Balkan Beats 20

Balkan Beats

A BIMONTHLY MAGAZINE BY THE VOLOUNTEERS OF THE UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS

#20

FREE PRESS

Green Is Chic: Nea Paralia Recycling Catwalk

by Silvia Bartolotti

Editorial

The 20th Edition Since the last magazine, many things have

changed. The team of Balkan Hotspot has a new office. As always in EVS, we have new volunteers in the Balkan Beats team. I am one of the new ones, together with Baris Yuksel, Hande Yetkin, Paweł Walentyn Marchenko, Lorenzo Sciuca and Mafalda Tenazinha. These two months has been a transition period for all of us, not only the new ones. United Societies of Balkans just started their new projects, which you can read more about on page 04.

by Sanna Svärd

Hotspot has been working with Balkan Beats. Since the first magazine, many things have changed. This is natural, since the people working with the content changed over the years.

Whether your a new reader or if you have

been following us since the first edition, I hope you will find something interesting in the 20th edition. Read about the similarities in Greek and Turkish cuisine (page 53), how to make fashion out of garbage (page Also, for this magazine we are celebrating 23), or about when my co-editor Silvia Barthe 20th edition of Balkan Beats. Since tolotti met Modigliani (page 37). Or follow May 2013 volunteers from Balkan my suggestion, and read it all.

Balkan Beats, a part of Balkan Hotspot

Balkan Hotspot is the EVS (European Voluntary

changes in the Balkan and Eastern European Service) project of “United Societies of Balkans”, region and under the need for the creation of a a NGO founded in Thessaloniki in 2008 by a team better social environment. of active young people.

Key areas of the organization’s activities concern The Balkans and Eastern Europe are geograph- the defense of human rights, the organization of ical regions with many cultural features which youth exchanges and training courses, which will offer a broad spectrum of actions and youth in- bring young people from Balkans and Europe tovolvement initiatives. The organization was cre- gether, the organization of local educational semated as a respond to the pressure of constant inars and multimedia production.

United Societies of Balkans is a Non Governmental Organization, founded in Thessaloniki in 2008, by a team of active young people. The organization was created as a response to the pressure of constant changes in the Balkan and Eastern European region and under the need for the creation of a better social environment. Key areas of the organization’s activities concern the defense of human rights, the organization of youth exchanges and training courses, which will bring young people from Balkans and Europe together, the organization of local educational seminars and multimedia pro- duction(webradio, videos, documentaries).

UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS, NGO

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Main goals of the organization • To promote the values of non formal le- aring,volunteering, active citizenship and democracy for the creation of a better future for European youth.

• To promote human rights, solidarity and respect for diversity.

• To build healthy cooperation bridges between countries of the Balkan area and that of Eastern Europe with the rest of Europe.

• To locate and multiply the special cultural attributes of our societies.

• The break down of prejudices and stereo- types between Balkan countries.

9, Alamanas str., Agios Pavlos, Thessaloniki Tel./Fax: +30 2310 215 629 | www.usbngo.gr

Property of Balkan Beats The United Societies of Balkans, NGO, does not necessarily share the opinions expressed in Balkan Beats. It is illegal to reproduce any part of this publication without referring to the source.

www.balkanhotspot.org

This magazine is distributed free of charge.

Contents

Contents Act React

04

NGO ACTIVITY

Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

16

United Societies of Balkans is ready for the future

Engaging people from all over the world

VOICE TO VOLUNTEERS

Festival as a resurrection of a tradition

05

Voice to volunteer: Yeşim Bayrak GOOD PRACTICES

07

Lefkada, 10 years after

09

This is the best place to make an EVS

12

USB NEWS

Youth exchange: memories from Austria

14

From dancing practice to live performance: Maria’s EVS in Turkey

18

20

A day for life, love and unity: Color Fest Thessaloniki

Social and Political

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

41

How much does terrorism kill?

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

46

2017 climate disaster trending: top 10

23

Green is chic: Nea Paralia Recycling Catwalk

30

The culture of tattoos

Around the Balkans

33

BALKANIZATER

Hagia Sophia churches in Balkans where past and today extraordinarily meets

37

49

SPORT

A win-to-win football tournament: Oslo 2017

51

SCIENCE AND TECH

How the fourth wall became our cinema seat

53

FOOD

Greece and Turkey: Sisters in Cuisine

GREEK CULTURE

The day I met Modigliani in Thessaloniki

39

MixFix

55

MIXFIX

Biennale: Thessaloniki, feeling of home

Icon of Thessaloniki

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Act React NGO ACTIVITY

United Societies of Balkans is ready for the future

by Baris Yuksel

United Societies of Balkans (USB) initiates three new projects in addition to their existing Euro-

pean Volunteer Service (EVS) projects. These projects are named ACT and Fix in Action. Also, there is another project accepted by the national agency called EVS with Pride. The first project is about social inclusion of migrants and refugees. The second one is mainly about art and education of children through the art. The last project will be held in cooperation with Thessaloniki Pride and it will have to do with the LGBTQI community and the organization of Thessaloniki Pride Festival.

Recently, under the Fix in Action project, there has

been another project submitted to the National Agency. The National Agency approved the project which will be dealing with enhancement of the quality of Thessaloniki Pride in the following months with many youngsters from different countries.

The transition from European Volunteer Services

© Courtesy of ACT-team

European Union plans to replace the EVS (Eu-

ropean Volunteer Service) programme with ESC (European Solidarity Corps) programme starting from January 2018 onwards. In this regard, ACT project can be seen a pilot project to implement European Solidarity Corps (ESC) in the near future by United Societies of Balkans.

The focus and target of USB is to coordinate different projects in Thessaloniki in order to create a network of EVS organisations to collaborate in different activities in the city in different aspects. As an example to this intention, we can talk about Fix in Action project. The Fix in Action project which splits into two roads, the first one is about art with Fix collaboration, and the second one is about artistic workshops related to education of children through the Fix in Action’s projects.

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(EVS) to European Solidarity Corps (ESC) is another topic which can be analyzed. Many NGOs, not only in Greece but also in other countries, aren’t fully ready to embrace this significant change. We will wait and see what the transition period will bring us in this area. Fortunately, the next year it will be 10th year anniversary of the organisation and so far USB has hosted 120 volunteers and has sent 65 volunteers for EVS activity. So it’s safe to say that USB is one of the biggest and most active volunteering focused organisations in Greece and they are ready for this transformation.

© Courtesy of ACT-team

VOICE TO VOLUNTEERS

Act React

Voice to volunteer: Yeşim Bayrak

by Asena Baydar

We prepared an interview with one of our ex EVS volunteers. With this interview you

can learn new things about being an EVS volunteer and about our ex volunteers experience. We talked with Yeşim a turkish volunteer from Istanbul that stayed in Thessaloniki for a long term project.

© Yeşim Bayrak

cepted that how much luck I was. I was writing in Balkan Beats (online magazine of USB) after the first months of my project. The idea of preparing interviews about former EVS volunteers of USB came out by me. It was not only a good way to keep in touch with them, also sharing their feelings and opinions about their EVS projects in USB as before and after EVS. For this reason, I feel happy by answering your questions. It makes me feel at my second home again.

3 How was your first day in USB? 1 When did you decide to be a volunteer?

I had some challenges as a volunteer before

the EVS Project. I decided to be part of an EVS project after these challenges. Then I found the announcement of USB in 2015.

It was actually really cool. I went to the office with the other volunteers. I met the others in the office. They showed me how to make an original Greek frappe. What could I expect more than this for my very first day in a new office, in a new country?

4 What was your expectation?

Did you find your expectation?

Let’s imagine! People teach you how to make a real frappe in your first day in the office. It really represents the city, the country, and the region / Balkan HotSpot? as Balkans. Because people are not strict in this My EVS project was a long term project. My area. At the same time, it cannot be so different EVS adventure continued for 12 months. I ac- than our culture. A lot of people are from the Bal-

2 How much time do you have in USB

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Act React VOICE TO VOLUNTEERS

kans in Turkey, and in one way or another the Balkans’ spirit affects the others too. Maybe it was weird for some of them. In general EVS projects have many different countries, so one of the best parts is finding the similarities and differences between the other cultures, except from the stereotypes. On the other hand, it was a handicap.

Some people wanted to have new experience as a volunteer with different approach, in a different country than theirs. But some of them were complaining about this comfortable environment. I was lucky because of my roommate. She told me that I had to find what I wanted to do, and how to contribute in the project. I would like to be part of a solution rather than to be part of a problem. According to my friend’s advice and my approach, I tried to discover the city and the Balkans as much as possible. So I created some videos about social issues and city events, I prepared blog posts for USB, I had interviews with former EVS’ers for the Balkan Beats, local people and I prepared a small scale research with the former EVS’ers who had this experience in the Balkans (EVS in the Balkans). I am still thinking about these challenges with love.

I also had an idea about traveling as much as

possible during my EVS. Luckily, I took advantage of being in Greece. It is another best thing about being a part of the EVS project. People can meet new people, observe other cultures, evaluate their cultures with new perspective through EVS as you know. I had a chance to visit ‘Atatürk’s Home Museum’ more than one time alone and with my friends. It was a childhood dream for me, and it became reality.

5 What kind of changes did this experience in your life?

I think the last words sum up this question. The

EVS in USB, in the Balkans exactly refreshed my-

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self by an amazing colours. It is not only about the great nature of the Balkans or the beautiful islands of Greece, but also perfect soul of Thessaloniki has role about it. EVS has two folds as the others and you. The others are so large scaled issue. Your colleagues, city, neighbours…

Shortly, everybody and everything who help you in your journey for being local and opening your world. If I should talk about myself, I have to talk about the expectations. Unfortunately, we can make a mistake when we talk about expectations. Because our expectations have two folds too. One of them is about what we hope and one of them is about what they (it represents ‘USB’ for this interview) hope. For this reason, I tried to keep in mind my motivation letter for applying to the project. I let them for opening my world, and firstly building good friendships without stereotypes with all sides. After, I tried to discover the beautiful city, made videos, wrote articles about the city and my trips. All of these things, and many good memories still influence me positively.

I have to tell that I never encountered any big

problem during my EVS project, and this is your last question. Luckily, I did not have almost any problem, except the little and funny ones. This is the effect of the wonderful city, Thessaloniki. I can prove it by one lovely memory. We organised an event about ‘Go Vote’ as USB. Of course, we were aware of what we were. For this reason, we just organised this event with a responsibility of being a non-governmental organisation. We only said to the others that whatever they were thinking about the process, they would go to vote for being a part of the process. We gathered with many locals in a really democratic environment.

It is because of Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki has the power of being respectful and tolerant. This city rocks!

GOOD PRACTICES

Act React

Lefkada, 10 years after By the hands of the volunteers of Solidarity Tracks

by Mafalda Tenazinha

If you follow us on social media networks you may know that we were in Lefkada to cover the

10 years event of Solidarity Tracks. It is a non-profit organization that tries to develop non-formal education in Lefkada, and other parts of Greece. They promote the value of sustainable development among young people in 3 main aspects: environmental, social and economical.

In ten years Solidarity Tracks, together with their For celebrating this mark with the Solidarity

volunteers, improved this little piece of land in Tracks the community gladly participated in the middle of the Ioanian Sea. We could feel it the workshops that the volunteers prepared from the people present in this event. for them. At the same time they enjoyed the volunteers company during their rest days.

“After 10 years we have done only a The children playing wooden games (builded little part. We still have many things by the volunteers specially for this occasion) freely in the street with their friends from the that we can do here. The biggest and school, neighbors, their parents and grandparmost important challenge will be to ents. They were asking questions, taking part in preserve the quality of our work. We the outdoor activities, playing together with the are not allowed to go back or stay in volunteers and learning how to dance or how to the same level, we need to grow”. do things with recycled materials. It was a party Quote by: Mohamed Chaabouni, President of Solidarity Tracks for the whole Island, for the ones who wanted to join. These activities were not just for children but for everybody.

© Hosszu Reka

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Act React GOOD PRACTICES

© Hosszu Reka You can watch the video on our facebook page or youtube channel

“The target of Solidarity Tracks is the family, so we touch all the generations” Sheila Rubio Martinez said to us, one volunteer of Solidarity Tracks present in the event.

© Hosszu Reka

to do a difference here, to work hard to change the mentality about, for example, the benefits of non-formal education with disabled people” Mohamed Chaabouni explains to us, President of the organisation. “To give you an example we also created here a kind of solidarity network and the volunteers are offering services between them and the community according to the local needs. This is a good way to improve”.

In the last day of the event, the volunteers prepared an international dinner with traditional food from their own countries in order to provide the community with a new gastronomical experience. They loved to try the new friend’s countries food as much as they enjoyed the time togeth- Another thing that the volunteers of Solidarity er in the main square of Lefkada, until the late Tracks made this year to improve the island was, for example, building recycled garbage cans (of night. wood) and put them in some strategical points in But “to arrive in this step with the community of the beaches. That was one thing that was missLefkada we needed 10 years to build confidence, ing, according to the people that live there.

© Hosszu Reka

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© Hosszu Reka

GOOD PRACTICES

Act React

This is the best place to make an EVS

by Mafalda Tenazinha

After the article about Solidarity Tracks that you can read in page 07 we still have something to say. In the meanwhile of our stay in Lefkada we also spoke with some volunteers there, in a non formal interview, about their experiences and the particularity of this amazing place.

Sheila Rubio Martinez, 25 years, Alicante, Spain

For the ones who do not know about it, Lefkada What does it mean to you to be an EVSer here

is a Greek Island that you can reach by car on the west coast of the country. Not so touristic as Santorini, MyKonos or Oia but as well a perfect combination of wild nature with waterfalls and paradisiac beaches, clear sea, typical villages full of traditional commerce and amazing restaurants as well as long roads going to nowhere, ideal to get lost.

in this island?

For me, it’s amazing. I really like the nature, the

sea, the mountain... Living in a small town like this is the best for me because we can get really close to the people.

Here, the environment is so familiar that I al-

most do not miss Spain. I feel myself as part of How are they living there? Which are their feel- the community. We kind of constructed a Greek ings and their motivations? It should be amazing family. For me, for sure, this is the best place to make an EVS. do an EVS on an island, right?

If you have to describe your EVS time until now in one word, which word would you choose?

Love. (Love for the people, love for this place. I

Š Sheila Rubio Martinez

feel loved in this experience in general.)

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Act React GOOD PRACTICES

Verònica Martín Gancedo, 21 years, Barcelona, Spain

What does it mean to you to be an EVS volun-

non-touristic side I mean, and have the whole vision of the place. This kind of things can change your perspective a lot regarding this kind of placFor me it is quite relaxing and inspiring to be es. In this way we can truly know the life of the surrounded by the sea and the nature every day. people from here at the same time that we are At the same time it is pretty interesting to be also feeling the hospitality in their homes. one year in this place only in this way I think you can know both sides of an island, touristic and Your EVS experience in one word: Adventure. teer in a Greek island?

© Verònica Martín Gancedo

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Act React

GOOD PRACTICES

Renaud Michel, 28 years, Strasbourg, France

What does it mean to you to be a EVS volunteer here?

with the locals. So, because of that I feel really lucky to be an EVSer in this place.

A big opportunity.

The people here are very “siga siga” (A Greek expression that means sort of to keep calm and Greece is a warm country. There are beaches do things slowly, slowly) and I like that. We can

everywhere. In the islands, especially in this one, live in the moment: enjoy the beaches, the peowe have paradisiac beaches; The kind of beach- ple, the food, the seafood… Really, everything is es that you only see in the movies. amazing here in Lefkada.

The hitchhiking here works well: we don’t have Your EVS experience in one word? to spend money to go somewhere, we just go “Teleio” (means perfect in Greek).

© Renaud Michel

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Act React USB NEWS

Youth exchange: memories from Austria

by Giannis Kourtis

“In the beginning it was just an idea, in the end it was the best experience ever!”* “After this experience I have to say that, for young people this is more than just a way to travel. You do not only get to know new people, you get to know new sides of yourself through the eyes of others.”

I was sitting on my PC as every day, doing noth-

ing important and suddenly the post of United Societies of Balkans came in front of my eyes. A call for participants for a project about extremism and xenophobia in Vienna. First thought: “Hmm maybe”. Second: “Why not?” Third: “Do the application NOW”. And I did it, I was selected and I went there and YES it was the best experience of my life.

Greece, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and Austria. We were all there in beautiful Vienna to discuss about extremism in Europe, to change ideas about our cultures, to talk about the reasons of increasing rates of hate speech and xenophobia towards refugees or any kind of minorities in Europe. To find any possible solution to tackle extremism.

But not only that. We actually became a family

so quickly. We ate all together, we drank beers, we had tours in Vienna. We spoke with local people about many social problems, we danced with them, we played a lot of games in the super green parks in the centre of the city. We visited museums and the university. We visited NGOs

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*Training Course in Austria.

and saw how they worked. The last day we did a huge group hug of 28 people in total and we promised each other that we will never forget one another.

USB NEWS

Act React

In the beginning the idea of visiting a foreign

and it is also in your hands to change a little bit country with people you do not know in order to more of this world. discuss and have activities (in non formal education way) about a serious topic made me feel Thanks to United Societies of Balkans I woke up anxious and even frightened. After this experi- today at my home in Thessaloniki full of memoence I have to say that for young people this is ries and beautiful moments I will never forget. more than just a way to travel. You do not only And I would never have done that without the help get to know new people, you get to know new of the people at U.S.B, who sent us emails about sides of yourself through the eyes of others. You everything, even arranged appointments to solve become more self-confident when you realize any kind of problem that we could possibly have that you actually can communicate pretty well. and were there for us every time we needed them.

You can offer significant things in a conversation Thank you.

Š Giannis Kourtis

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Act React USB NEWS

From dancing practice to live performance: Maria’s EVS in Turkey

by Maria Georgiou

Tufak, my hosting organization is working together with Kuzeyin Uşakları, the kids of the

North. Kuzeyin Uşakları are teaching us dances of the Black Sea and recently they had a performance that was the first live performance of them that I saw.

In Ataturk’s Cultural Center here in Ankara a variety of activities take place. This year I was keeping up with The Exhibition of Different Cities. In 2017 there were Gümüşhane Days, Kastamonu Days, Adıyaman Days, Giresun Days, Şanlıurfa Days and last Trabzon Days.

The Exhibition of Different Cities is organized

by the town hall. The Ataturk Cultural Center is located near the center of the city and it covers a big area. There is a huge open space for parking purposes, in each city’s opening day it seems

that every inch of it was in good use. When you go there you see two buildings connected by a very wide path. The exhibitions take place in the main building, while the open place in front of it is for the outdoor activities. To go to the main building you go up through some stairs and pass through a path, each side of it shows big posters of what the city that is presented is known for.

Lastly there is a big tent-like construction where the local products of the city are sold along with fast food options from the exhibited city.

In the days of a city different performances are

organized. The exhibitions show traditional art and brands from each city. Each area of the city has its own exhibition corner presenting themself. There are pictures of recent constructions or renovations that have been made in the area.

© Maria Georgiou

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Kuzeyin Uşakları is a folk dancing club that is part of the sports club of the school Cansu Kreş ve Çocuk Kulübü. Kuzeyin Uşakları is the stage name of the school. It was founded in 2008 by Dr. Erdinç Özten, a doctor, a teacher and an old member of Tufak. Kuzeyin Uşakları is taking part in folk dancing festivals around the world all year around. Black Sea dances are considered difficult but they have perfected the way to teach it. The 10 minute song that they dance to was written by Dr. Erdinç Özten himself, a

USB NEWS

© Maria Georgiou

Act React

© Maria Georgiou

kemençe player, the traditional musical instru- limited and the practice is fast paced. Black Sea Dance is a quick dance. The figures involve the ment of Pontus. whole body. It is the perfect exercise, everybody Something I am very happy to take part in is the has a smile on his face. You see the old team practice. At the beginning of the year each figure dance and you have your goal. After some point is shown in detail and practiced until perfected. the movements and the figures become part of Sequences are danced. Repetition is the key. Dr. you. When you are there your body remembers.

Erdinç Özten is showing and we are following. Participating is exhilarating.

Each person learns not only one place in the choA true fact is that in 2013, during Turkey’s nareography but all of them. tional youth folk dance competition, while they Another key part of Kuzeyin Uşakları is its peo- were performing the music stopped but their ple. Some of the kids that grew up dancing with dance didn’t. The group finished dancing without the club end up being folk dance teachers them- music, keeping tempo with their stomping on the selves. In practice they are Dr. Erdinç Özten’s dance floor. It was so inspiring and of course helpers. Not only the ones working as teachers they were first. This is the result of their efforts. help the others, each person that knows the cho- This is the way they are preparing themselves. reography more than another is helping. They literally put you in the middle of them and give Seeing the live performance of Kuzeyin Uşakları on stage at Trabzon Days with professional you pointers. sound and the traditional costumes was experiİf I had to describe the dancing practice with encing the result of all that preparation. It was Kuzeyin Uşakları and Dr. Erdinç Özten I would say moving. A performance never ends without clapthat it is an amazing experience. The breaks are ping. There was much.

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Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Engaging people from all over the world

by Sanna Svärd

Annually, since 1999, the Thessaloniki International LGBTIQ Film Festival has opened its

doors to the public. Since then, many things have changed for the LGBTQ community, in Greece and all over the world. Since 2014, discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal. Since 2015, people of the same sex are allowed to get married. Since 2016, people have the right to change legal gender, with or without surgery. Yet, the life of Greek LGBTQ people is still a struggle.

Art exhibition during the festival. © Sanna Svärd

Thessaloniki International LGBTIQ Film Festival is five days long festival. The quality of the movies differ. There is also a wide variety of countries, languages, and genres. For a nonGreek speaker, the subtitles were a big problem.

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The movies were all in different languages, and there were only Greek subtitles. I solved this problem by attending the English speaking movies, and I also saw one in my own mother tongue, Swedish.

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Variation of films and visitors

The festival features both documentaries and

dramas. According to dr. Nikos Hatzitrifon, head of the festival, there are advantages with both genres. ”Documentaries provide knowledge,” he says and continues, ”and knowledge fights the prejudices and gives information.” Narratives give the viewers an insight into the feelings, thoughts, and needs of LGBTIQ people. Also, you get to see possible situations that might not happen in a hetero person’s life. Drama films make the audience ”think and feel as the protagonists are feeling”, Nikos Hatzitrifon says.

Some

may think the LGBTIQ theme is too niched, but it does not show on the audience.

Nikos tells me that it was equally many women as men attending the festival. Every letter of the acronym LBTIQ was represented in the audience, together with about 50% heterosexuals. After every screening, there was a discussion. People participated with their opinions and questions.

My expression was that people seemed interested in the topic.

Thessaloniki

Gender is a documentary in which we follow transgender people in Indonesia. One part of the movie was about a mosque that allows transgender people to enter. This surprises people in the audience, since Greece has a problem between LBTIQ people and the church.

To discriminate people because of gender or

sexual orientation is illegal in Greece, with some exceptions. The discrimination is legal if it is done by a public domain, which the church is.

The Guardian writes that the bishop of Kalavryta has called homosexuals ”freaks of nature” and said, ”Whenever and wherever you meet them, spit on them.”1

Keeping this in mind, it is understandable that the audience was choked about the trans-friendly mosque in Indonesia. Anouk Houtman says that she does not believe that one religion is worse than another. ”In any religion, you can be LGBTQ and there will always be groups within the religion who don’t agree,” Anouk thinks.

Thessaloniki International Film Festival may have lacked some international-friendly features, Religion and LGBTIQ such as English subtitles. Still, it is nice to see Greek and a Dutch discussing the mosques in One discussion that engaged the audience was aIndonesia. if religion stands in the way of LGBTIQ. The ques1 http://www.equaldex.com/region/greece tion was brought up after Dutch Anouk Houthttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/14/greekman’s film Across Gender was shown. Across parliament-moves-towards-legalising-same-sex-unions

Filmstill from Across Gender. © Anouk Houtman

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Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Festival as a resurrection of a tradition

by Paweł Walentyn Marchenko

If you have ever been to Thessaloniki you have probably passed this place more than one time. In the very centre of the city, a big food market spreads out on each side of Aristotelous Square. This market is called Kapani, and this year is the second time the Kapani Project is held there. Balkan Beats was there to take part of the event.

The

© Lorenzo Sciuca

creation of Kapani Project started with ed in movies, there will probably be a chance to around 3000 citizens participating in the previ- watch short movies next year also. ous year, 2016. This year they added one more stage, in total there are three stages now. 11 DJ sets were available this year to be played with a wide range of techno varieties. 9 different bands were playing and 10 street performances, including theater and musical.

Batala street performance was shockingly in-

triguing and loud, combining dancing with drums making your heart beat to the rhythm and your feet moving from side to side. If you are interest-

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© Lorenzo Sciuca

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Thessaloniki

The idea behind the festival was to integrate live performances with the environment of Thessaloniki’s old marketplace. In that way, they are trying to remind us about Kapani’s marketplace in the center of Thessaloniki, which in the past was one of the greatest and biggest markets in northern Greece. Kapani project has in mind to spread awareness about the market’s history and encourage people who don’t know about it to visit. Kapani Project lasts a whole day, begin© Lorenzo Sciuca ning from 00.01 on Wednesday and ending the next day around the same time it started. The Furthermore, the festival has been optimized. festival always starts the same date, which is Basically, it never stops. The music and the perWednesday 4th October. formances play all night. The show must go on Kapani Project was initially introduced by its as they say! Equipment testing starts during the creator Konstantinos Tikis and its team stays day and at 17.30 music starts to play and the consistently with 8-9 people each year. At the market becomes filled with people. Variety is a moment the project is organized in Thessaloniki big part of this festival and that is what attracts only, but the team is thinking about expanding it people of all ages and generations, older as well as younger. to Athens.

Special guests that joined this year were: Em-

manuel, a techno DJ from Berlin, Katerine Duska, a neo-soul pop artist and Efpraxia Georgarou, one of the best theater performers in Greece.

Since last year Kapani Project has grown, they

added 1 extra stage which allowed more performances, a few more bands, DJ sets and musical performances.

© Lorenzo Sciuca

© Lorenzo Sciuca

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Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

A day for life, love and unity: Color Fest Thessaloniki

by Hande Yetkin

Even though its name and date change from country to country, the idea with colors is still

the same. In India, where the celebrations began, colors are the symbolisation of the victory of good over evil. Nevertheless, for the other countries it has no singular religious significance. In Greece, Color Fest is dedicated to joy, human communication, life, love and unity. It is celebrated since 2012, organised by SFINA group.

Š Hande Yetkin

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PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

This year Color Day has been celebrated on the 10th of September and we, the volunteers of United Societies of Balkans, were there as a team. We went to the festival area which is called Φράγμα Θέρμης (Fragma Thermis) one day before the event. The area is surrounded by trees with the stage put just next to the lake. Giving a look to the area from the top; the view was wonderful.

Thessaloniki

During the festival several bands took the stage

including Above the Hood, Xaxakes and Imitate Your Mother. Breathtaking dance shows also boosted the temperature. Weather conditions were good and the dust not too much heavy.

On Sunday there was a huddle of people waiting Making a comparison to the equivalent color

festivals around the world the differences are notable, apart from the lineup. For instance, Michigan has more strict rules when it comes to the alcohol and smoking inside the area, while they provide air blowers to clean up people playing with the colors. They also sell dust masks for children to keep them away from the dust. In UK it is forbidden to attend to the festival for people under 18. In Istanbul, it is 16. Drugs, alcohol At around 4 pm people started entering the and smoking are not permitted as well. Rather main area, filling the space in about half an hour. in Thessaloniki almost nothing is forbidden with The majority of the participants were teenagers. even babies sitting on parents’ shoulders. behind the gate with their white clothes. On the left side there was a tent for colouring faces and bodies, while in the opposite direction the food and drink booths were located as a line. At first sight the area did not seem a good choice for the high number of people expected. However everything went well and the regular circulation made things easier.

© Hande Yetkin

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Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

5 Useful Tips

Š Hande Yetkin

1 Do not wear your favourite fancy dresses, or 4 Eat your lunch before or have a satisfying be ready to put them into trash at the end of the day.

breakfast before the event so that you can spend your money for the other options.

2 Try not to bring any bags. If you insist on 5 If you want to use your phone during the bringing one, choose the one made of leather.

It will be easier for you to clean.

3 *Give

yourself one day without jewelries.

There will be more than thousands of people, safety comes first.

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event, do not forget to buy a special case. If you don’t want to spend your money for that, you can use a cling film to cover your phone.

Go there, have fun, spread your love!

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Thessaloniki

Green is chic: Nea Paralia Recycling Catwalk

by Silvia Bartolotti

On a warm afternoon of early September Thessaloniki has hosted one of the coolest event

of the year: the third nea paralia-nea pasarela, a fashion show where models wear clothes created exclusively with recycled materials.

Actually call these just clothes is definitely re-

ductive; they are genuine pieces of art come out from passion, enthusiasm and hard work of their designers. Moreover, the location gives a breathless natural scenic design helping in making the event even more charming: the waterfront next to the “umbrellas” installation, at the magic time of sunset. Actually, despite its success and resonance in town, the event is not a professional fashion tent but a no-profit and nearly no-cost

show thought up from the new waterfront friends association. The theme of this year is cinema to be celebrated in all its facets, from the classic icon Marilyn Monroe to the visionary Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. To know more about this amazing initiative we have asked some questions to Sofia Bomporidou, one of the organizers and participant herself as clothes-designer for the characters of Edward Scissor-hands.

© Mafalda Tenazinha

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Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

24

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Thessaloniki

How did you decide to create this event and from whom was the idea?

The “nea paralia – nea pasarela” came through a discussion and an idea during the meetings of the members of the new waterfront friends association as the rest of the activities and events.

The “nea paralia – nea pasarela 3”/ only recyclable materials/ with the cinema as subject, was the third catwalk that took place on the new waterfront of Thessaloniki. In 2015 its subject was “a promenade between the city and the sea” and in 2016 was “a seaside rendez-vous”. At the beginning, in 2015, the event was announced as a performance in order to stand out of a classic fashion show and to emphasize to its artistic aspect. There was no intention to compete with a real fashion show – neither the designers nor the models or the organizers of the event could have this orientation or facility. Since the beginning the basic intention was to organize a catwalk in an open space of the new waterfront where people related to fashion or not, basically, people of various interests and fields would design clothing derived exclusively from recyclable materials. It is important to mention that everybody is welcome to participate, there is no restriction or control and pre-selection during the preparation of the clothes and all the creators who finalize their ideas, they participate. We consider the “nea paralia-nea pasarela” more as a day of feast and as a meeting point of people with similar interests than a usual catwalk.

© Mafalda Tenazinha

© Mafalda Tenazinha

© Mafalda Tenazinha

25

© Mafalda Tenazinha

Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

26

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Thessaloniki

Are the designers all Greeks? And how did they approach to the art of creating with recycling?

The majority of the designers are Greek and

© Mafalda Tenazinha

the way that they approach the art of creating is free and depends on their personal interests and their style of expression. Although, some of the Greek designers live abroad and also stylists that come from other origin are already interested to participate in “nea paralia – nea pasarela 4” the next year.

© Mafalda Tenazinha

© Mafalda Tenazinha

© Mafalda Tenazinha

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© Mafalda Tenazinha

Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

© Mafalda Tenazinha

From where do they take the recycled materials?

Since the first year of “nea paralia - nea pasare-

© Mafalda Tenazinha

la” some creators who participate steadily use to recycle during all the year in order to prepare the clothes. In the most of the cases, the creators reuse materials that have been collected for recycling or materials used in another way.

Some of the materials that have been used are the following: tablecloths, rice paper, pattern paper, wrapping and packing papers, posters, plastic bags, popcorn, bobbins, feathers, sacks of all kinds, screens, grids, shells, sailboards, tree trunks, brochures, newspapers, balloons, straws, ropes, knitting machines, cables and lamps.

© Mafalda Tenazinha

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PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Thessaloniki

© Mafalda Tenazinha

© Mafalda Tenazinha

What is the use of these clothes after the catwalk? Shows, selling, solidarity fundraising…

After the catwalk, an exhibition is organized ev-

© Mafalda Tenazinha

© Mafalda Tenazinha

ery year in one of the pavilions in the gardens of the New Waterfront. There are often proposals to repeat the catwalk at different locations. Some of the creators keep the clothes as an exemplar of their work. In any case, the “nea paralia - nea pasarela” clothes are special and unique but at the same time really delicate and fragile, the fact that make the reuse complicated and difficult. As far as we know, the clothes have not been sold or given in happenings of solidarity or fundraising.

© Mafalda Tenazinha

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Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

The culture of tattoos

by Sanna Svärd

What is tattoos, apart from lines that mark you for life?

“They take it as an art, as it is,” a piercer says proudly when we ask her what Greek people think about tattoos. As if we have finally understood what she has always known. Just five years ago it was not like this, NAME says and continues; “People who are not in this industry are used to it now.” Could it have something to do with the Balkan Tattoo Convention in Thessaloniki, which is in the 9th September this year opened its doors for the fourth time?

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© Mafalda Tenazinha

There is a special environment in a place like this. The setting is raw. Surrounded by Swedish metal music, motorbikes and ink, all set in Block 33, an old factory building, you can really feel the exciting culture of tattoos. People were proudly showing up their tattoos and piercings, both on stage and in the crowd. Although, not all visitors had tattoos. Me and Mafalda, the photographer, are, apart from a little dolphin on my arm, yet to discover this intriguing world. Still, we felt just as welcomed as any other tribal covered visitor.

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Wishes come true

Thessaloniki

© Mafalda Tenazinha

Inside Block 33 it is hot and dark. We go to the

stand of the studio Delos Tattoo to talk to tattoo artist Yuri. He is quite busy, doing a big tattoo on a woman’s thigh. He has been working with this tattoo for hours. Yet, both he and the woman are happy to talk to us. Yuri tells us that the lightning inside is too bad for doing tattoos. We see many tattoo artists wearing headlamps and some have brought their own lamps to make the work easier. Furthermore, Yuri thinks it is too hot, which makes the work harder of course. Still, he likes working on tattoo conventions. The people he meets and the environment compensates for the tough working conditions.

The Balkan Tattoo Convention was organized by the same people that organize Athens International Tattoo Convention. One of the organizers is Hercules Patchopoulos. We meet him at the entrance for an interview about the convention.

He tells us about a new initiative for this year.

For this convention, they have decided to partner up with the organization Make a Wish. In short, it is an organization that works towards making sick children’s wishes come true. At the Balkan Tattoo Convention, tattoo artists and suppliers contribute with supplies and their time to tattoo stars on whoever that wants one. A tattoo costs 20 euros, and all of the money goes directly to Make a Wish. Just the first day over 100 stars have been sold. ”That means that people are giving a big hug to our decision to do this coordination with Make a Wish,” Hercules says.

© Mafalda Tenazinha

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Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

An open door to Balkan

Inside one of the rooms in Block 33 there is a

ask Colin about his tattoo and it turns out to be a very interesting story. His body is filled with tattoos, each and one of them made by Fiona Fraser. Today they are working on a Cotton-top Tamarin, an endangered monkey from Cyprus. This is not the first tattoo Colin does in a tattoo convention. Just like tattoo artist Yuri, Colin likes the atmosphere that surrounds a tattoo event.

showroom where tattoo artists are awarded in various categories. Although the tattoo convention is set in Greece, and most artists are Greek, they are not the only ones on stage. Hercules tells us that there are many tattoo artists from other Balkan countries, both in booths promoting themselves and on stage receiving rewards. ”We want to have an open door to Balkan,” Her- At the convention, it was clear that tattoos are cules says. Next year they want a bigger place more than inked lines drawn on your body. As for the convention, so they can invite even more the piercer said, tattooing is a kind of art. It is also hard work, and it brings a good atmosphere, Balkan tattoo artists. according to tattoo artist Yuri. It makes people But the convention is not only a place for Bal- like Collin travel hundreds of miles, just to be tatkans to meet but people from all around the tooed by their favorite artist. The Balkan Tattoo world. At the very back of Block 33 tattoo artist Convention is yet another example of how culFiona Fraser is tattooing Scottish Colin Rae. We ture brings people together.

© Mafalda Tenazinha

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BALKANIZATER

Around the Balkans

Hagia Sophia churches in Balkans where past and today extraordinarily meets

by Baris Yuksel

Hagia (St.) Sophia churches/cathedrals in Balkans are one of the most prominent architec-

tural and religious sites. You can find them in Istanbul, Thessaloniki and Sofia. Yet, the churches named as Hagia Sophia or somehow inspired by Hagia Sophia aren’t only limited to these cities in Balkans. You can find another church of St. Sophia in Ohrid. Also, there are St. Sophia cathedrals in Kiev (Ukraine), Novgorod (Russia) and Polotsk (Russia).

In my first week in Thessaloniki as EVS (Europe-

an Volunteer Services) , I attended one of Thessaloniki free walking tours. Our tour-guide was an amazing tour guide who inspired me about writing this article. Until his nice tour, I never thought that I will have another reason to enjoy regarding the similarities of Balkan countries. Now, I have another urge to travel and learn more around Balkans to see more Hagia Sophia churches.

Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki as “I know that Istanbul and Sofia also have Hagia Sophia”, at that moment, I noticed that I should learn about them more. Until so far, I had chance to visit three of them including the ones in Istanbul, Thessaloniki and Sofia in order of timeline. In this regard, I shall briefly talk about the ones which I was able to see until now.

As a city dweller of Istanbul, I had seen Hagia Sophia with my great ardor however I wasn’t able to grasp the significance of the name Hagia Sophia for the whole Balkans. When our tour guide told during the time when he was talking about

As the author of this article, before start to talk

about them, I hope that you might want to visit one or all of these gorgeous historical buildings and learn the history behind them, after reading this short article.

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Around the Balkans BALKANIZATER

Link for the historical pics of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul: http:// www.pbasecom/ dosseman/ istanbul_ aya_sofia

Hagia Sofia, Istanbul

Hagia Sophia Αγία Σοφία (Greek)

© https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hagia_Sophia_Mars_2013.jpg

Ayasofya (Turkish) Hagia Sophia hosted important powers of the time throughout the history. It was a Greek OrSancta Sophia (Latin) thodox Christian patriarchal basilica (church),

later it was converted into imperial mosque of Ottoman Empire, and now it is a museum (Ayasofya Müzesi). Although, “the current structure The building named “Hagia Sophia” which was constructed by Isidoros (Milet) and Anthemeans “Holy Wisdom” was completed in 5 years mios (Tralles), who were renowned architects of (532-537). “It is the oldest and fastest (5 years) their time, by Emperor Justinianos’s (527-565) constructed cathedral in the world.” 2 orders”3, it had two other versions in the past 1 Hagia Sophia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ which were both destroyed or burned down due Hagia_Sophia#cite_note-nytimes-4 to the riots against emperors of that time.

2 Ayasofya Müzesi Hagia Sophia Museum in Aktüel Vol(26) Hagia Sophia remained the world’s largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.1

p.1 retrieved from: http://www.serfed.com/content_files/ dergi/26/08_AKTUEL.pdf

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3 History of Hagia Sophia in Hagia Sophia Museum, retrieved from: http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/history

BALKANIZATER

Around the Balkans

Saint Sofia Church, Sofia “In the 14th century, the church gave its name to the city, previously known as Sredets (Средец).”

The

church was the contemporary of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. It was completed between fourth to sixth centuries. “ In the 16th century, during Ottoman rule, the church was converted into a mosque: the original 12th-century frescoes were destroyed and minarets were added.” 1

less of the country, you pay only one Euro to enter inside the museum part.

P.S: Since Sofia was candidate city to be Europe-

an Capital of Culture for 2019, I had the feeling that the city was dedicated to be tourist- friendly with the most enthusiasm. You understand the help of this issue, when you visit the place using Cyrillic alphabet which you have almost no familAnother significance of the church comes from iarity towards it. the fact that the church is located in the middle of a necropolis and many tombs. You can vis- Plovdiv from Bulgaria and Matera from Italy it the remainings of the necropolis and tombs were nominated for this title however, Sofia was which are remarkably visible exists there. For nice to me, even though they weren’t nominated those who are student with student card regard- for this time. Don’t be late to visit it so that you can say, I was there before it was the cultural 1 Saint Sofia Church, Sofia in Wikipedia retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sofia_Church,_Sofia capital of Europe.

Link for the historical pics of St. Sofia in Sofia: http://stara-sofia. com/svsofia.html © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Basilica_of_Hagia_Sofia,_Bulgaria.jpg

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Around the Balkans BALKANIZATER

Link for the historical pics of Hagia. Sofia in Thessaloniki: http://www. agiasofia.info/ phiomegatau omicrongamma rhoalphaphi 943epsilon sigmaf.html

Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki

© https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Holy_Wisdom_Salonica_1.jpg

(Greek: Αγία Σοφία, Holy Wisdom) “The temple of Agia Sofia is one of several city’s monuments included as a World Heritage Site on the UNESCO list, in 1988”1

Due to permanently changing powers in almost

Today, due to its very central position in the city

centre, Hagia Sophia is one of the most significant meeting points for Thessaloniki, especially for the youngsters from universities. During the warm nights, hundreds of people come inside the garden or outside of it to socialize and enjoy the night.

whole Balkans, usage of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki changed depending on these powers. It was used as cathedral during the Fourth Crusade which is a bit more than forty years. During the To sum up, Hagia Sophia churches has a reOttoman period, it was converted into a mosque. markable history behind them. Yet, their function “It was reconverted to a church upon the libera- isn’t limited to history as I have mentioned for tion of Thessaloniki in 1912.”2 the case of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki where 1 Agia Sofia retrieved from: people come together and spend time together. http://www.inthessaloniki.com/en/agia-sofia So, when you have chance, visit them and wit2 Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia,_Thessaloniki ness their remarkable existence in the Balkans.

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GREEK CULTURE

Around the Balkans

The day I met Modigliani in Thessaloniki

by Silvia Bartolotti

I guess that if Modigliani lived in Thessaloniki he would hang out at this place, drinking

ouzo in the little table outdoor, observing the old man smoking close by and the maid passing through the stalls. Finding material for new paintings to come.

Thessaloniki is a city filled with surprises. Just around the corner of Aristotelous Plaza, the lifeblood of the fancy side of the town, there is an oriental-looking market called Kapani. Everything in there will catch you up far from Europe: the smells, the colors, and even the hubbub of the merchants trying to approach customers with seductive prices. Every single thing will let you notice how this part of Greece has its head in Europe and its heart eastward.

Nevertheless between spices and meat hang-

ing out from the shops suddenly a familiar face painted on the wall appears at the corner of one of the arches. Big almond-shaped eyes, thin eyebrows and elongated neck. “That’s Modigliani’s Gypsy Girl” I think, and turning my head I see the name of the painter written vertically next to the door of a restaurant. Actually the walls that surround the outside tables of the taverna have Modigliani’s paintings everywhere, from night landscapes of Paris to the “Caryatid”. Never could I expect to see him here, hidden among the signs of the popular market. Livorno, the Tuscan city where he was born, is my second hometown so I feel particularly involved. There is something that links these two towns: the smell of saltiness, the port, the fusion of several stories and backgrounds. Maybe it is that thin wire that bonds every port town and its curious inhabitants together.

© Lorenzo Sciuca

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Around the Balkans GREEK CULTURE

© Lorenzo Sciuca

In the entry of the place there are garlic and hot

© Lorenzo Sciuca

© Lorenzo Sciuca

38

peppers hung just above the head of the landlord that quickly prepares colorful trays drawing from the cold cuts display case. Inside this one you can have a look and choose any culinary joy Greece can offer you: beans, grape leaves with rice, delicious fava beans puree, salami and every kind of olives. In the meanwhile Modigliani’s works of art are everywhere. Along the stairs and even in the toilets. The winter rooms upstairs look particularly charming: an oasis of peace, and vintage allure far from the touristic fancy places in the districts nearby, with a view on the metal sheet roofs of the market. I guess that if Modigliani lived in Thessaloniki he would hang out at this place, drinking ouzo in the little table outdoor, observing the old man smoking close by and the maid passing through the stalls. Finding material for new paintings to come.

GREEK CULTURE

Around the Balkans

Icon of Thessaloniki

by Paweł Walentyn Marchenko

The White tower is a symbol, a monument and a museum of Thessaloniki during modern

times. It is a mythical building that over the centuries had different purposes. Today it serves as a cultural spot in Thessaloniki, but in the past it had other functions to the city. Balkan Beats welcomes you into the intriguing history of White Tower.

Today, the White Tower is not as white as in

comparison to its past. The story goes back to at least the 12th century when it was occupied by either Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire. The White Tower has some disturbing history behind it.

After the capturing of Thessaloniki by Sultan

Murad II in 1430 by The Ottoman Empire, the tower had been reconstructed into a stronger fortification with additional walls around it to keep the harbor of the city safe and the tower

base strong. It also had support for heavy weapons. The tower had become a place of horror scenes as it was a prison and garrison used for countless tortures and executions of screaming prisoners; a true place of horror. The color of the tower soon turned crimson-red because of all the blood pouring down the walls. Thus, its name changed to Tower of Blood or Red Tower.

It kept its true name until the end of 19th century when the building had been whitewashed and remodeled inside.

© Paweł Walentyn Marchenko

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Around the Balkans GREEK CULTURE

© Paweł Walentyn Marchenko

The magnificent tower has 23 meters in diame- As it is the end I would like to tell you a myth

ter and is 34 meters high. As an iconic place of Thessaloniki it is now mainly used as a museum with exhibitions devoted to ordinary life in Byzantine times. Every floor has its own theme which is up to you to discover. Some of the simpler exhibitions contain objects belonging to goldsmiths, blade-smiths, cobblers, glass-makers and tilers.

There is also old coins and a model of the city of Thessaloniki marketplace. Also on the top floor there is an exhibition themed ‘’Death’’, it contains graves and burials, gravestone inscriptions from cemeteries funerary customs and much more.

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about that place. As said before Tower was covered in blood of its prisoners. This started to concern people around and a specific prisoner came up with an idea. He said to one of the leading guards: “I would like to propose the idea of freeing me from the prison and in exchange I’ll repaint the whole Tower of Blood into a white one.” The guard was thinking this would never happen, and approved the prisoner’s idea. To the guard’s surprise one day the tower, once covered in blood, was no longer red... but white.1

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Tower_of_Thessaloniki

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

Social and Political

How much does terrorism kill?

by Pedro Amaro Santos

Do you think that today there are more people dying in Europe because of the terrorist attacks? The numbers say no, it doesn’t! If we compare the 70s with 2010 and 2015, less 2000 people were victims of terrorism in Occidental Europe. The 70s and the 80s were the decades with more deaths caused by terrorist acts in Occidental Europe. Most of the attacks claimed by independent movements as ETA, in Spain, and IRA, in the United Kingdom.

© https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/images/START_GlobalTerrorismDatabase_ TerroristAttacksConcentrationIntensityMap_45Years.png

The numbers of 21th century

The

beginning of the twenty-first century is marked by a new threat. With the attack on the New York Twin Towers on 11th September 2002, the fear made the Western Europe increase the airports’ security and the citizen’s surveillance.

3 years after, 11th March 2004, on Madrid’s subway and the attack killed 191 people and injured 2000. ETA was the first suspected but the responsibility was from Al-Qaeda inspired group.

A year later, in London, a group of Islamic extremists killed 56 people with explosions on the transports.

“Charlie Hebdo”, on January, left Europe shocked and thinking about the freedom of expression.

In November of the same year, the auto nomad Islamic State does another attack and kills 137 people in the Bataclan music hall.

March 2016 in Brussels 35 people died and

300 were injured in the attack to the airport and subway. In June, on the national day celebration in Nice, France, 86 people died and 400 were injured when a truck driver by a DAESH member went against the crowd.In Istanbul, Turkey, in the following month shooters killed 44 people in the airport. During the night of 19th December, a 2015 in France was marked by the fear of truck crossed a Christmas Market in Berlin and DAESH. The attack on the satirical magazine 12 people died and 49 were injured.

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Social and Political SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

Š http://www.datagraver.com/case/people-killed-by-terrorism-per-year-in-western-europe-1970-2015

And the numbers of the past

The Maryland’s University Global Terrorism Database (USA) has info on more than 156 000 terrorist attacks all around the world between 1970 and 2015. According to this database, the numbers of terrorism in the Western Europe are not increasing but decreasing. In 1980, only with ETA (Basque separatist movement) attacks, 114 people died. Before, in 1972, 80% of the cases of terrorist attacks were related to the activity of the independence struggle of Catholics in Northern Ireland.

until 2004 there are very few cases related to jihadist movements. After 2004 and 2005 - Madrid and London - only ten-year latter we had attacks in western Europe related with religious motivations: 2015 with 2 attacks of Paris and 2016 with attacks to Brussels, Nice, and Berlin. Also in 2011, we had a remarkable number of victims when a car bomb explodes and a man opens fire against the participants of a summer camp of a youth group of the Labour Party. 77 people died and 319 were injured. Both of the attacks have no connection with religious topics.

The most deadly terrorist attack on European The

continent happened in 1988. A Boeing 747-121 exploded in the air, killing 270 people. The attack known as Lockerbie tragedy was suspected that was a new attack by the Northern Ireland separatist movement, but the charge, in the end, fell on two Libyans.

The biggest inspiration

The biggest inspiration of attacks in Western

terrorist group auto proclaimed Islamic State is one of the biggest fears to Europeans but, actually, most of their claimed attacks in the last years were not in Europe. Apart from this, most of the attacks inspired by the group were not confirmed as directed related to the organization. For example, France suffered 9 attacks but only 2 were officially confirmed by the group.

Apart from France, in Occidental Europe, Bel-

gium (1 attack claimed by the group), Germany Europe is not the Islam. Looking at the numbers, (1 attack inspired but not claimed), Denmark (1

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SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

Social and Political

© http://www.datagraver.com/case/people-killed-by-terrorism-per-year-in-western-europe-1970-2015

© http://www.datagraver.com/case/people-killed-by-terrorism-per-year-in-western-europe-1970-2015

attack inspired but not claimed) and Bosnia and tacks), Egypt (16 attacks), Yemen (10 attacks) Herzegovina (2 attacks inspired by the group but and Bangladesh (9 attacks) were biggest victims not claimed) experienced the terrorist attacks. of ISIS’ claimed terrorist attacks.

Countries like Turkey (9 attacks), Libya (11 at-

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Social and Political SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

© https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/25/world/map-isis-attacks-around-the-world.html

© https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/25/world/map-isis-attacks-around-the-world.html

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SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

But why we think that terrorism is increasing?

Media, politicians and memory gaps are pointed

as biggest reasons for this idea. To the researchers, the perception that Europe is suffering from terrorism today more then ever is the related to the mass media projections of the attacks and the politician’s speeches. As reported the International Amnesty this year, in the last years, the hate speech from politicians is increasing, bringing some ideas of racism, xenophobia, authoritarian and borders limitations to the center of the concerns. Also, the gap of collective memory makes us forget what happened 10 or 20 years ago.

Social and Political

But, in fact, when we compare the numbers of attacks between 2015 and 2016 in western countries with countries as Yemen, Kuwait, Turkey or Lebanon, we can understand that Western Europe is not so vulnerable and it’s all about the fear.

The

Global Terrorism Database (GTD) is an open-source database including information on terrorist events around the world from 1970 through 2016 (with annual updates planned for the future).

Unlike many other event databases, the GTD includes systematic data on domestic as well attacks. This wrong perception of the terrorism as international terrorist incidents that have ocand the fear brings the idea that the western curred during this time period and now includes countries are suffering more from the attacks. more than 170,000 cases.

The same fear comes about the target of the

The data for the years 1970-2015 are from the Global Terrorism Database van Start. Consult in: https://www. start.umd.edu/ gtd/.

The data for 2016 is from Wikipedia

Š https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/25/world/map-isis-attacks-around-the-world.html

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Social and Political NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

2017 climate disaster trending: top 10

by Pedro Amaro Santos

2017 is notoriously beating records. Climate and weather disasters are hitting nearly con-

tinents with massive numbers of deaths. Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis left a track of devastation. Every continent faced huge numbers of deaths and injured people and a long way to recover from the effects of the catastrophe. The signals are clear: something needs to change.

Politicians deny effects of climate change. How-

thousands of people that became homeless, 106 were injured and 117 were killed by the disaster.

Incessant rains damaged health institutions, dams walls, roads, and bridges. According to with New Zealand Herald, also more than 1930 houses and huts were damaged, leaving 635 families homeless. The numbers increase if we calculate with the all the rainy season from OcAccording with United Nations, “we must realise tober of the previous year: 246 people have been that these disaster events are not natural phe- killed. nomenon but are a result of a built environment which is not fit for purpose and a failure to un- Deadly floods hit southern Zimbabwe, destroying many homes. derstand how we are intensifying the cocktail of disaster risk by not adequately addressing poverty, land use, building codes, environmental degradation, population growth in exposed and vulnerable settings and, most fundamentally, greenhouse gas emissions.” ever, reports tell the opposite. For example, in September, Robert Glasser, (UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction) clearly expressed a deep concern about the volume of extreme weather events unfolding across the world.

The climate changes effects are clear and is more than time to try to reverse them. This catastrophe, “vividly demonstrates that we need to redouble our efforts to reduce the impact of such events in the future. They are a reminder © Associated Press to us all that the worst disasters which could happen have not happened yet”, claims Robert 9. China, more than 144 Deaths Glasser.

Floods and geological hazards were responsible for the death of 144 people between January 10. Zimbabwe, 117 Deaths and July - 56 of them only during the first days In the first months of 2017, severe rains and a of July. Apart from the severe floods, natural didowngraded cyclone hit Zimbabwe. Apart from saster killed 204 people in China only the first six

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NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

months of the year, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Commission for Disaster Reduction. The Weather Channel reported about 1 million people were displaced and 31 thousand of homes were destroyed during all the natural disasters when more than 60 rivers were close to overflowing.

A woman cries as she holds the body of a dead animal at a flooded farm in Xiaogan.

Social and Political

7. Afghanistan (and Pakistan), 156 Deaths

After three days of heavy snow, the populations of Afghan-Pakistan border suffered from series of deadly avalanches. The National Disaster Management Authority spoke with CNN about the deaths of people, reported at least 156 people died in this unfortunate natural disasters.

Only in Afghanistan, 143 people have been killed, 103 were injured and 300 homes have been destroyed. Most of the victims were women and children. The Afghan Red Crescent Society said that around 2,617 families (15,702 individuals) had been affected by the avalanches.

Heavy snowfalls also led to blockage of roadways in the mountainous regions.

© Darley Shen/Reuters

8. Peru, more than 150 Deaths

After the sudden heating of Pacific Ocean coast

waters, Peru experienced one of the nation’s heaviest rains in the last decades. Reuters re© The Elite Buzz ported that more than 150 people died and 1 million was affected because of the unexpected 6. Democratic Republic of the Congo, extreme flooding.

174 Deaths

A woman is pulled high over flood waters in a zip line harness in Lima, Peru, Friday, March 17, 2017.

In August, the fishing village of the Tara-the Democratic Republic of the Congo was ravaged by a landslide. According to Reliefweb (humanitarian information source on global crises and disasters), at least 174 people died and 70 houses were destroyed. Also, around 280 children have been orphaned.

5. Sri Lanka, 213 Deaths

More than half a million people got affected by

incessant severe rains during 48 hours in Sri Lan© Martin Mejia

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Social and Political NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

ka which cause 213 deaths. According to with Reliefweb, due to the catastrophic situation, the area needs significant humanitarian aid in terms of access to drinkable water and temporary shelters. Also, dengue resulted from the severe rain caused more than 250 deaths.

4. Mexico, more than 230 Deaths

In

September, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook Mexico City. At least, 230 people died. Unfortunately, two weeks before, there was another earthquake caused at least 96 deaths and 2.5 million people in need of aid, reported U.S news.

ed to be relocated due to risks. The Relief web reports that 600 people died according to U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

1. South Asia, more than 1200 Deaths

According to the United Nations, more than 41

million people in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal were affected by flooding and landslides this summer. The monsoon rain was the reason for the disaster. Thousands of homes were ruined and dozens of people swept away.

In Nepal, the disaster affected the poorest parts of the country where most of the people live 3. Colombia, more than 300 Deaths in bare mud houses and farms. The New York A rain deluge set off landslides smashing Times reports more than 1,200 deaths. Aid agenhomes and filling streets with mud in Colombia. cies are calling the floods as one of the worst During five hours, it fell down the equivalent of a regional humanitarian crises in the recent years. full month. The water caused dozens of hillsides A flood victim washes herself in Saptari District, Nepal August 14, and more than 40 avalanches of mud and rocks. 2017.

The disaster affected 400.000 people. According to CBS News, more than 300 people died. Also, the mud track was massive in some poorer cities of Colombia.

2. Sierra Leone, more than 600 Deaths

This August, heavy rainfall and flooding sparked

a huge mud in Sierra Leone. 6000 people were directly affected by the disaster who were need-

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Š REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

SPORT

MixFix

A win-to-win football tournament: Oslo 2017

by Lorenzo Sciuca

Tired of billionaire football players, surrounded by money, drugs, showgirls? Can’t stand

any more PAOK, MANCHESTER UNITED, MILAN A.C, BEŞIKTAŞ J.K, REAL MADRID, BAYERN MUNICH etc. and their sick games of money and power? Maybe this article is something that you have to read.

Something significant happened in September

tion with more than 70 national partners across 2017 in Oslo: Homeless World Cup. the world, those partners help training the football teams and to organize actions to help homeThe “Homeless World Cup” is a tournament less people and refugees. which involves national teams of women and men who are homeless, this year up to 50 na- Diogenes NGO is the Greek Partner of the initiational teams participated in the 15th edition of tive, it helps homeless people both publishing the this tournament.

“Homelessness

forces people into isolation, which affects their ability to share, communicate, and work with others. When a person who is homeless gets involved in football, they build relationships and become teammates who learn to trust and share.” is reported in the website homelessworldcup.org of this awesome initiative that mix charity, sports, and self-development.

The Homeless World Cup is organized by the

“Homeless World Cup Foundation” a unique charity that uses football to aspire people and to decrease the homelessness phenomena inspiring homeless people to find the motivation in order to change their lives.

Organizing a football tournament as this one is a matter of resources and logistics, because of this the foundation can count on the collabora-

© Lorenzo Sciuca

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MixFix SPORT

street-newspaper “σχεδία”, which helps homeless people giving motivation job and economic support, and grouping homeless and refugees people across Greece in order to participate to the Homeless World Cup.

This year the national team who has won the competition was the Brazilian one in the finals against Mexico (4-3) however, winners of this edition were all the 500 participants who had the opportunity to play, to travel, and to find the motivation to change their life through a more-thanfair play game.

Impacts of this initiative are shown in the page

https://homelessworldcup.org/impact/ but da-

ta’s say that since the first edition of the tournament 1 million of lives have been changed, the perception that people have towards homeless phenomena has changed, and finally the Homeless World Cup provided an economic social return of “$364+ million in social capital through the year round, worldwide programmes of its National Partners. The Homeless World Cup Tournament in Glasgow created $13 million in social capital. In addition, social capital was generated

by Tournament sponsors.”.

A win-to-win tournament where the prize is a

more united and improved social world.

Thank you Homeless World Cup Foundation.

© Lorenzo Sciuca

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SCIENCE AND TECH

MixFix

How the fourth wall became our cinema seat

by Alexandre Vale

Quite recently, we have been witnessing a boom in virtual reality. The possibilities it offers

which are being explored by several industries include the video game industry, journalistic mediums and now in cinema.

Your game console allows you to become a su-

The Cinephile’s Starter Guide to VR perhero. The newspapers you follow allow you to Cinema track relevant matters from a 360º perspective.

The immersion effect is one of the key elements of the media that we consume. However, as in all new trends, VR in mass media is still taking its baby steps on a path to mature as a tool to tell stories.

Cinema is still also finding its place in the VR spectrum. A quick search on Google establishes the idea that VR’s main use in the film industry is aimed mostly towards blockbusters and commercial cinema. The idea of experiencing first hand the flashy CGI and action sequences are indeed the most seducing one. However, it is a simplistic idea. And Thessaloniki International Film Festival, keeping its reputation for being a festival for independent, groundbreaking Cinema adds to the discussion.

From 2 to 12 of November the Thessaloniki In-

ternational Film Festival took place and this year introduced the VR Cinema component. Close to Tsimiski Street, MOXX VR – Virtual Reality Cafe hosted some very impressive VR movies. With 5 euros you could be transported either to the marginalized parts of Seoul City, you could experience what is slowly becoming blind or being dropped in the middle of a battlefield in South Sudan.

Instead of flashy effects, they follow almost a

documental style. Watching in a normal screen would make it a contemplative or voyeuristic exercise. With the VR goggles and headphones, it becomes as fulminating yet sometimes heavy experience.

Here we leave some recommendations so you can check if you can have the chance to see these films:

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MixFix SCIENCE AND TECH

Bloodless

© Thessaloniki Film Festival web page

Bloodless portrays the brutal murder of a South

ly blind. In order to cope with his condition, he started doing some audio recordings documenting and expressing his views and insights about slowly losing his sight and focus on his other senses. The VR approach is probably one of the most amazing to experience. With 3D graphics which don’t show exact objects or people, it instead replicates a sonar-like vision. His recordings are replicated visually which makes for a very emphatic amazing experience.

We Who Remain

Korean sex worker by a US soldier in 1992. The experience is chilling. Not only by the theme but also because of the way it uses VR.

The point of focus is a very smart one. Instead

of focusing on showing the violence of the act, the film is deliberately slow-paced, choosing to focus on the poor social economic conditions © https://schedule.sxsw.com/2017/films/70965 (SXSW) of some areas in Seoul and make us experience first hand what is feeling unprotected and forced A long conflict has been going since 2012 in to risk your life to be able to survive. All this is the heart of the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. This shown in a contemplative documentary style. region is cut off from the world with no humaniDoesn’t impose you a stand or view about the tarian access and practically no media coverage. topic. Instead, makes you feel firsthand the vulnerability of the main character.

The movie follows four characters who portray how is it to survive and to fight against the sitNotes on Blindness uation. Although it takes too much of a position and it’s not exactly a balanced stance – reminding a bit of a VR version of Kony 2012 – one cannot stop but feel moved by the situation largely ignored nowadays and serves a good call to action.

When you sit with children hiding in fox-holes

not to get hit by bombs, when you are in the middle of the hospital seeing almost directly the © Imdb overcrowded place with injured or crippled people, you can really understand why the filmmakAfter several years of deteriorating health, writ- ers chose to make this movie with VR. er and theologian John Hull became complete-

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FOOD

MixFix

Greece and Turkey: Sisters in Cuisine

by Asiye Atılgan

It is well-known that Greek and Turkish cuisine have plenty of dishes in common. The fact that we have shared the same lands before makes us see how we are actually same in cuisine and culture, even the habits of living. Same historical background of both countries gives us an opportunity to taste very delicious dishes both in Greece and Turkey. There are plenty of dishes in common however I will be able to mention only a few of them. Let’s have a look at these amazing tastes of Greek and Turkish cuisine.

Dolmadaki – Dolma

This is one of the most tasty dish in both cui- with olive oil in Greece and western coast of Tursines which is actually rice with herbs rolled with key. It is also served as hot dish which has a lot wine leaves. It is usually served cold and made of spice and meat inside in Turkey.

© https://unboricuaensuiza.com/home-made-dolmadaki/

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MixFix FOOD

Tzatziki – Cacık

© https://www.jamieoliver.com/news-and-features/features/how-to-make-tzatziki/

This is a kind of dip sauce that is used as a side dish on the table. It’s made with cool yogurt with cucumber and also garlic. It’s served as creamy texture in Greece unlike the Turkish one which is a little bit watery like soup. It may be served with a little bit of olive oil on top. Again we are not surprised that olive oil takes place in the scene just like how it happens with most of the dishes in Greece. Greek people love olive oil!

in a place with pita and vegetables on the side. It also can be served rolled in a pita bread with onion, french fries, spices and tzatziki inside. There is only 1 difference by serving this dish in Turkey; which is that there is no pork in Turkish cuisine.

Baklava – Baklava

This is very delicious and famous dessert both in

Greece and Turkey. It has layers of phyllo dough and nuts on top of the each layer. The most imGyros is very thin sliced meat. You can find this portant thing for this dessert is that the layers in most of the Greek taverns. It is usually served must be very thin. This way it becomes crunchy and fresh.

Gyros – Döner

Greek Coffee – Turkish Coffee

Greek coffee and Turkish coffee are totally simi-

© https://onedio.com/haber/dillere-destan-lezzetleriyle-donergelenegini-yasatan-istanbul-daki-en-iyi-11-donerci-584858

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lar and they are both very strong brew. You make it in a special pot which is called ‘’cezve’’ and you cook it on very poor heat. This makes it smell and taste even better. You may make it however you like it; with sugar, medium sugar or plain without sugar.

MIXFIX

MixFix

Biennale: Thessaloniki, feeling of home

by Valentina Orlando

Contemporary art finds its space until the 14th of January 2018 in The State Museum of

Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki combined with the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, State Museum of Contemporary Art and Mount Athos Centre.

The artistic research focuses its attention on a subject that everyone can find close to his own experience: “home”. What does home mean? The terms “hearth” (hestía) and “home” are notions not only of residence but also of community and homeland. In this way home becomes much more a feeling, fluid concept, always redefined.

Becomes a memory of sounds, materials, smells, as the flowers of Arushee suggest. Her work connecting different materials conveys the idea of her physical separation from her country, India.

In front of the observer a wall of stones, a con-

tainer of touchable objects able to evoke familiar feelings.

© Valentina Orlando

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© Valentina Orlando

A collection of objects that for Giorgios Tserionis becomes a Babel Tower with different levels arranged in a museological order. A “museum” of the evolution of the human condition, social and political history.

How can the concept of a home be defined in

© Valentina Orlando

© Valentina Orlando

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a world where thousands of people are obliged to leave their homelands for other, hopefully, safer, places? What keeps us connected with our homeland when one is taken far from it?

© Valentina Orlando

MIXFIX

MixFix

© Valentina Orlando

The power of collage allows Dionisis Christofilo-

giannis to evocate an unfamiliar reality and unreal world able to reproduce the fears of this era where views of the city are combined with the urban landscape of the new abandoned capital of Syria. We are all like a refugee that Feels like home (how the name of the artwork says).

Passing through the drawings of Dora Belegrin-

ou who creates a storyboard of an ordinary routine where everything is annihilate, a structure of glass stands in front of your eyes: it is Fragile of “A delicate, fragile balance” which belongs also to the objects of Neseli Papadimouli that seem Kristian Nemeth. to lose their stability locked in a suspension of The crystals, one on the other, increase their the moment that is just before the falling. Horiintrinsic idea of fragility suggesting a sense of zons de pensées (Horizons of thinking) which investigate them here, there and in-between. insecurity and unbalance.

While the visitors of the museum explore the

instability of the concept of home, all around the city, day by day, you have the possibility to get closer to art experiences thanks to a parallel program of live performances.

Space, body, memory, culture, circle of affections, home is all of this and the Thessaloniki Biennale is the good way to get closer not only with a deep thematic of our age, but also to reflect on what we experience at least once in our life: be apart from the “place” where we were born.

© Valentina Orlando

© Valentina Orlando

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Sanna Sv​ä​rd | 20 years old Paweł​​Marchenko | 24 years old Staying in Greece for 6 months until March.

Favourite topics are sports and music.

Favorite topics are culture, human- and animal rights.

Tuğ​ç​e Asena Baydar | 22 years old

Mafalda Tenazinha | 29 years old

Staying in Greece for 6 months until midDecember.

Staying in Greece for 10 months until March.

Favorite topics human and youth rights.

Favorite topics are travel and art.

Hande Yetkin | 22 years old

Staying in Greece for 10 months until midDecember.

Favorite topics are music, diving and photography.

Favorite topics are art, culture and travel.

Staying in Greece for 10 months until March.

Favorite topics are photography, technology and all the things that deal with creativity!

Bar​ış​Yü​ksel | 27 years old

Find us: Usb_ngo.gr

Pedro Amaro Santos | 25 years old Staying in Thessaloniki for 10 months until December.

Favorite topics are politics, human rights and tea.

Alexandre Vale | 27 years old

Staying in Greece for 10 months until July.

Staying in Greece for 10 months until December.

Favorite topics are sociology, history and cinema.

Favorite topics are cinema, tech and photography.

General Directors: Aristodimos Paraschou Michela Gennari

Graphic Designer: Alexandros Tagaridis

Valentina Orlando | 27 years old

Staying in Greece for 10 months until​July.

Lorenzo Jacopo Sciuca | 29 years old

Editors: Sanna Svärd Baris Yuksel Pedro Amaro Santos Silvia Bartolotti

Staying in Greece for 5 months until January.

Silvia Bartolotti | 31 years old Staying in Greece for 10 months until midDecember.

Favorite topics are art culture and travel.

The volunteers responsible for this publication are hosted in Greece in the framework of the European ERASMUS+ Programme, European Voluntary Service. This project has been funded with support from the European Commision. This publication [communication] reflects the views of only of the author, and the Commision can not be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.