The last Day in Aachen

08.11.2010
Aachen

Finally, on a our last day in Aachen a ray of sun broke through the heavy clouds...well..literally and metaphorically!!

Today the atmosphere seemed much less tense and we could cooperate well and forget all the small misunderstandings we experienced during the first days. To some extent, from what I learned so far ´understanding each other´s challenges can be a challenge itself!! And this is not just a sort of stereotype or a common standpoint, it is a matter of fact. Obviously I am not talking about getting on well with people with different backgrounds, having fun together or start new friendships, what I am referring to is something more, how to say, ´personal´. In other words when delicate issues come up, a discussion it is never easy to moderate. What I noticed until now is that approaching politically/socially sensitive issues, can lead to serious discussions if we are not taking into consideration all the different participants´ points of view. Personally, I see this event as a ´building-up process´ where pre-concepts can easily be broken simply by discussing with someone who do not exactly live in the same context you usually live. This  is the best way to clarify  things which sometimes appear a bit confusing if not experts. From this point of view, EuroArab can be considered a successful case-study so far.

This morning, after a brief introduction/quiz about European Union institutions and their functions, we luckily had the chances to get to know more about the ´Students' Forum Institute´ in Palestine, and ´ Better World´ an NGO organization based in Egypt.

They are both non-profit organizations, which deal with youth education and develop projects to improve literacy and occupation possibilities. The two presentations were very various, but both extremely interesting.

While the Palestian´s presentation focused more on the projects linked to education in order to enhance their awareness and understanding of sound governance and democracy, with the aim of increasing political and social involvement among the Palestinian youths, the Egyptian´s presentation was very professional and it covered a lot of the projects they are recently running.

It was very motivating to hear about these two 'extra-European' associations, about their structures, goals, programmes. I hope these presentations will inspire new 'adventures' and new valuable connections:)

They are both willing to share their experiences and opinions, so feel free to ask for the material!!!

After lunch we had the second session of the surveys. They were mainly done in the university surroundings. Although the range of people interviewed was not that various, me and my partner Ruba had ten 'pretty' different results.The afternoon continued with an excursion to the place where 'Belgium, Germany and Netherlands meet. I didn't participate in the trip, so I hope that the other (Arab, European, well Turkish) participant went and can explain it in his blog :p

Apologies for the delay in writing this 'travelogue', but I hope you will enjoy it. Comments and suggestions are warmly welcome!:)

p.s. Well, after only day left before the end of this event, I want to thank you all for had shared moments, words, smiles and hugs with me!!