Wings for You(th) - my newly acquired wings

The event passed over in a flash and the participants parted ways, coming home to their countries, returning to their daily lives again. But the memories of the time they experienced together, the knowledge the acquired during their stays, the people they met will always stay deep inside their memories. They will remember that they took part in a project named The Wings for You(th).

Wings for You(th) was an event organized thanks to the collaboration of numerous NGOs from different countries. It was financed by the European Union through the program Erasmus+. Their objective was to promote informal education, international cooperation and to raise awareness of cultural and social diversity. The project took place in Onesti, Romania, where 29 participants from 5 partner countries met and spent 10 days together, from the 10^th April until the 20^th April, doing various workshops and activities together.

Like other similar events, there were a lot of first time participants who weren't sure what to expect from Wings for You(th). Some of the participants spoke little to none English, so at the beginning there was a little of pessimism alluring the air, but that changed really quickly after they got to know each other. The early prejudice dissipated, being replaced by great understanding and acceptance. The former strangers quickly became best of friends.

The events' program was very diverse and helped the participants overcome their fear which they had at the time they arrived in the city. Starting by brainstorming activities, where they built a better understanding of themselves, to interviews with numerous guests, visiting places with problematic characters, where they absorbed new stories of various social individuals that weren't usual to them, finishing by putting themselves in the shoes of the excluded ones by playing roles where they were forced to limit themselves, not using some of the abilities they normally use every day. Every days' activities ended with an intercultural night, where participants learned new things about other cultures.

It was an unforgettable experience seeing so many inspiring personalities at one place. Even more motivational was to see their growth during the project, as some of the participants, who at the beginning weren't able to communicate in English at all, slowly opened themselves up to others and started to clumsily, but cutely, sharing stories with others. They did all of it with a smile.

But everything good has to end someday. The participants are back in our own countries. Remembering about the good time they had with certain persons, wishing that they could be more in contact, wishing that they could turn back time, not to change things, but to experience it twice. The only thing they can do now is to share the story to the world. Let it be known that all these people live in the same world as they are. Tell them that they befriended them, loved them and miss them. Tell them that if they want to change something, they have to start by changing themselves and the way they act toward other people, because that is the best way all of us can erase prejudice, exclusion and make the world a better place.

„Don't be sad that it ended, be happy that it happened. "

Autor: David Truong, účastník projektu Wings for You(th)

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