GUIDE TO GRODNO
Marco Krießmann NGO “ТРЭЦІ СЕКТАР” & EVS VOLUNEERS Budziony Str., 48a-63, Hrodna, 230023, Belarus
Guide to Grodno
Marco KrieĂ&#x;mann
Contents A Guide? What for?...............................................................................................................................2 What to do?...........................................................................................................................................2 Yeah But How?.......................................................................................................................................3 Timetable & Budget...............................................................................................................................4 In Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................4
Guide to Grodno
Marco Krießmann
A Guide? What for? Grodno has seen an influx in foreign visitors over the last couple of years. Be it due to the loosened immigration laws for tourists or the continued support for international Students in the various universities around the city. Be it for a short while or an extended period of time, the number or foreign visitors in has increased. Even though Grodno is a city with a comparatively high level of tourism, it can still be very troubling to get around and see all the sights, especially if you speak little to no Russian or have a someone showing you around. For those living here for a longer time it can also be difficult just to find your own stride, which is very important if you have work or studies here. If you are in a place that is very different in both language and culture, the simplest tasks such as shopping, using public transport or even getting a haircut can be very difficult. I understand that the experience may not be the same for everyone. For some this might sound ridiculous, for others this might just describe their experience when coming here. This is a matter of perception and highly subjective, but I believe that just recognizing this helps a lot.
What to do? Faced with these problems, I want to provide foreigners with a resource to help with some of these issues. We want to provide a document or webpage that gives useful tips for people staying here for a longer time. From shops to foreigner friendly restaurants, service providers or just spots to gather, everything should be collected in one place. We want to give both an overview as well as some in depth information. We also want to give a general greeting to all the people who come here and tell them, that they are not alone. There are lots of people who want to meet you and help you out. Of course, this is tailored towards people who stay in Grodno for longer periods of time. It will not contain the most popular tourist attractions or the best hotels. It is meant as a realistic picture of how you can live here in Grodno. But if production allows it I want to add a short tourism guide for short term visitors. This can work very well in conjunction with the original guide but give a different picture of Grodno. Here we want to focus on the attractions of the city Here we have a short summary of the Goals we want to achieve
Welcome Video Minimum of 4 pages of tips and guides (Interactive) Bus Guide (optional) Tourism Guide (optional)
Guide to Grodno
Marco KrieĂ&#x;mann
Yeah But How? The first step is to draw up a team. The project will require at least 1 person with good command of both English and Russian in order to smooth communications with locals. In case it turns out that there is a majority of foreign students of a specific nationality, e.g. Chinese, and there is a volunteer amongst the Students, he can be asked to participate to communicate better with that specific group of students. Additionally, if there are people who want to pitch in with ideas or other practical help they are always welcome. We want to get in contact with a few non-Russian speaking foreigners living in Grodno, mainly though the international students at the university. We will ask them questions regarding their arrival and how they got to go around here in Grodno. We will also ask them about some places where it is easy to get around without Russian. The interviews will be conducted in English and recorded with any voice recorder, and then transcribed manually. If the interviewee has concerns about their voice recording being used without their consent the answers will have to be written down by hand. After interviewing, we want to survey the recommended businesses and get a good idea of what the place is. I also want to work with the owners of the businesses to get their consent to mention their locations in the guide and maybe gain some behind the scenes insight. If a business wants to specifically cater to foreigners but lacks expertise, we will also advise them and offer some help. After collecting enough information and taking pictures, the writing process will begin. The guide will complete a rough draft with most of the written text finished. Then it will be evaluated whether the guide will take the form of a simple PDF file or an interactive webpage. This decision will depend on how our partner for technical solutions responds. If the schedule allows it, creative work for the tourism version of the guide will start at this point. Once that is completed, the same process is repeated for the bus plan. If we receive a positive response from our technological partner is positive, a webpage will be designed for the rough draft text that was completed earlier. The process and will mostly be left to our partner with only some creative input. After all the work is finished the Guide will either be online as a webpage or as a download in PDF and printed at a few distribution points.
Guide to Grodno
Marco Krießmann
Timetable & Budget As the project is still before the planning phase we cannot pinpoint an exact timetable. However, there is a rough plan or when the project should be in which case:
March/April: Planning and sourcing May: Interviewing and Writing June: Technical implementation July: Finishing of the Project
As for budget, we unfortunately have very little funds that can only cover small expenses.
In Conclusion This project might seem very specific, but I don’t aim to severe a huge amount of people. If it can just help one or two people feel more at home or give some people a good idea of what to do in the city, it can already be counted as a success. Just giving someone a basic structure can be the difference between doing nothing and having a great time.