Cultural Crossroads Info Letter

8/16/2019 Cultural Crossroads Info Letter

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Cultural CrossroadsInternational youth exchange and basic Synergy training

bulgaria presents

16 – 26 May 2016

Ravnogor, Bulgaria


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« Cultural Crossroads » is an international youth exchange thatwill include 36 participants from 6 different countries – Bulgaria,

Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Latvia and Romania.

In the training we will discover and explore the topic of culture - what

it is and how it creates diversity and resistance. We are interested

in creating understanding on how culture can be inspiring and

motivating in society. We want to explore the different cultural

lters through which we perceive the world around us and the

possibilities beyond them.

We want to give you the opportunity to take a close look in your

own culture, your own cultural lters and how they inuence your

way of “seeing”. A way of discovering the possibilities that the

different perceptions of the reality bring to you.

The goal of this youth exchange is to become aware of the attitudes

we have in our everyday life, to turn them in our use and to take a

bold step into the unknown.The programme of the “Cultural Crossroads” exchange is what

we call “Basic Synergy Training”, the rst step in the Synergy

trainings. It is an intense personal development program, designed

for those who would like to explore their personality and achieve

more in life.

What is it? For making this possible, during theexchange you will have the opportunity towork on:

• Personal leadership skills

• Cooperation skills

• Communication skills

• Planning and organization skills

• Social mapping and Networking skills

• Understanding your own personal

working style

• Flexibility in working in internationalgroups

• Ability to identify and use your own

potential

In order to help you to create your way to

fulllment, we will empower you to:

• Be an inspiring leader - to inspire othersto go into action by being an example.

• Create results beyond your imagination.

• Work out of excellence, through taking

risks, and correcting mistakes.

• Work by learning by experience method

– that is to reect on one’s actions and

act out of these reections.

• To put this into practice “back home”


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Cultural Crossroads – Day to day Programme

At the beginning, the main philosophy of the

exchange will be claried in a workable and

concrete way. Agreements on working together

will be made and roles will be claried. Also,

practical arrangements will be made, in order

to create the necessary environment to do the

exchange. The rst day of the exchange focuses

on the aspects of judgement. Each one of us has

his or her own way of judging and considering

matters. When we error again and again, this

means that our judgment is failing us. When we

are capable of identifying the mistakes, we can

correct them. This rst day focuses on the ability

to identify how each one of us judges, considers

and weights various situation.

Each one of us, throughout our lives, have

developed specic, automatic ways of behaving

and acting, while dealing with events that are

coming up. These seemingly in escapable

patterns may consciously or unconsciously

affect our life. During the day, questions will

be raised: What conditions do I allow to affect

my life? What automatic responses do I have?How do I side step problems? How does

this affect my choices and the way in which I

conduct my life? How can I improve this?

The third day is a day full of games and

action. Most of the times things happen to

us without us wishing for them. Our reaction

to the unexpected is usually anger, nerves,

stress and pressure. And then we realize that

the new circumstances, or even other people

in our lives, begin to control the quality of our

life, although this was not what we intended

in the rst place. The third day deals with the

question of how we can achieve the quality that

we desire, by maintaining our rst intentions

and by being loyal to ourselves.

DAY 1Judgements

DAY 2Patterns

DAY 3

Self-loyalty

DAY 4Spontaneity

DAY 5,6,7

During these days several workshops and assignments will

take part. Firstly the group leaders of the exchange will provide

input connected with main theme of the Youth Exchange. Then

participants will start fullling challenging assignments with media

equipment, bringing new and refreshing input also connected on

how to pursue fulllment while using the already gained experience

of the rst four days. This will give the chance for everyone to givehis/her own personal contribution to the whole group.

All of us experience tiring routines in our lives, which are also connected

to the self- image that we are using. Many times, this is limiting our

spontaneity. During the day, questions will come up: Do I allow myself to

be spontaneous? How does this affect my relationships? What are the

advantages? What restrictions do I impose on myself by acting in a certain

way? Could I do something new? The fourth day will exercise the ability

to enjoy life by being more daring. It is a very dynamic day, full of playing,packed with activity and fun.


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Cultural Crossroads – Day to day Programme

DAY 8Inspiration

DAY 9Freedom

DAY 10Final steps

You will also have the chance to

meet different people coming from

other countries who can be source of

inspiration for you. During this day we

will look into how to make the best out of

limiting situations; how to turn limitations

into opportunities; how you can create

and recreate joy in your life.

By freedom we mean the state where

you have always a choice. This day deals

with a central question: What do you

want in life? What do you really want?

On this day, you will confront yourself

in with this question, independent of

the opinion of others. It is a unique

opportunity to explore, discover and

experience how you are and what you

want to do with your life.

During this last day all experiences and insights gained during the training will be combined

in to one consistent whole. This last day deals with the question of self- fulllment. On this

day you will be able to form a clear notion of the way you conduct your life and what makes

you fullled.

You will be also provided with tools that will enable you to apply everything you have learned

from the training and about yourself in your daily life.

DAY 7Confrontation

You will have the opportunity to put into

practice all the theory and the tools of the

exchange and see how you can create

and recreate enjoyment in every moment,

independent of the circumstances. This

day focuses on confrontation. How to

cope with the events in life? Or situations

that we did not expect or planned–but

they happened? This means how not to

freeze, but rather how to maintain our

power and way of functioning in the most

possible manner during every situation,

as well as afterwards.

Outdoor experience

Divided in international groups, we will do several activities in different parts of Bulgaria, while being mainly outside of the accommodation.This way we will use what we learned unti l now. The Outdoor Experience will be closed with key processes that will allow you to refect

upon this experience and connect it with the previous days of the program.


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Partner organizationsEach partner organization will take part in the project with 6 participants between 18 and 30 years (5 + 1 team leader with no age limit)

Country Organization Contact Person

Bulgaria Synergy BulgariaBoyan Yotov

[email protected]

Czech Republic Brno Connected

Katka Martinkova

[email protected]

Greece Synergy Flow Anna Cheimona

[email protected]

Italy VagamondoFabiano Bruno

[email protected]

Latvia Klubs MajaRuta Beinare

[email protected]

Romania Asociatia Synergy Roxana [email protected]

Participation Criteria The training is open to people who are:

9 18 – 30 years old (except one team leader per country group for whom there is no age limit)

9 Interested in the topic of cultural awareness and personal development

9 Willing to take part in the whole programme and all the activities

9 Ready to be challenged

9 Able to work in simple English

9 Citizens of one of the following countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Romania

mailto:info%40synergybulgaria.com?subject=mailto:brnoconnected%40gmail.com?subject=mailto:info.synergyflow%40gmail.com?subject=mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:info.synergyflow%40gmail.com?subject=mailto:brnoconnected%40gmail.com?subject=mailto:info%40synergybulgaria.com?subject=


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Participation Fee

Reimbursement of travel costs

There is a participation fee of 60 € per person, which you can pay upon arrival.

When buying the tickets, be aware that there is a maximum amount of money to be reimbursed for each participant, depending on

the country of origin. If your travel costs are lower or up to the limit, you get 100% reimbursed. If your travel costs are higher thanthe limit – the difference is covered by you. You can nd the maximum reimbursable amount below. This amount is calculated with

the distance calculator according to the Erasmus+ regulations.

Bulgaria, Greece: 80 €

Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Romania: 170 €

To be eligible for reimbursement, we ask you to keep all your tickets, boarding passes and invoices (originals). Only if you have all

the travel documents, we are able to reimburse your travel costs!

We will only reimburse your travel cost if you participate in the whole exchange.


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The trainers will be Yassar Markos (Bulgaria) and Panagiotis Mamouzakis (Greece). They will be supported by an international experienced

team of youth workers and young professionals experienced the methodology of this Youth Exchange before. The project manager of

“Cultural Crossroads” is Boyan Yotov.

Yassar comes from Palestine and currently lives in Bulgaria,

where he now works as a trainer and coach. Concerning

his background, he was formed as a medical doctor and is

presently doing his masters in psychology. He has been

delivering trainings and workshops on different topics (personal

development, coaching, NLP, communication, presentation

skills, training for trainers, negotiation , productivity) in the last

8 years. In last several years he has been focusing mainly on

personal development trainings and coaching.

Panagiotis is an experienced Youth Worker and Facilitator

coming from Athens. He started working as a Scout

leader for teenagers 15 years ago where he developed

his coaching style. He is involved in the elds of personal

development, coaching, new media and lmmaking.Currently he is holding the place of the projects manager

of the Olde Vechte Foundation in the Netherlands and he

works as a free lance trainer and project manager.

Organizing team

Yassar Markos (Bulgaria) Panagiotis Mamouzakis (Greece)


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Practical information

16 26 27MAY MAY MAY

Arrival day

Start of the

program

End of the

program

Departure day

LANGUAGEThe training is given in simple easy-to-understand English.

ACCOMMODATION

The Venue is located in Ravnogor, a mountainous villageelevated in 1340m. It has double, triple and four bed rooms.

There is wi- internet connection available. There is also

a library next to the training room that it is working ofce

hours and has computers connected to internet. If you want

to access internet 24/7 we advise you to buy a prepaid sim

card with internet. There is a washing machine that you can

use. The training rooms are located in walking distance from

the accommodation building. There is no bank in the village

so we advise you to get cash before arriving in the village,

there is no public transport. The village has several minimarkets and several gorgeous hikes around the venue.


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Working MethodLearning to play, playing to learn

Learning by experience, outdoor training, and simulation games are working methods which all have one thing in common: playing.

Playing allows us to access a state of freedom, creativity and exploration that is associated with the natural learning of childhood. Role-

plays, structured experiments, simulation, and theatre are examples of games with experiential learning opportunities. Games can create

a play frame, which makes the act of learning a dynamic and enjoyable process, and recalls the care-free playing time of childhood.

Although this working method may seem enjoyable, it is not “only a game”. It allows its players to use the freedom to experiment with new

approaches and new behavior and to acquire skills and knowledge. The players are asked to look at how they behave in the play. Hence,

feedback and reection are an essential part in this way of working. Playing games as a tool for learning is a “serious play” or “playful

seriousness”.

The Synergy method is based on learning by experience. We invite participants to point out where they nd themselves at the moment

in their learning process, what they want to learn and how they want to develop themselves. The method is focused on an experience of

an individual disconnected to the specic needs and the level of learning of the participant at the moment. The program is a tool for the

participant, not the other way around.

The way, in which we organize and run this international youth exchange, is to make the objectives, out line and program of the training

clear to the participants. In this way we create a playing eld for participants and trainers where we can play to learn and learn to play.

Within the given group, you participate in the youth exchange for yourself and with yourself as an individual. The activities will be

done either individually, in pairs, in small groups or in the big group. The facilitator will prepare the ground by giving plenary lectures.Some activities may involve talking, other listening or visualizing certain thoughts with your eyes closed. The activities will be given in

combination with music, dance or play. Many activities contain an element of surprise, the exact nature of which is unknown in advance.

In a way questions can only be answered by the participant him/her self, namely by experiencing his own reactions.

With this training approach, there is room for experiences and wishes of the participants to inuence the content of the program while the

training is taking place. We create the playing eld, participants make the play.


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How to apply

About the organizers

DOWNLOAD

Fill in the online application form. Please note that only complete registration forms are taken into consideration

If you are selected to take part in the training, you will receive a ‘’Conrmation letter’’ with more practical information regarding the

accommodation, the exact address of the venue and directions how to reach it. Do not buy any tickets until you get our conrmation.

Synergy Bulgaria is an NGO whose purpose is to support people in their social, personal and professional development so they become

active and empowered members of society.

We do this through international trainings and exchanges focused on personal development and soft skills growth. We employ the

methods of non-formal education, such as experiential learning and coaching, usually in an international setting.

We are part of the International Synergy Network founded in the Netherlands in 1991 by the Olde Vechte Foundation. InternationalSynergy Group is a network of 35 organizations from all of the Europe, working together to offer opportunities for education and

development of young people, groups and society.

+359 886 401 158

[email protected]

Moderno Predgradie bl. 8, en. B., ap.31 Soa, Bulgaria

www.synergybulgaria.com Picture: Visual Artifacts
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Cultural Crossroads Info Letter

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