Full of positive memories, we are looking back to the Membership Meeting of Kolping Youth Europe in Luborzyca (near Krakow), which took place between the 22nd to 24th of November 2019. More than 30 young Kolping members from 15 different countries participated and shared our experience regarding youth work in their country. But let’s start from the beginning…
With a Saturday full of meetings and workshops, some of us opted to arrive on Thursday evening to take the opportunity and discover a beautiful piece of Poland on Friday. Thus, everything started on Friday morning, when we headed toward the city center and decided to join a free walking tour around Krakow; the medieval city of old, but full of young people. Many of us haven’t met before and it was amazing how a group of strangers can walk around a foreign city and get along like they have known each other since forever! That is what the power of youth consists of! Even though it was cold, Jerry’s humor – our tour guide – and a delicious cup of hot chocolate was able to warm us from inside. At the end of the tour, we were all convinced that the city was amazing and that we need something to eat, quickly! The help came in form of Zapiekanka, a Polish pizza-bread, that gave us energy to take some group pictures and head back to the Kolping house. At 6 o’clock, everybody has arrived, sane and safe and was waiting for the evening to start. It always begins with games to get to know the new people, then continues with jokes to get comfortable around each other and ends up with simple and honest discussions, when everyone feels themselves welcome in the community and free as a bird to be themselves. Everybody has a story to share and everyone needs a story to feed their spirit.
Saturday morning came too quickly, and the official meetings began. The Board of Kolping Youth Europe represented by Gellért Szabó (former president) presented the activity report of the last years and the plans for the upcoming year. Patrycja Kwapik followed by showing us the report about the financial situation. Then all the participants had the opportunity to present the youth activities of their Kolping families, which gave us the opportunity to appreciate the diversity and the particularities of each association. It showed what Kolping means to each of us and there are so many different ways, how we can involve young people in volunteering activities.
Then, the time for the elections had come. Everyone had a chance to propose and to become a candidate for the new board of KYE, but only seven would be chosen. After a calm and safe election was held (I wish it could be like that in my country…) a new board was on its way to make the Kolping community even greater. The new members are Edona Staka (Albania), Grlica Golusin (Serbia), Dominik Presul (Slovakia), Heinz Strässle (Switzerland), Luis Saavedra (Portugal), Jerzy Wolf (Poland) and Sven Messing (Germany) who was also unanimously voted president in the first board meeting that followed shortly thereafter. We are very grateful for the work of the previous board members who did not candidate again to give the opportunity to others: Viktorija Erjavec (Croatia), Marko Bojin (Serbia), Henrietta Blejan (Romania) and our former president Gellért Szabó (Hungary).
After the elections, an inspiring workshop about Erasmus+, led by NGO expert Magdalena Szczud?o, reconfirmed that we have creative and amazing ideas for changing the world through good practices and how easily things could be done if the „elders” trusted us more. And why not? We have proved that we are the best agents of change, we are the leaders of the revolutions and at the same time the peace ambassadors; we are the bridge-builders between communities. It is enough to light one candle and it will light thousands of others. Our time is not somewhere in the future, our time is the present! But before pretending to change the world, give us a chance! Give us the space, the means, and the time. We are hungry for changes, but we do not have the opportunities. We want you to engage us more seriously through honest competition and joint efforts!
In the evening, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Kolping Youth Europe. Everyone brought traditional dishes and drinks from their countries: from homemade chocolate and sausages, to gingerbread and “laknur” – a mouthwatering delicacy from Albania! And after tasting everything the orange party began: we were dancing to all the traditional songs one by one, having group pictures and laughing out loud while enjoying the time together, because we are young and beautiful and also ready to be a role model in society.
On Sunday morning we all woke up, not realizing that this amazing event was about to end, and everyone had to go back to their home country. But we were sure that we keep the memories and motivation that this meeting gave us in our hearts to share it back home.
“Dziekuje bardzo” to our hosts from Kolping Poland for their hospitality, to our youth adviser Patrycja for her huge organizational support and to everyone who was there because youth is the answer!
Edona Staka
