Youth on Earth – Yes We (C)are, 2022
What do I take home as the most valuable learning from this experience?
“That love, in its purest form, doesn’t hurt but heals. And I’m willing to give, defend, and spread this love, through my personal relationships and through my political and activist work.” – Polly Redpath
From the 17th to the 29th of August the “Youth on Earth – Yes we (c)are” youth exchange took place in Zegg Community in Germany. The fourth edition of this project brought together a group of young people from Germany, Italy, Spain, and France. The aim of this project was to co-create between the participants a safe space of trust, authenticity, love, sensuality, mutual support, respect, where we could follow our inner truth and experience ourselves in a group.
In the mornings we helped the community with the garden, construction, planting, harvesting, cleaning, cooking and more, learning their history and sharing with the members.
How to summarize our Youth Exchange experience in Zegg?
“ It’s such a difficult task, just because everything that we’ve learnt sticks with us in our daily life. Let’s start by saying that we’ve been in a special location: Zegg is a community full of love and respect, and every person that belongs there is willing to listen to the others and reflect about themselves.
On a normal day during the Youth Exchange we tasted the amazing food from their garden, where we also learnt from the community how to take care of plants, roots, fruit trees etc. And we experienced being able to focus on each other more intensely with less digital distraction.
After lunch we learnt some great tools for being aware of our boxes (patrons of behavior that we tend to use to feel secure in front of others in order to hide what’s the feeling or the thought behind) and let the others see our true and pure being, to recognize our neurological system in different situations, to accept a ‘No’, to understand consent etc.
Both theoretical and practical learnings have had an emotional and logical impact on us during the process and we’ve been held and supported by the facilitators and the group leaders. Thanks to that we are now able to integrate the new information and we are becoming more free to be our real selves and to be amazed by other beings. It is being present with yourself, and then with the other that allows a deep way of honest and authentic connection, which feels like the basis for sustainable change.
This experience has changed all our lives. We will never be able to forget our time and the feelings experienced at ZEGG. Thank you.”
– Andrea Garcia Zurita
“Thanks for the presence and support during difficult processes, and for the opportunity to find out what it feels like to share things with a group during a Forum. And thanks for pushing me out of some comfort zones.”
- Francesca Bastianello (Fra)
What do I take home as the most valuable learning from this experience?
“That I am not alone with my doubts and fears and this realization makes me strong to face them and work on them. “
- Luca Miralles Dessloch
What do I take home as the most valuable learning from this experience?
“The world offers more possibilities than we might think. There´s no good and bad, everyone deserves respect and to be loved. Take your time, respect yours and the others boundaries. Listen and pay attention. I learnt to take care of my dependent side in me, it’s also a part of me. And to open my mind to the thing that I still don’t understand, I don’t need to be afraid.”
- Julia Santana Andreo
What do I take home as the most valuable learning from this experience?
“To be honest with myself and thus communicate my boundaries, wishes, consent – it feels so liberating and powerful. I cannot put into words how grateful I am, but sure thing- you changed my life, showed me a path I didn’t see before. I hope you can imagine how huge this is! “
- Franziska Simon