Month: August 2018

Capoeira and creative process workshop

When: 29.9 at 11-13

Where: Studio Fon, Nahkurinkatu 8 (courtyard)

“How to Survive through the Finnish Winter” Project continues with another fun September gathering. This time we are lucky to have teacher C. Mestre Denis Angola giving us an energizing taste of Capoeira; an art form exploring fighting, dance, rhythm and movement.
Due space limitation, we reserve a place for the first 20 people who sign up, so be sure to book your place in advance through this link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Zg5OCwkBIeUZBCkMGqwqV52zXpXovcCt8xTUWZlGGMM
The event is free of charge!

Sustainable and local shopping

When: 22.9 at 13.00-15.00

Where: Logomo Byrå, Köydenpunojankatu 14

Come and meet local sustainable companies and makers. During the workshop different makers tell about their journey, products and answer your questions. Come and meet Bakery Gryn, Shams Falafel, Vihreä Ilo and Bahaulddin Rawi.

You are most welcome to join discussion on sustainable living and shopping in Turku
Free Coffee, tea and Snacks provided by StepEurope ry.
More information are coming soon! Stay tuned on our facebook page!

Games and get together evening!

When: 13.9 at 17-19

Where: Elävään Kulttuurin Koroinen (Koroistentie 2)

The “How to survive through the Finnish Winter” project has succesfully started and new events are going on for this month!!! September is still time for being outside and enjoying the magic “ruska” (Autumn colour). What a better location than Koroinen for gathering together, playing Finnish games like Mölkky , hearing more about the things happening at the “Elävän Kulttuurin Koroinen” centre and getting to know each other.

The event is free of charge. Coffee, tea and snacks are offered by StepEurope.

 

Poetry with StepEurope

It is not easy to ask people to start writing about something around you, to extract the pearls of thoughts and the oysters of feelings. It is not easy to let people go with the flow to the horizons of expression.

In our activity, there has been something important for conducting all that. It is the trust; preparing the solid ground to start building the palace of poetry, the fertile soil that the flourishing entails, the love and trust between the arrivals into the poetry-walking, they’re no longer arrivals, they became part of StepEurope.

The speech of the hearts littered like the lit snow on Turku, on the thriving grass flanking the river, on the bestowed church leading to era of endless peace, on the giant castle stands like bouncer guarding the town. We walked against the directions, against the machine of modernism jangling loud, to the slight whisper of swaying trees, the flowers swarmed with bees, the abode of life-making filmed by poetry lens.

We wrote at the fountain washing out the dust of boredom, at the entrance of the old library in Turku, to the water that flows like melodies, as though gushes out of the orifices of the flute. The melody that would escort us as we step into the galaxy of knowledge, orbiting a mass of beauty called poetry and fiction, where no time or two parallel lines are reported to be found; it swallows your soul into a black hole.

We inhaled the fragrance of the old papers mingled with the inks flowing in the veins of the books.

We exhaled the stress and the false days, and took our time to deeply dive.We found a new poet hovering like a dove, alighted on the grove of poetry and love.

We wandered along the way to the Bar Ö, planning that the next time, we will climb into the scene, reading the speech of soul of our poetry walk!

Written by Ahmed Zaidan

New students, welcome to Turku!!!

Every year, at the end of August, cities all over Finland witness a steady influx of fresh, eager faces from all over the world ready to begin their academic adventure. Finland has fast become a favourite destination for studies, thanks to its high quality of education. Our own city Turku, also gets its share of new students. Besides excellent universities, Turku has a lot to offer in terms of activities.

For new students, here’s some good-to-know information:

  • The Aura river, that runs in Turku, is a pretty sight to behold. All along the river, you can find various shops, restaurants and pubs. Or, you can simply take a walk to breathe in the beautiful nature around it. Tip: Don’t forget to walk across the award-winning “Kirjastosilta”!

  • If you are someone who loves to experience culture and arts, you can get yourself a Culture card (Kultturi Kortti). It’s free of charge and entitles you to benefits such as free museum tour, ticket discounts to the theatre, and more! For more info: https://www.turku.fi/en/culturecard

  • Fleamarkets second-hand shops are a treasure trove of affordable items. Be sure to visit one of them! http://www.visitturku.fi/en/node/109950

  • The city’s transport provider, Föli, offers the popular waterbus or “vesibussi”, that takes you to the scenic island of Ruissalo. There, you can spend time at the beautiful botanical garden, or just relax at the beach. https://www.foli.fi/en/node/4614/

  • The market square (Kauppatori) in Turku is a hotspot for stalls, exhibitions and the produce market. While you’re there, don’t forget to take a sneak peek at the archaeological excavation!

The old market square also offers its share of exhibitions, shops and stalls. it’s also where the famous Turku Medieval Market is held. http://en.keskiaikaisetmarkkinat.fi/

  • Youth Organizations: One of the best ways to meet like-minded people, network, and also be part of cultural, social and volunteer activities. There is StepEurope, an active organization for young people where they can volunteer, or just be part of their many social events. StepEurope often  collaborates with bigger organization, like the Finnish Red Cross. 

For further information on events, places to visit or just more information on the city and its services, you can check https://www.turku.fi/en or http://www.visitturku.fi/en

Welcome new students, and have a wonderful year ahead!

Deepika

Great memories a month before – End of the Season Party 2018

In the beginning of July  about 20 young adults from 11 nationalities gathered together to enjoy the Finnish summer in the middle of the forest of Kaarina. The Vuolahti camping was/is a perfect place for having a bigger group of people: five small cottages besides the main cottage and bigger one nearby the sea are providing sleeping possibility at least for 30 people. The venue is beautiful and just next to the sea with sauna <3

Evening started with get to know each other games: name and country, pillow competition and bingo. About half of the participants were new faces. I was so glad to see that how fast everyone took each other to the group. We were one right away!  

“I couldn’t imagine that it would have been so easy to join this lovely group of people as a new comer. I will definitely recommend your actions to my friends!” – One of the best feedbacks you can get !!!

The quiz about StepEurope ry was a real competition. Elias was leading the first rounds – I guess he was really confident of his victory 😀 But in the end everything turned upside down because of a small mistake of him and Ianthe was the WINNER. Next we wanted to find out the participants strengths (heart), wishes (hands) and ideas for future (foot). This interactive workshop was organized by our student intern. So many good ideas came up, which we will definitely take into account in the future!

After the “official” part we had tasty food, thanks to our own chef, Eddy. He made rice, chicken with tomato sauce, vegetables, salad and veg beefs. We had a long long table full of talking, laughs and in the end full tummies of delicious food. After eating was time to have some “serious” group games: search for goods in the forest, a logic game “what is the biggest number you can have by moving two sticks once”, a speed game “who fills the platter fastest”, accuracy test and quiz about countries. The winners, the selfie team, got backpacks with chocolate, stickers and some other small-goods.

In the evening we enjoyed music from all around the world, sauna and talks about life.

Participants were really happy next morning, while having breakfast. They were laughing about the funny coincidences from day before. After this nice experience I started my summer holidays with a big smile on my face! Thank you all <3

Now, with the new energy, we are planning and preparing the autumn season 2018! We have already some dates and plans set up. You may find those from our monthly letter (you may order the letter to your email from here scroll down).

Welcome to all the events! Everything is free of charge and open for everyone! 🙂

Hugs,

Ronja – Project coordinator

International training on autumn 2018

Now is time to apply to the INTERNATIONAL TRAINING, which will be held on AUTUMN 2018!! From below you can find interesting training (all the costs in every training are covered by Erasmus+ programme: accommodation, transportation, visa and food). If any of the training seems intriguing, please contact us asap info@stepeurope.org. We will gladly give more information.

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– Erasmus+ Youth in Action: Tools for Youth Exchanges 
27 October 2018 – 2 November 2018 | Laugarvatn, Iceland
APPLICATION DEADLINE 15 August (!!!)

– Developing Digital Youth Work study visit
31 October – 3 November 2018 | Dublin, Ireland
APPLICATION DEADLINE 26 August

– The Power of Non Formal Education 
26 November – 1 December 2018 | Durbuy, Belgium
APPLICATION DEADLINE 2 September

How to Survive the Finnish Winter project 23.8 –

WHEN? Thursday 23.8 at 5-6:30 pm

WHERE? Elävänkulttuurin Koroinen (Koroistentie 2)

StepEurope ry is organizing a long-term project for the Autumn time to offer a different ways to the darkest and coldest time of the year. The project will include activities to get together such as games, mindfulness, yoga, dance and workshops with some visitors. The program is really flexible for new ideas according to the needs and wishes of the group.

The entire project is OPEN to everybody and FREE OF CHARGE.

Poetry Walk 16.8

WHEN? Thursday 16.8 at 5pm

WHERE? Follow FB event

The Poetry Walk will give for any person (also for an amateur) a possibility to get to know better the secrets of writing! The event will be organized, during the Night of the Arts, in the beautiful city of Turku. Writing is helping you to explore the city from a totally new perspective. 

Soon is coming more information, so follow our Facebook event!


p.s Check out the blog post about the Poetry Walk: http://www.stepeurope.org/blog/poetry-walk-2/

Brainstorming 7.8

WHEN? Tuesday 7.8 at 5.30pm

WHERE? Logomo Byrå 1st floor

Our monthly brainstorming meeting will be held with our volunteers and any interested participants. Come and plan local activities for the autumn time in Turku area with us and make friends from diverse cultural backgrounds. 
The event is in Logomo Byrå, free of charge and open for all. StepEurope ry will provide snacks, coffee and tea.