"Couch Surfing!"

CouchSurfing is a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit.

The mission of CouchSurfing is "CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding."

The motto of CouchSurfing is "Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time".

The CouchSurfing community strives to do individual and collective parts to make the world a better place, and believe that the surfing of couches is a means to accomplish this goal. CouchSurfing isn't about the furniture- it's not just about finding free accommodations around the world - it's about participating in creating a better world.

Young Society Initiative promotes CouchSurfing network, as CouchSurfing is a very powerful tool for intercultural learning. We also believe in "making the world a better place"...

Many of the members of Young Society Initiative is a member of CouchSurfing already... You can also sign up to be a member!!!

"A Dialog for Change"

Advanced Planning Visit of Youth Exchange
Chisinau-MD, 1-3 August 2008.

The youth leaders from Armenia, Georgia, Italy, Moldova, Latvia, and Turkey came together in Moldova to discuss on the details of the youth exchange project "A Dialog for Change" between 1st and 3rd of August 2008. The leaders discussed on the principles, the schedule and the workshops of the youth exchange. In addition the task division among the youth leaders is agreed upon.

"A Dialog for Change" youth exchange is a project that focuses on interreligious dialogue through intercultural learning. Young Society Initiative will attend the youth exchange with a youth leader and 5 youngsters.

"You and Me Equal in Gender"

Youth Exchange
Macedonia, 20-28 September 2008

Young Society Initiative is going to attend the youth exchange "You and Me Equal in Gender" between the dates 20-28 September 2008.

Young people from Albania, Macedonia, Latvia, Portugal, Serbia, and Turkey will gather to discuss, share, understand, and learn on gender and equality via human rights education. They will search for common effective ways to fight against gender prejudices and discrimination.

Aim:
The aim of this youth exchange is to get together 36 young people from all across Europe and to meet all together in order to share experience, feelings, to find common ways to fight gender prejudices and stereotypes and look around for solution for the negative behaviour in order to raise the awareness about gender issues and their importance on European level and to promote gender equality.

Objectives:

- To collect and share the realities providing positive example;

- To make the participants reflect on their country gender issues situations;

- To explore gender roles in our countries and give best practice;

- To allow the participants to reflect their understanding of gender issues and their experience;

- To gather educational experiences useful for follow up activities in their organizations;

- To equip the participants with some tools in order to increase their capacity while dealing with gender prejudices in their daily life and intercultural groups;

- To help participants to fight gender prejudices and stereotypes.

"Youth Empowerment for Local Participation"

Seminar
Porto-PT, 22-28 June 2008

Young Society Initiative representatives attended the seminar “Youth Empowerment for Local Participation” in Porto between 22^nd and 28^th June 2008. The seminar was organized by Porto Federation of Youth Associations, with the financial assistance of EU Youth in Action Program.

The seminar “Youth Empowerment for local participation” brought together youth leaders and youth workers from Europe, ready to share best practices and to work on joint projects on empower youth in general but specially to empower local/ international youth participation.

The 5 day-long seminar aimed to empower 18 local young actors with knowledge and skills. It was also a learning opportunity for youth leaders/youth policy makers and youth workers to exchange good practices and methodologies on local youth policies and youth empowerment.

CU(P)ID Training Course

Two representatives of Young Society Initiative attended "Cultural Identity - CU(P)ID" international training course organised by MOTYKA Association in Gorzno between 23 and 30 October 2007.

One of our representatives, Duygu KANDEMIRCI wrote the words below remembering the times in Gorzno... Thanks for the feedback and your active participation Duygu...

"Once Upon a Time…

It all began with a warm, sweet “hello”...

“Hi” I replied, and that was the start of this story. “I’ll help you” said Janek, and took my giant luggace to the bus which would take us to Gorzno.

Gorzno… somewhere in the world... A small, unknown town, very far away… (Four hours from Warsaw). A hostel, seventeen young people… From ten different countries; ten different languages… Seventeen different people, seventeen different worlds…

A training course, CU(P)ID! When I remember those days, I always have a big smile on my face. We worked on cultural identity for a whole week. We learnt that, there is much more inside people than in books. We learnt that, we don’t even need our languages to understand each other. We may come from many different cultures, but we all have the same sparkling eyes; looking at each other and revealing everything that our words cannot tell.

Seventeen young people, hundreds of interesting ideas and many enjoyable activities... I don’t remember even one minute that I felt bored. No computers, no TV, but we learn about the world. Playing games, talking to each other and sharing our ideas, we learn about ourselves. I know that I’m not the same person after I lived that one week. And I strongly believe that every young person must have the chance to be a part of such projects.

Finally, I want to give my special thanks to our host in Poland; “Motyka” members. They worked non-stop, just to make sure that we are pleased. Of course our trainers; Mara and Aga… With their smiling faces and creative activities, we didn’t even realise being on a training course; they made us feel that this is all a thrilling game. I do hope to see these seventeen people again in the future; because I know anymore that the world is just smaller than I imagine..."

CU(P)ID training course was organised and co-funded by MOTYKA Association and ten Europen youth organisations funded by Polish National Agency in the framework of EC Youth in Action Programme 4.3.

"Connecting Human Rights and Culture"

Youth Exchange
Bucharest-RO, 18-26 November 2007.

"We are All Human" took place...

Another successful training story...

Young Society Initiative organised "We are All Human!" international training course between 5 and 10 May 2007 in Adakule Hotel, Izmir by the support of EU YOUTH Programme Action5. The training course is developed in order to create the multipliers of the human rights education.

"We are All Human" training course is a project designed to enhance the skills and knowledge in human rights education. The target group of the project is the youth leaders, and youth workers active in international youth work or local youth work.

14 participants coming from 10 different countries (Turkey, Poland, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Romania, Latvia, Hungary, Germany, Finland) found an opportunity to learn in a non-formal educational setting and an intercultural environment by the help three experienced trainers, Behrooz Afshari, Serhan Karatas and Agnieszka Tatera.

Whatever happens in whenever time, we should always remember "We are All Human!"....

Young Society Initiative thanks Kusadasi Tours for their contribution in the organisational arrangements of the training course.