13th – 22nd of April 2018
Busteni, Romania
Training Course
This 10-days training course was organized by Casa de Povo de Camara de Lobos in cooparation with Asociatia A.R.T Fusion and funded by Erasmus+. The initial phase of this project took place in Madeira, Portugal in November 2017.
The main aim of this program was Global Education and the promotion of an environment friendly global and individual consciousness. In this second phase, youth workers, facilitators and individuals active in matters of global education and human rights from Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia and Romania came together in Busteni, Romania, an amazing place in the heart of the Carpathian Mountains.
Day 1 was an introduction day, with activities including getting to know the other participants, team bonding, sharing, ‘’I stand for’’ and the creation of reflection groups. Reflection groups remained the same throughout the duration of the project and every day at the end of the training session each group did just that – reflect and discuss about the daily training and activities.
Our staying in the specific place amidst an amazing forest which is a well-known winter and hiking resort, and a bear habitat (to our disappointment we didn’t not see any bears) meant that there was no easy access to the town. A fact that made us bond further, we all spent our evenings together; some working on their personal projects, others playing table games, or simply chilling out listening to music and getting to know each other.
One of the most creative activities of the training was the ‘Front Page’. A project in which we divided into groups and we had to create the front page of a newspaper and choose topics from a global or local community to portray in that front page. Another very creative activity was learning how to ‘promote’ global education and sustainability by making funny GIFs. In the morning of Day 6, again divided into groups, we went outside to take photos of examples of Sustainable or not sustainable behavior in our surroundings. A particular eye-opener was watching the documentary ‘The shady side of Chocolate’ on the exploitation of children and child labour in African countries by the Chocolate industry and key industry players.
Intercultural night happened in the early days of our stay in Busteni and it was a really fun night, getting to know each others’ cultures, cuisine and trying our dancing skills. During our program we also had a free afternoon so some of us visited the famous city of Brasov while others opted to see the city of Sinaia and the Peles and Pelesor Castles. On Saturday, our last evening in Busteni we decided to have a bond fire so we all helped to set both the fire and a small feast. The atmosphere under the evening sky, the bond fire, the singing, the stories sharing till late was such a special moment even the cold could not deter us.
Each and every one of us came to Busteni, this amazing place from various places around Europe and having a different story. We were able to able to exchange, debate and why not , even disagree on some topics. And it was truly an amazing experience. I personally will savour all the beautiful moments I shared and the memories I created.
