Dear Citizens and Friends

You may wonder why I called you citizens. Well, to answer this questions, I have to tell you that I had recently participated at a training course organized by the Hungarian National Agency. This training course was entitled "European Citizenship". You may remember, well at least some of you, that one of the continuous priorities of Youth in Action program is European Citizenship. I truly enjoyed this training course, and in what follows I would like to let you know, some ideas, impressions.

European Citizenship is different from European Union Citizenship. As you may know, any person living in a member state of the EU, becomes automatically an EU Citizen. European Union Citizenship thus complements the national citizenship.

European Citizenship is quite different. First of all, you do not need to be a EU Citizen in order to be a European Citizen. European Citizenship is voluntary based and denotes active participation in the shaping of society, in making society and implicitly your country and Europe a better and nicer place. European Citizenship has at its core a value and respect for democracy and the fundamental human rights. A European Citizen is keen on making a better future, and takes an active role. A European Citizen wishes to make a difference and wants to help in shaping a better tomorrow. Moreover by being active a European Citizen knows that he/she can influence the workings of society.

As you may also know and remember, one of our activities in our project Local Color, The Sky with Stars, aimed to make you realize how you can enrich Europe and the European Union. Everyone is unique and has a talent, thus each and every one of us can contribute to the development of the EU and Europe.Some of us can sing nicely, draw beautifully, recite poems, or is good at sports, physical activities. But if we come together and aim to make a difference, I'm sure that Europe will be a nicer place to live in.

As I listened to the other participant's, their experiences and projects, I realized something. Our work is very important and plays a significant role in shaping the future. I also remembered Mother Teresa's words:"What we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."  Let us continue our work and add some drops to the ocean.

 

HELLO WAKE UP!

Apparently signing up for the blog is a bit more problematic than I thought for the internet age youngsters. So until I receive your emails with the impressions, colors about the activities, let me express my feelings.

         Once upon a time, somewhere around the year 2004, two groups of youngsters met for the first time. They had a common camp in a mountainous area of Romania by the name Suncuius. There was their first encounter. The week was very pleasant for the participants, they got to know each other and realized that despite the arising difficulties concerning the usage of the English language, they have many things in common. There and then it was proved that despite the differences, geographical distances, friendships can be made, new bonds can be tied. The two groups of youngsters decided to meet again, to spend some more time together in the following year as well. The venue was Lutten, The Netherlands. It was a great time, for many of the youngsters a unique and unforgettable holiday with many first time experiences. Friendships were solidified, new friendships were made. And the story does not end here. This two group of youngsters, as you may have guessed, the one from Arad, Romania and Lutten, The Netherlands continued to meet in the summer. The summer of 2006 followed, when the two groups could explore the beauties of Hunedoara county together. It was yet another great summer, wonderful memories. Then as time passed and Romania became a member state of the EU, new possibilities were presented. The two groups did not hesitate, started project writing: and they won! The subsidies were granted for the 2009 Intercultural Understanding and 2010 Local Color project. Thus the youngsters could enrich their knowledge while they could also experience the advantages of free movement, new possibilities given by the EU. Thanks to Youth in Action program, our summer camps and activities were enriched and we could enrich ourselves as well. Our horizons were broadened, we got to know many interesting details and elements about notions like: culture, tolerance, solidarity, diversity, multiculturalism. As we took part in the activities we could realize that we represent the instruments towards building a better tomorrow, a better and nicer common Europe. As the song which we sang expresses it so beautifully: "We're the world. We're the children. We're the ones to make a brighter day, so let's start giving." So, my dear friends let's have faith and trust in this brighter and better tomorrow. See you all in the summer of 2011! :)

Helooooo

Hellooo People, Local Color project participants.

We're still waiting for your comments, ideas.
I have an idea. Please think about the following and POST!

Choose a color that describes best our project week:

Why did you choose this color?:

What activity did you like best and why?


Looking forward to reading your posts!
Melinda

Dear All

Hello Again,

I hope soon you'll send millions of messages to our blog. In the meantime, I thought of posting the poem you received as a gift:
Be The Best of Whatever You Are by Douglas Maloch

If you can’t be a pine on the top of a hill
Be a scrub in the valley,
But be the best little scrub on the side of the hill
Be a bush if you can’t be a tree,
If you can’t be a bush be a bit of the grass
And some highway happier make.
If you can’t be a muskie, then just be a bass,
But the liveliest bass in the lake.
We can’t all be captains, we’ve got to be crew,
There’s something for all of us here.
There’s big work to do and there’s lesser work, too,
And the thing we must do is the near.
If you can’t be a highway, then just be a trail.
If you can’t be the sun, be a star.
It isn’t by size that you win or you fail.
Be the best of whatever you are.

Remember to THINK BIG!

Discussion board

Dear All,

Please feel free to add your comments, memories concerning our project and time spent together!
Best wishes to you all,
Melinda

Hello Hoy!

Dear Participants & Visitors,

A warm HELLO and welcome to our blog. We're a group of youngsters from Arad, Romania and Lutten, The Netherlands, who spent a great week together! Thanks to Youth in Action program of the European Commission, we could spend the first week of August together, learning about culture and experiencing solidarity. Our project, Local Color, aimed to make us familiar with the cornerstones of culture, with the unique traits and cultural elements that make Arad and its region special. Thus we learned about the cornerstones of culture and we visited those places, which are culturally and historically significant. Moreover through these  important places, tropes, Arad enriches the common European cultural heritage. We visited museums, walked in the city center of Arad, knowing more about its famous buildings. We also made a road trip, visiting Lipova, Radna, the Soimos fortress, Minis and Ghioroc. Thus we took a glimpse in all the richness of culturally significant places. We also realized their importance in enriching the common European heritage. The importance of a clean environment was underlined with our visit to Lunca Muresului, a unique reservation park. This reservation park it's unique due to its biodiversity and location. The other founding element of our project was solidarity and social inclusion. In every group, 30% of the participants were youngtsers coming from a weak economical background. They had the chance to interact with youngsters coming from a different culture, to make bonds, friends and to use their English. In our project we also aimed to make youngsters sensitive towards the current social realities. We visited poor families, bringing them basic food items. It was a truly emotional moment, seeing the youngsters next to the poor families or old persons. They were really touched by these visits and realized that a warm word, a handshake sometimes equals the actual food item. Everyone needs encouraging and warm words. After these visits, during the discussions, the youngsters formulated statements which underlined a more active participation and involvement in helping the needy. Helping the needy and solidarity were the themes of our painting. With the help of Hajnalka Siska-Szabo, a professional painter, we realized a work of art. On our painting the figures hold their hands, symbolically this expresses friendship and a sense of belonging together.We, young participants, hold our hands literally during the many activities, as well as the dances. We learned each others dance and presented it as a flash mob in Arad, at various locations. Moreover we presented a play, entitled Puzzle Heart that aimed to encompass such big themes as:solidarity, friendship, love and brotherhood. The protagonist of the play, young man, learns to help his fellows and enriches his experiences. By meeting new persons, he gains experience, wisdom, he helps them. Moreover he gives pieces of his heart to them, thus symbolizing their friendship. The last soundtrack of the play was the famous song, "We're the World". I wish to close my account with a quotation from this song: "We're the world/we're the children/we're the ones make a brighter day/so let's start giving." Let's start giving, sharing, and building a better and brighter tomorrow. I do believe that by working together on project, by spending time together doing different activities, we'll grow as persons, as individuals, and citizens of Europe. There are many opportunities, programs, let's make use of them, to learn about multiculturalism, intercultural aspects, tolerance. Let us grow spiritually and gain new experiences, wisdom in a non-formal way. Using Douglas Maloch's words: Be the Best of whatever you are!