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Skills

Wings of Hope team marked the World Youth Skills Day 2019 by reaching out to young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the help of amazing volunteers and youth exchange participants whom put into their own words what skills they have gained through participating in non-formal learning activities and youth exchanges. Here is what they shared with us and we would like to highlight few words skills, different, diverse, communication and youth.

Daria from Tuzla, a very young and eloquent Bosnian who shows us her English skills, sending a message for all other young people in the country. She participated in a YE in London.

Nermin from Zenica, who worked on his film-making skills but is also an avid traveller with a thirst for learning about other cultures and people, he participated in two youth exchanges (Istanbul and Tbilisi) and also shared:

“While having tons of fun, I was developing real life skills, that I didn’t even notice. Intercultural communication and communication itself are the ones I would emphasize, being constantly surrounded by people from all over the world, you are getting out of your comfort zone, and there is nothing odd or uncomfortable about it. Having diverse groups in YEs, we are given an opportunity to grow in new ways, because we are becoming more dynamic, flexible and better educated as an individual”.

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Imane from Sarajevo, said: “During my exchange in London I had the opportunity to meet youngster from various parts of Europe and wider, which enhanced my knowledge on cultural-sensivity skills, effective communication and team work. Out of our comfort zone, with a group of unknown people in an unknown country, we grow and we learn more about ourselves, and I consider that every fear we overcome is a huge step forward, and particularly this process of learning about ourselves is the most important one.”

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Jovana from Banja Luka, shared: “During the participation in two youth exchanges (Sarajevo and Istanbul) in RESOLVE: East project last year, I discovered so many interesting facts about other cultures, met so many wonderful people, gained and developed lot of skills. I’ve become more opened person, learned to respect diverse opinions, practiced active listening, effective communication and creative thinking. But especially I would like to emphasize that I’ve realized how much empathy, self-awareness and critical judgment are important basis for the development of conflict resolution techniques. Existence of diverse groups in youth exchanges have so many benefits, because diverse experiences, backgrounds and perspectives are key drivers to the development of new ideas and solutions. Also, the most important value of having diverse groups is to realize that we’re all humans facing with the same or similar problems regardless of religion, race, class and politics.”

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Naida from Sarajevo, participant of the youth exchanges in Sarajevo, Istanbul and London, said: While participating in different youth exchanges, I was able to pursue my goal of being a lifelong learner. By having a chance to meet and work with young people from different countries, I improved my problem solving skills, critical thinking, communication and language skills as well as presentation skills. In fact, I believe that youth exchanges teach us to become real global citizens so we can use the sense of community to improve the world around us while leaving a meaningful footprint for future generations. Having diverse groups in youth exchanges provide us many different values that we can’t gain if we don’t step out of our comfort zone. Considering I have collaborated with a lot of international professionals while I was studying abroad or participated in different projects or simply traveled, I know how many incredible ideas can come by fusing different background, cultures and by sharing experiences.

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We are proud of all young people who participated in our Youth Exchange Programme, all the skills they have gained and hopefully they will be able to use them in their every day life. This was our small contribution for the World Youth Skills Day 2019. If you never participated in a youth exchange and eager to gain some valuable skills through non-formal education follow our page, soon more information will be available.