Dear readers of Europe House Buzz,
I am happy that I had the honour to work with Europe House, and this experience as a young graphic designer played a big role in further shaping my views on my career, giving me great motivation to move ahead confidently.
I am very glad that Europe House supports young people and believes in them, and thus has an impact on raising their self-confidence!
For me, as a young graphic designer, the whole concept of creating a calendar, preparing it for printing and matching all the client’s needs in one complete product was a really big challenge, encouraging me to believe in myself and to give my best.
The whole process of presenting the 12 youth goals was quite inspiring, accompanied by a lot of research on my part so that I could illustrate each of their goals in the best light possible. In the process of researching the goals I, as a young person, learned a lot, which I consider to be a great advantage.
This collaboration really marked the past year for me, and the very invitation to share my experience in the Newsletter BUZZ welcome letter showed me how much Europe House supports young people in what they do!
I hope that Europe House will be a motivation and an example for others to support young people and to believe in them, all in order to give them the opportunity to express their creativity, because as the saying goes, “The youth are the future”.
Natali Mango, young designer
GreenFilm Competition – Youth Creative Criticism of the Consequences of Climate Change
2022 is the European Year of Youth!
Our question is: How can the youth be encouraged and activated? And this is where we start the brainstorming of ideas and initiatives. This time–motivated and concerned by the global changes in the ecosystem–we decided to turn the spotlight on the young audience. Young people always have a sharp eye and a sincere approach that is often overlooked by adults. So, the gauntlet has been thrown down. Tell us your story through the #GreenFilm Competition! Many young people affected by the changes in the ecosystem responded with their creative videos. To our great pleasure, the 10 best films were shown on the big screen in the cinema Frosina, MKC. Leona Jarikj, with her film entitled “Promo,” won the main prize – a professional camera as an incentive to develop her talent and continue to advocate for environmental protection.
Giving the Floor to New Names via the New Podcast with Arlinda Biftau
Europe House continually promotes diversity, creating more space for the expression of youth. As of 14th of February, we have started broadcasting Podcasts in the Albanian language.
The TV presenter and youth worker Arlinda Baftiu conceives of it as a space to promote artists who reflect on different social issues, as well as creative individuals who initiate changes in the community through ideas and acts. The Podcast will be an open space for discussion by critical minds and role models and will aim to develop and contribute to European values.
Her first guest was the innovative fashion creator Amra Ismani. Being aware of the negative effect the fashion industry has on the environment, Amra initiated a unique philosophy in support of her cause.
As a teenager, she created her own brand “Armma”, a brand based on the idea of creating multifunctional modern clothing by reducing negative effects on the environment. You can get to know Amra Ismani’s creative world in the first broadcast of the Podcast, where she discusses her critical concepts, and this may change your perceptions of the role the fashion industry and clothing have. Her motto is “We can save the world by also looking good”.
On the 14th of each month, you can get to know other inspiring people.
‘What has been done? How far have we come? Where are we going?’
Europe House continued the series of talks with the Club of Young Doctors in order to emphasize the humane dimension of the medical profession. We opened the topics of organ donation and transplantation, as well as of blood donation, in order to raise awareness of humanity, but also of the need for legal changes. Europe House will continue the practice of in-depth discussions by speaking out about the problems faced by patients, their families, and doctors. The ultimate goal, always, is finding practical and functional solutions that can be implemented in the system. That is why the panel discussion speakers were: Ambassador David Geer and Prof. Dr. Elizabeta Gjorgievska, Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Petlichkovski, Dr. Irina Panovska- Stavridis, Dr. Bozidar Kochovski, Dr. Maja Mojsova Mijovska, and the moderator Dr. Nikola Brzanov, President of the Club of Young Doctors.
One “Amazing” Year – Europe House Kriva Palanka
Over the course of 1 year, we’ve been identified as the voice of the youth from the North Eastern region. We continue to encourage youth participation and engagement, empower innovation and creativity, stimulate critical thinking, and, emphasize youth’s key concern – making environmental protection a priority.
On the occasion of Europe House Kriva Palanka’s 1stBirthday, many young people from Kriva Palanka, Rankovce, Kumanovo, and Kratovo–who were very active since the opening –joined us in Europe House Kriva Palanka and presented their ideas and works to the EU Ambassador, the Swedish Ambassador, the Bulgarian Ambassador, and the Mayor of Kriva Palanka. We enjoyed the warm regards (or wishes) from the young people, learning how has Europe House facilitated and supported their initiatives. In addition, we enjoyed fantastic piano performance by young and talented musician(s).
Being one of the first Europe Houses in our region, we actively worked with dedication on creating youth-friendly cities.
Briefly, over 150 in-house events were organized and most of those events were initiated by the youth.
3,400 young people from Kriva Palanka and the region actively participated in our activities.
On the occasion of Europe House Kriva Palanka’s 1st Birthday, many young people from Kriva Palanka, Rankovce, Kumanovo, and Kratovo–who were very active in the first year–joined us in Europe House Kriva Palanka and presented their ideas and works to the EU Ambassador, the Swedish Ambassador, the Bulgarian Ambassador, and the Mayor of Kriva Palanka. We had the pleasure of seeing the messages of the young people about what Europe House Kriva Palanka means to them. Music is a very important part of Europe House Kriva Palanka’s activities and we enjoyed the piano performance of the talented youth.
In the end, in the spirit of friendship and togetherness, we ended the day with a friendly basketball match between young female basketball teams from Sofia, R. Bulgaria and from Kriva Palanka, and had the pleasure to see a dance performance by the regional modern dance club from Kumanovo.
1 Year as the Central Hub of the Youth from the Region – Europe House Strumica!
Europe House Strumica in the past year has undoubtedly become a leading place for connecting and engaging young people in the region! Europe House Strumica has organized numerous exhibitions, eco- actions, debates, and events for networking of young people and authorities.
The highlight of the activities organized in February by Europe House Strumica was definitely the birthday events happening from the 15th through the 25th of February!
Throughout these 10 days, the youth in Strumica had a variety of programmes and activities, from street corner musical performances by high schoolers, audio-visual events, and as a cherry on top. The official birthday, 21st of February, was marked with proper celebration. Young people from Strumica had the pleasure in participating at the opening of the “Time travel under the open sky” exhibition, followed by the play ”Youth Goals Hunt” in the Small city park, enjoy a dance and music performance by a collective of young artists from the South Eastern region, united specifically for the occasion of the Europe House Strumica birthday. During the day the young people from Strumica and the region had the opportunity to meet and share experiences with the Young European Ambassadors Mila, Vojdan, Aleksandar, Funda, Damjan, Gent, and Ivan, as well as other youth activists from the region who had participated in the events of Europe House Strumica throughout the year.
Buzz you on the flip side,
until next time!