On October 24-30 2019, the last training under the #GetUpStandUp project took place. It took place in Cyprus in the village of Pedoulas, which is located in the beautiful mountainous scenery of the Greek part of the island. The workshop was attended by over twenty people who represented six countries (Poland, Germany, Czech, Italy, Greece and Cyprus).
Three of our volunteers – Dorota, Dominik and Jonasz – had the opportunity to improve their knowledge about human rights, threats arising from conflict and violence, the ability to break down problems into prime factors, analysis of specific examples and the importance of peace and informal education.
During this week, workshop participants formed several groups that worked on selected topics (including sex education in Poland, the problem of plastic waste, cyberbullying, conditions in refugee camps). The raised issues became the main examples on the basis of which everyone learned about existing strategies and tools that can be used in practice. In addition, thank during many hours of exercises and discussions, all members could create their own plans, strategies for defense and fighting for human rights. The aforementioned groups formed a conflict tree, practiced mapping and visualization of potential partners and sponsors, analyzed various mediation scenarios with representatives representing various interest groups. These elements are extremely useful due to the fact that when there is talk about human rights activities or, more generally, when any activism is planned – in addition to knowledge about the selected problem – it is also important to skillfully choose actions, select the correct audience and adapt the strategy to her.
The last day was devoted to a trip to the capital of Cyprus Nicosia, where participants had the chance to enter the buffer zone. During their stay in the capital, they could talk with people who try every day to work to strengthen ties and communication between two parts of the island (Turkish and Greek). The workshops passed very quickly for our volunteers, and thanks to the fantastic atmosphere and attitude of all participants, they returned to Poland in excellent moods and full of energy to act.
