Erasmus+ youth exchange “Check Your Privilege” took place in Kaunas, Lithuania on 3rd – 11th of October, 2021. The mobility gathered 36 participants coming from Lithuania, Poland, Turkey, Slovakia, Spain and Italy
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
All youth exchange activities were based on non-formal education. Participants had the opportunity to try a variety of energizers and activities fostering critical thinking when addressing social inequality. Below are the activities that were evaluated highest by the participants
PRIVILEGE WALK
What can you afford when you are homeless, the mayor of the town or a young asylum seeker? Participants had the opportunity to incarnate in these and other roles during the Privilege Walk
ACTIVITY: Provide opportunity to understand the intricacies of privilege and explore the ways that we enjoy privileges based on being members of social identity groups:
-
Line up participants
-
Assign different roles to participants. For example, an unemployed single mother, owner of a successful import-export company, and a 17-year-old Roma (Gypsy) girl who never finished primary school. Participants cannot know each other’s roles
-
Read a statement or question and ask participants to step forward if it applies to them. If anyone feels too uncomfortable to take a step, they have the option to remain still. For example, “I can afford to go to the cinema once a week.”
-
After reading at least 10 statements, all participants must stand in different positions. Reveal each other’s roles and start a discussion about social benefits
COUNTRY PRESENTATIONS – CURRENT SITUATION OF INEQUALITY
ACTIVITY: On the second day, participants worked in national teams to select constructive information on social exclusion, present it and learn more about the situation in each participating country. The following questions were answered during the discussion:
-
What are the most visible issues regarding social exclusion in your country?
-
What are some good and bad examples of how your country is dealing with social inclusion?
-
Human rights law in your country: how does it encourage you to behave and what do you think could be changed?
-
Is the education system easily accessible to everyone?
ABIGAIL’S TALE: SIMULATION EXERCISE
ACTIVITY: Abigail’s Tale is a story that shows how people view the world from different perspectives, have different values and reach different conclusions out of the same information.
MATERIALS:
CULTURAL EVENINGS
3 different evenings took us to 6 different countries – Poland, Italy, Slovakia, Turkey, Spain and Lithuania. Participants told about the history of their country, showed traditional games, dances and songs. The culmination of evenings – tasting of each country’s food
GUEST SPEAKERS: ROKAS & JONĖ
During the youth exchange, participants had the opportunity to hear inspiring stories
Jonė Matilda Rimavičiūtė introduced us to the importance of volunteering when combating social exclusion. She herself went to volunteer in Tanzania, where together with team members taught locals how to give first aid, play guitar, read and educate themselves.
The experience is breathtaking, which inspired her to continue volunteering in Lithuania, in refugee centers and spread the word about the importance of volunteering.
Rokas Garliauskas revealed what it means to organise the first LGBTQ+ Pride in Kaunas. He told us about the history of Pride, the peculiarities of organizing it and the feelings that flooded Kaunas.
The participants felt goosebumps when they heard the difficulties Rokas was facing and saw that this pride in Kaunas laid the foundations for tolerance.
PROJECT IMPACT
Participants learned about the effects of social inequality, how to use privilege for good, how to make space for those who lack it, and/or how to deal with/overcome minority disadvantages. Upon returning home, participants were able to convey the knowledge gained during the project to their local communities and spread the word about the importance of tolerance. Moments from local activities in Lithuania, Spain, Poland, Turkey, Italy and Slovakia are captured in the pictures
FUNDING
“Check Your Privilege” project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union and implemented by youth group “Turn on leaders” together with Active Youth Association.
WE ARE SUPPORTED BY
