Annual Report 2011

A N N U A L R E P O R T

Spartak, Interdisciplinary Platformfor Eastern Europe

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Pictured: Glass bottle organ made during the Youth Exchange ‘Kakofonia’

“I want to commend everyone who has devoted time, energy and passion for working

through all the ups and the downs, staying the course despite all the changes, and

showing that Spartak is a sustainable organization that has continued to uphold its

original identity.”

Alvinvan DijkPresident of Platform Spartak in 2011

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IntroductionIn 2011, Platform Spartak has been working steadfastly towards the main goals set out

two years earlier, says Alvin van Dijk. A short introduction by the chairman.

This last year Platform Spartak continued its path towards achieving the goals set out in 2009, continuously spreading and strengthening its roots in The Hague, becoming a European hub that projects possibilities, cultural diver-sity, and a continuous desire to assist European youths in becoming engaged in society. Looking forward, we want to gain sustainable continuity within the organization, to keep involving young volunteers, and to create an environment in which new youths get the chance to develop their skills and gain confi dence in their abilities.

In the past year the organization has worked steadfastly towards these goals, and achieved successes in all of them. The freelancers and volunteers continuously led the charge in setting up or assisting in projects that fulfi lled our mission statement. This included projects aimed at diversifying and expanding our networks in The Hague, fi nding a permanent new location from which to work, having the privilege of hosting our fi rst EVS volunteers,

planning and carrying out interna-tional projects, addressing some of the long-term goals and welcoming many new faces as freelancers, volunteers and board members.

I want to commend everyone who has devoted time, energy and passion for working through all the ups and the downs, staying the course despite all the changes, and showing that Spartak is a durable and sustainable organiza-tion which has continued to uphold its original identity. A special thanks

to all the freelancers, EVS volunteers, volunteers, and board members (new and old) for their efforts. You have made and continue to make Platform Spartak into the fantastic organization that it is.

Alvin van DijkPresident of Platform Spartak

We want to gain continuity within the organization, to keep involving young volunteers, and to create an

environment in which new youths get the chance to develop their skills and

gain confi dence in their abilities.

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Development of the organizationDevelopment of the organizationDevelopment of Introduction2011 was a challenging year for Platform Spartak, with many great achievements but also some challenges. Both content wise and organizational wise, the organization made some important steps towards the future. Changes in the staff and board caused some uncertainty, but the quality of the projects was not affected and at the beginning of 2012, the organization is back on track and ready to develop a long term strategy for the upcoming years.

Strategy developmentIn 2011 the organization was able to set a more clear direction which will be further developed in 2012 and beyond. Platform Spartak will focus on connecting young creative scenes and local communities of engaged citizens in Eastern and Western Europe. We believe that connecting the local realities and bringing them to a European level will be contributing to true understanding of what Europe is about and what it needs. Culture in the broadest sense of the word is both the space in which we work as well as the language we communicate in. Five programmes were developed to implement this strategy, based on the achievements of past projects.

Het Nutshuis, Platform Spartak’s new offi ce since October 2011

We believe that connecting the local

realities and bringing them to a European level

will be contributing to true understanding of

what Europe is about and what it needs. Culture in the broadest sense of the

word is both the space in which we work as

well as the language we communicate in.


ComixiadeExploring untold narratives and connecting comic scenes

The Comixiade programme is developing and supporting a network of European comic artists. They meet each other in Comic Jams and online networks. The work of the artists is collected and published both online and offline. This collection gives an alternative and inclusive view on Europe, seen through the eyes of young artists. In 2011 the Comixiade programme was funded by the European Cultural Foundation, which will continue its support in 2012.

StreetsConnecting underground scenes of young musicians

The Streets Music Exchange Programme is empowering scenes of young underground musicians, providing them a stage and connect them with peers from other countries. The programme has a special focus on post-conflict areas, because we believe arts and culture can be catalysts for social change and intercultural understanding. A strategic partnership with the municipality-funded The Hague Music Export gives us the means to send a band for a tour in the Balkan region and perform on the Balkan Streets Festivals. These festivals were initiated by Platform Spartak in 2008 and are now implemented by our local partners. In 2012 new strategies will be developed for strengthening local cultural infrastructures and improving the methodology of using music as a tool for social projects.

European Voluntary ServicePersonal and community development through voluntary work

Platform Spartak gives young people from eastern and western Europe a chance to do voluntary work abroad. Via the European Voluntary Service, they have the opportunity to gain in-depth insight in a community and also contribute to it. In 2010 Platform Spartak started to host three volunteers, Eddy N’goma, Virág Barta and Melek Şentürk. In 2011 they continued to work on mapping multicultural The Hague. For all volunteers this project was a life-changing experience in which they gained many skills on the personal and professional level. In 2012 Platform Spartak plans to host foreign volunteers again.

In 2011 a big step was made in the field of EVS sending. More effort was put to promoting EVS as an opportunity for young people in the Netherlands. Also many links with new hosting organizations were made. Standard procedures were developed to improve the programme’s quality and efficiency. Platform Spartak is now generally considered as the specialist for EVS sending to Eastern Europe.

Five programmes were developed, based on the achievements of past projects

UrbaniaMapping local artistic scenes in The Hague

Based on the achievements of the project Urbania, which was implemented by the European volunteers, Spartak is developing a new programme under the same (working) title. The programme will be focused on mapping local artistic scenes in The Hague. We consider this as a crucial component for improving also our international programmes, as we need to be more connected with our own community. The programme is still under development and will start running in the second half of 2012.

Training & NetworkingKnowledge exchange between cultural youth organizations

Several trainings and networking events were organised, locally, nationally and interna-tionally. For doing the work we are doing, serving as matchmaker between the local and the international level, it’s very important to stay connected with other organizations. Also, we strongly believe in the principle of lifelong learning, so we have a strong interest to give our freelancers, volunteers and other members the chance to develop themselves both on the personal as well as the professional level.


We strongly believe in the principle of lifelong learning, so we have a

strong interest to give our freelancers, volunteers and other members the

chance to develop themselves both on the personal as well as the professional level.


EVS-volunteers Virag (left) and Melek (see also Urbania)


Organizational changesPlatform Spartak went through several organizational changes in 2011: changes in the

board, in the staff, and in the offi ce premises. We also hosted several volunteers.

Changes in the boardIn February 2011 we had to say goodbye to 4 of the 5 Board members, who each for different personal reasons weren’t able to continue their commitment to Spartak. Guido van Hengel, Rosien van Toor, Danielle Turmel and Ralph van der Zijden all served in the board for over a year, so their collective departure was a big loss of knowledge in the organization. Lodewijk Smoor was the only one who stayed in the board, as treasurer. Alvin van Dijk, Hilde Morre and Hester van Eerten took up the positions of Chairman, Secre-tary and Board member evaluations. In November Hester van Eerten stepped down and was ad interim replaced by Menno Weijs.

Changes in the staffAfter the summer holidays Pieter van Leeuwen stepped down as director. He stayed acting-director while a procedure was started to fi nd a replacement. Shortly after also Janneke Francissen decided to resign as director and project coordinator by mid-October. Janneke is still voluntarily working for specifi c projects Spartak is planning in 2012 and further. The tasks of Janneke and Pieter will be taken over by one director for which a change in the statutes of the organization is required. This position is vacant from the 1st of March 2012.

Koen ter Heegde – EVS tutor and PR/Marketing manager - left the organization to do an EVS in Macedonia in mid-June. His tasks as PR manager were partially taken over by Thijs van Nimwegen and partially left vacant. Koen kept working for the Streets Music Exchange Programme, both in Macedonia as well as back in The Netherlands.

In early summer Alessandra Verrucci started assisting Janneke with her EVS sending tasks. In November she took part in a Study Visit to Turkey organized by the National Agencies of Youth in Action in the Netherlands and Turkey

and offi cially took over from Janneke as EVS sending coordi-nator. In December Alessandra also started working as a fundraiser for Platform Spartak.

This fundraiser position was already created in summer, but the lack of respondents caused us to postpone it until

We will continue to work on expanding our community of

volunteers in 2012


the end of the year. With a fundraiser working on acquiring more (project) funding, we hope to strengthen the financial basis of Spartak.

From April to July we were temporarily supported by Romanian national Razvan Radu. He came to The Hague via a special youth workers’ exchange program of the Youth in Action Program, which covered all his expenses and his freelance fee. During his 3 months at Spartak he helped us greatly with our many activities taking place in that period.

The Donau editorial board consisted of Hellen Kooijman, Stefan van der Poel, Filip Bloem, Julia Koster, Nina

Cranen, Franka Hummels and the earlier mentioned Alessandra Verrucci and Janneke Francissen.

In 2011 some new volunteers started working for the organization. Ex-chairman Guido van Hengel was managing the Comixiade programme and ex-director Menno Weijs supervised the Streets Programme and functioned as tutor for the European Volunteers hosted by Spartak. Towards the end of the year Tessa Beeloo started to get closely involved in the development of the Urbania programme. Other volunteers who contributed in different ways to Platform Spartak include Ingrid Hartgers, Feija Schaap, Paul de Vreede, Michiel van de Weerthof and Janine Frei. We will continue to work on expanding our community of volunteers in 2012.

Changes of premises2011 was not only a year of changes in HR, but also in housing. In mid-April we were taken by surprise when our anti-squatting landlord ANNA Vastgoed & Cultuur informed us that our premises at Van Maanenkade had been rented

to a commercial party and we had to leave per 1 May. After a quick and intense search for a replacement office, we were offered a nice space in the so-called Kodak-building (next to the Peace Palace) which also housed the headquarters of ANNA itself. Already before we moved we knew we had to move again soon (within 4-5 months), since this location would end as anti-squat. Therefore already in July, after the project season had ended, we started to look for another space. After a thorough search and making visits to some potential locations, in early September we were able to acquire a very nice small office in the Nutshuis. This spacious former bank building right in the center of the city offered us many advantages, such as being housed in a building where many other socio-cultural organizations were having their premises – thereby enlarging the chances for collaborations on a project basis. Another big advantage was that the building offers a wide array of excellent facilities for public events: there is a large central hall that can be used for public manifestations, a small cinema theater, a bar/canteen and meeting rooms. We had already enjoyed these and the collaboration with the Nutshuis staff in Spring, when we had organized Cornershop Europe there on 9 May.

An important advantage of the Nutshuis is also that it is not an anti-squat: since 1 October we have a rent contract for a year with the option of prolonging after that.

The ‘Kodak-building’, Platform Spartak’s temporary

housing near the Peace Palace in The Hague

Two moves in one year

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Photo taken by EVS-volunteers during a visit to the Hindu Holi-festival, part of the Urbania-research

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Activities in 2011Below is a listing of all of Platform Spartak’s activities in

2011, in chronologic order.

Urbania – Mapping multicultural The Hague

Urbania was the fi rst EVS hosting project of Platform Spartak. It was a project which formed in two ways a core-activity in 2010-2011. First of all it was a project with which we fulfi lled two long-term wishes of the organization, namely to do an EVS hosting project and to do a project with the local communities in The Hague. After a thorough selection procedure we selected three volunteers from three parts of Europe (West, Center and South East) who were also quite different from each other in age, experience and character. With such diversity we realized we needed a good team to carry out this project. All staff members got different roles in this team, which from the start of the project met each week (later every two weeks) to discuss matters concerning the hosting project. From this point of view the project was a success, as it showed that Spartak is capable to successfully host EVS volunteers for a period of almost a year. In the end though, the project didn’t fulfi ll our expectations concerning content: the volunteers were able to map The Hague in some ways and their learning process generally was good, but the output of the project wasn’t as big as we had hoped. Furthermore, the project hardly improved our contacts with the network of youth and immigrant organizations in the city.

This and some other problems (e.g. we were forced to send one of the volun-teers home at the end of April) however were smaller than the contribution to the capacity-building of the organization. In 2011 Urbania was a core activity for Spartak: it was the project of which the organization and the individual staff members learned the most and acquired the greatest number of new professional skills (in project planning and management, but also in volunteer management, coaching and assessment of projects and people).

The Hague, 20 September 2010 – 20 June 2011

Funder: Youth in Action, Action 2 (EVS)

International partners: l’Escale (Niort, France), Egyesek (Budapest, Hungary), TREX EVS (full name: Tüm Renkler Eski AGH Gönüllülerinin Gençlik Deme�i, Izmir, Turkey). Local partners: Youth and the City, STEK, Wijkmedia Ateliers

Franka Hummels (journalist and journalism trainer) gave a workshop on interview techniques, which was very well received by the volunteers.


During the Cornershop Europe event on the Day of Europe, in the Nutshuis two of our EVS volunteers presented the results of their project. The video compila-tion of all the interviews and reports they had made during the previous months were screened and the freshly made booklet about the project, containing articles about the various communities in The Hague was presented to the public. Visitors could take a free copy and the volunteers shared information about their project.

Bi-Monthly Informal Networking for NGO’s

The fi rst BINNGO was organized in November 2010. With BINNGO we aim to connect the various non-profi t organizations in The Hague to discuss ongoing projects, working with international interns, fi nding new participants, promoting activities etc. The aim is not to invite as many people as possible but to discuss specifi c topics together with like-minded similar organizations in an informal specifi c topics together with like-minded similar organizations in an informal setting.

Platform Spartak created a special mailing list and set-up for BINNGO activi-Platform Spartak created a special mailing list and set-up for BINNGO activi-ties. Participating organizations can pitch their future projects to fi nd common ties. Participating organizations can pitch their future projects to fi nd common ground and possible cooperation.

Organizing these informal network meetings together with the other NGOs has Organizing these informal network meetings together with the other NGOs has been a positive experience. The only challenge was a certain passivity among the been a positive experience. The only challenge was a certain passivity among the partner organizations. In order to motivate the partners, input from Platform partner organizations. In order to motivate the partners, input from Platform Spartak was always needed, especially when it came to actual planning and Spartak was always needed, especially when it came to actual planning and development of cooperation between the partners. At the September BINNGO development of cooperation between the partners. At the September BINNGO event though, an idea for actual cooperation was developed, including Platform event though, an idea for actual cooperation was developed, including Platform Spartak, Euroclio, UNOY and UNPO.

Events: The Hague, 11 January (UNOY), 21 March (NHC), 14 July (Platform Spartak), 23 September (UNOY)

Funding: in-kind of each organizing NGO, United Network of Young Peacebuilders, Netherlands Helsinki Committee, Pax Ludens, The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, EUROCLIO.

80 participants in total

Participants during theDutch edition of Comixiade


Comixiade – Graphic narratives

Comixiade can be seen as a travelling concept of creative and collaborative meetings of European artists. It has two aims: (1) creating graphic narratives (“comics”) together and (2) connect creative scenes of Europe. A cross-border core team was formed in early 2011 which prepared three meetings of comic artists in Europe that took place in spring (Poland), summer (Netherlands) and autumn (Serbia). During these meetings, called “comic jams”, about 12-18 artists from different countries met and shared their inspiration and experiences in order to defi ne, write and draw stories. Every comic jam was thematically focused; the themes “Unheard voices” (Poland), “Isolation” (Netherlands) and “Violence” (Serbia) and were supposed to present a framework to tell and echo today’s European narratives. The results of these comic jams, as well as solitarily written narratives, are all published on a website and will be collected in a book (publication is planned for winter 2012).

Comixiade is not a one-year project and will go on as a network of artists and creative scenes. The concrete follow-up is rather simple: the website will stay on creative scenes. The concrete follow-up is rather simple: the website will stay on the web and function as an international meeting point for designers, artists, the web and function as an international meeting point for designers, artists, animators and other creative youngsters to share and tell narratives. Further animators and other creative youngsters to share and tell narratives. Further comic jams will be organized as well, but are not yet offi cially planned. However, comic jams will be organized as well, but are not yet offi cially planned. However, some preliminary plans are being developed.some preliminary plans are being developed.

International events: 29 January-1 February: Preparatory Meeting in The Hague, Spartak, 7-13 April: Poland, Poznan, Hotel Artesya , 15-22 July: Netherlands, Terschelling, Kampeerboerderij, 31 October-7 November: Serbia, Pancevo, Dom Omladine

Funder: European Cultural Foundation

External freelancers: Michal Slomka and Anka Suska – logistics of the program in Poznan; Vladimir Palibrk and Boris Stanic – logistics of the program in Pancevo

Partners: Centrala / Tranzyt Foundation (Publisher/NGO) – Poznan (Poland), Club Elektrika (Artistic Collective) - Pancevo (Serbia), Mala Bedna (Artist/coordi-nator) – Ustí nad Labem (Czech Republic)

75 participants in the comic jams, 500 visitors/readers

Participants during theDutch edition of Comixiade


PR-event:

EVS info days at Nationaal Agentschap for the Youth in Action ProgramEVS info days at Nationaal Agentschap for the Youth in Action ProgramEVS info days at Nationaal Agentschap for the

The Dutch National Agency organizes several information meetings for young people interested in doing an EVS. Spartak tries to be present at these events to inform young people about the possibilities we offer for becoming active both in- and outside of the EVS framework.

Project planning:

Project rounds

Spartak’s staff, volunteers and everyone interested gathers during project rounds to brainstorm about new ideas for Youth Exchanges, seminars, train-ings, conferences, or anything else that meets the goals of Spartak. Projects with substantial support will be made into project applications, to be submitted to the respective possible funders. This structure fi ts Spartak’s platform function very well. In 2011 the concrete results of the project rounds were still limited, but we hope to achieve more results there in 2012.Conference:

Utrecht, Nederlands Jeugdinstituut, 1 February and 3 May

Funding: in-kind by NJi

13 March and 8 October, The Hague

First project round, March 2011


EU=You! Ready for the 21st century? The EU after the Treaty of Lisbon (Part II)EU=You! Ready for the 21st century? The EU after the Treaty of Lisbon (Part II)EU=You! Ready for the 21st century? The EU after

‘Ready for the 21st century? The EU after the Treaty of Lisbon (Part II)’ was the third and concluding event of a series of European meetings about citizens’ engagement in the EU since the Treaty of Lisbon. The project originated from and was organized by our old partner CGE Erfurt e.V. For this project Spartak was the project partner in The Hague, where we held a small, 3-day conference in the Stayokay Hostel and De Haagse Lobby (a conference room in the Public Library). The young participants came from all over the EU and The Hague. Spartak arranged the practicalities, but also gave considerable input to the program (speakers, themes). The main focus was on the new tool of the European Citizens’ Initiative: will this be an effective tool for the European citizen, or is it only usable for lobby groups?

Information event:

EVS promotion at high school

Our EVS volunteers went to Gymnasium Novum in Voorburg and talked with 3 school classes about their experiences as volunteers in The Hague. The school classes got information about volunteering opportunities like EVS.

The Hague, 1-3 April

Funders: CGE Erfurt e.V.; in-kind funding by Europe Direct Centrum The Hague (lunch and venue 2-3 April).

Partner: CGE Erfurt e.V, Erfurt

35 participants

Voorburg, Gymnasium Novum, 15 April


PR- and networking event:

BalkanBorrel: from enclave to municipality

The BalkanBorrel is an information and networking event organized regularly by IKV Pax Christi. It is basically a lecture and/or debate about a current (mostly political) affairs issue in the area of the Balkans, with speakers coming from the area itself. The BalkanBorrel is organized four times a year for students, members of Our Future Network and young professionals who have a special interest in the Balkans. After a discussion or presentation by a high-profi le speaker there is a drinks reception and you can meet professionals and people with common interests.

Platform Spartak was asked to be the promotional and minor organizing partner for this BalkanBorrel. In return we could promote Spartak at the event and therefore network more effectively. The cooperation was very successful for both parties, as a result of which we also joined in the next BalkanBorrel (in October – see below).

Youth worker’s exchange:

Going local: Improving cultural diversity in local youth workGoing local: Improving cultural diversity in local youth workGoing local: Improving cultural diversity in local

In the project ‘Going local’ a young youth worker of the Romanian partner organi-zation Young Partners for Civil Society Development Organization (YPCSDO) came to The Hague to work with us for 3 months.

This was made possible by a EU grant we had applied for in October 2010. When we were writing the project proposal, we had thought to apply for a Serbian

Utrecht, IKV Pax Christi headquarters, 15 April

The Hague, 16 April-16 July

Youth in Action (EACEA - Action 4.3c), Young Partners for Civil Society Develop-ment Association, Bucharest, Romania

Janneke Francissen at the Platform Spartak-stand during the International Day of The Hague


youth worker of our long-term partner Generator, but unfortunately Serbia was not eligible as a sending country under this Call. We then quickly turned to YPCSDO, having Razvan Radu in mind. He was a Romanian group leader in one of our earlier projects (Experience Nature: Back to the Island, September 2009). The approval of our grant application came very late and suffered delay from the side of the funder, thereby forcing us to postpone the project by 1,5 months. Luckily, this was not a problem for Razvan. For the organization it meant that Razvan couldn’t fully join in the preparation of Street Portraits, which started just two weeks after his arrival.

Razvan’s activities consisted of coaching pupil-interns, promotional activities, and supporting in the following activities: the implementation and rounding-up of Street Portraits, the implementation of Buurtsuper Europa, writing a grant application for a Partnership Building Activity (1 June deadline) and organizing a BINNGO on 14 July. Razvan’s input was a great help in these busiest months of the Spartak year, and his fresh look on things and positive attitude towards challenges improved both the quality of our activities and his own professional skills.

Social Placement/internship of two local youngsters:

Maatschappelijke stage 2011

Like in 2010, during one week we were hosting two high school students of Gymnasium Novum in Voorburg that were obliged to do a non-profi t intern-ship (social placement) at a local organization. For a full working week Frederik and Charlotte came to our offi ce to help us promote EVS at high schools in The Hague. They were given a lot of freedom to write and implement a strategy to disseminate the promotional posters we created beforehand and to maximize the effects of a promotional campaign in cooperation with the PR manager of Spartak.

The Hague, 18-21 April

Partner: Gymnasium Novum (Voorburg)


Youth Exchange:

Street Portraits

During the project 30 young people from The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania and Turkey used photography and journalism as techniques to map stories of different neighborhoods in The Hague. To help them do this, they participated in several workshops about photography and interview techniques. Participants refl ected on the similarities and differences between themselves and the people they met on the streets of The Hague. Discussions made them aware of similarities, differences and existing stereotypes and prejudices. The project helped to fi ght against racism and xenophobia, both from the side of the participants as from the side of the people they interviewed on the streets.

After they fi nished their interviews and photo reports, they attended a workshop about guerilla marketing by Spartak’s PR manager. Equipped with their new skills, they promoted the exhibition of the results during the Day of Europe celebration in the Nutshuis with some fl ashing guerilla actions. During Buurt-super Europa they were proudly presenting the results.

The Hague , 2-10 May

Funder: Youth in Action

Partners: Egyesek (Budapest, HU), CGE Erfurt e.V. (DE), Young Partners for Civil Society Development Association (Bucharest, RO), Vicolocorto (Pesaro, IT) Mersin Youth Works Resource Centre (Mersin, TR)

30 participants, 3 from The Hague

Buurtsuper Europa was promoted with posters


Presentation of projects’ results

Cornershop Europe

For the second year we organized Cornershop Europe on the Day of Europe (9 May). With this event we want to make ‘Europe’ more known in The Hague and show that there is more than the EU and its institutions. Through the presence of young people from six European countries (EU and non-EU), who participated in the Youth Exchange Street Portraits, and several cross-border cultural and artistic initiatives, we brought the visitors in direct contact with Europe.

The program consisted of a fi lm program, small concerts, a poet salon, a debate and a comic jam called ‘Bratwurst Breakfast’ – about breakfast habits in the various parts of Europe. There were also various presentations of three Spartak projects. Videos and photographs from the streets of The Hague, made by the participants in the Street Portraits exchange in the preceding week and the videos and the booklet made by the volunteers in Urbania were presented at two stands by the young people themselves. Also Balkan Streets Festival was presented. The various activities were spread around the whole basement fl oor of the Nutshuis.

The Hague, Nutshuis, 9 May

Funders: Fonds 1818, Europa Direct Centrum, Youth in Action

In-kind bijdrage Nutshuis: venue, equipment, personel bar and technique, dissemination PR material

Programme partners: Re-Kult (Amsterdam), Barbar Project (Amsterdam), John Dear Mowing Club (The Hague), Ellen Deckwitz (Utrecht), Dennis Gaens (Nijmegen), Abdelkader Benali (Amsterdam), Sanne Albers - photographer (The Hague), Sahand Sahebdivani – moderator (Delft), Danube Foundation (Amsterdam), European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam), Nutshuis (The Hague)

150 visitors


Training:

SOHO Training

Janneke Francissen participated in a Sending Organization & Hosting Organi-zation (SOHO) training organized by the French National Agency for YiA. The training focused on different aspects of sending, hosting and coordinating in EVS. Experiences with other organizations were exchanged and possible new partnerships established.

Talent Scout Festival:

Streets Music Exchange Programme

In 2011 the fi rst steps were made in the development of Streets from a festival to a broader programme. This activity should be seen in conjunction with the Balkan Streets Festival and the tour Bombay Show Pig did on the Balkans.

In April 2011 a call was published for bands interested in touring on the Balkans. Almost 50 bands replied and sent us a demo and a short motivation letter. Platform Spartak and FPOZ The Hague Music Export selected three bands on basis of their motivation, learning opportunity and quality of the music.

On May 27th the bands Bombay Show Pig, Starcatcher and The Breakfast Club performed in Bazart (a small alternative club in the periphery of The Hague) for an enthusiastic audience of about 150 people. The jury, consisting of Koen ter Heegde, Alessandra Verrucci, Menno Weijs and Razvan Radu, chose Bombay

The Hague, Bazart, 27 May

Funder: FPOZ The Hague Music Export

Partner: Haags Pop Centrum (The Hague)

Musicians reached by call: 650; musicians replying to the call: 200; musicians participating in festival: 14; audience: 150

Toulouse, France, 25-29 May

STREETS Festival in Vukovar, Croatia


Show Pig as the winner of the Talent Scout Festival. The band won €3000 for a tour on the Balkans.

Festival:

Balkan Streets Festivals

Balkan Streets Festival is a series of festivals in peripheral towns on the Balkans. The project connects and inspires young Europeans, creates scenes of young artists and establishes networks of cultural organizations.

Bombay Show Pig, the winner of the talent scout festival ‘Streets Music Exchange’ in The Hague (see above), made a tour on the Balkans, which included 5 concerts of which 3 on the Balkan Streets Festivals. In Vranje and Vukovar the festivals were part of a broader program focused on improving the music infrastruc-ture (implemented by Kultur Aktiv from Dresden, Germany). This program also included workshops, master classes and a seminar. The line-up included mainly local bands and in Vranje also a German band.

The Dutch band had the chance to get in touch with underground scenes on the Balkans. From this perspective, especially the gig in Sarajevo was considered to be very successful. Audiences were very enthusiastic and so was the band. In Vranje about 300 people watched the show, while both in Vukovar and in Tešanj about 150 people attended the festival. About 200 people attended the gig in Sarajevo and in Skopje 50 saw Bombay Show Pig performing.

Especially in Vranje and Sarajevo there was broad media attention for the

Serbia, Vranje, OKCE; Croatia, Vukovar, Radni�ki Dom, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Te�anj, Stara Tvr�ina + 2 concerts Bombay Show Pig: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Kriterion and Macedonia, Skopje, La Kaña., 22 June – 3 July

Funders: FPOZ The Hague Music Export, Structural funds European Commission (IPA), Municipalities of Te�anj, Vranje and Vukovar

Partners: FPOZ The Hague Music Export (The Hague), Generator (Vranje, Serbia), Youth Peace Group Danube (Vukovar, Croatia), Association Stari Grad (Te�anj, Bosnia-Herzegovina)

50 young musicians, 1000 audience


project. Bombay Show Pig was interviewed and performed live on several radio and television stations.

Youth Exchange:

Kakofonia

Kakofonia was a project related to music, arts and environmental awareness. It focused on creating musical instruments from scratch.

Trash on the streets and a low awareness about environmental issues is a problem in many countries in the Balkans, also in Struga which is an ethnically mixed city in the Southwest of Macedonia, bordering Albania.

It is really important to raise awareness about recycling to create a better and healthier environment for the future. The participants learned how to create their own musical instruments from materials they found on the streets.

The program contained getting to know different traditions and cultures of music, playing and creating instruments and music together, and forming a band called Kakofonia Orchestra which performed on the last day of the project in Struga.

Struga, Macedonia, 1-8 August

Funder: Youth in Action

Partners: CreActive (Skopje, Macedonia), Fokus Foundation (Subotica, Serbia), Youth Center Haskovo (Haskovo, Bulgaria), Egyesek Youth Association (Budapest, Hungary)

25 participants, audiences watching street performances: 150-200.


PR-event:

The Hague International Day

At this international NGO market organized annually by the municipality of The Hague, Spartak was represented for the second year in a row. Together with other international organizations based in The Hague we presented Spartak to the inhabitants of the city. During the day, hundreds of people passed our stand and we informed dozens of them about Spartak, its goals and activities. To our pleasant surprise, the turn-out was bigger than in 2010, when the event took place in the more centrally located City Hall.

Information event:

Youth Peace Week – Volunteering workshop

A staff member gave a workshop about youth work and peace building. The workshop focused on the development of projects on peace building and art. As examples we used our Balkan Streets Festival and several EVS projects.

Unfortunately the promotion for the workshop wasn’t very successful and as a result just a few young people attended.

The Hague, World Forum, 18 September

Visitors to stand: 500-1000

The Hague, American Book Store, 23 September

Partner: United Network of Young Peace builders, The Hague

6 participants

Participants performing on the streets of Struga during Kakofonia


Training & Networking event:

BalkanBorrel: the EU in Kosovo: Boosting the law?

The theme of this edition of the BalkanBorrel was the role of EULEX in the peace building process in Kosovo. The main lecturer was Johannes van Vreeswijk, former Chief Prosecutor of EULEX, followed by a column of Jitske Hoogenboom, Senior Project Manager of IKV in the Mitrovica area. Platform Spartak had been invited again to cooperate in the organization of this specifi c BalkanBorrel. We contributed especially to the external promotion of the event. During the day of the event, 2 members of the staff and a volunteer were present to help in the preparation.

Information event:

Youth on the Move days The Hague

The Youth on the Move days are an event organized by the European Commission in several countries to promote youth mobility. Platform Spartak participated with a stand and a presentation about European Voluntary Service. We produced a movie and a Q&A with former and upcoming EVS volunteers of Spartak.

13 October, Utrecht, IKV Pax Christi headquarters

Partners: IKV Pax Christi; Pax-It!

The Hague, Plein, 13-15 October

Funder: In-kind funding by European Commission

300 visitors

Ex-volunteers Sven (left) and Sebastiaan answering questions during the Youth on the Move-days


Networking event:

Study visit EVS Turkey

EVS sending coordinator Alessandra Verrucci participated in a 5-day study visit to Turkey organized by the Dutch National Agency of YiA. The Dutch group (8 members of various EVS sending and hosting organizations) met several Turkish organizations in Istanbul and in Gaziantep which were interested in hosting and sending EVS volunteers. The program in Istanbul and Gaziantep consisted of presentations of the participating organizations and speed-date visits to the Turkish hosting organizations and meetings with the EVS volunteers there. It was a useful occasion to get into personal contact with the staff of the Dutch National Agency and Hosting and Sending organizations from the Netherlands. It is important to create a personal bond with other organizations, because it is very useful for fi nding solutions to problems connected to, for example, EVS hosting.

It was also very useful to meet the Turkish organizations and to see personally the volunteers and being able to talk with them. Apart from the fact that in this way it is possible to create new partnerships in a geographical area interesting for Platform Spartak, it was also very useful in acquiring information that could help us scout and after that, prepare potential Dutch EVS volunteers.

The most direct benefi t of the visit was that the sending coordinator could visit the hosting organization of a volunteer that would leave for Gaziantep one month later.

Istanbul and Gaziantep, Turkey, 29 October-2 November


Networking/partner event:

Pax It/SIB Café: (P)raising SerbiaThis was a debate organized by IKV Pax Christi, Pax It! and SIB Utrecht, moderated by Chris Keulemans. The guests were: Marije Cornelissen, Europarliamentarian Groen Links; Dejan Anastasijevic, journalist; Danijela Nenadic, ex-OTPOR member and currently human rights expert working for the Serbian government in the multi-ethnic area of South Serbia.

The theme of the debate was the current situation in Serbia and its position in the international and European framework. The discussion focused in particular on the chances of Serbia to start the process of accession to the EU, taking into account the progress made in terms of human and minority rights protection and the ongoing tensions with Kosovo.

Although Spartak was not a partner in the event, the presence of three repre-sentatives of Spartak was benefi cial because we had the chance to network.

Utrecht, Filmhuis ‘t Hoogt, 6 December

Volunteers Lia and Jasper, during a visit to Belgrade


European Voluntary ServiceEVS sending became a target activity in the second half

of 2011. We were able to send many more volunteers than

in the previous years, and also to extend the geographical

reach of the projects over a bigger part of Eastern Europe.

The EVS sending promotion of the fi rst half of the year unfortunately didn’t see a follow-up in the second half because of practical reasons.

Finding cooperative partners in the Dutch educational system seemed to be more diffi cult than we expected. For the short term the staff therefore decided to use other tools for promoting EVS among youth in the Netherlands.

First of all we prepared a new EVS promotional strategy for our website. There is now a new page with information about EVS, with a direct link to the EVS database and clear information about the deadlines. We also developed a form, that the potential EVS volunteers have to fi ll out. This form is not just more effi cient for us, but also for the volunteers, because it helps them to start thinking in concrete terms about what kind of project they would prefer, which activities they would not feel comfortable with, etc. In general, the space for EVS service on our website is much bigger and more interactive than before. Since the introduction of this new section on the website, we noticed an increase in EVS requests.

Apart from this, we tried to use any occasion we had to promote EVS among the local youth. Following this reasoning, we participated to the event Youth on the Move. This was a great occasion to promote the EVS programme to a public of young people, especially during the weekend.

Feija Schaap unfortunately had to say good-bye as sending mentor for the Dutch volunteers abroad in that same month as a result of her pregnancy.


Sven Kooiman

This project was aimed at providing non-formal education and intercultural learning opportunities to young people from Kavadarci. It is part of an ongoing project of the hosting organization Youth Association CreActive, which includes the Youth Center in Kavadarci, the Youth Club in Drenovo and a variety of activi-ties for the young people from Kavadarci and the surrounding villages. Target group of the project were young people aged 13 to 25 from the city and the nearby villages. Sven was active in several activities together with the youth workers, local volunteers and other team members of creACTive. He co-organized an Anti-Racism day and took the initiative to set-up a summer camp for local youth.

The collaboration with CreActive was very good, which made us work with them again in the project Kakofonia (see above) in August.

Sebastiaan Janssen

The main aim of this EVS project was for the volunteer to gain experience in cultural production in general, by practising, planning, personally implementing and supporting in projects. One objective was to gain knowledge about Serbia and Subotica’s multicultural context. As his personal project, Sebastiaan tried to organize an edition of the Streets Festival, but notwhithstanding his great

Dates: September 2010 - July 2011Project number: NL-21-1-2010-R1Project title: Youth Center Kavadarci: improving active citizenship and creativity of young peopleLocation: Kavadarci, MacedoniaFunder: Youth in Action, Action 2 (EVS)Partner: CreActive, Kavadarci, Macedonia

Dates: April-SeptemberProject number: NL-21-72-2010-R5Project title: Inclusion through arts: the production of cultural events in multi-ethnic SuboticaLocation: Subotica, SerbiaFunder: Youth in Action, Action 2 (EVS)Partner: FOKUS Foundation, Subotica, Serbia


efforts, he couldn’t fi nd enough funds to realize the plan. Nevertheless, Sebas-tiaan managed to organize several ‘huiskamerconcerten’ in his own fl at. He managed to gather young bands, poets and other artists.

Sebastian was very active in the local community because he played with several local bands. In this way he was an important link between FOKUS and several informal youth groups in the city. During his fi nal evaluation, Sebastiaan expressed that he would like to continue to do voluntary work for Spartak. He is interested in attending Training Courses, e.g. about mentorring, youth exchanges and methods to involve arts & culture in intercultural youth work.

Koen ter Heegde

Koen ter Heegde spent 6 months working for the magazine Voices. The target group are students of both Macedonian and Albanian background. Koen was also involved in several events for promoting voluntarism and EVS in Macedonia.

Ruud Nanne

Ruud Nanne spent 4 months in Skopje, providing workshops for the youth in the organization’s youth center.

Dates: June-December 2011Project number: NL-21-9-2011-R1Project title: VoicesLocation: Skopje, MacedoniaFunder: Youth in Action, Action 2 (EVS)Partner: Volunteers Center Skopje, Macedonia

Dates: July-November 2011Project number: NL-21-22-2011-R2Project title: Youth Center Skopje: Improving Creativity and Active Citizenship of Young PeopleLocation: Skopje, MacedoniaFunder: Youth in Action, Action 2 (EVS)Partner: creActive, Skopje, Macedonia

Sven (top right) at the Youth Center Kavadarci


Tim Schoot-Uiterkamp

Tim Schoot-Uiterkamp will spend 9 months in Moldova. He will work for a journalistic center monitoring violations of human rights in Moldova.

Judith den Boer

Judith den Boer (pictured on the right) is spending a year in Sofi a, working in a refugee center. She organizes lessons and workshops for refugee children.

Silke Mooldijk

Silke Mooldijk takes part in workshops and courses the center provides to the local youth. The organization is very professional and experienced. They normally host up to ten EVS volunteers at the same time. Gaziantep is also an interesting place because other hosting organizations are based there. The number of volunteers is high. This counterbalances the diffi culties of integrating in a quite old-fashioned community. The activities are also well organized and varied.

Dates: August 2011 - April 2012Project Number: NL-21-21-2011-R2Project title: Developing Human Rights in MoldovaLocation: Moldova, ChisinauPartners: ADVIT Moldova, Chisinau, Moldova; Independent Journalism Center, Chisinau, Moldova

Dates: September 2011 - September 2012Project number: NL-21-30-2011-R3Project title: Linking OpportunitiesLocation: SofIa, BulgariaPartner: CVS-Bulgaria, Sofi a

Dates: December 2011-June 2012Project number: NL-21-60-2011-R4Project title: Volunteering SynergyLocation: Gaziantep, TurkeyPartner: GEGED, Gaziantep


Planning EVS Hosting

After the Urbania project ended at the end of June, we evaluated

the project extensively and intended to apply for a new hosting

project in The Hague at the end of 2011. However, because of other

priorities in autumn and winter, we postponed writing a new

proposal until the late Spring of 2012. Notwithstanding the delay

in our planning, we applied for a new accreditation as sending,

coordinating as well as hosting organization, and were awarded

accreditation until October 2014.


Donau

After Donau 2010/2 had been published in December 2010 we unfortunately saw both a decline in the number of subscribers as well as a waning in the enthusiasm about the magazine among the then editorial board. Therefore it was decided that a editor-in-chief should be found that could “reinvent” Donau. This editor-in-chief was found in March in the person of journalist Hellen Kooijman. She restyled the magazine with the help of a professional designer, formed a new editorial board and published the next issue in June.

Donau 2011/1 was titled ‘Portrait of a river’. This theme was chosen because of the fact that, rather surprisingly, the theme hadn’t been highlighted before. This theme provided for a fast process of writing, while the content could be of good quality. The – partly new – editors of Donau contributed to this issue, but – because of the need to speed up

the process - also other contributors were asked to write articles.

The theme of Donau 2011/2 was Media and represen-tation. This theme was chosen by the editor-in-chief in consultation with the other editors. The subjects and articles were chosen at a brainstorm meeting attended by all editors. They actively thought about possible articles they could write themselves and put forward other possible contributors to this issue. The editor-in-chief contacted the contributors, briefed them about the topic and guided the contributors – partly in co-operation with Stefan van der Poel, one of the editors - while (re)writing their articles.

The amount of subscribers has increased with circa 35 percent (39 subscribers). The price of a copy increased (€ 7,50) as well as the price of subscriptions (from € 17,50 to € 25 per 3 issues)

After Donau 2010/2 had been published in December 2010 we unfortunately

saw both a decline in the number of subscribers as well as a waning in the

enthusiasm about the magazine among the then editorial board.


“Compliments. Donau has

developed into a readable and comprehensive magazine with

interesting content. It looks great as

well.”

- Jan Willem Bos (translator,

Romania-specialist, and

Donau-subscriber)

Communication

Platform Spartak has been able to reach out to more and more people, through various online and offl ine channels. The website has been improved in several stages and has now a clearer structure, highlighting the programmes and the stories of EVS volunteers abroad more prominently. Also the website of Donau has been improved and a new website has been created for Comixiade. In 2012 an update for the website of Streets Music Exchange Programme is planned.

The communities on social media are growing bigger. On Facebook for example Platform Spartak has now almost 700 likes and a total outreach of around 1500 people per week. Other Facebook pages of Platform Spartak, such as Donau, Streets and Comixiade have all together more than 700 likes. More than before we are reaching young people in The Hague via social media.

The newsletter of Platform Spartak has been published on a monthly basis and is targeting a more institutional audience of policy-makers and potential donors.

On the 9th of May Platform Spartak traditionally celebrated the Day of Europe with a showcase event called Cornershop Europe. Presentations of the artistic works produced in several projects including Street Portraits, Urbania and Comixiade and debates on topics Platform Spartak is refl ecting on as part of its strategy were attended by about 100 people.

A campaign about European Voluntary Service targeted at high school students resulted in more requests of young people who want to do voluntary work in Eastern Europe. Project coordinator Janneke Francissen promoted the EVS programme on Dutch Radio 1.

The website has been improved, the communities on social media are growing

bigger, and the number of newsletter subscriptions is growing daily; commu-

nication for Platform Spartak is improved all the time.


The communities on social media are growing

bigger. On Facebook, for example, Platform

Spartak now has almost 700 likes and a total outreach of around

1500 people per week. Other Facebook pages of Platform Spartak,

such as Donau, Streets and Comixiade have all together more than 700 likes. More than before we are reaching young

people in The Hague via social media.


Annual Report 2011

Documents

r e p o r t p

r e p o r tspartak

t f o r

year platform spartak

sustainable organization

evs volunteers

young volunteers

new youths