21st – 30th September 2018
Hollókő, Hungary
Youth Exchange
“Speak Up: Communicate Effectively” was an experiential Learning Youth Program , developed and implemented by “Egyesek Youth Assosiation”. It took place in the UNESCO World Heritage village Holloko, in Hungary between the 21 st and the 30 th of September 2018. 27 participants from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic and Hungary lived together in a peaceful and productive environment.
Since the moment we stepped on the bus to Holloko we had the feeling that the right people were heading to the right place at the right time. And we were proven totally right. Each one of us had something to offer to enhance the learning process of each other. And that’s how 8 days can fly by so quickly. Mixed feelings are getting the better of us in these times. Unfortunately, it took us a long time to understand what effective and affective commu
nication really is. All of us used to think that having a meaningful conversation is the easiest thing to do. We were so wrong as it seems.
Using methodology which included Body Expression and Movements, Challenged Based methods, Nature-Based methods and Compassionate Communication among others, we explored the endless possibilities of communication between individuals. Without our Plant Based diet and the hungriness we faced because of that (Raphael the most) our experience could not be completed. With the participants of this project we connected using non-verbal communication through activities that involved visual elements, dance and music. Through these, we explored body language which expresses much more than verbal exchanging of words.
The location of the project allowed for an exchange of experiences through the nature and thanks to our Trainers Bob, Jordan, Hanny and Mel and the dynamics they created in the group we had a mesmerising experience like no other, especially due to connections within the group created outside the official schedule. At this moment I would like to thank the Team of the Facilitators, our organiser Kostas, the President of our NGO “PlanBE, Plan it, Be it” Maria Drakou and each and everyone of the participants for their contribution in the successful completion of these experience. It is a fact and not an assumption that the experience we had in the Middle of the Hungarian NoWhereness (AKA Holloko) will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
Click the link to watch the video of the Project : https://goo.gl/i3oTyS
