https://svitac.org

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

Local volunteers: Eldar Bešić, Amina Omerović, Teodora Krsmanović

‘Weltwärts’ volunteers: Jonathan Ludwig, Simon Müller

‘ESC’ volunteers: – 

Projectreportjanuary2024 (10)

Projectreportjanuary2024 (9)

Projectreportjanuary2024 (8)

Projectreportjanuary2024 (7)

Projectreportjanuary2024 (6)

Projectreportjanuary2024 (5)

Projectreportjanuary2024 (4)

Projectreportjanuary2024 (3)

Projectreportjanuary2024 (2)

Projectreportjanuary2024 (1)

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 THE MONTH’S ACTIVITIES

  • This month we had a bit of snow for quite a while and our participants used that opportunity to have activities in the park and have fun in the snow. The festive mood continued throughout the month because January is a month full of holidays (public and private ones). School started again in the second half of the month, so all activities returned to their normal schedule. 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 in Bosnia’s) activities in January. 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 talked about friendship, desert and polar animals, the term “camouflage” and why the fur of polar animals is white. The youngest participants enjoyed the creative part and modelling fun items (e.g. mini theatre scene, peacocks, migratory birds, and aliens made of colourful decorative paper, feathers, and wooden sticks). The group continued with music workshops, practicing rhythms, rehearsing songs, and a new dance choreography. The participants continued to learn the Latin alphabet practising writing the letters E, F, G, H, I and J. They did warm-up exercises and yoga for children, and every Thursday they danced, did sports and practiced reading and listening to stories (Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and The Emperor’s New Clothes). In the English, German, and Turkish language workshops they learned words related to hobbies, school equipment, winter clothes, playground and sports. All workshops are implemented with an educational visual method with pictures and video; informal educational workshops aim to develop creativity, memory, motor skills, empathy, socialization, and tolerance for diversities. The highlight with the younger group was the workshop for International Education Day when they talked about the importance of having an education and going to school.
    • Older group –  They discussed the following topics: culture diversities, friendships, alternative education (Waldorf, Montessori schools), and the influence of influencers on young people. 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, reading and translating short texts, phrases, grammar, school homework, and interesting projects. The highlight with the older group was the workshop on social media when they discussed how much and in what way social media affects their daily lives.

ESC, WELTWARTS AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS’ PROGRAMMES

• In January, Svitac (Firefly in Bosnia) very much appreciated the collaboration with 2 Weltwärts volunteers from Germany.
• Sending ESC and ‘Weltwärts’ – Four volunteers from Bosnia are doing their service in Germany, Turkey and France (2-12 months).

MEETINGS and PRESENTATIONS

• Svitac’s (Firefly in 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.