From opportunity to action: Youth on the MOVE change-markers ready to MOVE their communities
Posted June 27, 2016
If the Youth on the MOVE programme would be defined with one word, it would be opportunity. Opportunity to share ideas and exchange knowledge, to travel and see new countries, to meet other motivated and enthusiastic youngsters, to be able to speak up and to be heard, to inspire and be inspired, to grow personally and professionally, to make new friendships and connections, to express and implement ideas, and to change something in a local community.
Youth on the MOVE created a platform for young people from different countries in Europe and Latin America to learn how to implement grassroots campaigns and initiatives promoting healthier lifestyles. 30 participants from Latin America and 30 from Europe took part in a five-month in a non-formal training programme, exchanging knowledge and experiences with experts in the field.
The programme aimed to provide these young “change-makers” with the tips, tricks and motivation they need to organise their own activities from scratch. And it did. Charlene Attard from Sport Malta said she gained a lot from the experts’ advice:
“Listening to the lecturers and how they look at life and use their knowledge to make their voice heard in their different associations gave me a boost in making my voice heard now.”
“Escuchar a los expertos y saber cómo ellos ven su vida y utilizan su conocimiento para hacer su voz oír en diferentes asociaciones, me dio un impulso para hacer que mi voz sea escuchada ahora.”
“Ao ouvir as palestras e como eles encaram a vida e como usam o seu conhecimento para fazer a sua voz ser ouvida nas suas diferentes associações me deu um impulso em fazer com que a minha voz seja ouvida agora”
Ana Amália de Sá, from Movimiento Pará, comes from Brazil and said she was also grateful for the programme. After the offline training in Bertioga she shared with the organisers:
“Me siento más motivada, inspirada y capaz de mucho más” – “I feel more motivated, inspired and capable of doing much more.” “Sinto-me mais motivada, inspirada e capaz de fazer muito mais”
The same feelings were shared among the European participants who found in Barcelona the opportunity to breath through the virtual wall and get to know each other and themselves better. For Eva Ribridova, who is part of the Czech Sokol Organisation, the training was a huge benefit:
“It supported me in lot of different ways. I think the biggest one is mental support. Now I know that I am able to do things that I was afraid of before. I realised that most of our fears are in our heads and when someone helps us to cross these barriers we can grow and be stronger.”
“Me ayudó de muchas maneras. Creo que la mayor fue la ayuda metal. Ahora sé que soy capaz de hacer cosas de las que tenía miedo de hacer antes. Mi razón es que las mayoría de nuestros miedos están en nuestras cabezas y cuando alguien nos ayuda a cruzar ese miedo, podemos crecer y ser más fuertes.”
“Ajudou-me muito de formas diferentes. Eu acho que a maior delas é o apoio mental. Agora eu sei que eu sou capaz de fazer coisas que eu antes tinha medo. A minha razão é que a maioria dos nossos medos estão nas nossas cabeças e quando alguém nos ajuda a atravessar/superar estas limitações podemos crescer e ser mais fortes”
When asked about networking with diverse participants during the programme, Sean Gregory, representing SportMalta, shared that:
“(…) we became friends. This makes it easy to work with different people from different cultures.”
“Nos hicimos amigos. Esto hace más fácil el trabajar con diferentes personas, de diferentes culturas.”
“(...) Tornamos-nos amigos. Isso faz com que seja fácil trabalhar com diferentes pessoas de diferentes culturas.”
Nicolas Campos, from Fundación Salud “Dr. Augusto Turenne” in Uruguay, said he would take valuable lessons from the programme back to his country:
“Estoy satisfecho con el módulo ya que me voy para mi país con muchas enseñanzas. ¡Fue una experiencia increíble! Me encantó el hecho de poder compartir culturas y absorver valiosos conocimientos de excelentes profesionales.”
“I am satisfied with the training because I am going to my country with a lot of new knowledge. It was an incredible experience. I enjoyed being able to share with different cultures and learn valuable knowledge from excellent professionals”.
“Estou satisfeito com o treinamento porque eu vou para o meu país com uma grande quantidade de novos conhecimentos. Foi uma experiência incrível. Eu gostei de ter tido a oportunidade de conviver com diferentes culturas e aprender ensinamentos valiosos de excelentes profissionais.”
For Irma from Bulgaria the most inspiring thing was
“to meet young, creative people with whom I can share ideas.”
“Conocer jóvenes, gente creativa con las que puedo compartir mis ideas.”
“Conhecer jovens, pessoas creativas com quem eu consigo partilhar ideias.”
Eduardo Roberto Uhle from Sesc Sao Paulo, one of the partner organisations of the programme, said:
“When we first started, the general idea was to motivate and give tools to young people to take part in organising and managing sport events, but now I find that it was also about being inspired and learning a lot”.
And this was one of the programme’s main goals, to create the space for young, motivated change-makers to be inspired and to inspire others. That opportunity was given to these participants, and it is now up to them to carry it through to their activities..
This learning and inspiring spirit/enthusiasm flew from one continent to the other, overcoming organisational obstacles, such as the technical feat of running an international leaning platform and facilitating “face-to- face” virtual meetings among the participants, and cultural barriers. It was important for ISCA and the project partners to stay in touch with each participant in their own countries throughout the programme, to equip them with tools that will motivate their communities when they promote the importance of being physical active. Even though it was not always possible to meet in person, the camaraderie grew between the organisers and participants during the programme.
Youth on the MOVE gave 60 young people from two continents the space and the opportunity to develop their skills in physical activity promotion. Now it is up to all the participants to make this opportunity count and to make it grow. The Latin American participants are, according to Tatiana Camargo, ISCA Latin America Secretary from Sesc Sao Paulo,“very committed and they are very excited to put their project into practice during the MOVE Week.”
So, what are we waiting for?
Let’s MOVE this world :)
#NowWeMOVE
#GrowTheMOVEment
The “Youth on the MOVE” project is co-financed by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme under Capacity Building in the Field of Youth. It is led by the following four organisations:
- ISCA – International Sport and Culture Association (Denmark)
- ISESC São Paulo – Social Service of Commerce (Brazil)
- IUBAE - (Spain)
- IV4SPORT – Volunteers 4 Sport (Poland)
