2016 Impact Report

IMPACT REPORT GLOW AND YMLP

A summary of the impact GLOW and YMLP made in Macedonia in the 2016 calendar year.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Executive Summary ______________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Vision Statements ________________________________________________________________________________________ 2 Clubs Overview ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 3 Camp Overview __________________________________________________________________________________________ 6 First Degree Impact ______________________________________________________________________________________ 9 Second Degree Impact __________________________________________________________________________________ 11 Highlights ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13 Looking Ahead __________________________________________________________________________________________ 14 YMCA Bitola _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 15

Campers at YMLP line up for morning meeting

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Executive Summary YMCA Bitola YMCA Bitola works with young people in their personal development of body, mind and spirit by providing opportunities that nurture their responsibility, stimulate their creativity and celebrate the diversity of all God's creations.

Clubs GLOW and YMLP Clubs are long-standing youth-led Clubs housed in diverse communities around Macedonia. The Clubs around the country provide an opportunity for young men and women to become leaders in their communities. These youth are often GLOW or YMLP Camp alumni who, through GLOW and YMLP Club activities, are able to apply what they have learned at Camp about leadership and civic engagement in their communities. Clubs hold two monthly meetings and are responsible for one community service project each academic semester.

Camps YMLP and GLOW Camps engage high school youth from all over the country in a week-long program aimed at developing their self-esteem, civic engagement, and leadership skills. The mission of the Camps is to motivate and empower youth to go back into their communities as leaders. In this report, the extent to which Camps have achieved these goals will be outlined through data collected from Camp alumni.

Impact The impact of GLOW and YMLP can be measured in two distinct ways: first-hand impact and second-hand impact. First-hand impact can be considered the direct effect of the programs on youth participants. Second- hand impact is defined as the effect youth have on their community using the skills and motivations they acquire in the program. These effects are measured in two distinct ways: a survey of Camp alumni and an assessment of Club-completed service projects.

Looking Ahead A major focus of YMLP and GLOW Camps and Clubs in 2017 will be furthering our goals of diversity, accessibility, standardization, and sustainability. Specific objectives include empowering HCN staff, increasing cultural and regional diversity, standardizing core curriculums and methodology between leadership teams, widening the scope of volunteerism and public service among program participants, and increasing accessibility and inclusivity of the programs to reach a wider audience of youth of Macedonia. By reaching these targets, we will ensure that GLOW and YMLP Camps and Clubs will have the largest possible impact.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Vision Statements YMCA Bitola YMCA Bitola is Đ° respected local organization that provides opportunities which empower young people to meet the ever-changing future with greater courage, wisdom and love.

GLOW and YMLP Clubs GLOW and YMLP Clubs in Macedonia empower youth to start and maintain locally -oriented leadership clubs in their community. With a strong commitment to equality and diversity, GLOW and YMLP clubs focus on important aspects of community development; including youth leadership, civic engagement and volunteerism, environmentalism, and personal development. Local GLOW and YMLP clubs prepare and propel youth to cultivate their leadership skills so that they may become the leaders in their homes, schools, communities, and in the world.

GLOW Camp The mission of GLOW, or Girls Leading Our World, is to develop the inherent potential found in the young women of Macedonia by providing them with the skills and knowledge necessary to become active leaders in their communities. This is accomplished through experiential education that celebrates diversity, builds academic and social competencies, and promotes English language literacy, leadership, teamwork, problem solving, and creative expression. Make sure that it is the latest version of the mission and goals/objectives of GLOW. Same as for YMLP below.

YMLP Camp The Young Men’s Leadership Project (YMLP) seeks to develop the core values of social inclusion, commitment to democratic processes, and civic engagement in the emerging leaders of Macedonia in an inter-cultural environment, while providing participants with the personal and professional life skills that will make them effective and responsible citizens.

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YMLP Club Struga at their first meeting

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Clubs Overview CLUB SUMMARY Clubs are local spaces for youth to empower youth and foster leadership in communities around Macedonia. They are created and led by youth who usually have attended either GLOW or YMLP Camp or would like to attend either Camp in the future. The leaders apply the skills they have learned at Camp in their home communities. Clubs are a space where youth can deepen their knowledge of YMLP and GLOW core values, and share what they are passionate about with other youth in their communities. Leaders and members work together to choose topics for each meeting, which are held at least twice a month.

• Total number of YMLP/GLOW Clubs: 24 •

Average membership per Club, 2016 cumulative: 10

•

New Clubs Started in 2017: 11

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016

YMLP CLUBS

GLOW CLUBS

7

17

TOTAL MEMBERSHIP (end of year)

86

256

TOTAL MEMBERSHIP (beginning of year)

12

153

AVERAGE MEMBERSHIP PER CLUB (end of year)

12

15

+74

+103

+5

+6

NUMBER OF CLUBS

Δ MEMBERSHIP Δ CLUBS

CLUB MENTORS Club mentors are people in the community who are dedicated to assisting the youth of the GLOW and YMLP Clubs in planning activities and moving forward with the curriculum. Mentors must be at least 19 years old and speak English. Clubs may be mentored by a Peace Corps Volunteer, a Host Country National, or a pair of the two. Clubs in the same community may have the same mentor.

• •

18 Peace Corps Volunteers 11 Host Country Nationals

IMPACT OF CAMPS ON CLUBS •

New Clubs resulting from the 2016 Camp cycle: 5

•

Number of Camp Alumni who increased or started participation in a GLOW or YMLP Club after Camp: 52*

•

Campers who became a Club Leader after Camp: 19

•

Campers who co-started a new Club in their community after Camp: 13

*Based on survey with 46% response rate of 2016 Campers

ANALYSIS

GLOW and YMLP Clubs have gone through a period of unprecedented growth in the last year. This holds particularly true when considering the number of new Clubs that began in September 2016 as a direct result of Camp. Clubs almost doubled in size in 2016, with 5/11 of those new Clubs starting in September.

We find this consistent with the growth in popularity of GLOW and YMLP nationwide. We also attribute this growth to Club informational sessions held at Camp this year.

Average membership of Clubs has also increased in 2016, proving not only the increase of popularity of GLOW and YMLP on the national level, but also the increased strength of existing Clubs in communities with established Clubs. We find the accelerated growth of GLOW Clubs in relation to YMLP Clubs consistent with the greater recognition of GLOW Camp over YMLP Camp, as well as a longer standing

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 relationship between GLOW Clubs and GLOW camp. Recognition of GLOW in Macedonia can be accounted for by its longevity in the country; as it is older than YMLP. Geographically, Clubs are currently exclusively found in major cities. This makes sense given that in cities there is a larger general English knowledge among youth, more resources, and greater exposure to the GLOW and YMLP institution. Currently 16 cities have GLOW or YMLP Clubs, 7 of those cities are able to sustain both a GLOW and YMLP Club, with Skopje as the outlier with 2 GLOW Clubs and 1 YMLP Club.

Regionally, we find our Clubs consistent with GLOW and YMLP with minor outliers. There are no Clubs in the Vardar Region, despite 9% and 18% attendance at GLOW and YMLP Camps respectively. Other outliers include the Polog region, which has significantly more Clubs than would be predicted by GLOW Camp attendance, and the Southwest region, which has significantly fewer Clubs than would be predicted by YMLP Camp attendance.

Regionally, goals for 2017 include development of the Vardar region, especially in Veles and the Kavadarci-Negotino area. We also hope to expand YMLP Clubs into all the existing communities where GLOW Clubs currently exist. This may be done through the creation of gender inclusive “Camp Clubs� where one Club serves all youth in a community. This will be especially significant in smaller communities, where membership and leadership pools are limited. Ideally, these joint Clubs will transition into two fully formed GLOW and YMLP Clubs as the program increases in popularity. This concept is currently being tested in Gevgelija.

As Clubs grow, a major goal is to increase the ratio of Host Country Nationals (HCN) to Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) in the area of Club mentors. At this stage in the national development of Clubs, we find the current ratio of HCN to PCV mentors acceptable, but looking forward, we hope to have 40% HCN mentorship make up by the end of 2017.

Finally, it is clear from the data that Club expansion greatly benefits from presence at Camps. In the upcoming year, we expect the anticipated increased presence of Club representatives at both Camps will only strengthen this trend.

GLOW Club Struga at their service project with Poraka Nova

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Camp Overview CAMP SUMMARY Organized by Peace Corps Volunteers under parent organization YMCA-Bitola, Camps provide youth with an opportunity to come together for 8 days during the summer months in order to make new friends, participate in discussion-based courses on global issues, and develop leadership skills opposite order: leadership, discussion and friends. Through the core curriculum at Camp GLOW, youth learn and talk about civic engagement and responsibility, leadership, volunteerism, women’s empowerment, and environmentalism. YMLP Camp’s core curriculum includes content on civic responsibility, democracy, leadership, personal development, and environmentalism. Both camps teach these subjects in and out of the classroom.

Campers attend core classes from early morning to mid-afternoon, participating in other activities, and attending their choice in electives afterwards, while also spending time in their community teams in their cabins or campsites, or by the campfire in the evening. Several nights of Camp GLOW are spent outdoors, where Campers learn to set up tents and increase their comfort in the wilderness while all campers at YMLP spend every night of Camp sleeping in tents. Additionally, GLOW Campers spent one of their days at Camp working on a service project that gives back to the community where Camp takes place, Shula Mina in Krusevo. This is the first time a service project was completed at Camp, and the initiative will be spread to YMLP in the upcoming 2017 camp cycle.

Part of the mission of Camp is to send youth back into their communities with more confidence, skills, and a greater interest to engage in society.

CAMPER DEMOGRAPHICS

# YMLP

%YMLP

#GLOW

%GLOW

67

100%

80

100%

≤14

1

1%

1

1%

15-16

30

46%

34

43%

17-18

32

48%

45

56%

≥19

4

5%

0

0%

MACEDONIAN

59

88%

68

85%

ALBANIAN

5

7%

8

10%

ROMA

0

0%

0

0%

TOTAL CAMPERS AGE

ETHNICITY

VLACH

1

1%

3

4%

TURKISH

1

1%

0

0%

OTHER

1

1%

1

1%

CITY

59

88%

73

91%

VILLIAGE

8

%

7

9%

GEOGRAPHICAL DIVERSITY

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 EASTERN REGION

15

22%

22

28%

NORTHEASTERN REGION

3

4%

2

3%

PELAGONIA REGION

9

13%

13

16%

POLOG REGION

12

18%

1

1%

SKOPJE REGION

10

15%

8

10%

SOUTHEASTERN REGION

6

9%

13

16%

SOUTHWESTERN REGION

0

0%

14

18%

VARDAR REGION

12

18%

7

9%

ANALYSIS

Girls Leading our World (GLOW) and Young Men’s Leadership Program (YMLP) draw campers (ages 15-18) from every region of the country, from cities in the Southeastern region to small villages in the Polog region. Interestingly, the highest turnout of campers for both Camps came from the Eastern Region, even though the population of the Republic of Macedonia is most concentrated in the Skopje region (state statistical office). The lowest turnout for YMLP Camp was from the Southwestern region, whereas for GLOW, the lowest turnout was from the Polog region. This is also inconsistent with population data, as the least heavily populated region of Macedonia is considered to be the Vardar Region (state statistical office).

Based on the 2016 Camps, 85% of GLOW and 88% of YMLP Campers were from Macedonian families, while 7% and 10%, respectively, are from Albanian families. According to the 2002 census, ethnic Macedonians make up 64.2% of the population, while ethnic Albanians account for 25.2% of the population (state statistical office). Although we hypothesized that camper demographics would not exactly reflect the ethnic make up of the country due to cultural differences, where some parents may be less willing to send their children to Camp, a 7% and 10% Albanian representation in GLOW and YMLP respectively is lower than we had hoped. For the 2017 Camps, there will be greater outreach efforts to increase the amount of non-Macedonian Campers, allowing for a higher diversity at Camp.

The data revealed that most campers are from cities. Of the 2016 GLOW campers, 91% of girls were from cities, while 88% of the 2016 YMLP campers were from cities. This trend may be explained by the increased presence of youth in cities. Since English is prerequisite of Camp, there are more opportunities to speak English in cities than villages. Another reason for this trend may be due to the presence of more Peace Corps Volunteers in cities rather than villages, which may mean outreach and recruitment is done more often in cities. For the upcoming year, both GLOW and YMLP Camps aim to reach out to and recruit more youth from smaller communities.

The number of camper applications received for both GLOW and YMLP far exceed the available spots at each Camp, indicating the nationwide popularity of the program. Furthermore, the significant increase in the number of applications received in the 2016 recruitment cycle shows that the popularity of Camps is growing. The growth trend here is consistent with the growth of GLOW and YMLP Clubs in country, confirming the strong interconnectivity between Camps and Clubs.

The large number of staff applications received suggests that the Camps are moving towards sustainability. Many campers find ways of returning to Camp once they complete the program. If they are under 18, they often return again as campers or as Counselors-In-Training. Once they are over the age of 18, former Campers apply for leadership positions. This trend is the kind of continuity that will ensure long7

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 term sustainability, where the goal is for Camps to eventually be entirely managed by Host Country Nationals. The above data suggests that we are on our way to accomplishing that goal.

Campers at GLOW do a teambuilding activity

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 First Degree Impact GLOW and YMLP make significant and measurable contributions to the community in multiple ways. The first is through first degree impact, which refers to the impact that GLOW and YMLP make directly on their beneficiaries, or the youth who attend the program. This impact can be in the form of skill transfer, knowledge gained, English language skills, confidence or leadership. Below is an exploration of that impact.

CAMP SUMMARY

MEMBER SELF EVALUATION Responses: • GLOW: 36, 45% • YMLP: 37, 55%

• • • •

97% of Campers say that THEIR SELF-ESTEEM has increased since Camp.

93% of Campers say that they have improved LEADERSHIP SKILLS since Camp.

77% of Campers say that they SPEAK ENGLISH more since Camp.

53% of Campers say that they have PARTICIPATED IN THEIR COMMUNITY MORE since Camp.

When Campers were asked about the skills they gained from Camp the most popular answers were: • Leadership • Self-Confidence • Teamwork • Communication • Public Speaking

CLUB SUMMARY WORKSHOPS DONE BY CLUBS* TOTAL WORKSHOPS COMPLETED

TOTAL ATTENDENCE

Leadership and Personal responsibility

32

325

Civic Society

15

188

Environmentalism

10

140

Arts and Culture

7

54

TOPIC

9

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Gender Studies

21

249

Health and Nutrition

18

111

*Includes workshops done in 2016 on core curriculum** subjects. **Core curriculum subjects as defined for the 2016 year

ANALYSIS

Nearly half of the GLOW alumni and more than half of the YMLP alumni participated in a post-Camp survey which looked at the impact of Camp on participants’ self-esteem, leadership skills, English language skills, and community participation. Most notably, the data reflects the Camps’ large impact on participants’ self-esteem and leadership skills with over 90% of alumni reporting an improvement in these areas postCamp. The reason these numbers are this high is likely due to the Camps’ extensive focus on building these particular skills among campers, suggesting that Camps have successfully accomplished this goal.

Over three-quarters of respondents indicated that they sought out more opportunities to speak English after Camp. English language skills are a secondary goal of Camp, one that is natural given participants spend a whole week speaking their second or, in some cases, third or fourth language, day and night. campers reporting that they speak English more after Camp may indicate that campers are interacting more with people from diverse backgrounds post-Camp than they were pre-Camp.

Secondary to personal development, the Camps’ mission is to produce alumni who are active citizens in their communities. Over half of the respondents reported increasing their volunteer activities upon completion of Camp. It is possible that this number is not higher because of a self-selection bias among youth who apply to and attend Camp. As the selection process is competitive, campers who get selected tend to already be heavily involved in their communities.

Although we recognize that there may also be a self-selection bias in the campers who chose to respond to the survey, we believe that the above reported numbers would not change significantly if we had participation from all alumni.

First-hand impact of Clubs is more challenging to measure because of the nature of Clubs’ sometimestransient member base, and the difficulty of surveying beneficiaries.

However, it is clear through the workshops implemented through Clubs, that Club members and attendees are receiving meaningful programming based off the Camp curriculum, which has been successful.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Second Degree Impact Second degree impact refers to the impact made to local communities throughout Macedonia by youth who acquired the necessarily skills to do so through the GLOW or YMLP program. We explore the measurable impact made on communities primarily through service projects done in the community.

SERVICE PROJECTS BY CLUBS SUMMARY • • •

Service projects conducted- 18 Total hours served by YMLP and GLOW Clubs: 383 Service Impact: • People served: 63 Beneficiaries • Square meters of the environment cleaned/protected: 21,000m2

PROJECT

TOTAL HOURS

CLUB

MEMBER PARTICIPATION

IMPACT

Gevgelia GLOW

Ajde Makedonija Clean Up

9

3

4,500 m2

Gostivar YMLP

Ajde Makedonija Clean Up

15

3

2,000 m2

Kichevo GLOW

Ajde Makedonija Clean Up

10

3

5,000 m2

Kochani GLOW

Ajde Makedonija Clean Up

5

2

1,500 m2

Kochani YMLP Ajde Makedonija Clean Up Kriva Palanka GLOW Rancovce School Drama Project Prilep GLOW Red Cross Week of Hunger Skopje AC GLOW Ajde Makedonija Clean Up Skopje NOVA GLOW Borka Breast Cancer Awareness Skopje YMLP Civic Infrastructure Awareness Stip GLOW Daily Center for Autism

4 11 17

2 2 4

* 37 Beneficiaries Public Awareness, 75 Euro

7 10 5 11

2 1 3 4

1,000 m2 Public Awareness Public Awareness 11 Beneficiaries

Stip YMLP Struga GLOW Vinica GLOW Vinica YMLP

11 9 11 4

3 3 2 2

5,000 m2 15 Beneficiaries 2,500 m2 *

Ajde Makedonija Clean Up Poraka Nova Donation Drive Ajde Makedonija Clean Up Ajde Makedonija Clean Up

*Service project done in conjunction with Club above

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 VOLUNTEERISM BY CAMP ALUMNI OUTSIDE OF CLUBS • • •

Camp alumni who regularly volunteer in their communities: 53* Campers who started volunteering regularly after Camp: 35* Organizations Camp alumni volunteer with include: Red Cross, American Corner, HERA, YMCA Bitola, Youth Council, Apollonia Foundation, Poraka Nova, Info Sega, Kreaktiv, Go Green, Scouts, CISV International, Youth Educational Forum

*Based on survey with 46% response rate of 2016 Campers

ANALYSIS

All GLOW and YMLP Clubs are required to complete one service project per each 5-month period of their programming. This past year was the first year that a service project has been a requirement for Clubs, when in previous years, service projects were completed by some Clubs around the country only according to local interest. We found Club performance in this area to surpass initial expectations, while still providing ample room for improvement. More than half of Clubs successfully completed service projects. Clubs which started in late 2016 were faced with organizational challenges that impaired their ability to successfully complete projects. Of the projects completed, we found the majority of them appropriate and impactful.

A survey of Camp alumni revealed that a strong value of service is found among Camp alumni regardless of their involvement in a local Club. The survey results identified 15 organizations around Macedonia where alumni from both Camps have volunteered within the past year as a direct result of the skills and motivation they learned at Camp this year. In this next year we plan to assist motivated Camp alumni and local Clubs to connect with organizations around the country so that they are better able to serve their communities in the future.

In the upcoming year, we plan to focus the majority of our time and effort on increasing guidance for local Clubs on how to successfully plan and implement a community service project on the local level.

Topics in this new series of modules will include how to launch a needs-based community assessment, how to calculate scope of a project according to your available resources and time, as well as general training on project planning skills. One way we hope to communicate this information to our Clubs is to implement a service project planning module into the Camps GLOW and YMLP programming this year that will later be expanded upon through dispersed resources and additional meetings in communities.

GLOW Club Kichevo participates in the Ajde Makedonija Community Clean up 12

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Highlights USING YMLP TO GROW I think that all of the YMLP activity and class experiences have caused a full aspect development of my personality on a higher level. From new exciting sport activities for recreation, creative workshop hours for boosting imagination and open mindedness to valuable classes for developing leadership abilities, critical thinking and social activism, every moment of the Camp made an all-range improvement for me. – YMLP Camper 2016

SKOPJE GLOW CLUB WORKING HARD!

Skopje is yet another city that has been influenced by the amazing experience and opportunities that GLOW Clubs offer. By discussing topics like world cultures, goal-setting, feminism, the importance of voting, and clean water we provide the basic knowledge that every young person should have, and with workshops on team-building, board games, and a Halloween party we threw, GLOW provides an environment where girls can have fun and forge new friendships.

We have been focused on finding different guest speakers and events for youth, so that we engage our girls not just at the American Corner, where we hold our monthly meetings, but also in other environments, so they can network, meet new people, and learn new things. So far we have participated at events organized by The US Embassy and The Peace Corps having US diplomats, Peace Corps Volunteers, and professors from different fields share their experience with the girls. Additionally, we have had two meetings together with The YMLP Club, and are looking forward to more collaborations of the kind. – GLOW Club Skopje

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Looking Ahead GOALS OF YMLP AND GLOW

ANNUAL TARGETS 2017 CLUBS 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

New Clubs: 4 Club Retention Rate: 80% Average Club Attendance: 12 Members Successful service project rate: 60% 40% HCN representation in club mentorship 20% of clubs functioning in multi-cultural communities YMLP club members served in 50% of communities where clubs can be found Each geographically defined region of Macedonia represented by at minimum 1 club.

GLOW 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

HCN Camp Staff: 18 Camper Applicants: 270 Attending Campers: 80 Minority Representation: 20% Camp Scholarships: 1

GIRLS LEADING OUR WORLD

YMLP 6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

HCN Camp Staff: 11 Camper Applicants: 175 Attending Campers: 72 Returning Camper Rate: 20% Campers from New Communities: 7 Minority Representation: 25% Camp Scholarships: 5

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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 YMCA Bitola YMCA Bitola is a non-profit, nongovernmental, nonreligious and an inclusive youth association which aims to provide opportunities for local youth and to actively work with them in our community. YMCA Macedonia is a part of the YMCA family spread throughout 119 countries worldwide reaching over 58 million people. YMCA Bitola was established in May 2002.

The main goal of the Association is to provide activities and opportunities in the fields of non-formal education, promoting healthy lifestyles, arts and culture, and civil society that develop positive values and attitudes among young people.

We focus on activities of public interest: non-formal education, culture and art, healthy lifestyle, civil society and children's rights. We accomplish our activities through: trainings, seminars, workshops, camps, festivals, international study visits and other activities. We work on both local and international levels.

STAFF

VIKTOR ILIEV, President of YMCA Bitola, Director of YMLP and GLOW camps ELENA G. KOSTADINOVIKJ, Administration, finances and communication PAVLINA VELJANOVSKA, Project Coordinator (European Voluntary Service) TOSE IVANOVSKI, Project Coordinator (Implementation of the Convention of Children Rights in Macedonia)

MAJA IVKOVSKA, Project Assistant Coordinator JOVCHE KRSTESKI, Psychologist MARIJA ROBE and VASIL KOCEVSKI, Team Leaders DAVID STROUSE, Peace Corps Volunteer at YMCA Bitola Postal Address: str. General Vasko Karangelevski REMO 1/3/42 7000 Bitola, Macedonia Office Address: str. Petar Petrovic Njegosh 128/16 7000 Bitola, Macedonia +389 47 610 669

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