How often are you doing anything for the others? For your family, friends, colleagues, customers, totally unknown people? In work, in your personal life, on the street, on the bus station, anywhere? How often do you hear “Thank you” then? How often do you hear please, pardon, could you, may I? How often do YOU use such words? How often the work or even small deeds are at least a little bit apprec
iated? Indeed, simple THANKS is enough, sufficient reward, isn’t it? And what is the cost of a nice word? Shouldn’t it be
natural? Like breathing? Something that our parents supposed to teach us? All of us? Together with teachers in primary schools, all still repeating that just these words are basis of good manners, and those are the basis of being a good person. In our organization we’re trying to do the best for our surrounding, for young people, to give them opportunity to broaden their horizons through projects abroad. The same we are trying to provide to youngster from all around the Europe through organizing such events in our country. So many people got such a chance during last year. But how many of them even said “Thank you”? Then we started to observe people around. Rarity of this phrase is unfortunately fascinating. If we are not able to be polite, to use something so fundamental as to say “Thanks”, how could we be tolerant? How could we be successful in interpersonal relationships? And without these, how could we have a chance to succeed in intercultural environment? However, even the last mentioned issue is not avoidable in current world of globalization and significant and rapid demographical and social changes. Daily news from all around the Europe are the bright example. While reading the priorities of Erasmus+ Programme, and thus priorities of
European Commission and European Union itself, we are quite sure, that we are not so far from the truth. Our world, our society is changing faster than ever before. How are we going to react? How are we going to react WITH and WITHOUT awareness on intercultural differences, understanding of interpersonal relations, sense of tolerance and mutual respect, forgetting or thinking of our behavior, dealing or not dealing good manners on daily basis, manifest or not nothing else than mere humanity.
