08/05/2022
Greece
participants
First of all, our primary goal was for pax to become aware of the natural and cultural heritage of the places we want to visit and, consequently, learn more about their host country or their country. Other than this, since both incoming and local students joined, we aimed for intercultural exchange between the participants so everyone feels included and integrated. This experience celebrated the Greek culture in places with different cultural traits from the city they are studying. At the same time, through our activities, we wanted students to become aware of the difficulties marginalised people have been or still go through and give them a new perspective.
Thessaloniki Trip was organised by ESN KAPA Athens & ESN NTUA Athens. Apart from Thessaloniki, we visited Meteora, which is unique for its rock formations. Another stop was Pozar Springs, where the participants saw the hot springs located right next to a waterfall. Our last stop was Vergina, a small town, and pax had the chance to get in touch with rural life.
We organised a city tour and promoted local food on the first day. On the second night, we hosted Dinner in the Dark, where everyone was blindfolded to get an idea of the life of a blind person. On the last day, we organised a Human Storyboard event during which participants were allowed to listen to the stories of people who have faced prejudice as a way to step in their shoes while at the same time having the opportunity to ask them questions. Moreover, during our visits to museums or monuments, we had a volunteer who gave a tour to international students and explained everything they saw as many of these places don’t provide translated explanations.
Also, throughout the trip and after some activities, we promoted intercultural dialogue through activities during which the participants had to discuss relevant experiences and situations from their own country, e.g. during our visit to the hot springs, they had to discuss what was done in their countries to preserve the environment or battle environmental phenomena which have adverse effects.
