Guideline for SWYAA Annual Country Reports January to December 2013

Transcription

1 Guideline for SWYAA Annual Country Reports January to December 2013 This is a general guideline for each SWYAA when writing the annual report. Each Alumni Association has the freedom to add/delete specific information. The annual report will be uploaded on the SWYAA official website. Photos (maximum 10 pictures in high resolution, please add explanation) related to major post-program activities of each Alumni Association should be attached to the annual report. Please submit your report to: swyaa@iyeo.or.jp BASIC FACTS Basic facts about your country s Alumni Association: Country Greece Name of the organization Organisational structure Board members (Name/batch) SWY GREECE Alumni Association Umbrella organization of the government Officially registered NGO Voluntary group Other ( ) President: Konstantinos Tsigkaras (SWY18 - SWY22) General Secretary: Anna Cheimona (SWY22) Treasurer: Danai Karnava (SWY18) Member 1: Vassilis Tikos (SWY06) Member 2 Sophia Spitha (SWY02) Number of members Total number of ex-pys: 80 Active members: 29 Annual membership fee Affiliate members: 2 (Japanese Ambassador, Japanese Cultural Attaché) Yes How much? ( 10 euros) No Basic facts about your country s participation in SWY: Which batches has your SWY 2, SWY 6, SWY 10, SWY 14, SWY 18, SWY22 country participated in? Which institution has Japanese Embassy conducted the selection Government process? Youth organization SWYAA Other ( ) Which institution has conducted the pre-departure training? How many days was the pre-departure training? Japanese Embassy Government Youth organization SWYAA Other ( ) 1 day 2 3 days 4 6 days Other ( the pre-departure training for SWY22 has started 2 months before the departure to Japan, and the fact that there was an ex-py appointed as a NL (for the first time) helped a lot the preparation stages.)

2 Communication: How does your AA communicate internally with members and externally with non-members? Website URL ( ) Newsletter Please attach a copy of the newsletter to this report Mailing list members@swygreece.gr Blog URL ( ) Facebook page Twitter ( ) NETWORKING AND COLLABORATIONS WITH JAPAN AND THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY Important associates and collaborators? Do you organize events with the Japanese Embassy? Do you organize events with the Japanese community? Government sector (name: General Secretariat of Youth) Japanese Embassy Japanese community Other organizations (name: Citizens in Action, Scouts of Greece, American College of Greece) Yes How often? (depends on schedule) What kind of events? (cultural) No Yes How often? (depends on plans) What kind of events? (cultural, educational) No ACTIVITIES IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR International reunions (Please write your AA has hosted an international reunion) Name of the event Date of the event National reunions (Please write your AA has hosted a national reunion) Name of the event Greek Alumni Association hosts very frequent reunions to strengthen the bonds of our alumni members and organize new actions. Date of the event Hosting city Most of the reunions take place in Athens were most of the ex-pys reside. How many participants? As many as possible! Receiving ex-swy participants How many SWY visitors Too many To name a few: did you - Haruko Ishii (SWY22, SWY24, SWY25) receive in - Abdulla Al Shehhi (SWY22) your country? - Libbie Hashimoto (SWY10) - And many more Did you organize a Homestay + 1 project for the visitors? If yes, please write in detail. More photos at & in our social media pages Yes

3 Voluntary (Social Contribution) projects Post-Program Activities Name of the event Date of the event Hosting city How many ex- PYs involved and how many beneficiaries? 1. SWYWorld.net & Ongoing project since Autumn 2010 Online Project SWYAA and the World More than 7500 unique visitors so far from 106 countries in 3 ½ years! Please write a summary of the event SWYWorld.net aims - to connect all the ex-pys with various kinds of activities, - to create stronger bonding for the SWY family and to - share our energy to the world. More info: Name of the event Date of the event Hosting city How many ex- PYs involved and how many beneficiaries? 2. Environmental Awareness Actions in the Frame of the World Environment Day 2013, June 9th, Athens, Syntagma square June 9 th 2013, 18:00-21:30 Athens Greece 15

4 Please write a summary of the event Ship For World Youth Greece Alumni Association participated in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, the City of Athens authorities and the General Secretariat of Youth, in the environmental awareness campaign actions, organized in the frame of the World Environment Day 2013 on Sunday, June 9th from 18:00 to 21:30 at different points of Syntagma Square (the main square of Athens). Visitors experiences a special even with: - Environmental games - Planting seeds workshop - Paper recycling workshop - Home composting workshop - Vegetable garden - Origami workshop - Inflatable recycling park - Interactive recycling games

5 SWYAA GREECE Alumni members with the Cultural attaché of Japanese Embassy in Greece SWYAA GREECE Alumni members and young SWYers

6 Name of the event 3. SWYAA RADIO Date of the event Hosting city How many ex- PYs involved and how many beneficiaries? Please write a summary of the event Ongoing project since Spring 2012 Online project All SWY ex-pys as well as future expansion to SSEAYP network International project launched by SWYAA Greece aiming at the creation of a web based radio - 24 hours operational - that will contribute to the communication between SWY members, disseminate project information and cover recreational purposes. Aims and Objectives SWY Radio can help in a number of SWY aims and objectives as well as cover local needs in different countries 1. To promote Intercultural understanding. 2. To further promote youth participation. 3. To fight exclusion. 4. To promote active citizenship. 5. To increase the means of communication for the former and present participants of the SWY program. 6. To provide information and develop domestic and international networks. 7. To promote activities, locally and internationally, that could establish new social, volunteer and development initiatives. 8. To foster SWYAA collaboration and participation in order to achieve common goals.

7 OTHERS This is a space to freely write about other activity reports of If there is anyone from your AA who had major achievements in their professional work or voluntary activities, please include that information as well. Ex) Winning a major award, interviewed by major newspaper or TV, promoted to a significantly high position in companies or government, etc. 1. SWY International Day, January 18th, 2013 SWYAA GREECE Alumni members (at least the ones that were in Athens this day) celebrated the SWY International Day by cutting a traditional New Year s cake, sharing stories and memories from the program. Every batch had at least one representative (SWY10 had 4!) Sophia Spitha (SWY 2) made an Ikebana for us and we also had an origami session presented by our special guest, Myrto Dimitriou, origami Master. Happy SWY International Day to all!!!

8 2. SWY International Personal Development trainings, January August 2013 Between January and August 2013, while Volunteering in The Netherlands, Anna Cheimona (SWY22) and Panagiotis Mamouzakis (SWY22), they participated in several international trainings and Youth Exchange about Personal Development, Sustainability, Youth Work and Media. During these trainings, they did workshops about Volunteering, personal empowerment and youth working by using SWY as one of the examples. Elements of SWY were very useful and fitting in the different fields of the Trainings as well as different Youth Exchange programs. 3. Vasilis Tikos (SWY06) Advisor of the SWY 25 Program SWYAA Greece was honored to send one of the most active members of its alumni as an advisor for SWY25. Third time on board the ship, second as an advisor after SWY22! 4. SWY Greece Alumni Association was invited in expy Tokyo Conference 2013 & the establishment of SWYAA International, March 2013

9 5. Social Responsibility Events in the framework of 8 th Alexander the Great Marathon (April 21 st, 2013) Konstantinos Tsigkaras (SWY18, SWY22), member of the organizing committee and responsible for the Volunteering program of the 8 th Alexander the Great Marathon, (April 21 st, 2013), organized several parallel cultural events, events of social responsibility and environmental offer that completed the sports programme. The organization supported the Greek Company of Protection and Rehabilitation of Disabled Children ELEPAP and highlighted its admirable work, aiming to reinforce the institution of the "ADOPTION DONATION" which supports children with disabilities from economically weak families, covering the annual cost of their program of therapy. In cooperation with the non-profit corporation DESMOS there were actions organized such as the "MARATHON GOODS COLLECTION" (baby diapers, baby cream and milk powder), which were offered to institutions of Thessaloniki. The organization also supported the Children's Villages SOS, helping financially the social project of the SOS Children's Village of Plagiari in Thessaloniki. Last but not least, the International Marathon ALEXANDER THE GREAT supported financially the Down Syndrome Association of Greece so as to create the House of Supported Living and the Day Care Centre, LAMPSI (Parents Association of Children with neoplastic diseases), the Girls Orphanage Melissa, the Panhellenic Association of Paraplegics (PASPA, Macedonia - Thrace branch) and the Institution Children s Asylum.

10 More info: International seminar - ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM! in Serbia, June 2013 Vasilis Tikos (SWY06) and Xenia Koutentaki (SWY10) organized an International seminar called "ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM!" - in Vrsac, Serbia, June 15 th - 22 nd 2013 with the collaboration of Young Researchers of Serbia and Citizens in Action, Greece. Topics that were analyzed and discussed included: - How to create a common understanding of culture and sustainability - Sustainable Consuming - understanding our power as consumers - Interrelation of culture and identity; Where does environment fit? Two Greek alumni members joined the seminar Anna Cheimona (SWY22) and Konstantinos Tsigkaras (SWY18, SWY22). The seminar was a big success as all participants were in the end of the week very enthusiastic about changing their (and others' around them) life habits towards sustainable lifestyle! The moto of the week was: Doing Things Differently Might Lead to Something Exceptional!

11 7. Social Responsibility Events in the framework of 2 nd Thessaloniki Night Half Marathon (October 19 st, 2013) Konstantinos Tsigkaras (SWY18, SWY22) and his team, worked for months and achieved to turn to the second international night halfmarathon into a great athletic, cultural, social and tourist event which is already thought to be an institution and an important factor to the upgrade of Thessaloniki's centre. The cooperating institutions of social offer included the Hellenic Society for Disabled Children (ELEPAP), SOS Children's Village of Plagiari, DESMOS, Association of Down Syndrome of Greece, A21 Campaign, LAMPSI, Panhellenic Association of Paraplegics, Macedonia - Thrace branch (PASPA), Girls Orphanage Melissa, Children s Asylum. The visit of three ex-pys (one Bahraini and two Greeks) in the last 3 days of the event, helped the preparation a lot and gave a SWY team spirit to the event.

12 More info:

13 8. Greek SWYAA Alumni Members with the New Ambassador of Japan and his spouse during the Official Event of his ΗΜ the Emperor's of Japan Birthday, December 12 th, 2013 MAJOR EVENTS SINCE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AA IN YOUR COUNTRY This is a space to write about other past activity reports. Name of the event 1 st Global Assembly Date of the event Hosting city How many ex-pys involved and how many beneficiaries? Please write a summary of the event Athens from September 5th to September 9th as well as the extended programs to Mykonos and Corfu islands (9th to 13th) Athens - Mykonos and Corfu islands for the extended program 30 ex-pys and 28 Greek pys from 17 different countries IYEO and SWY Greece Alumni Association organized the first Global Assembly in Greece. More info: &id=80&itemid=67&lang=en

14 Name of the event 1 st Rennaisance Reunion. Date of the event September 22nd to October 1st, Hosting city How many ex-pys involved and how many beneficiaries? Please write a summary of the event Athens Meteora Santorini island. 12 ex-pys and 8 Greek pys from 8 different countries SWY Greece Alumni Association organized the first REN reunion in Greece. More info: Name of the event Global Photo Contest and Our World, One World Photo Exhibition Date of the event May 6th to May 13th 2007 Hosting city How many ex-pys involved and how many beneficiaries? Athens in the premises of the Citizens in Action NGO. 60 ex-pys and all the Greek Alumni Association from 6 different countries, as well as foreigners students who lived in Greece at the time. Please write a summary of the event The project aimed to reinforce a positive self image in at-risk children, and to encourage physical expression through photography, thus strengthening the capacity to recognize, differentiate, and handle emotions appropriately. The project also intended to provide us, as outsiders, the opportunity to peek into the lives of individuals who are or at least seem to be less privileged, only to realize that our world is one world after all. More info:

15 Name of the event SWY and SWY22 Presentation at General Secretariat of Youth Date of the event May 29 th, 2010 Hosting city How many ex-pys involved and how many beneficiaries? Athens in the premises of the General Secretariat of Youth. All the Greek Alumni Association, as well as around 80 guests. Please write a summary of the event We felt that we had the obligation to share with our families, friends, sponsors and supporters our SWY experience. Mr Tomotaka Yoshimura, cultural attaché of the Japanese Embassy was present among other sponsors and friends.

16 For more information about past projects of SWY Greece Alumni Association, please visit: All current projects are currently posted on SWYWorld.net and on our Alumni s Facebook page, due to the popularity of Social Media the last years. For more information, please contact us at: info@swygreece.gr, board@swygreece.gr