https://svitac.org

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

Local volunteers: Eldar Bešić, Amna Balija, Aida Slomić

‘Weltwärts’ volunteers: Ada Gabriela Groneick, Paula Scholz

‘ESC’ volunteers: Pia Sophie Jonas, Canan Karahan

Projectreportnovember2024 (10)

Projectreportnovember2024 (9)

Projectreportnovember2024 (8)

Projectreportnovember2024 (7)

Projectreportnovember2024 (6)

Projectreportnovember2024 (5)

Projectreportnovember2024 (4)

Projectreportnovember2024 (3)

Projectreportnovember2024 (2)

Projectreportnovember2024 (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, our participants were hardworking and creative! They really tried their best in all the activities and helped each other! The snow made us especially happy; even though it didn’t last long, we still used that period for outdoor activities. Our annual New Year’s event is getting closer; the team and the participants started working on the program for the parents and friends. Our local volunteer Edna, a high school graduate, interviewed international volunteers on volunteering in general and social engagement. We must admit that when our working space is filled with smiling and joyful faces, we are at our happiest. 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 November. 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 rocks, stones and volcanoes, caterpillars, rhinos, cats; what fruits and vegetables we have in autumn, and how we should dress. The youngest participants enjoyed the creative part and modelling fun items (e.g. caterpillars, cats, parrots, sheep, clouds, clowns, hot chocolate cups, and a rhinoceros (nosorog) – as a symbol for the letter N). The group continued with practicing rhythms, rehearsing songs, and dance choreographies. The participants did short writing exercises, which included the Latin letters N, Nj, O, P, and R. They did warm-up exercises and yoga for children, and every Thursday they danced, did sports and practiced reading and listening to stories (Tomo the Curious Cat etc.). In the English, German, and Turkish language workshops they learned words related to greetings, clothes, aquatic animals and amphibians. 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 a Universal Children’s Day workshop when they talked about their rights to have a safe place to live, education, and family life.
    • Older group –  They discussed the following topics: tolerance, hate speech, misinformation, emotions, climate change, private schools (arguments for and against), and literature. 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 for the International Day against Fascism and Anti-Semitism when they discussed how hate speech can affect antifascist activists’ work and whether are there safe modes of communication on social networks.

ESC, WELTWARTS AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS’ PROGRAMMES

• In November, Svitac (Firefly in Bosnia) very much appreciated the collaboration with 4 international volunteers from Germany.
• Visa process has been started for four volunteers from Germany.
• Sending ESC and ‘Weltwärts’ – Four volunteers from Bosnia are doing their service in Germany, Belgium and Poland (4-12 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.
• Svitac’s (Firefly in Bosnia’s) staff attended contact-making seminar in Gaziantep, Türkiye. The main objective of the seminar was to connect youth workers and encourage the development of collaborative projects and initiatives by providing opportunities for participants to discuss common goals, share best practices, and explore potential partnerships. 50 participants from Program countries and Partner Countries neighbouring the EU attended this event.
• Svitac’s (Firefly in Bosnia’s) staff met with Mrs. Emi Kulta, deputy ambassador of Finland. They talked about the current political situation in the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the challenges that young people face in these circumstances. They especially touched on topics such as: how to keep young people in our community, the fight against corruption, and the promotion of multi-ethnicity and common coexistence. This meeting represents another step towards strengthening dialogue and finding solutions to problems that affect our future. The meeting was also attended by representatives of NGOs Vermont and Proni.