Youth exchange „It´s good to be ECO citizen“
A camp Val de Saan hosted for a week an international group of about thirty people from different corners of Europe, concretely from the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Poland and Slovakia.
For many of us it wasn’t just a very first exchange but also a first visit of France, the land of thousands of tastes, wine and cheese. As we were driven by a very brave French mademoiselle to the camp on Sunday 28th the first thing we did was cooking pasta which later became a typical meal of our exchange. The programme of this non-formal educative project started with a bunch of entertaining ice-breaking games. The everyday schedule was filled with various activities which should have improved our eco-social thinking as well as rhetorical and presentation skills. The workshops during the day were focused on environmental issues not only in general (Simulation of ecological disaster) but also on the national level (Environment in particular countries). These “green” topics were extended by related different questions such as human rights or personal development.
In the evening programme we presented our countries to others via interactive presentations and games. Getting to know each other via the national cuisine belongs to the most popular parts of exchanges. The biggest applause goes to the first evening as we enjoyed the Intercultural dinner together. One never knows how distinguish cheese could be.
Our stay was enriched by a trip to Le Havre where we visited the town hall and cleaned the beach from garbage. I believe it was a very strong life experience for many of us. The reward for this good turn was the beautiful view at sea and the great weather. The sun was our tourist guide for the whole day and followed us even on the way back. It was a very pleasant change in comparison to quick-changing weather we had been experiencing during the whole week in the camp.
On the other hand I assume the rain came to wash away our individual problems and the wind blow away our everyday worries. That’s why I see this project not just from the educative point of view. But I also find it as a great opportunity to relax and take time to think about more spiritual and moral aspects of our lives. Additionally meeting a bunch of creative people with interesting opinions contributes to the individual development of our life’s attitude. And that’s exactly what it is all about.
