BOVA is pleased to be part of
You(th) for Human Rights, with two returned volunteers (Rachel and Simon) joining others from Salesian organisations from across Europe in Brussels:
You(th) for Human Rights
From 15 to
18 October Jeugddienst Don Bosco is hosting a European youth congress at the
Oasis centre in Brussels, Belgium. 50
young people from 12 European countries will debate over 2 days on the topic of
‘Human Rights Education’. The congress
aims at bringing together youth work organisations active in the leisure time
and those working with disadvantaged youths (refugees, Rom
a, special youth
care, …).
The youth
congress is part of a wider European project called ‘You(th) for Human
Rights’. This project is organized in
cooperation with Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw and financially supported by the
‘Youth in Action’-programme of the European Commission. This project entails next to the youth
congress, 2 national youth gatherings and a publication. The development of the project can be
followed only through the website www.youthforhumanrights.eu.
Event write upOn the weekend 15th - 18th October, four British volunteers attended the DBYN You(th) for Human Rights Congress in Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium. Rachel Cortes and Simon Treacy represented BOVA while DBYN UK was represented by Emma Stringer and Chris Knowles.
The Congress was an opportunity to bring together around 50 young people active in Salesian organisations across 12 European countries. Once we had successfully navigated their way to the host Oasecentrum, everyone gathered on the Thursday evening and got to know the other participants.
The following day, the Congress proper was kicked off in imitable style with some inspirational words by Don Fabio followed by a talk by the DBYN President, Fr Bob, on the importance of safeguarding. Then we all took part in a few activities designed to inspire a deeper understanding of the concept of human rights. To top it all, the day concluded with a human rights themed tour of Brussels and a traditional Belgian dish of moules frites.
On the Saturday, there was a quiz to test our knowledge of the other organisations represented at the weekend. We were then challenged to incorporate our ideas on human rights that we had developed and take them into our day-to-day work with young people.
Of course, the weekend had its fair share of
social events and fun activities, through which we learned how to cook traditional Belgian food and make human rights-related badges, the importance of punctuality and why you should never run behind a moving vehicle.
The weekend was a fantastic opportunity to be part of a meeting of other young people involved in Salesian projects across Europe. It was invaluable to get to share ideas and be inspired by the everyone’s varied experiences.
Overall, the weekend was superbly organised by our Belgian hosts and was very enjoyable. We hope to follow up the inspiration by continuing to raise human rights awareness through our respective roles with BOVA and DBYN UK.