Historical location

Did you know youth club Josto is actually a small castle? The ‘Muggenberg’ is a place with a long history. In the city archives the first records date back to 1280. Throughout the years the building has provided numerous noble families with living quarters. Around the turn of the last century, a rich American rented the site and transformed the castle into a ‘kynodrome’; an organisation where people could gamble on dog races. During World War I the place kept on attracting mean spirited and vulgar individuals - and during World War II it served as a base camp for German officers. 

Despite this dark episode in the history of the little castle, it was eventually used for good purpose, nuns used the building as a school after the war had ended. The last decades the building has been functioning as the meeting point of young people from the surrounding area – and this week it expanded its horizon again by opening its doors to host young people from all over Europe. 

Dirty job

‘DJ Titus de Grote’ really got the crowd moving yesterday. Most of you have already noticed that Jelle – aka Tietjezz – has been working really hard all week, so we tought it was time for an interview.

Jelle, we have seen you do a lot work this week, but what is your funtion or position at Jeugdhuis Josto?

I am in charge of it all! (laughing) No, seriously, at the moment I am the main responsible of the daily routine at Jeugdhuis Josto, so it is my job to make sure that everybody else does his or her job properly. Besides that I see to it that everything stays under control, I prepare and hold meetings and when there is a conflict I have to find a solution. For me, it’s all about maintaining the overview and seeing the bigger picture.

The closing event of this week is tonight, do you have any advice for the young people tonight?

Well, I always lived by the ancient Greek motto ‘kuistdekakisoep’ – and that always work just fine for me. If anyone needs more wisdom or advice, they can also have a look on the Facebook-page of Jeugdhuis Josto.

Spanx!

The art of Poi

Saturday night fever! Almost our last evening, we have to celebrate this with a big party. But before we go to the party, Loredana and Mara from Romania had a big superprise for us. Both are members of the Crispus fire dancing crew and they know the secret art of Poi - a traditional ritual that originated in Hawaii and New Zeeland. We enjoyed a spectaculair show! Just take a look at the pictures beneath and on Flickr, it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! These girls are on  fire..

City tour in Antwerp...

“Regen, regen en nog eens regen…” despite of the rain, the group wanted to know more about Antwerp. They were prepared with rain coats and colourful umbrellas to see the most fancy places in the city.

Have a look at the video and enjoy the tour!

'SWEAT'

What happens when you put five musicians in a rehearsel room, give them the instruments they need and tell them they should perform on stage within 48 hours? They start sweating.

Nathan (lead-singer, guitar), Aron (guitar), Jens (bass), Milly (keyboards), Oliver (drums) accepted the challenge. We went over to have a look and when we opened the door, it was like entering a sauna. Naked people everywhere!

When we tried to get an interview, they told us they had 'a really tight schedule' and were 'too busy for anything else besides playing music'. Being good reporters, we lounged around paparazzi-style for about fifteen minutes. We couldn't keep still - and had to start dancing. During the short period of time we were in there, they played a balanced mixture of modern classics, contemporary hits and a fair bit of rock 'n roll.

After our little dancing session, we tried to get one of them in front of our camera, but they kicked us out. Attitude, anyone? While they were pushing us out of the door, we caught Nathan saying: 'Djeeezus. There is sweat all over the place'. A new band is born!

Everyone is invited to the first performance of 'SWEAT', tomorrow at 8pm in Den Eglantier.

Don't forget your dancing shoes!

Interview with Stijn Belmans, coordinator of the project

Do you want to know when started the idea of this international project?  Stijn Belmans, the coordinator of the exhange program tells us. Look at the video!!

Exploring Europe

Žiga (24) from Zagorje Ob Savi  graduated as a post technology engineer one year ago. He worked as a mailman for a while and wants to go into real estate later on. Beside these professional activities, he volunteers at their local youth club Mc Zos.

Žiga, how did you end up here?

All the Slovenian people that are here in Antwerp, are part of the same circle of friends that volunteer at the local youth club. One of them proposed to participate in this project a couple of months ago, so here we are! I have some free time in between two jobs right now, so the timing was perfect for a new experience.

A new experience? So this is the first time you participate in an international exchange program. What motivated you to take part in this project?

There are several reasons. It is a combination of having FUN, seeing a new country, getting to know the culture, meeting new people and improving my language skills. I really want to explore Europe.

Slovenia joined the EU in 2004. Have you noticed any changes in your country since then?

Yes, a lot of things have changed. We started using the euro as a currency on the first of January 2007. Since then the prices have doubled, but the wages remained the same. That is one of the downsides, but there are a lot of positive aspects as well. We have a lot more opportunities to travel now, since the borders are open. And that allows us to participate in projects like this one.

Have you made any new friends already?

I hope so! (Silence. Smiles dreamingly..) That is one of the best parts of cultural exchange programs such as this one: I can invite people I really connect with to Slovenia to guide them around – and I hope I will get the chance to visit some of the friends I made here in their country.

Ok. Good luck with that and have fun!