Students from Cyprus remember the programme

1.

Πρώτα απ’ όλα θα ήθελα να πω ένα τεράστιο ευχαριστώ στους υπεύθυνους αυτού του προγράμματος γιατί μου δόθηκε η ευκαιρία να συμμετάσχω σε αυτό το πρόγραμμα. Όταν έμαθα ότι η ομάδα που εκπροσώπησε την Κύπρο στο πρόγραμμα Comenius για την Γαλλία χρειαζόταν ένα θεατρικό και μου ζήτησαν να γράψω τα προβλήματα που αντιμετωπίζουμε σαν νεολαία κωφών και βαρήκοων ατόμων, ένιωσα  ότι μέσα από αυτό το θέατρο που έγραψα θα πέρναγε η ιδέα ότι και εμείς σαν άνθρωποι λίγο διαφορετικοί από τους ακούοντες  έχουμε τα ίδια δικαιώματα.

 Όσο αφορά στησυμμετοχή μου στη συνάντηση στη Γερμανία, μέσα από τα διάφορα εργαστήρια που κάναμε έμαθα τόσα πολλά για τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα και τον ρατσισμό που μου έκαναν πολλή εντύπωση όπου όταν ήρθα στην Κύπρο το συζήτησα με δικά μου άτομα. Επίσης έχω γνωρίσει διάφορες κουλτούρες και πολιτισμούς και έχω κάνει καινούργιους φίλους από άλλες χώρες. Ίσως και αυτός είναι ένας λόγος του προγράμματος.
Αν μου δινόταν ξανά η ευκαιρία για ακόμη ένα ταξίδι όπου θα έπρεπε να παρουσιάσουμε κάτι ,θα είμαι ο πρώτος που θα ήθελα να συνεργαστώ σε αυτό .

Giannis Theofanous

English translation

First I would like to say a big thank you to the people involved in this programme because they gave me the chance to participate in it. When I learned that the team that would represent Cyprus in France needed a drama play and I was asked to write about the problems faced by hearing impaired and deaf young people, I felt that through this play I wrote I would pass through the idea that despite the fact we are slightly different from the people who don‘t have hearing problems, we have the same rights.

Regarding my participation in the meeting in Germany, through the various workshops we participated in, I learned so much about Human Rights and racism and I was so impressed that when I came back to Cyprus I discussed all this with friends and relatives.  I also came to know different cultures and civilizations and made friends with people from other countries. This may be one of the reasons this programme exists.

If I ever had the chance to participate again in a meeting where we’d have to present something, I’d be the first to join in!

2.

Το ταξίδι μου στην Πολωνία με το πρόγραμμα Comenius ήταν πραγματικά μια εκπληκτική εμπειρία. Όχι μόνο στον ψυχαγωγικό τομέα, αλλά και στον πνευματικό. Το όλο πρόγραμμα μέσα από τα εργαστήρια και τις πολύ καλά οργανωμένες δραστηριότητές του κατάφερε να με κερδίσει και παράλληλα να ανοίξει νέους δρόμους στο μυαλό μου. Το θέμα "Ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα" μεταδόθηκε με επιτυχία μέσα μου και με έβαλε σε σκέψεις και προβληματισμούς που δεν είχα προηγουμένως. Οι συζητήσεις που είχαμε με συνομήλικους μου από όλες τις πλευρές της Ευρώπης με βοήθησαν να συνειδητοποιήσω την σοβαρότητα του θέματος και να δώσω το ανάλογο βάρος σε αυτό, όχι μονο κατα τη διάρκεια της παραμονής μου στην Πολωνία, αλλα μέχρι και σήμερα.

 Ιδιαίτερα η επίσκεψη μας στο στρατόπεδο μαζικής δολοφονίας Άουσβιτς με φόρτισε με συναισθήματα και με έκανε να αλλάξω μερικές από τις προσωπικές μου απόψεις. Πιστεύω πως το πρόγραμμα Comenius κατάφερε να επιτύχει τον στόχο του και παράλληλα να ενώσει ανθρώπους από όλη τη γηραιά ήπειρο, παρά τις μεγάλες μας θρησκευτικές και πολιτισμικές διαφορές  

  Christoforos Lefkiou

English translation:

 My journey to Poland with the Comenius programme was a really fantastic experience.

It was both entertaining and intellectually rewarding. The whole programme with its workshops and well organised activities impressed me and was a mind broadening experience for me. Through the programme I came to think and reflect about things I hadn’t had the chance to consider before. The discussions I had with peers from all over Europe helped me take into consideration these issues and realise their importance. It is something that happened not only during my stay in Poland but which still continues to this day.

Our visit to Auschwitz concentration camp, in particular, charged me emotionally and made me change some of my personal beliefs. I believe that the Comenius programme achieved its goals and succeeded in uniting people from all over the old continent despite our great religious and cultural differences.

3.

The Human Rights program we participated in, taught us so many things we don’t necessarily think of, like the differences and similarities between the European countries that are not very obvious, but still create this entity called Europe a Union. Each and every group of people has their own rights and as humans we have to respect them and learn that diversity is a positive aspect of our continent. It helped us understand that we share the same ideas, the same problems with the youth everywhere in Europe and that united we can make the difference and contribute to the creation of new societies that respect humans and their rights as well as their own choices and nature. By travelling in other European countries we met great people who shared their knowledge and ideas, we made friends for life, we had once-in-a-lifetime experiences and personally, I am more than grateful that I was given the opportunity to take part in the Comenius program.

Joanna Kakouratou

4.

During the two-year Comenius project that my school took part in, I was one of the luckiest students, since I had the opportunity to both host a visitor and be hosted by another family.  This experience left me with valuable friends from all over Europe and unforgettable memories.  I learned that everyone is different in his own way, and by talking with my peers I realised that we all have the same fears and we share the same dreams.  We overcame practical difficulties, such as the language, and we got to know different cultures, religions and lifestyles.  Moreover, through workshops, not only cooperation was promoted, but we cultivated our European citizenship.  We acquired knowledge on human rights in depth and to be more accurate, in France, we approached the subject by presenting real-life examples of the violation of human rights via theatre.  I hope that everybody benefited from the program and I am glad I had the chance to participate in this life-changing series of meetings.

Andriani Chrysanthou

5.

This year I was lucky enough to be chosen to go to France with the Comenius Program. I stayed for a week in Valence where I was hosted by a French family and I have to admit that it was one the most amazing moments of my life. I got to live as the kids in my age live in France and I have learned so many things! I had the chance to know their culture, their habits their everyday lives. Furthermore I met people and I made friends from all around Europe. Except from those things while we were in Valence we participated in many activities and we talked about the Human Rights. It was very interesting because I got to talk about what is going on in my country and, how people react and behave to the minorities such as the gays etc and generally to the different and of course I learned how the other people are dealing those issues in their countries. I believe that Comenius had made clear to me and to all the other teenagers that were there that Human Rights are very important and must be equal to all of us despite our colour, religion or beliefs. It was an unforgettable experience and I really hope that this program will continue because it has so many things to give to young people! 

Theodora Demetriou

6.

Being part of the Comenius group I was given the opportunity to travel to Poland. The trip was amazing and full of experiences that I will hold in my heart. The week I spent there I managed to get to know more about the Polish culture as the family I was living with was eager to give me information about their habits, lifestyle and diet. In addition what made the trip more important is that I got to meet people from other countries with different cultures and who practice different religions and therefore become more open-minded. Furthermore what made me realize the importance of this trip was the visit to Auschwitz concentration camp as the horrible crimes of the past must never be repeated and the only thing that will prevent that is the unity of peoples. The Comenius experience is a character shaping experience and I am grateful I was a part of it.

Melina Yianni