“Beauty in Variety” - Youth Cultural Exchange Project
April 12th-21st 2014 Tirana, Albania - Part 2: From the reflections of some of the participants: “I had never done such a project, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but from thepreparations and communicating through e-mail I expected it to be more formal. I liked how we basically learned to live together in the same house and shared duties. I found that the deepest moments shared with participants were actually washing dishes together and seeing their proud faces when they were presenting their country in front of everyone else.”-participant from Italy “I liked every minute of this project. I learned a lot more about different cultures and also about people. I made a lot of friends, even though in the beginning participants were more closed and it was difficult to make a good discussion.”-participant from Italy “To be honest I wasn’t really sure of what to expect from the project and the schedule didn’t look that interesting to me. Also I was quite scared about what the food would be like. I was the youngest and didn’t know whether I would get along well with the others. Because of this I didn’t have high expectations, just decided to come because it felt like the right thing to do. I am really happy and grateful because it has actually been like 100 times better that what I had imagined and everyone has been so nice so it’s been a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed the cultural presentations and evenings because I think it’s really interesting to see people’s talents.”- participant from United Kingdom “It was a very nice project. I learned a lot about these peoples cultures, languages, expressions. I was actually surprised from their presentations and their cultures. I had a bit problem about accepting Macedonian people, but very soon I saw that they were just like me in all the aspects and expectations.”-participant from Albania “I was so excited to come here. I made friendships with everyone including the staff. There were no many difficulties because when I didn’t understand something or needed more explanations, I would get it immediately. That means that the people in here were so pleasant to me. I liked that everyone wants to be in everything, singing, playing volleyball, dancing, even washing the dishes and cleaning the toilets. I would like to improve myself in talking Italian, Albanian. I would like to join some other projects like this in future!!!!”-participant from Macedonia “My most precious moment were playing volleyball and music with people from different cultures. I feel sports and music are a glue that binds people together.”-participant from the United Kingdom “When I came in Mullet I was a little bit scared, because I didn’t know anyone but here I met very friendly people. They were so friendly and they all made the effort to start a conversation with me since I was very shy. I liked the walk around Tirana, museums. I was so happy to go inside mosque and also restaurants.”-participant from Macedonia “This full week is full of beautiful moments. All of us will remember beautiful memories. We lived together for a week and shared not only cultures, but also our hearts, and this can’t be forgotten.”-participant from Albania “During these days I understood that being a man it’s not depended from the country where you come from, rich or poor, black or white, oriental or European, but to be able to cooperate with all these races and nationalities, and to be familiar them. Every second of the project was magic, especially for us from Kosovo, as we don’t have many possibilities to see so many people from many countries. This made me feel lucky to have the possibility to be part of the project and to understand that even though the world is big, it can be so small. In Kosovo we are educated with a lot of patriotism and with the feeling that we are the best. But all 7 Macedonian participants,, were so lovely and cooperative. Also the participants from Italy, England, Austria, Hungary and especially those with darker color, with whom we compared our hands, it was everything similar, just little darker. Such opportunities made me understand that there are many dimensions in life, and in life it is not just “my country, my race, my people” but there are many other countries and races with whom we should cooperate. Thank you for such an opportunity to have such wonderful and unforgettable experiences!”-participant from Kosovo By Francesca Cirelli, coordinator of Italian group, representing WFWP-Italy LINKS TO THE PICTURES, TV INTERVIEWS AND THE VIDEOS MADE BY THE PARTICIPANTS: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.544681008984900.1073741832.479972735455728&type=1 –Pictures on the FFWPU-Albania Facebook page Video of the two TV interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuExJlAqTf4&feature=youtu.be Video of the first interview (complete version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuMKzQbwlQY Video of the second interview (complete version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TbWbu4-2tk Video made by team 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwVxY44lWe4 Video made by team 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkYn3kuBfuU Video made by team 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcePnk-UjEY Video made by team 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO_6K2UzCq8 Video made by team 5: https://vimeo.com/92624389