On the 3rd of June 2022, more than 40 people from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, the UK and Turkey gathered in the small village of Silivri, Istanbul, Turkey on a Training Course funded by the Erasmus+ program, to bring issues to light of refugee issues and the social realities they look in a travel nation for common society delegates inside the project organization, in order to find a practical way to deal with future projects including refugees. Clearing up specific perspectives and understanding realities will prompt a subjective increment later activities of the organizations included and their effect.
The first day of the project started with activities that helped participants to know each other better, icebreakers, asking questions related to hobbies, work lives, languages, etc. After that, participants had the chance to express their ideas, expectations, fears, and contributions. They agreed on the project rules for the period of the project after that were divided into groups to present the Erasmus+ key competencies in an interactive way by using non-formal education. In the end, Turkey and Romania presented their countries on an intercultural night.
On the second day, participants started the day with some Zumba as an energizer activity, after that continued working in small groups on topics like time management and creativity. In the afternoon session, a discussion was led on topics: what is the difference between immigrant, emigrant, and refugee? Then every national team represented how their countries are dealing with the refugees, and what is the situation for the refugees there.
On the third day, participants went to Istanbul by bus to visit a relatively new cafe-restaurant called "Lagoon". This restaurant is trying to show all people visiting it, that there is a healthy, fresh, and nutritious way of eating in Turkey as well. In this restaurant, only women are working, as well as refugees from Syria. Participants had the chance to speak to them and understand more about their situation and difficulties. After that, all participants enter the kitchen and helped those people to cook tasty food for the whole group.
In the afternoon participants visited the Refugee and migrant coordination centre in Küçükçekmece, which centre is helping immigrants and refugees arriving in Turkey. They saw one of the classrooms used for teaching them in Turkish language and learned more about the types of help that are provided by the centre.
On the fourth day, participants spent the day in the Esenyurt Immigrant Center (the most important hotspot with the highest number of refugees in Istanbul, Turkey). They met with the mayor and addressed their questions and concerns to him regarding the refugees' situation. Some presentations were shown to them by the refugees and volunteers where they showcased the amazing work their doing, and the difficulties they are facing and talked more about the integration process.
The fifth day was a day for a city visit to Istanbul. Participants split into small groups and visited a lot of places.
On the sixth day, the program started with an activity to discuss the differences between inclusion, exclusion, integration, segregation and assimilation of the refugees. After that, each national team shared their point of view regarding the Syrian and Ukrainian refugees in their home countries in the context of the activity. The afternoon session continued with activities on the beach.
The seventh day started with a dissemination session and general feedback on the project. After that, participants exchanged ideas on the dissemination activities that each national team will complete once they go back home. The last activity for the day was a group dissemination, called "feedback pizza". Each participant had the opportunity to mark how much they liked the accommodation, the activities, the free time and the cultural nights. They also described the project with one word.
More photos from the project you can find here: PHOTOS