Hi everyone,
Well, the time has come for your final Soliya meeting. Please try and make sure you can be present for the full session, it is probably the most important and memorable session you will have. During this session you will be able to raise any topics or issues you haven't managed to bring up in these last weeks, and I can't encourage you enough to do this... don't hesitate to ask the questions you may have wanted to ask but haven't had the opportunity to do so!
I'm sorry that some of you have continued to have technical troubles throughout the project, I hope that hasn't spoiled your experience too much.
Most of you have posted your final papers to me, thank you very much for that. Can those of you who haven't yet make sure you do that.
For your final evaluations from me, I would like you to gather all of your diaries into a single document and send that to me. Also take the opportunity as you do this to go over the journey you have undertaken and add any final reflections and comments you may have. You can also use this opportunity to go over your language and correct any mistakes you may have made - I will send you all some linguistic feedback here some time this week, so wait for that. In my final evaluation I also take into consideration the final evaluation that Soliya will send me soon.
Deadline for sending me your final, reviewed diaries is May 15th.
Enjoy your last session!
Francesca
Well, the time has come for your final Soliya meeting. Please try and make sure you can be present for the full session, it is probably the most important and memorable session you will have. During this session you will be able to raise any topics or issues you haven't managed to bring up in these last weeks, and I can't encourage you enough to do this... don't hesitate to ask the questions you may have wanted to ask but haven't had the opportunity to do so!
I'm sorry that some of you have continued to have technical troubles throughout the project, I hope that hasn't spoiled your experience too much.
Most of you have posted your final papers to me, thank you very much for that. Can those of you who haven't yet make sure you do that.
For your final evaluations from me, I would like you to gather all of your diaries into a single document and send that to me. Also take the opportunity as you do this to go over the journey you have undertaken and add any final reflections and comments you may have. You can also use this opportunity to go over your language and correct any mistakes you may have made - I will send you all some linguistic feedback here some time this week, so wait for that. In my final evaluation I also take into consideration the final evaluation that Soliya will send me soon.
Deadline for sending me your final, reviewed diaries is May 15th.
Enjoy your last session!
Francesca
Dear diary,
RispondiEliminaOn Monday 27th April, I had my last Soliya meeting. It was one of the most emotional sessions and, at the same time, it was funny too.
Nobody was sad, because we were very happy to see each other and we were sure that this wouldn't be the last time! In fact we exchanged our e-mails, so we can contact each other in the future.
Unfortunately, Rowan, an American girl, missed the meeting, so we couldn't say goodbye to her, and all we are very sorry for this.
We began with a discussion about a serious and important topic: global and social inequality!
First, we discussed the main reason social inequality exists; we agreed that it can come from racism.
We then dwelt on differences that there are in our countries. A Moroccan girl told us that, in Morocco, 70% of people are poor, while 3% are rich; these percentages made me realize that, in Western countries, people are very fortunate, because the number of poor people is lower than the rich one.
A girl, who is from West Virginia, continued the discussion explaining to us that, in her state, there are a lot of differences between North and South, and I told them that it's the same in Italy, where there is also the problem of Mafia.
After, we spoke about immigration and I told my fellow students that I think it's a big problem in Italy, because there are so many immigrants from North Africa that make the dangerous boat journey across the Mediterranean to to the Italian coast. I explained that Italy can't handle this situation alone and that the European Union should help us.
Having finished talking about these serious issues, the facilitators made us do a game; we had to type the name of someone among us who made us laugh, who we learned from, who we respect (even if we don't always agree with them), who made us feel listened to, who made us feel understood, and so on. Really, it was very funny, because we joked a lot.
Finally each one of us thanked everybody, and promised that we will stay in touch.
I'm very glad to have met all of them, but, particularly, to have made friends with them, so I sincerely hope to hear from them in the future!
Omega
Dear Diary,
RispondiEliminaWhen I connected to the main meeting room last Wednesday, only the facilitators Gena and Salma were connected: I was surprised and I didn’t know what to say, but immediately Salma interrupted the silence and asked me something about my life and my family; then, we spoke about television series in Italy and a great number of them are the same of United States. After five minutes Ahmad connected.
I’m really sorry that there wasn’t the whole group, because I wanted to greet everybody! Anyway, it was an interesting session as usual. Since we were only in two, we could speak more, so I could ask Ahmad his personal opinions about several interesting issues, like the Ukrainian crisis.
We also talked about our dreams and what we would do if we were rich people and the answers were different: Ahmad said that he would buy a house for her mother and he would like to move to Africa, to Ivory coast or Ethiopia, where he would buy a land and live without working; on the other hand, if I had a lot of money I would study in the United States and travel around the world. It was very interesting to hear our different answers, because once again it showed me the different realities we come from.
Then Gena asked us if we agree or disagree with this sentence: “Nothing significant in history has ever happened without the involvement of young people”. We both agreed and Ahmad gave a lot of examples of events in which it happened: French revolution, Arab revolution, Second World War and Hitler’s dictatorship. It seemed to me a history lesson, because he was very good in explaining his point of view. I added only 1968, because in my opinion in this year changed the way to see the woman and her emancipation, above all in Europe and in the United States.
After that we talk about the future and about what could young people do to make the world a better place: I proposed “Soliya for everyone!”, we laughed and Salma said: “Soliya for world peace”, while Ahmad said that he is engaged in many movements related to race and equality in Lebanon, and I said that in my opinion politics can change global inequality and for this reason we have to participate in politics and in our government’s decisions.
They asked me about the boats sinking in the Mediterranean Sea: I told them that it is not only a problem of these days, but that it started several years ago and Italy has always tried to solve this situation. Now the problem is that disembarks have increased and Italy has a lot of difficulties in taking care of these people. Furthermore, Europe isn't supporting Italy to deal with this serious problem.
Finally, we made the final greetings and it was a very touching moment: we wished each other the best for our life and I proposed to create a Facebook group to stay in touch. I thanked everyone for having made these experience very interesting to me: first of all the facilitators, that were very good and nice, they always understood what I would have liked to say and they helped everyone with English; and then all my peers that were very clever, funny and kind.
I can’t believe that Soliya has already finished, but it will never end in my mind! Eight weeks seemed to me long lasting, but in reality they have flown so quickly! We spent together 16 hours, we spoke about important international topics, and other issues too. In the group nobody criticized each others’ ideas, we listened to each others with respect, and in some cases we asked why he/she said this. For this reasons, I thinks that Soliya is an educational project, because it allows to exchange our opinions with other people and teaches us to respect different points of view. Moreover, I improved my English and I am very satisfied, I can see the difference between the first and the last session: I learned a lot of new words, and now I can speak more fluently.
Thank you again for this opportunity!!
Lucia
Dear diary
RispondiEliminaMonday 27 April was the last meeting for the solyia project.
I'm sorry it's over, I found it fun and interesting to interact with my classmates,
at first I was dubious about this project, but at the end I think that is a good experience, positive and recommend it to others.
There were technical problems related to the connection, the audio, but in general they don’t have ruined the project.
It was not always easy to understand my mates but this project gave me the opportunity to understand my limits and my abilities.
I found myself very well with my two facilitators Ivan and Kate, were helpful and very friendly.
During the last meeting we have speak about TV series, like The big bang theory, Dr House, How I meet your mother, Lost.
Later we talked about the problem of ISIS, some were in favour of armed intervention, other for diplomatic intervention.
From my point of view military intervention would be the best choice, however I explained that in Europe there are not economic resources for another intervention as in Iraq.
At the end we said goodbye, everyone has done thanks for this wonderful experience.
Obviously there's the chance to continue to stay in touch on facebook,
It was a nice experience, I hope that the University will continue to propose in the future experiences of this kind.
See you soon.
Paolo.
Dear diary,
RispondiEliminaThis is the last meeting in Soliya. This week I shared a song.
The song has been very successful, it is about the Albanian immigration after the collapse of communism.
Subsequently, the American boy shared a song. This song was sing by a group of boys of Ilinois. A beautiful song with a beautiful rhythm.
Facilitators reminded us of the topic to be discussed. This argument is the instability of the world, especially what was causing this phenomenon.
We each gave his own version of "instability" in their country. The intervention of Aziza was very interesting, she argues that the instability is a positive factor. This phenomenon makes it possible to change the world. They are mainly students and the younger generation that can change the world.
I agreed with her. They are the new generation that can change the world.
As for the instability or change, this can have many consequences. It can be considered negative or positive depending of the interest policy.
In my point of view, the instability of our days is due to American and European policies. These two actors who hold the fate of the world. USA feeds wars in the world, with the pretext to intervene. The excuse is always the same: human rights, democracy or whatever. But the truth is only the economy. Jamal says that very often the instability is not seen positively, because the things can get worse. The instability can create other instabilities.
Shawn says that during the Cold War, many people have been helped dictatorial governments. Today, however, these states have taken away the support to these governments. Within these were internal wars have broken out for control of power. Libya is the latest example. Everyone agreed with Shawn, myself included.
The facilitator asked us how we can change this thing. New generations must make their voices heard. This is the only way. Shawn tells about that instability in Baltimore. Older generations do not want change.
The facilitator asked us if it's just the use of violence by these groups. All were opposed to violence, not a way to change things.
The time available was almost finished. The facilitator has made the latest questions. He asked us what was the name that you have learned in this meeting. Or type the name of the people we respect, despite a different idea. It was a very nice question. Everyone has entered a name of an individual and the group.
it was a pleasure to participate in this "encounter". It was a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people. This experience was extraordinary.
I thank my facilitators for their patience and their time spent with us. I set out to do a tour guide in Venice.
Thank you all for this opportunity.
Shqiprim.