Day 7 – 9

Day 7

One of the moments that will stick in our minds, is our trip to Zugdidi. This city is located on the border of the conflict region Abchazia. Half of the inhabitants are Internally displaced Persons (IDP’s), who have fled out of Abchazia during the conflicts in 1990-1991 or 2008. 

On the road to Zugdidi we could discover Georgian life on the countryside a bit more. We saw pigs and cows running around, distinguished the many different landscapes along the seaside and passed several traditional funeral processions. After an hour we were suddenly stuck in the traffic because an exhibition of the different ministeries of Georgia took place. Finally we reached the city centre and had a wonderful Georgian lunch in one of the better restaurants of Zugdidi. Nice, now we had a toilet that flushed! After lunch we had time to visit the exhibition of the government. What drew our attention was the demonstration of the Georgian army. You could talk with the soldiers, try on their outfits and gear and ‘of course’ handle their weapons. It was weird for us to see children playing with real weapons…! This led to interesting conversations with the Georgian and Armenian group. 

Afterwards we had a meeting with two observers of the European Union Monitoring Mission (www.eumm.eu). They explained us what they do and talked about the tensions at the borders in Abchazia & South Ossetia between Georgian troops and separatist militia supported by the Russian army. After their explanations we could ask questions and so it turned into a dialogue. This interesting meeting was completed by a spokeswoman of Atinati a local ngo that works with IDP’s (internally displaced persons) on several topics like education, psychological support,…

 At night we had the see you soon party that was organised by the social committee. The goal of this evening was to exchange thoughts, emotions, and to have a (almost) last happy time together .

 Day 8

During our last session we focused on communication. We experienced for example how a story can change completely when it passes on in a group. A complex story about a boy who has stolen something in a shop changed into one simple sentence about someone who lost his legs. Strange! Afterwards we discussed the conditions and barriers for good communication.

In the afternoon we took the minibusses to Batumi, a touristic city at the seaside, between Kobuleti and Turkey. We faced the rainy weather (again!) and discovered funny shops and bars in the city. We came back together and enjoyed a traditional and delicious Georgian dinner. We learned how to toast in Georgian style, and we’re sure we’ll never forget how to do this .

 Day 9

 After breakfast we had the project follow-up part. All the different national delegations brainstormed about possible activities back home. The enthousiasm was high amongst all the groups. These proposals ranged from debates, to local meetings, interviews, press releases, blogs, and so on.

We are still very keen to continue these final stages, and hope to attract enough people with our messages and experiences. When the time came near to say goodbyes from the Armenian and Georgian groups, the Belgian and Spanish delegations gathered their bags together to get on the bus. Emotional goodbye hugs were exchanged and we drove into the black night to the capital of Tbilisi, to catch our flights back home. At the airport the group split up again….

Day 5 and 6

On the fifth day we attended a workshop by the Armenian delegates about intercultural learning. First we had to create a definition of intercultural learning, followed by a statement game where we had to defend our opinion about statement related to intercultural learning. Afterwards we did the eggcercise, a fun teambuilding game where we had to create a construction to prevent the egg from falling on the floor.

 

The afternoon excursion to the mountains was cancelled due to bad weather. Some of the participants went for a walk in the rain to a nearby village and were treated like kings by the locals.  Some locals invited us to their homes where we could dry our clothes, drink a homemade spirit called chacha and enjoy other local sweets. We felt like being home because of their hospitality. It was a wonderfull experience! The rest of the group stayed in the hotel and enjoyed a real georgian barbecue.

 

 At night the theme party took place where everybody came dressed up like a worldleader. We had a lot of fun. Michael Jackson resurected at his own funeral in the presence of Jesus, Mother Theresia, Che Guevera, Cleopatra, Helena from Troy, a few weird hippies and much more interesting people.

 

Today the theme of the workshops was conflict. It was provided by the Georgian youthleader. We tried to find out what conflict is and reflected about the sources, different types and the negative and positive consequences. We did it in small, mixed groups and we switched places every 15 minutes untill we all had discused the  topics. Then we analysed a really funny movie using the six stages of conflictescalation: triggering, gereralisation, alliances, destroyed comunication, extreme positions and wanting to hurt each other. In the afternoon we discovered conflictmanagement by a roleplay in little groups. To finish we celebrated the 19^th anniversary of the Armenian independence. Happy birthday Armenia!

 

We noticed that the last few nights the group became closer. We are having a good time and we get to know each others local delights like food and drinks. There are no subgroups and the different countries mix up well. It’s interesting to see how a group of young people with different cultural background get along so well. Tonight we will proudly present our country and we will teach them how to make Belgian waffles.

Day 3 and 4

The evening of day two we had the luck to enjoy a cultural night organised by the Spanish and Armenian group. Typical kinds of food and drinks came our way… We got a lot of information about the cultures and habits of the countries. We really loved this activity and we can’t wait to have our cultural evening!

In the morning of day three we started to work around migration with workshops worked out by the Belgian delegation. First we watched four videos made by the four coutries. The topic of the videos was migration in our own country. This was very interesting and confronting at the same time. There is a big difference in migration in Spain and Belgium, and migration of Georgia and Armenia. The first two countries have in common that there are people coming  to start a new life, to improve their situation. In Georgia and Armenia the main issue are the IDP’s, internaly displaced people. These are people who migrate within the borders of the same country. This difference leads to a different point of view and other migration approach. So you can imagine that the conversations were very interesting aswell as very usefull.

So when we started working around migration, many new insights came to us. Moving within a country can also lead to social exclusion, money problems, misunderstandings and so on…

In the afternoon we played a role game. We tried to recreate a real life situation of migration in a fictive country. Everyone got a special role like citizens, migrants and the supreme court. Actual problems were put in the game and the players had to find out how to solve them.

We experienced ourselves the problems that migrants face. It was very educational, but also active and fun. The group was really into the game and so it became a “real life” situation.

And when the sun came out… We had the chance to enjoy eachothers company at the seaside! A swim, a walk and a laugh!

Then ofcourse there was the evening activity… Getting to know the local surroundings

In the morning we continued the sessions about migration and talked about all the different concequences of migration. With the information from the day before we had an active debate. We mostly talked about debates that are currently going on in the four countries.  We tried to come to a consensus concerning four different topics.

The day continued with a workshop about cultural identity organised and given by our Spanish amigos! We could think and talk about cultural identity in national and international groups, it was very meaningfull.

In the afternoon we played a role play. In groups of four to six people we recreated actual situations of migrants in Spain. We could give our own interpretation because there was no fixed solution. After every situation they gave us what happened in real life, which was sometimes confronting.

We are all having a great time and looking forward to the next days!

Day 1 and 2: Our first impressions

Day 1 – Out of the night, on the brink of an adventurous stay

After a long and tiresome trip we arrived very early at the airport of Tbilisi and we immediately were confronted with how people drive in Georgia: crazy! A semi-old bus brought us in five hours from the capital of Georgia to Kobuletti where we would stay for the next nine days. A few times we were really scared because we are not used to that kind of reckless driving. But we made it to our final destination, so we didn’t have to fear for our lives anymore. After our first home-cooked Georgian lunch, we had some sleep and when we joined up with other participants we left the building in groups to explore and get to know the surroundings in the city a bit.

Our hotel appears to be situated on the main road that runs through the centre of Kobuletti, and you can feel in this city the long-lost remnants of greatness of the former Soviet Union: old Russian cars, an all-pervasive cold and hard ‘greyness’, modestly dressed people with a preference for dark and plain colours, industrial ruins, unfinished constructions and a lot of concrete. Without doubt, time and ‘modernity’ have a different pace here. History and tradition counts in places like these and it’s obviously a big contrast with the wealth and very luxurious lives, services, shops, and facilities we have in Belgium.

In the evening we started some name games to get to know each other. It worked, because during the arrival party the Georgians, the Armenians, the Spanish and the Belgians got mixed! From the first meeting moment, we felt comfortably at ease and got the dialogue starting with each other.

Some of us had very interesting discussions and/or funny conversations. The open atmosphere in a way helped to let the sympathy and friendship blossom between these groups, amongst people from different backgrounds – It was just awesome! We learned new music styles, new dances and some other local delights as well. Even the uninvited electricity blackouts couldn’t spoil the party!

Day 2 - Programme lift-off !

The next day we started at ten o’clock with our first workshop. The central topics were the aims, fears and the expectations we personally had about the exchange. At this early stage it felt like the right thing, to express our level of commitment and input without hesitation, thus realizing we all wanted to benefit greatly from this unique experience. Most of us had more or less the same ‘observations’ and natural emotions, so there was little to worry about – which is good.

Afterwards our Georgian host and his co-organizers sent us in small groups into the city. Our mission was to complete a checklist of tasks, like taking a picture of 15 Georgians together, bring a stone from the beach (there were no sand beaches to discover), find out what ‘cheers!’ and ‘hello’ means in Georgian, and more of this. We found out that Kobuletti is not only about the things we were just able to ‘describe’ previously, but especially about very friendly, helpful and open people.

So, we had a great start of this exchange and we’re absolutely looking forward to get to know each other even more, share more amusing stories and thoughts, and ‘connect’ more closely by experiencing all the parts of the programme ahead of us. We’re determined to cherish this experience and make use all of the time to make it really interesting, most memorable and worthwhile !!

International Youth Exchange in Georgia from 16 till 25 September

From 16 till 25 September 32 youth gather in Kobuleti, Georgia to attend an international exchange on migration and conflict management follow their adventures here.

In total 4 partner organisations from different countries are involved. Each sended 8 youth. They come from Spain, Armenia, Belgium and Georgia.

They will get to know each other and each others culture and country. Through interactive methods they will explore the theme migration by showing what it’s means for each one of them seperately but seeking commonalities within the participants and their countries.

They will look at the consequences of migration and how to deal in non-violent ways with conflicts that might arise from migration.

Each two days they will report what they did, discovered …

Tune in!!!!

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With the support of the European Union – Youth in Action & the Flemish National Agency Jint

(Explanation in dutch – more info on the program in English: http://ec.europa.eu/youth/index_en.htm)

 

YIAJINTlogosenintro 

 

 

 

YOUTH IN ACTION: Are you culture shock-proof?

Begin 2007 ging het nieuwe subsidieprogramma YOUTH IN ACTION van start. Met dit programma wil de Europese Commissie jongeren uit heel Europa aanmoedigen tot internationale samenwerking en uitwisseling. Om dit mogelijk te maken, voorziet de Europese Commissie tussen 2007 en 2013 een bedrag van 885 miljoen euro.

YOUTH IN ACTION biedt jongeren en jeugdorganisaties tal van mogelijkheden.

û  Europees Vrijwilligerswerk geeft jongeren tussen 18 en 30 jaar de kans om hun handen uit de mouwen te steken bij een vrijwilligersorganisatie in Europa of daarbuiten.

û  Via groepsuitwisselingen kunnen groepen jongeren elkaar kunnen ontmoeten om uit te wisselen rond een zelfgekozen thema.

û  De jongereninitiatieven ondersteunen jongeren bij het opzetten een eigen vernieuwend project, waarmee ze hun omgeving nieuw leven willen inblazen.

û  Vorming- en netwerkprojecten bieden jeugdwerkers de kans om inspiratie op te doen tijdens een internationale vormingscursus of om een netwerk met gelijkgezinden op te starten. 

û  Jongerenprojecten over democratie ondersteunen jeugdorganisaties bij het opzetten van internationale participatieprojecten, voor en door jongeren.

www.youthinaction.be

 

 

 

 

 

JINT – Maak dat je weg bent!

JINT ondersteunt jongeren, jeugdwerk en jeugdbeleid in het realiseren en uitbouwen van een internationale werking. JINT biedt jongeren meer dan alleen de centen voor hun project. JINT helpt hen bij het uitwerken van hun projectaanvraag en gaat samen met hen op zoek naar gelijkgezinde partnerorganisaties in binnen- en buitenland. Daarnaast kunnen jongeren en jeugdwerkorganisaties ook bij JINT terecht voor een pak informatie en vorming.

JINT – Grétrystraat 26 , 1000 Brussel – 02-209 07 20 – www.jint.be