Note

I facilitated a seminar on HIV/AIDS in school for 14 y.o. youngsters. It felt like they were 20 instead of 10.

Youthwork Realities in Belarus

Retrospective, episode 1. Remembering May...

As you know, my trip home didn't do my studies any good. I wasn't reinstated and I didn't finish the thesis. But on my return I was awaited by something, to my mind, grand. A study visit to Belarus from EU in the framework of "Youth in Action" program.

To my knowledge this event - "Youthwork realities in Belarus" - was in preparation for a long time. Reaching agreements with SALTO and local authorities... But it really happened - youth workers from EU, representatives of european NGOs, EU governmental structures and structures of "Youth in Action" for 5 days could enjoy to the fullest that, which I see every day.

This event gathered participants from Poland, Belgium, France, Lithuania, Denmark, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland, Great Britain... It was pretty much all of EU.

5.05.09
Day 1

The program was pretty intense. The first day was dedicated to arrivals, hotel check-ins and getting to know each other


6.05.09
Day 2

The second day started with a visit to Department of Youth Affairs. To my mind, the view of 30 foreigners going up the square by the House of Officers is already a magnificent sight.


At the round table with synchronized translation participants had the opportunity to hear the department's representatives and ask questions.


Second part of the day was devoted to meetings with NGOs of Minsk, who also could present their activities and answer questions.


The evening was an intercultural dinner, open to guests from different organizations, where participants and social activists of Minsk could socialize in non-formal atmosphere.

7.05.09
Day 3

The next day delegations set out to visit Hospice, SOS-kinderdorf and other organizations active in work with children and youth.


8.05.09
Day 4

Was a trip to Hrodno, meeting with local activists and relaxation with non-formal communication.


9.05.09
Day 5

Summing up.


CDs with photos.


Free day and a dinner together.


And going home.

From my side I can say this was an out of the ordinary event, which gave a real opportunity for NGO-workers from Belarus and EU to communicate and get to know at least something about each other. Whether it will bear fruit only time will tell, but I'm glad I could be a part of this.

New season

So I've spent the whole summer busy with events and all of September getting my photos recycled. In a short while I'll catch up on the informational part. So coming soon...

• Study visit of EU youth workers to Belarus
  
• Outdoor camp with people with disabilities
  
• Guides' camp on the Braslav lakes
  
• Summer university of UNESCO clubs

...and much more.

Meanwhile have a look at the updated photo album.

In the field

First experience was interesting and fruitful. In pair with an experienced trainer we facilitated an activity on HIV/AIDS for 16 y.o. to-be-construction-workers. As it seemed there's no discipline whatsoever, laughs and jokes all the way, but the youngsters got interested. Altogether I'm pleased.

I've got to be a little faster - I'm calmly laying out the material, whereas the guys are young, with boiling blood, ready to act. That's where I keep losing them.

Well, going to work on. Just need to go home, get a new visa, help to organize a study visit from EU to Belarus...

STDs and other adventures

Fialta did a big job in the sphere of youth reproductive health. Non-formal seminars on sexually transmitted diseases and drug abuse are still popular, though the last project ended about a year ago. Schools are calling, asking to facilitate.

One-and-a-half hours long seminars are good not just to pass the information to participants, but they also make a great school for the facilitators. The theme is practical enough, but the circumstances tend to be stressful - school classes, pre-formed group, questionable organization and so on. Quite the excitement, I reckon. I can't wait! >:)

Last Sunday I passed a light 4-hour training on STDs with volunteer camp leaders. Usually facilitators for Fialta's seminars are being prepared via 2-day training courses, but they made an exception for me. I think I'll get the hang of it, I'm not a total newbie. On Monday I'll get an improvised test and on Friday I have first field experience. Not nervous, but I consider this kind of important.

* * *

Intercultural learning is working in strange ways. The fact that I speak great Russian is making most of the people confused about how deep I am in the context, about what I understand and mostly they consider that I don't need any extra help or information. This leads to two interesting moments:

1. there are many things everyone knows, but I don't. So I have to ask and insist on explanations.
2. when going deeper into some theme I see that my theory and experience differs from common. Sometimes I can offer another point of view, but I have to overcome the "current".

So basically, on the Johari window I'm walking from "blind" to "hidden".


Guess were I speaking latvian, environment would react differently, would be more obsessive and explain a lot. On the other hand I wouldn't fit in this quick. But this feeling, when you think you know what to do and how, but in practice it turns out you lose something completely primitive were you in the context. *Sigh* :)

School of educators

I spent the weekend in Hrodna at a training for leaders of educational circles, organized by the Organization of Civil Education.

They have an idea to integrate an interesting form of non-formal education for adults - educational circles. This form was borrowed from Sweden, where these circles are popular. The idea is to research a certain theme over a number of meetings (5-15 about 3 hours each) in a direction the group is interested in. The group is up to 12 participants, from which everyone is making an input to the learning process. And all this based on the principles of non-formal education.

The training was the first part of a large project. It was just to investigate the concept of the circle. Next we'll have a thematic seminar (6 different themes in different cities across Belarus) and a methodological, after which we'll be able to organize our own learning circle.



I can't really say how effective this form is in this concrete context. Guess time will tell.

A visit to "Zubrenok"

On Sunday I didn't pass an opportunity to visit the most popular children camp in Belarus - "Zubrenok".
Camp administration invited different youth organizations to do small master-classes, present themselves and discuss further partnership.



The camp is situated on the bank of Naroch, the biggest lake in Belarus. Whole year through the camp takes in children of different ages for health and vacation programs.

They say the camp wasn't very good till some time ago, but improved much during last few years it was thoroughly renovated. Looks very appealing, 4 beds in a room, computer classes and stuff.

The atmosphere is very "campish". When entering a room children greet you on count of 3-4 with a loud "Good day!" all together.
Children are all smart and intelligent (the stay at camp is not a cheap one, 990 000 belarussian rubles for a summer session). The timetable is quite full, there's a lot of different activities, which makes children want a rest back home after such a surge of information and impressions. The camp serviced 13 600 children in 2008 or 167160 children-days.

We made a few simple getting-to-know and team-building exercises with the children, made a small reflection, as much as it was possible, and went on to the round table to meet the administration.
There were representatives of big youth organizations - pioneers, union of youth, the scouts, the guides, Association of UNESCO clubs, League of Youth Voluntary Service, Fialta (our organization) and others.
Mainly we discussed partnership possibilities with the camp, organization of some activities, inviting of volunteers and such.

After the round table we had an opportunity to present our organizations to the wide camp audience. Children were listening and asking questions, which is peculiar. I wouldn't sit through half the presentations in their age.

And that was the end of our visit, which overall left strong impressions.
Children walking in pairs with camp leaders, waking up and doing things strictly on schedule, greeting guests with a common yell, discipline, solitude...
Well yeah, "Land of Childhood", why not?

Qualification

I spent the most of today at a training course, learning how to improve quality of projects, supported by the CCF (Christian Children's Fund, as I understand one of a few foundations represented to Belarus).



I've had experience with "Youth in Action" as a project coordinator and this is a completely different experience for me. More strict, more to the lines and more... Sysytematic, I guess. They don't think about European dimensions, but they go for what Services which Clients receive, they have Indicators of reaching objectives which have Numbers. Which must have Numbers - the only way you can measure and monitor is through numbers...

I was sitting there like a happy piglet with a bag of balloons - at last something systematic! Someone really analyzes numbers and finds calculable criteria! It's exactly what my built-for-maths-and-systems brain can handle and work with!

But... Giving it some thought, there is something missing there. Exactly what was missing in the IT sphere - attitudes or values. Something that you can't measure, but really miss when it's not there.

When I write to YiA I talk about how I work, my approach and understanding.
When I write to CCF I talk about what I'll do and when, what results I'll have.
That's the difference I see right now.

Birthday

Yesterday Fialta has officially gone a 14 year old teenager.

Only senior members, who know the organisation for some years, remember Fialta's founders. So everyone is sitting quietly listening to great stories.
And watching presentations.

Story of a city (ru)

Fialta's citizens (ru)

The photos are 3 to 14 years old.

First work

On Sunday I had first working experience with local youngsters. There's a problem about participant shortage, the same as in Latvia.

We had youngsters from orphanages (for children and young people), who were a very interesting group. In theory I know that a group with developed relationships is hard to work with in the beginning, but it didn't seem that bad.

Meeting

The event was for 3 hours, in which we gave them different tasks and a little competition.

We didn't expect to get much output from them, but nonetheless some of their conclusions were quite interesting.