Category: Reviews

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES OF 2020!

Posted on by Ismail Šehić

How to summarize a 2020 and to be positive? Yes, I can, we can, and we have to!

Let’s begin…

Just through the last year, 2019 I was a trainer, speaker, motivator and facilitator in more than 20 international trainings, seminars and events all over the world. Last year I was able to transfer knowledge about entrepreneurship, startup ecosystems, project management, human rights, healthy lifestyle, diplomacy in sport, the importance of education in the sport (ETS), non-formal education, social media, online tools, project management, team management, female entrepreneurship, European values, sales, business development, business plans and models for all generations of people starting from students to professionals.  With these trainings I was working in almost every part of the world. Only in 2019, I’ve had a chance to visit Brazil, Paraguay, Germany, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Philippines, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Poland, Greece,  Denmark, Bulgaria (3x), Uganda, Qatar, North Macedonia (2x), Kosovo, Albania, Sweden, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Armenia, Georgia (maybe I even forgot some of them) where I was trying to teach other people some useful things and tools for their life and was trying to inspire them to work on themselves, to use every day, every moment of their life to learn more, to develop their skills and gain valuable knowledge for their future.

Many people ask me where do I find all this energy, power and motivation?! So, this is my short answer:

Every new country, new culture, new language, every new individual who stands in front of me with a wish to learn more, to get some new information from me, every new training and opportunity where I can transfer my knowledge inspire me, give me energy and motivate me to work even more, much better and to increase the quality of my work!

My 2020 was planned to be almost the same, even with more trainings and trips, but …

In 2020, in only 2 months, I visited Belgium, Romania, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Croatia, so the following months supposed to look like the same, but…

Can you imagine how big a swap I had to make to survive 2020? When you make a plan for every day in a year, when every week and month is planned in detail, when your income depends on the number of “trips & trainings”, and suddenly nothing is as you prepared, nothing is easily solved, nothing can be covered by plan B, C or even D?! When you have planned a personal budget of over 50 000€, and you realize that you will get none, how I should feel?

Maybe you were asking yourself “why am I reading this”, why he is writing this, and what we have from “his promotion”, maybe…?

No worries, I will come on that right now!

 

Now is January 2021 and I am still alive, so I survived a 2020 without any international training and activity, which was my main income in 2019, but how did I manage it?! Answer to this question is the reason why I am writing this article…

To understand the answer to this question, first, you have to think about the situation in your life when you were thinking “everything is over”, I can’t continue, my life is over! Everyone in life had such a situation, bigger or smaller, such as falling exam, losing a job, losing a house, death of the family members, company or organization bankruptcy and etc. All these situations and many others are the biggest reasons for suicides in the world. So, to not think about it, I will give you some advice about finding a solution in any kind of situation.

First of all, you have to believe in yourself, in your knowledge, skills and abilities to deal with your feelings and emotions. Usually, if these last two are not set well all things mentioned before are endangered. When people react emotionally, then abilities for controlling a particular situation are not working well. So, first of all – control the emotional side of yourself in any situation. Second, if something is not going by your plan, try to change it to plan B or C if you have it, if not, make it! If that is not working, try something similar, based on the previous idea/job/work, because if that was your plan A, you should be the strongest in that field! If nothing of these are working, be open-minded, don’t be afraid to try new things, try new jobs, jobs which until then were insufficiently valuable and paid for you, jobs “below your level”, and don’t be ashamed of it, because every legally paid job is still a job and a livelihood for your family. If even this is not working for you, try to change your environment and the people you work with, research, apply for online jobs, apply for projects and learn from others! Something from above has to work, if not, hmm, then you really have to work on yourself, your skills, your non-formal and informal education, you really have to start from zero!

Even in this situation, you are still “alive human being” so, you have many things to learn and offer. Do not take things personally, because this is a circle of life, and every next moment can be different. Don’t be afraid to learn new things, to study, research and to change your everyday habits, just in this way you will see light on the end of the tunnel!

This part about learning and education is also valid at a time when you are doing well, when you have a job and when everything looks perfect. We need and must learn every moment of our lives!

The section on plans A, B, C and changes applies not only to individuals but also to companies, startups, organizations and all those who “depend on someone or something”!

At the end, how I survived?

Simple! At least for me, it looks simple, because I am not afraid to work on anything and with anybody, I don’t have a problem working for free or for some small amounts even for jobs who are usually very well paid. I love people, love to change the environment, societies, don’t have problems with freelancing and I am not ashamed to say “YES I WANT TO LEARN” even in situations when I think that I already know that what I get offer to learn. I don’t have a problem working 15-20 hours per day and I am recognized as a big workaholic person.

When the borders got closed I understood that my income will stop, so I had to react very fast and needed to find a solution. First what I have done was “changing the geographical field of work” = stop international => work locally! Second, I used all my skills to start some innovative things in BiH, started to open new programs and opportunities for people in BiH, started to cooperate with BH companies and organizations, I created freelancer profiles on few pages and groups, I contacted my cooperates and associates and offer to work for them for some small amounts of the money and I offered myself to some companies to work for them for free just to spend time with them and learn from them! After all this s**t with Covid-19 started I have contacted some of my “friends” who have companies that are not suffering due to Covid-19 Crisis and offer them myself, my knowledge and skills to work for them part-time or full time, but no one of them “gave me a chance” to join their teams and to contribute. Even we have never spoke about salary, conditions or anything about “job requirements”, but they didn’t give me a chance at least to try. Why? Maybe they were afraid that I will ask big salary or will have some big requests, but they couldn’t know without asking me. Of course, I still support their work and companies, and didn’t take this as “minus” for them, but this motivates me even more to work on myself and my skills.

This was my 2020 way of surviving, and YES, I am still officially unemployed, but still have a normal life, surviving normally, enjoying life with my wife and together we are looking future in the eyes. Maybe I don’t have money as I had last year in this period, maybe I am not spending as I did last year, but I am still enjoying life, have everything I need and I am not complaining never! From 50+ business meeting this year “in this situation” I have never asked anything from these people because I have my dignity and attitude, which is not allowing me to “ask” for myself. From all these 50+ meetings, after presentations and discussions about each other work and situation I have never get the question “how we/I can help you”, so in the last year I am questioning myself a lot: “Am I look really like someone who can help  everybody, and how never other side see that “maybe I really need something”?! Am I having a meeting with wrong people or people just trying to use my positive attitude and will to help?! I am questioning myself, but still, I will go to the meetings and will try to help everyone and everybody wherever  and whenever I can!

Once in life I said to my self: “God gave you a good brain and knowledge, so make the most of it, but share it with other people and put yourself on the service to your community!

Trust me there is a big truth in the quote “After a storm comes a calm”!

When you see your storm (real ” problem”) look her in the eyes and say: “I like storms. They remind me that even the sky (read “the best ones/the most beautiful/everyone) screams sometimes”!!!

To summarize 2020 in a few sentences and what I really did!

  1. I got a child, my first son!

  2. I made some great connections with local and national organizations, companies and institutions who hired me to work for them part-time;

  3. I held over 10 webinars and online educations for entrepreneurship, fundraising, human rights, fake media and fake news, SMS-s, startup ecosystem and etc.;

  4. I earned enough to have a normal life;

  5. I changed a way of work. From Internationally to locally;

  6. With my team I got 6 Sport International projects (as the only organization from Western Balkan), 4 Capacity Building projects and 2 Europe for Citizens;

  7. With my team I signed over 250 partnerships with organizations all over the world;

  8. With my team I supported and helped over 20 organizations to join European Commission Portal and enter European programs;

  9. My team prepared over 80 projects for other organizations, companies and institutions all over the world. I personally prepared over 20 of these projects;

  10. I received a prestigious Chinese government scholarship as a young professional under the “YES China Program” for International Business in Beijing, China as my Second Master Degree;

  11. In the end, I am still Director of BRAVO, and YES, still volunteering.

Uganda – First, real, Muzungu experience

Posted on by ismail-sehic-blogg

Pripreme za odlazak u Ugandu su bile sve osim uobičajne. Nažalost, ponukan predrasudama i stereotipima o ovoj Afričkoj zemlji pripreme su krenule puno ranije od uobičajnih i mnogo detaljnije nego inače. Uobičajna pripreme izgleda nekako ovako: „Unlock a phone, check a weather in the country I going in and pack my luggage“! Ništa posebno i ništa detaljno se ne istražuje, bar ne u mom slučaju. Ovaj put, istraživanje je odrađeno detaljno, od samog života u Africi, temperature, vremena, zaraza, bolesti u Ugandi, zemljama kojim je okružena i svim ovim detaljima za iste te zemlje. Nakon toga je uslijedila vakcinacija, pripremanje kojekakvih tableta i sprejeva kako bi se „zaštitio“ od „nepoznatog“ i slično, ali eto kad čovjek ide u nepoznato, valjda se treba i pripremiti. O zanimljivostima i nekim činjenicama o Ugandi pogledajte u mojoj sekciji „zanimljivosti“…Pripreme za odlazak u Ugandu su bile sve osim uobičajne. Nažalost, ponukan predrasudama i stereotipima o ovoj Afričkoj zemlji pripreme su krenule puno ranije od uobičajnih i mnogo detaljnije nego inače. Uobičajna pripreme izgleda nekako ovako: „Unlock a phone, check a weather in the country I going in and pack my luggage“! Ništa posebno i ništa detaljno se ne istražuje, bar ne u mom slučaju. Ovaj put, istraživanje je odrađeno detaljno, od samog života u Africi, temperature, vremena, zaraza, bolesti u Ugandi, zemljama kojim je okružena i svim ovim detaljima za iste te zemlje. Nakon toga je uslijedila vakcinacija, pripremanje kojekakvih tableta i sprejeva kako bi se „zaštitio“ od „nepoznatog“ i slično, ali eto kad čovjek ide u nepoznato, valjda se treba i pripremiti.

Naravno,
prije svega gore navedenog morao sam provjeriti „gdje i kako se
vadi VIZA za Ugandu“?! Nažalost, mi kao Bosanci i Hercegovci
uvijek imamo problem oko viza i putovanja do destinacija, ali ko je
spreman putovati, spreman je svašta nešto uraditi da bi otputovao.
Ovaj put sam imao sreće, jer se viza za Ugandu vadi online putem, i
cjeli proces traje 2 puta po 10 minuta. Nakon što unesete sve
podatke i „submitujete“ aplikaciju, nekoliko dana/sedmica poslije
pošalju vam mail i traže da učitate pozivno pismo, potvrdu o
smiještaju i karte. Zbog toga rekoh 2×10 min.

Pošto
baš i nemamo Bog zna kakvih konekcija za putovanja avionom ovako je
izgledao moj put:

Sarajevo
– Istanbul – Rome (Turkish Airlines) – Addis Ababa – Entebbe
(Ethiopian airlines) – Kampala (auto)
i istim takvim putem nazad.

Po
samom izlasku sa Entebbe aerodroma dočekala me je jako velika
vlažnost zraka i nekakva čudna temperatura. Nisam bio svjestan da
li je pretoplo ili „zagušljivo“, ali bilo je jako neugodno. Kada
sam stigao u Kampalu, odnosno u „Green House“ (kuća/hostel) u
kojem sam bio smješten, u sobi gdje sam trebao spavati primjetio sam
krevet sa „mrežom“, istom onom koju roditelji stavljaju na
dječije krevetiće da ih zaštite od kojekakvih „baja“. U tom
trenutku sam se osjetio totalno ugrožen, jer „ne bi ta mreža bila
tu da to stvarno nije ozbiljno HAHA“! Nakon toga, bio sam spreman
da pri svakom izlasku prionem na „prskanje“ svim mogućim
„anti…“ sprejevima. Naravno, to se desilo samo prvi dan dok
nisam shvatio da to i nije toliko strašno, pa sam ostalih dana
sprejeve koristio samo kao preventivnu zaštitu u totalno normalnoj
mjeri.

U
svom boravku u Kampali imao sam priliku posjetiti jako mnogo
različitih mjesta i plemena, gdje sam upoznao veliki broj
različitih, a istih ljudi, imao sam priliku osjetiti život „centra
Kampale“, ali i plemena do kojih se putuje i po par sati. Svaki
odlazak u grad je bio poseban, jer je bilo nemoguće korisitit
normalan „taxi ili uber“, već smo koristili „boda boda
uber/taxi“ koji je mnogo praktičniji i jednostavniji za putovanje
po gradu. BODA BODA su motori koji se koriste kao uber i taxi u
Ugandi i to je najviše korišteno prevozno sredstvo u ovom djelu
kontinenta. Ova vrste prevoza se najviše koristi zbog jako velikih
gužvi u saobračaju, te jako loših puteva, gdje možete naići i na
rupe veličine automobila i dubine preko pola metra. Prema lokalcima
rupe su nastale i nastaju zbog jako lošeg kvaliteta puta kojeg su
gradili kinezi, te velike vlage koja kroz taj materijal lako prodire
i pravi uvale. Bogataši se naravno voze velikim džipovima i „lete“
preko rupa, dok obični smrtnici koji su nekako kupili po neki
japanski automobil prelaze preko rupa i po par minuta.

Više
o važnim faktorima i zanimljivostima pogledajte u rubrici
„zanimljivosti“, a da nastavljam svoju priču…

Gdje god sam se pojavio sa svojom ekipom „bjelaca/Evropljana“ dočekani smo dječijim uzvicima „MUZUNGU“, što bi ti ga značilo „BJELI LJUDI“. Naravno, mi to nismo shvačali kao rasizam, već smo se uvijek nasmijali i prišli toj djeci koja su te riječi izgovarali jako nasmijani i „iznenađeni“. Pri prilasku, djeca su prije svega bježala ili se odmicala, pa su tek naknadno prilazili i pozdravljali se sa nama. Jako je teško bilo napraviti sliku sa samo jednim djetom, jer su svi uvijek uskakali i željeli se slikati sa nama. Imao sam priliku obići nekoliko plemena, a jedno mi se posebno dojmilo „Lugala Sugu” o kojem sam pisao i na Facebooku, pa da se ne bih ponavljao prenosim post u cjelosti:

Danas sam bio u posjeti jednom selu pod imenom Lugala Sugu do kojeg se može doći samo čamcem, takozvanim kanuom preko jezera Viktorija (ime nastalo kolonizacijom Ugande).

Posjetili smo nekoliko porodica, koje su nas zamolile da ih ne slikamo, jer im je neprijatno, a neki nisu dopustili iz straha. Naravno, jedan nas “domaćin” nam je to dozvolio, objasnio sta se dešava u tom selu, kako žive bez struje, kako se “bore” sa vodom i kako je to živjeti odvojeno od civilizacije. Predstavio nam je njihovo voće, koje većinom i on sadi u svojoj bašti, objasnio koje životinje se nalaze u šumama okolo i kakva sve plemena postoje.

Nakon toga smo posjetili jednu školu, koja je nastala kao jedna ideja/projekat da se djeci koja su udaljena od “prave škole” ponudi osnovno obrazovanje. Malo smo se družili sa djecom koja su nam neprestano mahala, trčala u zagrljaj i onako iskreno nas nazivala MUZUNGU (bijeli ljudi).

Nakon toga vratili smo se u “civilizaciju” gdje smo obišli određene građevine i pričali sa lokalcima o kvalitetu života, poslu i slično.

Popodne smo otišli u Design HUB koji okuplja ljude svih boja, rasa, vjera itd. gdje smo obavili finalne pripreme za sutrašnji dan.

Ako niste znali oficijalnih jezik u Ugandi je Engleski, tako da nam je jako lako razumjeti lokalce, ako ste se do sad pitali ko nam sve to prevodi. Naravno, imaju i svoj lokalni, te svako pleme ima svoj “zasebni” jezik.

Čak sam uspio i da naučim par riječi:

Vebalenjo – hvala
KARE = OK
BODA BODA – taxi
MZUNGU – bijeli ljudi

Uskoro donosim još informacija i detalja iz ovog kraja svijeta….

Bili
u civilizaciji ili van nje, bili u plemenu ili u HUB-u dočekat će
vas osmjesi i dragi pogledi, na njihovim licima jako teško je
primjetiti tugu i žalost, već sve suprotno tome. Svi su spremni
pomoći, svi žele dati svoj doprinost da se u ovoj siromašnoj
zemlji osječate sretni i zadovoljni, svi žele pokazati
gostoprimstvo i svoju sreću. Što se tiće mene, oni su to i
uspjeli, sve ovo su prenijeli na mene i pomogli su mi da razumijem
njihovu kulturu i državu puno bolje nego sam to znao prije.

Boraveći u Kampali imali smo priliku posjetiti i nekoliko škola i edukativnih centara, koji naravno liče na sve osim na školu, ali bitno je da se ljudi obrazuju i edukuju. Pored svega što smo uradili u Kampali, mi smo izrazito došli sa projektom kako bi povezali razna plemena koja i nisu u tako dobrim odnosima kroz sport, pa smo tako uspjeli organizovati i turnir u fudbalu. O tome sam takođe pisao na Facebooku, pa ponovo prenosim post u cjelosti:

Današnji dan u Ugandi sam ponovo posvetio djeci i omladini koja dolaze sa ruralnih područja ovog grada, sela i mladih ljudi koji su u teškom finansijskom i socijalnom stanju.

Kako bi održali jednu jako korisnu edukaciju i skupili mlade ljude, tinejdžere i djecu iz tih područja i plemena, koji danonoćno rade kojekakve poslove kako bi preživjeli morali smo naći pravi način i napraviti sistem.

Kako biva u većini slučajeva, gdje god se pojavi mržnja i netrpeljivost, sport i sportske aktivnosti dođu, to pobjede i razbiju sve predrasude. Mi smo se vodili tom logikom i za samo nekoliko dana u suradnji sa #PCCP-om i #SoulXpressions-om, u koordinaciji #MineVagantiNGO, koji je i začetnik cijele ove priče napravili smo veliku stvar. Uspjeli smo organizovati turnir u fudbalu, okupiti razne “mahale” i plemena, organizovati ljude, pripremiti nagrade i obradovati kako mnogu djecu, tako i njihove roditelje i plemena.

U organizaciju su se uključili svi, ali bukvalno svi. Roditelji su donosili “UGALJ” i zajedno sa omladinom ocrtavali teren, pa eto ako niste znali oni tako markiranu linije. Našli su ozvučenje, skupili stolice i šatore, stavili mreže na golove, donijeli klupe, sportski klubovi su dali dresove, mi podijelili majice i turnir je bio spreman za jako kratko vrijeme.

Utakmice su krenule po suhom i prasnjavom terenu koji uopće nije prijatan, ali nakon nekoliko utakmica počela je kiša, koja je od prašine napravila blato, koje je izgledalo katastrofalno. Sve ovo, a moglo bi se dodati još stvari koliko želite nije zaustavilo ove omladince da prestanu igrati jedne sekunde. Na kraju jedna “mahala” je dobila svog pobjednika, ali su se svi radovali, jer su i oni svjesni da su svi pobjednici.

Kao što možete vidjeti na slikama ispod, fudbalski teren je bio ispunjen djecom koja su se borila ko ce donijeti loptu, roditelja i prijatelja koji su bodrili mladice koji su se u bladu do grla borili za pehar i ostale nagrade. Naravno, bit svega je bio okupiti ih i svima na jednom mjestu održati jednu korisnu edukaciju. PROJEKAT je nazvan “#SOULandSOIL” – EDUKACIJA KROZ SPORT, a turnir #Kikubamutwe.

Nakon toga posjetili smo i jednu školu plesa koja okuplja djecu i mlade iz socijalno ugroženih područja, siromašnu djecu i mlade iz raznih plemena.

Nakon druženja napravili su jedan jako lijep performans za nas i pokazali svoje vještine plesanja.

Ja smatram da smo uspjeli i da su MZUNGI ovaj put uradili nesto korisno za njihovu zajednicu i povezali lokalne zajednice i plemena. Mi smo zaboravili i na hranu i piće, pa smo doručkovali tek nekad u vrijeme večere, ali gledajući svu tu strast i želju, kao i okruženje u kojem smo bili, nisamo uopće osjetili potrebu za tim.

Život je ovdje sigurno težak, ali je pun ljubavi i sreće, tako da ne gledajte koliko imate, nego koliko dajete.

Šaljem vam ljubav iz ovog drugog svijeta, čudne ali i prelijepe Ugande.

#EducationThroughSport #InternationalCooperation #OneWorld #minevagantingo #mvinternational #SoulXpressions #PCCP #BRAVO #BRAVOBIH #BRAVOSARAJEVO

Iako
je uganda jedna od najsiromašnijih zemalja svijeta, iako sve to vrlo
lako možete vidjeti prolazeći ulicama van centra, to se nikako ne
može primjetiti na ljudima, jer svaki susret sa njima počinje i
završava sa smijehom, počinje sa lijepim riječima i završava sa
plesom itd. Moram priznati da siromaštvo vlada ovom zemljom, ali ono
materijalno, ono duhovno sigurno ne i siguran sam da i mi našu sreću
trebamo tražiti u nećemo trećem, jer i oni sigurno od nekud crpe
svoju energiju i želju za životom.

Priču
iz Ugande želim završiti sa jendom od posljenjih rečenica iz mog
posta: „Život
je ovdje sigurno težak, ali je pun ljubavi i sreće, tako da ne
gledajte koliko imate, nego koliko dajete.“

Kada
kažem dajete, onda stvarno tako i mislim, jer vjerujte da i malim
davanjem nekog možete jako mnogo usrećiti, nekada to vama znaći
jako malo, a nekom i previše. Ako niste putovali u takve zemlje i
osjetili kako to izgleda, siguran sam da nećete do kraja shvatiti
šta to tačno znači.

Žao
mi je što Bosanci često ružno govore o svojoj zemlji i kao da se
takmičimo ko će više oblatiti život u Bosnia i Hercegovini, ali
kada vidite šta je stvarno siromašna zemlja, onda je lako shvatiti
da Bosna i Hercegovina možda i nije među najbogatijima na svijetu,
ali nije ni među onim najsiromašnijim.

O
zanimljivostima i nekim faktima o Ugandi pogledajte u mojoj sekciji
„zanimljivosti“…

Ankara

Posted on by ismail-sehic-blogg

Anitkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independenceand the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey.

The mausoleum looks a lot like the Parthenon in Athens, with tall columns at its entrance. As the video illustrates, there were moments when horns blasted over the speakers and all of the visitors stopped to pay tribute to the Father of Turkey.

The site is also the final resting place of İsmet İnönü, the second President of Turkey, who was interred there after he died in 1973. His tomb faces the Atatürk Mausoleum, on the opposite side of the Ceremonial Ground.

It’s hard to not be impressed by this extravagant memorial. On the 69th anniversary of his death, over milion people visited the mausoleum to pay respect to the Father of Modern Turkey.

Think about that for a moment!

Berlin

Posted on by ismail-sehic-blogg

Brandenburg Gate is the first stop for every visitor to Berlin! The city’s iconic landmark offers fascinating insights into the city’s history.

The Brandenburg Gate is one of the most iconic sights in today’s vibrant Berlin. More than just Berlin’s only surviving historical city gate, this site came to symbolise Berlin’s Cold War division into East and West – and, since the fall of the Wall, a reunified Germany. Architecturally, the sandstone Brandenburg Gate also represents one of the earliest and most attractive examples of a neo-classical building in Germany.


History – the Brandenburg Gate

Constructed between 1788 and 1791, the Brandenburg Gate was Berlin’s first Greek revival building. Designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, architect to the Prussian court, it was inspired by the monumental gateway at the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. The Brandenburg Gate is 26 metres high, 65.5 metres long and 11 metres deep, and supported by two rows of six Doric columns.

In 1793, the gate was crowned by the Quadriga statue, designed by Johann Gottfried Schadow. This statue also has its own story to tell. In 1806, when Napoleon’s army took Berlin, the French Emperor had the Quadriga transported to Paris as war booty and a sign of his victory. In 1814, after Napoleon’s forced abdication, the Quadriga was returned to Berlin where it once again adorned the Brandenburg Gate, facing towards the east and the city centre.

In 1946, with the post-war division of Germany and Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate was in the Soviet sector. When the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, the Gate stood in an exclusion zone in an arc of the Wall, inaccessible for locals and visitors alike. When the Wall fell, 100,000 people gathered here for the Brandenburg Gate’s official opening on 22 December 1989 – and soon afterwards, crowds thronged the area to celebrate their first joint New Year’s Eve in this once-divided city. Today, more than almost any other of the city’s landmark sights, the Brandenburg Gate symbolises a reunited Berlin.

Sassari

Posted on by ismail-sehic-blogg

One of the most important cities in the north of Sardinia. Sassari is well represented by its historical center, where you can admire buildings in different artistic styles: neoclassical, baroque, gothic, romantic.

Sassari is a beautiful and regal city. It’s a place you do not expect to find, with a thousand extraordinary surprises. As soon as you begin to walk in the city center you discover one of the most beautiful corners of Sardinia. You will fall in love with its history, monuments, green spaces, culture, tradition and for its cuisine that make it a unique destination to discover.

A controversial history made up of judicatures and maritime republics, realms, pirate invasions, great characters of both ancient and modern history of which the city can be proud.

It all started in 1131, when it appears in the Condaghe (stories) of San Pietro in Silki the name of Jordi de Sassaro.

It became a free city in 1236, promulgating under the domination of Pisans the Statutes of Sassari, a code that regulated the civil, legal and economic life of the citizens . This important document is written in Latin and Logudorese Sardinian.

There are only five copies of this manuscript, two of which date back to the foundation of the city. It was in this period that the city, disputed between the maritime republics, stipulated an act of confederation with the Republic of Genoa in 1294, and completed the walls for protection.

The Royal City of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1331, still retains the traces of the passage of Aragon and the Spanish. The castle of Sassari, _ the seat of the Spanish Inquisition in Sardinia was demolished in 1877 and now only a few parts remain that still tell a piece of history of the bourgeoisie and of the Aragon presence: the foundations, and two corridors of the old wall that housed the artillery. After being invaded by the French in 1527, Sassari faced several periods of severe social and economic crisis, and was decimated by the plague in 1582. With the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, it began a brief period of Austrian domination, then the Savoy took their place in 1720. Everything else is part of its cultural renaissance and urban development until the nineteenth century.

The city expanded beyond the walls, partially torn down during a cholera epidemic. Following the example of the capital city, Turin, new districts arose with a new hospital, prison, schools and town squares, and a new Civic Theater. Nearby Porto Torres was restored with the first ferry connections with Genoa and new entrepreneurship grew: it became the second most important city in Italy for the production of leather.

But there is more to Sassari than just its history: it is a city with at least twelve reasons for being so special …

… This is the city where the first university of Sardinia was born and still is the city of the young who can follow studies of excellence in law, agriculture and veterinary medicine.

… Its the city whose symbol is a fountain that is a true masterpiece: the Fountain of Rosello, previously famous as the major well of the area since 1295

… Its the city where the city gathering spot is a large nineteenth-century square, Piazza Italia, where the Palace of the Province and the neo-Gothic Palazzo Giordano overlook the city center

… Its the city where enormous Candlesticks, recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Site, on August 14 are carried on the shoulders of the devout in a magic dance through the narrow and crowded streets of the city to the Cathedral of the city

… Is a city full of beautiful historical buildings built between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries that host municipal offices and museums

… Its the city of politics and where presidents of the Italian Republic were born and raised. Here Enrico Berlinguer, Antonio Segni and Francesco Cossiga were born

… Its the city where you will find the command of the Brigata Sassari, whose origins date back to the First World War, when the Sardinians distinguished themselves in fierce fighting on the front that earned them numerous awards and citations for the first time in the Bulletin of the Supreme Command. Written for Sardinians, the hymn Dimonios (devils) commemorates the valor and courage typical of the islanders

… Its the city with the best fast food: the fainè

… Its the city that has a special prenuragic monument, Mount Accoddi, unique in all the Mediterranean with a pyramidal structure with steps similar to the ziggurat of Mesopotamia

… Its the city in whose territory is located the only natural lake in Sardinia: Lake Baratz

… Its the city in whose territory you can find the atmosphere of the Scottish highlands in the Argentiera

… Its the city in whose territory it is possible to see the Asinara Gulf with the crystal-clear sea of Sardinia and pink flamingos.

The most important monumental buildings are: the St. Nicholas Church, Palazzo Ducale, Palazzo Giordano, Piazza Italia and the Rosello Fountain. The St. Nicholas Church dominates the old town with its impressive, baroque façade containing the statues of martyrs in niches. There is a bell-tower beside the church. Its interior dates back to the XIII Century and is in the gothic style. Its external part was constructed in the XVII Century. Among the numerous works of art, there are also: a marble altar from the middle of the XIX Century, a Madonna del Bosco painting from the XIV Century, a Spanish crucifix from the XVIII Century and the mausoleum of Placido Benedetto di Savoia – Lord of Moriana, brother of Vittorio Emmanuele I and Carlo Felice, who died in Sassari in 1802.

Palazzo Ducale was built at the end of the XVIII and beginning of the XIX Centuries by Antonio Manca, the marquise of Mores and duke of Asinara, most likely according to Carlo Valino’s project. In 1900, the palace was purchased by the municipal administration and nowadays hosts the small town hall.
Palazzo Giordano was constructed in 1878 and is actually the headquarters of the Banco di Napoli. The beautiful rooms were decorated by Gugliemo Bilancioni.

Piazza d’Italia, constructed in 1872, spreads over 1 hectare and is also called “Sassari’s lounge (“il salotto di Sassari”) as it used to be an urban centre where new quarters were developed. There is the Province’s Palace (il Palazzo della Provincia), constructed between 1873 and 1880 and the statue of Vittorio Emanuele II – the work of artist Giuseppe Sartorio (1899).

The Rosello Fountain was constructed by craftsmen in the XVII Century in a time when there was no aqueduct in the most important point of the city. Considering the abundance of water, a wash-house was built beside it. Nowadays, the area is less important and in a valley overlooked by the Rosello Bridge. The fountain is covered with marble, its walls are decorated with 12 lions with water flowing from their mouths. Metaphoric statues of the 4 seasons are in each corner and a statue of St. Gavino on horseback rests on the peak of 2 intertwined arches.

There are very nice churches in the old town – especially St. Mary’s church where “candarieri” are kept (big, wooden machines that are carried during the procession by the historic neighbourhoods’ representatives, the 14th of August every year during the “festa manna”). Another church that is worth a visit is the beautiful cathedral of St. Nicholas recently opened to visitors after a long period of restoration.

Tanay

Posted on by ismail-sehic-blogg

Staying on this rock I was trying to balance inspired by this place and people living here.

Balance…?

Are you familiar with that? Do you know what is it? To make it even more complicated, what about “Rock Balancing”? Have you heard about it? Sounds interesting right? Maybe you’ve tried balancing different stuffs but balancing a heavy and with various sizes and forms rocks, well it’s an extraordinary skills. The art of rock balancing is not an easy-breezy thing to perform considering that rocks are the most irregularly-shaped pieces on earth

In Tanay Rizal, just 57 kilometers east of Manila, 1 hour and 30 minutes’ drive, Rock balancing exists and it’s a popular.
As per Wiki: Rock balancing is an art, discipline, or hobby (depending upon the intent of the practitioner) in which rocks are balanced on top of one another in various positions. There are no tricks involved to aid in the balancing, such as adhesives, wires, supports, or rings.

In the Philippines, Rock Balancing was founded in September 2010. There were two proponents who popularized, organized and introduced this form of Art in Tanay, named Leandro Tamayo Inocencio and Ildefonso Bandoma Vista. These two names are advocates for greener and cleaner environment. The very reason why they introduced this art is not only performing or exhibiting it, yet to persuade the locals to support their project named “The Journey for The Trees” This Project tends to give awareness and promoting environmental awareness and life conservation through conducting such exhibition of Rock Balancing.

It was a success, a tree planting activities, lectures for environmental awareness, rock balancing and more in connivance with Municipality of Tanay, The Billion Tree Campaign, United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), ), and the 350.org‘s 10-10-10 Global Work Party, and innumerable sponsors and volunteers.

“Masaya ang Rock Balancing at sobrang amdaming tao talaga ang nagpupunta dito sa Tanay(The Rock Balancing event is very festive and lots of visitors are witnessing it)” the police in Daranak Falls said. The Event is annually conducted in Tanay Town Proper from then, but some of the masterpieces are available right in Daranak Falls. “It’s originally from US, and they brought it here” he added.

Truly, witnessing the masterpieces really admired me and motivated me to try. I tried one but that was really hard, first you have to choose the right shape of the rocks from the river. You have to balance it according to the center of the gravity. It really measures your patience and creativity.

Moreover, experiencing it personally was a great remembrance. I realized that even a worthless rock can also turned into a value-laden form of art. An Art that can change the world to make greener and cleaner, An Art that can increase the tourism in Tanay Rizal, An art that can teach you how to become patient.

Trainer of “Youth, Business, Better” Capacity Building Youth Project

Posted on by Ismail Šehić

“Youth, Business, Better” (YBB) is a project involving a total of 8 NGOs of which 3 based in the Western Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Albania) and 5 in Europe (Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovakia, FYROM).

YBB will develop an integrated approach for youth organizations in partner countries to tackle the issues of unemployment, social and economic marginalization of rural youth.

 

In Europe and West Balkans, high youth unemployment rates, sustained youth population drain to urban centres, overall economic marginalization are compounded by impaired access to education, socialization and participation opportunities in a complex relationship of co-determination.

The simultaneous operation of the factors outlined above is both a triggering and perpetuating factor in a self-feeding dynamic of exclusion whose unhindered development is due to hamper the socioeconomic sustainability of rural communities and the personal development of youngsters.

A comprehensive and sustainable approach to youth employability in rural areas should focus on strengthening the role of youth organization as key bridgeheads capable of connecting youth empowerment, active citizenship and local development through an NFE based educational approach targeted at providing young people with skills to be active drivers of positive change.

Developing entrepreneurial skills and competences in young people represents a major avenue towards the enhancement of self-employability, active participation and social inclusion of youngsters as well as a key determinant in eliciting a youth driven-bottom up process of development capable of making the most of the wide array of assets (natural, cultural, traditional) characterizing rural areas across Europe and Western Balkan countries.

YBB provides a comprehensive approach to tackle the issue of youth unemployment in rural areas by means of sharing and developing knowledge, best practices and NFE tools fostering the understanding and technical competences of locally-engaged youth operators in supporting empowerment and employability of young people in rural areas through conveying skills and competences of entrepreneurship.

The Consortium is composed of experienced youth organizations with a long-standing involvement in support of disadvantaged youth categories in rural areas by means of NFE. 

In the frame of YBB, partners will share, assess and develop knowledge, best practices and NFE tools to be tested and further developed in a TC involving youth/social workers from each organization. The methodologies developed in project TC will be tested in a piloting phase conducted in all partner countries with the participation of local youth operators. Partners will test the educational outcomes achieved in the first phase of the project through a specific YE involving youngsters from rural areas.

“Youth, Business, Better” (YBB) is a project involving a total of 8 NGOs of which 3 based in the Western Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Albania) and 5 in Europe (Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovakia, FYROM). YBB will develop an integrated approach for youth organizations in partner countries to tackle the issues of unemployment, social and economic marginalization of rural youth.

In Europe and West Balkans, high youth unemployment rates, sustained youth population drain to urban centres, overall economic marginalization are compounded by impaired access to education, socialization and participation opportunities in a complex relationship of co-determination.

The simultaneous operation of the factors outlined above is both a triggering and perpetuating factor in a self-feeding dynamic of exclusion whose unhindered development is due to hamper the socioeconomic sustainability of rural communities and the personal development of youngsters. A comprehensive and sustainable approach to youth employability in rural areas should focus on strengthening the role of youth organization as key bridgeheads capable of connecting youth empowerment, active citizenship and local development through an NFE based educational approach targeted at providing young people with skills to be active drivers of positive change.

On this Training Course, 32 participants from 8 countries took part. Countries which were represented are Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia.

 

32 Youth workers and leaders in the field of non-formal education and entrepreneurship were representing their countries and contribute on this training course.

Location of the project:

Trainer of “Start it UP, Keep it UP” project organized by NAYORA

Posted on by Ismail Šehić

The project “Start it UP, Keep it UP” is an innovative project focused on promotion of social entrepreneurship. This project touches one of the comparing unknown fields in the youth sector and the new concept for Europe – social entrepreneurship, emphasizing the innovative feature – creation of social start-up incubators.

 

The project oriented to solution of social problems of communities in Europe, where young people can bring a change through a social-oriented start-ups, by equipping youth organizations with necessary capacity in order to provide young people with consulting and training on social entrepreneurship. This will not only solve different social problems in Europe, but also make young people become the main actors of change. The project inspired and provided young people with knowledge and resources in order to bring a change to their community. Besides this, it will also raise a network of young social entrepreneurs, who will continue working in a network and give solutions to social problems of Europe. 

The project links to the objectives of the Erasmus+ programme by aiming at the development of cooperation between youth organisations from East and West of Europe with a specific focus on capacity development of NGOs in order to promote social entrepreneurship in Europe.

The project unites in itself 2 min components regarding young people: employment and active participation of young people in solution of community problems.  Nowadays young people depend on the local context if their potentials are activated or if self- development is limited due to structural and direct forms of exclusion. This presented project wants to address this problem by offering the chance to establish social entrepreneur centres and human resources for fulfilling these needs of the local community. 

The main gap that we filled by implementing the project “Start it UP, Keep it UP” was to create the spaces (HUBs) for young people to gather for starting their social start-ups and get acknowledged with social entrepreneurs for exchange of practices. As it’s known currently there are few social start-up incubators and accelerators around Europe, as the big majority of existing incubators and accelerators are focused on entrepreneurship itself, not including social entrepreneurship in it.

We saw youth organizations as the main actors in filling this gap. We believe by providing youth organizations with necessary capacity these organizations can gather social entrepreneurs and create the necessary conditions for them. This has done by training 4 mentors per organization and providing organizations with the manuals that will be developed in the end of the project for further dissemination along with the online platform for young social entrepreneurs with necessary resources. The Social Entrepreneurship Forum and organizing local trainings for future social entrepreneurs will also ensure the implementation and learning processes, putting them in parallel, so the impact will be ensured during the whole project.

The mobility activities of this project were called “Training of Mentors”. It total there were 3 training of mentors conducted during 18 month within 21 project implementation months, with 1 training in each 6 moths.

The mobility activities were aimed to provide the mentors with necessary expertise, skills, knowledge and capacity to guide and mentor the local groups. The activities were organized as interactive 7 days training courses each. The trainings were conducted using the methodology of non-formal learning. After each training participants were required to implement the tasks set during the training course (involve participants for local trainings, implement training courses, organize workshops and counselling sessions).
Between the trainings of mentors the future mentors conducted the mentioned local trainings and actively work with potential participants and future social entrepreneurs.

The mobility activities gave a triple-impact effect. First, as the direct target group, the mentors themselves were benefitted by building their capacity as future mentors. Second, the organizations were strengthening their network between each other, as during the training courses some of the sessions were dedicated to network building. Third, the participants of local training courses were benefitted indirectly, as they were provided with mentoring in order to start their own social enterprises. 

During each of the mobility activity and other trips for capacity building activities, we organized a study visit to the existing social start-ups in the hosting cities. This gave a chance to build and strengthen the network among social enterprises, as well as inspire and give ideas for social start-ups.

The project “Start it UP, Keep it UP” has the following objectives and related key activities:

Objective 1: To build the capacity of youth NGOs in giving consulting for young people in social entrepreneurship.

Key activity 1: Establishment of social entrepreneur hubs in 6 countries across Europe. The hubs will gather young social entrepreneurs for networking and provide young people interested in social entrepreneurship with necessary consulting and assistance.

Key activity 2: A long-term training course for social entrepreneurship mentors with 3 physical trainings and mentorship practice phase.

 

Objective 2: To create a space for assessment and discussion of the impact of social entrepreneurship in decreasing unemployment and building a better environment with relevant stakeholders.

Key activity 1: “Youth Social Entrepreneurship Forum” which will be organized in Baku city and will gather 60 young people involved in social entrepreneurship and relevant stakeholders in order to discuss the role of social entrepreneurship in youth employment and social development in Europe.

Key activity 2: Study-visits to existing social enterprises in the hosting cities during the planned physical meetings of the project (advanced planning meeting, residential trainings, Forum and evaluation meeting) for exchange of best practices and visualisation of the impact of social enterprises.

 

Objective 3: To increase the knowledge of young people in social entrepreneurship and provide them with opportunities and tools for starting their own “social start-ups”.

Key activity 1: Long-term training courses for 120 young people in 6 countries, where they’ll identify the areas they want to work on and start running their own start-ups.

Key activity 2: Launch an online tool which will provide young people with online modules on social entrepreneurship and strengthen the network between young social entrepreneurs.

Key activity 3:  Establishment of a social start-up incubator in the city of applying organization, which will ensure the sustainability of this project and create a space for social entrepreneurs to learn and practice their skills.

Key activity 4: Development of the manuals in the language of the partner countries and English version in order to provide young people with the basic information on how to start the social enterprise.

Location of the Training: