2 occurrence(s) found.
11/08/2017: k. lynch, 49, USA/Greece
30 days with LATRA in Mytilini, Lesvos collaborating with a group of women volunteers in Kara Tepe camp. This month spent in Mytilini was part of my scholarly/artistic research on African/Greek Diasporas in the Mediterranean.
LATRA is a Design and Innovation Lab in the context of a refugee camp in Lesvos. It is an open and accessible platform for artists, designers, engineers, architects, and community to collaborate. Together with three to five other volunteers, daily we designed and created stencils and motifs to paint Iso-boxes in the camp. This project had been conceived by prior volunteers and we continued their project. This project allowed us to move throughout the camp meeting many of the folks living there and other volunteers in a relaxed and congenial way. Because of the clarity of this design project young people and adults throughout the camp could participate and help paint their own boxes a...
11/08/2017: k. lynch, 49, USA/Greece
30 days with LATRA in Mytilini, Lesvos collaborating with a group of women volunteers in Kara Tepe camp. This month spent in Mytilini was part of my scholarly/artistic research on African/Greek Diasporas in the Mediterranean.
LATRA is a Design and Innovation Lab in the context of a refugee camp in Lesvos. It is an open and accessible platform for artists, designers, engineers, architects, and community to collaborate. Together with three to five other volunteers, daily we designed and created stencils and motifs to paint Iso-boxes in the camp. This project had been conceived by prior volunteers and we continued their project. This project allowed us to move throughout the camp meeting many of the folks living there and other volunteers in a relaxed and congenial way. Because of the clarity of this design project young people and adults throughout the camp could participate and help paint their own boxes and those of others. This was a WONDERFUL experience. We also made a video of the process, which was edited entirely by two volunteers in the group. In addition to the stencil painting, during my month with LATRA I had the honor to collaborate with other volunteers on a creative reuse and up-cycling soap-making workshop for adult women in Kara Tepe. This workshop was proposed by one of the volunteers and then successfully developed and executed by those of us volunteering at the time. Every step of the way we received crucial feedback and support of the Director of Design & Innovation and peers in our regular meetings. Our concept note, proposal, and execution of this project were hugely successful and this was possible because of the open creative platform and attentive support of this organization.
At some point in my time volunteering, I found it difficult to collaborate with a fellow volunteer in our team. This persons’ behavior, attitude, and implicit biases towards me made it difficult for me to participate fully in the project and this conflict could not be resolved between us. Once I sought his counsel, I was grateful to the Director of Design & Innovation, Aris Papadopoulos, for his swift, direct, and compassionate approach to the situation. He informed me that LATRA has protocols for dealing with intra-volunteer conflicts and that the main objective is that we should be contributing to the humanitarian project in Lesvos and that conflict between us distracts from and diminishes the mission of the organization to ‘Build the World Better.’ Aris then called a meeting with all active volunteers to discuss the conflict and to come to some group agreements about how to proceed. In this meeting each of us had an opportunity to be heard and to listen to one another with compassion and mutual respect. Through Aris’ experience in the field and his insight, I was able to better appreciate that all of us have made a long journey to be in Lesvos and that I should not take this for granted. This perspective provided me the distance I needed to reconcile my differences with the other volunteer. From this meeting we all had to consider what we were doing in Lesvos and what was at stake, and really regroup to work collaboratively for the greater good. This was an important lesson in the learning curve of volunteering in the humanitarian sector. In this way the organization practices what it preaches – sustainability and building the world better. Because of this positive experience with LATRA I have begun to research and develop a short-term study-abroad program on migration and sustainable design for students and colleagues in Greece that would spend two weeks with LATRA in Lesvos. Without the commitment of this organization, this type of creative, community education project would not be available in the Kara Tepe camp.
Recommendations: for LATRA: Continue to follow your design goals/concepts and organizational protocols -- this is what provides a generative platform for Creatives – whether refugees or volunteers – to meet one another on solid ground and make great projects that serve the community. What impressed me the most is how serious, upbeat, knowledgeable, and committed LATRA is in their work. Very impressive.
Recommendations for Future volunteers: This is a very special platform and opportunity to build upon the projects and initiatives of fellow volunteers and people in Kara Tepe. This is not for everyone. You must be ready and willing to do unglamorous and humbling projects like painting trailers and putting up temporary shelters with grace and enthusiasm, and at the same time be ready to step up and initiate a creative project that engages with circular design, community engagement, and education. You also must be willing to collaborate with others on projects and find your distinct contribution to these creative projects within a Design and Innovation Lab framework. As volunteers with LATRA you are entrusted to continue this good work and to put your most creative self forward.
Open to be a mentor: klhomegirl@gmail.com
Yours truly,
kara lynch
Associate Professor of Video and Critical Studies
11/08/2017: k. lynch, 49, USA/Greece
30 days with LATRA in Mytilini, Lesvos collaborating with a group of women volunteers in Kara Tepe camp. This month spent in Mytilini was part of my scholarly/artistic research on African/Greek Diasporas in the Mediterranean.
LATRA is a Design and Innovation Lab in the context of a refugee camp in Lesvos. It is an open and accessible platform for artists, designers, engineers, architects, and community to collaborate. Together with three to five other volunteers, daily we designed and created stencils and motifs to paint Iso-boxes in the camp. This project had been conceived by prior volunteers and we continued their project. This project allowed us to move throughout the camp meeting many of the folks living there and other volunteers in a relaxed and congenial way. Because of the clarity of this design project young people and adults throughout the camp could participate and help paint their own boxes and those of oth...
11/08/2017: k. lynch, 49, USA/Greece
30 days with LATRA in Mytilini, Lesvos collaborating with a group of women volunteers in Kara Tepe camp. This month spent in Mytilini was part of my scholarly/artistic research on African/Greek Diasporas in the Mediterranean.
LATRA is a Design and Innovation Lab in the context of a refugee camp in Lesvos. It is an open and accessible platform for artists, designers, engineers, architects, and community to collaborate. Together with three to five other volunteers, daily we designed and created stencils and motifs to paint Iso-boxes in the camp. This project had been conceived by prior volunteers and we continued their project. This project allowed us to move throughout the camp meeting many of the folks living there and other volunteers in a relaxed and congenial way. Because of the clarity of this design project young people and adults throughout the camp could participate and help paint their own boxes and those of others. This was a WONDERFUL experience. We also made a video of the process, which was edited entirely by two volunteers in the group. In addition to the stencil painting, during my month with LATRA I had the honor to collaborate with other volunteers on a creative reuse and up-cycling soap-making workshop for adult women in Kara Tepe. This workshop was proposed by one of the volunteers and then successfully developed and executed by those of us volunteering at the time. Every step of the way we received crucial feedback and support of the Director of Design & Innovation and peers in our regular meetings. Our concept note, proposal, and execution of this project were hugely successful and this was possible because of the open creative platform and attentive support of this organization.
At some point in my time volunteering, I found it difficult to collaborate with a fellow volunteer in our team. This persons’ behavior, attitude, and implicit biases towards me made it difficult for me to participate fully in the project and this conflict could not be resolved between us. Once I sought his counsel, I was grateful to the Director of Design & Innovation, Aris Papadopoulos, for his swift, direct, and compassionate approach to the situation. He informed me that LATRA has protocols for dealing with intra-volunteer conflicts and that the main objective is that we should be contributing to the humanitarian project in Lesvos and that conflict between us distracts from and diminishes the mission of the organization to ‘Build the World Better.’ Aris then called a meeting with all active volunteers to discuss the conflict and to come to some group agreements about how to proceed. In this meeting each of us had an opportunity to be heard and to listen to one another with compassion and mutual respect. Through Aris’ experience in the field and his insight, I was able to better appreciate that all of us have made a long journey to be in Lesvos and that I should not take this for granted. This perspective provided me the distance I needed to reconcile my differences with the other volunteer. From this meeting we all had to consider what we were doing in Lesvos and what was at stake, and really regroup to work collaboratively for the greater good. This was an important lesson in the learning curve of volunteering in the humanitarian sector. In this way the organization practices what it preaches – sustainability and building the world better. Because of this positive experience with LATRA I have begun to research and develop a short-term study-abroad program on migration and sustainable design for students and colleagues in Greece that would spend two weeks with LATRA in Lesvos. Without the commitment of this organization, this type of creative, community education project would not be available in the Kara Tepe camp.
Recommendations: for LATRA: Continue to follow your design goals/concepts and organizational protocols -- this is what provides a generative platform for Creatives – whether refugees or volunteers – to meet one another on solid ground and make great projects that serve the community. What impressed me the most is how serious, upbeat, knowledgeable, and committed LATRA is in their work. Very impressive.
Recommendations for Future volunteers: This is a very special platform and opportunity to build upon the projects and initiatives of fellow volunteers and people in Kara Tepe. This is not for everyone. You must be ready and willing to do unglamorous and humbling projects like painting trailers and putting up temporary shelters with grace and enthusiasm, and at the same time be ready to step up and initiate a creative project that engages with circular design, community engagement, and education. You also must be willing to collaborate with others on projects and find your distinct contribution to these creative projects within a Design and Innovation Lab framework. As volunteers with LATRA you are entrusted to continue this good work and to put your most creative self forward.
Open to be a mentor: klhomegirl@gmail.com
Yours truly,
kara lynch
Associate Professor of Video and Critical Studies, Hampshire College