Sunday, 24 May 2009

Lia's article at Real News Newspaper regarding our experience at Via Egnatia Caravan Trail!!!

Saturday, 16th to Sunday, 17th of May 2009 Bitola - F.Y.R.O.M.

Via Egnatia Caraval trail reached Bitola on the weekend 16 to 17th of May. Another chance to visit my friend Neshad and his N.G.O. BIOSFERA BITOLA (info: http://www.biosfera.org.mk).

Tour around the city with wonderful architecture and Dragor river passing through:



























Bitola was the last stop for the painting activity of Via Egnatia foundation (info: http://www.viaegnatiafoundation.eu):


Heraclea Lyncestis:

Thursday, 30th April 2009 to Monday, 4th May 2009 Via Egnatia Caravan Trail - Albania

Starting on Wednesday afternoon from Thessaloniki with Albatrans: http://albatrans.com.al) we arrived early on Thursday morning at Durres. During the eleven hour journey, with a two hour stop at the Greek and Albanian customs, we experienced various incidents with our co-travelers. Arriving in Durres we realized that people get up early enough to have a cup of coffee before getting to work. So did us! At the coffee shop there this postcard 'SHQIPERIA NE NATO - This is a miracle of Freedom' among others for free…

Via Egnatia Foundation welcomed us at the Venetian tower of Durres, where now hosts the bar “La Torra” and Mr Neritan Ceka, archaeologist and leader of the Democratic Alliance Party (son of the “father of archeology” Mr Hasan Ceka) gave a lecture on Via Egnatia in Albania. The team included: Dutch, Brits, Americans, Croats, Slovenians, Bulgarians FYROMians and Greeks. Later on we visited the archaeological museum of Durres. Our night stop was in Peqin where we made our camp inside the Roman castle. Rain had started some hours before.

Friday, 1st of May after bargaining, Via Egnatia Foundation became the owner of 4 donkeys that would from that day and on carry our luggage & tents. Walking on foot from Peqin we followed at the beginning the railway line, made a stop at Lazarei for lunch, passed the bridge of Shkumbin River, went through Grykshi village (where we photographed what the people called “The Greek Duck”) and ended up at Broshka village. Everywhere you could see bunkers used nowadays as storing places or houses for the animals. At that day rain was scarce and the night was beautiful enough to set up a singing fiesta with all the local people gathered around us! They even prepared Bureks for us the next morning!

Saturday, 2nd of May we left Broshka village, went through Valsi and then following the road we reached Cerriku and made a stop at the water pump installation the Russians built in 1952. Next stop was Muriqani village for lunch and then walking mostly at the edge of Shkumbin river we started approaching Elbasan. One of the most interesting things was to walk by the river and explore the bank (shore) works! Just two hours before our arrival heavy rain and hail made us totally wet and our donkeys asinine enough to stop moving…Finally, we reached Elbasan and ‘Imperial’ hotel.

Sunday, 3rd of May we visited Bradashesh, just outside Elbasan were the ruins of Roman baths are found and later on walked around Elbasan to visit the fortress that is used as a multi-activities center including a restaurant (!). In the afternoon the painting activity of Via Egnatia Foundation took place at the central pedestrian street.

Monday, 4th of May the Greek team decided to depart and returned back to Thessaloniki. More info about the project at Via Egnatia Foundation site: http://www.viaegnatiafoundation.eu/ & Via Egnatia Foundation Blog: http://vef2009review.wordpress.com/

Thursday, 23 April 2009 / Olympos Karpathos / Greece

2nd workshop “The Karpathos – Saria protected area and the significance of the Management Agency*”, where MEDITERRANEAN SOS Network was invited to present last year’s volunteer work program.

The volunteer work program of summer 2008 at local newspaper:


* of the Northern Karpathos, Saria and the surrounding marine area / NATURA 2000 Network – code GR4210003

Friday, 13th March to Sunday, 15th March 2009 / Amsterdam (NL)

The makeITfair campaign (info: http://makeitfair.org/) is a European awareness raising project that focuses on the social and environmental problems that arise within the electronic products cycle.

On 13th to 15th of March a Youth Round Table was successfully organized!

Friday 13 March 2009 at Heineken Brewery

Opening

- Theatrical sketch by Waterlanders - (info: http://www.myspace.com/waterlanders)

- MakeITfair song by Emiel Jurjens aka rapper El D - (listen live: http://www.myspace.com/alecjweatherwood)

- First hand experiences shared by:

Juna Yimprasert - Thai Labour Campaign (TLC) - Thailand (info: http://www.thailabour.org/)

Cecilia V. Tuico - Workers Assistance Centre (WAC) – Philippines (info: http://www.wacphilippines.com/)
- Documentary on Congo’s tin mines

Journeyman Pictures - DRC - Grand Theft Congo - 15min 40sec - 4 July 2005 (Ref: 2705) (info: http://www.journeyman.tv/?lid=18683) or: ‘Grand Theft Congo – DRC’ at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1FQmUQ1-mM

Saturday 14 March at Art A08 (info: http://www.A08.nl)

- Workshops

Cornelia Heydenreich & Esther De Haan ‘Shareholder activism’

Tim Steinweg ‘ProcureITfair’ (info: http://procureitfair.org/)
Juna Yimprasert ‘Empowering workers in the South’

Tom Dowdall ‘Greenpeace International’ (info: http://www.greenpeace.org/electronics & http://www.greenpeace.org/climateleaders)

- Examples from Dutch Youth Organizations:

1) Time to Turn organization (info: http://www.timetoturn.nl/) - a freeze action, to ask attention for injustice in the production chain of cellphones / watch it live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87dWx6DXrwg

2) KrachtvanCongo organization (info: www.KrachtvanCongo.nl) – watch live the Clean Call for Congo project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJMtYGgL-lw

- MakeITfair campaign in Finland by Repu - Pro Fair Trade Finland (info: http://www.repu.fi/en / http://www.makeitfair.fi / http://reilukauppa.fi / http://www.fairtradeaction.net) & Changemaker Youth network Finland (info: http://www.changemaker.fi/)

- Stijn Otten ‘How to get funding for your make IT fair project’ (Vice-president/International Affairs Dutch National Youth Council

- Discussion with Mike Loch

Director EHS Strategic Initiatives of Motorola &
Vice President of Global e-Sustainability Initiative - GeSI (info: http://www.gesi.org)
interesting: Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) group of companies (info: http://www.eicc.info/) & Electronic Industry Code of Conduct - (info: http://www.eicc.info/code.html)

- Brainstorming (or else more correctly Thought-showering) with Ronald van Es & Maia Wouterse from the Dutch National Youth Council

Sunday 15 March 2009 at Filmmuseum (info: http://www.filmmuseum.nl)

THE AIM: TO RAISE AWARENESS ON SOCIAL & ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

THAT ARISE WITHIN THE ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS CYCLE

The whole weekend live from Matthijs de Raad (GGTV):

makeITfair Youth Round Table 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onIoMlZX66k

& in short: makeITfair Youth Round Table 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKuxUYzY-g0

Many thanks to Ginney (Programme Officer makeITfair Youth Round Table), All the Youth from Morgen - www.studentenvoormorgen.nl & the Dutch National Youth Council - http://www.jeugdraad.nl/, Esther De Haan & Irene Schipper (SOMO - http://somo.nl/), Cornelia Heydenreich (Germanwatch – http://www.germanwatch.org), Monika Matus (KARAT – http://www.karat.org), Annika Torstensson (Fair Trade Center Sweden - http://www.fairtradecenter.se/), Päivi Pöyhönen (FinnWatch - http://www.finnwatch.org/) Pauline Overeem (GoodElectronics - http://goodelectronics.org/) and last but not least Gerry our Inspiratrice (http://www.metgerry.nl)

Organizations participated:

Vlaamse Jeugdraad - http://www.vlaamsejeugdraad.be/

INEX- Association for Voluntary Activities (SDA) - http://www.inexsda.cz/

Together Czech Republic - http://www.together.cz/

MS Action Aid - http://www.ms.dk/

Federation of Young European Greens - http://www.fyeg.org/

Aegee Europe - http://www.karl.aegee.org/

Global Education Network of Young Europeans (GLEN) http://www.glen-europe.org

Janun e.V. http://www.janun.de / (Projekt: Konsum Global – http://www.Konsum-Global.de)

Mediterranean SOS Network – MedSOS – http://www.medsos.gr

International Cultural Youth Exchange Germany - http://www.icye.org/

Move Your World - http://www.moveyourworld.nl/

Amavet – http://www.amavet.sk

Swedish Red Cross Youth - http://www.rkuf.se/

Chalmers Students for Sustainability - http://css.chs.chalmers.se/

Rättviseakademin (Swedish Cooperative Centre, SCC) - http://www.rattviseakademin.se/

Funky Dragon - http://www.funkydragon.org/

Support worker UK / Zwiazek / Club "The House" / German Greens / UK Youth Ambassadors

Sunday, 8th March 2009 Bicycle rally for Şeyh su

Bicycle rally against road works at ‘Şeyh su (Sheikh’s water)’ or ‘1000 trees’ forest of the city of thessaloniki – video posted by bikerespect (best of): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5jY_3GFI1Q. Everything about the road works and the people involved @ (in Greek): http://forestsos.wordpress.com/

More videos on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrEU6krvhD0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nf1jK1zenE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPekYd3L4sk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3zvBLur6GY&feature=related

Articles (in Greek):

Various Movements in Thessaloniki:

http://thesskinisis.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/ποδηλατοπορεία-και-πεζοπορεία-για-το/

GreenAttack: http://green-attack.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post.html

Ecogreens: http://ecogreensalonika.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/seixsou-podhlatoporeia/

Ecology – salonika: http://ecology-salonika.org/lib/?p=3258

Saturday, 21st February / Thessaloniki

SMSofYOUTH 2009 for environment

SMSofYOUTH 2009 for environment is a new initiative of the Hellenic Youth Council (known in Greece with the acronym ESYN). Playing with the words, SMS stands for Important Messages – Targets in Greek and this year is focused on environment and especially on recycling and water saving. The campaign is taking place almost every week in a different town of Greece and wants to bring together all youth from the local youth councils and all the grown ups from the public sector working in environmental sectors. Yesterday it was held in Thessaloniki!

Watch live: http://www.smsofyouth.gr/