Spirit of sharing

We’re on the train home for our first YMCA Europe General Assembly, as with every international experience we have so far participated in, we leave enthused and full of ideas for change, if a little bit sleep deprived.

Given it was our first General Assembly, we were extremely grateful to YMCA Europe for gifting us time on Friday morning to share with all the delegates our anti-stigma mental health campaign - #IAMWHOLE.

The origins of the campaign demonstrate to us everything that makes YMCA such an amazing movement to be part of.

In the true spirit of family and sharing, the campaign came out of a local association in England and was offered to us as the national association to take right across England and Wales to reach even more young people.

In that very same spirit, we came to the General Assembly to do the same with our family across Europe. To share with YMCAs across Europe the opportunity to be a part of and own #IAMWHOLE 2017.

Thankfully the sharing didn’t stop there. After the presentation and throughout the course of the General Assembly, people shared with us stories around mental health difficulties and how they are affecting young people in their country, and what their YMCAs were doing in response.

Even when stepping out of the lift to leave the hotel, we were in conversations with our colleagues from across the movement in Europe about how we can share #IAMWHOLE across Europe.

Inevitably, the challenge we now face is turning these conversations into tangible actions that utilise the work, and the spirit of, the #IAMWHOLE campaign to help support young people with mental health difficulties all over the world.

As we all head back to our own associations and councils, and the day-to-day of life in YMCA takes over, it is important that the spirit of the General Assembly does not fade. It is important that the unity of the YMCA movement prevails, and that the openness of individuals to work together continues.

As we head towards the launch of #IAMWHOLE on World Mental Health Day 2017, we look forward to working with our fellow movements to amplify the campaign and extend our reach to young people all over the world.

Phillippa and Richard
YMCA England and Wales

Reflecting on the Peace Work Institute session 1

 Last week, I was privileged enough to spend a week in Tbilisi, Georgia with an incredible group of young people who want to bring about change in their communities, who have a willingness to work towards peace in their communities and between their countries. Over the week I saw young people come together, build relationships in unexpected places, between countries that would, traditionally, not get along. These people have worked together to produce content for the Roots social media, they have spent time getting to know each other’s stories, building friendships. They have explored different ways of analysing conflict and ways in which to “do” peace work. They shared best practices from their own context and have learnt from each other as well as those facilitating the sessions.  It has been a good week!

Some may be aware that in previous Peace Work Institute we, by complete accident on the streets of Istanbul, started a tradition of having a tea party as our intercultural evening. This tradition has been carried forward into this cohort of peace activists. Half way through the week, we held our first intercultural tea evening – 13 countries (some countries have had to leave a little earlier than planned) shared their traditional tea and treats, and were able to see that despite all the differences between the countries, the political tensions present in the world, that there are a lot more in common when we enjoy time together over a good cuppa tea!

 The week ended with a piece of reflective work led by Adi Davies, World YMCA staff and (referred to by those in the know) as a son of England living in Kosovo.  A beautiful session where the participants could reflect on the impact that other individuals have had on their journey during the week. An emotional and meaningful way to end the week.

As we bring this week to a close, we look forward to the next stage.  What will happen in Berlin and after. They participants have work to do in the meantime; present about Roots and the Peace Work Institute to someone of influence back in their YMCA (or sending organisation). We look forward to hearing about how this went when we meet again.

Fancy seeing the photos from the event, check them out here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ymcaeurope/sets/72157680452824261/

I am blessed to be part of this programme and  be part of the Youth Ambassadors programme for YMCA England that opens up many opportunities for young people to share and learn through programmes such as this one; bringing about change on an individual level as well as having a wider impact on the YMCA and our local communities!

Why are we here?

Here we are, day  2, 30 people from 16 different countries discussing many different issues related to peace. We have shared our personal stories and our motivations for being here, we have looked at digital activism and the role it plays in our movement. We have explored the importance of critical thinking when looking at the media and played simulation games around wealth and power . What role do all of these sessions play in peace work I hear you asking?? It’s a very good question but first, let me tell you what countries we have present in the room;

Albania, Azerbaijan, Germany, Croatia, Portugal, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Armenia, Scotland, Georgia, Kosovo, Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia, Slovakia.

For those of you who haven’t noticed, these countries either have present tensions between the countries or are post conflict countries. For some of the young people in the room it is the first time they have met young people from “the other side” or from the countries present. This is important because, in my opinion, peace starts with the individual, by bringing together young people from ‘opposing sides’, they build relationships on a personal level. These relationships then internally challenge any preconceived, learned stereotypes about the ‘other’. Personal, meaningful relationships have the potential to challenge and change the individual. This change in the individual is the start of the journey towards peace in the region. One of the reasons we deliver sessions around sharing personal stories is because the personal reasons people are in the room can sometimes be the elephant in the room so to speak – people are curious but it can be difficult to ask ‘why are you here?’ without fear of upsetting or  – sharing stories in a structured way allows these dialogues to happen in safe environment.

So, back to the question. Why are we looking at digital activism, critical thinking and playing games? It doesn’t seem like it is directly related to peace work, does it? A question asked by some here and the answer is not so simply. Well, in today’s world, young people are online. It is important that we are also there! Looking at critical thinking within the media, we are encouraging young people to question what they see, what they share. To ensure that young people are not doing harm through their actions online. These are important things for all young people to be aware of, not just those that chose to work in this area. Games are an important part of learning, we don’t all learn from reading a book. The YMCA delivers non-formal education all over the world and learning through doing, through playing is an alternative way of learning. These games have been relevant to the training and have generated some discussions in the group that carry on into the break times.

As Vardan reminds us, peace begins in the heart. It means different things to different people. The PWI is not a one off session and therefore it is important to ensure that those in the room are ready to move forward and become youth opinion leaders in their local area.

There is an energy building here in Tbilisi. On day 2, we have much still to come. We are only on day 2. To me, peace is not about the destination but about the journey, this is the start of the journey and there is a lot yet to come.

All the way to Georgia.

As a Youth Ambassador, here I am, in  Tbilisi, Georgia, representing YMCA England on the Peace Work Institute planning team. My first time in Georgia but not the first time with the team from YMCA Europe. I am blessed to be part of this team for the second round of Peace Work Institute.

As we sit together to finalise the plans for the week ahead awaiting the arrival of the participants, we overlook the Old Town of Tbilisi on a cloudy day. We are hoping that the weather improves over the coming days so that our weather reflects the mood of the group; bright and full of energy.

As we review the week ahead, there is a lot to cover with some exciting themes. This is the first week of a long journey. As a team we are not proposing that this training will solve all the conflicts in Europe however, it will have an impact. An impact on the young people who attend the training who then will return home and have an impact on the other young people they interact with, an impact on their local YMCA's. When we think of this session, we think of the pebble being dropped in the lake and the ripples; the impact slowly, calmly and beautifully moving out into the wider communities of the young people.

For the Roots for Reconciliation project, Sergei Parajanov was a symbol for the project. I could not come to Tbilisi and not visit the statue that was the image of the project. A statue I have seen in photos many times before and thought I would never have the opportunity to visit.

The YMCA empowers young people around the world on a daily basis. The YMCA has empowered me to be able to experience many opportunities. I am truly blessed and excited for the week ahead and the journey we are about to embark on together.