Memories from Democracy XP in Cecina
Memories from Democracy XP in Cecina
Last month, we as the new ESC-Volunteers travelled together with the rest of the IYNF team to our first activity: Democracy XP: Rule the game, not the people. For five days, we not only acted as active members of the team, organising parts of the programme, but also participated in the activity, creating our own games working together with the other participants.
As it was our first activity with IYNF, for one of us it was the first activity we’ve ever joined, we really didn’t know what to expect from it. It was kind of like jumping in the deep end, not really knowing what would follow. Nonetheless, we were excited to take the step and see where it leads us!
During the five days, we learned a lot, not only about games, gamification and how it is integrated into our everyday life, but also how the activities at IYNF work and how we can contribute to it. Nantje organised and created a “People Bingo” so everyone could get to know each other by learning fun facts about them.
As active participants, we also worked on the games. It was an incredibly fun part of the activity. Seeing everyone brainstorm and come up with ideas was inspiring and fascinating especially with all the amazing concepts people had in mind. It made it harder to choose a group with so many great choices, but in the end, we both found groups we loved working and creating with.
In between the working phases, Gabriel also organised interviews with different participants. This included a fun self-made EU-Outfit and intriguing questions for each of the participants, as well as different locations we filmed at.
Another highlight for us was the beach, of course! With it being only a few minutes away by foot it was the perfect place to take a break from work. Sometimes we also did our work at the beach making it even more fun! For example, we took part in a treasure hunt that led us along the beach for the first part.
In the evenings, when we didn’t spend time at the beach, we were either playing games together that participants brought with them, or we worked a bit more on our own games. BUT there was also a creative activity planned for one evening. Nantje planned a little workshop on zines, a self-made mini magazine you can fill with whatever you want. We sat together and each made our own special version. There were zines that included nicknames in Turkish you can use for the people you love, there were zines made about the activity and zines made for dear friends to hype them up. It was beautiful seeing everyone talk and having fun creating something for themselves or for others.
After a lot of working on the games together, we sadly reached the end of the activity. On our last day we presented our final outcomes of the games. There was acting, there was marketing and most importantly there was a lot of laughing with each other.
It was great seeing what everyone came up with in their final versions, making us all excited to have them in our hands and playing the final printed versions.
After a lot of working on the games together, we sadly reached the end of the activity. On our last day we presented our final outcomes of the games. There was acting, there was marketing and most importantly there was a lot of laughing with each other. It was great seeing what everyone came up with in their final versions, making us all excited to have them in our hands and playing the final printed versions.
On our final evening, we just spent time together making even more memories to keep. We went stargazing on the beach, wrote each other compliments on special “Warm shower” posters that everyone could take home. Overall, just enjoying our company.
In general, we are so happy and thankful that our first activity was as incredible as it was. Not only because of the fun programme, but because of the people that joined the activity. They made the jump into the deep end way less scary. So, thank you for everyone that was there, we are definitely excited for the next one!
Berg frei,
Your ESC-Volunteers Gabriel and Nantje
The European Solidarity Corps Volunteers are kindly funded by:
The project was kindly funded by:
