Registration, bank accounts and welcome lunch….that was 2 months ago when 4 european volunteers from 4 corners of Europe arrived in Kumanovo, Macedonia.
And now, only one week and a half before the final event, “Wow, already, the time has passed very fast”, I thought, ”and we have to present the results of our work here. Space: checked, MultiKulti social center. Date and time: we decided for Sunday 27th of November. Activities: we have them, photo exhibition, human library, and public debate.
We still had to decide on the name of the event and to promote it. “The second proposition sounds nice – Open doors, but open doors for what?”. What did we try to promote during our stay here? That’s an easy question: “Acceptance and tolerance” and “Rural development”, and 10 minutes later the decision was made: “Open doors for social inclusion”
At 3 o’clock the MultiKulti youth center opened its doors for the public. The photo exhibition contained photos taken by the kids from the Tabanovce refugee camp and photos showing portraits and initiatives of people that live in the rural areas. The “human books” shared their – not always happy – stories, activity followed by a very animated debate about migration and about the future of the rural areas in Macedonia.
We really enjoyed the time spent here, all the encounters we made with the local people, all the activities we have conducted during the 8 weeks like the artistic and English workshops in Staro Nagoricane village, and the events we have organized with our colleagues in the MultiKulti youth center: movie nights, world language cafes, games nights, drama workshops… This experience allowed us to discover new cultures, to learn a little bit of Macedonian, to improve our English skills, it introduced us to social work, and favoured the exploration of this beautiful country named Macedonia. We would like to thank CID for hosting and guide us.
Andreea Stetco, EVS volunteer