Dear all nice people, dear Estonian hosts,

The project ROLE OF YOUTH in SOCIETY, started September 2014 in Iceland, was nicely finalized in Rakvere with a last mobility topic

Throwing away prejudices and racism

Thank you, Estonia!

The slogan of this meeting I would like to take from Lithuanian team essay:

,,Never judge a book by it's cover, because within it's pages you might find peace "-  so truly as it is!

Project participants through all the mobilities have had wonderful days enjoying active discussions, discovering values of a human and well-being community!

It was my big pleasure to follow the development of the project! 

Thank you for the partnership and well done work! Good work is team work!

Winners are we all- working in collaborative multi-cultural teams towards a common objective that benefits our community.

Let us stay in touch with nice ideas for the further projects!

Have a nice summer!
Anita

A moment like this- from the beautiful Estonian nature, Valge Järv!

Photos from Estonia (Great memories)

Racism (exercise) 2015 Estonia

Task

Imagine that you could choose the most welcome neighbours for yourself. The options are below. Please make a list of persons/families you prefer to be your neighbours (1 - the most welcome neighbour; 10 - the less welcome neighbour).

___ An Indian family with 5 children (at the age of 1-12). Father has a restaurant, mother has a part-time job in a shop.

___ 70-year-old lady living with a minimum retirement pension. Her family lives close to her and visits her sometimes.

___ A student from Africa who has come to Estonia to study. He has health problems and has to be in the hospital sometimes.

___ 5 young adults who follow the alternative lifestyle and are trying to give up all conventional and usual.

___ 3 students from Poland who actively participate in politics.

___ A married couple without children. The husband works at high government position, the wife is a housewife and takes care of their 3 dogs mainly.

___ A young woman who is in her piano studies in music academy. She has to practise several hours every afternoon. She is also religious and takes an active part in church activities.

___ An Afroamerican and her Australian girlfriend. The man tries to get the working permit in Estonia with the intention to start working as an engineer.

___ A religious Moslem family. A woman always wears a yashmac that covers her face  when she goes outside.

___ A homosexual couple who are trying to adopt a child. One of the partners is an artist and the other is a lawyer.

Lecture on Racism

Team Tornado

The Cereal Killers

Four Musketeers and the Princess

Four Musketeers and the Princess

Views on Racism The Cereal killers

The Cereal killers What we were doing here

Thank you Nordplus

Evaluation of essays

Latvia

It starts with a good definition of what racism is and how it appears. The main and most important question is how can we eliminate racism? There is no one solution for that but the Latvian team points out an important start point. Start with one selves.

This essay reveals how racism has always been a problem in the world. And it also points out that because the money rules the world the countries have different opportunities and quality of life. Even though modern technology can be used to fight racism it´s not assessable to all people. But with education and knowledge that we are all people despite some differences we can fight this enemy.

The topic is well defined and revealed.

Iceland

Here is also a good definition of the nature of racism. The Icelandic team thinks Iceland is not very racist country. Could it be because Iceland has very few immigrants and the conflict between Icelandic and other nations customs don´t rise so often in daily life? But on the other hand Icelanders have through the years had liberal thoughts about minority groups f.ex. gay people and their rights.

The Icelandic team have some good ideas how racism can be fought and all in all this essay is well thought out.

Estonia

As the other teams, the Estonian team explains how racism appears in the society. They have a good example of racism in their own country due to the time when the country was ruled by Russia and the older generation who lived that time have some negative experience and thoughts from that time. But the people who are younger and don´t have that experience have more positive thoughts. Young people in Estonia today are more educated and have had more opportunity to meet people from various countries and get to know them in a positive way. They think that more education and more global communication is the best weapon against racism. In conclusion this is a very good essay.

Lithuania

The Lithuanian team points out an important thing, all of us think we are not a racists persons but still we think about suburbs with people of a different race than we are as “those people”. Can it be that fear of the unknown is causing reactions that we think don´t exists in our being? They quote in some famous people who have expressed their thoughts about the matter when we judge another people. Very good teamwork and the most important thing is “Never judge a book by its cover, because within its page you might find peace.”

Finland

The Finish team points out that the racism appears in Finland in fear that the immigrants will take the jobs, places and money. Also fear for people with other religion than Christian. Can it be that native people think they are more superior and have more right to enjoy the benefits of their country than other people living there? Why? Fortunately most people in Finland have a positive attitude against other races as long as they take part in the society.

The Finish team discussed various ways we can fight discrimination. Very good work.

The best homework video

It is great that all of us met here in Estonia.

Personally, I’m taking part in the third mobility. So I did notice progress in different areas.

Every mobility is more and more organized.

Students get more relaxed and more creative with every mobility. Which is a great thing, because stress never helped anyone.

Some students that have taken part in their second and third mobility have improved their English language skills and their communication skills in general.

I believe and after so many mobilities I know that they are a great possibility for students to:

·         Meet new people and make new friends

·         To improve their English skills

·         To learn how to work in a team or improve their cooperation skills that they already have

·         To feel more relaxed in unknown places, countries

·         To learn how to speak in front of people without any fear or anxiety

First of all, I want to thank Estonia for a warm and wonderful welcome and of course the Nordplus project and its coordinator Anita.
 

And now the evaluations of the video

The best video was evaluated according to the criteria, which are posted on the blog.

·         The culture of the presentation

·         Teamwork

·         Revelation of topic

·         Relevance of topic

·         Originality

·         Creativity

·         Compliance with the given requirements

According to these criteria the award for the best video goes to:

Lithuania (First place)

Lithuanian team’s video was the most creative and original. They showed us perfect team work and extra points were given for the “Nordplus trailer”. As a result they won first place.

The second place goes to Finland

This video was very special because Finland again proved that they can create a video that perfectly portrays the characteristics that the Finnish teams are known for throughout all the mobilities.  It has a clear structure that clearly shows the problem, analysis and always gives a possible solution. The video is representative. The message of the video is clear and the ideas are nicely articulated. The target group was pick very precisely.

The third place: Iceland

The Icelanders have interviewed people who might have or have encountered racism. This was very bold of them. They weren’t afraid to show the possible problems connected to racism in their society. Choosing the target group really improved their video.

Congratulations and best wishes for all of the Nordplus members. All of you did great work.

Never give up on your dreams and you will achieve them. This project is the living proof that you have the power to help others.