“Polish Day” was celebrated in Stepanavan on 16th November. The main aim of the event was promotion of Poland and European Volunteer Service (EVS). The organizers of the Polish Day were Stepanavan Youth Center (SYC) and the Polish EVS volunteer Marta Kiszczak. The Polish Consulate in Armenia supported the organization of the event. Local community of Stepanavan, especially children from schools, representatives of government and non-governmental organizations, local media were invited to take part in the Polish Day. The program included presentation about Poland, performance of children from the Polonia group(the Polish association in Armenia), guitar performance, polish treat during which guests could try some Polish dishes, games for children connected with Polish traditions and language, polish cutouts and lesson of Polish language, quiz about Poland. The event was an excellent opportunity to present the Polish culture to the hosting community in Stepanavan and to once again emphasize the great opportunities that EVS program provides to young people. 15-23

The youth exchange MYTHS AND LEGENDS took place in Stepanavan, Armenia. During the eight days 27 youngsters from Western Europe (Germany and Sweden) and Eastern Europe/Caucasus (Armenia and Russia) experienced the diversity of European cultures through theatre, national myths, histories and legends. Each country had the opportunity to share theirs cultural identity with others through country presentations, powerpoint presentations, sharing national food and drinks, cooking national dishes. Participants learnt dances and songs, myths and legends, some phrases and simple words of all participating 4 countries. They also attended a workshops with local kids from schools, learnt some things about the Armenian culture and also speak about their own culture with people in the community. The final performances of national myths and legends took places in one of the biggest stages of Vanadzor in Abelyan Dramatic Theatre and in a local school in Stepanavan where children from all schools of the city were invited.

The training course "Science for Youth" took place 8-14 October 2008 in Tsakhadzor and Stepanavan, Armenia. The 24 participants represented 14 organizations from 11 EU and Eastern European countries. The inspiration of the project was to connect youth from developed and developing countries interested and involved in science-related activities in their countries to provide an arena to get acquainted with youth movements and policies, scientific activities engaging youth in active citizenship and possibilities for exchange of information, experience and knowledge. The training course was focused on showing and identifying methods for relating youth - science - non-formal education. The diverse backgrounds of the participants allowed bringing out interesting examples and success stories, to discuss issues and challenges. The participants learnt about "Youth In Action" program and the possibilities it provides, developed project management skills, discussed possibilities for future cooperation on science projects and worked on joint projects between organizations from various parts of Europe. The working methods of the project were diverse and multipurpose. They included presentations, working sessions, parallel workshops, working in groups, artistic activities, question and answer sessions, study visits, discussions, practical work- developing projects, gallery of organizations, project market, open space.

“Puppets in the Forest” was an international creative and interactive youth project in Finland. The participants were creating puppets from paper, wood and also from unusual and non-traditional items, generating ideas for stories, making staged performances. Professionals gave a lot of useful instructions about puppets' control and other advices which were very effective for playing puppets theatre and also for real life. The final product of this project was five performances for 10-12 years old children which justified the hopes and expectations of both the participants and the organizers.

The youth exchange “Cultures Together” was organized 19th-29th July, 2008 in Stepanavan by the cooperation of Italian applying partner Allegro Con Moto and Armenian hosting partner SYC. The 36 participants from Italy, Denmark, Germany, Armenia, Georgia and Belarus exchanged their cultures through national cuisine, dances, music, arts and crafts. The project aimed to promote better understanding of the diversity of cultures among European young people, to provide possibility to youngsters interact with their peers in other parts of the Europe, experience cultural diversity, learn about cultural values of other countries, share cultural heritage through dances, music, arts and crafts, national cuisine, to develop and promote friendship, mutual understanding, tolerance, respect, harmony and dialogue among European youngsters. An informal exhibition-concert was organized in Stepanavan on 25th July presented to the local public the songs, dances, arts and crafts of all the countries.

Our project aims to bring out various conflicts that exist in Caucasus, Western and Eastern Europe through photography highlighting peace-building and conflict resolution. The project PEACE THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY was a short-term project related to the large scale pan - European youth initiative FOR A FUTURE TO COME: International Youth Work on Conflict Management (2007-2009) (http://www.moe-online.com/future). The main partner organizations of the project are Stepanavan Youth Center (SYC) - Armenia, DiDEE - the Netherlands, Youth for Society - Latvia and Association "ATINATI" - Georgia. The Stepanavan Youth Center holds the leadership and coordination of the whole project. The project PEACE THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY had several components. One week youth exchange project (11-17 July, 2008) with participation of all partner organizations for 25 young people on creating the base of the project - organizing workshops on how to be positive on speaking/showing conflicts stressing on peace rather than endorsing conflicts, gathering all photos taken in different countries, taking new photos, making a selection for the exhibitions and publications. In order to promote participation of young people from other countries of the world, a web photo contest will be launched where everyone can post conflict and peace related photos. Selected ones will be included in the final chosen photos and three best pictures according to web voting will receive gifts. The partner organizations organized exhibitions in their countries and communities with the selected photos. Publications, such as calendar and posters were printed in Armenian, Latvian, Georgian, Dutch, and English languages and disseminated in participating countries, as well as throughout Europe through international projects organized by participating youth groups. Photos reflect conflict situations and peace building. The project was aimed at promoting the peace among young people through empowering them withe necessary skills as a tool using photography and picture in overcoming various forms of conflict. Diverse youth groups came together highlighting conflicts in their societies. It was focused on rising European citizenship awareness of such groups, on development role of young people in peace-building.

web site:
http://www.salto-youth.net/NPC_good_practise_projects/87.html?&search=&country_id=39&field=&pagerCurrentOffset=3

“Diversity makes us richer” was youth exchange that enabled 33 young people from Austria, Latvia, Armenia and Georgia to experience the diversity of European cultures and sharing their cultural heritage through traditional dances and other forms of cultural expression. The culmination of project was dance concert in Vanadzor on 25th June. This was a unique opportunity for the public in Lori region to see dances of other nations.

GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Camp first began through the efforts of volunteers in Peace Corps Romania in 1995. After several years of inactivity, Peace Corps Volunteers in Armenia together with Stepanavan Youth Center are reviving Glow Camps for summer 2008. Two camps will be organized in North and South of Armenia for 80 girls between the ages of 14-17 from villages and towns of Armenia. Each of the camps will be run by 8 counselors, utilizing a team teaching method of one Peace Corps counselor and one Armenian counselor for all sessions.
Camp GLOW is a vital way to offer adolescent girls self-development opportunities in a fun and friendly atmosphere. In Armenia, future female leaders are currently held back by a lack of information concerning career options as well as a culturally induced lack of support for strong, enterprising women. Due to a current lack of exploration in the fields of leadership skills, career options, and psychological development, GLOW camp can fill a critical gap not currently addressed in Armenian society.

The general goals for GLOW 2008 include:

• Educating the girls about positive options for their future in order to provide them with a well-rounded view of different women's roles in society.
• Discussing key women's health issues that are not typically covered in the Armenian school systems and providing a safe environment to ask health related questions.
• Introducing engaging learning methods to encourage creative thinking and expression.
• Creating a network between the camp participants, counselors, and guest speakers
• Enabling camp participants to build their leadership skills and self-esteem through group activities

1. Empowerment
   • Each participant will have the chance to learn from and interact with strong female role models
   • Each camp participant will have a plan for their future
2. Promoting Leadership
   • Participants will identify their strengths, weaknesses, and personal leadership style through interactive team activities
3. Education
   • Camp participants will learn about and discuss key women's health issues such as puberty, HIV/AIDS, Domestic Violence, Women's Trafficking, and Healthy Lifestyle choices
4. Sustainability
   • Peace Corps will partner with a local NGO for camp development and utilize a team teaching method
   • During the camp, counselors will identify prospective junior counselors for the next year based on participation, attitude, behavior, and potential to succeed in the role

The summer camp took place in Stepanavan June 15th - 20th. Forty girls from grades 8 through 11 were selected out of over 300 applications received, representing 8 different marzes. The curriculum consisting of 6 days of interactive training on leadership, health education, career planning, gender, and personal discovery.
Sessions were taught by 5 Armenian counselors from Stepanavan, Gyumri, Yerevan, and Dilijan and 5 American Peace Corps Volunteers living in different towns and villages of Armenia. The whole camp was run in "home groups", giving the camp participants a chance to develop close relationships within their group, learn vital skills in teambuilding, and create a support network that will hopefully extend beyond the camp into the rest of their lives.
The follow up activities included newsletters (click here), regional seminars and reunions, peer education activities organized from July 2008 to April 2009.
The project was funded by U.S. Embassy in Armenia, OSCE, UNDP, USAID, UMCOR, IREX, and various in-kind sponsors.

web site:
http://www.usa.am/news/2008/june/news061908.php
http://www.irex.org/newsroom/news/2009/0914-epd_glow.asp

Our project aims to bring out various conflicts that exist in Caucasus, Western and Eastern Europe through photography highlighting peace-building and conflict resolution. The project PEACE THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY is a short-term project related to the large scale pan - European youth initiative FOR A FUTURE TO COME: International Youth Work on Conflict Management (2007-2009) (http://www.moe-online.com/future). The main partner organizations of the project are Stepanavan Youth Center (SYC) - Armenia, DiDEE - the Netherlands, Youth for Society - Latvia and Association "ATINATI" - Georgia. The Stepanavan Youth Center holds the leadership and coordination of the whole project.
The project PEACE THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY has several components. One week youth exchange project (11-17 July, 2008) with participation of all partner organizations for 25 young people on creating the base of the project - organizing workshops on how to be positive on speaking/showing conflicts stressing on peace rather than endorsing conflicts, gathering all photos taken in different countries, taking new photos, making a selection for the exhibitions and publications. In order to promote participation of young people from other countries of the world, a web photo contest will be launched where everyone can post conflict and peace related photos. Selected ones will be included in the final chosen photos and three best pictures according to web voting will receive gifts. The partner organizations will organize exhibitions in their countries and communities with the selected photos. Publications, such as calendar and posters will be printed in Armenian, Latvian, Georgian, Dutch, and English languages and will be disseminated in participating countries, as well as throughout Europe through international projects organized by participating youth groups.
Photos will reflect conflict situations and peace building. The project is aimed at promoting the peace among young people through empowering them withe necessary skills as a tool using photography and picture in overcoming various forms of conflict. Diverse youth groups will come together highlighting conflicts in their societies. It will be focused on rising European citizenship awareness of such groups, on development role of young people in peace-building.
SYC with international partners of the project is seeking funds and support for organizing exhibitions in all participating countries. If you are interested to support this project, click DONATE.

The cultural event aims to promote better understanding of cultural diversity, dialogue among young people from different countries, ideas of peace, solidarity and tolerance between them by cooking of food of different countries together in international groups that will allow the study of intercultural learning in practice. Participants from Latvia, Georgia, Armenia and Greece will gain experience in living and working in a multi-cultural and intercultural group of young people and will learn about the multi-cultural realities and situations in other countries of Europe. The program will include activities on discussing stereotypes, prejudice and promoting equality of all nationalities. European culture, traditions and customs are the base of the youth project. The exchange is based on the principles and practices of non-formal and in-formal education in order to enable participants to exchange their experiences and approaches and reflect upon them.

The project is a partnership between SYC and the Baltic Armenian House (Estonia). The seminar on minority issues aims to connect youth organizations interested and working on minority issues from European Union and Eastern Europe/Caucasus to exchange real examples of projects, develop partnerships and create new joint projects on protecting minority rights, as well as get new skills to assure effective projects.

A unique project organized in cooperation with Galli Group - Association for Theatre for Social Change (Germany). The project idea was to train youth from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Lithuania, Austria and Germany to express their concerns on concrete social issues, in this case drug abuse and prevention through acting and theatre pieces. The methods of the training included the seven Kellerkinder (children of the basement) - a character model of personal styles that allows to connect to one's sub-personalities, free them and in the process lead a drug-free life full of energy and joy, theatre and expressive games, dances and meditation and how to use them in drug prevention in youth work. A theatre piece was developed with the participation of the training participants on drug abuse concentrating on the topic of love. The public in Stepanavan was impressed by the professional approach of the participants and the interesting way of expressing issues. Children of Stepanavan enjoyed the Little Red Riding Hood, a piece played by Galli Group actors and got the opportunity to perform themselves different famous fairy tales.

The idea - why using theatre methods:
In today's society it is very important that we look at the appropriate education for our children and young adults. There are many ways of formal intellectual education and education for the body. What we very often miss is the education of the feelings. But without this education young people have difficulties to emotionally manage the challenges of life, which are becoming more and more demanding. The lack of emotional expression and the disability of controlling one's inner emotional world give young people nowadays now other chance than fleeing into the world of drugs. Through acting out inner emotions they learn how to handle these emotions and how to handle peculiar situations in life. Through acting young people get prepared for life and they learn life skills such as: communication, conflict resolution, team work, and leadership. Theatre is a very simple method that can be applied in any country in the world by people from all social levels.
The Galli Group has been working with young people for more than 20 years and has developed theatre projects in the field of drug prevention, obesity prevention, violence prevention, intercultural communication and has helped street kids reintegrate into society. It uses the Galli Method of proven theatre techniques in workshops and theatre performances to help resolve conflicts and foster education on health, drug prevention and social competence. The creative expression in theatre workshops helps participants to express their feelings, raise self-esteem, improve communication and presentation skills and foster an overall personal development.

web-site:
www.galli-group.com

The role of young people is crucial in the development of civil society, through their participation, activeness and involvement. Efforts to encourage youth service/participation are one of the best ways to ensure youth are viewed by the community and by themselves as resources and solutions rather than problems and victims. Stepanavan Youth Center recognizes the importance of information accessibility for increasing the opportunities of youth involvement, youth participation and development at large. On a regular basis Stepanavan Youth Center spreads information though SYC-info e-group on opportunities in Armenia and abroad for Armenian youth, such as conferences, events, training, grants, scholarships, job opportunities, fellowships and internships. To join the e-group, click here