How Youth Embrace can serve each of us, both participants and key project leaders? Creating a place, where you can put your ideas into practice, build a team and overall change yourself.
My path begins with fulfillment of the values and global changes which SIDA propagates in the young thirsty environment. First of all, it is an awareness of the common interest, at all local, national and international levels: the idea of unity helps to understand each individual’s role in the creation of a stable civil society. This project has given me a sense of responsibility for activities in my community, the ability to encourage social development, and support the initiatives of town’s inhabitants.
The next value for me is expressed in the idea of equality, similarity and essential human solidarity. Those were present in the first meetings and remained throughout the annual cycle of the project. The aspiration to find like-minded people is combined with the striving to learn a new culture, bring new insights into life and start new habits. On the other hand, youth exchanges demonstrate that we are in the same boat dealing with similar problems, experiencing similar emotions, and hence we can find similar solutions. Equality is crucial to our growth, it represents an understanding who we are and why we are. Youth Embrace highly describes and incorporates social integration, tolerance and important empathy skills for the construction of a modern society in Ukraine and Belarus. Yet during the meetings and group work of the project was perceived the third value – pluralism of thoughts, respect for human dignity, their views, judgments, and emotions.
It seems that SIDA becomes one of the great communication bridges that creates tools for exchanging experience, aspirations, expectations of whole organizational team, from a key leader to volunteers, caring and interested people. Fundamental values initiate goals and help me become more accurate making own decisions during implementation of my projects. Here is why ideas and principles are roots of the matter, therefore our first sprouts are self-development, management of real life situations and challenges.
The School of Critical Thinking and Media Literacy made me face many complex issues: communication crisis, promotional campaign, financial planning to name a few. It turned out for the better, as the first experience became a great opportunity to try your own strength, test your team and prepare yourself for new and more complex accomplishments. The big project Youth Embrace appeared just in time. As a result, more than a thousand interested people and the first hundred active listeners took part in my project. I call it one of the most important life skills – looking for a solution, paying attention to alternatives and, finally, making a decision.
An actual step in local project like this is the organization of a young environment that is ready to learn and use the acquired skills and strengthen it both within the community and individually working or volunteering. Once again we proved that walls of misunderstanding can be destroyed by wonderful people, outstanding talents, hearts and minds which I was blessed to meet. The project managed to consolidate active and persistent leaders and create both fun and learning atmosphere.
I want to express gratitude for quite a year to all organizations, key leaders, coordinators and trainers and I would be honored to see you again in the new 2019. Apparently, we are a work in progress and we`re not going to stop. The strategy is simple: to make organization self-sufficient and independent, decrease youth unemployment and expand local Y-residence into enticing hostel and luxurious gallery. We believe in achieving these goals as much as we believe in our own potential and your support.
Let’s change the society, let’s change ourselves with the Youth Embrace Project!
Change society – change yourself, together with Youth Embrace Project!