The second O’VISOR seminar in a row was held on September 29 in Zenica. Our team put a lot of effort into organizing everything and producing a top-notch event that would try to inform and raise awareness of the benefits of volunteering.

Many young people who were keen to learn and advance their expertise attended this seminar. They waited patiently to hear our outstanding guests, who represented five different organizations. Even though each of the five organizations is specialized in a different area of work, they all shared a commitment to improving opportunities for young people to develop, study, travel, and explore.

Nedžma Salkić, the seminar’s moderator, not only introduced the guest speakers but also gave a great speech to make everyone in the room feel welcome.

The NGO “REaktiv Zenica” provided the opening remarks. Aldin Alić discussed the second NGO and its project. Through his speech, he emphasized how things are getting harsher and how the passing of time has altered society in some way.

Visitors from Merhamet, a humanitarian organization, attended this seminar. Emina Kasap Omerašević discussed the initiatives she and other young people are working on to support those in need. Participants concurred that some heroes are ordinary individuals who make the world wonder with their effort.

In front of the Committee for Interreligious Cooperation, Kenan Hodžić shared his own story and delivered a stirring message that, despite our differences in faith and nationality, we are all just people.

We had one special guest from the “Input” Center for young people. The director of this organization, Adi Salčinović talked about its beginnings and different ways young people perceive activism and volunteering work. 

The last speaker of the day was RadiYo Active’s Berina Mahalbašić. She discussed the creative process behind the cameras and the value of organizational collaboration in her speech.

With this seminar, we were all reminded of one important thing-Only What You Give is Yours. We are thankful for the guest speakers and all the young people that showed up. We are motivated to work even harder and we are patiently waiting to host you in Sarajevo on the 31st of August.

Apply here for the upcoming Sarajevo seminar!

We bring you more new and exciting news! As you already know, we announced a few weeks ago that our team is planning and working hard on implementation of three new O’VISOR seminars.

The O`VISOR seminar’s purpose is to bring together a number of non-governmental organization that actively work in crisis situations and through various activities contribute to the society in which we live in.All participants in this seminar will recieve a certificate of participation, which is a nice way to enrich your CV and expand your knowledge! O`VISOR (Only What You Give Is Yours) intends to raise awareness of the importance of activism and volunteer work, especially in crisis situations among young people, minorities and disadvantaged citizens.

The first seminar in the row was took place in Tuzla, in BIT PARK building on the 27th of August. It was a successfully executed, because there were 36 participants and 3 speakers that represented non-governmental organizations.

At the beginning, our very own Marko Divković talked about BRAVO (Bosnian Representative Association for Valuable Opportunities) and the tasks that are done inside of the organization.He also mentioned volunteer work and how much of that work is done inside of the country, and explained a little bit more about the whole purpose of the NGO organizations.

First guest speaker was Abdurahman Aljić, who represented Red Cross TK. He talked about the whole principle of the Red Cross organization.The main topic of his presentation was about natural disaster that struck BiH in 2014. He showed how they helped, how many people they encouraged to volunteer and talked about utensils which they shared to those in need.

The second one was Danijela Huremović and she talked about her organization – Vive Žene. Her speech included the activities that they do, women needs and how to help when a person is going through family abuse. She mentioned their Safe House, who works there, how they work and how they take care of families that come to the Safe House.

And the last one but not the least one – Vedran Selimović with his organization Red Cross of the city of Tuzla. He had a presentation about first aid – participants had a chance to see how to help when someone finds themselves in a situation where help is needed. He went into details and helped our participants understand a little bit more about the process of first aid with the help of his more experienced colleague Abdurahman.

The next seminar will be held in Zenica, on the 29th of August at 18:00, and the last one to close the circle will be held in Sarajevo, on the 31st of August at 18:00.

If you didn’t get the chance, sign up for one of these 2 because we guarantee you – there are many benefits!

We bring you new and exciting news! Due to the successful implementation of previous activities, our team is planning and working hard to implement as many as three new O’visor seminars.

We invite all those interested to join us in Tuzla, Zenica and Sarajevo and expand their knowledge and contribute to future project activities by participating.

The O’visor seminar in Tuzla will be held on 27.08. in the premises of BiT Center Tuzla, lasting two hours, starting at 12:00.

The O’visor seminar in Zenica will be held on 29.08. in the premises of the Zenica Youth Center, lasting two hours, starting at 18:00.

The O’visor seminar in Sarajevo will be held 31.08. in the premises of the BM Hotel, lasting two hours, starting at 18:00.

The O’visor seminar will bring together a number of non-governmental organizations that actively work in crisis situations and through various activities contribute to us and the society in which we live. This seminar is not only an excellent opportunity to expand your knowledge, but also to enrich your CV, as all participants will receive a certificate as well as a certificate of participation.

O’visor (Only What You Give is Yours) is a Europe for Citizens project that aims to raise awareness of the importance of activism and volunteer work, especially in crisis situations among young people, minorities and disadvantaged citizens.

The aim of “o’VISOR is strengthening the EU unity and supporting WB region on the way to EU, also strengthening EU and WB identity and conscience built from the grassroots to the community-based, community-built and community-supported starting with the impact and improvement of volunteering policies at the transnational level, supporting solidarity in the time of the crises and cooperation EU countries with WB. The common work for a sharing EU solidarity, cooperation and volunteering framework through the cooperation of 10 CSO-s coming from 10 different countries aimed at fostering awareness and public understanding about the importance of the volunteerism and solidarity issues improving sustainable conditions for civic and democratic participation at EU level and including citizens from WB countries.

While preparing the project, we put the special attention on the inclusion, balanced integration and participation of the citizens, disadvantage groups, civil society groups and people with fewer opportunities from all EU countries included in the project, where our main focus was on inclusion and active participation of partners from the WB who become candidates for entering the EU back in 2006. 

We are planning to have the multilingual activities (10 languages represented) and multicultural character of the EU, considering history in Western Balkan and cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness of the sociocultural characteristics of the local communities concerned and the need for inclusion of disadvantaged groups and people with fewer opportunities. 

BRAVO is also committed that will ensure growth through the dissemination of all activities and promotion of the project all across the EU and WB, but in the same time reaching a big number of the people, groups and organizations out of countries of the partners consortium. We will also use our organization networks for the promotion of our goals, activities and results. Our social network is counting more than 30k followers which we will reach directly and we are counting for a min 10k indirectly through other social and traditional media. With this, we will enlarge the impact of the results will have a great visibility 

The focus of this project would be on researching and creating a new model of local and transnational development of the essential role of volunteers, disadvantaged groups and minorities with a focus on the refugees and migrants. We will try to create models where people from disadvantaged groups and minorities can be useful citizens and using our models to contribute to their society in everyday life. We will use our models and will present them to civil protection, Red Crosses and other organizations working with migrants and in that way help them to include migrants in the activities in camps, in building shelters for themselves and how to support each other. Almost all partners have a big problem with migrants, refugees, the inclusion of people with fewer opportunities and we want to use our models and project idea in every country. 

We will also deliver participatory workshops with non-academics trained on the use of non-formal education and learning methods and active citizenship issues in order to foster European citizenship and European value from the grassroots stimulating volunteering work to further improve conditions for cross-border volunteering and strengthening cooperation and solidarity between Western Balkan countries and WB with EU countries!

Based on aim of the project,  the target groups will be cross-generational, cross-cultural and cross-sectoral groups to reach an intense exchange, transfer of knowledge and best practices across the EU and WB, even after we conclude the project itself. There are many important elements in this project, but one of the most important will be that participants are directly involved in the formulation of proposals and recommendations of EU volunteering policies to the European institutions which will be presented and showed during the final event in Luxembourg. It would be a great result which they can bring to the home and show their role as active contributors to EU laws, EU policies and to the EU decision-making process, stimulating a mode of engagement in EU affairs that can be replicated with other important issues related to the solidarity and voluntary sector and communities after “o’VISOR” project is over. The project primary target will be people who are directly involved in civil society, directly working with disadvantaged groups and decision-makers, as well as government institutions, even when not formally part of our networks. By empowering these groups a significant ripple effect will be obtained, with newcomers and their families who are indirectly reached by the project, being informed about the o’VISOR project activities and potential involvement through direct and indirect participation through their efforts for their communities.

We hereby encourage you to register and become part of a special story, through whose activities we strive to recognize and promote positive examples of our society. Sign up and be part of a diverse project that brings together partners from as many as 10 European countries.

Application link:

https://forms.gle/SSjkapLAx2C2xPJg7

ANDREA MAURO

 

When I found out that I have to participate abroad with Moby Dick I had many uncertainties, but the idea of visiting a city like Sarajevo, unusual but above all about which there is little and inaccurate information, immediately stimulated me and as a lover of travels and new experiences I decided to jump on board. I wasn’t imagining to experience some of the most intense days of my life. I discovered a city as I would have never expected it, a city full of wounds and scars but incredibly alive and eager to get back up, a city that welcomes tourists by transporting them into a world of tradition and friendliness, a city that can be fully understood only by submerging among its citizens, a city to visit and experience. At the same time, I can only speak positively of all the people I have had the pleasure of meeting and of all the different cultures with which they have brought me into contact; then challenging them in my first Karl Popper Debate experience was fun and exciting despite our path being interrupted in the first round against the Hungarian team, which eventually won, to whom I reiterate my congratulations.

 

To conclude, between the 10th and the 14th of June I lived an experience like few others, discovering a city full of charm and history together with many people that I will hardly forget, I must therefore evaluate this exchange in an extremely positive way and I would like to give heartfelt thanks to Moby Dick association and to all the people who made this experience possible.

 

Thank you.

 

From the bottom of my heart, Andrea.

CARLA ALESSIA CASTAGNA

I’m Carla Alessia Castagna and I am a member of Moby Dick ets, a third sector organisation whose mission is the exchange of experiences and ideas through cultural and educational activities in Italy and abroad, carrying out actions related to young people and European mobility, innovative didactics, non-formal education, and youth participation in democratic life.

 

From 10 to 14 June, my two travelling companions and I participated in the Seminar &Int’l Karl Popper Debate organised by the project O’visor- Only What You Give is Yours , held in the fascinating city of Sarajevo. The event aimed to highlight the importance of topics such as volunteering, situations and dealing with them.  

 

It was an exciting debate in which we challenged ourselves and at the same time got to know the ways and spirit in which young people from other participating countries debate and with whom we made friends.

 

The debates also raised issues of social, environmental and political importance, which then opened up common reflections.

It was a good experience that I will certainly always remember.

 

I thank my colleagues from Bravo Organisation and O’visor for their hospitality.

 

MARIA COSTANTINA MORMANDO

From 11 to 14 June, I participated in the “Only What You Give is Yours” project, held in Sarajevo and organized by the Bravo association, as part of the Europe for Citizens program.

 

The project, of considerable interest to the younger generations, had a notable impact on the participants, who “clashed” on different and important issues, not only locally, but above all at European and world level.

 

The host organization was very helpful, attentive to everyone’s needs, both from a logistics, accommodation, and from a food and organizational point of view.

 

The structure where we stayed overnight was well-finished, suited to our needs and with every comfort, close to the airport and close to local bus stops.

 

In general, I can say that it was a really constructive experience, for various reasons, the language, all the time we spoke in English, the culture, the openness to new peoples and new cultures. Congratulations to the host, for the organization and for the project dealt with.

Participating in the O’Visor project and Karl Popper debates held in Sarajevo exceeded all my expectations. This was my first project of that kind and my first international debate competition. I didn’t know what to expect but, nontheless, I came back home full of memories and new skills.

Not only did I meet great people from all over Europe and made new friends, this experience was also very valuable for my own personal development because it forced me to come out of my comfort zone. I learned how to be a better listener, how to communicate better, debate ethically and respectfully, see things from other perspectives and learn to appreciate opposing attitudes more, and it also helped me overcome my fear of public speaking. 

 

The debates were interesting and I find that the themes of the debates that we tackled are very important and not talked enough in the society. It was wonderful to see the variety of oppinions and arguments presented during the debates, which reassured me that reality is seldom either black or white – the truth often lies somewhere in the middle. 

 

This was also my first ever trip to the beutiful city of Sarajevo. Our free time was dedicated to sightseeing, trying local food and exploring the city’s multicultural background. Thanks to the hospitality of our Bosnian hosts and the general good atmosphere during our stay, I think that this project was a huge success and hopefully we’ll get a chance to hang out again – maybe in Sarajevo, or maybe somewhere else.

-Jana Marković

I have to point out that this is one of my favorite projects I’ve been on so far. I am delighted with the quick agreement with the organizers, the concept of the activity and the sale. A good team of students contributed to the atmosphere as in the pleasant ambience of the hotel. The most important thing for me was the debate in which I really enjoyed and managed to show my skills, but also to listen to other teams and learn many new things. This project is especially dear to me because I was in Sarajevo for the first time. Thanks to the great mood of the team and the hosts, I had the opportunity to enjoy the beauties of Sarajevo in addition to working on the project. The hosts conveyed the spirit of this place in the right way, but they also did their job professionally. A visit to the museum and the final debate are the crown of this project. I am grateful for this opportunity and I hope that there will be more opportunities like this soon.

-Strahinja Poledica

Before leaving Uzice, I was excited. For the first time, I have the opportunity to visit Sarajevo and participate in the debate. During arrival in Sarajevo, the organizers waited for us and drove us to the hotel, which was in a great location, it was clean and tidy. I had a couple of hours to rest along good food and interior. The next day we started debating, I was a little scared because our team was the first, the whole team gave its best, but unfortunately we didn’t go any further. I’m sorry about that because I wanted to show my full potential in the debate, since I couldn’t in the first one. After the debate, I started getting to know other participants and organizers. I was delighted with the schedule of activities and the organization of the event, but also with the company. I also had a pleasant time touring the Bas Carsija together with new friends I’m thankful for this opportunity to meet new people, visit Sarajevo and open new vistas.

-Maja Kovacevic