After three weeks of training, these youths emerged with a certain maturity, as noted by Josephine Infray, intern for the Frères des Hommes training team. Laurie, a participant of "Hemispheres", confirms: "This experience is a new step in my life. It enabled me to enhance my understanding of the realities of life."
Throughout the training course, the group showed great dynamism, interest and creativity, as for example in role-playing the different positions taken by farmers from North and South, or during sessions with the association Matiere Prises which, in the words of one participant: "completely unlocked my thoughts and imagination." Participants say they learned a lot about the situations in the South, thanks to the presence of Dianto Bachriadi (Pergerakan, Indonesia) and Ndiakhate Fall (UGPM, Senegal).
The diversity of experience created a real melting-pot of students (school-leavers to post-graduates) and employees, all communicating in English, the official language of the training course. These differences led to a complementarity in the various projects, and generated excellent group dynamics. Diversity played an important role in this training session, as witnessed by IUNA: "I learned a lot from the experiences of others and from meeting different nationalities. In France, we do not usually meet with Eastern Europeans in exchange projects!”
Always together, even in their spare time, the youths helped each other and enriched each others’ thinking. Many described the strengh generated by the group synergy, from which they learned as much as from the training session itself. "Having learned so much about different living conditions, I find this unfair, and I want to act now!” concluded Thomas.
[1] Participants from the following: Fatima Group United Ireland, Concordia and Frères des Hommes France, COCAT Spain, Italy Lunaria, East Yes Estonia and Kaunas Artist’s Support Fund in Lithuania. These associations promote the idea of youth volunteering, North-South collaboration, cultural exchange and community development.
If you want more information on "Hemispheres", please contact us
This project is conducted with funding from the European Union.
