21/09/2022
From the 24th to the 8th of August Bridges, not Walls! (2020), which COVID forced to be moved to 2022 was situated in Merkine, a tiny town in Lithuania that borders Poland and Belarus. This project's main goal was to demonstrate SOLIDARITY to migrants by using the Sustainable Development Goals as a point of departure, creative workshops, and performing arts as a means of advocacy in rural areas and cities in Lithuania. The project's location had a significant impact on how it affected the participants, as well as the Merkine community. More than half of the 30 participants—15—had their first erasmus+ experience and left the project eager to learn more about erasmus+ programs and what other options there are for them to continue building their competencies and becoming active global citizens.
The initiative marked the Merkine community's first experience with an international project. The sole secondary school in the community was notably buzzed about because of this.
The project demonstrated some of the value of the European youth goals. Example: Youth goal #3 Inclusive Societies: Enable and ensure the inclusion of all young people in society. Goal #6 Moving Rural Youth Forward: Create conditions which enable young people to fulfil their potential in rural areas. Finally goal #9: Space and Participation for All:
Strengthen young people’s democratic participation and autonomy and provide dedicated youth spaces in all areas of society.
For the first time, young people in Merkin (a rural area) had the opportunity to participate in European youth mobility, shaping the project's program and using their voices and creativity to talk and show solidarity with migrants. Because of the town's history (Soviet and N**i German innovation in the past), the 2019 Belarus migration crisis, and now the war in Ukraine, the project had a significant impact on all of the youth in Merkine.
The young people from Georgia also experienced a similar influence and discussed their country's history in the past during the 2014 war with Russia and the Soviet Union influenced back in February 1921. Participants from Italy discussed the separation between the north and south of their nation and the issue of immigration. While Morocco's border with Spain was being discussed, the young people from Spain also brought up their nation's treatment of immigrants. Finally, the Irish participants discuss the difficulties that asylum seekers encounter daily when trying to get refugee status in their country.
All of their stories and creativity were all put into a 20-minute theatrical performance (Dance and sing) created by all the participants and performed in Merkine and Druskininkai. The piece demonstrated the strength of solidarity for migrants but at the same time reenacting and showing respect to some of the historical events that took place in the town (Merkine). The performance created a huge buzz in both locations but mostly in Merkin and also appeared on the local and national blogs and newspapers.
During the project, so many topics (social issues) germinated from our activities. The global divide and the definitions that are given to these divisions for one part of the world to continue to be dominant over the other were among the topics that came up during the project. Examples include migrants vs. ex-pats, the global south vs. the north, development vs underdevelopment, etc. This is a sign that reveals the impact the project had on the youth. At the end of the project, each nation created a local action plan they wish to implement when they get back to their native countries. In conclusion, it was quite an emotional, powerful, creative, full of learning and fun project. .
