Sintra Project

On August 23, Símenntunarmiðstöð Vesturlands will host the final SINTRA Conference, the result of a two-year long project designed to provide integrated support for the development of intrapreneurship-related skills, competencies and attitudes among both employees and employers for improving the organisations’ sustainability.

It has been a pleasure to work together with Apopsi Group of Companies, Creatrix, Dialogue Diversity, Razvojna agencija Grada Velika Gorica - Vegora, Tora Consult Ltd., and Youth in Science and Business Foundation, and now we are looking forward to sharing our insights and welcoming amazing speakers and panelists on stage.

See you there!

23 of August is the big Final conference of the project in Iceland 😀. Save it in you calendars and we will keep you updated on all great speakers you will be able to hear together with all our partners. We are exited as it was a great journey for all the participants. Hope to see you there.
https://sintraproject.eu/

The message rang loud and clear for global corporations: align your business strategy to sustainability targets and reap monetary rewards. Drag your feet and you’ll lose out. Project SINTRA is created with intention to help organizations to make their business more sustainable. If you are a company, we have the tools to help you achive steps towards it. Check article below for details👇

https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/why-all-businesses-should-embrace-sustainability/

“Europe Day held on 9 May every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic ‘Schuman declaration' that set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe's nations unthinkable. Schuman's proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.”

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫

"If you can’t convince the decision-makers, become the decision maker."

Read more: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/why-you-should-become-ultimate-decision-maker

Why you should become the ultimate decision maker | Greenbiz What happens inside large and small companies when sustainability changers come to the office.

Project field trip with excellent hosts and guides about 3D printing technologies. Very educative and interesting experience 😀 Blue Lab Piraeus

5. international partner meeting is in progress. You can visit main page https://sintraproject.eu/ to see all details about the SINTRA project in all partner languages. We are here for all the questions!

‼ The 3rd newsletter of SINTRA project is out now ‼
Check the project's latest news and stay tuned‼

📌The pilot training program within the frame of Intellectual Output 2 "Innovative SINTRA Training Material and Services" has started in Greece organized by Apopsi Group of Companies. Twenty employees and managers-employers from four organizations will have the opportunity to learn more about how to use intrapreneurial thinking and practices in order to promote the economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The training program will be combined with the provision of counselling support to the participants for the development of related projects that will be presented to their managers-employers ‼

Sustainability workshops are active throughout partnership countries. What is our goal? Check our website and join us👇

https://sintraproject.eu/

👉 Conclusion of the Intellectual Output 3 “SINTRA e-Learning Platform”‼

The Greek partner www.apopsi.gr concluded the SINTRA e-learning platform that will support the pilot trainings in all partners’ countries and will provide the training resources, developed within the frame of the project to targeted and interested end-users during the project’s duration and in the long-run.

🖱 The Platform includes the following SCORM e-Learning courses in English and in all partners’ languages:

✔ Understanding the organisational context and its potential for sustainability-oriented development.
✔ Assessing one’s own potential to innovate and add “sustainability value”.
✔ Identification of sustainability-focused innovation opportunities and prospects using internal and external sources of ideas.
✔ Provisional assessment of intrapreneurial initiatives’ sustainability impact.
✔ Defending the merits of ones’ intrapreneurial ideas and working with the organisation’s management on sustainability issues.
✔ Formation and operation of intra-organisational intrapreneurship teams for sustainability-focused development.

Interested employers and employees may participate in the project's pilot trainings after contacting the responsible national partner.

📌 The Platform is available through the project’s website: www.sintraproject.eu

👉 Intrapreneurship requires changes in the employers' and employees' way of thinking‼

The 4th transnational meeting of SINTRA project took place on 11-12 January in Aveiro, Portugal. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, only the Bulgarian, Croatian and Icelandic partners attended the meeting in person, while the other partners participated via TEAMS.
The results achieved so far and future developments of the project were discussed, namely the pilots of the training courses on economic, social and environmental sustainability and the counselling services, to be organized in companies in the partner countries.

‘Consoada’ is one of the typically Portuguese Christmas traditions that all families end up doing. It is the family dinner on Christmas eve, usually very late, after which, religious people attend the midnight service at the local church. However, many people do not follow the tradition to the letter, because the dishes should not be washed or lifted from the table out of respect for all the dead in the family.

Another change that Christmas Eve has undergone over the years is that it initially consisted of a light fish meal. Nowadays, the fish remains, as many people eat cod fish boiled with potatoes and Portuguese cabbage, followed by an almost industrial quantity of sweets. The most famous one is King Cake or more recently, also Queen Cake, depending on the ingredients chosen, covered by candied fruit (Bolo Rei ou Bolo Rainha).

Dialogue Diversity

After the "trip" to Iceland, now we set our sights down south towards Greece:

for Greeks is an important religious holiday and the evening before the 25th of December, in all villages in the country begins the most popular tradition - the caroling!
This is the night when happy groups of children, boys and girls, women and men go from house to house and carry the news of the Nativity of the Savior through their carols (specific Christmas songs, which contain this message). Once inside the courtyard of the house, the unfold their repertoire in front of the members of the house gathered in the doorway.

After they finish their carols, they are rewarded at every house with different goodies. Carolers are welcomed with joy because they are said to bring health and a prosperous year, then they are rewarded with nuts, apples, rolls, and, more recently, with money. Long live the carolers!

Another tradition that is very popular in Greece and less well known is that besides Christmas trees, boats can be found in the villages of the Greek islands. Throughout the country’s history, Greek wives and children would decorate wooden boats to welcome their husbands and sons back from the sea, safe from harm. Today, the tradition still stands.

There is so much beauty in the Greek Holidays, and so much diversity and unity at the same time. Let’s enjoy every tradition, Christian or pagan, that gives charm and brilliance to each region!

Apopsi Group of Companies

The Icelandic Christmas period is an intriguing mixture of religious practice and traditional folklore. Unlike most countries that have a single Father Christmas / Santa Claus character, Icelandic children are fortunate enough to be visited by 13 Yule Lads.

Grýla
From a relatively young age Icelandic children are told the story of Grýla, the ogress living in the Icelandic mountains. She is a dreadful character, described as part troll and part animal and the mother of 13 precocious boys (the Yule Lads). Grýla lives in the mountains with her third husband, her thirteen children and a black cat. Every Christmas, Grýla and her sons come down from the mountains: Grýla in search of naughty children to boil in her cauldron and the boys in search of mischief. She can only capture children who misbehave but those who repent must be released.

The Yule Lads
Icelandic children place a shoe in their bedroom window each evening in the 13 days before Christmas. Every night one Yuletide lad visits, leaving sweets and small gifts or rotting potatoes, depending on how that particular child has behaved on the preceding day. Each Yuletide lad has a specific idiosyncrasy and will therefore behave in a particular manner.

Símenntunarmiðstöð Vesturlands

We are close to Christmas time and we want to discover new and original traditions from our partners’ countries. Let’s travel to Bulgaria:

‘Kukeri’ are elaborately costumed Bulgarian men, who perform traditional rituals intended to scare away evil spirits. This Bulgarian tradition has been practiced since Thracian times and is of a Thracian origin. The costumes cover most of the body and include decorated wooden masks of animals (sometimes double-faced) and large bells attached to the belt. Around Christmas, the kukeri walk and dance through villages to scare away evil spirits with their costumes and the sound of their bells. They are also believed to provide a good harvest, health, and happiness to the village during the year.

The kukeri traditionally visit peoples' houses at night so that "the sun would not catch them on the road." After parading around the village, they usually gather at the village square to dance wildly and amuse the people. Kukeri rituals vary by region but remain largely the same in essence.

Tora Consult Ltd.