In Southeastern Slovenia, on the left bank of Kolpa River, on the border with Croatia, lies Metlika – a small Slovenian town of around 3000 people. This was our home for a week, during the Brave New You – Reloaded youth exchange.
Between the 23rd and 30th of September 2021, Metlika welcomed 50 youngsters from 10 different countries to participate in a youth exchange aimed at challenging hateful narratives and building more inclusive societies. These youngsters were together face-to-face for the first time since the beginning of the project, to exchange experiences, opinions and ideas, and to recognize the differences and similarities between their own realities.
The Brave New You – Reloaded project aims at building the capacities and trust among different youth communities, while tackling issues of hate speech and lack of participation of youth communities experiencing discrimination and exclusion. The goal of the project is to empower young people to become community leaders, to identify and deconstruct hateful narratives, and build more inclusive societies.
The youngsters involved in this youth exchange were able to try out different tools and methods that were previously developed during the project, providing feedback on these tools to make them useful, interesting and relevant for other young people and different communities.
During this week the participants discussed topics such as prejudice and discrimination against Roma people, gender based violence, homophobia and transphobia, stereotypes and prejudices against rural youth, racism and xenophobia, and many others. The lively and fruitful discussions held during this week allowed the participants to share the work they have been developing in their local communities and to evaluate how they will apply the knowledge shared through this experience in their local work.
The Youth Exchange has been an intense week and a successful experience that included a lot of work but also great fun (watch the VIDEO). We all left Metlika more educated, empathetic and willing to spread the word and share what we’ve learned. Last but not least, we tried our best to raise awareness on a local level, to have an impact in the small Slovenian town on the left bank of Kolpa River, on the border with Croatia.
To get to know more about Brave New You, check the project’s website here.
