Study visit to Ukraine

Hello everyone.

So this is my first blog post and I guarantee, I'm going to post more blog pieces than Cookie has. So study visit to Ukraine? How quick it's all happened, hit me yesterday when my colleague Sarah, (who came in yesterday after a two week stay in Mexico. They say a week is a long time in politics, in the YMCA youth world, two weeks is a very long time). I explained to her, she'd have to take my place at the Enough IF event in London next weekend (Hi Y-Care team *waving*) as I was off to Ukraine. It's truly been a whirlwind.

How I ended up on this trip is down to Adrian Davies, recommending me for the trip to Ken. I was aware that my BFF Beth Mather was going, I'm thrilled to attend the trip with everyone, but it's nice to have a familiar face there as well.

So the past two weeks have been a blur of youth work, Wrestling competitions and organising the trips to London for Enough IF, the As One festival and Cycling events in Bolton. So it's exciting stuff for us here at Bolton. If it all goes well, then it'll be sumfin sumfin.

On top of my work with Bolton, there has been the impending trip to Ukraine. I was asked if I was excited to go yesterday. I replied "No, not really". I've not really had a chance to think about it all, until today when it hit me. I'm going to the Ukraine tomorrow (Woop Woop) and I'm going to learn a lot, and hopefully Beth and I can bring a lot of what we learn out there back to Bolton. So, no grumpiness is allowed in Ukraine and I'm packed and ready to go.

I'll see you guys on the other side

Chau Gareth

Barnsley goes to Belfast

Looks like a very busy weekend is kicking off. Group of young people from Barnsley off to Belfast to check out what the YMCA is doing there. This visit is a direct result of a group of young volunteers going on a Global Link visit earlier and the young person from Barnsley going home determind to take a group of young people from her YMCA on a similar visit, she raised £2000 to make this happen, Well done to Alex Taylor. They have set up their own blog to we will post their link here while they experience Ireland http://www.barnsleyymca.blogspot.co.uk/

Then under the YMCA Global LInk Programme;
Tomorrow sees nine people from the YMCA in Northumberland, Bolton, Norfolk and West London heading off to Ukraine on a Study visit to explore how the YMCA runs programmes in rural settings. This is funded through the European Youth in Action Programme and they will be joined by YMCA peers from Moldova, belarus and Ukraine.

So we are hopeing for lots af posts on the blog from across Europe during the next week.

Also the rumour that we might even get another post from one Mr Ian Cook who is working as a volunteer in France!

Busy programme and my contribution

It is getting close and exciting! On Saturday morning I will be meeting for the first time with other 8 YMCA reps from England at Heathrow at 7 am (a bit early as have to get up at 5 am to make that time from South London! Grrr... note to Ken - be kind to us next time). Our travel to Kiev and onwards to Donetsk is going to take a whole day so by the time we arrive - we all will be exhausted.

In Donetsk we will be joined by reps from Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. My impression is that we seem to have an interesting group judged by snipets of information I have been getting from group emails and these blogs. Young and Mature, Experienced in international events and Not so, Russian speakers (me included) and Non Russian speakers, but all eager to get there and share our experiences.

The programme looks very busy. I will have my opportunity to contribute meaningfully after volunteering to co-present in the Project Management section with Rob. Hence I prepared a presentation to cover what West London YMCA, particualrly my project Ealing common all about. Particular focus will be on community fundraising and partnership working. Hopefully it will be interesting and useful for participants.

But before that I have a very busy day tomorrow in London with meetings, appraisal and piano bar event in the West End! Life is exciting!

Son's of England!

The phrase “local people… global impact” was once coined and used albeit at times tongue in cheek, but the events at the last GA could not have reinforced this statement more. For those of you unaware after 9 years in the English movement I packed up my gimmicks, games and pin badges and headed to Kosovo. Due to staff availability and time constraints I was asked to represent Kosovo at the General Assembly… in Manchester.

Now I was born roughly 30 minutes from Manchester in a town called Bolton, can you imagine my pride representing a country and National movement so close to where I lived for so long? It really was a homecoming! This was only topped by a young man that I worked with at Bolton YMCA turning up representing YMCA France!?!?!?!

So just to recap: 2 guys from Bolton, attending a European General Assembly in Manchester representing France and Kosovo respectively! 

In terms of conferences I have attended I feel the English YMCA really raised the bar in terms of hospitality and venue for YMCA conferences. Topped by an excellent English night with Bingo and a pub Quiz I was certainly proud to be a son of England. The ILP guys led an impressive tombola and a disco finished off the final night perfectly.

This year’s theme was around healthy living and I was particularly impressed with YMCA Canada’s presentation and take on the subject. Not every key note speaker was for me but the general feeling was it was a success. A new initiative this year was ‘table talks’ this was simply different tables with different subjects and if you wanted to debate, learn or share you went along to one. A personal favourite table talk for me was the YMCA of Montenegro presenting where they were up to, and I certainly understood some of the issues they face back home in Kosovo.

Personal highlights from the GA for me include spending time and understanding YES, sitting with the Lithuanian delegation at their first GA, taking a superb haul of pin badges (11) for a GA, spending time with friends from all over Europe, meeting a young man from Kosovo who was actually there with the Swedish movement and being inspired by change agents and young leaders.

The last thing I would like to say is that I was really inspired by my roommate Andre that week, most nights ended up in deep discussion and a shared passion to change how young people are viewed within YMCA Europe. To echo my friends words and something I said many time that week in YES and at the GA… we must stop referring to the ‘young’ guys (anyone under 30) as the future because as Juan showed in his presentation and as YES, GLYN, ILP and the change agent’s programmes are proving… 

 WE ARE THE NOW! 

Hi, my name is Beth and I'm 19 years old from Bolton, England. With this being the first blog post I have ever written I'm slightly unsure of what I'm doing, but here goes!
I have been given the brilliant opportunity to visit Ukraine for a week on a study visit whilst I am on my first year placement for Youth Work and Community Development at Bolton YMCA.
 This first blog is just an introduction to the study visit, and a comment on my thoughts and feelings towards it.
 Firstly, I am really really excited! Also feeling pretty blessed that I've been given the chance to experience something like this, especially considering I'm only on the first year of my course. I really can't wait to finally get out there and start learning about their community and the similarities and differences within the organisation in comparison to England.
 I'm also feeling quite nervous as i'm not fully sure what to expect! This is my first international trip with the YMCA (the first of many i hope!), as well as being my first time in Ukraine, so it will be really interesting for me to experience everything that will happen next week!

 As a last note, i would just like to say thank you to everyone involved with this trip and to the YMCA as an organisation for allowing me to experience something as amazing as this.

 YMCA, I owe you one!!!
Beth x

Good evening from Prague

Oh how a glass or two of wine helps ones reflections, been in Prague for just over 24 hours, I now know what the purchase prices of a Lime twister and a gallon of ketchup is. Feeling good about giving up full time employment building steam turbines to go to college for two years to learn how to do this :)Mind you that was before many of your were born, it was 1978. Just thinking what the world was like at that time. The wall was firmly in place that prevented many of who I now know and love as friends were kept separated, we were still murdering each other in my home land, Mandela was in prison, in England we were about to enter what has become known as the winter of discontent and I had discovered a world of opportunity, community and awakening.

Oh how my heart sings and inside I am dancing.

It's kind of funny when I think about what I try to do! The awakening I discovered was a movement called the YMCA. I believe that what I experienced and learned with the YMCA has effected me and helped me understand others and the situations that people live in here and now.

There is something fundamental about seeing others grow and thrive that actually builds me up as an individual.

In this I want to take a Hebrew word, shalom, this is about pursuing wholeness, and a quote, from where, I do not recall, 'seek the shalom (wholeness) of the city and in that pursuit you will find your own shalom (wholeness)'. Which brings me back to that obscenity that is a wall. In Belfast there are still what are called 'Peace Walls' and in the Middle East there is that monstrosity that cuts families and communities and individuals from association with each other. I experienced that recently while working in Jericho. The 'something' I see in young peoples eyes in England that are fully engaged in the YMCA, is exactly what I seen facing me,on the eyes of those young Palastinian people, looking into my eyes, they were eyes not of despair but those of youthfulness that said, I can do this... with a hand up... I can make this happen.

The last thing that comes to mind is nine folk from England who are heading to Ukraine this Friday to meet up with peers from Moldova and Belarus to look at how we, the YMCA provide spaces for young people to be transformed into what ever they choose to be and two others who will travel to Yeravan for a seminar on Peace.

And I am only here to buy cans of pop!

Good Mornin from Prague

Well it is a great big good morning from downtown Prague. Surprised how quickly I slip into the zone. Arrived yesterday evening at 8.30pm and by 9.00 I was thinking about the ambience of the various venues I will be co-ordinating at the YMCA Prague Festival 2013.

I have the privilege of being line manager for all the food, beverage and merchandise at the festival. Broadly that means that anything that is sold on site at the festival comes via my sourcing. I have a small army of volunteers to deliver on this.

So today and tomorrow I will be sourcing everything from tee shirts to bottled water to ice creams to teddy bears to nachos to pizzas to pin badges to coffee to cakes..... and the list goes on. Some serious judgements to make.

Ukraine - here I come...

What do I know about Ukraine? Well a bit.. as I am originally from Kyrgyzstan and both countries  used to be in the USSR. Hence our past connection. Also I speak Russian which is still prevalent in Ukraine just like in Kyrgyzstan. Funnily enough made lots of Ukrainian friends while in London. At West London YMCA we had international volunteers from Ukraine about 4 years in a row, Natalia, Katja, Maxim and Marina. I became good friends with all of them considering our ‘soviet’ link and also their home stay happened to be with Jan, our marketing manager who kept inviting me every year to welcome dinners to help them acclimatise to London. I didn’t mind as loved her cooking and of course invited them back to mine for a Kyrgyz cuisine too! I remember Michael our pastor was a bit apprehensive about eating with his fingers. :-)

 

However I never been to Ukraine so this is a great chance to visit and explore more how the country is recovering from the 70 odd years of soviet rule. It will also be great to learn about small youth centres in another post-soviet country, as I set up a youth NGO – Centre of Youth Initiatives ‘Jash Ordo’ (literal translation is youth centre) in my student years back in 1999. I oversaw it’s growth into one of the leading youth movements in Kyrgyzstan, delivered over 50 social projects covering a wide range of themes such as democracy, human rights, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, elections, poverty, national strategy and many others. Hence my interest in taking part in this study tour!

 

I hope I would be able to learn and share my experiences with the all participants who are very international as from England, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.  Can’t wait!

I'm off to Ukraine to make new YMCA friends!

On 1st June 2013 with 8 people from YMCAs in England - people that I've never met - I am off to Ukraine on a Study Tour!  Now, I never been to Ukraine, nor have I ever been on a Study Tour.  So watch this space - you might learn something (but only if I learn it first) - about Ukraine, study tours (whatever they are) and the YMCA.  As a bonus, you may get to know a bit about Belarus and Moldova as there will be folks coming to Ukraine from there too #excited #can'twait #iloveymca

European General Assembly

After a long weekend in Manchester I arrived back at work very tired but still buzzing with ideas, to start yesterday at work it took me a while to get my head back in the game so to speak as I found all these inspiring conversations from young people, from people leading the movement, ideas of what could be taken back to the local level and used in some of the programmes running in England, all of this buzzing round my head. My local YMCA will be pleased to hear, I did get my head back in the game but I am still buzzing.

From listening to the brave and inspiring words of Andre, Chair of YES to listening to Juan's message in a bottle, to talking to the different projects on the table talks, to hearing about the One Million Voices Project from Romulo, I am always amazed and in awe of individuals in this movement I call home. We have some amazing talent in the pool and at times I feel like I am beaming with pride that I am part of it. Personally, I feel we shine. We shine because we are addressing local issues in our communities but we also have something in common with the YMCA's all over the world, we empower young people.

There have been times when the young people in the movement have challenged the leaders to step up, when listening to these young people speak I am in awe of their bravery, passion and belief in the YMCA. It is that that makes us unique.

Since leaving the GA I am feeling re-vitalized and re-energized to take these ideas and thoughts back to the areas that I work in. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of those people that made the GA such a special event for me, as a first timer. Together we are YMCA.