2017
YMCA EUROPE ROOTS FOR RECONCILIATION PROJECT http://rfr.ymcaeurope.com
*REPORTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
LOCAL CAPACITIES FOR PEACE SEED GRANT TOOL - Activities in South Caucasus 2017
“Roots for Reconciliation” (hereinafter referred to as “RfR”) is a YMCA Europe project and is currently going through third implementation phase (2016-2019). The project aim is to promote stronger youth activism towards peaceful transformation of conflicts in Europe. To this end the following overall objective is set to be achieved: through enhancing the skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, perceptions and circumstances of young women and men affected by conflicts to change their approaches and behaviour for peace. The current phase of RfR consists of three main project components: 1. Local Capacities for Peace (LCP) 2. Peace Work Institute (PWI) 3. Reflecting on Peace Practices (RPP) RfR Local Capacities for Peace (LCP) This project component has been developed based on best practices and experience obtained from previous two phases of RfR project. It aims at strengthening the local capacities for peace in the region of South Caucasus, through structured follow-up of local RfR PWI alumni from Armenia, Georgia and Nagorno Karabakh and continued cross-border and regional cooperation; to further enhance the capacities built and benefits created by the RfR so far, both human resources and assets considered. To achieve this goal, The Seed Grant Tool project component is applied. It envisages allocating specific funds to local partners in Armenia, Georgia and Nagorno Karabakh to elaborate, plan and implement conflict transformation sub-projects that they deem relevant in their respective communities and countries. Special (RfR LCP) Program Committee comprising representatives from YMCAs of Armenia, Georgia and Nagorno Karabakh was created to assess and approve the project proposals. Based on previously elaborated criteria, the Committee reviewed submitted project proposals from YMCAs of Armenia, Georgia and Nagorno Karabakh; and upon issuing recommendations and subsequent amendments, approved all proposals. Four Seed Grant Tool (SGT) sub-projects have been implemented in the region of South Caucasus in 2017: 1. “Camping & Outdoor Education – Road towards Peace”. July 23-29, 2017. YMCA Georgia Resource Centre “Camp Orange”. Ureki, Georgia. The major aim: to prepare skilled camp leaders and promote camping program as a successful tool for peace work and conflict transformation. 40 participants represented 7 (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Ukraine & USA) member, cooperating and partner organizations of YMCA Europe and YMCA of the USA, as well as other non-YMCA organizations. Average Age of participants: 25, 9 years. 2. “The Camp for Hope”. July 25-31, 2017. Patara Village, Nagorno-Karabakh. Aimed to promote active civic engagement and peace promotion in the region. There were 95 participants and 9 program leaders from various local regions of Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia. The majority of participants were aged 18-30. 3. “Syrian-Armenian YMCA Youth Forum”. August 11-13, 2017. Vardenis YMCA Resource Centre. Daranak, Armenia. The main aim of the Forum was to empower and prepare the Syrian Armenian YMCA group leaders for the successful implementation of their forthcoming project “LiveLove Camp”. 15 participants. 4. “LiveLove Camp”. August 19-26, 2017. Camp Manushak, Armenia. The aim of the camp was to bring together Syrian-Armenian displaced children and youth for the YMCA Camp experience to provide psychological support and recreational activities in a safe space. 110 participants aged 12-20. 1|Page
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CAMPING & OUTDOOR EDUCATION – ROAD TOWARDS PEACE” - JULY 23-29, 2017, UREKI, GEORGIA………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………..…….3 1. The Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………….………………..………………..4 2. The Participants’ Profile.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4 3. Preparation & Implementation 3.1. The Preparation Process………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...5 3.2. The Team…………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………..5 3.3. The Program Process ……………………………………………………………………………………….…….………………………5 3.4. Other activities…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………..9 4. The Evaluation…………………………………………………………………………………………………...………………….…………10 5. General Conclusion……………………………………………………………….……….……………………..………………………….11 6. The Resources…………………………………………………….………………..……….…..…………………………………………….11 7. The List of Appendixes……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..12 8. The Program……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………….12 9. The list of Participants…………..……………………………………………………………………………….………………………..13 10. Post-Event Evaluation Survey Results……………………………………………………………………………..………………14
II. “THE CAMP FOR HOPE”, 25-31 JULY, 2017 - PATARA, ARTSAKH (NAGORNO KARABAKH)…23 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………24 Aims & Objectives ..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30 Profile of Participants ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………33 The Team ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………..33 Evaluation ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..35 General Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..36 Future Plans & Sustainability …………………………………………………………………………………………………………38 Resources ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..39 Appendixes ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………39 The list of Participants……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………40 The Program………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………….43
III. SYRIAN ARMENIAN YMCA YOUTH FORUM, AUGUST 11-13, 2017 - VARDENIS YMCA RESOURCE CENTER, DARANAK VILLAGE, ARMENIA……………………………………………………………..44 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
General Description…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………45 Activities & Sessions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..46 Evaluation……..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..46 The list of Participants……………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….47 The Program………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….48
IV. LIVELOVE CAMP 2017, 19 – 26 AUGUST, 2017, CAMP MANUSHAK, TOROSGYUGH, ARMENIA………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………50 1. General Information about the event……………………………………………………………………………………………..50 2. Profile of the participants……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….50 3. Report on program forum………………………………………………………………………………………………………………51 4. General conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………52 5. Sustainability………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….53 6. Resources……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….53 7. Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..53 8. The list of Participants……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..54 9. The Program…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….56 2|Page
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I. “CAMPING & OUTDOOR EDUCATION – ROAD TOWARDS PEACE” JULY 23-29, 2017, UREKI, GEORGIA
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1. The Introduction The Local Capacities for Peace Seed Grant Tool (LCP SGT) is one of the major components of actual phase of YMCA Europe Roots for Reconciliation (RfR) project. The concept was elaborated based on best practices from previous phases of RfR and aims towards strengthening the Local Capacities for Peace of involved organizations, with particular focus on South Caucasus Region. One of the activities within the LCP SGT framework in 2017 – “Camping & Outdoor Education – Road towards Peace” was held at YMCA Georgia Community Resource Center “Camp Orange” on July 23-29, 2017. The detailed description of program modules & activities is provided as narrative in this report.
2. The Participants’ Profile “Camping & Outdoor Education – Road towards Peace” enrolled 40 participants representing 7 (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Ukraine & USA) member, cooperating and partner organizations of YMCA Europe and YMCA of the USA, as well as other non-YMCA organizations. All key Roots for Reconciliation Project staff members were present at the event. Position: 13 participants were Staff; 24 participants were volunteers/leaders in respective YMCA organizations & 3 participants were beneficiaries/from non-YMCA organizations. Gender Balance: 21 participants were female and 19 participants were male. Average Age of participants: 25, 9 years.
3. The Preparation Process, the Program Process & the Team 3.1. The Preparation Process The preparation process started in November 2016 at RfR Peace Work Institute Pre-Session in Czech Republic, during which the concept of envisaged activity was introduced to the key leaders of earmarked organizations and preliminary agreement of participation was reached. The Planning Team included Vardan Hambardzumyan (YMCA Europe RfR Project Coordinator), Revaz Shavladze (YMCA Europe RfR Project Assistant), Marius Pop (YMCA Europe RfR Project Assistant) & the representatives of involved organizations: Hayk Khachatryan (Secretary General of YMCA Armenia); Arthur Papyan (President of YMCA Armenia); Viktor Serbulov (Secretary General of YMCA Ukraine); Nataliia Vainilovych (YMCA Ukraine); Jonathan Saldner (Senior Specialist of YMCA of the USA
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International Group); Alexei Kostyakov (Secretary General of YMCA Russia); Anastasia Tsygankova (Programs Manager of YMCA Russia) & David Melkumyan (President of YMCA Nagorno Karabakh). The members of the group were responsible for different components of the preparation process and performed various tasks, such as: drafting and elaboration of the program; identification and selection of participants; arrangement of venue and travel details, etc. The process was regularly coordinated via Skype and phone calls, email communication, etc.
3.2. The Team & Facilitators The overall facilitation of Tbilisi PWI Session was conducted by Revaz Shavladze (YMCA Europe RfR Project Assistant). The specific program modules were facilitated by: 1. Planning Team Members - Revaz Shavladze (YMCA Europe RfR Project Assistant); Nataliia Vainilovych (YMCA Ukraine) & Anastasia Tsygankova (Programs Manager of YMCA Russia. 2. Participants – Lisa Thatcher, Dan Crocker, Jay Cassidy, Colman Crocker & Dave Kaubin (YMCA of the USA); Tina Larionova & Marina Martynenko (YMCA Russia); Pardy Bedrossian & Alber Yelangozyan (YMCA Armenia); Ani Kalabegashvili (YMCA Georgia).
3.3. The Program Process 3.3.1. Opening, Expectations, House Rules & Home Groups – July 24, 2017 The session was opened by Vardan Hambardzumyan (YMCA Europe RfR Project Coordinator), who welcomed the participants to the project scheme and provided the overview about the history, aims and objectives of RfR, as well of LCP SGT project component in particular. Gela Chikhradze (Secretary General of YMCA Georgia) welcomed the participants to the event venue and highlighted the significance of RfR project activities for the growth and development of involved organizations and individuals, with especial focus on great benefits that YMCA Georgia has received since the start of the initiative in 2017. Revaz Shavladze (YMCA Europe RfR Project Assistant): 1. Spoke about the “house rules” to be applied and respected by all participants in order to ensure the uninterrupted and smooth implementation of all envisaged program activities; 2. Facilitated the session on expectations – enabling the participants to express about their motivation to participate in the activity; 3. Facilitated the division of participants in so-called “Home Groups”, aimed at creating safe space for the participants coming from different country contexts and for building amiable relations between them through shared event facilitation responsibilities and common platform for program daily review and recap. The “Home-Group” tool is also very useful for organizers in order to collect ongoing daily feedback from participants and to take relevant actions/apply changes based on the emerging needs & priorities. The division was carried out by Revaz Shavladze (YMCA Europe RfR Project Assistant) in coordination with Planning Team prior to the start of the event, with maximum consideration of gender, ethnic and age balance.
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3.3.2. Camping Program as a Tool for Personal Growth & Team Building – July 24, 2017 Lisa Thatcher & Dave Kaubin (YMCA of the USA) delivered the session in two shifts. Via different communication tools (narrative, games, role-plays, feedback and sharing, etc), they focused on the important role that Camping Program can play in the lives of children and young people during their formation years and how it can be and is used as a tool to bring up the generations with good health and values. The facilitators shared various positive transformational examples based on their personal experiences and careers as Campers, Camp Counselors & Camp Directors. During both sessions, the participants were actively involved in the process, had the opportunity to observe, learn and share.
3.3.3. How to Resolve a Problem – July 25, 2017 Jay Cassidy, Dan Crocker & Colman Crocker (all from YMCA of the USA) co-facilitated the Session. Problems may vary, but everybody is affected by some kind of problem on daily basis. The session was 6|Page
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dedicated to demonstrating the different approaches to resolving problems that focus on positive aspects of situations and help affected individuals, groups, communities, etc to overcome them in a way that harms no one. Such approach is especially significant when involved in peace-work and conflict transformation activities. The working process was conducted on individual and group basis.
3.3.4. Family & Youth Camps – July 25, 2017 YMCA Russia (Tina Larionova, Marina Martynenko & Natalya Martynenko) shared about rich experience of their YMCA in organizing Family and Youth Camps in different locations of Russia and provided detailed description of all the components that are essential to organize successful camp session. The process included verbal narrative, flipchart and PowerPoint presentations and interaction with participants.
3.3.5. Day Trip to National Park – July 26, 2017 Within the program framework, the participants had the opportunity to visit and hike in the National Park located 20 km. away from the event venue and to spend the entire day together – subjecting themselves to extra challenges, fostering individual and group ties and enjoying the beautiful nature of the region.
3.3.6. “Islands” – July 27, 2017 YMCA Russia Team led the session focused on teambuilding, cooperation and communication skills. The entire group was divided in 3 parts, with specific roles assigned to each one of them. The activity served to demonstrate how subjecting individuals and groups of people to certain conditions (Cultural Differences; Unfair Resource Distribution, Conflict Situations, Different Negotiation Skills, etc.) may affect their behavior and hence create unequal and tense environment.
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Upon completion of the exercise, the participants were encouraged to share their feelings and ideas about how inequality can be tackled and consensus achieved.
3.3.7. Sports Workshops –July 25 & 27, 2017 YMCA Movement has always been in the forefront of promoting healthy lifestyle on global level and being innovative in doing so (Basketball and Volleyball were invented as YMCA programs more than hundred years ago); and YMCA Georgia has introduced Baseball and Streetball as its programs in the country in 90-ies. This trend continued during the activity as it was the first time for most of the participants to get involved in playing sports like Spike Ball, Inter Crosse and American Football. Members of YMCA of the USA and YMCA Georgia conducted the sessions, during which participants
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learned a lot and had even more fun.
3.3.8. Playback Theatre – July 28, 2017 Nataliia Vainilovych introduced the art of performance as a tool for promoting peace and dialogue. The content had interactive nature and focused on exercises and simulations both individually and in groups. The participants were encouraged to share, to be creative, to overcome their fears/prejudices & to cooperate. In the end of the session, the participants staged the performance dedicated to the theme of peace.
3.4 Other Program Events By the end of each day the participants got together in their respective Home-Groups to discuss how the working day went based on previously prepared questions. This program component really helped to receive ongoing feedback from participants and therefore to take their remarks into consideration whenever applicable. During one of the afternoons, the participants were granted the possibility to enjoy the warm weather and to go for swimming in nearby sea; and one another one the entire group traveled to Batumi to explore one of the largest and most attractive cities of Georgia. • • • •
The program also included: The Musical Evening, during which all the participants were given the chance to express their musical talent to the entire group; The Interactive Quiz Game, dedicated to testing the knowledge of participants about YMCA, as well as other areas of interest. The Journey with Roots (Participants of previous phases of RfR project – Ani Kalabegashvili (YMCA Georgia)and Marina Martynenko (YMCA Russia) shared about their experience within the project; 9|Page
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The Intercultural Evening, when all National Groups shared their culture and traditions.
4. Evaluation Upon the termination of all planned activities within the program, several types of evaluation methods were applied: Ani Kalabegashvili (YMCA Georgia) led the session focused on encouraging participants to express their feelings and emotions about the event and how it affected them on individual level; The Immediate Reaction Evaluation in the form of verbal and written feedback enabled participants to express their opinion about the event in general.
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The Post-Event Online Learning Evaluation was launched 1 month after the completion of the event. 1
5. General Conclusion Overall, “Camping & Outdoor Education – Road towards Peace” was largely implemented as planned; the process went along smoothly, with minor shifts of content units in program within the given timeframe to allow more time for participants’ inputs and discussions, as well as to manage incurring logistical issues along the way. The overall event atmosphere was good and positive with participants being actively participating and involved in the process and focusing intently on the respective individual and group assignments. All due tasks were elaborated and delivered.
6. Resources http://ymcaeurope.com/ureki-2017 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ymcaeurope/albums/72157687363900816/with/356894520 33/
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Please see as appendix to this report.
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7. Appendixes
Appendix 1 – The Event Program Appendix 2 – The List of Participants Appendix 3 – Post-Event Evaluation Survey Results
Appendix 1 - Event Program
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Appendix 2 - The List of Participants
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Appendix 3 – Post-Event Evaluation Survey Results
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II. “The Camp for Hope”, 25-31 July, 2017 Patara, Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh)
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1. Introduction A summer tent camp was held in Patara village in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) by YMCA Artsakh in frames of the YMCA Europe “Roots for Reconciliation” project on 25-31 July, 2017. Young people from all the regions of Artsakh took part in the camp, including border communities. The campsite was located up in a forest up in the mountains and there was a small river flowing next to the camp where the campers could swim to chill a bit on hot summer days. The weather was great. It was quite hot at noon, so sometimes the campers were given some time to stay away from the sun in the tents and rest.
The campsite belongs to the federation of Tourism of Artsakh and was rented by YMCA Artsakh for the project. The camp had a well-established infrastructure (sufficient number of tents put up all over the place with sleeping bags provided, a space for meetings, campfire place, showers, toilets, a kitchen and a canteen). Members of the staff of the Emergency Situations Service of the Republic of Artsakh stayed in the campsite during the whole camp to ensure the safety of the campers and to provide first aid, in case needed. The camp started with the official presentation of the YMCA worldwide movement and YMCA Europe and its “Roots for Reconciliation” project in particular. YMCA Artsakh leaders spoke about the YMCA movement in Artsakh and the work they are engaged with in their country. The camp project and its main goals were presented to the campers, too. The opening ceremony was very well organized welcoming solemnly all the participants and presenting the camp program after which the camp rules for campers were introduced. On the first day the campers were divided into home groups ensuring that each home group has participants of different backgrounds: gender, age, region they come from. The home groups made it 24 | P a g e
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easier to manage the campers in teams. The first task for all the teams was to decide on their names and all the names given were very creative and funny. Each day the home groups were assigned to take care of different organizational issues such as morning exercise, time-keeping, helping the kitchen team, etc. Besides, it was easier to work in smaller teams in practical parts of the program. At the end of each day, all the home groups gathered together to discuss and sum up the day. The positive and negative parts of each day, as well as the suggestions and questions they had worked on in their home groups were presented by team delegates to the camp steering group comprising of the main leaders. Home groups also contributed to more productive communication and made it a lot easier to get to know each other and make friends, especially during such big events with such a big number of people involved (around 100) and restricted time (only a week). The camp program was developed in such a manner that ensured diversity of activities of different formats. The schedule of the whole week was quite busy for the participants. Morning outdoor exercise was a good start of the day and the favorite part of the program for the majority of the campers and they felt quite energized after the physical exercise. There was a series of training sessions planned for the week. All the participants were very motivated and interested to get as much as possible from the trainers. First of all, YMCA Europe “Roots for Reconciliation” project and the Peace Work Institute (PWI) as the RfR project consistent part were presented to the camp participants by the elder generation of the “rooters” and PWI first phase (2012-2015) alumni. YMCA Artsakh was represented by 2 participants in the PWI- David Melkumyan (YMCA Artsakh president) and Vladimir Ghulyan (volunteer). Vladimir is currently representing YMCA Artsakh in the RfR Programming Committee within the RfR Local Capacities (LC) for Peace Seed Grant Tool (PSGT) along with 1 representative of Armenia and 1 from Georgia, which actually approved the application for the grant for this project during the selection meeting in October 2016. Anzhelika Zaqaryan, who represents YMCA Artsakh in PWI second phase
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(2017-2019), took part in the camp too. The training sessions covered topics like conducting negotiations, leadership and communicational skills and were mainly facilitated by Tevan Poghosyan, an active social and political leader, a former member of the General Assembly (Parliament) of the Republic of Armenia and by the YMCA leaders. The role of a youth organization is guiding the process of youth participation in a real efficient cooperation with adults sharing knowledge and experiences. It is important that young people are not regarded as a vulnerable social group but partners of full potential.
In this sense, the daily meetings with public figures representing the elder generation and discussing the main issues in specific spheres in the Republic of Artsakh were very important and motivating. The meetings were also quite challenging as the speakers were addressing the young as the present and the potential leaders and encouraging them to understand the situation not only in the local context but also in the context of current developments in the region and the whole world. The speakers, holding high positions in the current Government, asked questions to the youth and looked for rational suggestions and fresh ideas to consider in their work. This was very motivating for the youth and they held quite lively and active discussions. It was very interesting to observe them trying to contribute to the further development of their country. It was essential for them to realize that their voice was heard and their opinions mattered. Mr. Ashot Ghulyan, the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh had an informal conversation with the campers raising the issues the youth are interested in on the one hand and speaking about the state policy on youth engagement and development on the other. He answered all the questions the campers rose. Mr Ghulyan did his best to spend as much time with the campers as possible. He was engaged in the sports activities as a referee. He even joined the campers to prepare food for the farewell dinner again communicating with the campers informally. On the next day the campers met Mr. Artur Mkrtumyan, the Chairman of the Executive Board and General Director of Base Metals CJSC, Deputy Chairman of Vallex Group, which includes Kashen mining complex. Kashen is the largest mining complex of copper-gold ore deposits found in Martakert region, Artsakh. Currently it is quite a big industrial branch in the country providing employment opportunities 26 | P a g e
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for many people, including young people. Mr. Mkrtumyan provided the campers with the opportunity to visit the mining complex and learn how the whole process of mining industry is organized. During the meeting with Ms. Narine Aghabalyan, the Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs, the campers, as the most active young people in the republic, had a chance to speak out about the difficulties the youth face in Artsakh, also to bring forward new ideas to make the life of youth more interesting, active and productive. She promised to consider them and help to bring to life any youth initiative submitted to the Ministry that will be present an interesting idea and will be well-designed, sound realistic and achievable, as well as have a clear plan for its further sustainability. This meeting was quite encouraging for young activists to stand for their rights and to take up responsibility and initiate new projects. Everyone was greatly impressed by the meeting with Mr. Grigoriy Gabrielyants, the former Minister of Geology of the USSR. He recently moved to this beautiful country and is currently acting as an advisor of the President of the Republic of Artsakh. Apart from talking about the natural resources in the territory of Artsakh and about the newly-opened Geological Museum in Shushi with many precious exhibits also from his personal collection, Mr. Gabrielyants spoke about life in general, about his personal and professional achievements and gave some good piece of advice to the youth on how to live and to work for self-development. Also Mr. Gabrielyants shared his concerns and his thoughts about the current situation in the Republic of Artsakh from the perspective of a representative of the elder generation and from the perspective of his current position in the Government. His speech was quite inspiring and the campers would not let him go for quite a long time asking a lot of questions. He patiently answered all of them, though sometimes quite tricky and funny. The constant tensions on the border and aggravating crisis in the conflict are the priority issue for the republic and the situation on the borders is the most important news of the day for every citizen of Artsakh. Perhaps that was the reason the meeting with Mr. Levon Mnatsakanyan, the Minister of Defense of Artsakh, evoked the greatest interest of all. The Minister spoke about the recent
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developments on the borders and the priorities for the Ministry to ensure keeping the ceasefire. He also spoke about the recent escalations (April war, 2016) and the issues for the peaceful regulation the conflict faces. The campers asked lot of questions most of which concerned the engagement of youth and what kind of contribution is expected from them to reach the regulation of the conflict. Besides the official meetings, the camp hosted famous pop stars - the famous group of “Voices of Artsakh� among them, who performed for the campers and with the campers in the evenings. Gagik Benikovich (Gagas) who played the accordion and Arsen Safaryan, a famous pop singer were among the guests who were warmly welcomed by the campers as well. It is worth mentioning, that there were very talented young people among the campers who played the guitar and sang perfectly gathering everyone around the campfire every night. They also performed with the guests and made a great impression on them. Tamara Sargsyan, one of the campers is a professional Armenian folk dance teacher and during the week she worked with the camp participants teaching them a national dances, which were performed during the closing event. The camp hosted the students of the Pan-Armenian Media School headed by Sergey Chamanyan, who were in Artsakh with charity concerts for the border communities those days. Their concert on the last night is noteworthy in particular as the campers enjoyed it greatly singing and dancing together with them. There was a professional DJ invited to the camp that ensured the constant presence and the high quality of music in the camp. Social websites and social media are very popular nowadays, but it is very important to learn about their full potential and the possibilities they provide, as well as to get the skills to use them correctly. The latter is very important in modern life, as it is possible either to support an idea or a campaign or harm it. And this is even more crucial when we speak about people living in conflict zones and following, posting and commenting on current situation or recent developments in countries in conflict. It is very important to be careful with any single photo or word not to provoke aggression or to aggravate the situation.
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A famous social media journalist-Konstantin Ter-Nakalyan, who visited the camp together with the Pan-Armenian Media School, held a session on the development of the social media, world-famous scandals on social media, as well as on information security and social media usage considering the political context. This session was a piece of food for thought and made the young change their attitude towards social media. They regard it now as a serious means of transmitting information intentionally or by chance, and not only as a platform for communication and entertainment. Karen Makhmuryan, a famous movie director, held a master class on the basics of making a short movie. He tried to explain how to present a full idea in a short clip. This session helped the campers to understand what the main highlights should be in a video that lasts several minutes and how to find creative solutions to complete the video. These skills will be very useful for the campers, as the YMCA is famous for making short videos to promote an idea for a campaign or to report on different activities. There was a sports day in the camp program with different competitions held between the home groups of the campers and everybody did their best to get higher points and struggled to win. It was a lot of fun to watch the young campers fighting for “fair play” in every single competition and make efforts to get the victory. Apart from the above mentioned, the camp program, of course, included a lot of energizers and games. The traditional game of a “secret friend” was again quite popular. It was interesting to observe how creative youngsters can be to prepare unique gifts for their friends with limited resources while living in a forest. This game is a very good way of making friends and this friendship usually continues also after the camp. The outdoor camp and the campsite itself added another element to the camp- scouting, which is actually one of biggest directions of the YMCA movement. It is a good example of learning how to survive in the nature and it is also an active and alternative way of rest. Tatul Bostanchyan, an experienced scout leader of YMCA Armenia and a PWI alumnus held a small workshop on how to make scout bread on fire. The closing of the camp was combined with the outdoor dinner on the last day of the camp, which was also very well organized. There were a lot of guests, including the guest speakers during the camp week, who made farewell speeches, too. Mr. Ashot Ghulyan had prepared special gifts for the camp organizers and main leaders, as well as for the most active participants. The campers had a great evening dancing and singing the whole evening.
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2. Aims & objectives The SGT proposal was a conflict transformation initiative to enhance the skills, knowledge, attitudes, values and perceptions of young people affected by the conflict and to influence their approaches and behavior through these changes for the sake of peace. YMCA Artsakh, being an inseparable part of the YMCA Europe RfR project, has the full potential and all the possibilities to use the successful practice of the RfR project in creating a safe space for building up relationship based on ‘Do No Harm’ principles. Improved mutual trust and understanding among youth in conflict-affected areas, peace culture and cross-border dialogue to be promoted in their own communities and youth empowerment to get engaged with civic initiatives of peaceful transformation of the conflict are among the achieved outcomes of the project. The best practice of the RfR project is taken for the new initiatives born within the frames of the project. As a youth organization YMCA Artsakh offers signature programs and provides a safe space for their implementation, thus has the full trust and support of the community, which is a high priority for any organization. YMCA Artsakh is bound to enforce its position as a leading youth organization in the community increasing the number of young people engaged both as program beneficiaries and as the organization leaders. Unfortunately, the community YMCA Artsakh serves offers limited opportunities for young people. To be able to encourage youth participation, it has to be ensured that their basic needs that include sufficient security, education, health care, know-how, etc. are met. Hence, the need of engaging them in identifying the priority issues in their homeland and involving them in finding solutions to them emerges. They should be concerned about developing their country and establishing peace to ensure post-conflict reconciliation in the region. 30 | P a g e
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The geo-political circumstances and current socio-economic issues described in the project proposal cause a huge level of emigration and especially among young people who leave the country in search for better opportunities. Democracy and governance are the primary platforms in which participation is observed. Participatory democracy will ensure development for everybody due to engagement of people in decision making processes. From the YMCA viewpoint, youth participation is social participation, which means getting involved in all the stages of development (assessing the current situation, decision making, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation), as well as taking over and sharing responsibilities, learning about issues, voicing and advocating them, expressing their opinions. Youth being citizens of full rights have the right to participate in political, social, economic, cultural and educational spheres of a country. On the personal level, the youth participation is the right to be aware and engaged. That is why YMCA Artsakh is also bound to empower the youth and to enhance their participation as active citizens by regarding them as both the present and the future of the society and creating relevant conditions to ensure their active engagement. Youth cannot develop if they do not have opportunities to decide for their own lives and if they are passive, act as audience only and are informed only of general truths. By participation young people develop capacity- knowledge, skills, opinions, attitudes and goals. All this result in maturing of an individual, which is a continuous process and it can be achieved through participation only. Active, educated and engaged youth is a great asset to a country. In any democratic society active participation is more than just voting and being nominated as candidates, which are also important elements. Participation and active citizenship is having the right, the means, the space and the opportunity and, when needed, the support and impact on building up a good society. Young people who have their opinions and voice them, are more ambitious and stand firm for their goals, have realistic self-esteem and are sure of their potential will be more prepared to counteract risky, dangerous or unfair situations and new challenges. YMCA Artsakh admits the great role of youth in making changes in a community and in building up a civic society through active social participation, i.e. in addressing local issues and challenges. Making positive changes in young people’s lives, making their voices heard and their views taken seriously are the main components of meaningful youth social participation. In terms of offering possible solutions to existing issues, the youth are much more aware and have the capacity to assess the situation and analyze it objectively than the adults. Participation greatly contributes to the success of an initiative. If young people take part in planning and management of a project, they have their input in forms of valuable ideas and consider themselves as co-authors and have the sense of “ownership”, which in its turn results in more responsible behavior and willingness to accomplish it. Youth participation in different spheres of social life is a unique means of non-formal education “learning by doing” and gives the opportunity to get skills on different issues related to democracy. Thus, one of the main goals of the camp was to empower youth to be more active especially in developing democracy in the community and building up peace in the region of which they will benefit themselves. Former US president J.F. Kennedy Jr. embodied this notion, when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. 31 | P a g e
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The main methodology of this project was youth engagement and empowerment, raising their awareness and fostering their active social participation through developing capacity and providing opportunities to put it into practice. The camp had the following key tasks: •
encouraging youth leadership through a youth camp as a model of co-existence in challenging conditions and as a life-changing experience; • raising awareness on conflict history and current situation and peacemaking negotiations process; • engaging youth in identifying existing issues and looking for solutions to them; • cooperation, networking and exchange of best practices through visits and meetings on behalf of public figures; • integration and support to socially vulnerable youth groups of the community (IDPs, youth from rural and border areas); • encouraging active civic participation to act as “change agents” and “peace ambassadors”; • youth interaction and exchange of new ideas and opinions; • Cultural program with the participation of professional and famous singers.
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3. The Profile of the Participants Summer camp is a great way to gather young people who share the same interests. Our campers made friends and supported each other to get fully integrated into the team. They learned from each other, shared knowledge and experiences. Overall there were 100 people in the camp including the leaders and the technical staff. The camp Steering group of 9 members comprised of the most experienced leaders of YMCA Artsakh as well as the guest-leaders from Armenia. The direct beneficiaries of the project were young people aged 18-30 who are active youth opinion leaders in their communities. They are also identified as “children of war” since they were born during the years of the war and raised in uneasy peace. They have been directly and continuously affected by the conflict, living in isolation in a non-recognized country. Growing up in fragile peace and with the fear of the frozen war to break out again, young people in Artsakh have faced limitations connected with mobility across borders, social inclusion. They have been deprived of getting equal opportunities and faced cases of violation of human basic rights and dignity. Thus persistent and hard work towards their personal development, attitude and behavior change and conflict trauma healing are a top priority to empower them as good citizens and responsible community members to pursue stable peace and democracy development.
• • • • • • • •
The regions were represented as follows: 30 people- Stepanakert 12 people-Askeran region 10 people- Martuni 5 people-Martakert 5 people-Hadrut 2 people-Shahumyan 20 people- Pan-Armenian Media School 20 leaders –PWI alumni, former “rooters”, YMCA Artsakh leaders and technical staff
Active RfR participants were engaged in both designing and implementing phases of the project. The idea was to use the capacity and the experience of young people while planning an event for themselves and their peers. A special attention was paid to equal involvement of both genders as an important model for building up a contemporary and developed democratic society.
4. The Team YMCA Artsakh was the main role player and partner of the RFR in this project. The project main costs were covered by the RfR LCP SGT. YMCA Artsakh NGO was founded in 2004 and has been a cooperating member organization of YMCA Europe since then. Though quite young, due to its hard work and the impact made, YMCA Artsakh is one of the few international youth organizations with a long-term experience that has obtained the trust of the community members, especially the youth and has the support of the local and national government. YMCA Artsakh is cooperating with other local and international NGOs working in the republic
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YMCA Artsakh has been a part of YMCA Europe “Roots for Reconciliation” (RfR) project starting from the very beginning and it has been the most extensive and successful program in its YMCA experience. YMCA Artsakh has a great number of experienced leaders who participated in the RfR project 1st phase (2007-2010) which aimed at youth reunions and camping projects as a means to strengthen and extend the YMCA movement in the region and the project 2nd phase (2012-2015) which aimed at stronger youth activism towards peaceful transformation of conflicts in Europe. Alongside with the RfR project, YMCA Artsakh leaders and volunteers periodically were involved in other YMCA projects.
Two key participants were engaged in the Peace Work Institute (PWI) first phase and one participant in the second phase. All the three have been involved in the project preparation and implementation phases. In the scope of the RfR project YMCA Artsakh has implemented a number of programs based on the widening of regional and international cooperation and development of opportunities for young people in Artsakh. The basic directions of the activities carried out were summer youth camps, building up capacity for young people, cultural events, educational programs in the field of conflict resolution and leadership, study visits, etc. YMCA Artsakh has never had any paid staff. Volunteers have been the main role players as within the whole YMCA movement all over the world. Currently the organization has 80-100 volunteers aged 1450, which is a big number for such a small organization. 25-30 of them aged 22-30 regularly participated in YMCA local, national and international activities and have developed a wide range of skills. Most of the experienced volunteers still engaged with the organization were involved in the camp preparation and implementation phases either as project leaders or as technical staff. The Steering group of the “Camp for Hope” comprised of David Melkumyan (YMCA Artsakh president), Vladimir Ghulyan, Zoya Sargsyan, Tigran Melkumyan, Gegham Stepanyan, Georgi Petrosyan (YMCA Artsakh volunteers), Lusine Vardanyan, Tatul Bostanchyan, Haykuhi Karapetyan (Armenia). Most of the committee members are participants of the RfR projects and David Melkumyan, Vladimir Ghulyan, Lusine Vardanyan and Tatul Bostanchyan are also PWI first phase alumni.
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Before the camp, a preparation meeting was held in Stepanakert on 23-25 July, 2017 with the participation of the key leaders. The main preparation work was held on online platforms. In this initiative YMCA Artsakh also engaged the following partners: - Authorities holding high positions in the Republic of Artsakh who held small lectures about the history and current situation of conflict as well as about peace making process; - Specialists of the Emergency Situations Service of Artsak to ensure the security and provide first aid, if needed; - The Federation of Tourism of Artsakh to guide in outdoor living and managing an outdoor campsite; - Voices of Artsakh and Pan-Armenian Media School for the cultural component of the project.
5. The Evaluation During the camp the evaluation of each day was conducted. At the end of the day the groups were asked to answer the following questions: 1. What was good? 2. What was not so good? 3. Do you have any suggestions? One delegate from each home group shared the results of the discussions within the group with steering group. The feedback mostly was about the main activities of the day-trainings, meetings, games etc. as well as different technical issues that participants wanted to comment on. In answer to the first question, almost every group and every day the good, open, friendly atmosphere in the camp, the trainings and meetings with different public figures were mentioned. The campers liked the cultural evenings and the presence of the professional DJ, the healthy wake-ups, the campsite location and overall set-up, highly appreciated the opportunity to live in the nature, the campfire and the food too. The good quality of the organization of the camp, the project and its format, the effective and good work of the steering group were also frequently mentioned as the good parts of the camp. The answers to the second question were mostly technical, such as the absence of the phone and internet connection, some issues with toilets and showers, mosquitoes. Practical steps were taken to solve these issues (an opportunity to contact the families was provided starting from the 2nd day, a schedule was developed for everyone to be able to use the showers every day, sometimes additional water supply was organized, anti-mosquito sprays and mosquito bite ointments were provided). The home groups suggested to add some sports and more games, hiking and excursions, to have more free time during the day, etc. The steering group tried to take into consideration all the suggestions and to pay attention to the issues that were mentioned and in all the cases and, if possible, steps were taken so as everyone could feel good and comfortable during the camp. Considering this, more games were added into the program. At the end of the camp, the participants were asked to feel in evaluation forms in which they needed to assess the accommodation, food, trainings, meetings, team-work, the practicality of the camp (how relevant the knowledge and skills gained in the camp were), the work of the steering group, the games, the free time and the evening programs in a scale of from 1 to 5 (where 1 is very bad, 5 is very good). The average totals are the following: • • •
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• • • • • • •
Meetings – 4.7 Team-work – 4.2 Practicality – 4.4. Work of the steering group – 4.9 Games – 4.7 Free time – 4.5 Evening programs – 4.8
The average overall total for the camp is 4.7 from 5. In the final part of the evaluation there was a space for comments, suggestions and wishes and the campers mentioned that they would like the camp to be sustainable and become an annual event. They highlighted the importance of this kind of youth events and also suggested to have them more often, as well as to expand the YMCA movement throughout Artsakh. Most of the participants described the camp as a unique, useful, productive and unforgettable event in their lives. And last, but not the least. Almost everyone mentioned that it is their pleasure to be part of the YMCA and they would like to continue cooperation with this organization.
6. General Conclusion The “Camp for Hope” was a success. It brought together the active youth of the republic who are not indifferent towards the future of the country and are willing to take the initiative to make changes in the social and political life of the country. This camp was a good way to raise the youth’s awareness on such issues as the development processes in different spheres in the republic, the history of the conflict, the reasons and consequences, the 36 | P a g e
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current situation from a very objective and impartial point of view, etc. to be able to contribute to the peaceful regulation of the conflict and establishing peace in the region. It made them understand that they are a part of that reality and their main role is to get involved in the development processes and to take up responsibilities. Youth are not only the future, they are the present. The meetings with the high authorities during the camp made the youth understand that their opinions do matter and they are to voice the issues they face and advocate them on different platforms, as well as to work together to find solutions to them in cooperation with state agencies. As a youth organization, we strongly believe that every conflict has to come to an end and we believe in the great role younger generation plays in this. Yet in the past, few steps have been taken to engage youth activists in the negotiation process. The camp gave the youth a hope for a better and safer future with a clear understanding of their key role in the development of their homeland and, above all, in establishing peace in the region. It is noteworthy that these are the young people who have experienced the war or so-called “non-stable peace� themselves and they are more than interested in living in peace and in getting rid of war traces. It is significant to show the young generation that there is life after war and that the youth should overcome all sorts of challenges they face in this situation. Apart from this, it should be mentioned that the camp provided the youth with a lot of fun and a good summer rest. Everybody enjoyed the week in the great location and with the great company of active youth. Living and working together and the variety of activities included in the camp program gave them the opportunity to learn new things, to exchange ideas and share experiences. And finally, the camp was a great tool to promote the YMCA movement and to engage more young people with the organization. They were all empowered by the presentation of the youth movement and by the example of the elder YMCA generation speaking about the great opportunities provided by the YMCA such as personal and professional growth, a huge local and international network, new skills and knowledge, participation in events of different formats, travelling, etc.
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Social media, without doubt, is the most popular pastime of the youth for getting new friends, making small communities sharing the same interests and staying in contact nowadays. Nevertheless, another reason for the success of the project was the limited access to the phone and internet connection in the campsite because of which everyone would gather in the main points in the evenings either to play the guitar and sing folk and modern songs around the campfire or to play different games sitting in the canteen area. However, the positive side of the digital activism was displayed after the camp when every day there were new posts of camp photos and quotes in the Facebook group and even sharing photos of several small gatherings of the participants after the camp and challenging the others to join in. YMCA Europe was also provided with media updates on the implemented project to go to the RfR online platforms. The RfR logo was used in all the project related promo materials, including the Tshirts.
7. Future Plans & Sustainability YMCA Artsakh is committed to continue working on the previously identified directions and seeking for new opportunities for: 1. development and strengthening the YMCA movement; 2. staying engaged with the YMCA World and European Alliances and looking for more opportunities for cooperation; 3. staying as an actively involved part in the YMCA Europe RfR project; 4. looking for new partners and developing new ideas for more projects; 5. becoming the main role player in the fields of Youth and Peace work in the country; 6. striving to keep the experienced leaders engaged with the organization to ensure the sustainable and systematized institutional development of the organization; 7. mobilizing and engaging more active youth to ensure the generation change; 8. providing opportunities for raising their awareness, developing their knowledge and skills and enhancing their capacity; 9. engaging the youth in assessing their needs and identifying existing issues, as well as in finding solutions to them; 10. involving the youth in the development of the country and in peace work in the region; 11. Holding similar events both on national and international levels.
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8. Resources - YMCA Artsakh Facebook Page- https://www.facebook.com/YMCA.Artsakh/ - RfR Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/Rootsforreconciliation/ - YMCA Europe/RfR Web page- http://rfr.ymcaeurope.com/category/news/ - YMCA Europe Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/ymcaeurope/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ymcaeurope/albums/72157687785545056/with/36312307430/ - Artsakh TV- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPHY17BvMFw&feature=share - Albert Voskanyan, blogger- http://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/blogs/929/posts/29441; http://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/blogs/929/posts/29413; -Pan-Armenian Media School Facebook Pagehttps://www.facebook.com/PanarmenianMediaSchoolOfficial/photos/pcb.1791541067542306/17 91540147542398/?type=3&theater
9. Appendixes - List of Participants - Program
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10.Appendix 1 – The List of Participants
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11.Appendix 2 – The Program
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III. Syrian Armenian YMCA Youth Forum, August 11-13, 2017 Vardenis YMCA Resource Center, Daranak Village, Armenia
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1. General description A youth forum was held for the Syrian Armenian YMCA leaders in Daranak Resource Center in Daranak village, Armenia by the alumni of the Peace Work Institute of YMCA Europe “Roots for Reconciliation” project on 11-13 August, 2017.
Location The Daranak Resource Center is a 3-storey camp building located on the shore of Lake Sevan. It belongs to Vardenis YMCA and was constructed in 2009 in the scope of the YMCA Europe "Roots for Reconciliation" project. It can host up to 35 people at a time and provides good facilities for vents of different format.
The team The facilitators of the Forum were the alumni of the RfR project first Peace Work Institute – Tatul Bostanchyan and Lusine Vardanyan. Haykuhi Karapetyan, who is a former RfR project participant, was engaged in the team of the facilitators of the forum, too. Vardan Hambardzumyan, YMCA Europe Executive Secretary was there to support and share his knowledge with the participants and the facilitators.
Participants 11 Syrian Armenian YMCA leaders who organized and were going to implement the summer camp for Syrian-Armenian children, teenagers and young people in the scope of YMCA Europe "Roots for Reconciliation" project Local Capacities for Peace Seed Grant Tool took part in the forum.
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The forum facilitators had the purpose to introduce the RfR project, its history and its phases, the main directions of the work and the main events held, as well as the future plans to the participants. It was important for the group leaders to come together to as a team and to get to know each other a bit better. They learned new games on team- building, got some knowledge on emotional competence, on how to give and get feedback, as well as on how to evaluate a project. All the activities and the topics of the sessions were selected and developed as a result of the need assessment through the discussion held with the participants beforehand.
2. Detailed description of the activities and sessions The Forum started with the team-building activities. The participants played different team-building games and tried to find out how they were acting as a team in the discussions and analyzes, which took place afterwards. During the RfR project presentation the history of the project, the current events were presented. Tatul Bostanchyan, Haykuhi Karapetyan, Vardan Hambardzumyan and Lusine Vardanyan told their personal RfR stories to the participants, shared their experience and spoke about how the project changed them as persons and professionals and how they envisage the future of the project. At the feedback and evaluation session the main idea of feedback and evaluation was presented to the participants. They received some theoretical knowledge, as well as practical tools on how to evaluate a project, on how they can get a good, relevant and useful feedback from the project participants and on how to give a constructive feedback on anything. During the emotional competence session the main idea, types and importance of the emotional competence and intelligence were presented. Several practical tools on how to recognize and manage the emotions during different situations were given to the participants. All was presented through active involvement of the audience. The facilitators shared different kinds of group games, which could be used during the upcoming camp by the leaders. The participants and facilitators also had a great free time together swimming in beautiful Lake Sevan, or holding different kinds of personal sharing, discussions and playing fun games.
3. Evaluation and feedback At the end of the forum, the participants were asked to evaluate the event The location, food, the sessions of the forum, games and free time in a scale of from 1 to 5 (where 1 is very bad, 5 is very good). The average totals are the following: • • • • • • • •
Location – 4.6 Food – 3.6 Team-building session – 4.3. RfR presentation – 4.3 Feedback/evaluation session – 4.9 Emotional competence session – 4.3 Games – 4.7 Free time - 4
The average overall total for the camp is 4.3 from 5.
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4. Appendix 1 – The List of Participants
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5. Appendix 2 – The Program
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IV.
LiveLove Camp 2017, 19 – 26 August 2017, Camp Manushak, Torosgyugh, Armenia
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1. General Information about the event The Local Capacities for Peace Seed Grant Tool (LCP SGT) is a new Roots for Reconciliation element, yet its concept has also been developed based on the best practices of the previous two project phases. It aims at strengthening the local capacities for peace in the region of South Caucasus, through structured follow-up of the RfR PWI alumni and continued cross-border and regional cooperation further opening up the capacities built and benefits created by the RfR so far, both human resources and assets considered. In the framework of YMCA Europe Roots for Reconciliation project Local Capacities for Peace component and by support from RfR Program Committee a camp was organized by YMCA Armenia and YMCA Syrian-Armenians (hereafter YMCA SA) Initiative Group for 100 Syrian-Armenian participants living in Armenia. (Please See list of participants attached in Annex. 1) The project consisted of 3 parts: 1. August 11-13 a Programme Forum was held for the YMCA SA leaders at the YMCA Camp Daranak (Armenia). (See detailed report from the forum leader below) 2. August 17-19 on site preparation at Camp Manushak, Torosgyugh (Armenia), where program leaders prepared for the arrival of the participants. 3. August 19-26 LiveLovePanagoum 2017, Torosgyugh (Armenia). (See detailed program attached in annex 2)
The age range of the participants was from 11 to 20, in addition to 16 leaders from YMCA SA. The aim of the camp is to bring together 100 displaced children and youth for the YMCA Camp experience to provide psychological support and recreational activities in a safe space. To reach this aim a program was designed by the leaders of YMCA SA according to the following headlines: ●
Physical health activities:
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Fun and intellectual games: 1) Fun Games 2) Intellectual Games
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Discussion sessions:
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Tensing
The program was designed and implemented by YMCA SAs leaders which have had over 4 years of experience in organizing YMCA camps as well as previous experiences they had in their local community’s different youth organizations.
2. Profile of the participants During the Armenian Genocide, Western Armenians were deported and forced to march to the Syrian desert and from there they moved to different cities where they found refuge and established a new life. 100 years later, Syrian-Armenians had to choose between living in the war or leaving their homes to seek refuge in other countries. In 2012, the war reached Aleppo, where the majority of the Armenian community was located. Lots of Armenians decided to leave the country for the time being. Lebanon, Jordan, Canada, Sweden, and specially Armenia were the main countries that they chose as a refuge.
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In the winter of 2013, the Syrian-Armenian community was estimated to be around 12,000 in Armenia. All camp participants and leaders share the same background being Syrian-Armenians and moving to Armenia due to the ongoing war in Syria.
3. Report on Program Forum August 11 - 13 at the YMCA Camp Daranak (Armenia), a Programme Forum was held for the Syrian Armenian group leaders, within the YMCA Europe Roots for Reconciliation project - Local Capacities for Peace component. The Programme Forum was organized within the YMCA Europe Roots for Reconciliation Project Local Capacities for Peace component with the aim to prepare the Syrian Armenian YMCA group leaders for successful implementation of their project starting on August 19th and funded under the RfR Seed Grant Tool.
Feedback from Lusine Vardanyan - YMCA Armenia, Alumni of the RfR Peace Work Institute (the leader of the program forum) “Such a privilege and honor to continue the project, which started 10 years ago and to work with people who are the creators and staff of this great project. And to continue it not as a participant but as a person who is here to give and share something. So, now I am in a stage where I have the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience that I gained during these 10 years by participating in different RfR events. And it is not only about knowledge, information, tools, and techniques but also about feelings and emotions. It was decided to gather experienced Rooters from Armenia, Peace Work Alumni, who will realize trainings for the Syrian-Armenian YMCA leaders, based on the group needs. The leaders who will lead and implement the camp for more than 80 teenagers and young people in the scope of RfR Local Capacities for Peace Seed Grant Tool. I think, it is very important for old and new generations of Rooters to come together, talk, learn from each other, share and, why not, to have fun. That's what we did from 11 to 13 of August in Daranak, Armenia. In a resource center, which was built by RfR project support, in a lovely place with stunning view to beautiful Lake Sevan, amazing sunrises 51 | P a g e
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and sunsets. The place was not chosen by accident, it is one of the tangible results of the projects. And the place somehow was also a bridge between old and new stages of the Roots too. During the training, we present what Roots for Reconciliation project has done for these 10 years, what the whole project is about. And because it is also about personal growth and more about feelings and emotions me, Tatul and Haykuhi, people who passed through lot with this project, shared our personal Roots stories as well. We shared about Do No Harm methodology as a main tool, which is used for implementation of the events in the scope of RfR. We talked about team-building, and leadership, emotional competence, about feedback and evaluation and shared some tools, which can be useful for the camp implementation. We also shared some games, activities and had great 3 days together.�
4. General Conclusion Live Love filled up the tanks of motivations both for the participants and the leaders. Camps are one of the key elements in YMCA SA programs, because of the immediate effect that they have on each individual. Beyond the aims and objective mentioned on paper, every single participant gained something new. New friendships, being exposed to a new place, new perspective, motivation and for sure fun.
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5. Sustainability While participating in the project, Syrian-Armenian children and youth developed further as individuals and as leaders. The project consolidated and gave the possibility to Syrian-Armenian young people to be actively involved in solving the issues of their community and to contribute to the development of the Syrian-Armenian community and Armenia. The success of the project serves a good example for other young people and encourages them to get involved, make efforts in favor of solving the issues of youth in Armenia. All the new information shared during camp will be used to develop future projects for the team. After spending a week together, the leaders know the participants better and will be able to design programs to meet their needs.
6. Resources • •
https://www.facebook.com/SyrianArmeniansYMCA/?ref=br_rs https://www.instagram.com/ymca.syrarm/
7. Appendix • •
Annex 1: List of participants Annex 2: Camp program 53 | P a g e
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8. Appendix 1 – The List of Participants
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9. Appendix 2 – The Program
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Reported by: Vardan Hambardzumyan - “Roots for Reconciliation” Project Manager - vardan@ymcaeurope.com Revaz Shavladze - “Roots for Reconciliation” Project Assistant – rezi@ymcaeurope.com Marius Pop - “Roots for Reconciliation” Project Assistant - marius@ymcaeurope.com
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