Country presentations was one of the interesting activities during the first day. There every country made a short presentation about itself and also gave us the opportunity to taste countries traditional food and snacks. For example we found out that in Island they have 5 different words for snow; that Serbians feed the whole word with raspberries; that Estonians have traditional dish - Kama; that they can dance great in Lithuania and in Turkey and much more.
Diversity rocks!
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Photos from the international evening and the "culture day"
This is how every evening ends for some participants
Estonian food was popular
Lazjon from Albania surved trying Estonian national food "KAMA"
Vova from Ukraine in his national clothes (the shirt :) )
What is Macedonia not!
Yes, the people from Turkey, they danced!
And also did Norwegians:)
"Secret friends" were doing a good job!
...also video/photo recorders
"Sharing" new knowledge
"Sharing" new knowledge vol 2
"Cultural differences"Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Intercultural dialogue 10.03.2010
Hi sweedy!
My name is Meelis and I come from Estonia. My nickname is Mel, like Mel Gibson but I am known also as Sweet-Beautiful-Lier... "Melman"
I am going to tell you about activity that we had today. Every country had to make up one question to other nationality. Since the topic was Intercultural dialogue our main goal was to develope our assertive behaviour. We learned how to create suitable evironment for asking and answering questions. Some questions were recorded so later could every country answer to certain question that was specifically made to them. I hope that someone puts these videos to youtube too so everyone can think about cultural differences. It was very interesting to discover how many misunderstanding is between different cultures but even more interesting was to find out reasons why people have these prejudices.
That is it for now. Enjoy the life - it is so beautiful!
Meelis Sikk
The King of Massage
+37258006283
meelis.sikk@gmail.com
My name is Meelis and I come from Estonia. My nickname is Mel, like Mel Gibson but I am known also as Sweet-Beautiful-Lier... "Melman"
I am going to tell you about activity that we had today. Every country had to make up one question to other nationality. Since the topic was Intercultural dialogue our main goal was to develope our assertive behaviour. We learned how to create suitable evironment for asking and answering questions. Some questions were recorded so later could every country answer to certain question that was specifically made to them. I hope that someone puts these videos to youtube too so everyone can think about cultural differences. It was very interesting to discover how many misunderstanding is between different cultures but even more interesting was to find out reasons why people have these prejudices.
That is it for now. Enjoy the life - it is so beautiful!
Meelis Sikk
The King of Massage
+37258006283
meelis.sikk@gmail.com
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Tadaaaa! 09.03
After a yummy breakfast, all the participants found their way to the conference room, where fun was just waiting to explode! After the very entertaining opening ceremony, the prep team suggested that every participant should share their expectations of the seminar, other participants, and the prep team itself. And just seeing how many people want to cooperate and learn more about each other´s culture was an amazing feeling!
Other activities included more name-games (Bulldog!) and a roleplay regarding fake nationalities. Each participant had to pretend his nationality was different, and just by pretending to be someone else – everyone understood their own culture better!
My personal favorite was the “Secret Friend” activity, based on the popular “Secret Santa” game, where each participant had to draw a name from an envelope, and remember that person as their secret friend. They got the mission to make that person feel special, but they would have to be their SECRET friend, they cannot reveal their identity! I cannot wait to do something sweet for my secret friend, and I am also looking forward to seeing what my secret friend will do for me (Alisa from Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Of all of the activities that we had today, I believe that my favourite one was the “Fake Nationalities” roleplay. My character was a rich Saudi-Arabian man. He did not communicate well with the other participants. This is due to the fact that he would hardly talk to women outside his family at all. As many of the participants are women, the character would not explain his views very well in the discussions.
Another interesting incident of the day was dinner. The reason for this was that there was not enough dinner. I could hardly notice that I had eaten any. Luckily for me, it turned out good in the end. Multiple kind people who were either not having dinner or were only eating parts of it supplied me with the food that I required.
Overall I would say that today has been a great day. (Sveinung from Norway)
First of all i am so pleased to be there. Because we are having good time, learning too much, having lots of friends...I think role play is the best part of the day. At first we learned about another culture then we role like them. It was really different experience for me. Because it was not like as me in my normal lifeWe learned about another culture and have guesses about life of them. (Pinar from Turkey)
I liked all the activities today. The activity I liked the most was “role play”. The only thing I didn`t like was that the “bulldog” was a little too long. Message to the prep team: keep it up (Edvina from Serbia)
It was a very nice day. There were too many new participants that I meet and I hope they will be my friends.Except the bulldog everything else was very good.It is the first day and we had a lot of fun,imagine the following days...(Bledi from Albania)
My personal favorite was the “Secret Friend” activity, based on the popular “Secret Santa” game, where each participant had to draw a name from an envelope, and remember that person as their secret friend. They got the mission to make that person feel special, but they would have to be their SECRET friend, they cannot reveal their identity! I cannot wait to do something sweet for my secret friend, and I am also looking forward to seeing what my secret friend will do for me (Alisa from Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Of all of the activities that we had today, I believe that my favourite one was the “Fake Nationalities” roleplay. My character was a rich Saudi-Arabian man. He did not communicate well with the other participants. This is due to the fact that he would hardly talk to women outside his family at all. As many of the participants are women, the character would not explain his views very well in the discussions.
Another interesting incident of the day was dinner. The reason for this was that there was not enough dinner. I could hardly notice that I had eaten any. Luckily for me, it turned out good in the end. Multiple kind people who were either not having dinner or were only eating parts of it supplied me with the food that I required.
Overall I would say that today has been a great day. (Sveinung from Norway)
First of all i am so pleased to be there. Because we are having good time, learning too much, having lots of friends...I think role play is the best part of the day. At first we learned about another culture then we role like them. It was really different experience for me. Because it was not like as me in my normal lifeWe learned about another culture and have guesses about life of them. (Pinar from Turkey)
I liked all the activities today. The activity I liked the most was “role play”. The only thing I didn`t like was that the “bulldog” was a little too long. Message to the prep team: keep it up (Edvina from Serbia)
It was a very nice day. There were too many new participants that I meet and I hope they will be my friends.Except the bulldog everything else was very good.It is the first day and we had a lot of fun,imagine the following days...(Bledi from Albania)
Sunday, 7 March 2010
The Prep team is already there!
Helooo participants!
The prep team is already at the spot, preparing the last things before your arrival. We are glad that the weather is sunny even though the temperature is below 5 degrees. So dont forget to pack everything you need for the marvellous week.
We cant wait to meet you here.
with love
your five sweet fruits :)
The prep team is already at the spot, preparing the last things before your arrival. We are glad that the weather is sunny even though the temperature is below 5 degrees. So dont forget to pack everything you need for the marvellous week.
We cant wait to meet you here.
with love
your five sweet fruits :)
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Pierre Andersson talking about problems in developing world
My name is Pierre Andersson and I am a journalist and the editor in chief of Accent, a monthly magazine for all the members of Swedish IOGT-NTO.
I'm really looking forward to the Active seminar in Bratislava. I will talk about a subject that I have been working with quite intensely the last couple of years: Alcohol and development. Or the lack of development to be more correct.
I'm really looking forward to the Active seminar in Bratislava. I will talk about a subject that I have been working with quite intensely the last couple of years: Alcohol and development. Or the lack of development to be more correct.
In 2007 I wrote a book called Global Hangover about this subject. Last year I completed a short documentary with the same name, hopefully it will be possible to show it to you during the seminar.
Alcohol causes huge problems all over the world, but in developing countries the consequences are often even more serious than in our parts of the world. Combine this with an international alcohol industry that is desperately seeking new markets and we have a recipe for disaster.
See you in Bratislava!
/Pierre
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Intercultural learning prevents from global chaos
One part of our seminar will be an expert lecture about cultures, diversities and intercultural learning etc. For that we have invited the expert Mrs. Anna. Here comes a small introduction of her and the topic... (for more visit our seminar :)
Looking at your CV, it is obvious that you have spent a lot of time in studying and giving lectures on the topic of intercultural learning. Why did you choose this field and when did it all start?
For me as a teacher of foreign languages (German and English) the interest in culture came very naturally. As we know, language and culture are interconnected and the study of a foreign language somehow automatically leads to the study of the “target culture”. But in the past decades the cultural element of foreign language teaching and learning has gained on greater importance than ever before: people get in contact with members of different cultures on daily basis. Your organization ACTIVE, your seminars and activities, the internet connections, opportunities to travel, etc are much different from your parents´and grandparents´ opportunities to communicate with the world.
From this standpoint I started to implement more cultural knowledge into the teaching of English for Business (where the knowledge of culture is vital for doing business internationally) and designed courses on Intercultural Communication in Business, in International Tourism and general courses on Culture Studies.
Why do you think is the intercultural learning for youth important?
Living in a multicultural society brings along a lot of challenges that people of your generation will have to face. Global village is the reality already today. To prevent it from becoming a global chaos, it is necessary that as many people as possible get the understanding of cultural diversity and develop positive attitudes toward otherness (tolerance) which I believe are prerequisites of managing future life on this planet.
What do you expect from your lecture at the seminar?
In the seminar I hope to mediate the basic knowledge about how a culture functions and develop some ideas for further considerations and thinking. As the seminar offers a multicultural setting I also expect to learn new things from all participants, to share their views and way of thinking. This will definitely extend my horizon and become a valuable experience.
What are you looking forward to when it comes to your lecture at the seminar?
I look forward to meeting young, active people who are ready to learn in interaction with others. I believe that the seminar will be a mutual enrichment for all of us.
For me as a teacher of foreign languages (German and English) the interest in culture came very naturally. As we know, language and culture are interconnected and the study of a foreign language somehow automatically leads to the study of the “target culture”. But in the past decades the cultural element of foreign language teaching and learning has gained on greater importance than ever before: people get in contact with members of different cultures on daily basis. Your organization ACTIVE, your seminars and activities, the internet connections, opportunities to travel, etc are much different from your parents´and grandparents´ opportunities to communicate with the world.
From this standpoint I started to implement more cultural knowledge into the teaching of English for Business (where the knowledge of culture is vital for doing business internationally) and designed courses on Intercultural Communication in Business, in International Tourism and general courses on Culture Studies.
Why do you think is the intercultural learning for youth important?
Living in a multicultural society brings along a lot of challenges that people of your generation will have to face. Global village is the reality already today. To prevent it from becoming a global chaos, it is necessary that as many people as possible get the understanding of cultural diversity and develop positive attitudes toward otherness (tolerance) which I believe are prerequisites of managing future life on this planet.
What do you expect from your lecture at the seminar?
In the seminar I hope to mediate the basic knowledge about how a culture functions and develop some ideas for further considerations and thinking. As the seminar offers a multicultural setting I also expect to learn new things from all participants, to share their views and way of thinking. This will definitely extend my horizon and become a valuable experience.
What are you looking forward to when it comes to your lecture at the seminar?
I look forward to meeting young, active people who are ready to learn in interaction with others. I believe that the seminar will be a mutual enrichment for all of us.
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