Day 6

This was the day when we really got down to business as we thought of specific activities that we could do in our countries.

We started off with an energiser where pairs were created at random and where one pair was selected to do a human statue. The rest followed and the results were quite funny.

We then split into groups of five and did some hard work on many very good ideas on how to spread the values that this training aims to advance. One idea, for example, was to teach young people aged 15 to 19 about arguments and fallacies in the context of media stories about the refugee crisis. Young people would learn how to recognise good arguments and also know more about the present crisis.

Another group thought of an activity about cultural differences. It was meant for youngsters aged 14 to 18. The main point was for young people in the Balkans to discuss more about other cultures in the Balkans.

There were three other groups, all with inspiring ideas that were presented to us.

The second energiser of the day was a hand massage therapy and a quick slap-the-hands exercise after that. It’s good to have some activity for your hands in a week where you don’t have to do any manual labour.

Our second assignment for the day was to think of a campaign on one of the issues that we have discussed. We were split into four groups, each came up with an idea. One idea was to have a poster campaign with different human rights promoted. There was also an idea about a website of positive intercultural experiences. One was about a no-to-racism campaign using us (the trainees) to spell the word “NO”. The fourth offer was a “Think Before Sharing” campaign aimed at getting to know better media stories that people share on social media. The winner, in the end, was the poster campaign. We would do twelve pictures promoting twelve different human rights.

 The third energiser surprised us with socks and chocolate money. It brought out the materialistic side in all of us, as we all are very hungry for chocolate, whether in the form of Euro coins or in any other way. Some people had both their hands in socks, some just one. I any case, it was reassuring to know that the socks had not been used before.

In the beginning of the second part, we were all assigned one person to observe during the day. The final part of the day was giving feedback to our fellow trainees. It was very warm and positive, everyone went to dinner with smiles.

You can now find us at one of the bars in Sferracavallo!