Youth Encounter 2008
an online diary
From March 25 till April 2 we organise a Youth Event in Poland. This is a diary. Young people will make a report day by day.
If you want to react to this diary or just want to send a message to one of the participating young people, please send an email to info@magic-net.org.
European Dialogue Staniszow 2008
Young Europeans interviewing their grandparents’ generation; what did they experience in their age of 15 till 18. What kind of changes did they have in their lives? Changes of professions or places, crises or wars, illnesses or private threats.
Young people from six European countries are reporting each other on a joint action in Staniszów. We will adapt a method to advance their ability to listen. Each young people will report till the last one got his story.
Therefore Staniszów is the right spot, because the castle was the former home of a family of industrialists who had to move to Germany.
Since a short time it became an accommodation for the region of Jelenia Góra.
In exercises the young people will be trained in “story telling” how to accent a story. The art will support the young people to express themselves.
The young people will benefit a deep insight into the history (stories) of Europe and learn to compare them. They will have the opportunity to interview historical witnesses on a historical place in Silesia about the political change after II. WW. The project will invite 3 historical witnesses (a Polish who moved to Silesia after 1945, a German who moved from Silesia after 1945 and a German who stayed in Silesia after 1945 – each now in the age of mid 70s, so that they can report as a person who was 15 – 18 years old at that time).
All stories of that week (their own, those of other young people and those of the historical witnesses) will be collected and will be told on a common fare well evening to an interested public audience from young people of six European nations in Jelenia Góra. Thereby each young person will tell at least one story from a young person from another group.
Let’s start:
March 25, Day 1
Arrival day in Staniszow / Poland
Poland, Staniszow. It is 1:00 pm. Snow is falling, it is quiet in Staniszow & the castle looks beautiful & lonely. But there is something in the air; something is going to happen... Suddenly there are noises outside. A look out of the window & the first young people are arriving in Staniszow: the Swiss group & a small delegation from Estonia. They look tired. The ten Swiss girls started already the night before & Sander & Tiiu from Estonia met at 6.30 at the airport in Tallinn. But as they see the hotel & discover their rooms, they are awake again immediately & amazed by the beauty of the place they are going to stay the coming week. The former castle has a lot of huge rooms with different coloured walls, original furniture from the 19th century & beautiful wooden floors. Many stairs & corridors connect the rooms, everywhere you can find hidden places & the historical atmosphere transfers your mind into the former aristocratic history of this very special place. The Swiss group stays in the rooms “January“, “March“ & “Aquarius“, Sander stays (for the first night alone) in the first room of the freshly renovated red house. All the rooms have names of months & star signs & are decorated adequately. Time after time more & more young people from Poland, Germany, England, Holland & Portugal are occupying the castle. At 7:00 pm we have dinner in a beautiful dining hall, decorated with candles & flowers. The young people are a bit shy at the beginning & stay together in their own groups only, looking carefully but curiously at the other young people from all the other countries. During dinner the last groups from Portugal, Holland & England arrives one hour delayed. After being picked up at the airport in Prague, their shuttle bus had problems to cross the mountains because of the snow. After some welcome words of Joanna & Dirk & the really delicious dinner, the young people start to talk to each other & to play some spontaneous games together. Although it is a little bit against the house rules to use the first floor as a gathering space, it is nice to see how the 44 young people from seven different countries do the first steps to get to know each other by themselves, while the educators have their first meeting.
Young Europeans interviewing their grandparents’ generation; what did they experience in their age of 15 till 18. What kind of changes did they have in their lives? Changes of professions or places, crises or wars, illnesses or private threats.
Young people from six European countries are reporting each other on a joint action in Staniszów. We will adapt a method to advance their ability to listen. Each young people will report till the last one got his story.
Therefore Staniszów is the right spot, because the castle was the former home of a family of industrialists who had to move to Germany.
Since a short time it became an accommodation for the region of Jelenia Góra.
In exercises the young people will be trained in “story telling” how to accent a story. The art will support the young people to express themselves.
The young people will benefit a deep insight into the history (stories) of Europe and learn to compare them. They will have the opportunity to interview historical witnesses on a historical place in Silesia about the political change after II. WW. The project will invite 3 historical witnesses (a Polish who moved to Silesia after 1945, a German who moved from Silesia after 1945 and a German who stayed in Silesia after 1945 – each now in the age of mid 70s, so that they can report as a person who was 15 – 18 years old at that time).
All stories of that week (their own, those of other young people and those of the historical witnesses) will be collected and will be told on a common fare well evening to an interested public audience from young people of six European nations in Jelenia Góra. Thereby each young person will tell at least one story from a young person from another group.
Let’s start:
March 25, Day 1
Arrival day in Staniszow / Poland
Poland, Staniszow. It is 1:00 pm. Snow is falling, it is quiet in Staniszow & the castle looks beautiful & lonely. But there is something in the air; something is going to happen... Suddenly there are noises outside. A look out of the window & the first young people are arriving in Staniszow: the Swiss group & a small delegation from Estonia. They look tired. The ten Swiss girls started already the night before & Sander & Tiiu from Estonia met at 6.30 at the airport in Tallinn. But as they see the hotel & discover their rooms, they are awake again immediately & amazed by the beauty of the place they are going to stay the coming week. The former castle has a lot of huge rooms with different coloured walls, original furniture from the 19th century & beautiful wooden floors. Many stairs & corridors connect the rooms, everywhere you can find hidden places & the historical atmosphere transfers your mind into the former aristocratic history of this very special place. The Swiss group stays in the rooms “January“, “March“ & “Aquarius“, Sander stays (for the first night alone) in the first room of the freshly renovated red house. All the rooms have names of months & star signs & are decorated adequately. Time after time more & more young people from Poland, Germany, England, Holland & Portugal are occupying the castle. At 7:00 pm we have dinner in a beautiful dining hall, decorated with candles & flowers. The young people are a bit shy at the beginning & stay together in their own groups only, looking carefully but curiously at the other young people from all the other countries. During dinner the last groups from Portugal, Holland & England arrives one hour delayed. After being picked up at the airport in Prague, their shuttle bus had problems to cross the mountains because of the snow. After some welcome words of Joanna & Dirk & the really delicious dinner, the young people start to talk to each other & to play some spontaneous games together. Although it is a little bit against the house rules to use the first floor as a gathering space, it is nice to see how the 44 young people from seven different countries do the first steps to get to know each other by themselves, while the educators have their first meeting.
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