June with July 2012 #1 This is the first edition of our newsletter. With this and the upcoming versions we want to keep our members, partners and other interested parties informed about our past and upcoming activities. In this edition you will find a calendar with all the upcoming clubs we hold at YIC for the the members, interviews with the member of the month Karen Harutyunyan and our EVS volunteer Andres Podsiadlik. Also stories about Human Rights project, EVS in Sicily, Indian months activities and a new book reading club. And of course info about our Volunteering Promotional Month project.
The seminar was designed to give participants the opportunity to experience and reflect upon activities and concepts central to human rights education based on experiential learning approaches. The course was also designed as a mutual learning situation, where participants could compare their approaches to training and to human rights education across Europe in a dialogical intercultural approach and environment.
Mondays: 16:00 – French Club for Beginners (Flavie Laporte) 17:30 – Business English Club (Kimberly VanKirk) Tuesdays: 15:00 – Spanish Club (Anna Harutyunyan) 16:00 – English for beginners (Volodya Khachatryan) Wednesdays: 15:00 – Turkish Club (Yeranuhi Hovhannisyan) 17:30 – Intermediary English club (Siranush Minasyan)
Training course on Human Rights in Dilijan “Human Rights in Crisis: Reviewing HRE Practice in Youth Work” aimed to exchange experiences and good practice and develop competences of youth workers in the field of Human Rights Education at national and regional level and to enable them to act as trainers or multipliers for human rights education, especially through national or regional seminars and local pilot projects.
Clubs in July
Training Course was implemented by Diggout Association (The Netherlands) – main coordinator – responsible for application and administration of project and Youth Cooperation Centre of Dilijan (Armenia) – responsible for organization and logistics of the training. Syuzanna Galstyan and Suzan Muradyan as YIC NGO volunteers were representing Armenia and YIC NGO. During the training the participants were given an opportunity to visit some historical places near Dilijan. And to some extent it helped them to get the idea about Armenian culture, history. Syuzanna Galstyan
Thursdays: 14:00 – German Club for beginners (Suzan Muradyan) 15:30 – English for beginners (Volodya Khachatryan) 16:30 – Farsi Club (Galya Hovhannisyan) 17:30 – European Club (Kert Kivaste/ Flavie Laporte) OR Estonian Club (Kert Kivaste) Fridays: 15:00 – Conversational French Club (Flavie Laporte) 16:30 – Book Reading Club (Kert Kivaste) 17:30 – Intermediary English club (Siranush Minasyan) More info on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/yic.members.group/
Indian months in YIC
YIC “International Club” organized ‘Indian tea treating’ in the frameworks of Indian months at YIC. The host of the event was Janghiani family composed of the International club team members who had created a real Indian atmosphere with corresponding decoration and clothing. The event was composed of the following parts: • Introduction of Indian Gods • Quiz on Indian culture, history, Gods of India • Tea treating prepared and served in a traditional Indian way • Showing the way of wearing Indian traditional dress – “sari” • Indian dance In the framework of “YIC Open Air Cinema” the screening of Indian epic “Ramayana” was done in Gyumri Central Park. The audience was composed of YIC members and simply of passers-by who watched the cartoon with great interest and left the place impressed. Another one among the series of events dedicated to the Indian months was Indian cooking. A well-known and traditional Indian dish “Biryani” was prepared by International Club team and other YIC members who actively joined the interesting process of cooking. As a final event of Indian months “Indian wedding” will be organized with all Indian peculiar traditions and rituals and participation of students from India. The event will take place on July 7, at 17:00, at Berlin Art Hotel, Gyumri. Sona Sahakyan
EVS volunteer Andres Podsiadlik
Andres Podsiadlik, from Poland, has started his service at YIC from 2nd of October 2011, in the framework of Youth in Action program European Voluntary Service. Andres is working at Gyumri “HUYS” Children House and at Armenian Caritas “Little Prince” Social Center. He is conducting various sport and cultural activities to provide the children a healthy lifestyle and make their free time more productive. His volunteering service gets now close to the end as he will leave Armenia at the end of June. Andres values his positive EVS experience and says it has made him a lot more responsible and more confident to manage project independently. Working among an international team he has improved a lot his English skills. This service has been also a great opportunity for him to learn more about Armenian culture and to share his own culture. Andres has been very appreciated by everyone for his cheerfulness and his eternal enthusiasm. Interviewed and edited by Flavie Laporte
Book Reading club
In June we started a new club in YIC called the “book reading club”. Actually there are two main themes. First one of its goals, as the name suggests, is to promote reading in general. Secondly, regarding the book (“The Power of Full Engagement”) and the way the club is built up, it’s also a self-development club. We are reading a chapter per week and then we meet on Fridays at 16:30 to discuss about valuable insights of the book and also how to incorporate some of the ideas into our everyday life. For that we set some goals and challenges for ourselves in order to raise our productivity. The book is very thought provoking and recommended for everyone. The best part is that you can still join us and hopefully the first book in the list will not also be the last in the context of this club. Kert Kivaste
Anna Osipyan volunteering in Sicily
It’s only 1 and half month here, and it feels like I have been in this place for ages! I am Anna, and I am doing EVS in the island of sun and oranges. I have always wanted to do EVS exactly in this country and I know why;) I am working with the Archeoclub d’Italia, and the project is on youth, tourism and legality, local development and cultural heritage. Now we are getting prepared for the summer youth camp which is going to be a really big event! We had a cool on-arrival training during which we had dozens of activities on intercultural communication, personal development, EVS in general and in details. We got stuffed with pasta which is so typical, and of course making “bordellos” (it is not what you think!) in the evenings. I am loving the experience I am going through as living with guys from other countries and travelling, seeing and touching teaches a lot. So far, I have not faced any major problems, the only one is that formally I am an illegal immigrant by now, as the police visit and settling documentation takes ages here! Even worse than in Armenia! Allora ragazzi, I go on with enjoying this cool experience and hope many other guys may have the opportunity to do the same. Be keen on change! Anna Osipyan
Interview with the member of June - Karen Harutyunyan Youth Initiative Center NGO never breaks any of its laws. And this time Karen Harutyunyan was selected by lottery as a member of the month. On this occasion we had a very short but interesting interview with Karen. How did you find YIC ? I heard about YIC from my friend and the first time I attended it to learn Spanish. I began attending YIC regularly and I noticed the energetic and consolidated work. And I realized that I was at the right place and this NGO would definitely have many things to do and to say. From that very moment till today I am a full member at YIC and now I am also a volunteer.
What is the best thing at YIC? One of the important things I would like to mention about YIC is that people working at YIC are very frank. They are devoted to their work. And the most important thing is that human relations towards each other are at a very high scale and there is no discrimination in staff –members’ relations.
What do you like less at YIC? them and manage those YIC has many positive features. innovations. And for me there are not any Why people should recognize things I don’t like. YIC? What future plans connected Every young man should know and with YIC do you have? recognize YIC to realize what Till now YIC has implemented not volunteer work is, to be close to only a number of various local Europe, to get acquainted with projects, events, but also other cultures, and to be more international and public projects informed about the projects about which I have also tried to take part which he/she was completely in. Recently I have taken part in unaware before meeting YIC. “You are able” media program implemented by YIC. It was a great success not only in Gyumri but also in other regions of Armenia, and even abroad. Now I don’t have any specific plans but I hope there will be many projects for us to participate in so we will become more informed. What hobbies do you have? Sometimes I don’t have any free time for my hobbies because of my business. But if I have some time I try to use it usefully. And during the so called “free time” I try to record some songs and act in some videos and films.
Do you study or work? I am a student at Yerevan State What is the most important University of Theatre. thing you have learnt at YIC? Following active work rules at YIC Is there anything at YIC you Interviewed like to change? Minasyan I became more punctual and I would began paying more attention to my Actually there is nothing to change. proper use of time and I became YIC works very hard and day by day it brings new innovations in more ambitious. the society. I just have to follow
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Volunteering Month with YIC YIC with the support of local and international volunteers, launches a series of activities for the local youth within the framework of ”Volunteering Month with YIC” initiative. The activities aim at the promotion of volunteerism as a mechanism for youth participation. Being one of the main advocates of voluntary work and youth participation in the Northern Armenia, YIC sees the need for undertaking actions with the local youth to get them more active and willing to serve their potential in coping with the problems faced in the community as well as in bringing the change they strive for. ”Volunteering Month with YIC” will be the promotion of the voluntary initiatives which is to be carried out through the following activities:
Contacts Address: Shirakatsi 177a, apt.2, Gyumri 3118, Armenia E-mail: yic_ngo@yahoo.com Website: www.yic.am Tel/Fax: +374 312 4-94-97