Economist: Planning the West’s counter-attack against Russia

WAIT until the 2008 presidential election and hope that sense prevails. That, roughly, is the West’s strategy to deal with Russia. It has come at a high price. Russia has largely won the gas wars before most Europeans even noticed they were being fought. So far this year the Kremlin has stitched up the Caspian (by striking a pipeline deal with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan). It has nobbled Austria, Belgium and Hungary (to add to its powerful position in Germany, France and Italy). By schmoozing other producers it has begun to form a gas cartel. Russia has also built a strong pro-Kremlin camp elsewhere in the European Union (Greece, and Cyprus chiefly; Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia increasingly; and probably Bulgaria too if anybody looked closely). Its banks and businesses have created a fifth column in the City of London and other world financial centres.

On top of all this are the attacks on Estonia’s state websites and the shameless contempt shown by the Kremlin after the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB officer, in London.

Waiting another year in the hope that someone nicer than Vladimir Putin comes along is wishful thinking. Instead of waiting for the next Kremlin stunt, why not try a counter-attack?

For a start: is Russia a fit member of the G8? Clearly not. Russia was admitted to the then G7 to bolster Boris Yeltsin’s attempt to make Russia democratic, free and friendly. That was probably a mistake; it has obviously failed. So either exclude Russia on the ground that the G7 is a democracies-only club, or include China and make it a big-economies club.

Expand NATO, both in scope and membership. Create a cyber-NATO to offer mutual assistance against state-backed internet terrorism of the kind experienced by Estonia. Sweden and Finland might be willing to join such a cyber-group now; if they are wise, they will join NATO while they still can. Restart EU enlargement, especially for Serbia and Montenegro, thus counteracting Russian influence there.

Stop Russian companies from using the international capital markets unless they have clean hands. Conniving in the sale of stolen property is a crime. Why should a Russian oil firm with looted assets (or a gas intermediary whose business seems to consist mainly of standing in the right place) enjoy the privilege of raising capital in London? Equally, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development should stop its “rent-a-fig-leaf” service to Russians who want to look respectable. Given the colossal amounts of cash sloshing around Russia at the moment, it is preposterous that Western taxpayers are asked to finance anything there.
AFP No more Mr Nice Guy

Crack down on visas. If a Russian tycoon is unwelcome in America, should he be be any more welcome in London? Even better, start chucking people out. Imagine the impact if America, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Italy—and any other countries that wanted to join in—expelled, on the same day, equal numbers of Russian spies. Say 15 each from the GRU (military intelligence) and from the FSB and from the SVR (the successors to the KGB). The spying, stealing and mischief-making by these outfits matches or even exceeds levels seen in the cold war. So, show some cold-war resolve, and do it in unison.

More tough-mindedness would be useful in other places too, such as in Western countries’ foreign ministries. For the past 20 years, officials dealing with Russia have been promoted if they encourage trade, investment and friendly political relations. Hawkishness has been a career-killer. That doesn't help now that a tough, consistent policy is needed.

Toughness will have a cost. But the coming years need not be disastrous if the West is willing once again to stand up for what it believes in. A “wait and see” policy guarantees disaster.

European Youth Week – Youth in Action

The 3rd European Youth Week will take place throughout Europe from 3-10 June 2007. In Brussels, there will be a centralised event (3-6 June) to promote the Youth in Action Programme and European Youth Policies, and to contribute to the structured dialogue with young people.

In this event young people from all parts of Europe will meet and, through open discussions and consultation, create a tangible contribution to the European Commission’s Plan D, which stands for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate.

One objective of event will be to promote and raise the awareness of the Youth in Action Programme, which has been launched concurrently. It will also highlight the achievements and success of projects supported by the previous Youth Programme, which ran from 2000-2006.

Participants will form working groups to discuss the main elements of the general theme “social inclusion and diversity of young people in Europe”, with the outcomes to be presented in a plenary session. There will also be working groups using creative methods like music and video to contribute to the same theme.

Finally, the attendees will also have the possibility to participate in a political
round table debate attended by members of the European Commission.

The final conclusions of the Brussels event will be forwarded to the Commission and the Council of Youth Ministers, and is expected to be taken into account in their policy formulation.

atgal i realybe

dar karteli buvau pamokytas, kad ko nepadarysiu pats - niekas uz tave nepadarys..
ir dar - jei tau atrodo, kad viskas priklauso tik nuo taves, tavo patirties ir pastangu ir visi tai supras ir ivertins - zegnokis :)

negaliu sakyti kad truputeli pikta, tiesiog visad turiu to keisto ir nesuprantamo optimizmo bei tikejimo, kad viskas bus gerai ir teisingai. bet juk bus. gal ir po paskutiniojo teismo dienos, bet bus.

savo renginiu dalyvius nuolat mokau apie trikampi:
- tikslas;
- procesas;
- zmogus/zmones;
ir kasdien suprantu kad tai yra taskai tarp kuriu mes nuolat laviruojam ir turime rinktis - kas svarbiau - tikslas? ar svarbiau pats tikslu siekimo procesas ir ar mes esame patenkinti jo metu? o gal visa tai yra tik abstrakcijos, o pats svarbiausias dalykas yra kaip jauciuosi as ir kaip jauciasi kiti individai?

smagiausia, kad atsakymo i sita kasdienini klausima nera, o mes i ji kasdien atsakome savo veiksmais ir pasirinkimais...

megaukimes gyvenimu/procesu, nepamirskime aukstesniuju tikslu (artimi zmones, seima, valstybe, Europa) bei nepamirskime ir saves, nes tik save mes tikrai "turime".

brussels

big hello from th heart of Europe - Brussels. i gonna spend here next 11 days, so shall you want to meet me there - drop me the line :) +32478738556

...

Ну вот исцезла дрожь в руках
теперь на верх.
Ну вот сорвался в пропасть страх
на век, на век.

Для остановки нет причин
Иду сколзя.
И в мире нет таких вершин,
Что взяь нелзя.

from В Высоцкий "Горная лирицеская"

weekend in Rumsiskes

though summer heat was rather tropical in Lithuania this weekend we decided to go "traditional" and went to Rumsiskes open air museum. even though aim was rather pragmatic - to agree on details of our planned "activity" to be held here later in the summer, but it turned out to be very pleasant and enjoyable stay.

it was Whit Sunday weekend so museum was full of festive mood, entertainment and joy: mass in the old wooden Church, plays by young "shepherds", tasting of traditional Lithuanian white cheese, homemade butter and some "green"soup. All in all, air was full of joy, sun and relaxation... i hope we will maintain this mood until and after July.. :)

YEU - European Identity Exchange Project

check out little movie made after Youth Exchange in Sardinia. Movie made by Arturas, YEU Lithuania.

Youth week is coming!

hey ho! European Youth Week 2007 is approaching us!!
make sure you get involved in one of its events - be it Brussels or your country.

Follow this link http://youthweek.eu for more information and also consult your national youth institutions about the local events.

the keyword is PARTICIPATION!

Be slow to get angry, be fast to forgive (or appreciate)

Well, when on the way to Strasbourg from Frankfurt I had to change trains two times its cool. When the second train come bit (25min) late you understand that there’s no way you will make it…

Is there any reason to be unhappy? Get angry? No… just take it easy and sort out what to do next. And when you realize that DB (DeutcheBann) treats passengers as customers you are flattered. It is something I always wished to happen in my homeland. So many times drivers made me feel sorry for stepping on their vehicle :) Sometimes they would react if passenger was sent by God as a punishment to them and they would certainly act accordingly.

So what’s the difference, which inspired to write down these lines? Currently I am sitting on the bus which takes me to Strasbourg from Offenburg. Wouldn’t be so strange if it was not DB who arranged this bus for the passengers of late coming train to ensure they don’t need to wait another 48 minutes till the next train service. Wow. I do appreciate.

Ps. and then it is not so painful to pay 52.80 euro for the trip since you feel that you are taken care of.
2007-05-11, somewhere between Germany and France.

Baltijos kelias #2. United we stand: Lietuva! Latvija! Estija

today, united we stood. as 16 years ago, when Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were united with a human chain from Vilnius to Tallinn, today we stood again to express our support to Estonia in the conflict with Russia.

only together we are strong, only together we can withstand imperialistic attacks of Russia. I do hope that Europe will also realize the importance of being united and having strong voice at last. European countries need to be closer together, we do need common strategy, common plan for common future. and common foreign policy is a key element here..

WE’RE FOR ESTONIA! ||| Bloggers‘ campaign to support Estonia

i have joined bloggers' campaign to support our little neighbour country Estonia. If you also would like to join the campaign, just follow the link and add info to you website or blog.

Little reflection on the plane [2007 05 04]

Heading back to Vilnius, where sweetheart and home is awaiting.
This short trip to Zadar, Croatia somehow brought me to some thoughts...

I ran one day activity for/with a group of youngsters from organization called ACTIVE, what makes them different from other organizations – they fight for a healthy lifestyle and against smoking, alcohol and drugs. Very nice mission… and very tough one.

But when you look at their young smiling faces its makes you believe that it is achievable, when you see how much fun they manage to have during the day and afternoon sessions… and even if some are bit tired in the morning it has nothing to do with the alcohol night before. Nice.

Another reflection is about our changed and globalized world. Does it makes sense to travel half of the day (getting to Vilnius airport – Frankfurt – Zagreb airport – Zagreb bus station – Zadar bus station – 1 hour walk) for one day training? Well, but does it makes sense to wait in the traffic jams 1 hour on the way to the office and another hour on the way back? In 5 working days it accumulates to 10 hour which almost equals to the time needed to get to the other side of Europe, if not Globe.

I am happy to have made this trip. I got inspired by these youngsters, got to see beautiful Adriatic cost and even managed to get some sun kisses on my cheeks. Life is beautiful as long as we manage to celebrate life!

Youth: Open the door

Internet is a miracle, so i was not too much surprised that Russians voted Internet to be the most important invention of XX century... at the moment i am sitting in the little restaurant in the middle of remote Lithuanian town and using wireless Internet sharing my emotions of the given moment. cool, isn't?

last week i spent with a nice bunch of youngsters from Baltic and Eastern European countries talking about Innovative ways for youth cooperation. Indeed it is important to strengthen our ties with our counterparts across the state borders and to build bigger, broader and YOUNGER Europe.

as one of the "touchable" outcomes, Web log http://youthcooperation.blogspot.com was created to channel future cooperation of our organizations and all of you are welcome to visit and join us!

Youth: Open the door. The door is open - now your time to enter!

Pool of Trainers' meeting

Pool of Trainers near the Pool of green stuff :)
hey hey hey!

Temples for the tourists [by Umberto Eco]

I've read in the papers and on the Internet that someone is going to build, at a price of well over a billion dollars, an archaeological park called Megale Hellas, complete with a fake but wholly intact temple made of concrete clad in travertine marble, at Albanella, a small Italian township 10 miles from the temples at the ancient Greek colony of Paestum and 40 miles from the temple at Velia.

Those who object to this idea point out that there is a genuine temple dedicated to Demeter dating from the fourth or fifth century B.C only a few miles away.

Supporters of the scheme imagine an influx of tourists greater than that drawn by the real temples - all slightly ruined, to tell the truth. They must be thinking of the reconstruction of the city of Venice in Las Vegas or of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee, and maybe even the various Disneylands. The cultural value of these tourist attractions is open to criticism, but no one can say that they don't bring in people (and cash).

I understand the reactions of those scandalized by the idea, and I'm sorry to add to their dismay by stating that we should all be very much in favor of such enterprises. These schemes are a good way to safeguard Italy's artistic heritage.

There was a time when important historical and cultural sites were visited only by aristocratic travelers making the Grand Tour or exploring Italy. Those people thought it was just fine that the churches and palazzi were falling to bits, or that great paintings lay abandoned in damp sacristies.

Then came "bourgeois" tourism, which was still an elite affair but involved hundreds of thousands of cultivated and sensitive travelers. In order to satisfy their requirements both locations and artworks were restored, and this new form of tourism brought economic benefits to many towns and cities.

With the advent of mass tourism, some important sites increased their income, but at the cost of ugliness and vandalism. They became dumps for discarded soda cans and plastic bags, and were marred by ranks of stalls selling fake artifacts to souvenir hunters. Ancient, labyrinthine streets were made intolerable by noisy, sweaty crowds. As for the works of art, the very breath of the millions of tourists damages them. The feet of certain statues of saints have been worn smooth by the constant handling of the faithful, and not even the Pyramids can withstand the daily shuffling of visiting feet much longer.

What are we to do? Deny the masses access to art, thus flying in the face of all democratic ideals? Discourage visitors - as already happens with Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" in Milan, to which limited numbers are admitted?

We should exploit the natural tendencies of mass tourism - which is another way of saying that there are some who probably find Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas more Roman than the Coliseum.

Just think how many people will be more satisfied by the fake temple at Albanella, all in one piece, shining and splendid, than by the real thing that has struggled to survive in nearby Paestum. Let the crowds in search of easy satisfaction be directed to Albanella, leaving Paestum to those who know why they want to see it and who won't litter.

It would be so useful to have an Uffiziland on the outskirts of Florence, with perfect reproductions of the items in the real Uffizi Gallery on display, maybe even with their colors touched up a little, the way funeral parlors add makeup to the lips of the deceased.

Given that crowds gather in front of Florence's Palazzo Vecchio to admire a "David" that isn't the original (but they don't know this, or don't care), why shouldn't they go to Uffiziland? And if there were fewer mouths emitting noxious fumes in the vicinity of Botticelli's "Primavera," this would help with efforts to preserve it.

Don't tell me that my proposal is "class-driven" in the sense that it would represent an attempt to separate the troglodytes from people with refined artistic sensibilities. True, it might, but each person would decide to which category he or she belongs by choice and not by social decree. Similar choices are made by millions of people - including those who consider themselves aesthetes and connoisseurs - when they tune in to trash TV shows.

Come to think of it, unlike the proletariat of Marxian memory, the new proletarians of art wouldn't even know they were such and would feel fortunate to have visited the shiniest, newest temple of them all.

calm weekend

after a hectic month it is now time to relax a bit... we are now in Trakai at the meeting of Lithuanian National Youth Council but it is a real rest.. with nice surrounding, with group of good fellows and with sweetheart...

yesterday i went for a jogging. 2 pm. when normal people are still very much at work. strange feeling, to some extent you understand that all people work, on the other hand you had spent to weeks working and traveling with almost no seep and it gives you bit of the right to enjoy yourself, hah?

The lessons of the month

So many nice, exciting and extraordinary things happened this month that it is difficult to right something since too many things deserve to be written with an elaboration. Instead of that, I will try to put them into few simple lines:

1. We get what we deserve (not according our perception but real moves);
2. Biggest sinner can become saint;
3. Don’t let (bad) emotion overtake you;
4. Look for nice things, look for good things – wear “good glasses” and world will be a lovely place;
5. We don’t need tram in Vilnius. Either metro or improved bus system;
6. Youth opinion is taken into consideration on European level, though little Eurocrats have no clue how to work with youth events;
7. Caviar is better when served with vodka;
8. All fears are creation of our mind. Fear is an excuse.

Rome Youth Summit

Hey all, there was a little info gap, i have to assume it as my failure.. but i do have a good excuse for that ;))
this month i almost haven't been at home, first Sardinia for prep-meeting of youth exchange, then viziting Moscow (and future father n law:) and now postong these lines from Rome.. andto give some light on that, i added i picture.

day after the end...

this weekend big chapter of my life was closed..
the mandate of YEU Vice President expired..

i guess it is for good since i was looking forward to it.
since now i feel great relief.
since now i don't need to worry about organization.
Of course, i will, but i DON'T HAVE to :)

this was 2 years learning process... how to work in international team. how to manage to make fats decisions while your board members are in 7 different countries and are constantly on the road. Saw how emotions can spoil the work being done. Proved once again that people can do much more than expected from them. Tried to find red line between teamwork (team responsibility) and individual efforts to make things happen.. all in all i can say - many things still to be learned and experienced!!!

smoking sucks

i don't know why but each day i am becoming less tolerant to smoke and smokers. and it is despite the fact that my father used to smoke for 20 yrs and one of grandfathers died due to effect of longterm smoking...

working at the moment in Spain i realize what a great idea is to ban smoking in the public spaces... research shows that in 2007 about 100.000 people will quit smoking in Lithuania. amazing. and they will quit not because they will die but due to stricter rules and more inconvenience for smokers. This will also show, that smoking not cool and not supported by community.
stop smoking before it stops you!

post #100 !!!!!!!!!!

when i started the blog had no clue how i will have motivation to continue posting things here.. but it had been fun and brought to the post #100 today. gr8.

and today i would like to share some pix from the course (press on the picture below). today is the 13th of the February, 6th day i am in Mollina, but another 11 days of Ceulaj is ahead... uff:) today is very fine day, warm and sunny and at last i have a chance to spent some time outdoor and it is just great! people at the course are intyeresting, coming from all across the continent - Azerbaijan to Lebanon, Portugal, Lithuania etc.. great variety, great resource, great fun to be together.

TC Mollina 2007

-----> people of the course <--------

team meeting

...01:12 in the morning. team-meeting. we already finished with daily trainer's feedback and feedback from exploration group.

now we are shifting to planning tomorrow's sessions. we will be working on Open system model and Environmental Scan in the morning, while afternoon sessions will be designed to work on Models & Culture and Mission, Vision etc... looking forward:)))

Pantheon of Mollina

At the right hand side you can see set of gods from Mollina's Pantheon.
master's hand was shaking because of their tremendouness... (whatever:)))

this cartoon represents trainer's of the courses mentioned in the previous message. the preparation for the course went so well, but... all of the sudden participants arrived - what to do, what to do...:))

Mollina.... again:)

in three years i am for the third time in CEULAJ in Molina, Spain... i think it is a bit too much... and then it is of no surprise that some people call this place second home:) especially European youth workers.

here the training course on organizational management and creative leadership in inter cultural environment is being created. soon we will have more details about that...

applying applying...

well, today i submitted couple more "applications"... for those involved in youth training field know what i mean. sometimes it can be boring or even seem waste of time to apply for positions in training courses provided by other institutions/organizations. but.. "no pain no gain" one says and its true. if you don't want to apply - make your own activity/project/business.

this year i would like to dig more into topics of inter religious dialog and European issues. i think i will have enough chances and energy to make this wish true, especially having in mind that last two applications were approved and i am establishing myself as "European" trainer... nevertheless, i will do as much as possible in Lithuania as well, since here we have everything needed - need, demand and ... motivation :)

2007 07 07...

7 is said to be my lucky number. soon we will see if that is true :)

Greece

kali hronia! hronia polla! - best greetings from Greece for 2007.

Patra, 3rd biggest Greek city in the west of Peloponnese is an amazing place....even though i had a little chance to explore it bit more but this lively, vivid city is surrounded by natural beauty - 2km mountains on one side and blue blue sea on the other side... plus this natural beauty is supported by human effort - lovely sea port & marina and beautiful bridge, longest in the world of the kind...

and in this beautiful environment we run a TC for future trainers for AEGEE, international youth NGO. Even though this kind of environment could distract mind but it can do no less than inspire!

businessmam:)

NY started with a good tune, on the JAN 3rd i officially became businessman:))))
that means that i got permission for business activities related to "qualification development".

sounds cool, but what it actually means, that i will be allowed to run activities and pay no taxes for that (not to mention that u anyway have to pay them once a year:) as i have training plans up until summer, this should turn out pretty well.

still on transition...:)

year 2006 was full of colours, action, drama and other ingredients... so what can be better and more suitable than to farewell them at the ballet... :)

It is a nice tradition in Lithuania to have performance at National Theater of Opera and Ballet at the last hours of yesteryear. it was a pleasure to watch Sleeping Beauty and rewind memories of 2006... and to get inspiration for 2007!

crazy times... transition from 2006 to 2007...

time before Christmas was busy with all kind of wrapping-up 2006 and preparing for 2007, while the festive week between Christmas Eve and New Year is all about... doing nothing but eating and celebrating with family and friends.. at least that is the way it goes in Lithuania:)

this year we introduced new tradition to our celebrations - playing games - alias, twister, jenga and others which pop to your mind. illustration is on your right hand side:) i find it cool, that our celebrations have less and less alcohol but more and more fun (Kadri, i will soon be able to qualify for egtyf/activ;)

seems that this week we'll have parties everyday - since it is good to have many friends and many friendly youth organizations:)

HEY HEY HEY - best season greetings to everyone!!!

2007

howdy! Christmas period is the right time to reflect on what happened during the year and plan (hope) the upcoming year...

shall we start with what happened? :) well, this brought many changes, starting with personal life, professional orientation and so on... and to be honest, i am not in the mood to talk about what happened, since if we cannot change it, why to bother? :) to some extent, loss of laptop (documentation of 3past years) is symbolic closure of the big chapter and in 2007 we will start another one - bright, colourful and unforgettable.

all horoscopes scream that 2007 will be very good, especially for Leo. hmm, why not:) i do have plenty of plans, i hope that most of them will come true. if so, u'll also be informed about that:) but until then - a lot of work. just like last days before Christmas.. filling reports and applications..

funny? embarrassing? genious!

This "movie-film" is anything but just another piece of Hollywood/ Bollywood entertainment. Some will find it embarrassing and shocking, some will laugh almost to death. Others (including me) would use it for education purpose, first of all, to reflect for yourself:

- how educated we are?
- what do we know about ourselves? about our culture?
- what do we know about other cultures? and can we understand our culture without meeting "others"?
- do we need to prepare for meeting of different cultures?
- what is tolerance and were are the borders of tolerance?
- what (if) do we learn while being tolerant?;
- how much do we try to "understand" others?
- can one culture be better?
- how flexible should we be?


If you can reflect on these questions and movie is still not funny, take a closure look on what is going around you be it in US(OA), Kazakhstan or middle of Europe. we all have a little borat in ourselves but just some of us are willing to acknowledge that fact...

EUrope - simple plan how to safe Europe

just added daily random NASA picture to my Google personalized homepage... so now everyday i will be given a chance to admire our beautiful planet.

and.. it brings me back to the discussion which we had with mr. Asser, two swedes (Magnus & Magnus), film-maker Valeriu from Moldova and two American girls sitting on the next table. The discussion was all about Europe, EU federalism, need of Constitution and how better place Europe would be without France...

we identified two ways to strengthen Europe, one positive, one negative.

Positive:
- create symbols of Europe (like Big Ben in UK, Akropolis in Greece, Eiffel in France);
- have European heroes - role models. at the end of the day it could be President of EU.
- united European team in Olympics, Football WordCup, etc.
- stop calling Football "soccer"!!! we created the game, we mastered it and we play it with... foot (compared with other game which bares the same name but has very little to do both foot and ball)
- launch European Space program! We can do it!Especially if we cut on budget expenditures on agriculture....

Negative:
- cut the France out of Europe's map - instead of that we will have European sea! i think Germany, Netherlands and other neighbouring countries would not mind ;)
-send all Frenchmen to US along with potatoes from Poland - Americans would appreciate genuine French Fries with affordable price! (little comment from next table - we never thought that u hate us (US) that much:)
- send all Frenchmen to Space (see the previous "positive" suggestions). Planet Earth will be grateful and at the same time Europe will be expanded beyond its geographical boundaries!

Vivat Europa!

underworld in Prague...

Prague, me

London: findings

on the left - after school... thats how it could look in the Royal University of Greenwich... pretty amazing place to see and (i believe) to study in. Shall you visit Greenwich Maritime Museum and 0 Meriddian, spent some time going down the hill and visiting facilities of this University, whichc is overlooking river Themes and futuristic district Canary Wharf.



on the right u can see me heading towards St. Paul's Cathedral. The best outcome of last trip to London is that now i have merged lower city (tube) with ground city level and more or less can orientate myself if this brilliant and vibrant megapolis. For example tube stations of Southwark and St. Paul's seems quite far apart and are separated by the river, while in the reality Sheakspeare's Globe Theatre and St. Paul's Cathedral are directly linked by beautiful Millenium Bridge...

another interesting place worth mentioning - Camden Town - on the black tube line. The place were interesting/strange people gather together and since London has loads of them this lace is very busy:) here you can find arts/handcrafts/food from all other the world, if you are Goth/alternative/techno maniac - this place is a Paradise on Earth due to the number of shops ready to offer you everything and anything... check it out.

London has loads to offer to any taste and need. from historic sights to ultra modern buildings and museums, from silent sites to busy streets, from old black cabs to DLR lines without man control.

londonas "istate" ragus...

foggy fog...

third day in a row Vilnius is covered with extreme fog...
it is quite fun except the situation when u need to fly somewhere and the airport is hardly working since visibility is less than 100 meters :)

i hope that situation will change by tomorrow noon and long awaited trip to London will start on time. see you soon Picadilly Circus and Big Ben :)

check your vision .. below

my flat is now online!!!

i am bit happy that at last i have internet at home.. and at this moment i am talking to you from my sofa... :)))

Is it a time to step out from youth work?

maybe it is the coincidence maybe it is the sign from above, but some thing recently tell me that i should be moving on with other things in my life. Not only that i have a good reason to put more energy into professional and business, but also some setbacks...

maybe it is not so serious and i am just becoming either too sensitive or too tired (most probably both), but the level of tolerance is constantly dropping down. i don't want to sound too negative, but attitude of people sometimes is what i don't understand.. well... it is still early, its 7.05, i am on the train to Brussels airport and it could be that the course of the day will still change and bring some nice emotions and things to remember and to learn from. i just have to be patient until i get into the loving and caring hands of my sweet-heart. hmmm, maybe that is the reason of my frustration?

2006 11 15: Little update

hip - hop - hooray! last week was very busy with interational meetings, since we had YEU governing board meeting in Lithuania, followed by international celebration of YEU 20th anniversary. And right after Vilnius hosted General Assembly of European Youth Forum (YFJ). It was great fun and loads of work, and as a result of that, for next two years i will be working in the CBMA (consultative body for membership applications) for European Youth Forum.

tommorow heading for Brussles to finalyze publication about National Youth Policy models, which we had been preparing within working group of YFJ. and meanwhile trying to get a proper job :))) lets see how it will turn out with both national and international applications. fingers crossed....

transformations

pre-helloween transformations in Bonn...
with fellow trainers..

Mtcheta, ancient capital of Georgia

sakaartvelo

gomarjoba (hello) from the mountainous Georgia!
today training course on european citizenship in youthwork finished.. we had a plenty fruitful and interesting discusions about Europe(s), citizenship, active participation, role of youthwork in the civic education and so on.. now we will be heading towards ancient capital of Georgia - Mtcheta. this country is really magnificient and has 3000 year history.. fascinating and amazing...

i love u

"i love you" doesnt seem like enough
for someone whose smile still brightens my day;
whose touch can make me
forget the rest of the world.

"i love you" doesn't quite tell you
how much i look forward of being with you.
how empty my world would be
without you.

but eventhough "i love you" doesnt quite express
the depths of my feelings for you,
i hope you somehow know what's in my heart
because loving you means more to me
than anything in this world ever has... or even will.


 

balance

yesterday was a sad and disappointing day regarding the news from my organization..
today news are much better..
so all in all things are fine and balanced, since losing on some things you might be gaining on others.

i hope that my motivation will come back and i will bring valuable contribution to the work of CBMA, shall the appointment of YFJ bureau be approved by general assembly next month...

riga

big hello from Riga, capital of ... LATVIA (not Lithuania as many people tend to think:) its bit rainy but still nice. even though i am here for training course, i managed to get a small tour in the Albert ila, famous for its art deco style of building, built in the early 1900s..

so far so good, but we have to jump into preparation of the training course "open the door"- for organizers of contact making seminars and study visits within program YOUTH.

Coyote - magazine, not an animal

those who know me, would understand me... i just cannot keep it in myself and would like to share it... :) my organization (and me:) appeared in the major youth work publication in Europe, Coyote.
the article is pasted bellow.

You cannot teach a man anything
You can only help him to discover for himself.
Galileo Galilei [1564-1642]

Have you ever heard of YEU?

YEU is an International Youth organization ‘Youth for Exchange and Understanding’ and stands for peace, understanding and co-operation between the young people of the world, in a spirit of respect for human rights and cultural differences. The organization was created in 1986 in Strasbourg, by a group of 120 youngsters from 11 different countries who believed in NFL and was the result of 4 years of cooperation through multilateral short term youth exchanges. So this year is special for our organization, since YEU is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Nowadays, YEU counts 26 member organizations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. And cooperation with partner organizations goes far beyond these geographical boundaries.

YEU is constituted by a considerable number of youth organizations with diverse aims and different scope of activities within their local communities. Nevertheless, we all share the 110 YEU mission, all member organizations are democratic, non-political-party-affiliated and all strive to develop youngsters and their communities by being NFL “spaces” and where youngsters can create other NFL and NFE “spaces”. Within these “spaces”, youngsters can develop themselves via participation, they exercise their citizenship, they participate in the promotion of a set of values such as Human Rights, Voluntarism, Cooperation, Respect for Diversity, Intercultural Learning, Non Violent Behaviour, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities for all.

In YEU, individuals, involved in the organization in different ways, are the actors in the education/learning process for which they are responsible. This implies that all youngsters are sharing responsibility for the learning outcomes, based on equality and peer education values: the learning outcomes depend on the active involvement of everyone and each one learns with and from the others.

The main mission of the organization within NFE is to create a "safe" learning space with different opportunities for young people to further develop their skills, knowledge and attitudes. Learning is an ongoing process; one of its crucial features is “learning by doing”. “Non-formal” does not imply “unstructured”; it is a deliberate, planned, staffed, change-orientated and learner-centred process. The process of non-formal learning is shared and designed in a way that creates an environment in which the learner is the architect of the skills, knowledge and attitudes to be developed.

Besides the work done locally by member organizations, YEU develops short-term multilateral youth exchanges, work camps, trainings courses and volunteer activities to promote cultural dialogue and intercultural learning. Around 6-8 multilateral short term youth exchanges (usually ranging from 7 to 21 days and involving between 25 and 80 people) are arranged every year. They involve a few hundred youngsters at different levels of participation: participant, organizer, facilitator, core team member. Besides youth exchanges, YEU also develops other volunteer activities such as European Voluntary Service (EVS), job shadowing and internships, as well as study sessions, seminars and conferences with themes relevant to our network development, training courses, study visits and youth information projects.

Each level of participation is coherent with a particular learning outcome achieved, which is a concrete benefit of non-formal education. They are described in the scheme below.We have taken the example of the participation in a youth exchange, which is the basic level of involvement for a participant in a YEU activity, and we tried to point out the learning outcomes and the attitudes developed by the participants, but also by the team of organizers and facilitators.

Skills	Knowledge	Attitudes
Participant’s Non-Formal Learning Outcomes
Communication Language learning Active Listening Empathy Distance to Social Roles Conflict resolution / transformation Critical thinking Self awareness about oneself and the others Being in a group Creativity Emotional development Sensibility	Cultural diversity Cultural Relativism Human Rights Citizenship Globalization and interdependence Political, economical and social situation of other countries	Respect Tolerance Voluntarism Community spirit Sense of belonging Responsibility Active Participation Non violent behaviours Open minded Supportive towards others Empowerment Autonomy Confidence and self-esteem
Organizer’s Non-Formal Learning Outcomes
Team work Problem solving Capacity to foresee and plan Leadership Interpersonal conflict resolution	Project Management Volunteers management Interpersonal contacts	Discipline Share responsibilities Trust Flexibility Patience Easy going
Facilitators Non Formal Learning Outcomes
Facilitation Assertiveness Implementation of NFE activities Interpersonal conflict Resolution	Group dynamics	Inclusion Equality
Facilitators Non Formal Learning Outcomes
Design NFE programmes and activities Leadership Conflict transformation	NFE methodology and methods	Discipline Share responsibilities Trust Flexibility Patience Easy going

Ensuring the sustainability of our organization

However, our network wasn’t always that dynamic! We entered the 21st century facing a growing shortage of skilful, competent and motivated young people to run our organizations and programmes. This resulted from the incapacity, in the second part of the 90’s, to prepare "new" members to continue the work of the “older” YEU generation in a sustainable manner.

5 years ago we decided to invest our energy in the following three directions:

• Allowing more young people to get involved in YEU through the clarification of YEU structure, procedures and policies. It made clear the way in which YEU can support the development of members who wish to develop their competencies in the youth field and allowed the initiation of youth workers careers in our structure.
• Raising the quality and quantity of non formal education and learning opportunities within the network. We promoted participation of our members in international training courses, such as those provided by the Council of Europe (CoE), SALTO centres and by the Covenant between the CoE and the EU. The direct result of this step was the development and the higher quality of our own training activities.
• Developing cooperation with other NGO’s and International Youth Organizations to share best practice and resources . The European Youth Forum has been a privileged space for the development of those partnerships and for the raising of YEU knowledge in many youth areas, especially those related with youth policy and with youth work practice. This opens existing NFL spaces to people from other organizations and creates peer-to-peer cooperation with different organizations, thus creating new NFL spaces.

YEU as a space for development: find your place!

Every organization provides a lot of opportunities to get involved and develop yourself in the most appropriate way. Network organizations working across the borders, in this case YEU, gives a lot of opportunities for self-development on different levels. Below you will find a simplified scheme which shows how and where a person can get involved in YEU and what social and personal competencies a person may acquire. Some people go through all this "development chain" from involvement in a local organization to international structures; some only get the few things they need and stay at the primary level or leave; but the most important thing is to provide opportunities for everyone to develop all the potential a person has and wants to develop.

Most commonly youngsters first get involved in YEU member organizations at the local level, be it Tunisia, Portugal or Lithuania, and then via participation in the events they become motivated to take responsibilities in the organization or organize exchanges themselves. Some of them undergo more training and become involved in the international structures; governing board, YEU pool of trainers and facilitators. But it is not a "must-go" path; some people continue working on the local level bringing their experience to the grass-root level. The most important thing for us is that everyone can find an appropriate place for learning and sharing his/her experience. At the same time, the structure of the network enables greater accumulation of experience and its transfer.

The conclusion

The last two decades brought big changes in the youth field and recognition of non-formal education in Europe. Since we no longer need to advocate the importance of NFE and necessity of NGOs, now it is our responsibility to make the best use of it.

In twenty years of existence YEU has evolved and developed a long way. But organizations are nothing without people; its members who engage themselves to develop themselves and thereby strengthen the organization. Creating safe learning spaces, making opportunities and structures transparent and the personal approach to each member, will ensure the best results. It worked out well for YEU, why it should not work in your case?

YEU [Youth for Exchange and Understanding] is :

• an international youth organization founded in 1986;
• more than 5000 young people in 26 countries around Europe, Asia and Africa. These youngsters are youth leaders and future leaders of their countries and societies;
• full member of the European Youth Forum based in Brussels and we are recognized by the Council of Europe and the European Union as an International Non Governmental Youth Organization.

YEU Mission
Youth for Exchange and Understanding works to promote peace, understanding and co-operation between the young people of the world, in a spirit of respect for human rights. As an international network, we are the representative body of our members in contacts with the institutions and partners in the youth field.

Personal testimony by Marius Ulozas

I engaged myself with a YEU member organization in Lithuania back in
2003, after two years’ involvement in a political youth organization. YEU
attracted me with its intercultural offer and possibility to implement my own
ideas in a multicultural environment. Participation in seminars and training
courses gave a lot of insights and an understanding that others can think in a different way and that nothing is wrong with that. It also gave me confidence and motivation to go on and share learned things with others.

The nice thing about YEU is that you can get as much as you want – because it depends only on your motivation and dedication. Since I like management and wanted to develop training skills, I went in both directions. On the one hand, after working two years for the YEU Lithuania governing board I was elected YEU Vice-President; whilst in the training field I continued working on different topics and started giving trainings even outside the YEU network. Also, I am representing YEU at the European Youth Forum and its working group, to advocate needs of YEU members and to share our experience with other youth organizations working across Europe. To sum it up, involvement in YEU gave me a lot of experience and opportunities. It helped to develop skills, attitudes and knowledge; to meet new people. And last but by no means least – it helped me to overcome my stage-fright.

What YEU stands for
Over the years, YEU has managed to distinguish its philosophy and working methods. The primary aims of the organization are:

• To foster closer co-operation and better understanding among the young people of the world, both between and within countries, particularly by encouraging the exchange of information & experience;
• To stimulate mutual support between countries, communities and people for cultural, educational and social purposes
• To encourage the interdenominational exchange of ideas and opinions
• To improve the relationship among young people from countries with differing political systems, religious beliefs and traditions, thus fostering tolerance, mutual respect and most of all acceptance

YEU :

Different people, Common values
Common expectations, Different backgrounds,
Different ways, common outcomes,
MUTUAL ACCEPTANCE,
and Universal respect!!!

what i am doing in Varna, Bulgaria?

together with Zara, armenian collegue, we are facilitating European Youth Forum meeting, which is being held in this nice country, which 2 days ago was invited to join EU from 2007 Jan 1. It also gives as a lot more visibility than normal youth meeting - since we are "European" and we are in Bulgaria..

some information about the meeting is given below:

September 26, 2006

In the period 27.09 – 01.10 European Youth Forum in cooperation with Youth Society for Peace and Development of the Balkans, with the support of the State Agency for Youth and Sports and Varna Municipality organize an Open Space Training Event: Improving National Youth Work – exchange of concrete knowledge and practice.

What is the European Youth Forum: www.youthforum.org

In the past years, the European Youth Forum (YFJ) has organized several activities with the broad focus on sustainability of youth work and national youth policy in Europe. These have been followed by concrete regional support activities, and a series of follow-up actions.

Further to the activity on the Role of Youth Organizations in National Youth Policy Development, organized in Moscow in December 2005, YFJ is organizing a seminar to follow up on the discussions initiated, and bridge development of youth work with national youth policy development. The continuous monitoring of youth work development has shown the need for concrete thematic training activities for member organizations active at national level. These have also shown in evaluations and surveys conducted on the topic. Therefore, YFJ is organizing an open space event with strong training element on national youth work and policy development.

Open Space Training Event

This activity will gather representatives of YFJ MOs active at the national level, and working to strengthen the capacity of youth organizations in determining the national youth policy agenda.

The overall aim of the meeting is to bring together practitioners and decision-makers of member organizations willing to share and learn good practices in capacity building and influencing national youth policy agenda. The event will therefore focus around three main themes:

1. Working with member organizations;
2. Advocacy and lobby work;
3. Monitoring youth policy implementation.

(the picture: Zara and me are preparing balloons for Treasure Hunt)

no comments... :)

Youth Work Development: end of the story

last weekend we had a last meeting of YWD working group of 2005-2006 mandate.
we had done many excited things, developed bunch of documents, explored youth work realities throughout Europe and gained a lot on personal and professional levels.

dear collegues, i will miss you hell a lot. with you we made things happen, together we sampled georgian wine, went to soviet disco in Warsaw, celebrated christmas in Tallin, took care of me in snowy Zagreb (when, according to Khaalid, my hand split in two:), celebrated LORDI's EUROVISION triumph in Helsinki, and finnaly went to a coffeshop in lovely Utrech..

i loved time we spent together and i will miss you dears...

My Aphrodisiac Is You

Some people say
That oysters make you come on strong,
But I don't buy it,
I don't believe my diet turns me on.
Won't take no pills,
That's the last thing that I need to do,
I can't deny it,
My aphrodisiac is you...

by katie melua

have nothing to add, just agree...

figaro figaro....

everywhere and nowhere, thats how i could call the last month... been to switzerland, turkey, neverlands, now heading to bulgaria, with latvia and georgia ahead.. no even time to upload few words here. but all in all things are going great - happy to go, happy to return.. i hope soon will be able to put here some more reflections and pictures. m

words of wisdom

our dear Pope last weak said words not many would expect, he "warned against 'the dangers of excessive activity, whatever the condition or office held, because many occupations lead to a 'hardening of the heart' and suffering of the spirit."

it is so true our days that life pace has got incredible pace and it's so difficult to cope with it.
i remember last year, when stuck in Brussels airport for 27 hours, realized that i am more frequent guest in the airports than church and it says something about our lifes..

rainy ICL weekend

seems that "sunny days are over" in Lithuania as Vaya con Dios sing in their famous old song:)
though there's nothing to cry about, since summer has been long and nice.

this weekend i am facing little challenge - weddings of friends.. and it will be in the language i barrely speak. little intercultural challenge within my own country.. uff :)))

if all goes fine, after weekend you'll find some pictures here ;)

weekend near Baltic sea

this weekend was double in length due to celebration of "Zoline", our banl holyday and traditional christian festive day.

even though we had to work (delivering a training on strategic planning) we managed to enjoy some of the offers of Klaipeda, Palanga and Neringa, three main destinations on the Lithuanian cost of Baltic sea.

since weather was pretty-shity :) we had a chance to explore indoor atractions: Marine museau, dolphin show, bit of nightlife of Palanga and Klaipeda.

In Nida we had a splendid view over Curonian Lagoon and participated in the fair of traditional Lithuanian handcraft, medicide, tried fresh fishsoup and little pieces of bread baked on hot stone.

it nice to learn more about your own coutry and to learn to appreciate yout identity, your history and your culture. We do have things to be proud of!

just to mention, i do love my girlfriend!!! sweet kiss to you, dear T :*

elazig, prep, day1

Day plan:

1. breakfast
2. presentation of organizations involved in the project
3. visit to local "bashkan" - governor of Elazig region. wow. very nice guy. interested in other countries, quite open.
4. visit to the big boss of FIRAT University of Elazig, different story, not so welcoming mister, still nice air conditioned office and traditionally good tea.. :)
5. walk in the city. during the walk, i jumt into the shoe shop of my friend and he joins as for walk and lunch.
6. lunch -some more great turkish food... i could get used to eat it everyday, i think..
7.working session with hosting group of the project. long discussion, some debate, at the end - most of the things clarified. uf, we move on.
8. trip to ancient city Harput " we visit Harput Kale (castle), Shahadet Parmah, Ancient Theatre, have another tea in the restaurant with the magnificient view over valley of Elazig, surrounded by mountains on all sides and decorated with two big lakes and settlements :)
8. more food:)
9. nice long walk in the warm but fresh turkish night;
10. silent eve, since our turkish hosts are busy tonight and we are bit tired to do crazy things ourself. Marius is sitting and writting something to his blog.. one more cup of tea would be great.. going to find some :)

2006 08 01 back to Elazig.

little deja vou, Marius back to Elazig, Turkey. This place has given me one of the strongest and miost spectacular experiences in 2005, so it is my great pleasure to be back here and visiting my old friends.

though the real mission is advanced planning visit of youth exchange... tomorrow we gonna work on the programe, pay a visit to governor of Elazig and have a trip to Harput, an ancient city which can boast with a nice castle made of milk (water demand was always greater than supply in this place) and a burial place of Arap BABA.

you can read more about these places here, though it is in Lithuanian.

to be continued

birthday on the bus. hell know where :)

my 28 birthday "beggined" during my stay in Chisinau, Moldova and continues all the way from this green city via Transnistria to Kiev, lovely capital of Ukraine.

in the picture you can see me thinking of the wish, the birthday cake and a candle - according to ou traditions, if you managed to blow all the candles (in this case all one:) your dream will come true. i managed. now it turn of my dream to come true. i will tell a secret that it is already half true ;)

Moldova - you cannot imagine more beautiful view thamn a see if blossoming sunflawers. it is absolutely amazing, especialy if you see it in the sundawn. it is WOWOWOWOWOW...

more experience - strange "country" Transnistria - former part of Moldavia, Romanian/Moldovan country, now accupied by Russian militia and held as "sovereign" republic. well, at least we had to pay for crossing the boarder, there their power ends. i dont like that our big eastern brother still tends to intervene in the life of its neighbouring countries, like they akready sorted out things inside..

all for know, m