volunteer Awards
The Council for Volunteering of the Municipality of Bitola awarded the local awards for volunteer/volunteer action for 2022. This award is given on the occasion of December 5 – the International Day of Volunteers and the purpose of its award is to encourage and promote volunteering in Bitola, to increase the visibility of volunteers and positive volunteering practices, and to inspire further promotion and development of volunteering at a local level. YMCA Bitola is part of the Local Council for Volunteering (LCV) of the Municipality of Bitola, which has its representative in this Council. The winners of the award this year were Ferzije Asanovska, Valentina Sokolovska, and Marija Boškovska, awarded as volunteers for 2022, then the “Association for protection from multiple aspects – VIKTORI” from Bitola, awarded as an organizer for volunteer work for 2022 and Natasha Darkov – volunteer coordinator for 2022. The prizes were awarded by the mayor of the municipality of Bitola, Toni Konjanovski, who thanked the awardees for their actions so far, wishing for many more successful volunteer activities in the next period, for which the municipality is always ready to provide the necessary support. The event took place on the premises of Mladi Hub in Bitola.
Local Volunteering Strategy for 2023-2026
The activities of the Local Volunteer Council of the Municipality of Bitola (LVC), which were aimed at the participatory creation of a new strategy for volunteering for the Municipality of Bitola for the period 2023-2026, have recently ended. Since YMCA has its representative in LVC for the period 2021-2022, he participated in the working group which, together with representatives from other active youth or youth organizations from Bitola and advisors from the Municipality itself, prepared this strategic document. 3 working meetings were held with a previously determined agenda and under the guidance of an external expert who had the task of taking into account all remarks, proposals, and suggestions by the members of this working group and preparing the strategy together with the action plan for the period 2023 – 2026 year. This strategic document will further be submitted to the Bitola Municipality Council, which is expected to adopt it by March 2023. These activities were organized and carried out by MCC -Bitola under the name “It’s time for volunteering”, a project financed by the grant program of the project “Youth Participation for Strong and Sustainable Development of the Community” financed by the European Union. At the same time, through this project, the capacity of all members of LVC Bitola was strengthened through the realization of training for the creation of volunteer policies and the implementation of plans that the members received. Through this activity, the project strengthened LVC with skills for creating volunteer policies, so that it can successfully create a new strategy for the development of volunteering in the municipality of Bitola and implement the activities following the new document without hindrance and in the future.
Green Agenda through Green Bair and 1000 woods for 1 acorn
For several years in a row, the YMCA supports the “Green Bair” initiative, which is trying to realize the idea of reforesting parts of the area called Bair in Bitola. It is an area consisting of bare hills that suffered from the fire a few years ago in this part of the city. This is the fourth such action in a row and this time 200 evergreen seedlings of black pine were planted. In the past three years, more than 400 evergreen seedlings were planted in this area, some of which have been successfully adapted and are already greening the area. Several associations of citizens and some companies support this initiative, which we hope will continue to happen in the future. More information on the activities and photo galleries is available here и here. In addition to this, in the second half of October 2022, the team of the ZEMI ZDIV platform, where the YMCA is a part, started the preparation for the implementation of the environmental action “1000 forests from 1 acorn” which aims to raise environmental awareness among children and adults about the importance of trees in the process of environmental protection. The action consisted of collecting healthy oak acorns that were distributed to children from primary education with the aim of planting them at home, growing the trees and transplanting them to a permanent location. With this action, we want to interest them in their active involvement in the process of planting new trees, and to motivate them to continue with such healthy habits in the future. The goal is for each child to have their own oak tree that they will grow and later plant in a specific location. This year, this action as a pilot project was organized in three elementary schools in Bitola (OU St. Kliment Ohridski, in OU Dame Gruev and OU Goce Delchev) within the framework of complementing the teaching of natural sciences.
“Bike-up”: Very educative project!
By Angela Zhelkova We had a great time at this youth exchange. It was an exchange where, over the course of a week, more than 20 participants from 4 countries gathered to learn more about bicycles and the environmental impact they have. The event took place in Bitola from October 3 to 9, 2022. The purpose of the event with all the workshops and discussions was clear – every action has its own reaction. We learned that bikes can significantly contribute to reducing pollution, that we should take care of the environment because we are a part of it, and that bikes also improve human health. We also learned that we don’t have to go everywhere with cars. These were some of the main points that we all became more aware of. There was a lot of discussion, fun and creative activities related to the topic of bikes, art and ecology. For illustration, we drew murals, repaired bikes, the countries had the opportunity to introduce themselves, we walked to some local cultural landmarks such as Heraclea, etc. The perfect event to meet new friends, challenge yourself and have fun for a week. All in all, we definitely had a great time. This exchange helped me reflect on my actions and think about the role of the bikes. I think I will continue to care about everything related to bikes in the future in my life.
Youth Exchange “Bike-up”: Our new perspectives
By Stanislav Krastev I really liked the project! The experience I had and the things I learned here in Bitola are more about Erasmus program and youth exchanges. I really learned a lot. But, this is also about the topic, biking. I learned how different parts of the bike are called in different languages, I learned how to paint murals and also to fix bikes. Last time when I cycled before this project was about 2 years. And now I am thinking about buying new bike and using it for urban transportation. I’ll surely recommend the Erasmus program to my friends and classmates! By Malena Velinova The experience I had with this project was also amazing. I met some amazing and full of life people and learned a lot from them about bikes and the youth exchanges in general. I also learned a lot about this from the organizers of this exchange. Before coming here, I didn’t know much about bikes and their importance, but now it is different. I know much more, the types f bikes, what they are used for, how they are helpful to the environment and a lot of other stuff. I am ready now to “bike up” my life and to take more responsible role toward my city where I live!
Youth Exchange “Bike-up”: Bitola vs. Denmark
By Anna-Katharina Lüers My name is Anna-Katharina Lüers and I am coming from the Danish Youth Team, from Denmark. This event called “Bike up” was held in Bitola, North Macedonia and was about urban transport in Europe, or at least it is what was I interested about. During the activities in this youth exchange I have become aware that in Denmark we have a lot more bikes and therefore also, a lot of parking spots for them. This is in regard the parking spaces not available here in Bitola. Here, there is a few spots, but not enough, and therefore you need to park the bike on the side of the street. Another thing is that there is also only one “real” bike line in the town of Bitola and if you are not using that, you need to share the area with the pedestrians or cars on the road, which makes it more difficult and slower to get to your goal. There is very high curbstones in Bitola, which makes it hard to switch roads, because you need to get off your bike a lot. With the infrastructure in Denmark, you can easily attend where you need to go and bike rides are more prioritized than people with cars. I had great time during this exchange, I learned a lot new things for other countries as well making new friends. From the difficulties other countries had, I learned a lot of things related with bikes. My general impression is that we need to appreciate the infrastructure that helps to bike more easily and to always help and support initiatives that are raising awareness about this things in the communities were biking is not well developed. By Petar Kazakov The project was interesting and helpful. I am already in contact with many people who wants to ride bikes, but in the urban infrastructure they can’t, since the infrastructure of the city itself doesn’t allow it. This was the biggest awareness for me, and the other thing is that I became more aware is the fact that we need to know how to repair bikes at elementary level. This is lacking, but is vey helpful. Overall, the project was good and I am satisfied how all turned up.
“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!
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.
