On the 30th and 31st of March 2022, Brussels became an international hub for a myriad of wonderful projects supported by the DEAR (Development, education and awareness-raising) programme run by the European Commission. The DEAR Learning and Development Hub on the topic of youth engagement and peer learning was a first of its kind event for the DEAR projects, the first opportunity for all of us to meet, get inspired, network and share good practices. And even though we only had two days, I believe we got the most out of it.
During the first day, we focused on introducing and discussing the key concepts of the hub – peer learning and youth engagement. We worked in small groups and everyone got the opportunity to share the experience of their project. Each project was meant to be represented also by the young people involved in the project, together with the coordinators, which I consider a thoughtful idea, given the topic of the hub. Even though I’m not completely sure this was the case for all projects, Game on!, on the other hand, put their representatives – me and Egle from Lithuania, forward with full confidence :).
After an informal dinner, we were all invited for an honesty night, which was an amazing opportunity to share some difficulties and support each other. Everyone was sharing various challenges, but the biggest one of all, common to almost everyone, was clear – how to keep the motivation and how to properly handle meaningful youth engagement? How do reach not only the already active youth but also the quiet bystanders? How to support them, motivate them, encourage them? As one could expect, we haven’t found a clear answer and instant solution, but I personally find the fact that this is even talked about, a step in a good direction. The atmosphere of dedication and willpower to encourage meaningful youth engagement was tangible, and, for me personally, very comforting.
The second day was more practical and we attended two wonderful workshops. Jorge and Desiree from Youth Peace Ambassadors Network presented their organization and good practices and managed to engage us in a really creative way. The workshop by Youth Bank International founder Vernon Ringland was, without a doubt, one of the best workshops I’ve ever attended! We got into a simulated environment of money and fundraising, and we were supposed to take, give, exchange… anything was allowed, but only in silence. Not being able to share your idea of how to handle the money with others got harder than it initially seemed, and so I ended up with nothing left. In the end, we all chose one little project that got supported by the real money we were playing with. Dimitris from Cyprus will buy brushes and paints for the local immigrants to give them an opportunity to express themselves differently.
Later, it was our time to shine! We got into groups of 5 and the whole room of more than 30 people started playing our Terra Futura board game. It was great to play it with so many people, and listen to their opinions and remarks. On top of all that I mentioned already, the best thing about the event was the opportunity to meet Game On! people from other countries and to get to know each other a bit better before our big meeting during the first international Wilderness Camp in Šumava National Park, Czech Republic in August. See you there!
Petra Novotná, Young Ambassador, Na mysli
