The 4th European Youth Exchange was held in M.A. Center Germany, surrounded by beautiful hills, forests and fields. This year our Finnish group consisted of six participants: Outi and Riikka had attended the Youth Exchange before but for Meira, Paprika, Reeta and Wille it was a whole new experience.

The camp began with a nice opening ceremony during which each national group presented their members and sang a song in their own native language. We chose to sing a popular Finnish children’s song and got a huge applause like every other group. I think it was great that we were given an opportunity to present our cultures and it was a beautiful way to start our multicultural camp.

Almost every morning we listened to inspiring talks given by Br. Shubamrita or Bri. Dipamrita. Topics of those talks were always linked to the theme of the camp – “The Future in Our Hands”. Br. Shubamrita also gave us some simple advice on how we could reach our goals in life. The five steps, or A,B,C,D,E that formed the basis of his talk, which we should try to adopt were, Acting in the present moment, Believing in oneself, Changing oneself before trying to change others, Do not give up and Embracing forgiveness.

Afternoons were dedicated to various workshops. It was very intriguing to get a chance to try
activities, such as rap, acrobatics, tai-chi or ayurveda, which we would probably never do at home. I especially enjoyed the bhajan-workshop where we learned a few traditional Indian songs and did some interesting rhythm exercises. In addition to workshops for smaller groups there was even a personality development workshop for all of us, during which we interviewed each other, reflected on our inner values and tried to discover our talents and potentials.

One day we spent several hours trekking in nature. The weather was excellent and we aimed to find a lake which was located somewhere in the forest. Finally “the lake” turned out to be a tiny pond which we could even circle by holding each others hands. After finding the pond we had some funny games, a question & answer session with Br. Shubamrita and Bri. Dipamrita and a delicious picnic lunch.

A great opportunity to get to know new people and share ideas was a group work that took place in randomly formed groups. Our task was to produce a little play concerning the theme of the camp. First we discussed the topic together and then started to plan and practice our play. Even though it felt a bit challenging in the beginning we finally managed to create a nice play and we definitely had fun while rehearsing it. All plays were performed in an evening program and it became clear that each group had really made an effort to present a serious matter in a humorous way. On the last evening we had different kinds of shows and presentations by the various workshop groups, which presented all the new things they had learnt in the workshops.

The Youth Exchange gave us an excellent chance to learn some new things about ourselves, develop our social skills and get new friends with similar values from all over Europe. I’m sure we all became so filled with positive energy during the camp that we can even spread it out in our own countries.

Riikka, 23, Finland

from AYUDH Europe Youth Exchange 2008
22 – 27, July 2008, M.A. Center, Frankfurt, Germany