First of all, I wanted to thank all the incredible people who have participated in the seminar “Youth Leadership for Advocacy”, with a special mention for the facilitators Lluc, Aleks and Nikos, thanks to whom we were able to meet: more than 20 souls from the four corners of the continent, to exchange inspiring experiences in a wonderful place.
Upon our arrival in Vilanova we have settled in the Hotel Cesar, located in front of the sea, where the single view from the rooftop already deserves the trip.
The seminar began with presentation games and the comun elaboration of rules. In the activities of the first day we could already feel the willingness of the group to share, with respect and curiosity, in addition to the interest of the whole group for a certainly complex and delicate topic.
Every day was full of learning and in each session we have added something more on the topic. We’ve talked about the opportunities we have by advocating and all the spheres of power where we can fight for our ideas. The exchange has been a giant source of empowerment, especially when listening to the initiatives taken by more experienced participants.
The atmosphere of the group has been fantastic. During the breaks we have enjoyed the beach to relax or walk in a group, sometimes talking, sometimes observing the fascinating silence of the place. At night we were going out to some local bar, where we tried the craft creations of beer, and continued to know a little more about our countries and cultures.
On Wednesday we shared good advocacy practices that should help us be more efficient in advocating for our rights.
On Thursday we have dedicated the day to practice the theoretical contributions creating our own campaign in groups, exercise extended over 2 days, to analyze its doability, aiming to change laws together with various local activists, with the support of the tools we have shared.
On Friday we enjoyed a guided tour of Barcelona and free time to walk through its streets, full of history, moments that have allowed us to reinforce our great group dynamic.
At the end of the activity, we all left with our heads full of new ideas, new knowledge, and new contacts to create new collaborations and projects at the international level.
Unfortunately, I do not have enough space here to describe all the tools and good practices that we have exchanged. I can only advise you to learn more about this subject, which brought me hope about our power to change things.
I want to thank again the whole team and the whole group of participants who have made this project possible.
I am confident to meet all of them to give life to new initiatives.
Théo
