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Omladinski Centar here we come!
In Novi Sad the Caravan was welcomed and looked after by people from two organisations. One is Kulturanova, which organised various visual arts festivals and has been campaigning for a cultural youth centre in the city. The other is the 'Volonterski Centar Vojvodine' a volunteer centre, which supports and runs a variety of projects. The week in Novi Sad was one of good workshops, good actions and the occasional party!
Most Caravan members were accomodated on an old Ukranian cruise ship in the Denube, where workshops took place too. The Mischief Makers build a giant bird as a symbolic way of opening up Serb borders and made an impressive mosaic on the same theme, possibly to be used in a new youth centre. Clowns trained and joked about at the final parade to end the week of workshops. An other impressive feature of the activities in Novi Sad was the quickly formed samba band, which did a couple of stunning performances in the centre of town. The video group made 3 videos and did several open air screenings. At the end of the first week a demonstration was held for the cultural youth centre as well as for the opening up of Serbian borders. During the second week some Caravan members worked at a Roma settlement and prepared a film screening and demonstration, demanding an electricity supply, which the settlement in its 33 year existance has had no access to.
Photos: art caravan arrived to novi sad yesterday
Audio: Milan from Kulturanova speaks on local radio about Caravan
Others articles: Groovy times in Novi Sad
Links: AA Caravan Indymedia | KulturaNova website + article on Caravan | Volonterski Centar Vojvodine website + Karavan announcement] | Wikipedia on Novi Sad
Hands off! - struggle for a Belgrade park
The week in Belgrade was very different from our stay in the small community of Plav. There it was, a big city once again. We were looked after by people from the Stanipani Kolektiv, who had got people interested in the workshops and helped generating ideas on a possible theme and action.
The day the Caravan arrived a memorial vigil took place in the centre of the city to commemorate the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in 1995. People held banners and placards saying 'never again' and 'remember Srebrenica'. Last year the same vigil was attacked by nationalist groups, some of who trew teargas in the crowd. The police guarded the protest heavily this time. The article 'Belgrade remembers Srebrenica - 11 years on...' contains various links and photos of the event.
The final outcome of the week was an evening of silk and film screening at Peti Park, a small park in Belgrade, where a corporation called Crnotravac wants to build a five storage high commercial centre. In June 2005, the company cut down all the trees in the park. The neighbourhood has started an impressive struggle to safe the park. Coen from the Art and Activism Caravan spoke with local campaigners...
Photos:Interview with Belgrade park campaigners | Belgrade remembers Srebrenica - 11 years on... | On the road again - Plav to Belgrade
Links:AA Caravan Indymedia | Stanipanikolektiv website | Peti Parkic campaign website | Wikipedia on Belgrade | Wikipedia on Serbia
In the small town of Plav...
Plav is a small town in the north east of Montenegro. The 3.500+ inhabitants form a mixed community of Montenegrians, Serbs and Albanians. 80% is muslim, 14% orthodox, 2% catholic. Among the Montenegrians there are both muslims and orthodox, among the Albanians both muslims and catholics. Part of the population are refugees from the Bosnian war (1992-1995) and the Kosovo war (1998-1999). The town is very isolated, surrounded by mountains and six hours away from the capital Podgorica. In autumn last year, a small group of people set up an NGO, Plagus_M, with the aim to activate the local community and the youth culture.
The Art and Activism Caravan was guest in the town of Plav for a very special and hectic week. We were made very welcome by the people and everybody has worked very hard to make a big parade happen on the final day. The samba practiced by marching through the town, getting many funny looks. The Mischief Makers build a giant football and stadium seat, to support the demand from local youth to get better seating in the local football stadium. At the moment they have to sit on a rubbish dump to watch the matches... Another group of mischievious fairies made costumes and danced around during the parade. The video workshop produces films about the local lake and its safety, the management of waste and another one on local youth in Plav. The clowns worked on a performance about waste and collected some from the street in order to find its owners...
Photos:On our way to Plav... some photos | Plav final event - The parade... | Plav final event - handing over the petition | Plav final event - Filmscreening and party...
Other articles:Small town activism in Montenegro - interview with a community activist
Water, Poverty and Clowning - a week in Tirana, Albania
In Albania the Caravan participants were welcomed by people from Mjaft!, a movement committed to fighting political corruption and raising awareness of social and environmental issues concerning Albania. Workshops were held at various locations in Tirana, which is the capital of Albania with different sources stating somewhere between 500,000 - 1,000,000 inhabitants.
In Tirana Cat left and Johan joined the Caravan as a Rebel Clown trainer. It was a busy, hot and stressful week full of good and crazy experiences and good workshops. The video workshops produced 3 films and the Clowns and Mischief Makers combined their efforts in an action for clean and reliable drinking water at the Ministry for Internal Affairs, in the middle of the city.
Photos:On the road - from Bitola to Tirana | An action for clean and reliable drinking water at the Ministry for Internal Affairs in Tirana, Albania | Photo update of Art Activism Caravan | Photos from silkscreening workshops in Bitola + Tirana
Video: [videos will be uploaded soon!]
Other articles:Rebel Clowning in Albania | creative direct action in Albania
Links:AA Caravan Indymedia | Mjaft! website | Wikipedia on Albania | Liberal revolutionary movements in post-communist Eastern Europe
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A for Athens, B for Bitola...
After a week of student uprising in Greece, the Art and Activism Caravan moved onto Macedonia, where it was welcomed by the Bitola Youth Forum, to fill a week of youth activities in the city of Bitola. Bitola is a city in the south-western part of the Republic of Macedonia, with just under 100.000 inhabitants.
Workshops included: action samba, silkscreening, video activism and rebel clowning, some of which took place at one of the local swimming pools. The Mischief Makers worked in a Roma settlement just outside the city. At the end of the week a large event was held in the local amphitheatre, which was joined by some local bands.
Photo:On the road to Bitola | Roma children's workshops | Video workshop | Final event
Video:Beautiful Bitola (about litter on the streets) | Bitola's Neighbourhood Voices (aspirations...) [will be uploaded soon!]
Other articles:A Week in Rromani | All You Ever Wanted To Know About Roma Culture | videos made in bitola by video workshop participants
Video workshop and screenings in Athens
caravan landed in the Politekhnik University which is one of the occupied universities in Greece, video workshops took place with few university students joining us during the daytime besides their long meetings, discussions, demos and all the other things they are organizing.
video-news made by greek students during the caravan;
Student uprising as Caravan visits Athens
This week, the art and activism caravan and youth exchange have started, in Athens! Members of the AA Caravan have been working with the youth exchange participants as well as some local students at the Politecnik University in Athens. The students have occupied their university in solidarity with their striking tutors as well as raising their concern
over the proposed changes to the education law and privitisation of the Greek educational system. In the last few weeks almost all of the universities and colleges in Greece have been occupied by the majority of their students. After lectures and teachers went on a national strike in a long lasting dispute over pay, students around the ountry took over more than 300 buildings and university grounds.
Full Article, Photos and Links
For more info check;
Art and Activism Caravan 2006 site on UK indymedia(ENGLISH)
Athens Indymedia;
Athens Indymedia(ENGLISH)
Article by Cat from the caravan;
English Cat Gets Gassed in Athens(ENGLISH)
Article by Sylvia from the caravan;
Student Uprising in Greece(GERMAN)
A short video from Albania...
guantanamo ex-detainees applied for asylum status in albania
