Asociația SUPER TINERI (ASIRYS)

My August started with a little trip to Bucharest where we were saying last goodbyes to Craftastic Youth Exchange participants. My first impressions are that the streets of Bucharest are really crowded and full of movement in all possible directions, but the walk we had in the Old Town of Bucharest was pleasingly calm and gave me a safe place feeling with all the old buildings and cobblestone underneath my feet. I am glad that in August I could proceed with my Body Painting Lab and giving free space of expressing themselves underneath connecting topics. Every time it made me happier and happier to see all of my young artists getting much free and letting themselves be the personalities they are. Seeing their interest and support in these workshops for me is really heart-warming and important. In August I finally had an opportunity to try out my hands in creating with clay. I am really grateful that Demet led us into the new world of this art which feels like meditation and releasing al

In July we had the pleasure of meeting Elena, a retired school teacher who transformed her family home into a museum of traditional Romanian culture. At first she was quite shy to speak with us, feeling the burden of a language barrier and doubting if people from abroad would see the value in such a place. Fast forward a few hours and we were sitting on Elena’s childhood bed, sharing lemonades and laughing about the story of her first cross-stitch. History can often feel detached and distant, but the story of Elena’s family through the decades gave us such a particular insight into the recent past and made everything feel so much more personal. After all, what is history if not the stories of regular people? Once again, Romanian hospitality continues to impress and we have yet to visit somebody that hasn’t welcomed us with open arms. This month we hosted a youth exchange to discuss the topic of single use plastics. The IPCC’s sixth report painted a bleak picture of the climate crisis,

July was fulfilled with a lot of activities and emotions, so it is quite hard to make a summary of everything that happened.  One more lovely experience was the trip to Oboroceni, where we were welcomed to do workshops for kids age 7-15. The workshop I created was dedicated to Romanian nature, so kids had the task to make small paintings on rocks with a part of Romania they love the most. I was really pleased that kids were enjoying that and taking the activity quite seriously, creating mini paintings with such accurateness. And then comes the part about the biggest adventure and challenge during July – we were getting ready for a European Youth exchange project in our youth center. The name of it was “Craftastic” and the main idea was to create workshops and experience exchange about recycling and upcycling everyday plastic items which are not being used anymore. So that gave me a reason to do a small research on this topic and to know about it more. We welcomed people from different

În perioada 21-22 august 2021, vom organiza în satul Ciurbești, comuna Miroslava, a VII-a ediție a Festivalului Folcloristica. Ca în fiecare an, acest eveniment reprezintă o oportunitate de a descoperi talente, de a ne conecta cu liderii formali și informali din comunitățile locale, de a cunoaște și de a promova într-un stil non-formal, patrimoniul  cultural local. Implică un sat, dezvoltă o țară! În ultimii 7 ani, prin Folcloristica, am lucrat cu peste 40 de sate din județul Iași și sute de voluntari, artiști locali, producători, meșteri, profesori și oameni pasionați ai locului. În acest an ne bucurăm de sprijinul Primăriei și Consiliului Local Miroslva, și cel al Asociației Ciurbeștenii.  Pentru a organiza evenimentul avem nevoie de o echipă de 20 de voluntari. Acest apel este adresat tinerilor care își doresc să lucreze într-o echipă internațională, să învețe despre organizarea de evenimente, să-și facă prieteni și să descopere folclorul într-un mod inedit!   Voluntarilor li se asi

Hello, I'm Demet. It's been 2 weeks since I came to Târgu Frumos. I was very excited when I first got off the plane. I was even more excited as it was my first international travel experience. I took another 6 hour bus ride from Bucharest to Târgu Frumos. The roadsides were full of sunflower fields. And it was green everywhere. I thought it would be very nice to live in this nature. There was a great emptiness and happiness inside me.  When I arrived to Târgu Frumos, Mihaela, Leire, Krista greeted me. I felt incredible relief when I saw them. Because they were so friendly. I got to know the environment. We started to make products related to the recycling of plastic at the youth center. In the week I arrived, people from different countries came with a youth exchange program. We became a large group.  We immediately started the project and made products from plastic bottles, and together we got to know Romania. Every evening we learned about the culture of another country. It&#

It’s already been two months since I arrived in Târgu Frumos and I have this constant feeling that I’ve been here forever, at the same time I feel as lost as I felt in the airport at Bucharest when I stepped in this country for the first time. During the month of July I had the opportunity to create, with the help of some local volunteers, the Media Lab Club. The first day we met was amazing, everyone was enjoying the creation and sharing process. I feel like this club will be a great opportunity to learn for all of us and I cannot wait to see what it will bring us. Even though I feel really grateful for being here, I am still adjusting myself. Every day, every workshop, every activity, every person we work with is an opportunity to learn something new. We had our On-arrival training while ASIRYS was hosting a youth exchange. It is so sad that we had to do it online, but I got the chance to meet some people that are living similar experiences to mine all around Romania, and hopefully w

It’s already been one month since I arrived in Târgu Frumos and I have this constant feeling that I’ve been here forever, at the same time I feel as lost as I felt in the airport at Bucharest when I stepped in this country for the first time. This place is peaceful and yet so full of life. Every day I find myself in a new adventure. Most days are really exhausting, but I have felt nothing but welcomed from the first second, and I am really happy to be part of this. I feel grateful I get to do this everyday, and it will continue like that for at least 7 months. I am learning a lot from Mihaela and the local volunteers about how things work around here. What ASIRYS is and what it means and how it impacts the community. I also feel very lucky to be living and working with Fiona and Krista. We all come from different backgrounds and have knowledge in different fields, we try to learn, share and help each other. I still can’t believe that my life is and will be like this for a while. It’s f

Dress tells us so much about a country’s history - what values they held, what techniques they mastered, how they structured society. On a rainy afternoon, we found ourselves in the Ruginoasa Cultural Centre; an ethnographic museum dedicated to traditional Moldavian life. The centre is warm and inviting, as if you’ve been welcomed into somebody’s home. Artefacts are scattered across the room; a baby's cradle full to the brim with intricately decorated blankets, a loom with an unfinished weaving, waiting for the right person to finish it, and handmade costumes standing proud.  The majority of pieces on display had been donated by local residents, giving a personalised touch to each artefact. In an age of industrialisation and fast fashion, the handmade almost assumes legendary status. At the front door of the centre, there is a traditional Moldavian blouse, embroidered with apple blossom motifs. As I was running my finger along the sleeve, admiring the delicate needlework I was told