Tsaghkadzor, Armenia
10 – 17.05.2014
SMIT "CREATOR" members were participating in the Youth Exchange project called Uniting Youth for Biodiversity co-ordinated by Young Biologists Association NGO.
Armenia is recognized as one of the important biodiversity "hotspot" in the world. Uniting Youth for Biodiversity is 8 days long youth exchange organized and hosted by Young Biologists Association NGO (Armenia) in cooperation with promoters from Spain, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine. The exchange programme will take place from 10 to 14 of May, 2014 in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia. About 40 participants will come together to discuss issues ofbiodiversity conservation, to exchange of experiences and to raise motivation of youth and youth organizations with various backgrounds for being involved in environmental action at local and international levels. The project activities include presentations about Caucasian and global biodiversity, importance ofbiodiversity for poverty alleviation, nature conservation issues, participation of youth in decision making processes and dialogue. The field trips to Nature Specially Protected Areas ("Sevan" and "Dilijan" National Parks) and Botanical Garden as the typical conservation areas, workshop on sustainable use ofbiodiversity as a food source and photo contest on the topic "Biodiversity through my eyes" will also be organized. The ice breaking and simulation games, energizers, role play reflections (conflict management and cooperation processes) will also be a part of the exchange programme. The Youth in Action programme and EU environmental projects presentation as well as meeting with local and national NGO's will be directed to create platform of cooperation and participation in joint initiatives. Cultural evenings will create warm and friendly atmosphere between young people with different cultural backgrounds, who will also present their national culture with traditional foods and dancing.
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Fabian Wojciech (Monday, 11 August 2014 14:38)
The project, in which I participated, was a very interesting and developing experience. From the very beginning Armenia amazed me by its beauty and nature. People in Armenia are very friendly and hospitable. You can see that Armenia is still a developing country, but despite this fact, the organisers made sure that we lacked for nothing. During the project, the representatives of the organisations came from Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Croatia, Italy and Spain.
When it comes to the exchange topic, we had a series of lectures on the biodiversity of Armenia. Each organisation presented the biodiversity in their country and its problems. An important element were discussions on possible solutions to these problems. In my opinion, the only problem that arose during this project was a large diversity of participants in terms of the level of knowledge of the biology and biodiversity - some of the organisations are dealing with this issue professionally, others do not.
The organisers arranged a day trip to the national parks "Dilijan" and "Sevan", which appealed to all participants . There has been also organised a photo contest "Biodiversity through my eyes", in which the Polish team won the first place.
Very interesting element of the project were cultural evenings, during which the organisations presented their countries, culture, customs and national dishes.
In summary, it was a well-organised, developing and enjoyable project. I hope that the knowledge and contacts, which I acquired, will bear fruit in the future
Justyna Zembala (Monday, 11 August 2014 14:38)
In the project "Uniting Youth for Biodiversity" participants took part in organized by Young Biologists Assocciation NGO activities, expanding knowledge of biodiversity and nature protection in Armenia and other European and Asian countries. For a place of the project selected Tsaghkadzor - small town, famous for its special natural conditions.
The project involved about 40 people, representing countries such as Croatia, Georgia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and Poland.
Activities prepared by the organizers consisted of lectures and multimedia presentations devoted to the flora and fauna of Armenia. All classes were taught by specialists and researchers from various fields. Participants also took part in the shows of nature films and observations of local plants and animals. During the project, the participants held a trip and visit the two national parks: Sevan and Dilijan. In addition, representatives from each country had to prepare short speeches about their organization and the problems associated with biodiversity and nature protection in their country.
During the project, the emphasis was also placed on the integration and familiarity with the cultures of different countries participating in the project. Every day, were organized the cultural evenings, during which, the people representing country talked about their attractions and traditions. There were also possibility to try the local dishes and beverages. At the end of the project was organized a photo contest about biodiversity, in which the Polish team won first place.
Jakub Jarocki (Monday, 11 August 2014 14:39)
After finding out about the SMIT Creator organization and its activities I had not thought about active participation in a project organized by SMIT. The reality, of course, turned out to be different, and after sending the application I got the opportunity to participate in the project "Uniting Youth for Biodiversity" in the Armenian town of Tsaghkadzor. I tried not to create my own images of the Caucasus countries, but rely on the knowledge from the Internet.
Already during the transfer from the airport to the village we could see why the country was chosen for the subject of Biodiversity. Expected hilly and stony country was exactly as described by people who had visited Armenia befor. Throughout the project I expected to know the cultures of other participants’ countries and same of Armenia. Many have heard about the hospitality, courtesy and kindness of the Armenians, which confirmed one hundred percent.
By participating in a number of lectures and workshops, I got the opportunity to acquire knowledge of biology, which I found very interesting, despite the fact that on a daily basis this is not my subject of interest or even a hobby. Lecturers were highly skilled, and most of all glad to share with us their knowledge. Lectures were held prior to the workshop with a specific topic, which gave theoretical and practical base. The subjects of the course were: botany, environmental pollution, ornithology, or biodiversity in the countries of the participants. We had also a day trip to National Parks: Dilijan and Sevan.
The organizers made sure everything was prepared in great detail and were always available to participants.
The most positive aspect of the project, beyond the knowledge of Armenia, was meeting many open-minded people who were willing to answer me all bothering questions about their countries and cultures.
Caucasus is a beautiful and biologically diverse region, which I hope to visit more than once in the future.
Alina Sławek (Monday, 11 August 2014 14:39)
Armenia is known as a place with wide environment diversity. That is why project “Uniting Youth for Biodiversity” took place in Armenian city Tsaghkadzor. It is one of the famous health resorts in the country. In this city we had opportunity to find a lot of examples of biodiversity and miracles of nature. Tsaghkadzor is situated in area where exist mixed temperature forests and a lot of species of animals. Thanks to that we had chance to know part of Armenian nature.
About 40 participants have met in Tsaghkadzor to discuss issues of biodiversity conservation, to exchange of experiences and to raise motivation in youth organizations with various backgrounds for being involved in environmental action at local and international levels. On the participants list were people from different countries and organizations: Associazione culturale Madart (Italy); European Crossroads (Spain); Ukrainian Botanical Society (Ukraine); SMIT “CREATOR” (Poland); Regional Association of Youth Initiatives (Georgia); Croatian Herpetological Society HYLA (Croatia); Young Biologists Association NGO (Armenia) – hosted organization.
The project activities were very interesting. We participated in different workshops connected with environment and biodiversity. Also we were invited for a field trip to Nature Specially Protected Areas – "Sevan" and "Dilijan" National Parks, as the typical conservation areas. On the last day we took part in photo contest on the topic "Biodiversity through my eyes" – Polish photos turned out the best.
Project schedule contained also time for cultural evenings. During this evenings particular delegations of countries were presenting some information about culture of their countries. Participants presented for example national dances, games or national food. On the last evening we had chance to get some knowledge about Armenian culture.
Ewa Bednarczyk (Monday, 11 August 2014 14:40)
The project "Uniting Youth for Biodiversity" was organised by "Youth Biologists Association" in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia. During 8 days participants form Croatia, Georgia, Italy, Poland, Spain and Ukraine had a chance to participate in different kind of activities. The aim of these activities was encourage young generation to be more involve in environment action. The project activities include presentations about Caucasian and global biodiversity, importance of biodiversity, nature conservation issues. We had a chance to participate in lecture regarding nature in Armenia given by professor from local university. Our task was preparing presentation about NGO organisation operated in environment protection sector in Poland. We had a discussion regarding environment problem in all countries and during the brainstorming we tried to find a solution how to solve the problem with air and water pollution in our countries. During cultural evenings we had a possibilities to try national food, to see traditional dances and to get some knowledge about all countries from other participants come from. The most exciting for me during this project was a trip to "Dilijan" and "Sevan"- two beautiful and full of unique spiciest National Park in Armenia. We spent whole day outside, close to nature - hiking, bird watching and contact with local culture.
During last day of our stay host organisation organised photo contest called "Biodiversity through my eyes". After the democracy voting we got a result. Photos from Poland were the most attractive and Polish team won a first prize.
This project give me unique experience, possibility to discover new culture and to see the beautiful nature. Also i need to mention that now i am more awareness of ecological problems.