Our ARTE.M and Art Center Caravel teams have been so active, that we know how to greet in so many different languages. Last week we learned “Hallå”. Where do you think this word is coming from? From Sweden of course! By the end of the third day of our stay in Örkelljunga., we were already able to greet and ask for a cup of coffee on Swedish language… Great!
But the main reason for visiting Sweden was not to learn only a few words. This was the fourth joined training project between our association and our partners, with the aim of building solid partnership and friendships under the training course “Social Inclusion”.
Under the scope of this project, all partners have visited Nîmes, Constanta, Funchal, and finally Örkelljunga.
This time, the Portuguese group that consisted of 8 teachers and social workers, talked about topics regarding discrimination, stress and fears, as well as playful methods and art therapy tools that can help in such situations. Also, we shared knowledge on how mentors can effectively and informally help the beginners to develop their business, adapt to new situations, overcome stereotypes, fears and doubts, as well as how to find a job, protect a project, make new friends in a place that at first may seem unfamiliar and cold etc.
Coming from Madeira, the island of eternal spring, it was a big challenge to wake up early in the morning, when the temperatures were around 2 degrees… However, we understood it was absolutely worth it when we found ourselves in a warm company of friends near the autumn lake... magical!
Thanks to the hospitality of the place, which by the way has a very exotic and hard to pronounce name - Örkelljunga, and the people living there, our three days of intensive training flew by very quickly. The braver ones used the opportunity to swim in the lake and ride a canoe, and we loved to collect mushrooms from the autumn forest.
Regarding future, we are organizing workshop where we will share the knowledge from Örkelljunga with the local community in the next couple of months. Furthermore, you can also join our "hunger games" that we organize together with the associations “Mobilizing Expertise” and “Hello Youth”. We hope to see you in Madeira in January 2023!
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