Dmitry Buiskikh from ESN Aalto shared a story about his adventures in Szeged!
Peacebuilding through intercultural communication - that was the theme of ESN Academy 2016 edition that was held in Hungary in June in a lovely city of Szeged.
30+ degrees heat, warm water running from the cold tap (because it gets warmed up already in the pipes), 24 h sauna inside the room (as the remote control for the air conditioner was missing) – that was a nice escape from the Finnish summer, if you know what I mean!
Motivated people from all corners of Europe, under the guidance of the wonderful Eduk8 facilitators, we discussed the vital things, shared our opinions and views, agreed and disagreed, learnt scientific concepts, and meanwhile played the “let’s not be so serious after all” relieving games and energized ourselves –all that the wise men call “non-formal education methods”. Indeed, workshops outdoors in the shade - it was like if we were in the ancient Greece, and, like Socrates and Aristotle, we had really meaningful conversations. Even the facilitators told that they had learned a lot from us.
My first intention was to find out how the other sections cope with the problems and to collect the ideas for new events for the students. And the ESN educational get-together seems to be a perfect place for it, doesn’t it? What is the sense to reinvent the wheel? For sure, the other sections have their events that are successful and popular; and they have probably already overcome some potential difficulties and now they possess the valuable know-hows. Let’s share; we are the network, after all!
And, moreover, this is an educational event, where the skillful facilitators can provide the advice and guidance based on the scientific approach.
I got the answers for my questions! For sure, no one knows more than we all together. Develop a brand new event within 30 minutes? Done! It was an outline, of course, but it was only 30 minutes, do not forget. Just imagine what can be developed if a team of devoted people gather together and ponder it calmly, precisely and distinctly! Hence, now we have a lot to discuss at the next boarding meeting!
And the last but not the least. Before the Academy I had been worrying that me and my section are the only that kind of ESN mad people. Now I know, there are more of us in the world! What a relief!
Written by Dmitry Buiskikh, ESN Aalto. Pictures by Luis Miguel Real, ESN Eduk8.