Cressida Abela

 

In a world where everyone is too busy to look around and we listen only to a reply, we forget that many people around us have stories to tell. Others simply want opportunities in the same society that has marginalised them or oppressed them. This was the basis of a recent Erasmus+ training course held in Sankt Andreasberg, Germany.

Hidden among long stretches of forests, the quaint little town of Sankt Andreasberg offers a breath of fresh air from the bustling city life. The clock seemed to stop as all the participants from Malta, Spain, Romania, Italy, the UK, Estonia, Greece and Germany met in a house at the bottom of a valley.

The training course was led by two talented trainers - Maria and Mohammed who are both experts in their respective areas. They put together a series of workshops that combined aspects from the theatre of the oppressed, improvisation and creative writing for drama. These three aspects were sewn beautifully together to create a very fruitful learning experience. The course was described as a journey, which is rightly so. Through the various training sessions, participants were given tools and skills to help marginalised groups in society.  The training kept participants on their toes all the time. This helped keep up the positive spirit of the participants and one could surely not complain of a boring moment.

Since many teenagers' lives are flooded with technology, screens and filters, they seem to have lost some of their critical thoughts. "Act non-formal" also helped trainers develop the skill of encouraging critical thinking through creative writing.

However, an equally important part is the informal aspect of the training course. Since we were such a diverse group one never gets bored listening to participants sharing their own experiences from their own cultures. Maltese participants immediately hit it off like a house on fire with the equally boisterous Spaniards. However, how many times have we kept our prejudices against different nationalities keep us from realising so many similarities with other nations? Who would've thought that the Bulgarian family living across the street have very similar personalities to the Maltese? How many of us have looked up Estonia on Google and realised that it is a heavenly place with more natural landscape than people and houses?

With very limited Wifi and so much culturalism, participants could experience cultures in a way that we do not experience them on a daily basis. From the people who enjoy the same food as you to those who you instantly love because of your identical music tastes, it was a week with new experiences at every turn.

Although this was only a week-long course, one can easily say the skills acquired and the friendships formed will last much longer