Dates of the event: 06-13 January 2018
Place: Murzasichle, Poland
6th of January this year represents not only the end of magical winter holidays but also the beginning of one new incredible week. The day before we started our journey from Zagreb to Poland as representatives of Association Strive!, to participate in Training Course named T.E.D – Thought. Education. Dissemination. Our destination was M
urzasichle, the little village that is about 80km south of Krakow. While traveling to this mysterious place we thought about all things that await us, we got these feelings of happiness that we have the opportunity to be a part of this great new story, excitement about all new places that we will visit, people that we will meet and adventures that we will experience. There was also feeling of fear because of stepping out of our comfort zone as well as insecurity about the unknown and new surroundings. Upon arrival, excitement grew and fear slowly disappeared. We were welcomed with amazing dinner and we had a chance to meet other participants – great and interesting young people from Portugal, Greece, Spain, France, Romania, Lithuania, Netherland, Italy Macedonia, Estonia and of course Poland.
The goal of Training Course was developing communication and presentation skills of participants so we learned about telling stories, giving speeches, how to make an impact with our presentations, what are alternatives to Powerpoint, how to create vlog and much more. We were talking about creative ways of communication, we shared experiences and best practices from our communities and we gained new skills as well as learned about new tools and got useful information.
Telling story was a workshop that really impacted all of us, it was interesting and fun but at the same time useful, practical and interactive. We got cards with detailed pictures that we used as a base for our stories, everyone got tons of ideas which were amazing and it was hard to imagine which way will the story develop. After all, teams were finished we recorded short videos so our stories came to life. Results were great and the process was fun. Also one day we went to Zakopane with an important mission! Every team had to enjoy the town and do some sightseeing and create a vlog showing their experience. Exploring the town we filmed our adventures, interacted with locals and had a lot of fun and video material that we edited into informative and funny videos. There was some singing, interviews, snow games, lots of laughter and fun.
After first few days of education, there was a time that we use to think about what we have learned and create our own webinars dealing with topics of communication. In that way, we made possible for everyone to be part of our story, to get free useful information and to get some interesting advice. After few hours of preparations, we started testing, that is when phase two of learning process happened. We encountered lots of new challenges that we had no clue existed, we became aware of all little details that are as important as the quality of content. When we mastered the last part of the organization we went live. This experience is very valuable and it definitely made an impact on all of us.
Last day of the project we spent in Krakow where “Impact talk” conference was held. We all got the opportunity to speak in front of the audience and share our thoughts on whatever topic we choose. Talks were inspiring, motivating and they encouraged active participation, critical thinking, dialog, and cooperation. The whole project was very well organized, we learned a lot, improved our skills and knowledge and gained new friends and coworkers. Participants inspired us, we learned one from another and came back motivated and ready for new challenges.
Big thanks to Association Strive! for this amazing experience!
Authors: Mislav Matijević, Lana Podgoršek
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