Exactly a year ago, the first training of the project kicked-off in Semarang, Indonesia. In this article, I reminisce the activities and the memories we made with the rest of the Focus Group representatives from our partners in Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Indonesia and of course, us from the Philippines.
A Year Ago In Indonesia
International youth mobility is widely promoted to encourage our young generation to do more and actively participate in their respective community. In the Philippines, numerous NGOs and groups enhance the power of youth mobility. In this way, our youngsters can develop their different skills and help them motivate in fulfilling their plans.
Yours truly Cristian Gelito and my colleague Karen Bermejo represented the Philippine Red Cross Boracay-Malay Chapter in the first training which is part of the 4EU&AS project that is organized by TDM International 2000 in Semarang, Indonesia.
Our respective partners from Great Indonesia, Synergia from Portugal, ARS for Progress form Belgium and of course our coordinator, TDM International joined us. The European Commission supports the entire project.
It is a great privilege to join these amazing group of people and discuss youth mobility and policymaking.
Upon our arrival after three plane rides and the constant running to catch our flight, we were welcomed at the airport by our lovely host Putri with a big smile. The whole team then greeted us at the hotel. It was my first time to meet everyone and Angela Perra who is the president of TDM 2000 International. Meeting them for the first time feels like we already had a lot of connection which jump-started a discussion on possible topics about the project.
As everyone arrived on the first day, we were all gathered at the veranda of the hotel for our welcome dinner. We were all ecstatic to know what is being served. It was our first dib to the authentic Indonesian cuisine for most of us. While everyone is devouring the delicious dinner, we were able to get to know our partners.
We were a small group, so it was easy to remember all our names. I get to be roomies with the debonair Miguel Barros from Synergia of Portugal who was tired from their travel from Portugal. Nevertheless, everyone was able to get to know one another and chit chat for a little time before hitting the bed.
Our first day was quite interesting since we discussed the overview of the whole stay, introduced ourselves and what we were representing and our countries. It was interesting to know the different partner and the background that we were learning from one another; on how we do our various works for our community and our people especially the youth. We had a good start since everyone was focused on understanding and committing to what the project was aiming.
During the training, we also had an opportunity to speak to the local youth of Central Java, Indonesia that was organized by Great Indonesia. The forum focused on international mobility. There were speakers from the Indonesian Government, and each organization had to speak in front of different young students who were all very eager to learn more about the project. We also got the chance to talk to them one by one as Great Indonesia made a Human Library that we were able to share our personal experiences as volunteers from our respective countries. The students also asked some questions on how we were chosen to represent our organization and many exciting topics as well.
Having to share my personal experience with students is an overwhelming experience. I am happy to put a smile on their faces. I shared that being humble and helping without asking anything in return can take you places, it may not be a distant place, but somehow it will move you from one point to the other.
The rest of our in-room seminar with the project were pretty serious wherein we were able to identify the different points of the problem between our Asian countries and European countries. Pointing out the difference of having the support of the government and the private sector has a significant impact on the project that is being pursued. We had an excellent argumentation focusing on making the policy on youth mobility.
Our commitments from each organization were then discussed. We were able to share the knowledge that we have learned and bring this home until the next meeting/seminar that is scheduled. It was then agreed to have a communication expected to be discussed online to keep everyone updated.
Aside from all the serious discussion and fun learning that we had, Great Indonesia with the President Rahmat and his team with the approval of Angelica was able to organize a city tour for us to enjoy and experience Indonesia. Our daily dining experience was always a surprise since our host always makes sure that we eat all the local food and the favorite cuisine that Indonesia has to offer.
To describe it, I would say “Satisfyingly Hot!” as Indonesian love ‘em spicy or very spicy.
To top it all up, the whole trip was tremendously amazing with all the learnings that we were able to share for the project, the commitment that we have for it and the continuous support that we have until we finalize and successfully finish the 4Eu&As Project under the TDM International 2000. It will be a memorable trip that we share to everyone for them to get inspired in youth mobility projects may it be in a small or large scale project locally or internationally.
Indonesia was spectacular, and the project is a dream come true for our youth all over the world. Today it was just them and us, tomorrow it’s going to be us and everyone else.
Cristian Gelito, Focus Group, Philippines (Philippine Red Cross-Boracay Malay Chapter)