BEYOND Nationalism, Racism and Xenophobia – a training course for youth workers took place in Debrecen, Hungary between 21st and 27th November 2021. This training aimed to equip youth workers from Hungary, Serbia, Italy, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with knowledge about nationalism, racism, and xenophobia and their influence on the identity of Europe in the 21st century. Organization Hang-Kép Egyesület hosted youth workers and for seven days led them through the process of learning, discussing, and discovering. Each group brought experiences from their respective countries and organizations they come from. During the work, they have profiled participating countries and discussed relevant issues, besides theoretical inputs by hosting facilitators.
During this training, the group visited the Museum Alternatív Közösségek where they learned about its local and international activities, what informal groups they are supporting and what issues often these groups face. They had also the chance to visit and explore Arc Kiállítás and its posters’ exhibition. With the help of the guide, who led the group through the exhibition, youth workers learned about social issues existing in Hungary. While discovering the main topic, participants took part in a forum theatre performance depicting sexual abuse in a high school, inspired by a real story. The audience together with the actors presented several solutions by playing them out and debriefing afterward. The day included also open space for sharing, where 12 workshops were created and conducted by the participating youth workers.
In the closing part of this training, besides the evaluation and feedback session, participants reflected on learning outputs and created an action plan on how to use the skills, knowledge, and attitudes for the benefit of their local communities. The training was closed with a YouthPass award ceremony. Youth workers are expected to go through another training in 2022, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to deepen their knowledge while challenging different perspectives and socio-political realities. Furthermore, they will disseminate their knowledge in their respective organizations.
The project was funded by Erasmus+ under KA2, implemented by Youth for Peace, THY, Balkans, let's get up!, Associazione Joint and Hang-Kép Egyesület.
