Initiative youth from Denmark, Ukraine, Italy, Poland, Georgia, Jordan, Turkey, France and Greece raised their level of awareness of the ever-present topic – the problems of displaced persons/migrants and internally displaced persons. Participants from different European countries shared their own experience of population migration to other countries and discussed the problems they had to face in the new environment.
Student of group 401-HF majoring in 035 “Philology” of the Faculty of Philology, Psychology and Pedagogy of the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” Svitlana Kis visited the capital of Denmark for the second time and became an active participant of the youth exchange under the Erasmus+ programme “Bridging the needs of RefuNEETs”, which took place during July 5-17, 2022 in Store Klaus (Denmark).
The youth exchange took place within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme, which is implemented by the Copenhagen Youth Network organization together with Youth for Society (Georgia) as well as partner organizations from European countries and beyond with the financial support of the European Commission.
The main tasks of the exchange were to provide the participants with the opportunity to share information about the refugee and migration problem in their countries, as well as their own experience of changing their country of residence and the reasons that led to such a decision, to learn to empathize with the difficult situations that refugees/migrants have to face in everyday life. An equally important goal of the project was to strengthen the intercultural dialogue among the participants who came from different parts of the world.
“The proposed topic of the project allowed participants to broaden their horizons and show greater interest in the problem of refugees and migration, to understand the difficulties that prevent people in a new country from finding themselves and having the right to fully live on an equal footing with other citizens. Thanks to the fruitful work of our facilitators and the well-prepared sessions of the participating countries, we had the opportunity to experience for ourselves what it is like to be in the shoes of a person trying to get to another country in search of a better and safer life, as well as to be in the role of fate makers – employees of the border service, who make the decision to grant permission to enter the country or not. This type of activity forced us to look at this situation in a completely different way and to resort to deep thinking,” – commented exchange participant Svitlana Kis.
The project program was rich and intensive, every day the participants had at least 3 sessions lasting from one to two hours, during which they discussed the topic of the project, learned team building and time management, held debates, practiced oratorical skills and the ability to defend one’s position. An important role was also played by the 8 Key Competences for lifelong learning (digital, multilingual, literacy, cultural awareness&express, entrepreneurship, citizenship, personal social&learning and STEM), which were used by the participants during the entire time on the project.
“According to the organizers, this youth exchange reached a completely new level for them, since it was the longest, largest and most diverse in their entire practice. More than 35 participants from 9 countries gathered in one scout house somewhere on the outskirts of Copenhagen with the goal of becoming one big and friendly family for the next 12 days. And it really was so.
Our adventures began as soon as we arrived at the airport, because we were not informed about the final point of arrival until the last moment and had to get to the project site on our own. It was long and difficult for some, fun and laughable for others, but the goal was achieved. We also had two outing days – to the forest and to the lake, where, divided into teams, we went through tasks together: took creative photos; searched the forest for water bottles with our eyes closed and tied with each other, unable to communicate and only trusting each other and the person guiding us; made skis and ships to cross the distance, and tried to be flexible to help each other and climb over the net together without touching it in order to win. A day in Copenhagen is already a tradition. The weather was on our side, so the day passed not only beautifully, but also with benefit, since we visited Red Cross Copenhagen – Røde Kors Hovedstaden, where we listened to lectures from the center’s employees about the general principles and directions of the work of the Red Cross, and how they help Ukrainians in Denmark during the war. In addition, we had the opportunity to explore the museum on the territory of the center and ask questions that interested us.
Erasmus+ international academic mobility programs are a unique opportunity not only to deepen your knowledge of the English language, but also to gain new skills, broaden your horizons, gain new experience, get to know European values and make friends from all over the world. I am extremely grateful to our facilitators for their incredible organization and dedication to their work, as well as to CYN for the opportunity to return to Store Klaus and relive these incredible emotions. I also express my sincere gratitude to the Ukrainian NGO “Development and Initiative” and personally to the project coordinator, Kateryna Priazhnikova, for the opportunity to develop and improve my own knowledge, develop practical skills within the framework of Erasmus+ competencies. I want to personally thank my teacher – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate professor of the Department of Germanic Philology and Translation of the Poltava Polytechnic Anna Pavelieva, who every day encourages our student youth not to be afraid and to try their hand, and who at one time supported me and helped me submit an application for my first project, which turned out to be a great success for me, as I return again and again to a place where they already know me and are waiting for me!
Never doubt yourself and always try something new! After all, some moments of life are forever etched in our memory and inspire us to move on!” – shared Svitlana Kis.
Earlier, Polytechnic scientists presented a start-up project at a hackathon for young scientists, the head of the Council of Young Scientists of the Faculty of Philology, Psychology and Pedagogy took part in a webinar from Erasmus+ Community dedicated to higher education in Ukraine in wartime conditions, translation students took part in an intensive summer language platform, Polytechnic scientist underwent training under the “Active Citizens” program from the British Council in Ukraine, and a student translator took part in the Erasmus+ project dedicated to cultural diversity.
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National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
