1 New Italian EVS volunteers at DRONI Elena is a 26 year old anthropologist from Italy. She grew up in Verona and moved first to Trento and then to Perugia for studying. She has always loved travelling; this atude brought her to Luxembourg for an internship, to London for an Erasmus, to Germany and Ireland for short-term jobs and finally here in Georgia! In DRONI she will work at the Tbilisi Sea School. She has some experience in working formally and non- formally within educaon which will hopefully enrich her volunteering. She is deeply interested in Caucasian culture, history, and above all collecve memory both from a personal and professional perspecve. Elena has done an ethnographic research on conflicts resoluon and peace-building working with youth coming from here. The first me she came to Georgia was last August, she fell in love with it and decided to come back! She has come here for a 9 - month project aiming at learning by doing and discovering. April, 2014 DRONI News Droni rules, not the kings! Hot news: New Italian volunteers Human Library in Zugdidi Georgian– French cultural exchange project at Tbilisi Sea School International projects and trainings In this number: New Italian EVS volunteers 1 10 days of silence– Vipassana meditation 2 Human Library in Zugdidi; It’s good to be different! 2 The Yellow Brick Road project 3 Tbilisi Sea School activities during March 3 Training Course ‘’Paths to Inclusion’’ in Ireland 4 Youth-Work Revised for conflict transformation 4 Julian is from Pescara, Italy. He did his Bachelor studies in Milan in Interfaculty between Foreign Languages and Polical Sciences. Aſter one year of professional experience as Internaonal Sales Execuve for an Italian company, he decided to move to the UK where he did his postgraduate studies in Internaonal Relaons and Democrac Polics. During and aſter his studies he worked as Fundraiser and Researcher for two NGOs in the UK and then he moved to Czech Republic where he was hired for a 4-month project at the OSCE-Prague office. Julian is enthusiasc and happy to work with the IDP students of the Tbilisi Sea School for the next 9 months.
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Transcript
1
New Italian EVS volunteers at DRONI
Elena is a 26 year old anthropologist from Italy. She
grew up in Verona and moved first to Trento and then
to Perugia for studying. She has always loved travelling;
this attitude brought her to Luxembourg for an
internship, to London for an Erasmus, to Germany and
Ireland for short-term jobs and finally here in Georgia!
In DRONI she will work at the Tbilisi Sea School. She
has some experience in working formally and non-
formally within education which will hopefully enrich
her volunteering. She is deeply interested in Caucasian
culture, history, and above all collective memory both
from a personal and professional perspective. Elena
has done an ethnographic research on conflicts
resolution and peace-building working with youth
coming from here. The first time she came to Georgia
was last August, she fell in love with it and decided to come back! She has come here for a 9-
month project aiming at learning by doing and discovering.
April, 2014
DRONI News Droni rules, not the kings!
Hot news:
New Italian volunteers
Human Library in Zugdidi
Georgian– French cultural
exchange project at Tbilisi Sea
School
International projects and
trainings
In this number:
New Italian EVS volunteers 1
10 days of silence–
Vipassana meditation 2
Human Library in Zugdidi;
It’s good to be different! 2
The Yellow Brick Road
project 3
Tbilisi Sea School activities
during March 3
Training Course ‘’Paths to
Inclusion’’ in Ireland 4
Youth-Work Revised for
conflict transformation 4
Julian is from Pescara, Italy. He did his Bachelor studies in
Milan in Interfaculty between Foreign Languages and
Political Sciences. After one year of professional
experience as International Sales Executive for an Italian
company, he decided to move to the UK where he did his
postgraduate studies in International Relations and
Democratic Politics. During and after his studies he
worked as Fundraiser and Researcher for two NGOs in
the UK and then he moved to Czech Republic where he
was hired for a 4-month project at the OSCE-Prague
office. Julian is enthusiastic and happy to work with the
IDP students of the Tbilisi Sea School for the next 9
months.
2
10 days of silence – Vipassana meditation
10 days of silence, 10 hours per day sitting and meditating starting from 4 o’ clock in the morning, disconnected from the entire world, not
even pencil or book allowed to have. This is how I spent my 2 weeks in Turkey and it is called Vipassana meditation - seeing things as they
really are, staying in the present at the most extreme degree possible.
In order to realize the true nature of our existence we were observing our natural breath and sensations throughout the body, learning
not to react to them and practicing mindfulness 24 hours per day. 24 hours per day practicing mindfulness means being aware of every
activity we do without any judgment, craving or abortion: when walking, using the bathroom, making your bed, getting dressed, opening a
door, brushing your teeth, drinking water, feeling pain or other feelings.
To see your own mind clearly and sense your body fully is to see ultimate reality. This experience results in short-term calmness, bliss and
leads to wisdom and permanent freedom from suffering and all kind of miseries. So called "Nibbana" in Pali (old Indian language) -
enlightenment. Vipasana is the ancient technique started in Myanmar and rediscovered by Buddha in India 2500 years ago. It is not
connected with any religious practices or ideologies, trying to help all the humans reach the so called “Dhamma” – inner freedom. At the
moment there is all over the world Vipasana centers running and everybody can join the courses for free. http://www.dhamma.org/
All of us suffer from the mental sickness of desire, attachment, craving for pleasant emotions, neglecting what we don’t like. Vipassana
was like an operation of my mind and total liberation of all kind of negativities and impurities. Just don’t think Monika became an angel, it
requires continuous work everyday, self-discipline and big determination.
May you all experience this ultimate truth. May all people be free from misery. May they enjoy real peace, real harmony, real happiness. Fully liberated with love and peace.
Monika Peldaviciute
The Human Library is a voluntary project organized by open-minded youth
tries to promote human rights, fight against stereotypes and raise
tolerance in the society!
During one month a group of four EVS Volunteers from Czech Republic:
Jana, Jan, Martina and Richard will work to set up the event of Human
Library on 26th of April. This year will be the fifth time for DRONI
organizing this event. But it will be the first time it will be held in another
place than Tbilisi.
This Library that will be inhabited not by paper books but by living books;
people who decide to tell their own story because they have been
discriminated and are victims of stereotypes. Everyone will have the
chance to come in the human library, choose the human book she/he
wants to read and start a conversation with her/him.
The group took a day train from Tbilisi to Zugdidi on 24th March. They arrived in the evening and moved to their new home in
Sukhumskaja street 106. Their housemates welcomed them heartedly with a delicious cake and chacha. They spent a night brainstorming
about ideas for the preparation of our event. The following day they went for a walk to take a look at the places where Human Library
could be organized.
In warm and sunny weather they walked around the botanical garden and the palace to the lively city center. They visited a rhetorical
performance of local youths in Art gallery and quickly presented our project to the audience.
At the end of the day they bought necessary supplies in the famous local Bazar and came back to our house to contact local organizations.
Currently they are working on the promotional materials and communication on social media. In the following days and weeks there are a
lot of people to meet, materials to create, articles to write and work to do. Nevertheless they are eager to create an unforgettable event
here in Zugdidi. It's good to be different!
Human Library in Zugdidi; It’s good to be different!