Our volunteers participated in the Interdiac conference

Four international volunteers – Rika, Asude, Kati and Müge had the opportunity to participate in final conference of Interdiac (International Academy for Diaconia and Social Action ) international project - Make Change Yourself: Turning Challenges to Your Advantage! supported by the European non-formal education programme Erasmus+. 

The aim of this international project was not only to educate workers with marginalised youth, but also to actively involve these young people in the process of change and learning, so that they become part of not only the learning but also the change itself.

During the conference on Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 December, the whole process was not only evaluated and presented to the guests, but together with the other partners it was discussed how to work further with the recommendations and findings during the project. Silesian Diakonia could be actively involved in this project through two participants from staff and was very happy to host participants from more than 10 countries together.

How our volunteers enjoyed it?

„On the conference we had an opportunity to hear about a project dedicated on working with marginalized young people, it had been going on for one and a half year and this very event was organized to make conclusions. Roughly half of the time was spent on listening to presentations from participants, other than that we were discussing questions related to the topic. I had two favourite moments within these two days. First was a presentation that gave me a great overview of what it means to work with marginalized young people (and to begin with, what makes one marginalized). The second was bonding with other young participants during a snow fight we had on a first day. It was amazing to see how easy it can be to make friends and have a good time. :)“ (Kati, Estonia)

“A few weeks ago, I was invited to the Interdiac conference in Cesky Tesin. The event was about a project that took place over the last years in which social workers from different countries participated. The best part for me was to get the chance to meet so many people with different backgrounds and experience in the field of social work. I think Interdiac is a great opportunity for everyone to learn from each other and connect. Even though I wasn´t part of the Project it was interesting for me to learn about the differences in social work in different countries and age groups. I had a great time and hope to maybe visit some of the other volunteers I met at the conference one day.” (Rika, Germany)