„New Bridges for New Minds“

„New Bridges for New Minds“

Seminář

21. 10 .- 28. 10. 2018, Porto, Portugalsko

I would like to thank to the GEMS International Education Center, that I could participated in the amazing seminar in Porto about Immigrants and Refugees. We met from 17 countries – Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, Norway, Macedonia, Lebanon, Jordan, Russia, Sweden, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey and Hungary. The program was really interesting, we visited the local non-profit organization, and then the Mayor of Gaia. We made an expedition city trip and our job was to visit an interesting places in Porto, to answer questions and take a picture of us. A great experience was the ocean coast, the great waves, the sand, and although the water was cold there were a few of us who went swim. We were going into local restaurants, the Portuguese had excellent cuisine, it was a great gastronomic experience. For me, sharing of Nida and Michael from Jordan was really sensitive and powerful. They talked about the refugee camps where they work in Syria, in the neighboring state is war right now since 2011, people are losing their homes and running away. A lot of refugees are in the Jordan and Lebanon. Their sharing touched everyone. Another day, we had a lot of workshops together and intercultural dialogues. We became really close to each other, we debated together, laughed, and although we were from different countries, I felt that we are like a big family. The last day we attended the International Refugee Conference. The representatives of the city, the public and TV came to see us. Each country presented the state of affairs in its own country. I am incredibly grateful that I participated in this project, the topic was interesting and sensitive, I learned a lot, understood other cultures, established new friendships and cooperation. Daniela Nováčková

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