The first international meeting of the Our Voice programme took place in Balatonfenyves in the last week of September 2023. The 24 young people living in care arrived on 24 September to spend an unforgettable week with their peers on the shores of Lake Balaton. The adventure has begun and the young people are ready to spend the next three weeks acquiring the skills and abilities that will enable them to organise independent activities for their younger peers by the beginning of next year.
On the day of arrival, after a brief introduction, we reviewed the house rules and everyone received their name badges and exciting gifts before we had a nice dinner together.
During the first day, the group rules were discussed in detail, the training schedule was presented, and the pre-prepared reflective diaries were handed out. The supporters – the direct helpers and support workers for the children – were also introduced and the groups of 3 young people assigned to them were able to interact with each other.
Throughout the whole week of training, there was a strong focus on non-verbal communication – exercises that not only improved our communication skills and attention, but also helped us to overcome language barriers.
On the first day, we practised each other’s names, learned each other’s birthdays through a fun game and signed the team contract. Everyone made suggestions about what they thought a good team should look like. Working in teams of 3, the young people put the characteristics they had gathered together into a contract, then they presented the finalised texts.
Afterwards, we made the Group Flag, to which everyone added their own drawing. In the afternoon, we played experiential team games with the Belgian team: we tried three exciting exercises, and we ended the programme with a dance together.
The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for the intercultural evening. During the evening we learned about the traditions of the participants from Hungary, Transylvania and Belgium. At the end of the evening, the very enthusiastic groups started a fantastic party together.
On the second day, we went on an excursion to Keszthely, where we enjoyed the castle and the many sights. On Tuesday evening we had a pizza dinner and watched a film (12 Mighty Orphans) together.
On Tuesday and Wednesday the young people were given the task of taking pictures of something they really liked or that made a big impression on them. These pictures were shown to their peers on Thursday morning.
On the third day we went to Budapest. The trip was full of content; in the morning we visited the Parliament and the centre of Budapest, then we went to the center of Parents’ House Public Benefit Foundation, where we were welcomed with lunch and little surprises. In the afternoon we went for a walk in the Buda Castle to end a day full of experiences.
On Thursday we presented our own experiences from the previous two days in the form of photo presentations. The session was enriched with touching stories. Afterwards we were introduced the „vision board” technique and everyone had the opportunity to create their own vision board. After lunch we went to the Adventure Park in Balatonboglar. Fantastic achievements were made and it was great to see the happy, smiling faces. After dinner we had a board game night, which we also enjoyed with dancing and jumping rope.
On Friday, the fifth day, the teams completed their Vision Boards. Those who made it through the day took part in an outdoor team game. During the presentation of the vision boards, everyone was able to make their voices heard and share their dreams. At the end of the programme there was an evaluation session where both the young people and the facilitators expressed their gratitude for the week’s experience. In the afternoon, President Zsuzsanna Márton gave a presentation on the next training week in Romania, which everyone is looking forward to. The evening was filled with dinner, the presentation of certificates and a great karaoke party.
On Saturday we said goodbye, but fortunately only for a short time: we will meet again in Romania in the last week of October.
Our voice, our future. Let’s be the change in the world you want to live in.