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Welcome to Recrear! Congratulations on your acceptance to RecrearMagnify!
By attending RecrearMagnify you will engage in intensive workshops to develop and cultivate your skills as young professionals in the fields of participatory development, NGO management, and action-based research. During RecrearMagnify, you will become familiar with Recrear’s work and culture and will be encouraged to take an active role in the organization’s future development. We are very excited to host you in Armenia! We are preparing two weeks of non-stop excitement, training, and personal development.
We can’t wait to meet you!!! Recrear - www.recrearinternational.org
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Conference Breakdown
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Our first goal is to become a team. We will catch you up with Recrear’s culture and work so far. By updating you on Recrear´s operations up until now you will be in a better space to then begin to shape our direction. Ultimately, we want you to take ownership of this organization! You were each selected for the conference because of your distinct vision and set of skills that we think will contribute to Recrear in a fresh new way. That being said, as with anything – you need to love something before you feel ready to take ownership of it.
Personal Development Course + Recrear Intro We will start our conference with a personal development course in the picturesque Stepanavan. The course aims at “Breaking the Ice” in a setting where many of us will meet new faces and embrace cultural differences. The course allows us to step away from our busy lives and launch ourselves 100% into the process. Our plan is to get personal, and build a sense of connectedness strong enough to get us through not only the following weeks of the conference but the work needed to run the organization once we all return to working remotely. During this first week, we will also familiarize ourselves with the people behind the organization, both new and old. We will have the opportunity to share with you the participatory research model we have been developing. Our hope is that you will become comfortable with and eventually enrich this model.
Recrear - www.recrearinternational.org
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Training + Strategic Planning
During week two we will be moving to the Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. Here our days will be filled with speaker sessions to help train and inspire us. First, we want to learn from Armenia and the different ways that youth participate in the development of this unique community. We will interact with a series of local experts that are engaged on topics relevant to our work. During this second week we will also have some important sessions on Recrear’s future plans and elect the members’ representor to our board of directors. Most importantly, we will be exploring together how each of us will continue engaging with Recrear’s work in the upcoming year.
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! ! Tentative Schedule
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Week 1 August 9th: Arrival to Stepanavan, check in & intro to Recrear & SYC August 10th: Personal Development Course, Day 1 (expect the unexpected!)
August 14th: Recrear’s youth-led research model: Intro to youth-led research; Setting up a research project; Building useful partnerships; designing a research curriculum.
August 11th: Personal
Training: Recrear Social
Development Course, Day 2
Media and PR
August 12th: Personal
August 15th
Development Course, Day 3
Recrear’s youth-led
August 13th:
research model: why does
Discover Stepanavan!
research matter? Training
Discussion: Youth &
the researchers; Sharing
Development
the stories.
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Recrear’s internal communication strategies.
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Week 2
! August 17th: Exploring Yerevan!
August 18th: Speakers sessions: Youth Development in Armenia, Intercultural dialogues in Caucasus region, addressing youth unemployment
August 19th: Panel: Non Profit management: youth-led organizations, sharing lessons learned
Recrear strategic planning session.
August 20th: Grant writing training, Designing a logical framework and coming up with Indicators.
August 21st: Recrear elections and next steps
Project Planning: Presenting project ideas for 2014/15
Party!
August 22nd: Speakers sessions: Innovation and creativity in youth work
Recrear - www.recrearinternational.org
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OUR LOCAL PARTNER: STEPANAVAN YOUTH CENTER (SYC)
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This conference would not be possible without the formidable support of the Stepanavan Youth Center (SYC), a non-profit based in Stepanavan, Armenia.
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SYC was established in October 2001 by active young people of Stepanavan with the aim to assist in the development of their home town and country. Their main goals are to assist in the exchange of experience, knowledge and skills of young people from Stepanavan and Armenia with their peers across the world, increase information accessibility and opportunities for cultural exchange.
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SHARING OUR EXPERIENCE We’d love for all of you to share your experience with the group. Bring your stories, and let us know if you are interested in facilitating a training session for the rest of the group.
Recrear - www.recrearinternational.org
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Our Tools Blogging: At Recrear we use blogging to think through our experiences. During the conference you are strongly encouraged to blog at least twice in the span of the two weeks. Consider it an experiment in creative writing! You can seek inspiration from our inthe-field blog: http://recrearmagnify.org/
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Recrear Email and Google Drive: We will set up a Recrear email address for you. This will allow you to access our Google Drive World. This is an intense parallel dimension and we will make sure to give some brief training so you all know how to use this wonderful tool.
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Facebook and Twitter: During Magnify we will be sharing our experience with our friends and family over Facebook and Twitter. We will be receiving some training on how to use these tools effectively.
! Navigating Armenia
This year Magnify will be hosted in Armenia, the country of stones and mountains. Where is Armenia? Truth be told, many of us had to google map Armenia. We are excited to discover the ancient history and traditions of this mysterious country famous for its unique alphabet, breathtaking mountains and spectacular landscapes. We will be sharing our time between Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, and the peaceful Stepanavan, a beautiful location only two hours north. Stepanavan will allow us to concentrate on our work, reflect and learn from each other. The region boasts beautiful landscapes, the gorgeous canyon Dzoraget, ancient fortresses and monasteries. While we will have a couple of days to explore Armenia, the program will be pretty packed. However, we encourage you to chat with the other participants in the Facebook group if you are interested in exploring the country further after the conference.
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A few sights near Stepanavan: Ancient Fortress Lori (Lori Berd in Armenian) The ruins of this fortress city founded in the 10th century sit high on the hill where the rivers Miskhana and Dzoraget join to the Debed. This creates a spectacular view of the canyon from three sides of the fortress.
! HAGHPAT AND SANAHIN MONASTERIES, 10th century Haghpat and Sanahin, two of the most gorgeous Monasteries in Armenia, are located on the rocks around Alaverdi town. The architectural complexes of Sanahin and Haghpat are among the outstanding works of medieval Armenian architecture.
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Practical Information
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Travelling to Armenia
Either the Zvartnots airport in Yerevan (Armenia) or the airport in Tbilisi (Georgia) can be considered for international flight arrivals. For more details visit www.zvartnots.am and www.tbilisiairport.com. Travel to/from airport For those who will arrive to the airport in Yerevan:
Option 1: We could order a taxi for you from the airport to our hotel in Stepanavan. It is about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Approximate cost for the taxi will be 35 Eur-45 Eur. In case there are a few participants arriving in a similar time by sharing the taxi, you could split the cost. Option 2: It is also possible to use public transport for travelling to the venue. From the Yerevan Central bus station there are several minibuses going to Stepanavan at 9:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:30 and 16:30 (mentioned times are approximate and they change depending on the load of the passengers). Travel will take 2.5 hours. Tickets costs 1500AMD = ~ 3 EUR and you need to buy the ticket from the cashier (preferably in advance). Payment can be done only in AMD and only in cash. You could exchange money at the airport, the exchange rates are the same at the airport as in the city. The hotel can be reached either via a 20 minute walk or a taxi for 1-2 Euro.
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For those who will arrive to the airport in Tbilisi:
From Tbilisi airport you can take public transport to Ortachala bus station (in case if you arrive during the night there might not be public transport so you have to take a taxi, make sure to negotiate the price in advance it should be around 20-25 GEL). From Ortachala bus station, you can take either 8:00am minibus to Stepanavan or 2:30pm minibus to Spitak and get off in Stepanavan. Please see the map above for directions on how to get to the hotel from Stepanavan bus station. *Note that conference starts in Stepanavan but finishes in Yerevan. Please keep this in mind when you are buying your flight.
VISA ARRANGEMENTS Citizens of many countries enjoy visa free entry to Armenia. If you require visa, no worries, in most cases you can get your visa at the border upon arrival for only 6 Euro (3 weeks visa). For representatives of some countries, Armenia requires the visa in advance. You can check the web site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia http:// www.mfa.am/en/visa/ to know what your situation is prior to departure. In case you need our help and support, please contact our Armenian host organizers: Lilit Simonyan simonyan.lilit@gmail.com and Arsen Simonyan ars_simonyan@yahoo.com or by telephone +37477077292. For those traveling to the airport in Georgia, check whether you need visa for Georgia or not. Here is the web site http://www.mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=96
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WEATHER: The weather in Stepanavan in August usually is hot during the day and chilly at night. Normal temperatures range from 60-100 degrees F (16-38 degrees Celsius) and it may rain in the evenings. Please bring a pair of long pants and a light sweater if you tend to get cold easily. The weather in the capital Yerevan is very hot in summer, it can go up to 113 F (45C). You can check the forecast following this link: http:// www.theweathernetwork.com/maps/current-weather/armenia# Recrear - www.recrearinternational.org
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SAFET Y: Armenia and particularly Stepanavan are very safe. However, as in any city, use common sense and be alert to avoid any safety issues. When in doubt, please feel free to ask a Recrear member or Stepanavan Youth Center representative about any safety precautions before venturing out and about.
ACCOMMODATION: The hotel Lori Rest House is located in the outskirts of the town of Stepanavan close to the magnificent mountain of Archasar and a beautiful thick forest. The hotel provides towels and bed linen. Meals will be provided for the participant in the hotel. Address: Antarayin st.1, Stepanavan, Armenia. We are still confirming our accommodation in Yerevan, but we will keep you posted as soon as we have more information.
! ! ! ! COMMUNICATION: Internet access: there is free wireless Internet in our hotel. Sim cards/ mobile phones: it is possible to purchase a sim card for 1-2 Euro. With certain operators it is possible to make international calls with a rate of 0.20 Euro.
! Some interesting links about Armenia http://armenia.am/ http://stepanavan.net/sightseeing/ http://www.lonelyplanet.com/armenia
! Recrear - www.recrearinternational.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOZHER7ZCCI http://birthrightarmenia.wordpress.com/ http://www.hyurservice.com/eng/armenia_eng.php
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Packing Tips!
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■ Hot weather clothes (shorts, t-shirts) ■ Business casual outfits (for speaker sessions) ■ Comfortable wear (personal development course involves yoga) ■Long pants and/or light sweater ■Rain jacket/umbrella for rainy days ■A couple of Party outfits (show us what you got) ■Walking/running shoes ■Sandals ■Your laptop and an adaptor if needed ■USB Flash drive ■Refillable water canister ■Sunscreen ■ Insect repellent (mosquitos can be fierce) ■ Sunglasses ■ Towel
Health:
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Chapstick Antibiotics Flu medicine Any over-the-counter and prescription medicine you might need
Important telephone numbers and addresses Stepanavan Youth Center Staff (Arsen): (+374) 77077292, 91232563 Lori Rest House: +374 25622323, +37425624444
Recrear - www.recrearinternational.org
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! Conference Fees
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■ The 'early bird' fee is 550 Euro (applications received by May 30th) ■ The conference fee is 650 Euro (applications received after May 30th, 2014) The total cost includes: ■ 2 weeks of accommodation ■ 3 meals a day for 14 days ■ RecrearMagnify seminars ■ A personal development course ■ The transportation costs from Stepanavan to Yerevan ■ Recrear membership fee (30 Euro)
Recrear - www.recrearinternational.org
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