2 years of Com-Par 4 me: "As we have come to the end of probably the most important project of the G.L.A.S. Association, it is important that we mark some conclusions drawn from the activities that built up this project and the time and effort that paid off extremely well in the end. Since I am not confronting anybody while writing this article, the conclusions might be perplexingly subjective and yet I hope that the people who joined me, or better said, I joined, will share my opinions. What surprised me is that only now I realize how much we've done. As we were trying to show our identity to the people in the villages and as I was made to sum up what we did in the past 2 years and why we did it, I was astonished to find out that this project was more than having fun at meetings, going places, meeting people or writing articles when you feel that any piece of inspiration has vanished from your head - for these were the immediate reactions. I realized that I learned things, which would have never crossed my mind beforehand. The fact that I met people from my country and Yugoslavia taught me the importance of communication in society; the identity of certain ethnical groups and how they should be treated from an objective point of view; acceptance and integration are two notions which I have come to know extremely well thanks to this project. And what is more important is the fact that never did I feel forced to learn these things, they have just become part of my system, and part of everybody who took part in any of the events in the COM-PAR project. What I find most remarkable is that art and culture were used as means to get the things people my age and I were about to learn. All in all, this project fulfilled the last 2 years of my life in a way, which never bothered me. It was just something natural that became part of my social life, and it meant a door, which will open many other doors in the future…hopefully. In the end I would like to apologize if this article became a bit sentimental, but I have to pass the blame on the fact that I find myself in one of those moments in which inspiration fails to hit me in order to provide it with a more delightful shape, but I believe the essence of it is true, so try to look beyond the appearance." - Sandra VINGE

      Biennial Vrsac 2002 - we were there: "This exhibition took place in Vrsac (Yugoslavia). One of our partners in the COM-PAR project, the Center for Contemporary Culture "Konkordija" , was the main organizer of this event. Here sixty artists from 14 countries from all around Europe had gathered to show the world that art is always getting new. At this event our association, G.L.A.S., was invited, but representatives of A.R.D.O.R., Young Humanists Association, students from the Fine Art University in Timisoara and media representatives from Romania were also present. The varnishing began at six o'clock, when a very specialised person, Ileana Pintilie, a writer and also an artist from our university presented the works: the atmosphere was extraordinary, we were amazed how much people showed up there (even the Romanian ambassador).We think that all artists from all over the world can learn a lot from these masterpieces.The works were very diverse, from the point of view of the themes and technique: oil on canvas, instalations, big photos, posters, video projects, but there were performances and happenings also. One of these events took place on a football pitch another in a park, so all Vrsac was in a celebration. A certain work which impressed us most was an orange transparent wall, made of bombons. It was like a window, actually, because it was replacing one. If you would look on it you would see hundreds of hues of orange.WONDERFUL!! Another work was a big drawing on the wall, called "LE PLAISIR". In conclusion it was a big success, and we think that Serbian creativity had amazed everybody (even the big artists in the graves)." - Cristian PATEAN & Adrian POPESCU

      Don't judge a book by it's cover!: "Many of the people in the world are against rasism. Some of them are sincere, but some are truly hypocrits. Lots of people hate the gipsy community. They have always been treated badly in history: in the Middle Age they were slaves, in the second world war millions of them were killed by Hitler. Even today, most of the European states cannot live with them. But why? Most of them say it's because of their brown skin, others because they are lazy, dirty, thieves killers or rapers. But do people wonder why many of them resort to crimes, or why they are dirty, poor? Is it maybe because most of them don't have access to educational benefits, so they can't get a job to make a living? I think so! They are rejected when they want to work, because of their skin or other reasons! Now this is incredibly stupid, outrageous!! They are banished anywhere! The night before Easter, two little gypsy children came in the church to feel the joy of celebration, when, suddnely, an old woman, I repeat, an old women, banished them away! Now this was a scene that moved me. Aren't gipsies human beings like all of us? Of course some of them are doing bad things on purpose, but bad people are everywhere else in the world! So why should they be treated like animals or worse, because their skin is darker than ours? That's a shame! When will people learn that your mind and soul are all that matters?" - Adrian POPESCU

      Expo Com-Par (Novi Sad 2002): "After its success in Timisoara, it was expected that the COM-PAR exhibition in Novi Sad would be at least as appealing to the local art loving audience as it was to the Romanian one. It is a pitty that not all of the Romanian artists that were on display were able to come to the event, because they missed the opportunity of seeing their works at the Executive Council of Vojvodina, in a very spacious and imposing hall. The arrangement of the pannels was to the advantage of the viewer- they were on opposite sides of the room, thus allowing a more effective comparison of the styles. Another advantage of the large space was that it permitted the audience to move about freely and observe every angle of the exhibits. The opening ceremony was held by Vesna Reljin - Executive Minister for Knowledge and Culture of AP Vojvodina, Aleksandar Popov - Manager of "Centre for Regionalism"- Novi Sad, Emina Pajic - Headmaster of "Bogdan Suput"- School for Design - Novi Sad, Mircea Dragu - president of the "G.L.A.S." Association, Eugenia Banciu - vice-principal of the Fine Arts Highschool, Timisoara, Doru Bosiok -Graphic designer and professor at "Bogdan Suput"- School for Design - Novi Sad. They all showed their enthusiasm regarding the objective of the COM-PAR project and the initiative of such a multinational manifestation. The press representatives of radio and television stations with bilingual programmes interviewed the young artists and manifested a great interest toward similar future events. This exhibition proved to be not only a unique opportunity for artists of different nationalities to gain experience (and maybe even inspiration) from each other and from the foreign feed-back, but also for the building of a bridge for communication regardless of physical boarders." - Alexandra BALAN & Cristina TOMIN

      A Com-Par day in Comlosu' Mare: "Except for this last issue of the magazine, the trip-meeting at Comlosul Mare (08.06.2002) was the last activity included in the COMPAR project. I don't want to seem nostalgic or anything (although I do have the tendency of becoming melancholic in writing), but I have to say that we had problems admitting the project was actually over at the end of the day. Maybe because there are still knots to be tied, articles to be written and conclusions to be drawn. Maybe because of the deja- vu feeling we had…(or maybe because of the hang-overs.. J). Even though not everyone was actually fresh in the morning, after the mayor's welcoming speech, the local "taraf" (traditional Rroma music band) gave the wake up call and we all found ourselves dancing in the middle of the street. This helped people to loosen up and be even friendlier when the introductions of the people and the NGOs represented were made. The "tour" of the village was, not very much to our surprise, characteristic for such a small community - the "Big" Orthodox Church, the "Little" Romano - Catholic Church, the Cultural Centre and the Telecentre were the main objectives. But the climax was the visit we paid to the local elderly people's home - an unique experience in emotional intensity. Hearing the stories and seeing the faces of the people there made it hard for us to hold back the tears. But we did promise ourselves to be better sons and daughters for our parents… Fortunately, lunch brought our minds back to the present, and soon we were all ready to discuss the theme that had brought us together in the first place-integration of the Rroma community. With the help of our host, Telecentru Comlosu'Mare and of NGO representatives from Yugoslavia (European Movement and Logos from Smedervska Palanka and Kikinda Klub) and from Timisoara (ARDOR - Regional Debate and Retorics Association) we observed the simmilarities and differences of the status of this minority in Yugoslavia and Romania. We also debated if there really is an integration issue, whose fault it was and finally tried to find solutions in the form of future projects. Personally, I considered these discussions a great opportunity in developing a new project to pursue at the end of COMPAR and in finding out new perspectives of looking at this problem our society is facing- Rroma integration. And for a post-modern ending, I'd like to add a friendly advice: don't have a party the night before the workshop..." - Alexandra BALAN

            

      Cheese: "It is widely known that cheese is made from the solids of soured milk from cows, sheep, or goats, separated from the liquid. However, some people are not convinced of this general truth. I was once looking for my daily chesse in a Carrefour from Lyon, France. And I have to mention that there are a lot of foreigners in Lyon. Next to me there was a teen-ager who was very intreagued that he could not find his favourite cheese. His accent called my attention and I kind of listened to his momologue, as he began to think in a loud voice. He wasn't looking for cheese with "appellation controlee" status like Cantal or Roquefort, neither was he looking for Camembert or Brie. He wanted a simple kind of cheese which he kept on telling that it has the most simple way of preparation and that he had no trouble finding it in other countries. A woman who was responsible for the cheese sector heard him too, and she offered to help him out. Finally, she asked him from where did the milk for this unfoundable cheese came from. He answered with surprise: "From the milk of a ram". I turned my head away from them to allow myself a huge smile. The woman tried to explain that there is no such thing as milk from a ram, but that there is sheep milk…The boy was not to easy to be convinced of that, and he kept on looking for his ram cheese… At this point, I felt that if I did not leave, I would have embarassed someone with my laughter. So, as you can see, French people are very polite and they have a lot of patience with everyone. Nevertheless, it is good to know, wherever you go, that milk cannot come from a ram, for God's sake!" - Eliana DECEAN

      Small talk: "I caught myself thinking about this question the whole week: "Why can some persons be so evil-minded in their talking?". I am very sad these days. Some of my classmates have told to some other pupils in my class pretty hurting words. You know, those words are not big, but still can make someone feel very embarassed. I know a joke and we tease each other a lot (in class), but that kind of joking was never evil, never with some covered thought. Now, I am faced with something that probably existed in my class for long time but I didn't notice it. We have started having some kind of "gangs" (in a metaphorical way), whose biggest fun is to laugh at everyone around, or to gossip about someone. Imagine yourself being laughed at in front of all your friends because of something minor made into something major. Or, if you know how some people think badly about you and how they are trying to bother you, even when you have never done anything bad to them. I am ashamed when some of my good classmates tease anyone or gossip about how he/she looks, how big his head or bottom is, how stupid he/she is, how bad language he/she has... Now, the most absurd thing is that the persons doing this laugh at each other, too. And I already wrote they want to hurt that person, not to make a good, healthy joke. Some of them really do not know the limits when they start spreading their words. And I really can't understand them. They are all basically nice and good persons, but again, very evil sometimes. My seeing of this is that they are insecure of themselves, and this is the way they are using to make themselves big and secure in the eyes of others. Bad way if you ask me! Nobody deserves to be used in such a way, -as someone's object.
      P.S. I must once again underline that not all of them do this, but I am shocked and agitated. The lines I wrote may sound like a diary page, but I'm writing them anyway 'cause I want to warn you to be more careful next time you laugh at someone- he can be embarassed if you cross the line of a good joke!" - Ivana STEVANOVIC

      Alcohol Festival: "Alcohol creates a "higher" state of mind, consumers are becoming extremely friendly and eager for a party. A festival is some kind of a party, with a crowd of people, that needs to have a drink, with their friends. And this is how it apears-the alcohol festival. Beer Festival and Wine Festival are two special experiences for the inhabitants of Timisoara. Most of the participants at this events are youngsters. With this occasion all kinds of music bands are invited, the people realy like them, but they want more fun and alcohol helps them. And most of these young people are drinking.They start with one beer or one glass of wine, or both, but the thirst is big and they take another glass, and than another until they get very, very drunk. This celebration of alcohol lasts for three long days (the weekend) and the participants prefere especially the evenings. The end of the festival is celebrated with fireworks but not all the participants can see them. Easy to understand why. Of course, there are other kinds of "festivals". There you can dance, sing and have a good time with your friends, too. Wine, beer or other types of alkohol should mostly be additives for fun and not the main reason to get together." - Daniel TOMA

      Another problem: "Drugs -a vice that is taking more and more lives. Very often teens are taking it because of different reasons searching for escape from every-day problems. With stepping into the world of drugs they are rushing from one problem into another. That, of course, makes their life more complicated and difficult. For a few bucks you can find all sort of dope. Anyhow, maybe the most scary thing is the fact that you can find anything you want almost any place you search for it, very often even in primary schools... Following the example of older youngsters, the tradition is passed to the others... Watching from this point of view at first it could be silly and inappropriate, but if we look more under the surface we will realize the real dimension of this problem... And who is to blame for all this? We simply don't know: the teens, the parents, the dealers, the day to day issues or the low (or too high) life standard... We should be strong in public: transparent fight against drugs! For that we need a lot of energy, good will and optimism." - Members of Itaka Youth Club

            

      Modern man: "Today, man is busy with earning money, daily problems and man do not have time to think about friends and how hard it is to find a true friend. In the world we live in, it is not a miracle that people are sceptical after many disappointments from humanity. Modern man is a little bit selfish, and he does not try to be kind and patient, and he is not trying to listen to others. Less or more we are the same: just emotions which often are repressed. And when we explode, we need a friend, someone who will be there for us. After all, how does a man feel if in his heart there is just emptiness? We are happy when we love, anybody or anything. In the first place, we must love ourselves and be positive. I find it is true that man has one friend, but if we are in a circle of loved ones instead of enemies, our heart is full of flowers. I admit it is very hard to be optimistic, but we must try, try, at least! So, if you feel like a lonely bird, go find friends. They are around us and their second name is treasure!" - Dušica MILOSAVLJEVIC

      Where to this summer - Andra ROSU: "In the summertime, when the weather is fine...la di la li la..." something, something, I don't remember for sure but felt like an adequate way of introduction in the middle of the 2002 "heat". It seems that we are going to fry our " asses" at the friendly UV rays this year too (a little bit to friendly if you want to know my opinion). But nothing is too much, especially when you're looking for a beautiful, dark, Nubian bronze or for one grilled roast look...there is absolutely no reason to get upset, I believe that each one of us passed this sacrifice stage (including myself). For the ones interested in some adventures at the seaside I hardly found a little bit of spear time in my busy, busy schedule to go and check out the offers available this season. After days and nights of hard work I have arrived at the following \conclusion: