Wars and conflicts – will they ever stopp? So many are taking place these days, that great institutes call them record high. Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Israel’s war in Gaza, and many more. A sad record.
At least some of them could be avoided, if people would understand each other better, would be willing to share, would make efforts to change perspective.
To reach better understandind and to avoid war, many student exchange programms have been running since WW2. Intercultural learning has been very effective, when students (15-18) learn to see with the eyes of another culture, that is to change their home for one year to a family in another culture. One of these programms is Rotary youth exchange, very similar to AFS and YFU.
September 5-7, a very successful conference for Rotary echanges EEMA took place in Iashi, Romania, where volunteers from all around the world met to discuss new developments, new formats and programms, challenges and successes.
The venue of the conference was a surprize to many of the participants. The city of Iasch wiped away many of the prejudice from old days. Of course the cities show a different picture from what you see in the villages and in the countryside.
But the spirit of the dancers and their sense for preservation of Romanian culture was excellent and amazing.
