We started off the next day (after breakfast and informal
social time) with a bus ride to the Museum of Byzantium Culture. That is where
we were doing one more presentation and another lecture.
The first session there, was another group of student
presentations. Including Mine!
Cassidy Henry, Studying A Community
that Doesn’t Exist: (Do you know how hard it is to summarize your own
presentation? Really difficult!) There are definitely challenges to working as
an NGO in MK. The climate is realtively harsh- with political party connects, money
laundering accusations, and a real lack of money coming in to help fund
projects. In MK, there are two official documents governing the government and
NGO cooperation: Strategy for Cooperation with Civil Society and the Law of
Associations and Foundations. The Strategy was very overarching and too
ambitious, so most of it was not accomplished when attempted. However, the Law
on Associations and Foundations, implemented many great changes (allowing NGOs
to make money to cover costs, and complete fundraising activities to even allowing
organizations some tax havens). There is some research out there saying that
NGOs communicate great and work well together, but none of the NGOs I have ever
talked to had good cooperation with another NGO. Most never even really
communicate with a different NGO, much less the government. There is also
infighting for the same small pool of resources. Although there is some hope
for the future- many organizations would like better cooperation with each
other and the government and they are open to working together.
Jennifer Zenovich, Defining
Feminism Amongst Women in Montenegro in Academia: It is difficult to
define feminism, because so much of the definition is relevant to the context.
Jennifer prefers bell hook’s definition (this might not be the exact quote, but
it is close enough for horseshoes or hand grenades) “Feminism is a movement to
end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” There is an element of taboo
in mentioning feminism in Montenegro, with a subtext of being against the
state. They rejected feminism (in the past) as being Western/bourgeoisie.
Through the transition, there is a possibility for a re-working of this
concept, but it is slow going. However, to ensure a democratic transition,
women and feminism could really help. At the university, there are now two
courses about feminism: ‘Feminist Literature’ and ‘Gender Psychology.’ One of
these classes is taught by a younger professor and the other is taught by an older
professor. The younger professor is for
a more western literacy movement and was raised after communism. The older
professor claims to not be feminist, but for human rights. She said that she
isn’t for the violent, radical events that feminists support. But a question
that Jennifer is looking at: can it be called feminism if it is only viewed
through a western ideology?
Adam Julian, Hip-hop and minority language Revitalization: The Case of
Gagauzian and Vitali Manjul: The Gagauzian language is considered a
dying and endangered language. It is forecasted that within two generations,
the language will be dead. Currently, only the over 50 crowd even speak it. The
Gaguaz language is a Turkish language, although they currently live in Moldova
(which speaks Romanian and Moldovan/Russian). They are separated from the
Turkish religion words, although the Turkish influence is being absorbed into the
language. Some of the grammatical structures are changing. Unlike other minority
languages, Gagauz lacks a sphere of influence. Russian is everywhere- in
schools, at the market, at home, in political life. Another problem they are
facing is that there is not a unified script for Gagauz. There are some
textbooks, but they are almost 20 years old and there is no changes for the
Turkish words in them. Students are supposed to learn all three languages, but
they can’t. Adam couldn’t even learn the language there! A new sphere that this
one artist is doing is hip=hop using the Gagauz language. But he is mostly
considered a laughing stock. Adam put together a video that I would like to
link you about this rapper:
Karla Hoppman Buru, Exploring Cross-Cultural
Social Work and Public Health Collaborations in the Jiu Valley: There
are 7 smaller communities in the region. All organizations participating in the
research had to have had international sponsors and volunteers. There were
different reactions and support levels within the region. She is still in the
research phrase, and talked mostly about how she is conducting her research.
She is working closely with locals to complete the interviews. She interviews
the international organizations and her local contact interviews the Romanians
so that they aren’t inclined to make the picture more rosy than it is. She will
be putting on a training in May to help them get on the same communication
level. (And I’ve been invited to observe
it! I am really thinking about going, now if only I knew how to get there!)
After our presentation, we had the Deputy Mayor for Finance
& Development speak and introduce the 2nd keynote speaker. Mr. Hasdai
Capon, the Deputy Mayor basically just welcomed us to the city and said I hope
you have a good time! After her spoke,
Mr. Dimitris Keridis, an Associate Professor of International Politics at a local
university, spoke. Mr. Keridis also runs the Navarino Network, which
promotes innovation and extroversion in public life while addressing the
challenges of my generation. They also run these amazingly cool looking summer schools, (and although the
deadline has passed, feel free to look at them). He then proceeded to talk
about the economic crisis. We had been promised a talk about ethnicities that I
was really looking forward to, but to no avail. Economics instead. If you know
me at all, you know that econ is just not my thing. (it probably has to do with
the math part of it and math and I don’t get along). The main take away that I
got from his lecture, is probably not the one he wanted me to get. He kept
stressing how Greece is not a European country but a more Eastern country. I
had never heard that dialog before. Almost everything I had heard is how
Europeanized Greece is. And how much it deserves to be in the EU because it is
an European country. He did mention how the current crisis can’t just be blamed
on economic means, but it also has to be blamed on politics. Institutional
settings can also be blamed for part of the problems. Such as Greece not taking
the Euro seriously and borrowing without limits. The global financial system
didn’t account for difference between Germany and Greece. He did use a metaphor
that was enlightening. The EU is like a bike, you either go forward or fall
over.
After his talk, we stood around waiting for a group picture.
It took forever for him to get srt up, because the lightening was so bad!
However, we then had a tour of the museum. Now, while I like museums. When
Every. Little. Thing. Is. Very. Very. Important. And. You. Must. See. This.
One. Last. Thing. About 40 times, you get tired of hearing the same thing over
and over and over. Now, don’t get me wrong this guide was super friendly and
she was very passionate about her stuff, but she kept repeating herself over
and over and over again. Like we were supposed to quickly walk through the museum
and then eat lunch, but the museum tour took about an hour because she kept
wanting to point out even more stuff for us to look at. But they rewarded us
with delicious Greek food at the end. All fried or baked or unhealthy for you
(except for the small mostly bread mozzarella and tomato sandwiches), but the
food was so good! They had this potato baked in bread thing, yum!
We hopped on a bus for what was supposed to be a city bus
tour, but involved more walking and talking than actual bus touring. We stopped
off at some churches whose names I can’t remember, but they were super pretty.
One had been converted into a mosque during ottoman times, and then is
recreating into a church now. We went up to the top of the hill and overlooked
the city. She seemed to be very sensitive to her history. (Turns out she had a
high fever and still came out and shared with us!) She kept repeating how
everything was closed after 3 pm. To the point that we really understood that
things were closed after 3pm and we wouldn’t get to see as much. Oh and did you know that there is just one
more thing, that you should really see, because it is very important? No? Well…..
After a bit of coffee time back at the hotel, we started our
final panel. In this panel there were
only three presenters, I think one girl wasn’t able to make it to the
conference.
Athan Geolas, Three Legged Chairs
and Capable Cities: Athan is in Athens studying architecture. He wanted to see if there was any correlation
between space and usage. He mostly showed us his drawings, but he did share a
few assumptions that architects have: (1) Building change peoples lives, if
they don’t then they are useless. (2) Faith in building the right building
right now. Some spaces they have seen as centered around a water source or
private space (where everything is enclosed). His work is best seen by looking at it, so I suggest you go look at his blog. Here is an example:
Lisa Owen, Familial Roles in
Contemporary Croatian Cinema: The film industry is developing in
Croatia, they produce about 7-10 films every year. Usually the war features prominently
in the films that are about the war specifically with family drama. There are
important parent and son relationships. The male protagonist is often the main
character. The strongest bond is between the mother and son in any movies. She
suggests that it is due to the privileged space of mom. The “Wall of Love” or
the fierce mother, they were recalled from the Yugoslav army to serve in the
homeland war. She provided two examples of movies where the mother is fierce
(and kid of scary).
Stefana Simic, Banja: Thermal Spa
Designs: There is rich potential in the banja for health tourism and
sustainable development. A bit of history- Serbia lies on 7 different tectonic
areas, which over time created thermal springs. Banjas are hybrid thermal
springs and hospitals. Every banja has a clinic or special hospital. If you
need rehab you will often go here. Recent political restructuring has led to a
change in the definition of a spa. The reconstruction or construction of banjas
is not included in the current plan, and many are in total disrepair. They are
even viewed as financial burdens on the local people; thus they are shut down
and abandoned. Health tourism is a $1 million industry, and it could be focused
sustainably. She's an amazing artist by the way- her work was just wow. She showed some paintings and designs and it was just wow! Here is an example of it:
Then we got our certificate. They love certificates in this
region for some reason. Apparently it is seen as a attendance sheet, so you get
one even for just participating in a conference. I find it a bit odd, but…Apparently
in some cultures they even keep binders of their certificates of
completion. We had to take our picture
with the certificates and then we were able to go across the street (to the
hotel we are staying at) for dinner! After dinner, we went out for a little
walk as we were waiting for others to return so we could go out with them, but
they never returned! So off to bed for the long next day!
See you around the globe!
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