Between the 15th to the 22nd of April 2019, 6 young people and a group leader from Greece have been participating in the “Food foe Inclusion” youth exchange. The project took place in Santa María del Campo, Burgos – Spain and it was hosted and implemented by Asociación Brújula Intercultural.
Some of the main goals of the project were to break the food related stereotypes and underline the various food cultures, to inspire the participants to develop a passion for cooking, exchange ideas and learn from each other using food as an educational tool, promote the healthy lifestyle and sports as well as to make the participants more aware of the possibilities of sustainable food and to create a recipe book with all the dishes prepared during the exchange.
From the 15th till the 22nd of April I had the amazing opportunity to be in Santa Maria del Campo, Spain in the youth exchange entitled ‘Food for inclusion’ with K.A.NE. from Kalamata, Greece. Through the days, we cooked traditional recipes of the participating countries, we discussed, we played games, we connected with each other and we learnt something new. We were realizing different activities everyday and we familiarized ourselves with the Spanish way of life.
Alexandra Chatzimimikou
The program “Food for Inclusion” that K.A.NE sent me as participant, gave me the opportunity to learn total new recipes from different countries. In the school of Santa Maria del Campo 35 people were cooking together with passion in a lovely atmosphere, where we created new connections not only between us but also with the whole village, children and elders who were happy to join to our activities… So many tasty memories!!!
Efstratios Cheilakos
During the program people from five different European Countries, Spain, Italy, Greece, Latvia, Hungary got to know each other, learn about the culture of each of those countries, got in touch with the locals and eventually make friendships.
At the beginning the program emphasized on creating a friendly and comfortable environment, so various bonding activities took place. Then each country had the chance to introduce to the rest of the team members parts of its culture, food, dances and songs. Although the intercultural night was the main event for the introduction of each country, we learn many things throughout the whole program, during free time and conversations between the participants and of course during the attempts to learn each country’s language. The elimination of stereotypes was also part of the program. Each country had to present the stereotypes of another, for example during a comical play which follows a discussion about the representativeness of these stereotypes. We were also in touch with the locals, we visited a family cellar, we participated in the local marathon as runners or volunteers, we went to the Easter celebration of the village and we had the chance to also meet locals at free time. The food was an important part of the week since we use it as a tool for team bonding. We tasted and cooked food from
around Europe during the workshops with the help of group leaders. Each leader prepare a local food with participants from different countries and as a result we tasted delicious food and got closer. Part of the program was also a cooking competition that took place outside of the city hall and people from the village could taste our recipes. On the other hand we use food to consider the inequality in the world.
By using food packages we realized how the developed countries become wealthier at the expense of the developing countries. Other role-playing activities such as the representation of a very different culture aim at teaching us not to judge everything different, to accept each other and finally to be able to talk and verbally communicate.
These activities create a beautiful team, that was willing to learn and have fun. It was a wonderful experience thanks to the participants, the team leaders and the people that organized the program.
Eirini Skoura
From 15th to 22nd of April I was in Santa Maria del Campo, Burgos, Spain in the youth exchange program “Food for inclusion”, the host organisation was Association Brujula Intercultural and I was a participant of Greek team with K.A.NE. Kalamata. It was my first experience in such type of programs and I believe it was a great start for me. I really enjoyed most activities especially the cooking workshop. I believe it was a good alternative way to learn about different cultures. One more thing I have to mention about this youth exchange program is the permanent interaction with the local community through most activities. This week was for me a week full of experiences which help me to expand my cultural horizons.
Georgia Kyriakaki
The week 15-22 of April I was in Santa Maria del Campo, Burgos, Spain for a youth exchange program named Food for Inclusion, with K.A.NE. organization from Kalamata, Greece. It was my first experience and I have only good things to remember. The whole week was amazing!I met people from different countries with different and special cultures. Every moment in this village was unique and I didn’t expect to have so much fun. I learned many things about their habitats, food and customs. The project was really well organized and the workshops were great. I really enjoyed that we met locals and we had the opportunity to communicate with them! I will definitely apply for other projects like this in the future and I would like to thank KANE who gave me the opportunity to be there!
Stylianos Pardalis
It was an amazing, fulfilling and exciting experience. I interacted with people from foreign cultures, people I feel like they taught me important lessons on European diversity, social and cultural inclusion and acceptance. I made plenty of international friends, got to know a little bit of the life of the locale of Santa Maria del Campo, and for the first time in my life I had the opportunity to experience Spanish Easter traditions.
Viktor Kotoulas
