“Have you ever thought about going on a trip in the middle of nowhere in Georgia? Me neither. However, a week ago I found myself on such a trip. It wasn’t any trip but an Erasmus+ project, where citizens of six countries met.
Portuguese, Spanish, Poles, Georgian, Ukrainian and Armenian… what could go wrong? We didn’t quite know what’s ahead of us, however, that didn’t discourage us from hopping on a bus that took us straight from Tbilisi to the magical Bakuriani. The moment we arrived, some friendships were already made yet it wasn’t enough. That’s why the evening and the following day were full of energisers, and simply getting to know each other. But before we draw a straight line to the second day, it’s worth mentioning that the first evening was a chance for many of us to get to know Georgian culture. From the very first cultural evening onward, each one was devoted to learning about different cultures, so we surely weren’t bored. However, it’s worth mentioning what brought us to Georgia.
BITISI creates an environment where the personal development and like-minded people meet. That’s why the team of 31 young people could talk about volunteering opportunities and make sense of it. After getting a space to know each other, we jumped right into the topic. Starting with easy tasks, they’ve developed into projects talking about different volunteering opportunities in our countries – how they function, what could be improved, etc. In the following days, it led us to many discussions and sometimes even disagreements. What’s ethical and what’s not? Should it be that way? What can we change? And do we really have an actual impact on it? It was truly inspiring to meet people not in casual circumstances, but in the ones where we could share our ideas and thoughts. It’s actually incredibly hard to work with people you’ve never met before, however, we made it just fine.
In the end, not only did we get to role-play as NGOs, media conglomerates, citizens, and governments, but also we delved into discussions regarding the operation (or lack thereof) of education systems in our countries. Furthermore, we had the opportunity to initiate projects such as community centers, digital support for the elderly, and animal rescue programs. Nevertheless, even though the program sounds quite strict we had a lot of time to ourselves. Some had a chance to go skiing, while others did go to places such as Borjomi.
After an intensive week we had to leave the mysterious Bakuriani hidden up in the mountains. The friendships got stronger, and our knowledge became wider. Even though there’s much more we could do, everything has to come to an end. We said our last goodbyes in Tbilisi and went our separate ways. But this experience will stay with us forever”.
BITISI 