Smokinya Club

Since July the Smokinya Club is progressing and we are happy to have weekly meetings during the evening to share and invite the young people of the community to have a good time around fun activities.
 

Here's a quick plan of what happened in February, and what's coming up in March!

As you know, in Smokinya Foundation we work with international volunteers in order to help youth to find European opportunity and now, we are looking for young people who want to get new working experience as an intern in an interesting environment by making their first step to a career of their dream! If you join us, you will be introduced to the organisation and will be trained how we work. You will be supervised and mentored in a way to set your own goals and learn, practice, develop and master some important life skills and competencies; team work, cooperation, learning to learn, time management, communication and coaching skills, project initiation from A to Z and much more! It sounds great, right? Then click in the following link and become part of the team!

Smokinya Foundation is growing, and despite the enormous efforts of our international coordinators, translators and volunteers, we need more hands! For this reason, we are more than happy to announce a fantastic career opportunity to work with us as an administrative assistant in Plovdiv, so do not hesitate too much and apply now! In addition to a stable but flexible job that you can combine with other studies or duties, it will give you the opportunity to get on-boarding orientation, training monitoring and guidance, mentoring and coaching, dynamic experience in a multicultural team and various soft and hard skills related competencies. To check all the details and requirements, just go and click on the link below, we are waiting for you!

How to make friends? How to create a real connection? How to create a space for vulnerability, empathy and understanding? How to create a meaningful relationship? These are some of the questions that everyone has to deal with in life, and now it is possible to try to find and answer them through one of the best and creative ways: Art. If you think it might be your thing, click on the link below and sign up for "Muses", an amazing youth exchange in Argos (Greece) for twelve days. Different national teams, and artistic activities such as singing, dancing, storytelling and theatre are already waiting for you. Hurry up, do not miss this train!

Today, we live in a globalised world where it is possible to know what is happening in a second thanks to new technologies. However, we often ignore what is happening in our own countries, within our own borders, where young migrants struggle against the odds for a better future. So if you are interested in learning about the challenges of migration flows in the 21st century, communication, trust and attitudes of tolerance and proactivity through theatre, role-playing and storytelling, this eight day Youth Exchange organised by Point of VYou Association in Valenii de Munte (Romania), is for you. Be part of the change!

Writing and project management, organisational skills, conflict resolution, team building... These are all highly valued skills in today's job market. However, there is another characteristic extremely demanded by employers in most sectors that is difficult to have, and even more complicated to acquire; Leadership. Now, thanks to the Erasmus+ Programme you have the opportunity to participate in a 9-day Training Course abroad specially focused on personal development through self-reflection, ingenuity, responsibility and self-knowledge, as key points that will show you the way to improve your leadership skills and become a true leader in your professional and personal life. In addition, it is also available in April, June and July in the Czech Republic, France and Hungary, respectively. It is time to make a change, apply now!

The world we live in is in danger and change is needed. Not in a decade, not in five years, but now, today. For this reason, we at Smokinya are very happy to announce the opportunity to participate in an eight-day training course in Argos (Greece), focused on supporting youth workers to understand climate change and empower them to take action to become climate friendly, thus making the first steps of creating a climate campaign and becoming a climate changer. So if you care about renewable energy, pollution and global warming, maybe this could be the experience that will help you personally and professionally change your life. Apply now!

Have you ever wanted to go and work in France? If so, this is your chance! In accordance with the European Solidarity Corps programme, Wipsee, an NGO based in Pontox Sur Aour, is looking for long-term volunteers who want to be part of its organisation. Selected participants will work on participating in Forums, promoting international mobility and European citizenship, spreading linguistic diversity, organising local events or creating social media content among other activities. This amazing project starts soon, so if you are interested just fill in the application form before the vacancies run out and.... Bon voyage!

Green fields, high mountains, quiet lakes, welcoming people... That's the image that comes to mind when you think of Slovenia, and now you can make it a reality! According to the European Solidarity Corps programme, there are some vacancies open at Zavod Bob, a youth centre located in Ljubljana, to work there as a long-term volunteer. Promotion of non-formal education, personal and professional growth, ecological awareness and natural balance are some of the topics and tasks the chosen applicants will be involved in during this unique multicultural experience abroad. How does it sound? Check our website for more details, we promise it will be worth it!

Europe is bursting with opportunities thanks to the European Year of Youth, and Slovenia is on fire! In addition to the above ESC project, Zavod Bob has announced that they are also looking for long-term volunteers for a digital position, interested in logistical and technical support, social media management, digital photo and video editing and online content development. So if you think your profile and above all your taste go in the same direction get ready because this professional adventure starts very soon. What are you waiting for? Apply now! 

Are you a social worker or are you interested in working with people with disabilities abroad? Because if the answer is yes, you are in luck. AMPROS, a non-profit organisation, is offering you the opportunity to work with them for eight months on social activities as a European Solidarity Corps volunteer. And if helping people in need of support is not enough motivation, let us tell you that the project will take place in Santander, one of the most beautiful regions on the northern coast of Spain. Click on the link below and join them today!

Do you like to travel? Maybe you think your future lies abroad? Or do you just like to have fun in good company? Then you are in luck, because our international team has recently created "Smokinya Poadcast", a digital and online radio show that will touch on many different youth-related topics such as employment, entrepreneurship, studying and working abroad, life experiences and much more. During this first season, we will talk about volunteering and the European Solidarity Corps with Valentina, David, Vicky, Svitlana and Loïs as representatives of this programme in Plovdiv. Are you going to miss the opportunity? Click on the button below and enjoy, learn and laugh.

Is that a bird? Is that a plane? No, it's the Smokinya Foundation on the streets of Plovdiv! Thanks to the weekly efforts of our team of international volunteers, we have been visiting universities, training centres, sports clubs and major public institutions in order to spread the word about all the great activities and interesting opportunities to improve your professional skills abroad that we organise from our office. So do not be surprised if you see our posters, leaflets and stickers everywhere.

Every day we hear about European institutions, bodies and agencies, EU legislation, economics and policy that have a great influence on national development in all Member States. But what do we really know about the European Union and how it works? In order to provide our followers with the right information to answer their questions and satisfy their curiosity, we at the Smokinya Foundation have organised a programme of fun facts about the EU that we will publish on our social networks twice a week. Keep an eye on our stories and learn while having fun!

According to the predictions of the most respected scientists, a change is necessary to avoid a natural catastrophe that would seriously endanger life on Earth. Thus, the fight against Global Warming or the unnecessary waste of food, energy, water and resources are some of the hottest topics being discussed at the highest political levels. Thanks to Smokinya's supporter and friend Kirill, our volunteers had the opportunity to receive an intense internal workshop focused on finding possible solutions to these problems. The world may not change in one day, but this is certainly a small first step.

As everyone can read in our statements as a youth-focused non-profit organisation, we at Smokinya believe in building a world that works for all of us, without barriers or limitations, regardless of your gender, age, religion, ideas or cultural background. Accordingly, Masha, our motivated volunteer from St. Petersburg, is determined to help those who need the most support by going to Parallel Word every week. There, she works, plays and interacts with people with disabilities by harnessing the enormous power that music and physical activity have on our state of mind, and thanks to that, the world is a slightly warmer place for these brave people. 

People are social beings who like to be in each other's company, have fun and meet people from different countries. This is exactly what our Smokinya team made possible during the Smokinya Club thanks to games like "Lego quiz", "Silent Mail" or "Who's Who", where our guests had to demonstrate their knowledge of films, stories and songs, drawing and interpreting skills, critical thinking and popular culture. The best way to start a new month full of energy and good vibes!

You've probably heard of these popular TV shows based on quick romantic encounters, but... what if they were set up just for making new friends? What if they were just about making new friends? With this goal in mind, the Smokinya team organised a lovely evening at Jazz Cafe where our regular followers, and also some new ones, had to write and answer some random questions by hanging out with different people every two minutes. We canot say for sure that all of them have become best friends since then, but one thing is more than clear: they enjoyed themselves and laughed a lot.

We are sure that you have surely seen hundreds of series and movies about detectives and huge investigations to find out the secret identity of the bad guy in the story. For this reason, we thought of bringing our guests a surprising activity that, simulating the game universally called "Mafia", would put our followers in a complicated situation. So, some of them had committed a "crime", others were detectives, others were doctors and the rest were just innocent civilians. But they had no idea who was who, so? How to solve the mystery? They can explain their experience better than we can, but as for their smiles, jokes and joy, we would say that they enjoy the Smokinya Club activity like real children.

Not everything in life is about going to big events and doing amazing activities that set us apart from the rest. Sometimes, what people need to be happy is simply time, love and company. Believing in this, from Smokinya Fundation  we wanted to do something special together to celebrate Carnival time. In this way, we believe that thanks to a cozy atmosphere, motivational music and above all, very cool people, we managed to create an incredible international atmosphere where from our volunteers to our friends, colleagues and guests spent an amazing afternoon playing fun games like "Signs". As you can see, happiness is not about money, it's about people.

March 2022
 

If you liked our February calendar, we recommend you to get ready because March may be a cold month in Bulgaria, but it comes loaded with amazing events; "Welcome Spring" celebration, team building games, activities to fight against false stereotypes and prejudices and the diamond in the crown, our beloved Linguistic Cofee, are just a few examples. Likewise, there are other little surprises in store, so keep an eye on our social media to find out about them. We promise you will not be disappointed!