We’ve spent an interesting week in Bansko, a small picturesque town in central Bulgaria, known as a skiing resort near the mountain Pirin. The interesting fact about Bansko is that only a few people live there and during the summer the town is quite empty while during the winter season it is crowded with tourists.

The project we were on was a part of Erasmus +, a program for engaging young people in different types of non-formal education in a variety of topics. The focus of our project was Hate speech and its reflections on everyday life and situations. The duration of the youth exchange was from 23 June till 1 July 2019 and it was attended by 40 participants from 8 countries, some from Europe, some from Asia. Despite having different backgrounds and the fact that we all live in different countries with a different culture, it was great to see how we all came together in finding common ground on the subject that we’re all deeply connected to. In this week we have made new friends, learned new things and skills that will benefit us in a future life, overcoming tough challenges and becoming better and competent people.

We’ve trained to communicate with others and understanding the needs of other people and how to be more open-minded in this hastily modern world where we seem to forget the people that surround us, even though we are more connected than ever with the presence of internet. A general opinion can be shaped through the media on which we base our judgments, values, and behavior towards other people. Participants showed examples from their countries and how easily fake news and hate speech can spread around the media and have a great manipulative impact on public belief.

To say something about our everyday activities… Even though we had a very busy schedule, it was never boring. Our days were filled with creative language animations, funny energizers, educative projects about hate speech and fake news. Every country had to organize a cultural evening, a presentation of their country, traditional food, beverages, and some traditional music.

After a week-long journey, we returned home with a better understanding and consciousness of the hate speech difficulty. How it influences us in our everyday lives and decision making and how and why we should make a difference for a better tomorrow.

Participants: Dorian Šegović, Ana Katušić, Mislav Matijević, Marija Šulentić

Host organization: Znanie Association 

Check out forthcoming projects of the Association Strive!

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