SI NEWS 2005 en YouthEvents
From SI Exco News
European Cultures
Baerenthal Summer Camp for Servas Youth
Again I found myself in the Strasbourg train for a Servas European meeting in August. It was going to be different. Usually in Servas Summer university, young people are volunteers, taking care of children, preparing meals, organising wonderful bonfires! This time, Erika, Richard, Margret and Herbert wanted 'the risk' of only young people for a Servas meeting. They were right to take that risk because 14 came:2 Polish young men (Pawel, Marek), 1 Hungarian boy (Domi), 2 French young men (Jean, François), 4 French young women (Mélanie, Catherine, Anais, myself), 4 German girls (Feli, Vera, Steffi, Julia), Gabi from Hungary, whom I knew from 2002.
We all met in Strasbourg, where we discovered the city on a boat tour and had the chance to visit Arte TV Station and the European Parliament. The visit impressed everybody; our guide was very interesting and the building is rather monumental. We also enjoyed some Flammekuche, a traditional dish of the region of Alsace.
We then headed for Baerenthal, an hour from Strasbourg by train! We were staying in a big house with dormitories, self-catering kitchen... in the middle of a wonderful valley. The programme for the week included discussions and workshops about European topics, e.g. different education systems in the EU, the parliament and Constitution, the new countries in the EU, a lot of politics! I admit I really liked that camp but I was sometimes frustrated about the discussions as I am not specialist in economy and politics. That was the only black spot. We had an opportunity to present our country and discover the other countries. When working in smaller groups, organising research to answer a questionnaire, I felt it was much more efficient. The most interesting workshop for me was the survey about European Values. Questions focused on Values, i.e. what important values you need for a successful marriage, what do you find moral/immoral: homosexuality, abortion, black market and other hot topics! Our group did that questionnaire and discussed the survey results for different nations. The results were interesting, at times surprising. They were an opportunity to get to know more about group members and to discuss the reasons of choice. In the afternoons, even if raining, we went for forest hikes and had time to discuss the morning sessions, exchange ideas, talk about the differences between our countries. In the evenings after wonderful dinners (thanks to Herbert and Erika) we sometimes had evening sessions. The last night was a show night, everyone presented an item, a song, a game, a play... We enjoyed a European dinner to which everyone contributed, from the Hungarian goulash soup to the Breton Kouign Amann and the German beer.
I would like to thank Erika, Richard, Margret and Herbert for this camp. I enjoyed it and was very happy to see them again. They prepared this camp with a lot of passion and managed it well. Hope it will happen again and that other people will come and join us. It is a nice way to build a network of young people, interested in Servas and in its future and to exchange ideas for young Servas members.
Aurelie Charles, France
Youth and Peace, South America
As Coordinator of Servas South America, I could help make come true a long-standing dream. At least half a year in advance, together with active members of Servas Uruguay, we fixed the date for a meeting of young people in Servas around Carnival season, that was end of February 2004. The idea was to invite all young people in Servas to participate in a written contest about the Building of Peace through Servas, through the multicultural encounter, through travelling. Participants were invited to send in their work to the Coordinator.
Later, we extended both the participation and the age limit, which in the end was 18-30 and would include all young people interested in Servas and its ideals (not only our members). For this purpose, we devised a poster inviting university students, stating the requirements for the participation, the name of our organization, contact addresses, and the www Servas page for more information. I thought that in this way we could advertise Servas without being too overt. We put up the posters at the School of Architecture, Engineering, Economy and Law, as well as at several sports clubs in our respective neighbourhoods, youth organizations, etc. I asked NSs in the Area to do the same. Argentina for example sent out a mail to all its young members in this age bracket. Brazil and Colombia did the same. Others did not comment on their procedure.
The result was that we got very interesting pieces, Pablo's was one. Camille from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was another one. A very good piece came last minute from Bogota, Colombia. Bolivia manifested its interest too. Venezuela sent in a scholarly piece by a sociologist who lives close to the rainforest. Uruguay's youth got very enthusiastic and helped a lot in the preparation of a workshop on Peace and a weekend in a National Park by the Atlantic Ocean. However, I did not get any feedback from the other countries in the area ( Chile, Paraguay and Peru). The days spent together were a great success and companionship and solidarity became very intense. We had a big bungalow right by the ocean and the large premises enabled those who did not fit into the house to put up tents in the garden, mainly young couples used to camping. There were barbecue facilities, three toilets, a well-equipped kitchen and bedrooms hosting four people. We even had a Norwegian young traveller too. As a last goodbye activity we wrote down and shared our impressions and memories of the days together. We took our guests to their bus terminals (to Brazil and to Argentina)....in tears. Really sorry to part and wishing such good things would not end or at least, last a little longer....
Anita Kalbermann (AC South America)
