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It’s the second week of January and you’re on your way to the international training project about peace and conflict solving. It’s 5:30 in the morning. You land on a dark landing strip in the city of Yerevan. The temperature is close to freezing. Passport control is cautious at first, but they let you through the security gate and now you’re met by the warm welcome…of taxi drivers, each offering you a convenient ride to the city center for an affordable price. None of the signs outside of the airport make sense to you, because both the language and the alphabet are completely foreign - not even close to your language. None of the usual taxi apps work for some reason, until you get a local SIM …or a local Ahpers (= brother) to help you. You stop and rest at the airport restaurant and eventually it turns out that getting to city center is much easier than it looks at first - the bus driver speaks perfect English and even helps you make sense of the local currency. It’s 10 in the morning now and somehow you have managed to navigate through the sleepy city of Yerevan and even visit a few museums, while grabbing coffee and breakfast at a local cafe. The sun is high, suddenly you feel completely overdressed as the temperature is now +13. A few hours in you meet several other participants who all aim to reach Aparan - the venue of the training, by dinner time. Your trip to the small mountain town is memorable, not least because of the spectacular driving skill of local taxi drivers. The first day disappears into the night as you haven’t slept for 36h, and sleep deprivation is starting to kick in. In the morning you remember the names of the three participants you shared the taxi with, and the location of both bathrooms, but not much else, and the alphabet is still as foreign as ever. In the morning you wake up to the smell of freshly fried eggs, coffee and fresh mountain air, mixing in the corridors of the three-storied building that will be your home for the next week and then some. You learn a few more names at the breakfast table and try to create a catalog in your head until you realize it’s worth to write the names down. By lunch most of the participants are familiar to you by face and name and you also know what they think about humanity reaching the stars, gender equality and a number of other topics that are close to heart. This is just the beginning. Next few days and each workshop will bring you closer to understanding each other’s psyche, thoughts on life and conflict and of course - food preferences. Three days in, it’s time to reflect on everything you have learned so far. You’re on your way to the cultural landmark of your choice - Gyumri, the nearby mountaintop, Yerevan or local forest - and you try to make sense of all you have learned until today. OK, so far you have learned to recognize conflicts, divide them by type and find their root causes. You also now know that roots can sprout several conflicts over time and the sooner you address the conflict, the more likely you are to transform it into lasting peace. Even though your mind is working hard to focus on reflection, it is easy to get distracted by the natural beauty surrounding you on all sides - beauty of mountains, the cold blue sky and people. Yesterdays’ creative writing sessions make your mind wander even more. Everything you think about just seems to rhyme effortlessly and you hear a constant beat in your head. You now carry a piece of paper and a pen with you at all times to write down the lyrics of your next rap album. Two cultural nights later you know the basics of Armenian, Georgian, Italian, Pan-Baltic (it’s Finnish, Estonian and Latvian this time), Ukrainian as well as German life. You still can’t grasp how so much creativity can fit under the same roof, but somehow the host - Altera Lab has managed to build this atmosphere of inspiration and enabled ideas to thrive unhampered. Even though you’re in the house most of the time, it doesn’t mean you haven’t explored the town. Actually, you are quite familiar with it by now thanks to evening walks with local participants and the interviews you have conducted on the streets to get an understanding of local conditions. By now you can order coffee and “ban” (pronounce the “a” more like in “sun”, not “can”) at the local supermarket. It’s good to be able to order “ban”, because it can mean absolutely anything they sell and that they do not yet sell. The end of the training course is nearing with every day and meanwhile you have learned about the methods of nonviolent communication to be clear and nonaggressive in your self- expression, improved your intercultural understanding to see the conflict from a multitude of viewpoints and also acquired meditation techniques to remain calm in the turmoil of conflicts. Practice has taught you to use the new techniques both in the context of conflict resolution and also outside of it. Your vocabulary has forever changed and it’s hard to talk or even write without using one of the newly incorporated methods. The transformation of participants, and yourself, is almost complete. The final days are filled with body and mind workshops, painting, singing and deep immersion in the dream world. It’s the final day. Goodbyes are hard, so instead you pledge to return soon enough, having built a network of likeminded individuals. Aparan, Altera lab and the participants of Speak Peace 2024 - you are dearly missed. https://www.instagram.com/altera_lab/
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4.-13.12.2023 veetsin veidi enam kui nädala Bustenis, Rumeenias, ühes kaunis, mägises ja jahedas väikelinnas noorsootöötajatele ja noortega töötavatele inimestele suunatud koolitusel "Show Me Your Tools!". Noorima osalejana seal oli algul tunne nagu oleksid vales kohas valel ajal. Küll aga iga uue möödunud tunniga suutsid osalejad üheskoos sulatada jää ning muuta meie pisikese hosteli hubasemaks kui ükski kodu. Noori ja vanu oli kokku tulnud üle Euroopa ja ka sellegagi ei piirdutud. Mõned osalejad esindasid küll üht EU liikmesriiki, kuid päritolult oli meie seas ka egiptlane, jaapanlane ning esmakordselt kohtasin ka üht noormeest Kambodžast. Pea kümne päeva vältel heitsime pilgu Erasmus+ olemusele, püüdsime ajusopist välja kaevata pildid oma perfektsest treenerist/korraldajast ning proovisime isegi luua üldpildi uuest võinalikust projektist, selle sihtgrupist ning tegevuskavast. Oma fantaasiamaailma saime väljendada läbi plastiliini, kõige metsast leitu, teatri ja isegi muusika läbi. Mainimata ei saa ka jätta mitmeid kultuuriõhtuid ja ka Rumeenia kultuuriõhtu näol korraldatud grillimist hea muusika ja seltskonna taustal. Selle aja vältel sai 30+ osalejast üks kokkuhoidev ja hoolitsev perekond, kus lisaks naerule ei jäetud unarusse ka murede kollektiivne lahendamine. Nagu igas koolituses, projektis või noortevahetuses, sain uue tiheda võrgustiku, mis loodetavasti panevad aluse uuele põnevale ettevõtmisele, kus saame rakendada koolituse vältel omandatud teadmised ja oskused eduka koolituse läbiviimiseks. Kindlasti tuleb ära mainida ka meie kõige armsam ja vägevam koolituse korraldaja ja läbiviia Tolea, kes lisaks oma tarkustele ja naljadele oskas õigel ajal õiges kohas ka vajadusel tõsist häält teha. Kui SInulgi peaks silma jääma mõni ettevõtmine Rumeenias, hoia kindlasti silmad-kõrvad lahti, et ka Sina saaksid vahva kogemuse osaliseks, mida pakuvad Tolea ja tema armast tiim! Roos Marie Karmel Pšenitšnaja
From 2nd to 10th of November, a participant from Seiklejate Vennaskond, had the opportunity to take part in the Training Course "Don't H@te!", in Arrouquelas, Rio Maior, Portugal. The hosting organization, "H2O" - Associação de Jovens de Arrouquelas, with 26 years of history, hosted us in a hotel in Rio Maior and organized a program of activities that were connected with the topic, discrimination, hate speech and social exclusion, financed and supported by Erasmus +. The main objective was to bring together 25 young people from 12 different European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Spain, with diverse cultural backgrounds but with common interests to share knowledge and learn about the topic of hate speech, discrimination and social inclusion.Also, this training course has defined other objectives: to increase competences of the participants and participating organizations to address offline and online hate speech in their communities and contribute to breaking stereotypes, prejudices, discrimination and racism that are facing various groups in participating countries, especially minorities including refugees and migrants; to develop competences of the participants and participating organizations to create and launch campaigns, awareness raising actions fighting the roots of hate speech and hate crime and fighting discrimination and racism; to strengthen competences of the participants to effectively use various media, including social one, as tools for awareness raising on the issue of online and offline hate speech and hate crime; to develop communication, teamwork, leaderships skills of the participants in intercultural settings; to support creating new contacts among the participants and their organizations and developing new projects ideas that could be implemented with support of Erasmus+ Programme. Here you can find the link to the social networks of the Organizations partnering in this project. A great opportunity for you to get to know each other’s work and get to know their testimony as well. If you like or are interested, feel free to contact them here: ● Bulgaria - https://www.facebook.com/ActiveBulgarianSociety ● Croatia - https://www.facebook.com/LumenNGO ● Czech Republic - https://www.facebook.com/EYCBreclav ● Estonia - https://www.facebook.com/Seiklejad.Org ● Germany - https://www.facebook.com/watch/kulturnetwork/ ● Hungary - https://www.facebook.com/yopa.ngo ● Ireland - https://www.facebook.com/loveandcareforpeopleworldwide ● Portugal - https://www.facebook.com/h2oarrouquelas ● Poland - https://www.facebook.com/euromedevepolska ● Romania - https://www.facebook.com/21stGreentury ● Serbia - Home - FOUNDATION ARCHITECT ALEKSANDAR RADOVIC (fondar.rs) ● Spain - https://www.facebook.com/arousamoza
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