I have attended an Erasmus + project part of KA2 Counter hate which is a strategic partnership project in the field of youth as part of the Bulgarian delegation sent from association Alternatives International.
After the long and tiresome flight, we landed in Riga. Our first task was to sit at a local restaurant to have a tipical Latvian lunch. After tasting local delicacies, we decided to make a quick walk through the capital of Latvia before heading for Saulkrati, the town where the project was taking place.
The countries that participated were: Latvia, Bulgaria, Spain and Austria. The first two days passed mainly to get to know one another. We talked about common issues, who is involved with what he likes to do. During the first two nights we had intercultural evenings where we presented tradition, drinks, food and etc. The tables were arranged with various traditional appetizers and sweet desserts. We listened to different traditional songs from each country, and learned different kinds of dances.
The third day of the project was scheduled to visit the “Free speech” cafe in Riga. We met two more volunteers on another project, who told us how their lives were in Latvia as they were there for a long time. We talked a little about them, then we had a free day in Riga – a day we spent in long walks and a bunch of “photo sessions.”
In the coming days, we emphasized the real part of the project. We had different debates on the topic “Hate Speech”. We discussed how it impacts on social networks and what the consequences of using it. We have learned how different countries embrace religions and ethnicities other than theirs, as well as sexuality other than normal.
We gave numerous examples, analyzed a bunch of situations, and finally, I dare say we made good conclusions and conclusions.
I believe that each of us – the participants went a little better than this project – a project that definitely made me think … 🙂
