About Spartak, Interdisciplinary Platform for Eastern Europe.

Advisory Council of Platform Spartak:
Prof. H. Renner, Mrs. Dr. E. Agoston-Nikolova, Dr. S. de Hoop, Prof. H. W. Hoen, E. Prof. J.H.A. Kammer, Dr. S. Brouwer (All from University of Groningen).

Vision and goals

Spartak, founded in 2003, is an interdisciplinary platform for anybody interested in Eastern Europe. Everybody can contribute to this platform. Spartak’s main goal is to strengthen the bond between East and West in the broadest sense: culturally, economically, politically, but first and foremost directly and individually, by bringing together young Europeans from all parts of the continent, inside and outside of the Union. By this means we try to make young people aware of the differences and similarities within the “European family”.

Platform Spartak functions as a scene of young active European citizens, organzing cultural, social and intellectual projects together. We share basic ideas on the future of Europe, but there is also space for diversity and debate. We motivate young European to take part in this debate. Anybody can become active for the Spartak at any time, be it as an organizer, an exchange participant, a volunteer, writer or in every other way possible.

Activities and Projects

Platform Spartak is active in several fields, divided in six main actions:

1. Organizing international youth exchanges
Many topics are covered in the exchanges Spartak organizes. In the past years we were working on European awareness, music and arts, history, comic drawing and environmental awareness. Locations include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, Poland and Finland, but also the Netherlands. Besides initiating and organizing exchanges, Spartak is also a frequent ‘partner’, which means we send participants to exchanges organized by other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s).

2. European Voluntary Service (EVS)
Those seeking for a unique (working) experience abroad, can use Spartak as a sending organization with the European Voluntary Service (EVS) and work as a volunteer anywhere in Europe. Projects range from three months to a year. We have several partners whole over Europe, but mainly in the eastern parts of the continent. In 2009 we will start with hosting volunteers in Amsterdam.

3. Lectures, conferences and seminars on European topics
The scientific debate on European topics is also important to Platform Spartak. That’s why we organize local, national and international conferences and seminars on European themes. Among other topics we discussed the role of intellectuals in Europe, the way how European are coping with the remembrance of war, citizens rights, Polish history in the eyes of European history students and regional cross-border cooperation in Europe. The conferences took place in Groningen, Krakow, Kljuc and Maastricht. A delegation of Spartak also attends the annual Ostblick conference in Germany about Eastern European topic. Apart from this bigger conferences and seminars, we also organize lectures, mostly connected to the presentation of a new issue of our magazine Donau.

4. Donau Magazine and platformspartak.eu
Donau, the first Dutch magazine on Southeastern Europe, is being published since 2006. Researchers, students and journalists from many disciplines contribute to the magazine. Donau is published three to four times a year, and deals with current and historical subjects on culture, politics and society. Donau also reviews books from and about Southeastern Europe. Anybody is welcome to contribute to Donau: see www.donaustroom.eu.

Platformspartak.eu contains all information on Platform Spartak, but more importantly it’s a weblog featuring contributions by Spartak-correspondents throughout Europe, including columns, news articles, photo’s and video’s. Combined with our own Facebook-community, PlatformSpartak.eu is the interactive core of our organization. Anybody can become a correspondent.

5. Parties and festivals
Folkoteka is Platform Spartaks party-branch. Folkoteka organizes a successful series of dance nights called Club Kalashnikov, featuring an exciting mix of Balkan brass, Russian drinking songs, swing, disco, rock and much more, mixed by our house DJ, Folkoteka Spartak. Folkoteka arranges goodbye-parties to celebrate the completion of exchanges and training courses. He has his own blog on platformspartak.eu.

In 2008 Spartak was co-organizer of the 3-day festival Streets Kumanovo, which promoted intercultural dialogue in Macedonia. In 2009 we have planned similar festivals in the Serbia, Kosovo and again in Macedonia. EVS-volunteers will be organizing a cultural festival in Amsterdam in June 2010.

6. Supportive projects
In order to improve the quality of the other projects, Spartak organizes Training Courses on topics like communication, intercultural dialogue and the use of ICT and multimedia in international youth work. Partnership Building Activities and Job Shadowing Visits are implemented in order to build up and improve relations with partner organization from all over Europe.

Spartak organizes international seminars and exchange projects, arranges lectures and movie nights on Eastern European themes and invites bands (e.g. Amsterdam Klezmer Band and Traktor) for concerts. DJ Folkoteka Spartak plays Balkan Brass, Turbofolk, Polka and Klezmer on parties. In these ways Spartak brings people into contact with the cultures and opinions from the “other” part of our continent.