Balkan Beats 30

Balkan Beats

Celebration

#30

FREE PRESS

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

Editorial

The 30th Edition Celebration

by Astrid Vallet and Amanda Miteniece

Here we are in a somewhat special edition as this zines and their editors. It has been almost is the 30th issue of Balkan Beats.

7 years since the 1st issue have been published and we are looking forward to continuing this jourIt was therefore perfectly logical for the publishers ney with you. that the subject of this new edition should be about “Celebration”. We chose this topic because it is the Through the pages, you will discover that the word beginning of a new year and also a new decade, celebration is declined in several ways and for that in itself is a cause for a celebration. However, many different purposes. By choosing this topic you will find that the writers have addressed this we didn’t want to just be satisfied with just one notion from various perspectives. facet of this word, but to take advantage of all the possibilities it offered.

Through different topics and in a unique way, the writers give us their vision of “celebration”, make We wish you a pleasant reading, discoveries and us discover their culture about it and give some we hope to see you in the next edition... as well as tips for a successful “party”. Moreover, we will go the next 30 issues. back in time and look at the previous magaBalkan 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 response 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).

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.

UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS, NGO

9, Alamanas str., Agios Pavlos, Thessaloniki

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.

Tel./Fax: +30 2310 215 629 | www.usbngo.gr Cover © Peter Pal Parragi

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Contents

Contents Volunteer Life USB NEWS

04

TRADITIONS

Break The Wall-E VOLUNTEER LIFE

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Balkan Beats editors

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22

13 14

Magazine Gallery

Local Life DANCE

Filhos De Angola: Celebrating Body and Soul

LANGUAGE

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Newroz Celebration

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Fulfilling dreams

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GIFTS

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Ten Alternative Gift Ideas for Celebrations RETROSPECTIVE

Women in charge

“Divided Memories 19401950”

Mix Fix The Natural Power of Words

POLITICS

In memory of Silvia

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Out Of The Borders

NATURE

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43

Focus on the past decade STORY

Celebration of animal conservation MUSIC

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44

Ballroom 2050

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Top 10 Christmas Movies

Celebrating the Outcasts SPORTS

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Winter celebrations from the North

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Volunteer Life USB news

Break The Wall-E Bringing non-formal sports to Youth Organization. by Alessandro Pantorno

A short interview with the Project Manager Luiza Tsikala.

It is also a very strong point for social inclusion,

especially when you have a mixed community like locals and immigrants.

Can you tell me more about the guidelines?

It’s a practical guide or toolkit, that aims to be

Luiza, what’s the idea besides the project?

an introduction to the trainer and staff members, about the management of sports event and activities at a grassroots level for implementing youth activities based on non-formal education models, with an evaluation at the end which allows them to have a feedback. Through the guide we try to improve youth work in general, using new tools simplified, illustrative and accessible to all, which will also allow a greater number of youth organizations to open up to sports regardless of their size and previous experience.

First of all United Societies of Balkans is proud

When it will start?

The project manager Luiza Tsikala

© usbngo.gr

to announce that “Break the wall” is the first project about Sport in collaboration with Erasmus+ We will have the kick-off meeting in February 2020 in Thessaloniki where United Societies that will be entirely run by us. of Balkans will present the work plan and toThe idea is to overcome the gap between sports gether discuss with the partner organizations. activities and youth work by producing a guide- In the project are involved as partners four orline to facilitate youth workers and organizations ganisation from four different countries. Centre to integrate sports activities and sports events du Sport et de la Jeunesse Corse from France, into everyday life, and promote inclusion, partici- Champions Factory from Bulgaria, Associazione pation and healthy lifestyle among young people. Italiana Cultura Sport from Italy and Social Policy and Action Organisation from Cyprus

What’s the aim of the project?

There will be other two meetings taking place in France and Cyprus to apply significant changes people know the effectiveness of a healthy life- and finish off the project. style, to inform them about the problems that sports inactivity can generate and, of course, to During the European Week of Sports that will make them move. take place in September 2020, we will raise

We believe it is useful to spread and let young

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USB news

Volunteer Life

“football 4 all” day

© Nada Aboufaras

“football 4 all” day

© Nada Aboufaras

awareness about the project and disseminate The project it’s based on simple ideas, we have the outcomes. to break the walls between sports organizations and youth organizations to bring them together!

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Volunteer Life Volunteer life

Balkan Beats editors A retrospective view of the Magazine

by Amanda Miteniece

Balkan Beats is celebrating a significant birthday, as it marks the 30th issue. Seven years

have passed, and a great deal of change has taken place. However, the same values have persisted throughout the years, namely discussing human rights, European topics and youth life.

I wanted to see first hand how the life of an editor has changed, therefore I reached out to the previous editors. Let’s see what they have to say, shall we?

Giada Russo was the editor of 23rd and

24th Balkan Beats issue. Her experience as an editor was intellectually challenging and through the practice of carrying out the everyday tasks, she gained many useful skills.

“Good leadership, teamwork and conflict resolution skills are the abilities I have gained from the experience which I am sure will help me in my future job.”

— Giada Russo.

Giada Russo

Giada has acknowledged that being an editor is

while still being vigilant and pragmatic about the deadlines. In general, she was extremely pleased with her EVS in Thessaloniki. Coming here was the best choice she ever made. “Getting out of our comfort zone is not that easy, but once we manage to do it well, we can say we lived our one-lifetime experience totally!”

almost like providing gymnastics for the brain.

The process of rewriting, proofreading and reorganizing sometime lead to hours of work where self-doubt appears occasionally. For example, she had added a comma, kept gazing at it for 40 minutes and ended up removing it anyway.

It’s a time-consuming job, however, “the final Francesca Millauro was the editor for proud moment was just indescribable!”. Giada the 14th edition. She learned how the writing did not face any major issues during this time styles and the use of English language varied as the small problems she was able to solve between volunteers based on their nationality through stress management, respectful attitude and mother tongue. You need a competence

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Volunteer life

Volunteer Life

“I remember I was really impressed by some of the people we talked to, especially by the strength and assertiveness they transmitted.”

— Isabel Tootill .

She was inspired by the visit and still today Is-

Francesca Millauro

for editing articles to be grammatically correct while enduring “the author’s writing personality”.

Francesca did not face any immense difficulties.

Although she was not a part of EVS, but rather an Erasmus+ traineeship. She enjoyed her time in Thessaloniki to the fullest and still remembers the eternal fights about which coffee is better, and as an Italian, she had to defend Italian coffee till the last day. Overall, Francesca appreciates that the focal point of the project is human rights, as she got to learn about it in practice.

abel remembers the strength they carried. The hardest part for her was to manage a group of 13 people and making all the deadlines, however, it was worth it in the end. Overall Isabel sees her EVS experience as exceptional, but not as life-changing as some might think. However, she met wonderful people and gained a new appreciation for solidarity and non-profit work.

“It was, definitely, weirdly funny time in my life, that I’ll always remember with nostalgia and affection” — Isabel Tootill .

Isabel Tootill participated in the making of

21st and 22nd issues of the magazine. “Being the editor of Balkan Beats allowed me to improve my writing, as well as organizational and people managing skills.” A time-consuming job that is also extremely exciting and rewarding. The end result was a collection of separate articles that had to fit the topic in order to make it into a pleasant story. The skills she gained through the whole project had proven to be useful for her current job, working for a communications and institutional relations department of an NGO in Portugal. Her most memorable event was to visit a Roma community neighbourhood as part of the research for her article where the focus was the celebration of Romani day.

Isabel Tootill

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Volunteer Life Volunteer life

Baris Yuksel took on work as an editor that

lasted 4 editions: 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd. When he arrived at the project, he assumed the post without properly knowing what is going on. Coming to a new country and working space he learned through experience that he still values today.

“I firmly believe that it was really helpful to understand working with people who are totally coming from different socio-cultural environments. In addition, I was becoming really happy when we were done with one more edition since it meant that our hard work paid off.”

— Baris Yuksel .

Baris

acknowledged that the only difficulties that appeared were concerning the whole team, as the group environment proved to be extremely important for motivation. It was mostly because of personal things and surroundings, as the spring was coming, and a lot of events were coming up. Thus, he had to come up with new strategies to get the work done. For Baris, the EVS experience was incredibly positive. He got

to experience the “responsibility of co-leading a youth magazine with a dynamic team”. He used his time wisely and also participated in an internship in Cinematography museum while carrying out the tasks of the project. The Greek lifestyle, international environment, space for expression and amazing people around made the experience in the project that reached beyond expectations.

Marleen Muts was one of the most recent

editors, as she was the co-editor for 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th edition.

“I think it is a really enjoyable work to do when the people you work with are motivated and your coeditors are making a good team” — Marleen Muts.

In the beginning, it was not her first choice, how-

ever, she grew to like it to the extent that she wanted to continue when the project had ended. The wide range of topics that were covered within the magazine helped her to expand the intellectual and social horizons. Through this process she claims that it helped her to become more herself, thus making it an eye-opening experience. The most memorable moment for her was when the magazine was printed for the first time. It gave a materialistic sense to the job that they have been doing for months. The only difficulties she could recall were the ones that are embedded into the job, like finding the cover and so forth. In the end, it was all worth it.

“I feel that it was a very important part of my life and I got a lot of experiences, amazing friends, travelled a lot and had a very good EVS year.”

— Marleen Muts.

Baris Yuksel

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Volunteer Life

“Apart from this, I think the only difficulty that I found as an editor of this magazine was getting that everyone delivers their materials on time.”

— Maria Aguilar Lopez.

saw it as a learning opportunity, because in the future jobs similar situations may occur. Learning how to handle the little misunderstandings was helpful.

Apart from that Maria only remembers the good Marleen Muts

Maria Aguilar Lopez was the editor on

the 15th and 16th edition. She came to Thessaloniki as a recent graduate of Journalism, thus becoming an editor was a dream come true.

Although sometimes stressful because of pressing deadlines and a heavy load of work, nothing could come close to the satisfaction when the

moments and friendly faces. The project offered her the experiences and opportunities that she could not have in her home country. All different aspects like culture, parties, history and gastronomy made her stay here unforgettable.

“To sum up, if I had the opportunity to go back and decide if I want to be an EVS volunteer in Thessaloniki again I would say yes without any doubt.”

— Maria Aguilar Lopez.

“Thanks to my work as an editor I could learn more about each other’s interests and visions about some topics.”

— Maria Aguilar Lopez.

hard work is finished and published. The most valuable skill that she developed was becoming organized. Being an editor allowed her to see into the minds of her fellow volunteers as she got to understand their point of view from their writing.

The diverse perspectives can sometimes prove to be challenging as coming to a coherent agreement would not be so forthcoming. However, she

Maria Aguilar Lopez

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Volunteer Life Volunteer life

Egle Puodziunaite was the editor for the

23rd, 24th and 25th edition.

“I must admit that it was the greatest period of my life. I had a wonderful opportunity to set my mind free and implement my ideas for workshops, social initiatives, even youth exchange of course including editor job.”

— Egle Puodziunaite.

Egle

worked together with Giada Russo and their partnership was exceptional, as they could understand each other’s ideas rather quickly.

During that time the magazine itself was reorganized, thus she had to deal with a lot of changes in the process. However, they wanted to create an outline that is more flexible and suitable for the writers as well as readers. For Egle the task that endured the most difficulties was the editing process itself. Moreover, the collaboration with the graphic designer required some patience.

An interesting skill can be developed by working

with non-native English speakers, as Egle noticed that each nationality has a different way of using English in their articles. As a result, it extended her understanding of different nationalities and cultures. The project, in general, proposed some challenges, Egle had to find the inner balance and developing teamwork skills. However, she appreciates every difficulty that comes her way and accepts them as learning curves.

Jack Cowles was on the editing team for the

17th, 18th and 19th editions and his experience as an editor started out rather rough, that was mainly due to deadlines. Through practice, he started to find himself. He arrived he was rather shy and at the end of the project, he felt more confident both socially and professionally. “I liked having team meetings in our apartment with some tea and biscuits from home whilst organising who will do what.” Jack with his colleges combines work with pleasure while gathering with the editors in the living room with food and drinks to discuss the articles with music in the background. The hardest part was being away from home that was eased with having a colleague from home country. For Jack, EVS experience is something that cannot be described but only lived and his advice is to not hesitate and take this opportunity. Through the project, he met amazing people and built close friendships.

“One other memory I think of often is fresh made Manti from Ebru and Borja and it took them a whole day to make. Everyone from all apartments joined that night and it was something that at the time I didn’t know would stay with me forever.”

— Jack Cowles.

Egle Puodziunaite

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Volunteer life

Volunteer Life

Jack Cowles

Carmen Russo was on the editing team

nity. “Just need to find the right point of view!” for 18th and 19th editions and according to her, Thessaloniki has left a mark on her life “a brick of it was one of the best times of her life. “Even if it my house; is a piece of my home.” was a temporary experience, working as an editor gave me a more complex vision of the job, in gen- Unfortunately, one of our own was taken away eral.” Teamwork was one of the most challenging from this life too abruptly and with a heavy heart, and rewarding skills she has gained, as it takes we have to announce that Silvia has passed time to build efficient teamwork skills. Howev- away just months ago. Carmen wants everyone er, over time it becomes easier and has proven to know: “EVS gave me Silvia, and nobody will to be helpful since her days at Balkan Hotspot. bring her far away from my heart.”

Overall Carmen sees her time on the project as a challenge with some difficulties along the way, however, she saw each difficulty as an opportu-

“One night we “discovered” a new entity that we kept calling Lord Lama. We had also a little statue of Him, that one day just disappeared.

Nobody called himself or herself responsible for that. After some years, the question is still the same: where is Lord Lama?”

— Carmen Russo.

Carmen Russo

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Volunteer Life Volunteer life

In memory of Silvia In August 2019 Silvia Bartolotti, volunteer in United Societies of Balkans and editor of this mag-

azine in 2017, suddenly passed away. In the 30th edition of Balkan Beats we celebrate her, keeping all the good things she taught us through her daily love for life, for the world and its people.

Silvia is to feel.

She teaches us to care more, to dive deep into our wishes, to go out there screaming our dreams to the world.

If you want to talk... well, if you want to talk she’s probably already waiting for you, watching the sunset on the balcony... with two glasses of wine, of course!

She is intimacy.

She loves the sea, the sun - all but the rain. She loves to get some fresh air and feel the wind in an autumn morning.

She believes and persists.

She is sweet but sour.

And she is now probably crying yet laughing at me for writing this in her honour.

And yes, this text is written in the present because for us she is still here. She lives with us, she’s part of us.

Still, we miss her.

Silvia

We miss her way to simply look forward, her way to simply live the present, her way to simply feel; her way to fight for her dreams, and with [almost!] no regret.

And she keeps teaching us a lot today.

And we keep missing her. Every. Single. Day. Mafalda Tenazinha On behalf of all the volunteers and friends who shared their experience with Silvia

She teaches us to care more, to dive deep

into our wishes, to go out there screaming our dreams to the world.

She is simple, free and easy-going.

If you want to travel, she’s already on the way.

If you say party, she’s already showing you her best moves on the dance floor.

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Volunteer photos

Volunteer life

Volunteer Life

“Divided Memories 1940-1950” an art route through history and experience

by Silvia Bartolotti

To celebrate Silvia’s memory we decided also to publish one of her articles written while she was volunteering with United Societies of Balkans in 2017.

In this uncertain beginning of spring, there is an

some fancy restaurants around Europe as well alternative way to spend a Sunday afternoon in as in old houses overlooking the Aegean sea. town. The exhibition “Divided Memories 1940- Despite his roaring adulthood, Carabott was just 1950” is organized by the Goethe-Institut and 17 years old when the German Army occupied the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki in the Athens and the war perturbed his adolescence Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art. bringing him even in prison camps in Greece,

During the 1940s Greece was first subjected to

a brutal Nazi occupation, and then laid to waste by three years of civil war. Though the hard times didn’t keep the artists of the time from painting. On the contrary, the turbulent period served as an inspiration to dig inside the darker aspects of mankind.

As I passed through the exhibition rooms of

France and Germany. The way he paints Nazi soldiers shows the trauma that the Frederick teenager lived, drawing them with metal plates instead of a face, a metaphor of their total lack of humanity. The executioners are like robots in his mind as well as their victims look all the same with no facial features, no expressions and their fear so big that the only possible defence was to undress of all their feelings trying to survive.

black and white pictures of dead bodies and grim impressionist paintings I was paralyzed in On the other side, he portrays himself as a front of a series of depictions, bright like children white figure appearing in the crowd, making coffins, staring at Hitler’s portrait in a night incartoons but drenched in horror and violence. terrogation, letting Jewish friends in front of the These macabre scenes are that of Nazi sol- Dachau gate and saying goodbye to his family diers, deported men on trains to their death, from a German truck on his way to hell. Contorture and bombings so much in contrast with versely to all the other people the members of the artistic style used from the painter that em- his family, who desperately run behind the Nazi phasized, even more, the horrible shock that he truck, seem still have human features: a hat, a had to suffer. Actually, that man was Frederick headband and the handkerchief wore by his Carabott, the graphic designer that made his mother. Maybe a sign of hope, of familiar, of willfortune during the ’60s with the vintage posters ingness to come back. As he finally did, filling of Greece, the ones that we can still see hung in with emotions this early spring Sunday’s trip.

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Volunteer Life Volunteer life

Magazine Gallery

Balkan Be

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eats

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Local Life Dance

Filhos De Angola: Celebrating Body and Soul

How music and dancing help you to free your inner self

by Francesco Cirica

Capoeira is well-known for its spectacular moves, but it can also be a powerful tool for self-expression and integration. Following the celebration of Thessaloniki-based group Filhos de Angola, I dived into this art to uncover its secrets and find out how it helps to connect the mind of its players with their inner selves.

A picture from the seminar’s final Roda de Capoeira Š Filhos de Angola Thessaloniki

A small step for dance can be a huge leap for mankind. At least, that happens when an experienced capoeirista starts his game inside of the roda. Although the Brazilian art of capoeira has become pretty popular around the world - either due to youtube videos or to Tekken video-game series - its cultural background is still largely unknown. While most people focus on its spectacular movements and acrobatic features, they still ignore how this particular martial art is more about connecting with yourself than fighting other people. Moreover, it is about joining a group not showing off your athletic abilities. And these are all the features that make it closer to a joyful celebration than to a physical contest between two opponents.

organized in Thessaloniki by the local group Filhos de Angola. Founded in 2007, the group is a branch of the international team established in 1984 under the same name by masters Laercio and Roberval in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. From the cradle of Capoeira, the city hitting a tree will make five masters fall to the ground, Master Laercio came all the way to Northern Greece alongside master Paulo Siqueira. The goal was assembling his pupils as well as other members of Capoeira movement to the Macedonian region, for a three-day-long seminar aimed to celebrate the traditions and common values of this art, handing them over to a new generation of Capoeiristas. The meetings involved a lot of training and practice, of course, as well as playing music and learning traditional songs. Moreover, the meetings are a space for reflection about the history and the philosophy of Capoeira.

Indeed, the roots of Capoeira stretch long back

in the past, also finding connections with traditional African cultures. Although nobody knows the origins of this art, everyone agrees that it had evolved among the slaves displaced from Africa to Brazil by Portuguese settlers. Putting together elements coming from pre-existing traditions such as ritual dances and Candomblè rites, slaves achieved a very practical goal: deAt the end of November, I had the chance to wit- veloping means to defend themselves from their ness this first-hand, joining a Capoeira seminar masters, without them knowing. Through capoe-

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Dance

ira, every kick, every potential lethal blow could easily be disguised as a dance movement, giving a crucial strategic advantage to the oppressed.

Most of them used this knowledge to escape their fate, creating independent community well hidden into the forest - the so-called Quilombos - and using their skills in order to defend them.

The participants became well-known rebels and outlaws, which names and gestures are still celebrated in Capoeira song.

Although slavery was abolished in 1888, Capoeira maintained a shady reputation and was often connected to the underworld. Many former slaves found themselves without the means to earn a living and started to use their combat skills for illegal purposes. As result capoeira was declared illegal and capoeiristas were held as infamous and dan-

Two capoeiristas playing in the Roda

Local Life

gerous thugs for years. This was the case until people started to notice something more within it.

People as master Pastinha and master Bimba had foreseen that their art could be used not only as a mean of fighting but also as a chance to develop a better self, both physically and mentally. Thanks to their effort capoeira were codified and normed, starting the two branches in which the art still divides today: the one led by master Bimba, that took the name of Capoeira Regional, and the one started by Pastinha, known as Capoeira Angola.

If in the past the practice appeared as a proper fight, involving a pattern of movements aimed to hit the opponent, the latter focuses more on the wit of the player. A good angolero is the one who uses his body to deceive the opponent, luring him in the position in which is more vulnerable, without even touching him.

Š Filhos de Angola Thessaloniki

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Local Life Dance

As the choreographer - and capoeirista - Aneta

Zwierzyńska puts it: “The “lurking” in dance is the essence of the art of capoeira, for the game may not have any context of the attack. The mind is the state of maximum alertness gives the body a specific way of movement. This quality of movement in the traditional capoeira is interesting enough to be a goal in itself, without the need to attack. Therefore, in capoeira are no winners or losers. Capoeira Angola is the art of reading the intentions of the enemy. It is the art of negotiation and improvisation.” Once more Capoeira - especially in its Angola version played in Thessaloniki - doesn’t revolve merely around physical abilities, but looks more like a chess game. Mind and body should be connected at every step, trying to foresee the strategy of the other dancer in order to respond with the most appropriate movement.

This reflects in the way the masters’ approach the seminar. Master Siqueira starts every day with a warm-up that recalls the practice of yoga, stretching the body while focusing on breathing.

Doing this, he doesn’t only prepare the body for an intense physical practice, he also makes you conscious of what you do, connecting every movement to the act of inhaling and exhaling. It is this awareness, this focus on the connection

between mind and body that makes Capoeira so helpful when it comes to self-consciousness and self-esteem. Not by chance, it became a powerful tool for social inclusion and rehabilitation, both in drug-dealing plagued Brazilian slums and in warzones, as the Israeli Group Cordao de Ouro who makes Palestinian and Israelites playing together.

Not only being aware of how your body moves but

also how it connected and disconnected to your mind. I discover that in the actual practice, while I try a specific movement called Macaco. It consists of jumping from a crouch position launching your hips over your head and then landing again on your feet. If it sounds complicated - trust me because it is. But I discovered that the major complication is due to your own head. As I was trying to jump, I feel just impossible to detach my feet from the floor. It was my mind, preventing me to perform a movement that was perceived too far to what it was used to. Therefore, I am taught that the real challenge is to overcome this feeling, and just push to lift the feet from the starting position.

It’s not easy nor straightforward. But once you’re able to jump, everything goes smoother than you expected, proving that your body holds hidden abilities: so well-conceived that even your brain could ignore them.

The orchestra with the masters playing berimbau and the other instruments

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© Filhos de Angola Thessaloniki

Dance

Master Laercio (on the right) playing in the roda

The most powerful link between body and soul

it’s music. There will be no Capoeira without music, nor capoeirista that doesn’t know how to sing and play. That’s why after practice, the other half of the day is devoted to songs. They are repetitive and very simple in the rhythm and in the lyrics, in order to be accessible to everyone in the group. This feature comes from the origins of Capoeira that - as samba or orichas - is a “descarrego” dance. A dance that aims to release tension through shaking and repetitive movements.

Following the sound of the berimbau, the main instrument in Capoeira circle, music connects to the heartbeat and the blood flow bringing the dancers to the point their body and their minds reacts as a whole.

At the end of the day, music and movements are wrapped up together in the ultimate and most important moment: the Roda (circle) of Capoeira. It is almost a sacred occasion, in which the whole group gathers together. In turns, everyone plays music, while 2 members play together following the rhythm of the instruments. The master plays the main berimbau, giving the rhythm and leading the pace of the games. All around him, the group sings along and encourage the players, commenting the action with cheers and screams.

Music, dances and a circle of people that shares the same interested and values: there is all that

Local Life

© Filhos de Angola Thessaloniki

it takes for a proper celebration! Suddenly I find myself in the awkward position of being the first player at the beginning of the roda. My opponent is more experienced than me, all the eyes are on us and, well, the first play is also a little bit of an ice-breaker, which makes it more difficult for a beginner. The result is that it takes a couple of minutes to be scolded by the master because I am showing off and pushing more than I can actually do. “Keep it simple” he says and so I try.

And then, all come together. The music starts to increase its rhythm, everyone sings along with the master and even I, though far from perfect, started following my opponent. Everything works like a dialogue: to every move, there is a response, a chorus to every line in the song, as there’s an answer to every word. Everything sums up to reach a particular state in which your mind is one with your movements, your body is one with the music, while the embrace of the road brings everyone together through the line of the songs. This energy, running through the group and channelled by the players, is the same that flows for hundreds of years. The same that keep together people taken by their homeland and keep their heads up through slavery. The same energy that - still today - calls for liberation. A step to overcome the limits that keep you stranded on the ground and finally develop yourself at your very best, not only as an individual but as a part of a relationship, part of a group.

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Out Of The Borders Traditions

Newroz Celebration

The History of a common celebration in Central Asia

by Sercan Yıldırım

Newroz is a celebration symbolized by each nation with its own cultural values and ex-

presses the arrival of spring. It is celebrated with the local colours and beliefs in a wide region from Central Asia to the Balkans. Through celebrations vary, people generally gather together to welcome the coming of spring; they wear coloured clothes and dance together.

© http://yeniozgurpolitika.blogspot.com/2014/03/ onbinler-newroz-kutluyor-kurdistanda.html

In Kurdish, the word “Newroz” means New (New)

Zuhak 2500 years ago. According to the legend, the king had a snake on both shoulders and he had two Kurdish young people brought to his palace every day to feed them and had them killed.

Because of this savagery, the king also prevented the arrival of spring. Finally, two people, Armayel and Garmayel, who wanted to do something to get rid of this persecution, entered the king’s palace as a cook. They kill only one of the children to feed the king’s snakes and help others to sneak out of the palace. Thus, they mix a human with a sheep and give it to the snakes and save a child every day. It is believed that people who can escape from the palace are the ancestors of the Kurds, and they were secretly trained by the blacksmith named Kawa to become warriors.

Thus, these warriors, led by Kawa, marched to the tyrant’s palace on March 20 and managed to kill the king with hammer blows. Kawa burns fires on all the hills around and celebrates this victory together. Thus, the Kurdish people would be freed from the cruel king and spring would come the next day.

and Roz (Day, daylight) is a combination of the two words. Its original meaning is accepted as New Day Light in many sources. When it comes to the historical origins of Newroz, it is seen that it has a history that goes back about 4350 years.

Nowruz is a sacred day especially for Zoroastrianism and Bahai community and, furthermore, it is celebrated as a holiday. The celebration coincides with the March equinox which usually falls on the 21st of March and or somewhere between the 18th and 24th of March. In addition, it is considered as the first day of the year in some In Kurdish legend, the holiday celebrates the Kurdish sources. Moreover, it is also believed to deliverance of the Kurds from a tyrant, and it is be based on the legend of the Blacksmith Kawa in Kurdish and Iranian mythology.

The legend of the Blacksmith Kawa is mentioned as follows: According to the Kawa legend in Kurdish mythology, there was a blacksmith named Kawa who lived under a cruel king of Assyria named

22

The Newroz traditions © https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/let-s-join-newroz-with-the-spirit-of-the-contemporary-kawa-33733

Traditions

Out Of The Borders

The clothes for Newroz celebration Š http://beytussebapnews.blogspot.com/2015/03/beytussebapta-coskulu-newruz-kutlamas.html

seen as another way of demonstrating support This tradition is still celebrated with enthusiasm for the Kurdish cause. for the arrival of spring in many countries and in various cultures that in turn provides the opporKurds celebrate Newroz on 21, 22 and 23 March. tunity for the old traditions to persist. In addition, With this holiday, Kurds often gather outside the Newroz is celebrated as the World Newroz Day city and in open spaces and celebrate the com- on 21 March every year. ing spring. Women wear colourful dresses and cover their heads with glittering cloths. As a tra- You can join this excitement by visiting the placdition, a large fire is made in an open space, and es where Newroz is celebrated and participating people dance around the fire and jump over it. in the events.

The Newroz fire

Š https://www.flickr.com/photos/conchimichurri/13328803324/

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Out Of The Borders Traditions

Fulfilling dreams

Alcoy has the oldest Christmas Parade and one of the most beautiful

by Elena Mullor

Illusion and hope are flying around the streets during this magical Christmas event in the

Spanish city of Alcoy. The Three Kings Parade held on January 5th in Alcoy (Alicante, Spain) is considered to be the oldest in Spain and has been declared a festival of National Cultural Interest.

In the light, we can see one of the Three Kings following the Star

During the night before the 5th, the arrival in the

city of Their Majesties: Melchior, Baltasar and Gaspar from the East, is announced. The children come to listen to the Ambassador and deposit their letters for the Kings on little donkeys, loaded with mailboxes and thrown away by the royal pages.

© Elena Mullor

to show to the kids the Christmas Magic. Every kid filled with happiness waits to see the Three Kings go down the streets giving sweets and kisses to all the children. The road is full of lights one week before the event happens, to decorate the city and lead the way to the Three Kings.

The tradition says that with the pass of the Three Kings, the houses that they left behind are celebrate this traditional event in their streets ‘invaded’ by the pages. Those pages are carrying After all this time, the citizens of this city still

24

Traditions

Out Of The Borders

the children’s gifts to their houses, while they are not there and they are watching the Parade. Actually, some people can be ‘lucky’ and a page can go to their house when they are inside and they can give to them the present. How can they do that? That’s why this day is so special in Alcoy.

The pages walk in groups with long stairs and they climb to the houses and go into the room through the balcony.

Therefore, the pages are with the Kings, one of

the most loved characters of this event.

This

They can go into the houses to give presents to the kids © Elena Mullor

The Ambassador giving sweets and kisses to the kids on the streets

celebration is one of the most special days of the City. Hopefully, Alcoy will always have this Parade making happy the kids as well as the adults, who have witnessed this parade for decades.

© Elena Mullor

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Out Of The Borders Politics

Women in charge

Women’s political breakthrough starts with Finland

by Felicia Vigliotti

The fight for gender equality started many years ago, but it is only in recent years that we are beginning to see results. Because of that, we need to celebrate every single step forward.

© Council of the European Union

Sanna Marin at the Council of European Union

We are at the beginning of a new decade and, in

the first days of the year, we sum up what happened in the previous months. For Europe, who is going through one of the most difficult moments in its history, there is one good piece of news in 2019. Finland elects the youngest woman prime minister in the world. The Finnish Social Democrats have chosen Sanna Marin as the political leader. Therefore, the young woman is leading a coalition of five parties, all led by women.

The most striking thing about Sanna Marin is

her background: raised by two mothers in one of what we might consider a “rainbow family”, she was the first of her family to get a degree. Grow-

26

ing up in the suburbs of Helsinki, she had several jobs before starting her political career in 2013, not even 30 years old. The girl next door becomes Prime Minister while belonging to some of the less protected categories. A woman and

“Finland will not be finished in four years, but it can get better. That’s what we’re working on. I want to build a society where every child can become anything, and every person can live and grow in dignity.”

— Sanna Marin.

Politics

Out Of The Borders

neo-mum astonished the world and, as a result, people all over the world have done nothing but positions are held by women. In Finland, there were women in the government while in other talk about her for weeks. (equally advanced) European countries women The topics she cares about are those that gave were not yet allowed to vote. her consensus among the younger sections of the population: environment and welfare. For Sanna Marin is not alone at the head of the govyears, Sanna Marin has benefited from the gov- ernment, being able to count on an all-female ernment aids that made it possible for her to and mostly under 35 government team. The path study and become the person she is today. After towards total equality undertaken by Finland is her election, she said that she wanted to ensure unique: this Northern European country has althat all young people in Finland had the same ways proved to be a “pioneer” of equality. Finland, as a country, has understood that the fight opportunities. against the demographic decline, that is depopAs we know, Finland is one of the most ad- ulating it, passes through young people. Young vanced European countries in terms of welfare people best represented by a group of women and gender equality. It is not surprising that it is who are a breath of fresh air at a time when the the first country with a government whose top whole of Europe is undergoing nationalist and sovereigntist movements.

This story of victory teaches us, as people, how much further there is to cover and what the watchword is: possibility. As soon as every human being, without distinction of gender, will be able to become what he or she wants, a world of opportunities will open up. Today we are here to celebrate this young woman, who can lead a country and present herself to the world without fear. Because from today forward her age or gender will not be the basis of her achievements, but rather how much she will be able to do for Finland.

Example! That’s what this event shows us com-

Finnish government presentation

© Sanna Marin’s Instagram

bined with the awareness that the status quo has to be overturned, overthrown, fought. Every step forward in gender equality must be celebrated and reported because it is the outcome of years of struggle and achievements. An old chinese proverb said, “Every journey begins with a single step”, so we just have to start walking.

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Out Of The Borders Nature

Celebration of animal conservation

by Mert Caliskan

The biggest threats to wildlife are habitat loss, overgrazing, farming and urbanization/devel-

opment. Habitat loss contributes to an eighty per cent loss of biodiversity. It is estimated that twenty per cent of the world’s species could be dead within the next thirty years. Nevertheless, in this article we are not going to focus just on the bad news but we are going to see also some amazing news for the biodiversity conservation in 2019.

1

Seven eggs of the world’s last two remaining white rhinos were successfully fertilized! This may save the species!

Scientists have successfully fertilized eggs tak-

frozen and then later on transferred to southern white rhino surrogate mothers. Veterinarians and wildlife experts are hoping to use a surrogate mother rhino, as the two female northern white rhinos are unable to carry a pregnancy.

en from two female northern white rhinos, a year Source: https://www.dw.com/en/scientists-fertilize-eggsafter the last remaining male died. The proce- from-last-northern-white-rhinos/a-50167040 dure has raised hopes about saving the highly Norway refuses to drill for billions endangered animals.. “We expect some of them of barrels of oil in the Arctic, will develop into an embryo,” said Cesare Galli, a leaving whole industry surprised founder of the Italian assisted-breeding compaand disappointed. ny. The team used frozen sperm that had been harvested from two male northern white rhinos The largest party in Norway’s parliament has debefore they died. This is the next critical step in livered a significant blow to the country’s huge hopefully creating viable embryos that can be oil industry after withdrawing support for explorative drilling off the Lofoten Islands in the Arctic, which are considered a natural wonder. The move, by the opposition labour party, creates a large parliamentary majority against oil exploration in the sensitive offshore area, illustrating growing opposition to the polluting fossil fuel, which has made the country one of the world’s most affluent.

2

Northern white rhinos

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source: The happy broadcast

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/norwayoil-drilling-arctic-ban-labor-party-unions-a8861171.html

Nature

Out Of The Borders

3 Sea Turtles Are Making a Huge Comeback

Back in 1973, out of concern that many of Amer-

ica’s animals were in danger of extinction, congress passed the endangered species act. The law enables regulators to designate species as either “endangered,” meaning that they’re at risk for becoming extinct throughout at least a significant portion of their range, or “threatened,” meaning that they’re likely to become endangered in the near future. Once animals are on the list, they can’t be harmed and their habitats can’t be modified or damaged in a way that kills, injures or impairs their ability to breed, feed, take shelter or perform other functions necessary for existence. Sea turtles, in particular, benefited from the law, with their populations increasing by 980 per cent.

Source: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/endangered-species/sea-turtles-are-making-huge-comeback-thanks-to-endangered-species-act.htm

4 Canada passed a bill that makes

it illegal to keep whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity for entertainment

Canada’s House of Commons passed a bill to make it illegal to hold a whale, dolphin or porpoise captive, punishable by fines up to $150,000. It’s known colloquially as the “Free Willy” bill, named after the 1993 movie in which a young boy frees a killer whale from a US amusement park.

Despite these good news, 2019 ended with a terrible news for the environment and biodiversity. Australia has suffered the most devastating fires on its history. Although Australia has always had bushfires, this season has been a lot worse than normal. So far, more than 10 million hectares of Australian land has been burned. It’s been estimated that around 1.25 billion animals have been killed across Australia to date. This includes thousands of koalas and other iconic species such as kangaroos, wallabies, kookaburras, cockatoos and honeyeaters burnt alive, and many thousands more injured and homeless.

Administrators of the states that fight the most fires also need help. The country will need donations not only to combat fires but also to restore the lives of those who survived the fires and to rehabilitate areas destroyed by fires.

And you can check the all fires in Australia: https://google. org/crisismap/australia

“Nothing fantastic ever happens in a hurry. But

today we celebrate that we have ended the captivity and breeding of whales and dolphins. This is news to splash a fin at,” animal rights group Humane Canada said in a tweet.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/10/americas/canada-whale-dolphin-bill-intl-hnk/index.html

If you want to show your support by donating, above are links to the local state fire services source: Pink’s Twitter

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Out Of The Borders Music

Celebrating the Outcasts Music edition

by InĂŞs Ribeiro

The celebration of the outcasts and their input in music is inevitable since they were the

ones who brought so many innovations and shifts in the musical paradigm. We ought to, at least, give them some credit for the power and liberation they grant us.

When thinking about the history of music what

pops up in our heads are the names of renowned classical composers, musical arrangements that only nobility and kings were familiar with.

However, the history of music is everything but respectable or boring. Innovation came from the outcast, the lower class and provocateurs that looked after the overthrow of the established.

Blues

Blues is one of the examples of musical break-

throughs that come from the lowest of the classes and the most marginalized group, slaves.

While it is hard to prove with precision where it originated from, the state of Mississippi is oftentimes referred as the birthplace of Blues due to the widespread poverty, isolation and low rates of literacy and of income that prevailed in this region of the United States. It was a more personal way to express sorrow and melancholy, using day to day episodes as the major source of inspiration.

Jazz

If you still believe that the rise of blues, a genre

that originated within the most marginalized group in the US, and its importance in the entertainment stage was merely a stroke of luck, think again about it. Jazz had a very similar outcome almost simultaneously with blues.

Š Grego

30

This is a more urban style, originated from New Orleans, one of the most multicultural cities at that time. Currently, this is a respected music genre, embraced by powerful and recognized institutions, but it wasn’t always like that. Jazz was born on the periphery, inciting violence, provoking riots and even being considered an illegal musical genre.

Music

Out Of The Borders

Hip-hop: Rap

Rap is often linked to youth violence and rebel-

lion, due to its angsty and fierce lyrics. Yet, this criticism attempts to cover the main purpose of this music style, forgetting its roots, the historical and social context of its emergence. Originated in the post-industrial South Bronx (NY), in the 1970s, within a group of young working-class African-Americans, rap major task was functioning as a message of protest, giving voice to this overshadowed group.

If rap songs seem way too aggressive or vio-

A Monterey Jazz Festival poster. This event has been happening since 1968 in Monterey, USA. © Pablo Lobato

lent compared to other genres, it is due to its origins. It comes from a culture that has been constantly fighting against oppression, segregation and inequalities dictated by race. It can be seen, in reality, as an outcry about a very severe current problem.

DJ Kool Herc, the “father of hip-hop”, setting up a bloc party in The Bronx, New York City, marking the birth of hip-hop in the 11th of August 1973. © Smithsonian – National Museum of American History

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Out Of The Borders Music

Punk Rock Originally used to describe garage musicians of the ’60s, Punk Rock was born thanks to bands without musical instruction and limited skills. This could be considered a major flaw or fragility, but, because they didn’t know the rules, it was easier to break them.

The English Punk scene has economic and po-

litical roots, due to the harsh reality faced by youngsters in the past. The United Kingdom was having a hard time economically, being confronted with extremely high rates of unemployment and inequality. Young people were frustrated, angry and had enough free time. Their strong opinions were the ones that politically charged Punk Rock.

Flamenco “Sniffin’ Glue and Other Rock ‘N’ Roll Habits” was a monthly punk magazine started by Mark Perry in 1976. It was a key source of photographs and information about contributors to the punk scene. © Sniffin’ Glue Magazine

A women’s flamenco group, Sevilla.

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It is believed that Flamenco originated in Anda-

lusia, between the VIII and XV centuries, during the Arab occupation of Spain, while local music and instruments were also shaped by Christian,

© Emilio Beauchy

Music

Out Of The Borders

Jewish and later suffered some Roma influence. the day-to-day life, something that resonated This mixture of cultures, sounds and move- with the experiences of the lower social classes. ments, created a peculiar hybrid genre.

After centuries of oppression and struggle caused by the monarchy and the persecution of Jews, Muslims and the Roma people by the Spanish inquisition, this genre finally receive recognition with the arrival of the Romantic Era, in the late XVIII and XIX centuries, gaining prominent importance in the artistic world.

Rebetiko

Due to the resettlement of around 1.5 million

Greek refugees from Asian Minor, in 1923, the number of slums started to rise around several cities. With them, the refugees brought different music styles, having a big impact on the Greek urban sonority.

Rebetiko was always a genre of the poor and

outcasts, is frequently described as the “Greek urban Blues”. The lyrics are oftentimes a portrait of the anguish, the hardships and struggles of

© The Esperanza Center

Nueva Cancion

Born in the late ’50s and early ‘60s, Nueva Can-

ción, also known as trova or canto, was a musical movement filled with political messages contesting the various dictatorships in South America. The worsening of the social and economic conditions in the rural areas, that affected especially the native communities, led to a rural exodus. The mixing of the new arrivals’ musical traditions with the already present sounds in the cities created a new style, a new form of art.

Nueva Cancion was a powerful tool to denounce

© David Prudhomme

political persecution and oppression, calling the people to be more proactive, the catalysts for change. This new music genre was the opportunity to express the collective fight during these vicious times, but also to speak very clearly about topics such as imperialism, human rights, democracy and religion.

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Out Of The Borders Sports

Winter celebrations from the North

The Polish way of enjoying the snow season

by Renata Diurczak

The long winter months are usually characterized by bad weather and a sad mood because

nothing ever happens. To make the wait easier until the spring, I would like to present to you many things may happen from December until March. Once winter has arrived there is plenty to celebrate, especially if you love winter activities.

Polish winter in Tatras

It is a magical moment when the first snowflake

Š Renata Diurczak

try skiing - your schedule is occupied. I need to say it: people from the north love winter, as it is prime time for sports fans. I, personally, have lived in the south of Poland my entire life and it is a pretty passionate sports area. My first true love is hockey. Hockey is played on ice, primarily in winter. People in my hometown get really excited when the winter approaches, it means another season of hockey. Currently, Polish people are in love with ski jumping. The disciIf you are one of the fans of hockey, ski jump- pline that holds us together, we love watching it ing, snowboard, figure skating and cross-coun- on TV every weekend. hits the ground. If you are from the North, everything changes: nights are long, days are short, it becomes cold and white. Christmas lights get switched on in the streets, and the seasonal treats appear in the shops. Thanks to the snowy effects of a fresh snowfall, landscapes seem to be painted by a different artist every day! It is a perfect time to be active, sporty and enjoy the beauty of the season with family and friends.

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Sports

Ski touring in Tatras

People

from the north love the outdoors as there are endless options for wintertime. Starting from skiing to snowboarding to even hiking and ski touring or snow tubing. Ah, and of course ice skating and sledging are awesome – doesn’t matter how old you are - it is a fun activity and doesn’t require prior skills. Ice skating is a classic wintertime activity that you are able to enjoy

Polish winter in Tatras

Out Of The Borders

© Renata Diurczak

in every country, even if you live somewhere in the South, for example in Greece. When the trees are covered by snow, blue sky above our head, walking through the forest to get some fresh air and we feel like on a different planet. In Poland, people living near the seaside like to participate in a polar bear plunge, which is pretty challenging. Have you ever tried it?

© Renata Diurczak

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Out Of The Borders Sports

On the first day of spring in March, when we

are tired of darkness and cold we have our celebration. We build a human size effigy called Marzanna – the Slavic winter witch. Nowadays, the annual creation of a Marzanna doll is created by kids in school. The witch is taken to the nearest riverbank and thrown away meant to be drowned. This is our way to say goodbye to the winter in this unusual old way to kill a doll every spring. Are there other countries that have traditions like this?

Being born and raised in Poland, I just want to

say: keep calm and enjoy winter…and let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Making angels

© Renata Diurczak

If you are afraid of winter activities, you can always enjoy making snowmen, igloos and angels in the fresh snow – believe me, it is a lot of fun and powerful especially if you are playing with kids and your friends. If one day you visit Poland during the winter and there is plenty of snow, you should try to enjoy a Kulig which is a sleigh ride. It is an old party winter tradition organized among the polish aristocracy dating back then.

During the ride, we enjoy the beauty of fresh snowfall, a winter landscape and if you are lucky enough to do it in the evening, check the sunset, which is breath-taking.

It might be a pretty obvious one, but once it is cold outside and we are exhausted after being active all day long, we also enjoy staying indoors.

The pleasure of staying in a warm place wearing a cosy jumper and knitted socks, reading a good book or just watching a movie is quite immense.

If the frosty weather makes us stay home, we like baking and cooking winter food – honestly, it is the best kind of food. The smell of gingerbread, hot beverages and fireplace is magical.

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Polish winter in Tatras

© Renata Diurczak

Language

Mix Fix

The Natural Power of Words

Is it possible to forcefully standardize the language of a certain society?

by Valerio Vagnoni

Words are, no doubt, the most powerful tool we possess as humans in order to shape our feel-

ings, our desires and our thoughts, turning them into actions through everyday communication.

Countless leaders have used this power over the Words are, most importantly, the greatest excourse of the ages to persuade and influence, some attaining from its great achievements, others a great deal of destruction. The importance of words was known to men rather early, and the art of public speaking was soon made into an important skill to be studied and mastered: the greatest example of it lies in Ancient Greece, where great figures as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all developed their own techniques of oratory.

Rhetoric

pression of a certain society, of the traditions and costumes of its population: languages are an alive force, changing and adapting constantly.

It is enough to consider the case of countries like Italy or Spain, where the foreign dominations have left their permanent marks in several expressions of the Italian and Spanish languages, as well as in their local dialects.

Š https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuola_di_Atene

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Mix Fix Language

A collection of letters

© https://www.worldbyisa.com/most-beautiful-words-in-portuguese/

Several times in the past there have been at-

could be the Ottoman domination in Greece, untempts to alter this natural process, forcing a successful in its attempt to prevent the survival certain territory to embrace a specific “com- of the Greek language. mon” language, thus suppressing all kinds of the local variety.

It is not a surprise to us, then, if any experimental artificial language (like the Esperanto, It is necessary to wonder then, is such an alter- created in the 19th century) have quite failed ation possible, and despicable? in their purpose.

The answer could possibly lie in the results As already stated, languages are alive, and as

of these previous attempts: an example is the great dictatorships in Europe, which were not successful in erasing local realities as the Basque language in Spain (the Euskera) or the particular variation of German spoken in the Alto Adige region of Italy. Another example

38

such, cannot be altered forcefully, but they will adapt to their new situation in a natural way.

Just like the world is constantly changing, so

will the words and the expression we use, evolving with any passing step in our history.

Gifts

Mix Fix

Ten Alternative Gift Ideas for Celebrations

The History of Celebrations

by İbrahim Kurt

For centuries, people have experienced positive and negative moments in their lives and have

organized different activities to remember these moments, experience the same feelings or differentiate those moments from others. One of these activities is certainly celebrations. Celebrations are activities that bring people together and give the chance to feel the importance and value of the event. Although there are different celebrations in different communities, many have similarities such as dancing, eating together, the same feelings and gifts. Although many of these have remained the same over the years, some have seen significant changes like gift ideas.

In ancient times, people could use the concept

alternative gift ideas. Now, it’s time to wait for of the gift as hugging and merely be together. the next celebration!

Later on, they started to produce things by using the materials in nature. With the devel- Gift Ideas opment of industrial production, gifts have diversified and gained material value. There- 1. With the string art, you can write the name fore, our gifts and selection criteria have also of the person you want to give a gift, create this changed. In this article, I have shared with you person’s favourite animal or design something 10 labour-intensive, low-cost or eco-friendly that will remind you of this person. All you need to be careful about is driving the nails.

String Art

© https://www.herpetologistsleague.com/string-art-words.html

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Mix Fix Gifts

2. You can easily make a photo holder with a few materials. You can personalize the stone with the favourite colour of the person you want to give a gift and add a photo that you were together to remember you.

Painted rock photo holders

Cartoon characters clock

40

Š https://diply.com/6288/16-diysyou-can-do-with-rocks/amp

3. A gift idea that children will probably love! All you need is to learn the favourite cartoon characters of the person you want to give a gift and design a personalized clock with your own drawing or printouts.

Š Instructables Instagram Account

Gifts

Personalized adoption certificate

Mix Fix

© http://brasil-pt.grey.com/turkey/ work/key/wwf_last_selfie/id/6568/

6. Another gift idea is to support non-governmental organizations active in a field that the person care about. You can do it by purchasing items produced by the NGOs or supporting a specific project.

© https://10marifet.org/ Hand-crafted graduation yearbook yazi/el-yapimi-mezuniyet-tebrik-karti/

4. Great idea for graduation celebrations. Clearly,

the years of student life are home to a lot of unforgettable memories. If you want to make these memories even more permanent, you can add your photos with your friend to the graduation book and draw things to remind you of your memories.

7. It’s time to create your own artwork. First of all, remember how successful societies are in creating their traditional arts. The second step is to find the kind of art that suits you and fascinate the person you want to give a gift with your artwork.

5. Time to show your creativity! One of the most

successful ways to make someone remember you are certainly to design an accessory for this person. Remember that the accessory you design is about how well you know this person.

Hand-made accessories

© https://www.eglenbizle.com/ deniz-kabuklarindan-kolye-yapimi/

Turkish traditional arts (Ebru and Kat’ı)

© Abdurrahman Kurt

41

Mix Fix Gifts

8. A hand-knitted hat, scarf or sweater is one of

the most valuable gifts to keep our body warm on cold winter days. The answer is simple if you think of how to knit. You can find many videos about knitting techniques on the internet.

Hand-made memory box

© Gözde Solak

9. I’m sure everyone wants to remember important moments in his life through a box. It’s up to you to put the items in the box you prepare for the person you want to give. Maybe an eraser you couldn’t share at school, a magnet from the city you went with.

10. The last gift idea; share the moment. No

Hand-knitted sweater

Sharing the moment

42

© Aygıt Kocaman

need to prepare for this gift. You can just take the time to show the person you love him or her, do an activity you like or remember the memories you have together and leave a smile on the other person’s face.

© https://cocukvegenc.com/ kaliteli-zaman-onerileri/

Retrospective

Mix Fix

Focus on the past decade

The best (but also the worst) of 2010...

by Astrid Vallet

New Year’s... okay.

But mostly the new decade and a new decade means a big retrospective of what we’ve been doing with our lives for the last 10 years.

As we celebrate the new year, we aspire to a multitude of new projects, we set ourselves goals and we promise not to repeat the same eternal mistakes...

To help you, let’s remind of the worst but also the best of the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, Rihanna saves, (once again) the 2010: the year when Instagram was created, country from depression... WORK WORK WORK

but more importantly... the warmest year ever WORK WORK. recorded on earth: carbon emissions increase by 6%. WELCOME. 2017: The CO2 in the air is at a level never seen 2011: Year of snapchat creation (YOU.HOU), before in 800,000 years. In short, it’s hot.

Adèle release “Someone Like You”: thank you for The #MeToo movement breaks out all over the the Karaoke. Amy Winehouse goes on her own world: women’s voices are being heard. We’re way… entering a new era for the feminist struggle.

2012: The end of the world... Or not! #GIRLPOWER Barack Obama is re-elected. Facebook is the 2018: The Time’s Up movement start in the trendiest social network (Yes it really happened). U.S.

2013: The year 2013 is among the 10 warmest CO2 is once again reaching alarming levels. years on record on Earth (déja-vu?).

We make room for badass girls: fists raised for 2014: The year 2014 is the warmest year ever their ideas: Emma Watson, Greta Thunberg...

recorded on Earth (oops) = historical record for sea-level rise (OUCH). Malaysia Airlines flight Yellow vests are making a mess in France (still 370 disappears, still no news since. Frozen lands not finished). on your screens, watch your ears, thanks again 2019: Year of Brexit, of climate: year of citifor the Karaoke. zen activism with demonstrations and marches 2015: The year 2015 is the hottest year... true- reaching a record level of mobilization. Climate fact. The migrant crisis is intensifying with thou- issues are being brought to the forefront in Eusands of deaths in the Mediterranean. rope.

2016:

Year of David Bowie, Prince, 2020: This year will be mainly marked by your and Leonard Cohen’s death... bad-mood. own successes and failures, your history is about Not to break the bad atmosphere: the year ends to be written, grab a pen you are choosing your with the Election of Donald Trump. #Notfunny destiny. GOOD LUCK.

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Mix Fix Story

Ballroom 2050

by Pablo Rubio

“The band is playing our song again,

And all the world is green”

Tom Waits The sun was setting, leaving the empty streets

in darkness. A man, wrapped up to the eyebrows, -The next song is dedicated to our dear Rita. For was the only figure walking through them. you, Tango Apocalypso!

His quick steps, because of the cold and the The aforementioned Rita, staggering on a bench belief that he was late for his date, led him to a because of alcohol, made a funny outburst. narrow alley. There, behind a heavy wooden door, The new year emerged as a ritual to end the was the “Malena’s Ballroom”. solar cycles, to bring about better harvests or As he entered and stripped himself of all layers to symbolically celebrate the birth of the son of of clothing, his cheeks turned pink, although his God. eyes still glowed as they had done hours before.

For centuries, various cultures have modified He looked around, but could not find who he the first day of the year based on their calendar was looking for. Sighed in relief, moving slowly and rites. through the dance hall.

But if there was something special about that All the inhabitants of that small eastern city had December 31st, it is that apart from the end of gathered in that singular place, for a celebration the year, it would also be the end of humanity no less unique. and planet earth as we know it. The man sat down at a table at the end of the floor, and before Scattered here and there were: bosses sharing that tango and the glass of cognac were over, huge carafes of wine with their workers; moth- she appeared. ers looking tenderly at their children, whom they were uselessly nursing; couples of teenagers During the 30 years that they had not seen each melting into embraces, which at any other time other, he had made a daily exercise of rememwould have been seen as impudent, though now bering her curly hair, her olive-coloured eyes and they were becoming acts of survival. her childish smile.

On a platform, the orchestra was standing: a -You haven’t changed a bit. saxophonist, an accordion, a guitar and a drummer; dressed in white fracs and with their faces -Like this place. It’s painted like old circus clowns.

The man approached the bar and asked for a co-

gnac to make the wait more bearable.

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still as decadent as it was then.

she said.

Story

Mix Fix

Gueorgui Pinkhassov. United distillers party in the Jabtonia Palace. Warsaw, Poland, 1994. source: Magnum Photos

-Even though it was emptier last time. Remem- -That we’d meet again... ber those two old men who could dance around for hours, like lizards?

-Exactly. And to tell you the truth, I didn’t expect to be alive to see it either. Even though I’ve fantaShe laughed. sized about it every day of my life.

-And look at us, now we’re the elders.

-Well, here we are. A little older and a little less -I don’t consider myself as such, even though my conscientious! white hair says otherwise.

-Did you leave a lot behind to come here?

-And your ideals? -Have they not changed either? -Yes. But now, what does it matter? As of tomorOr are you still the same man who fought tire-

row, they’re not worth anything. The white-faced lessly to make others see that climate change saxophonist took the microphone. was going to lead us to shit?!

-You can learn from shouting at the wind too! -And now, for all of you, The last Balkan Tango. \ The pair of lovers headed for the centre of the -The problem is that we weren’t shouting at peo- dance floor. ple who could really have done something about it.

At that moment, the temperature of the planet reached unbearable levels in the hot zones; and -Maybe. Although the “upstairs” has the most to extremely low levels in the cold zones. lose right now. e wrapped his right arm around her back. She -To be honest, since those years, I had the feel- H placed her right hand next to his left hand. ing that this was going to happen; no matter how many posters, no matter how much awareness... All animal species around the globe became exWhat I didn’t expect was that I would still be alive tinct. to see it.

He advanced with his left foot. She stepped -Do you remember our last day of volunteering? back with her right foot. He, again, advanced In this city’s smelly station. with his right foot. She stepped back again, this with her left foot. Finally, left foot and right -The same day that Gre- time foot came together. ta was given the Nobel Prize.

All electricity and resources progressively failed.

-Yes, the same day. -Kiss me! she said.

Remember what I told you?

The next morning, they were nothing but dust.

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Mix Fix Story

Top 10 Christmas Movies

Our selection of the best

by Mario Urminsky

Take a look at the best 10 Christmas movie that our volunteers like the most. The genre

includes all kind of movies from family type to romantic and action. Every lover of films should come into his own. We hope you enjoy our list of movies with great Christmas atmosphere.

10. KLAUS There is a hated country where two rival fami-

lies destroyed everything. The school is closed and falling apart, the teacher makes the fishmonger and curses her on the day she won the competition. The streets are empty, deserted, devastated. The houses are gloomy prisons where children live locked up. Everyone hates each other and tries to destroy each other and every little bit of beauty that exists. And then something happens. A sudden act of kindness occurs. Followed by another and another and yet another. And suddenly, people who hated each other participated in rebuilding together. They become communities, and everything starts to be reborn.

9. Polar Express The cute fairytale about a boy that have a lot of

questions about Santa - if he even exists. Suddenly he heard a locomotive during the night outside his house, and he is invited to board. The train next station is the North Pole, and this is his chance to discover the answers. Along his journey, he will make new friendships and a lot of adventures before he wakes up in his bed.

8.Bad Santa This comedy with dark humour is about the Bad

Santa that is spending time drinking and stealing things. After he gets a job as a Santa in the department store, he will try to rob the place. Thru his life, Willie is a lousy person, hard-drinking,

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smoking, angry on kids. His life will change after he met a girl of his dreams and Thurman, the boy living without parents, that needs the father idol. Despite that Willie is not a perfect person for being a father, in the meantime, he develops kindness for the kid. Willie starts to protect him and to teach him.

7.Edward Scissorhands The story about the creature that looks terrified

at first look doesn’t seem like Christmas movie at all. In deep its romantic and heartbreaking story.

Edward is a lonely man crafted by electric inventor and instead of his hands has scissors. He is all the time locked away in the storage of the house.

This end, when a man from the neighbourhood randomly find him in a house and bring him to real life. He starts to be very useful as a gardener to cut the trees in artistic ways. One day falls in love with a local girl, and the story begins to grow up. Only one problem will complicate his life after he accidentally injured one young boy from street and people start to treat him as an enemy.

6. Jack Frost The musician who is trying to shine in his environ-

ment and provide a good quality of life for his wife Gabby and son Charlie. Promises are not made, and he will start to miss a lot of family events. Suddenly Jack dies in an accident just before Christmas and his son misses him very much. A year passed, and Charlie is building a snowman in the garden when something mysterious will happen.

Snowman will come to life with the spirit of his

Story

Mix Fix

stopped working and started to travel all around father. He has time until the snow will disappear the world, trying all the crazy things that never to complete all the things he promised to his son. tried before. The problem only happened when she discovered that machine was wrong and her 5.Last Christmas life is not anymore in danger, but her savings are A romantic story about unlucky singer Kate gone. This movie describing perfectly that mem{Daeneris from GoT} who doesn’t have a lot of ories are more than money and we were born luck in her life. She took a job as an elf in depart- naked and will die naked. ment Christmas shop. She has a bad life-threating illness that is making her very sad about life. 2. Elf Her friends and mother are anxious about her Will Ferrell stars in this Christmas comedy after all of this. After Christmas season is apknown as Elf. Buddy lives his whole life as a proaching, kate accidentally push into Tom in misfit Elf helping out Santa in the North Pole. the street. He is a volunteer in her life that will One day Buddy, who is taller and clumsier than inspire her to turn her life in a better way. Kate, the other Elves, realises he is not a real Elf and after all of this, cannot believe that suddenly luck decides to go out and search for his real dad. is on her side after meeting the love of her life.

Only knowing how his life was back at the North Pole, it was a massive change in his life when 4. Die-hard Buddy travelled to the big city of New York. His Finally, we have something different, an ac- journey is conveyed by hilarious humour when tion-comedy. John is a New York police officer Papa Elf has to explain to Buddy that the yellow who is hoping to spend his holiday time with his snow was not for eating, and the gum under the family and friends. Instead, he gets a lot of fight- railings was not free candy. This movie contains ing, bone-cracking and gun firing with the band comedy and romance and is suitable for all ages! of a terrorist. The German group of terrorist are trying to raid vault to steal money. John, as the 1. Home Alone most experienced officer in LAPD, must be in this Home Alone is the most popular Christmas mission. After all these fights, his last task will be movie of all time. A young boy that is accidentalto repair his troubled marriage. ly left home alone during the Christmas holiday.

The family has a lot of children, so sometimes it’s 3. Last Holiday hard to coordinate all of them. In the beginning, Latifah, as the main character, is a normal wom- Culkin loves to be alone after living in a house an working all her life and trying to play it safe, with 12 people but after all, he starts to regret saving money and live a normal life. While man- the situation and is scared. Two burglars target aging her health, she is mistakenly diagnosed by his home as the next treasure. Culkin will prepare a machine of cancer. At this moment she realises to defend tactics for his house and begin to fight that if she had only three months to live, she has against them. This film has something for every to make it as the best experience of her life. She age category, and that makes it more special.

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Renata Duirczak | 29 years old

Staying in Greece for 7 months until May 2020

Staying in Greece for 7 months until May 2020

Favourite topics are culture, travel, cinema

Favourite topics are economics, nature, sport

Ines Ribeiro | 21 years old

Felicia Vigliotti | 25 years old

Staying in Greece for 7 months until May 2020

Staying in Greece for 7 months until May 2020

Favourite topics are international politics, culture and human rights

Favourite topics are geopolitics, human rights, travel

Amanda Miteniece | 23 years old

Mario Urminsky | 22 years old

Staying in Greece for 7 months until May 2020

Staying in Greece for 7 months until May 2020

Favourite topics are arts, culture, travel, nature

Favourite topics are international conflicts, history, religious differences

Pablo Rubio | 24 years old

Sercan Yildirim | 25 years old

Staying in Greece for 7 months until May 2020

Staying in Greece for 2 months until January 2020

Favourite topics are culture, cinema, arts, fascinating stories

Favourite topics are culture, politics and nature

Astrid Vallet | 22 years old

Ibrahim Kurt | 24 years old

Staying in Greece for 6 months until March 2020

Staying in Greece for 2 months until January 2020

Favourite topics are culture, social issues, travel

Favourite topics are ecology, travel and human rights

Francesco Cirica | 28 years old

Mert Çalışkan | 25 years old

Staying in Greece for 12 months until January 2020

Staying in Greece for 2 months until January 2020

Favourite topics are cinema, art and literature

Favourite topics are nature and places he has visited

Guests

Elena Mullor | 23 years old

Alessandro Pantorno | 21 years old Peter Pal Parragi

Valerio Vagnoni

General Directors: Editors: Aristodimos Paraschou Amanda Miteniece Christian Cibba Astrid Vallet Graphic Designer: Alexandros Tagaridis Find us: www.balkanhotspot.org Usb_ngo.gr

Staying in Greece for 7 months until May 2020

A favourite topic is music

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.