Connect and Respect

Connect and Respect

Thanks to our sending organization, Youthfully Yours, which provided us with this remarkable opportunity, we, a group of six gathered from all over Slovakia, embarked on this unforgettable journey to the picturesque Romanian town of Vatra Dornei, ready to gain new experiences, meet peers from other countries (Spain, Romania, Greece, United Kingdom, Belgium), face challenges with determination, and most importantly, learn to pass on what we learned so that our participation would pay off and positively impact our surroundings. And it must be said that in this regard, we were far from disappointed on the way back. The project was organized by the UK-based organization United Youth for Educational Development in cooperation with the host organization Do Great Things Association with the amazing Catalina and Dumitru, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for enduring all our antics.

Some of us were already veterans of similar projects, while others were just inexperienced rookies and didn't know what to expect. We first met in the arrivals hall at Cluj Airport, but we immediately hit it off, and this connection lasted throughout. It was fun to realize that despite one of the goals being to get to know other cultures, we also learned a lot about our own, as each of us brought something unique to the table.

Memories we will surely cherish forever include the 4-hour overnight bus ride to Vatra Dornei, playing table tennis in the snow, overeating delicious Romanian delicacies, falling down ice-covered stairs, karaoke nights, skiing, cultural evenings, and many more.

The theme of the project (and its title) was Connect and Respect, where we looked at areas that still need improvement, concerning inclusion and anti-discrimination efforts, such as multicultural environments, religion, disability, and the like. The activities and workshops focused on our ability to recognize problems, find solutions, and then act upon them. Emphasis was placed on the problems related to discrimination and exclusion that each participating country faced, and how approaches could be improved, as well as on directly eliminating intercultural stereotypes through mutual interaction, whether outside the official program or through discussions, games, artistic performances, and other creative expressions that helped deepen mutual respect, understanding, and connection. We consider our own TED talks, cultural representation through theater, video and brochure creation, open discussions, and debate competitions to be some of the best and most beneficial activities.

It should be noted that not only did we strengthen soft skills such as expressing opinions, listening, cooperation, and assertiveness, but we also had the opportunity to try things that might have been completely foreign to us before, such as video editing and filming, working with graphic programs, or acting. What greatly encouraged us was that despite Catalina and Dumitru being in charge of scheduling activities, we were essentially given a free hand and could take the initiative regarding details, which motivated us to actively participate in creating the program.

In addition to discovering what a beautiful, rich, and interesting country Romania is, which, by the way, convinced us to visit it again as soon as possible, we learned to appreciate the opportunities that our European community bestows upon us, and we found an inner urge to give something back, whether through volunteering, sharing our experiences and knowledge, educating our peers at home, or seeking constantly new projects of a similar nature. We grow and learn not for purely egoistic purposes and not just for knowledge itself, but to utilize the acquired experience to make our world more tolerant, understanding, welcoming, and open to those who often feel, and indeed are, alienated and abandoned. Now, more than ever, we must seek unity and solidarity above all else.