A real dream-Ycity with active young people
Written by civitas Thursday, 08 September 2011 10:53
With the initiative of Civitas Foundation 10 young volunteers from Odorhei Region took part in a youth exchange between 29 July and 5 August in Lithuania. Ycity, the name of the program, is about creating a space where participants can make changes together based on their vision of the good life.
The first Ycity arose in Denmark and in this year for the first time arises outside Denmark – in Lithuania. Ycity `11 is a space where young people from Denmark, Lithuania, Germany and Romania created a temporary city community of actions. A space based on the participants` dreams and personal participation.
Ycity`11 lasted for one week and during the whole week program, young people had the opportunity to learn about their peers’ way of thinking, they got new friends and ideas, tools for their actions. The program of Ycity`11 was divided into 3 phases. The first phase established the city community. In the second phase the participants carried out actions (House of Action, the game of problems and solutions) in Ycity and also in the local community. The third phase 
had focus on how you can take the ideas from Ycity and bring them home to your own city or local society.
In the choice of the local team, Civitas Foundation selected those young people, who are active in their community. Volunteers and employees of Civitas Foundation, active youngsters of neighboring Unitarian communities, volunteers of Community Foundation and Vulticulus composed the team. They took with them our folk dances, folk music and our traditional sekler cakes. The enthusiasm of our returning young people is well illustrated by the following statements:
“To be relieved, laugh, to be honest, feel the freedom and to be alive – all this I learned and experienced there. I am so happy that I could be part in this. If only this bubble feeling remains in every minute of our lives. It will be wonderful if we could give this indescribable feeling over to the local young people.” Zsuzsi Kovács
“I was particularly touched by this Lithuanian youth exchange. I realized there that indeed we are able to mobilize 50 people and it was not just about their participation in workshops, but also they were able to share their views.” Zsolt Nagy
Orsolya Kulcsár
