Svitac (Firefly Bosnia) Project Report – October 2021

Staff: Gordana Varcaković, Dina Vošanović, Miloš Popić, Sanjin Vošanović

Local volunteers: Adin Midžić, Maja Keserović

‘Weltwärts’ volunteers: Nikolai Karl Pfeiffer, Rike Lea Stollenwerk

‘ESC’ volunteers: Emily Jade Posner, Siobhan Rosemary Coleman, Jara Madleen Schulze, Viktor Hüllmann                

 


 

ON-GOING PROGRAMME

  • Culture and Art Diversity around the World – Includes Language, Art&Crafts, Music, Drama, and Sports workshops from Monday to Friday (4-14)
    • Standard and Conversational Language workshops – English, German
      • I love English – English workshops for 15-30
      • “Lasstuns Deutsch sprechen!/Pričajmo njemački!“ (Let’s speak German) – German workshops for 15-30
    • Music workshops – samba, guitar for 15-30

    HIGHLIGHTS ON MONTH’S ACTIVITIES

    • This month was all about team building since 6 new international volunteers joined the local team. The team is very diverse, starting with personal profiles, ages and interests, but that is exactly the charm of our work – merging diversity and creating an inclusive space for everyone. After orientation training and settling up in a new environment, new team members began to effectively contribute to Svitac’s (Firefly Bosnia’s) daily activities with new ideas and the implementation of interesting educational workshops. International volunteers have been doing a lot of different daily activities and they focused on different things (e.g. supporting online activities, promotion of the organization through social media).
    • About 142 participants regularly attended Svitac’s (Firefly Bosnia’s) activities in October. Participants were aged between 4 and 30 years old. The youngest and the oldest participants attended Culture and Art Diversity around the World workshops and English/German conversational workshops.
      • Younger group – They did origami colourful hats and various animals, print with leaves and materials from nature, geometric drawing, proper use of scissors, the letters A / B / C / Ć / Č and words starting on one of these letters. They also made decorations for Halloween (pumpkins, bats and little ghosts), and learned about bats (where they live, what they eat and their hearing abilities). In the English, German and Turkish language workshops they learned words related to autumn and clothing items (boot, jacket, hat, and coat). In the Music Workshops, they learned the song „We went to Africa“, danced and learned choreography. Participants also had a chance to play some musical instruments (keyboard, triangle, and trumpet). All workshops are implemented with an educational visual method with pictures and video; the goal of informal educational workshops is to develop creativity, memory, motor skills, empathy, socialization and tolerance for diversities. Highlight with the younger group was the creative and educational workshop for The International Day of Non-Violence when they said what makes us superheroes in our local community and how we can be better citizens fighting against violence.
      • Older group –  They discussed the following topics: cultural differences between Germany and Bosnia, differences between the teaching of Economics in BiH and England, music and various genres and myths and legends. In this way, we want to provide young people with a safe and neutral space, where they can express their opinions and express positive and negative emotions, without fear of condemnation. In the Language Workshops, the group worked on practising everyday communication, using verbs in the past tense, and learned the public transport vocabulary and how to buy a ticket. The highlight with the older group was making shots, composing and recording classical guitar for the Firefly International Gala event.

EVS/ESC, WELTWARTS AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS’ PROGRAMMES

  • In October, Svitac (Firefly Bosnia) very much appreciated the collaboration with 6 Weltwärts and EVS/ESC volunteers from UK and Germany.
  • Visa process has been started for six weltwärts and EVS/ESC volunteers from Germany and UK.
  • Sending EVS/ESC and ‘Weltwärts’ – Seven volunteers from Bosnia are doing their service in Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, Greece and Poland (2 – 12 months).

MEETINGS and PRESENTATIONS

  • Svitac’s (Firefly Bosnia’s) staff continued to attend regular monthly meetings with the youth centre coordinator and the other NGOs based in Brčko. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss conditions and schedules for the continuation of centre activities.
  • Svitac’s (Firefly Bosnia’s) participate as a partner in the Youth Council Alliances through the project “RETHINKING YOUTH: The Future in our Hands”. Nine organizations from Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania and Spain will cooperate to construct strong cores of local youth groups. The project aims to strengthen the core of the majority and emphasize activities of social inclusion. The project began in October with an international conference when partner organisations were presented by young members of their organisation.
  • Svitac’s (Firefly Bosnia’s) representatives attended consultations “Support for organizations active in the European Solidarity Corps Programme in the Western Balkans” organised by SALTO South East Europe Resource Centre in Bar, Montenegro. Consultations aimed to bring partners together to exchange relevant news, to support each other in designing and implementing quality ESC projects, to get help and support for challenges and dilemmas, to act properly in the new circumstances (new programme period with a changed way of functioning – priorities, lead role etc.) and to further create a strong community of active ESC organisations in the WB. The main focus was on experiential learning through simulations concrete examples – good practice from a project partner, how to start/how to continue engagement in ESC, support to quality in ESC (how to set it up, to maintain it) and conflict management.
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