Info-pack 1.1 Multilateral youth exchange

Info-pack
1.1 Multilateral youth
exchange
“Body, Mind and Soul Training”
Youth in Action programme
Kiten, Bulgaria
14 – 25 August
WELCOME
Congratulations! You are a partner in the Youth Exchange “Body, Mind & Soul Training” and you
are among the 30 participants that will take part in the exchange with groups from Bulgaria,
Germany, Portugal and Turkey!
The main organizer of the project, Association BMST – Europe, develops training courses and
events related to attractive and original practices for physical, psychical and spiritual personal
development.
The programme of the exchange that is going to take place in the Bulgarian seaside, in the town
of Kiten, between the 14 and 25 August 2013 is focused on the Art of Carnival and the Carnival
Techniques. 30 young people from Bulgaria, Germany, Portugal and Turkey will participate in
the project.
The youth exchange has the aim of developing the creativity and the artistic skills of youngsters,
as well as promoting outdoor activities, sports and active lifestyle. It combines fun and
attractive learning, development of new skills and the artistic potential of young people.
The activities in the project stimulate the artistic skills and self-expression, they facilitate the
communication and train the body and mind, introducing the participants to the philosophy of
carnival and to different carnival practices - Eastern, Bulgarian, Thracian, from other countries.
In the program we have included workshops for activities with apparatus (juggling clubs, balls,
rope, hoop, poi) - juggling, physical theatre, pantomime, activities for flexibility and balance,
concentration, speed and agility, team games, elements of yoga and tai-chi, logical games,
horse-riding, boat trip in the sea and Ropotamo River, etc.
The participants will work together to create a script for a carnival performance, they will
prepare the decoration, costumes and effects they need and will realize the performance itself
in the region of Beglik-Tash, an ancient Thracian sanctuary dating from the 4th century B.C.,
inviting the local community.
The whole performance will be filmed and the video will be edited into a short movie.
Along with the activities, the participants will have the opportunity to see the local cultural and
natural sides, such as the mouth of the Ropotamo River and the ancient town of Sozopol.
WHAT LANGUAGE WILL WE USE
The official language of the exchange will be English.
INTERCULTURAL EVENINGS
During the Youth Exchange we are planning to arrange Intercultural Evenings for every country.
You will present your own cultures – national, regional, personal or any kind of culture you feel
represents you!
These presentations should be interactive. It should not be a “lecture” but should be done in a
creative way. You can see when is the evening of your country in the daily programme.
This means that all options are possible. A culture may be presented by a song, a game, a story,
a poem, a dance, Power Point, video, some typical drinks or food, etc. You may bring pictures,
music or anything which you consider to be helpful to present your culture. There will be a
computer and data projector available.
We will not have a kitchen to prepare the meals for the intercultural evening, so we suggest that
you adapt your typical food and drinks to that reality (we can arrange a refrigerator, if
necessary).
COSTS
Board, lodging and programme costs will be provided and paid 100% by the grant from the the
Bulgarian YOUTH IN ACTION National Agency. We recommend you to bring money for drinks,
presents, etc.
We have a budget for travel costs. According to the restrictions of the Youth In Action
Programme we can only refund 70% of the travel cost if the following points are fulfilled:
• Your travel route is from your home town to the venue in Bulgaria (Kiten) and back (if you are
not travelling from your hometown, contact us as soon as possible before you book your
tickets).
• You have chosen reasonable and economical means of transportation (e.g. student discounts,
2nd and economy class, low-cost airlines, etc.)
• Your travel dates are according to the programme (one day before the beginning and one day
after the end are O.K.)
• You have a receipt or invoice for the cost of your plane ticket and the boarding passes and the
bus/train tickets.
• You can start purchasing your tickets after the 1st of August. If it is possible, you can book
them earlier, but the first payments allowed by the Agency start from this date!
HOW TO COME TO KITEN
The best option to travel is by plane to Sofia (the capital) or Burgas, one of the main cities at the
Black sea coast. Either from Sofia or from Burgas (from the central bus station) you should take
a bus to Kiten, which is located 55 km south of Burgas. The prices of the bus tickets (round trip
per person) from Sofia are around 30 euros. There are buses every day, you can check the
schedule in English here:
http://www.centralnaavtogara.bg/index.php?mod=06a943c59f33a34bb5924aaf72cd2995&d=l
There are also buses and minibuses from Burgas to Kiten every day:
“BURGASBUS”
7.00; 7.30; 16.00
“EXPRESSBUS KITEN”
08.00; 09.00; 10.00; 11.00; 12.00; 13.00; 14.00; 15.00; 16.20; 17.00; 18.00; 19.30
The price is around 8 euros per person round trip.
ABOUT THE VENUE
The exchange will take place in Kiten, Bulgaria. The arrival day is the 14th of August and the
departure day will be the 25th of August.
You will visit the following places (among others):
Kiten (Bulgarian: Китен, meaning "lovely, pretty") is a seaside resort town on the Bulgarian
Black Sea Coast, part of Burgas Province. It is situated on the small Urdoviza peninsula, near the
mouth of the Kiten River, and has two beaches: Atliman and Urdoviza.
Beglik Tash is a Thracian rock sanctuary situated on the southern Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, a
few kilometers north of the city of Primorsko. Beglik Tash is a natural phenomenon of huge
megaliths arranged and carved by a Thracian tribe and later used for religious ceremonies. It is
part of a wider surrounding area and a natural rock formation of huge monolithic blocks of
volcanic origin, and were formed of hardened magma that erupted from a volcano active during
the Mesozoic era. Currently, an open-air museum is maintained by the Burgas Historical Society.
Most of the megaliths have traces of carvings for the purposes of Thracian rituals. There are also
the remains of a labyrinth that visitors can pass through. A Thracian sun clock is formed from
huge stones. There also is an enormously big rock, standing on only two points and a cave,
resembling a woman's lap.
Sozòpol (Bulgarian: Созопол, Greek: Sozopolis / Σωζόπολις) is an ancient seaside town located
35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Archeological research
indicates that the city has a cultural tradition that is some 7,000 years old.
We will be hosted in the following place:
Hotel “Edinstvo”, Kiten
(http://hotel-edinstvo.com/stai.html)
We will share nationalities among the rooms. There is a bathroom/shower in each room. Bed
linen will be provided by the hotel. Please take some towels with you.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner will happen in the hotel during the whole project.
WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU
Clothes: please bring comfortable and sports clothes that will be suitable for the activities that
involve a lot of movement. Please also bring comfortable/sports shoes as we may walk to the
nearby places.
Don’t forget your swimming suits and sun cream because we are right next to the beach.
In the summer in can be very hot in Bulgaria (about 34° Celsius) so just take some light clothes
with you. On the other hand, in the evenings it can be colder, so we recommend you to take
some warmer clothes as well.
PARTICIPANTS AND PREPARATION OF THE GROUPS
Each country will select 6 participants from 18 up to 25 years old + 1 group leader (no age limit).
Preferably the participants should be 3 boys and 3 girls per national group.
Every participant should fill in the participant form and send it to us as soon as possible.
We will NOT have Health/Travel Insurance for the participants, so we suggest you make your
own one if you want.
We hope that the participants chosen will be interested in carnival techniques, theatre and
outdoor activities. We would also ask you to prepare a presentation of typical carnival and
festival techniques from your country.
TRAVEL BUDGET
According to the rules of the Youth in Action Programme and the budget that was agreed in the
Bulgarian National Agency, here is the maximum amount that each group can use for the travel
to Kiten, Bulgaria, and back (100% round trip per person, from which we will reimburse 70%):
Turkey - 340 euros
Germany - 340 euros
Portugal - 440 euros
We intend to make the reimbursement as a wire transfer after we have all the necessary
documents already mentioned before (boarding passes, bus tickets, etc.). The charges for the
wire transfer are at participants’ expense. Please buy your tickets as soon as possible after the
1st of August.
In case you need any additional information, feel free to contact us through the project
coordinator Julia Andzhekarska ([email protected]). Soon we will also have a facebook
group which will be used for the introduction of the participants before the project itself.
SEE YOU SOON!