The second workshop in Italy
International participants in the interdiac Learning Programme ‘Make Change Yourselves: Turning Challenges to Your Advantage’ came together for their 2nd Programme Workshop in Torre Pellice (Italy), 7th - 11th November. The event was hosted by Diaconia Valdese, which is a partner in this international project.
The programme participants brought relevant learning from their practice with marginalised young people to the group discussion. During the week they shared their findings with each other, reflected and discussed in small groups. It was shared their work in the practice period - the time between the first and second workshops. They shared inputs from the workshop leaders, engaged in creative exercises and followed a programme of local visits. On the local visit, they visited Diaconia Valdese to discover how they work with young people. The second visit was to the living library in the town - where they do more for the people than simply offering books. All these activities were built around the theme of motivation and engagement of marginalised young people. The thematic learning on how to build group trust and work with a youth group and how to support a group and build personal motivation was the highlight of the week. Suggestions for creating a safe space and for applying ethical principles in work with marginalised youth were also discussed in depth. This week was also a time for sharing the differences between the cultures - we had a convivial evening. It started with a small quiz game and was followed by the sharing of different food and music. And because it is impossible to visit Italy without trying pizza, one evening the group visited a pizzeria in the town of Lucerna, where you can get ‘runny’ pizza. In the end, the feedback from participants about what they could take to home was expressed in a few words - for example, one participant from Latvia wrote: “Love, motivation for kids, being together”. Thanks go to all participants for the good atmosphere and to our Italian partner - Diaconia Valdese - for being
an excellent host. Special thanks go to Anais Scaffidi Domianello for her really fine practical organisation of the workshop and her continual openness to finding the way to meet all our needs.
In the next practice period, the participants will continue their work with marginalised young people, aiming to empower them to work for change in their localities and communities. Their work aims to develop youth diaconia for innovation and the programme supports the exchange of good practice towards youth empowerment and engagement in local communities.
