36 people from 6 countries met from 22nd to 31st
of July in Zakopane, the mountain capital of Poland, to learn more about
languages and journalism in a non-formal way. The project was definitely
worthwhile as in only a matter of days we evolved from complete strangers who
didn’t know each other’s names to one big family where trust was the core
value.
The experience was aimed to teach us to be creative, open-minded,
tolerant and brave and we are the proof that it met its goal.
One of the highlights of the project was the diversity of
activities, which were always captivating and suitable for every kind of
learner and for every inclination. The activities included working in teams to
create written materials or interviews, exercises in order to understand the
other languages and cultures and debates that generated many interesting ideas.
Therefore, each of us perceived the project differently while facing various
challenges and obstacles.
Weronika, 21, Poland: This was my first project and I was really surprised how well
organised it was. I’ve met amazing people who were very intelligent and
together, we had fun all the time. I can’t remember the last time when I
laughed for so long in such a short period of time. I learnt that despite the fact we come from
completely different cultures, we have many common opinions and problems which
are typical for our generation. Moreover, it was my first contact with
non-formal education which is very different from Polish educational system. In
the end, I think that the project was a perfect training before my Erasmus
semester abroad regarding the practice of English and the understanding of
multiculturalism.
Laura, 18, Romania: My biggest challenge was to face my comfort zone without even
knowing its’ limits. I learnt during these days to trust other people more, to
be more tolerant and to abandon some prejudices. At the same time, I faced the
unknown which consisted of speaking languages different from the Latin-based
ones and I experienced living and working in an international context, two
aspects which will help me a lot as I will soon start studying abroad.
Carlos, 22, Spain: This was the first time I have participated in a project like this
and I was very happy to be there because we could exchange a lot of ideas, work
in teams and grow up together. These types of activities were the best way to get
to know a lot of new things about different cultures. In addition, you could
improve your English talking with others and you could also practice other
languages like Italian or even Polish. The best thing was that throughout all
of those moments you encountered funny challenges.
Serena, 19, Italy: I have to be honest: before leaving my country I was very scared,
because I didn't know what could happen to me during these days. I'm happy to
say now that the project helped me a lot to overcome my fears and to break my
barriers. Through this I understood that I really can do what I would like to
do and I can be what I would like to be. Challenges made me understand that
it’s not productive to be always in our comfort zone: we have to discover the
world, even if it can be scary. I'm changing, I'm learning and I'm growing up,
and I will use what I learnt in the project during my everyday life to face
challenges always using my motivation and my determination.
Sara, 26, Croatia: My wish was to learn more about journalism and teamwork. I have some
experience in working with international groups, but each time it is a new
challenge to work with people from different countries, cultures and
backgrounds. Also it was amazing to see a group of individualists working on a
joined project and although we did not like the idea at the beginning and we
wanted to do it by ourselves, in the end we had a lot of fun together and
helped each other. This experience taught me a lot about myself, as well - how
I work in a group, the importance of challenging myself in order to grow, what
I want to focus on in my future career and that I should express my feelings
and be sincere to manage conflicts better.
Dominika, 18, Slovakia: Well, first of all, it was unexpected for me, although it was my
fourth Youth Exchange. Someone can think that when you participate so many
times, it could get boring. But trust me, it was not at all! I met amazing
people here, got knowledge about other countries, their culture, traditions and
food and made memories for ever. Argh, this is cliché. Let´s go deeper! Passing
through different activities I have learnt how to leave my comfort zone without
screaming and running away, how to speak in public and how to express myself. Also,
I got to know how to organize my ideas to make sense. As the name of the
project indicated, I had a chance to try speaking in “many (for me foreign)
languages”. To tell the truth, it wasn´t only about gaining information: we had
a lot of fun together and living in diversity broke prejudices in our minds. I
would also like to say thanks to everyone who made this project unforgettable.
So, to sum it up, it was one big fun adventurous 10-days´ challenge where we
learnt, spoke, dance and wrote articles a lot. Oh, and I can´t forget to
mention: we learnt that there are more ways of preparing potatoes, not just
fried, mashed and baked :D.
Măriuca, 20, Romania: The challenge I encountered was working in teams with people from
other five countries and learning how to have patience and attention for every
idea as everybody had an interesting perspective about everything. I also found
out more about journalism: how to write an article, how to recognize various
types of written materials and how to collaborate efficiently. In the future, I
would like to use everything I have learnt in my organization, especially in
workshops and also in the camp where I am a volunteer, working with children
and teenagers. I hope that in the future I will also use the new words that I
have learnt in different languages when I will go to their country of origin.
We also interviewed organizers to see what challenges they faced
during the project.
Marcin thought that the most challenging aspect was to combine all
ideas of the participants, to turn them into reality and to avoid forcing
points of view. He said that even though we come from different cultures, there
was at least a small will of acting together and that we achieved great
results. Marcin will apply the experienced gained in this project by giving
participants more space and by trying to combine Southern and Northern countries
to confront cultures, points of view, languages, etc. All in all, he liked the
outcomes of the project very much and he was satisfied because everyone looked
happy and at the same time each daily evaluation showed that we learnt a lot
from each other.
Aleksandra said that the project itself was the biggest challenge.
Although she participated in similar projects and helped in some, this time she
had a role of an organizer for the first time. Since she was leading the
workshops, she felt more responsible and it was hard to predict the final
results because they strongly depended on participants. In such environment, a
foreign language can be a barrier, because sometimes it is hard to express
ourselves in the way we want. The important thing is that she learnt a lot from
this experience. Most importantly, she realized that she was capable of
performing her work on a high level and the positive feedback gave her even
more energy. Additionally, she realized the importance of dealing with other
people's opinion and reacting quickly in a right way. Now she feels more
confident and knows that if she really wants something, it can happen.
Creativity is limitless and people can do a lot from just a hint. Outcomes are
very satisfying, but at the same time surprising because she has never seen
anybody giving up or a person that has refused to participate in the activity.
To see the change happening in the participants, made her realize that they, as
organizers, did their job well.
“Many languages of journalism” can be regarded as a successful
event, which was full of fun, debates and challenges. It showed us that you do
not have to study journalism to make an interview or write quite a good
article. Meanwhile, the word “boring” did not exist. In the end, it was an opportunity
to learn in an untypical way, so nothing better could have brought us together
this summer!
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