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Summary document of the project – here’s where to download
In case you want to look through the summary document here is the link to download it.
We had tremendous amount of posts about how each day of the event went, the preparation process, the program… but in the midst of everything it may be hard to navigate for someone who is not interested in all the details. Fear not – we created this document so that everyone can get to know what out project was about, no matter how busy.
In just one simple click you will get to know the involved participants, the project number and the description of it.
Check out our new brochure regarding the event – English
Check out our brochure regarding the event- Hungarian
Monday 1st May
The last day of the project was bittersweet to say the least. After spending four full days together, sharing, learning and experiencing, we didn’t want say goodbye, but as an English proverb says: “all good things must come to an end”. At 08:00 am, we offered a farewell breakfast to the participants and shortly after, at 09:00 am, they progressively started to leave to start the journey back home.
As a small organisation from a small village, it took a lot of effort and hard work for us to organise, design and get the funding for this project but, it was all worth it. The excitement in the eyes of the Ocland’s inhabitants preparing everything for our guests, and the satisfaction and fulfillment we all felt when we saw that everything had paid off was priceless. Moreover, in terms of learning and experiences, everybody has benefited from this cultural exchange.
To summarise, we didn’t want to finish this article without expressing our gratitude to the European Union for giving us the chance to carry out this project, and to all the partner organisations for participating. We hope that great collaborations and ideas will have come up from the discussions, and we promise to continue working to help our communities and Europe develop.
Sunday 30th April
After Saturday’s intense program, the participants enjoyed a complete breakfast to prepare for today. The first discussion of the day started at 10:00 am, and the first topic was the war situation in Ukraine. We all wish that this war wasn’t a reality but, unfortunately, it is happening and not only Ukrainians but also the rest of the European population are suffering both its economic and social consequences. The discussion was devoted mainly to come up with strategies to ease the migratory crisis that this conflict is provoking, to help refugees reintegrate into society in other EU countries, and to think about plans to alleviate the economic pressure our system is undergoing.
At 12:00 pm, we presented the next topic, which was the European Solidarity Corps. This is the EU’s official volunteering program, a every year thousands of young citizens get to experience it. Some of our partners are currently hosting international volunteers or had done it in the past; therefore, their testimony and previous projects were very interesting for those organisations which have never hosted volunteers.
As a closing discussion, each of the participating organisations presented their development plan for the upcoming years, their future projects and the approach they want to use. It was also the time to exchange business cards and contacts, and to talk about future collaborations.
After such a intensive day, all of us were exhausted but, since we still had one more event left, we took a break to enjoy a delicious dinner. After all, a full stomach translates into a happy and more productive mind! We prepared some typical dishes from our region for our guests, so that they could try it for the last time before the end of the project.
The last activity was the dissemination event in which we took pictures, recorded videos and, in general, agreed between us how we were going to disseminate the whole experience of the project. The participants also shared some strategies about how to use social media to enhance the engagement and reach of people in different platforms such as Instagram or Facebook.
Saturday 29th April
Saturday was a more theoretical day since almost the whole of it was devoted to discussing different topics. The first topic was rights and obligations of an EU citizen. Among the different nuances this theme offered, we discussed how EU citizens should behave in their community, how they can contribute to society, and what rights do they have nowadays and how these should be improved in some cases. Following the same dynamic as the previous day, the participants were grouped in different tables and shared their ideas towards this topic. After a while, they rotated from one table to another. This method has proved to very productive since all of the participants are able to share their ideas and listen to the other partners.
After we finished this discussion, we arranged a tour around Ocland for our guests. Even though this is a small village, there is a lot of history hidden behind its streets. Some of the stops were the Catholic and the Unitarian churches where the participant could witness the important role of religion in our culture.
After this small break, we went back to work but, this time, with a different topic. The participants talked about the Corona Virus crisis during this session. The discussion led to many different points of view since every association experienced different difficulties, which at the same time gave them a different point of view. As we all know, the Corona Virus crisis has been one of the worst economic and social crisis in the last decades for Europe, and being able to discuss its effects and to reflect on how we can improve our system for possible similar situations was very helpful and illustrative.
Once we finished our discussion, we stepped into a more fun and energetic activity. If there are two things apart from language that represent a community’s identity, those are clothing and dances. Thus, in this session, we counted on the help of some neighbours from Ocland who performed some of our most iconic folk dances, and showed our guests how our traditional clothes look like. After the performance, the participants were taught some very simple steps so that they could also dance along. We all had a lot of fun!
After this activity, we went back to our discussions, and this time the topic was volunteering. It’s always very interesting to share our ideas about how we can improve things, but it’s of no use if we don’t put them into practice. That’s why volunteering is such an important part of our projects. Also, it’s the most practical way to connect with the European youth and to let them experience by themselves how they can really make an impact on society.
The last topic of the day was discrimination and, in this session, the participants discussed how this issue should be addressed by a legal, economic and social perspective. Once again, the multiculturality of the participants was extremely useful in the debate because it contributed with very different points of view and experiences to analyse.
FRIDAY 28TH APRIL
Friday 28th of April was the second day of the project and, since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the program started at 08:30 am with it. It consisted of delicious ingredients such as home-made jelly or a selection of cold meats typical from our region.
At 10:00 am, having gained the necessary energy to face the day, the participants were led towards the cultural center of Ocland, where all the partners were formally introduced to each other. Each of them presented their association, their perspective and their goals. Once they became acquainted, we started with the round-table discussions. One of the goals of this project is to acknowledge, analyse and propose solutions for some current issues happening in Europe. Some of these topics are the military conflict in Ukraine, immigration, or global warming among others. Although each of these topics would be dealt with in detail in the following days, we wanted today to be an introduction in every way. To meet this need, the participants were grouped in different tables and, from time to time, they were changing positions so that all of them could get to know each other’s viewpoint. Since we had people from many different organisations and from three different countries, we had the opportunity to hear a wide range of opinions and comments. This was definitely a very fruitful and educative experience.
This activity was followed by a more tasty one and, if your guess was lunch, you were right! In order to continue with the cultural exchange, the participants had to prepare typical Transylvanian food but by adding a touch from their own countries. As you can imagine, the result was not less than exquisite. We were able to enjoy different types of dishes such as soup prepared with deer meat, or sheep’s and bunny’s roasts. Cooking together was a great team-building activity, and it was also a creative way to taste the cooking style of Hungary and Croatia without actually travelling there.
Afterwards, the participants had some free time to relax and prepare for the next activity which was going to take place in the evening. Until now, we had showed our guests our culture through our typical cuisine and our perspective of the world as a community, but to make this project even more colourful, we had the great pleasure to count on the presence of Támás Gábor.
It is well-known that music is a universal language, and we cannot think of a better way to continue showing our guests our culture than with a concert of one of the most representative voices of our region. During the evening, we could hear some of Gábor’s best hits as well as other traditional songs from Transylvania. Although this event was originally meant for the participants of the project, local citizens from Ocland could also enjoy it. It was very emotional to see how people from our community could sing along the lyrics they knew so well. We think it’s safe to say that it was a great concert and that everyone enjoyed every minute.
The day was closed, as it should be, with a delicious dinner. The menu consisted of vegetables and meat soup as a first dish, followed by stuffed cabbage with home-made sour cream and roasted pork as the main course. We also had the opportunity to taste Kürtőskalács for dessert, which was the perfect end to this amazing day.
Thursday 27th of April
At last, the Meeting In Ocland has started! We were busy all day, as you could probably guess from the content of our previous post, preparing everything, making sure all the details are in check for our guests.
On Thursday, at 18:00 pm, we started to receive our guests. It’s a great pleasure to say that we hosted people from Hungary all the way to Croatia. Among these participants, there were some of our partner organisations:
Nagykarácsony Testvértelepüléseiért Egyesület (For the sibling villages of Nagykarácsony Association- Hungary)
Hegyeshalmi SC 1931 Egyesület (Assocation of Hegyeshalom SC 1931- Hungary)
Udruga za njegovanje Obicaja Madara Kórógy Ive Lole Ribara (Croatia)
A Turizmus Népszerűsítése az Ifjúság Körében Alapítvány (Assocation for the promotion of tourism in the circle of youth- Hungary)
Az Egészséges gyermekeket nevelő családok Alapítvány (Families Raising Healthy Children Foundation- Hungary)
And the Magyar Lovas Turizmusért és Terápiáért Alapítvány (Hungarian Equestrian Tourism and Therapy Foundation- Hungary).
Since one of the objectives of this project was for the participants to step into our local culture, they were accommodated in different guesthouses in Ocland. All of the accommodations were chosen according to this criteria, so that the experience would be as enriching as possible. Moreover, our intention was to involve the local community as well, so that they would also benefit from the visit of our international guests. Therefore, this was a good way to achieve this cultural exchange.
After leaving them a little bit of time to refresh and rest from their travel, they attended the opening dinner at 19:00 pm. During this meal, they had the opportunity to taste some traditional Transylvanian dishes, although this would only be an introduction since there were a lot more delicious experiences to come throughout the weekend. While enjoying their food, they could get to know each other better and, we heard that some of them even started talking about the topics that would be discussed on the following day. We were so excited to have such involved participants!
We also gave away the gifts we have prepared!
Once all the participants finished eating, all of us said goodbye and they were led to their respective accommodations where they could finally get a well-deserved rest after their long travel.
We are already prepared… Are you?
In less than 24 hours the Meeting in Ocland will begin! Some of our international partners are on their way, and we are busy making sure everything is in it’s right place for when YOU arrive. A quick recap of this event, shall we?
This Meeting in Ocland is funded by the European Union, as it aims to raise awareness regarding the urgent problems that affect our communities and Europe. By these three days which we will spend together with our national and international partners we can strengthen our relationships and popularize our traditions. This will work both ways, as our guest will also exchange their cultural values.
The round-table discussions, the debates and cultural activities will be colored in by the concert of Tamás Gábor, who is an icon in the Hungarian speaking minority. Besides the amazing program (which can be found in the first article of this blog) everyone who attends will get the chance to mingle with the more than 170 international attendees.
Another crucial aspect why this opportunity is simply not worth throwing aside is all the traditionally made, delicious goods that will be available throughout the whole event!
We hope your bags are already packed and your mood just got even better seeing all these sneak peaks!
See you soon everyone!
EUCVC 