" The best way to gather is to scatter "

Okay folks so as this is my last blog, let me give you a moment- because I know you will obviously miss me.

My last blog is just to say a massive thank you to both the team at Momentum and Mosta Youth for giving me this opportunity to be part of such great work. The projects which every organization puts there heart into should be commended and I hope that through participation other young people will get the chance to see this in the same way I have.  There is no better achievement in life than knowing you are helping others.  By educating, training, and inspiring the generations of tomorrow, one can hope to fall asleep at night knowing you are doing your best at this.

The beautiful capital and Farewell evening

Monday afternoon was devoted to discovering the architectural capital of Malta- Valetta.  The historical city had me aimlessly walking down the streets and piazzas. The feeling of being able to walk and walk with no destination has to be one of the most therapeutic. The city greatly reminded me of Rome, however the differences being it was far less crowded( inevitably from a smaller population) thus there was a peaceful ambience to it.

After an afternoon of exploring and early dinner, the National Agency of Malta began our last evening by presenting participation certificates and youth passes. Both representatives enjoyed the PowerPoint presentation reflecting our week in Malta, it was a highly entertaining slide show put together by Luke in Malta! Naturally drinks followed! The evening continued with laughter and reminiscing of the week. Although the night ended with goodbyes, I can genuinely say I know that it was not goodbye to the new friendships I had found ( Forgive me for bringing on the cheese!).

Project presentations

Monday was a fantastic last day. The morning began by giving presentations of our new potential projects which we had intensively been working on for the past two days.

 

It was evident that each group had put a great deal of effort in thinking imaginatively and producing unique projects which had not been offered in the past by any of the organizations. It was great to see that Slovakia had been so inspired by our very own 2020 Education, that a potential project in support of the movement was being drafted.

 

As I mentioned in my previous blogs, I have really felt the passion towards furthering the prospects of young people by each and every partner organization through out the project.

A taste of Mdina and InterCultural evening

Sun, Sea and a Shared Passion for Educating the Youth of Tomorrow

Hey there all,

What a couple of days it has been. It is Monday night and we have just had our farewell evening. So I realise I keep leaving you in suspense and having to then give you a huge update but what can I say I am a busy girl!

Both Saturday and Sunday afternoon were partner matching and project writing. Different organizations which shared similar areas of interest( such as Arts, Social Enterprise, Ecology, Human Rights, Poverty, Inter-cultural relationship building etc. ) reached out to each other to begin drafting new potential partner projects both short term and long term. 

The innovation, creativity and substance which was brought  about from the inter-cultural grouping was simply astounding.  It was here where the sheer passion of each project participant in educating and training the youth of tomorrow, was brought to light.

 The groups continued to project write until the evening. Most of us chose to spend some part of the day doing this by the sea which was far more stimulating than within a four walled room.  Although inspiration can be gained anywhere and at anytime of your life; sitting on the dock of a bay is a great one.

Saturday evening we visited the ancient town of Mdina known as the Silent City. It was a beautiful medieval walled town with a population of just over 300. According to my source property prices are extremely high within the confined walls, with prices hitting a million which I found rather intriguing. Photos never do justice but the view was great and generally with clear skies Sicily can be seen in the distance.

After another hard working day of project writing Sunday evening set off with the inter-cultural evening. This was another enjoyable evening with great company , food and music. Each organization brought a variety of food and drink to represent their country. As well as Cider, Crackers and Cheese, the UK had a range of Diwali sweets given it was Diwali weekend- the Hindu festival of light!

I am afraid it is Bed o'clock for your favourite blogger which means another pause in the story.  I will save the best for last. Today really was a wonderful last day with the group and I will tell you all about it from the airport in the morning.

 

Il-lejl it-tajjeb! ( Goodnight)

 

 

10 countries- 1 Space- Oh the Potential

Goodmorning World.

Firstly apologies for not blogging yesterday it was a busy day settling in, but don't worry I am going to give you a wholesome catch up now whilst on my tea break!

Let me start with my arrival on Wednesday. I had a great plane journey with Julia from 198 Arts, another exceptionally creative youth organization, the 3 hours flew by and thankfully I managed to fit in a half hour nap after the non-stop chitter chatter.

We realised upon checking in that 3 of us would be sharing a room and there was only one key which controls the power of the room, so if anyone requires the key the other two would be in a dark room! Julia and I got a sense of being girl scouts! ( We are managing fine though).

The evening set off with a Halloween welcome party which Mosta Youth put a great deal of effort into. So much so that there were eyeballs floating in a bowl of Sangria punch!( Did it entice me? You can decide). This was the first time I had ever been surrounded by people from so many different countries-  Estonia, Latvia, Germany, Slovenia, Malta, Ireland, Croatia, Lithuania, and Slovakia.  Fascinating how different yet similar everyone was. A good chance to break the ice.

Thursday - Yesterday the morning set of with team building exercises and more getting to know each other activities. My name was on a clothes peg which was an innovative replacement to a generic name badge!

 The afternoon was when I feel the real project began. We all prepared presentations of our organizations which gave us an insight into what each country does whilst opening up the chance for us to think about future partnering.  Instead of presenting in a usual manner, Luke from Malta set up an interview setting and he asked us the following questions.

-The main focus and goals of our organizations.

- The areas we are interested.

- What we look for in partner and what would put us off.

- The future of our organization and where we are heading.

- Strengths and weaknesses of the organizations.

Luke broke the interview up by asking informal questions in between each formal question so that the conversation remained friendly and flowing. For example- Tell us something no one else knows about you. ( I answered with my fetish for cheese and onion crisps dipped in melted chocolate!!)

Time to begin wrapping this up we have a representative of the National Agency of Cyprus due to come in to speak about the Erasmus plus 2014-2020. Looking forward to the afternoon when we are going to be partner matching and project writing. Time to see what 10 countries in one room can do!

A  x