A moment from the Training Program, July 2022
Erica:
”Behind the workshops they made up for us there is the idea that our mind and our body can’t be considered as two split entities. The body is the place of our thoughts, our emotions and our knowledge. There are periods of my life I can’t tolerate my body; periods I don’t mind; periods I can accept it. This is the reality, but never before I tried to create a relationship with it. I’ve never asked my body how it is, what does it need or not need.
One of the most important parts of projects like Elevate Youth Work is sharing opinions, experiences, and ideas. Listening to other people’s words is fundamental to become aware of the huge amount of different perspectives and points of view. With the assumption we all start from the same pack of basic values, other people’s sharing is so precious to get out of our bubble, deal with the world outside and become aware of our privileges. Also, sharing could not be that easy for every person. We all go through different paths, different feelings and emotions, and different processes of life. That’s why one person’s sharing is the most precious gift one could give to us.
Thanks to Elevate Youth Work I met wonderful people, both part of the team and participants. And thanks to each of them the sense of community was extraordinary. Community means comprehension and support, whatever the way of doing it. This is based on listening and empathy, but also on the capacity of understanding the different moments and knowing how to use irony and lightness. A community exists only if each person can see all the others, and if they recognize each other’s as valid and fundamental.
Everyone is essential in a community.
And nobody has to be left behind.”