From 15th till 26th of August this year, 30 young people coming from Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Greece, Macedonia and Bulgaria, will gather in the magical mountain of Sharr in the south of Kosovo…
During these 10 days, we will:
…learn and share about nature conservation
…explore the meaning and practise of coexistence with nature in rural areas,
…get to know the local community, customs, tradition and lifestyle, and living with seasons,
… explore biodiversity of Sharr mountain and benefits of cultural and natural diversity
… visit inspiring and protected natural and cultural places (monasteries, mosques, roman sites)
… learn about and from wilderness (herbs, other pants, animals, relations, fungi, human impact etc.)
…reflect on our role in this world (lifestyle, activism, ignorance…)
… experience living in a big diverse group in the mountains,
…enjoy, have fun and much more
Program & lifestyle
Program will be diverse, intensive and very much up to participants and we will be having sessions in the morning and afternoon, but also evening activities.
Frame of the program will be prepared by the group leaders, but participants are expected to contribute with their own ideas, skills, questions, suggestions, games, movies etc.
The main topic of the YE will be wilderness and our relation with it… It will be explored in different ways. At the end, we will work in small groups, which will be organized according to interest and ideas, ideally creating something very concrete for the end (a short video, exhibition, installation, blog…). We are expected to be as sustainable as possible, so food will be vegan with vegetarian option and mostly from local and seasonal products.
Location
The Youth Exchange will take place high in the mountains, in a motel situated in ski resort Brezovica, at 1750m above the sea level.
The village of Brezovica (Municipality of Strpce) is a small, with around 400 inhabitants, and is situated in the north-eastern part of the Sharr Mountains.
Sharr Mountains is oldest National park in Kosovo, and provides habitat for the lynx, bear, chamois, wolf, roe deer, wild boar, vultures and many plant species among which many are endemic and relict.
Requirements for participants:
Each partner organisation will choose 5 participants, among which one will be a group leader (which can be older than 30). Previous experience in international youth gatherings (exchanges, seminars, workcamps…) is not required nor advantage, but here are several points which will be taken into account:
- be interested in topics and willing to get prepared before the youth exchange
- be willing to disconnected virtually, but connected naturally
- be willing to live sustainably and in an international community in a remote place in the mountains for 10 days
- be ready for active participation and contribution
- be in the age between 18 and 30 (few exceptions possible for young people under 18; group leaders can be older than 30)
Practical conditions of participation
- accommodation and food will be covered through the project
- travel costs (only environmentally friendly means of transport) will be reimbursed after ALL ORIGINAL tickets are received
- visa costs will be fully covered
- internet will not be available, except for urgent (really urgent and important cases), so if you are supposed to write your thesis or cannot survive without Facebook, please do not consider applying
If you are interested in taking part in this Youth exchange send your application to office@volontiraj.rs before the 10th of July 2016.
Application form can be downloaded from application-form
