Sunday, June 10, 2007

Snap the Nature

Dear Blue Sky people,

if you feel a need for artistic expression, want to show your talent and ideas or learn something new in an interesting way, just read on.

We hereby present you the third activity of the National project Values Quest of the Blue Sky Youth Network and British Council, Snap the Nature, a one-day event wholly devoted to creativity and forming bonds with nature through art, which will take place on 23th July 2007, by the beautiful Matka Lake, near Skopje.

Two parallel activities will be taking place as part of this event:
- a Photography workshop, which will invlove 10 participants (the participants will have to bring their own cameras), and
- an Art&Environment workshop involving 20 participants.
The workshops will be led by professional trainers.

In order to participate you just have to be a Blue Sky member and fill out the application form and send it to valuesquest@gmail.com before 21rst June. The applicants will be contacted and notified about the outcome of the selection no later than 27th June.

All travel expenses of the selected participants will be covered, and lunch and refreshments will be provided.

So what are you waiting for? Send your application and come, we'll create amazing and unusual things.

Yours
Values Quest Core Team

Friday, June 8, 2007

Mass Mess Local Activities

In the aftermath of Mass Mess in Veles, where more than 80 members of the Blue Sky local clubs took part, the Mass Mess Local Activities took place.

The participants from 19 Blue Sky local clubs from all over Macedonia, with the help of the local coordinators and the members of their clubs, managed to organise and run the activities. About 500 high school students were involved in them, managing to build the team spirit through the various games and activities.

The 19 clubs that have finished the Mass Mess Local Activities are: Veles, Kumanovo, Kavadarci, Gostivar, Skopje, Berovo, Delcevo, Gevgelija, Kriva Palanka, Kocani, Makedonska Kamenica, Probistip, Stip, Sveti Nikole, Valandovo, Vinica, Ohrid, Prilep, and Struga

Due to technical issues, the Blue Sky local club Bitola couldn’t realise these activities until now, but its members are dedicated to doing so, and are planning to organise them very soon.

Even though we've been informed that the Blue Sky local club Struga has organised their local Mass Mess, we haven't received any reports whatsoever thusfar.

Don’t miss the two previous posts, where you can see some pictures and read more about each one of the activities that happened in April and May.



Written by: Ana Stefanovska

Mass Mess Local Activities - April

BEROVO, DELCEVO & MAKEDONSKA KAMENICA
On 15th April, on the peak of the mountain Golak, in a neighbouring atmosphere, more than 60 young people participated in their local Mass Mess. This Mass Mess gathered representatives from 3 neighbouring Blue Sky local clubs: Berovo, Delcevo and Makedonska Kamenica. The participants were divided into 6 groups and played various games, such as basketball, football, best voice and the knot game. The participants actively participated in the activities, and more importantly constantly developed friendships among them.

Furthermore, the Mass Mess didn’t consist only of games, but also of sightseeing, as the participants together with the organizers visited the church on the mountain peak where they sang songs and played different games. Afterwards, they went to a pub in the city where the fun continued.

However, not only participants from these 3 local clubs were present at this Mass Mess. Guests from Blue Sky local club in Probistip were also present. They contributed to this event by joining in some of the games, the excellent jokes that they told, and the most important, had gathered experience to organise such an event for the members of their local club.

The event overall, by the participants was rated with 4.5 out of 5, which is an excellent score.


KAVADARCI
Although they faced problems at the very beginning, as the participants form the Blue Sky local club from Negotino didn’t show up due to some problems, the Blue Sky local club Kavadarci organised a wonderful Mass Mess.

The Mass Mess happened on the sport fields of the sport centre Jasmin on 21th April, and got 15 exceptional individuals involved into different activities. As the participants from Blue Sky local club Negotino didn’t come, only one group was formed, which did the following activities: Massage, Name and Gesture, Pass the ball, Flintstones, Two truths and a lie, Gordian Knot, Drunken Bottle, and The Race.

All of the activities were made with exceptional results, as a proof of which it can be mentioned that the activities that involved competitive spirit were measured 3 times for more accurate results.


VELES
At the place where the original and national Mass Mess was organised by the Values Quest Core Team, another, not much smaller, Mass Mess took place… this time, at local level only. This event gathered 27 participants, coordinators and group leaders.

The participants were divided in 3 groups. The groups were called Kids Next Door, Power Puff Girls & the Edds. They played games similar to the national Mass Mess’ ones and few that were made up by the coordinators and were given a name ‘knots.’

The winners at this local Mass Mess were the Edds, so they received small awards. The Mass Mess ended in the coffee bar nearby, where all the participants enjoyed a small party.



GOSTIVAR
In the park near the economic high school in Gostivar, on 26 April, for one and a half hour, the Mass Mess local activity took place. The park proved as a perfect spot for the 15 young people and the 4 coordinators from the Blue Sky local club Gostivar to create wonderful and interesting Mass Mess.

The Mass Mess started with group introduction games and name games as Massage, Name and Gesture, Two Truths and a Lie. It was followed by activities that emphasised the teamwork and the improvement of communication within the team.

At the end of the day, competition games were played during which the group named Pink Panter won.


OHRID
April 22nd was a special day for all the members of the Blue Sky local club Ohrid. That was the day when they organised their local Mass Mess activity. Their meeting point was Buffalo Beach and they gathered there at 13:00. They split in two groups, 12 participants in each, and the names of the groups were ‘Snoopy’ and ‘Garfield.’ They played many interesting teambuilding and competing games like balloon shaving and jumping with their legs fasten, but they also did some intellectually challenging exercises. The members found them really interesting to play.

Between the games, they had a break, at which refreshments were provided. During the whole activity they were full of energy and motivation. At the end, the ‘Garfield’ group won and they had the pleasure to throw some lake water to the other group. The fun didn’t end until all the participants got wet, as a real water fight started :) It is interesting to mention that at the Mass Mess local activity in Ohrid the Blue Sky members brought their friends and they really had fun together.


STIP
In the afternoon on April 22nd, the Blue Sky members from Stip gathered in the yard of the primary school ‘Dimitar Vlahov’ in Stip to make their local Mass Mess. There were 12 members of the Blue Sky local club Stip. They played different name games and team-building games, such as: Poseidon and the Sea, Two Truths and a Lie, and other interesting games.

All the members of the Blue Sky local club Stip were informed about the activity on time. At the beginning of the activity, the agenda of the event was read and the participants were explained the games. Then they were divided in two groups named after the famous TV series ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Charmed’. First, they played games within the groups, and later the two groups had a competion between each other. At the and, amazingly, the two groups had equal number of points.

Their digital camera didn’t work, which is why we can not show you some photos of their Mass Mess. However, the most important thing is that everything went well and all the participants were satisfied with the completed activity.

They didn’t have any guests at their local Mass Mess, beside the children who were playing in the school yard. But, the interesting thing about this is that few days after the activity, they saw the same children playing the same games that they played. Interesting, huh? :)


SKOPJE
On 27th of April, on the sport ground of the high school Josip Broz Tito, for more than two hours a real mass mess was happing. 20 young people from the capital were participating in various activities and games that improved the teamwork and built up the competitive spirit in these young people.

The participants were doing two types of activities, in large group and small groups. The activities in large group involved games such as Massage and the activities in the small group were: Name and gesture Pass the ball, Flintstones, Gordian (Human) knot, Pass the pulse, Stand Up, Drunken bottle. And in order for it to be a real mass mess, competing games took place, as the well-known - Race.

An interesting fact was that this Mass Mess was the first Blue Sky event for some of the participants. It was pleasing that some of them showed up on the next meeting of the Blue Sky local club Skopje and we hope that we will see them more often at the activities of the Blue Sky Youth Network.


KUMANOVO
For nearly 5 hours, on April 28th in the city of Kumanovo, a massive Mass Mess happened. The organisers gathered more than 28 young people, led by 4 group leaders, in the park nearby, and played various games and activities. The activities were run by no other but the special guests at the event, our dearly beloved Elena Nikolova and Milica Arsovska from Values Quest Core Team, and Ljubica Manasievska from Kocani (who was there ’to borrow’ ideas ).

The participants were divided in two groups - Sandacinja and Cizmicinja, and played games such as Find you friend, Pass the pulse, Stand Up, Drunken bottle and many many more…After the rather relaxing and fun games, everybody received refreshments and food. At the end, the winners were given certificates, and everybody left happy and full of positive energy.


KOCANI & VINICA
In Kocani’s spots dome, the Mass Mess local activity, organised by the Blue Sky local clubs of Kocani and Vinica, took place. The event, which happened on 29th April, gathered 29 young people from these two clubs, for various activities and interesting games.

The participants first gathered into a big group, and then they were divided into four groups: Fruits, Animals, Flowers and Insects. Afterwards, the activities and the games started. Some of the activities included well know games, such as Name and Gesture, Group Massage, Flintstones, Two Truths and a Lie, Pass the Pulse, Human Knot, Stand Up, Tied Up, Bowling and many more.

But, it wouldn’t have been a real mass mess without a competition. In the competition, the first place was awarded to the Fruits, second to the Animals, and third – the Flowers. The winners received cream bananas, as an award.

As a representative of the Values Quest Core Team, Daniela was present at the event, who shared the wonderful experience with the rest of the team.

The results from the evaluation showed an overall rate of 4, so it was really a great Sunday afternoon in Kocani.


PRILEP
The Mass Mess local activity in Prilep took place on April 29th, 2007. It was organised in the Park of the Revolution, and it started at 11:00. It was visited by 18 participants, all members of the Blue Sky local club Prilep. There were three groups, whose names were ‘Scramble,’ ‘Tooth’ and ‘Thorn.’ Of course, the winner was the group that won the biggest number of points in the activities. They played eight games, those being: Pass and Tell, Steve's Invention, Spider's Web, Water Balloons, All on One, Through All of Our Hands, Pass Me and Body Words. The winner of the Mass Mess local activity was the group named ‘Thorn.’ The event lasted for two hours. It is also important to mention that the participants attracted a lot of attention, and they had a lot of fun!


KRIVA PALANKA
On April 29th, 18 members of the Blue Sky local club Kriva Palanka gathered at the town playground in order to have their Mass Mess local activity. They played the following games: Massage, Name and Gesture, Two Truths and a Lie, Pass the Pulse, Stand Up, Mafia, Football and other ball games. They decided to play all the games in one group. At the playground, there were also some peers that they knew, so they invited them to join. They had fun for more than 2 hours.
Everything went well and they were happy, satisfied and a bit tired when they got home. It was a really good experience and they hoped that it would happen again in near future.



Written by: Igor Izotov and Ivana Trajanovska

Mass Mess Local Activities - May

PROBISTIP
The park in Probistip was the meeting point of 16 people who had only one thing on their mind on 12th May at noon sharp - Mass Mess.

The participants were divided into 2 groups that did some interesting games, such as Massage Game and Pass the Ball. Then the two groups had a small competition. The deal was that those losing would buy something to the ones winning.

At the end, everybody was satisfied with what they achieved and they understood how important the teamwork was.

The only thing that the organizers added was that they were sorry that more people didn’t show up, but were happy with the Mass Mess local activity they organized.


GEVGELIJA
In the sport hall ’Partisan’ in Gevgelija, the local Mass Mess activity was organised by the Blue Sky local club there. The event, which happened on May 12th, gathered 28 young people, out of which - 24 where from the Blue Sky local club, and the rest were members-to-become. We are happy that an increased number of young people is becoming aware of Blue Sky.

The participants were divided in four groups: Transformers, Pokemons, Ninja Turtles, and Flintstones. Afterwards, the activities and the games started. Some of the activities included well known games, such as: Name and Gesture, Group Massage, Flintstones, Two Truths and a Lie, Pass the Pulse, Human Knot, Stand Up, Tied Up, Bowling and many more.

Later, the participants had to explain the event through various words. The activities finished with awards being given to the winners, the members of the group Flintstones.


VALANDOVO
Maaass Mess for the first time in Valandovo! And what a Mass Mess it was!

On May 12th, at the sport fields of the high school ‘Goce Delcev,’ a bit different Mass Mess happened. This Mass Mess was different because it was organised together with the school, and its aim was to stress the importance of friendship between the youth in Valandovo. The participants were divided in 10 groups, and played games such as: basketball, football, athletics and handball. After the competitive games finished, the celebration started. The winners received certificates, and for all the others a special cocktail was prepared.

The Mass Mess continued in the hall of the school, where a party took place. The local Mass Mess officially ended there.

We are happy that Blue Sky had such a great impact on the local community, and that only 10 Blue Sky members from the local club in Valandovo managed to gather young people, representatives of the local government, and teachers from the high school to join them in this Mass Mess. We hope that next year we will have as many members as there were participants in this Mass Mess.

It can be concluded that this Mass Mess exceeded our expectations in every way.


SVETI NIKOLE
Blue Sky local club Sveti Nikole’s Mass Mess local activity was organized on May 26th at the football playground Ovce Pole in Sveti Nikole. It lasted from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. During this time they played all of the team-building games that were played at the national Mass Mess in Veles, except for the name games, since they already knew each other :)

There were 12 participants. Yet, aside the small number of participants, they managed to create good atmosphere and the whole activity went well. They think they made a big success since their town was small and there were not often activities like this, which young people from Sveti Nikole could participate in. They are proud to be Blue Sky members and to contribute to this way.



Written by: Igor Izotov and Ivana Trajanovska