VOICES to Hear: Recent Episodes
VOICES
Having a word with the world - we cover a little bit of everything with a special focus on Macedonia. VOICES to Hear is the monthy podcast of VOICES Magazine, produced by Volunteers Centre Skopje.
In this episode, Lukáš talks with Antonio Pavlovski, manager and owner of Matica Gallery, about Skopje’s new title as the European Capital of Culture 2028. They discuss the importance of culture in uniting communities and transforming societies. As Antonio says: “Through culture, we can build bridges, not walls. We can integrate people, not separate them.”
Listen to this episode to explore why Skopje’s cultural initiatives are paving the way for a more connected future for all citizens.
Emre and Mustafa, with their guest Lukáš, explore how physical activity can improve overall health. Learn simple ways to fit exercise into your busy life and the benefits of staying active for mental health and chronic disease prevention.
Join VOICES team Emre and Jakub in this episode as they talk with Simona Soleva, a psychology graduate, about stress and how to manage it. They break down what stress really is, why it can be a big deal for young people, and share practical, easy-to-follow tips to handle it better.
Don’t miss out on this insightful chat to help you have a non stressful life!
Maybe you have already watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. If so, you may have an opinion about the show, and perhaps about the general organization of the event. You could be excited or indifferent. But what would you think if this huge global event was taking place in your country or your city?
Augustin and Zoe, our French duo, interviewed two young people from France who are experiencing the event firsthand. There is Adèle, an athlete from the south of France, and Youen, a former VCS volunteer who lives in Paris. They shared their thoughts with our two journalists and discussed how they are experiencing the event and its impacts on their country.
Go listen to our podcast if you want to know more!
In this episode of VOICES to Hear, we had the pleasure of hosting Denis Jankulovski, the president of Autizam AAMK. Denis shared the story behind the organisation’s founding and discussed why initiatives like „Повторно заедно“ (“Together again”) are important. Tune in to discover how these efforts are making a real difference in society andwhy spreading awareness and promoting inclusivity matters more than ever.
Generalka Weekend is the biggest cleanup action in the region and it brings people together every year in May since 2021. People in all the corners of Macedonia team up with their family, friends, work colleagues or neighbors and the goal is one: to make our surrounding cleaner and nicer. As the slogan says: “Let’s get dirty and clean!”, we can’t have a clean environment without getting dirty first. But it seems that nothing is scary when we work together. That is why Generalka Weekend is also a community building. People socialize, have fun and work together for a good cause.
We had a talk with Gordana and Hannes, people behind Generalka Weekend. How it started, how is it going and what are the lessons coming from it? Find out from our new podcast!
NGOs and other non-profit civil society organisations are key to promoting a more active society in front of the world's biggest problems. In this episode, we talk with Sara and Elena who are a part of Stella Network and EKVALIS respectively, working for equality, women, and gender in Skopje. We dive into the cooperation environment here, youth involvement, and what can we do to achieve progress more rapidly.
Ramadan and Easter, two celebrations from different religions that happen at the same time. But maybe Christianity and Islam are not so different after all? In this Episode we talk with Wijdane and Helene about how they see their own but also the other religion and learn many new interesting facts.
In this new episode of VOICES to Hear podcast, we explore inspiring stories from Ismail Eren Demirtekin, an experienced Turkish volunteer from Volunteers Centre Skopje, focusing on volunteering and photography topics.
1, 2, 3… Action! Hear from the director, actor, author and activist Daniel Shikoski how he combines his love for drama with his activism in youth sector, environmental issues and human rights. Get inspired by Daniel, who doesn't let the daily obstacles stop him.
In this special Christmas edition, we're going to hit european roads to discover more about the different traditions and celebrations around Christmas in 5 different countries. Volunteers from Germany, Poland, Turkey, Finland and France are interviewed here to share it with you!
Discover the inspiring journey of professional footballer Vildan Kerim on our VOICES to Hear podcast. Hear about his early career, crucial transfer moves, standout seasons and valuable advice for aspiring footballers. Tune in to gain insights and motivation for your own path to success!
The Caribbean seas, the Caribbean breeze and a Caribbean life. How has this teenage boy, born and raised on Aruba, experienced 18 years of sunny clear blue skies and warm clear blue seas? Alexander gives a walkthrough of this Aruban experience.
Till death do us part, except at the one place keeping us together. VOICES will take you on a walk among the dead, to guide us we have Youen. Youen worked at a cemetery for a total of 3 months in France.
Explore the world of choir singing with Marko Gapo as he shares his life journey as a member of the Macedonian national choir. Gain insight into the unique experiences that come with being a choir singer and discover the beauty of harmonizing voices.
The Macedonian music scene is surely different from Japan, where Lazar Nelkovski has been living for a year now. He picked up a guitar as a kid and has been developing his skills in different aspects since then, especially with composing. "You will be okay with whatever you do, where ever you go, as long as you stick to thing you want to do"
Meet Katariina, a Finnish woman working with criminals and their families. Hear her stories about working with children of prisoners and her views on the prison system.
Meet Njomza, our newest guest in Voices to Hear! Join us for the trip from Njomzas's musical background to the meaning and struggles behind her passion, and stories about studying abroad.
Dive into the streets of Vietnam and hear inspiring stories about photography. In this episode we got to hear stories from a macedonian traveler who gets to pursue his desire for street-photography.
Did you ever wanted to quit everything and go roadtripping? VOICES interviewed a French family that decided to do that with their 2 young kids. Find out how they did it by listening to this new episode of VOICES to hear!
What do Karate and Erasmus+ have in common? Viktor of course! Our guest for this episode is not only a karate champion, but also an Erasmus+ facilitator. He gives some interesting insights in those two worlds and by the end of this episode you will probably want to start participating in both because they sure have a lot of advantages.
Have you ever thought about travelling the world... by bike? Regardless, VOICES explores this topic with Juri, a German guy who has been doing that for the past few months. Starting in Germany, he travelled through the Balkan countries, nearly got killed by bears, saw every side of Istanbul and will finish his tour in Indonesia.
Finding the love of your life is not easy. First, you have to survive dating. Sometimes dates are so unsuccessful that they could discourage you from looking for your happily ever after. But sometimes, all we can do is learn from past mistakes or... laugh. Listen to today's episode and tell us about your dating experience.
Vegan diets are growing in popularity due to health, animal welfare, or environmental concerns. Over the years, vegan eating has gone from tasteless to trendy to making inroads into the mainstream. VOICES talked to Ilon to find out what the deal is with being vegan.
Gorjan Jovanovski is a software engineer and eco-activist from Macedonia. He is the creator of the AirCare app which aim is to make data about air pollution more accessible
VOICES talked to Iskra Dimkovska, editor of the publishing house Skaznuvalka, to learn more about the power of stories and the new books that will be published in May.
Petar, a young enthusiast of rap music, share his passion for this music genre and how is the situation with rap music in Macedonia.
The word calisthenics comes from the Greek words kallos (beauty) and sthenos (strength). Beautiful strength. We asked Ferran Mortés McLellan what exactly does beautiful strength or calisthenics means. Ferran is part of the “Viking Method” group that gathers teenagers aged 16-20 who do calisthenics workouts every Sunday together. Consistent, passionate and ready to help. He is a living inspiration!
The Indian Festival of Lights - Diwali in Hindi - is one of the biggest celebrations worldwide. This year, Diwali took place at the beginning of November.
We had the chance to interview Khevna Bhatt from India to know more about this majestic celebration.
Dimce Ackov spent his last five years living in nature in a house he built himself. We visited his eco-village to talk about sustainability, connection to nature and his life far away from civilization.
We interviewed this week a brilliant student from the Saints Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, called Maca Marinkovic. She provided us with some details about her passion, that is architecture, talking about her different fields of study, her expectations as well as the history of architecture in Skopje and the different styles that compose her town.
Check out our new podcast!
Tik Tok - an application that is used by many people can actually change the lives of not only recipients, but also the creators of content. We talked with Leo about his way from acting school, discovering himself, to being a creator on TikTok.
Sexual education helps to understand the sexual image, openness, relationships, and connection with other people. We talked with Darko Milosevski, who is a sexual educator and shares his work experience in that area.
Tourism has stopped during the pandemic, but that did not stop people from finding other solutions. We talked with David Trajkovski – tourist guide in Skopje who shares what activities he has done during this time.
Volunteering in Africa may not be as ethical as you might think. We talked with Ulla Rissanen who volunteered in Tanzania about her experience, sustainable volunteering and her advice for young people.
Petar, Marko and Selina want to change mindsets and clean Macedonia with their "no trash allowed" policy. We talked with the Za Pochista Makedonija team about trashing, cleaning actions and how to live more sustainably.
Music: Inselurlaub by Hanjo Gabler - Artlist
With their two small Maltese, the retired North American couple is already used to move around - after living in the Bahamas for five years, their latest choice was Skopje, Macedonia. In our first episode, we talk with Edward Stead and Elen Wright-Stead about helping out as they can in a foreign country while they enjoy the landscape and history of the region.
Music: Inselurlaub by Hanjo Gabler - Artlist