Well, I don't want to repeat anything that Andre and Kim have already written, it would make this a very boring read. However, I would like to agree with everything that they have said about the YMCA EU Youth Politics Seminar.
I cannot think of a better place to hold such a seminar. With Berlin's tormented political history, determined by external countries it showed everything we were learning, if you don't use your voice then nothing will change. The Berliners used theirs for change, now it is time for the YMCA to use ours for the young people that we support.
It was a mind blowing couple of days with an intense programme about EU politics and in particular, EU Youth Politics. If I learnt anything, it is that politicians like their acronyms; INGYOs, NGYOs, CoE, EVS, NYC, etc. There are loads, all of which give the YMCA (look, another acronym) the arena to have a voice and impact on the decision making process on a local, national and European level.
Do you know who sits on your local Youth Parliament? Do you know ways in which you can have your voice heard on a political platform? Do you know how the YMCA feeds into the National Youth Council? If not, and you want to have the young people's voice heard, I would urge you to find out. We, as the YMCA, have a powerful voice and we should use it!
As already mentioned, this is my second international experience with the YMCA and it just shows how big we are as an organisation, both experiences were fantastic and both extremely different.
Thank you to Ken and Tees Valley YMCA for sending me, thank you to the "trainers", Gerard, Pablo and Cees, thank you to YMCA Germany for doing a fantastic job of hosting us all and finally thank you to all of the fantastic participants, I learnt so much from you all and you made the trip a VERY enjoyable one! It really is fun to stay at the YMCA!
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