“NO Violence, NO Bullying, NO Silence”

Athens 31.07.2019 – 06.08.2019

Ognyan’s Story

The training course “NO Violence , NO Bullying , NO Silence” hosted by Social Inclusion took place during the first week of August in Athens, Greece. I had the opportunity to participate in the project through Active Bulgarian Society. The topic of the course was to address bullying in different aspects of life (verbal, physical, relational, cyber, indirect bullying).

I met the Bulgarian participants on the airport. All of us were excited for the flight, the project, the new cultures and experiences which were about to come. After a short flight we arrived in Athens and navigated to the venue of the project. The first day we had free to travel around the capital. So we did. The center of the city had really touristic vibe and you could see the Acropolis a top of the main hill. After some hours of exploring we went back for dinner and went into the rest of the participants from Poland, Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Romania. In no time we started conversing with each other. Little after we organised and went for a walk again but this time not only the 6 of us from Bulgaria but like 20 participants from the project. We had a great night around town, we climbed a small hill and observed the night cityscape of Athens.

The next day the core part of the project started. Through interactive team building activities we created a great work atmosphere. The whole day we were discussing the basics of bullying in society and signs of it. After dinner we had intercultural night where we learned about 3 of the participating countries through presentations, videos, traditional food and drinks.

Next morning after breakfast we travelled with the metro to the Hellenic Police to attend a conference which provided information about cyberbullying. They also provided us real-life scenarios and statistics about Greece. In the afternoon we discussed the rest types of bullying. Again, after dinner there was an intercultural night where we presented Bulgaria though videos, dances, Kahoot! game and traditional food and drinks like banica, lukanka, mint liquor, wine etc.

The 4^th day we talked about physical, gesture, sexual and verbal bullying. We were divided in multiple international teams and through theatre we represented different aspects of the problem. We also proposed how we can tackle it. Everyone was very involved and there were some really great ideas.

The 5^th day an official conference took place where each country had to present study cases which we prepared beforehand. All of the countries faced the same struggle with dealing with bullying not even in school, but in the work place and in the family setting.

On the final day we summarized everything we learned and discussed the Erasmus+ program opportunities. Everyone went out in the evening before we had to leave in the next day.

Overall, I am really grateful I took part in the training course. I learned a lot about how to tackle bullying which will be really useful in my professional development area. I met amazing people from different countries and backgrounds. From each one of them there was something that you could learn. Great friendships were created for this one week that will, surely, last beyond the project. I strongly recommend to everyone who has the opportunity to participate in such projects because it’s amazing experience and an interesting way to travel and learn.

Karina’s Story

Hello! My name is Karina. I live and study in Sofia.

The "No violence, no bullying, no silence" project educated us about different types of aggressive behaviour such as violence and bullying. We learnt how to divide bullying from just offence. And the most important thing is that we worked out different ways how to prevent aggression at school, on workplace, and other places.

We had a lot of interesting lectures and even a conference where our Bulgarian team made a presentation about violence in our country.

One of the days we visited a police station and had a lecture about cyber bullying.

the greatest advantage of such project is having the chance to communicate with so many different people with different backgrounds, from different ages.
I made friends with a lot of interesting people from Serbia, Turkey, Italy and Poland. Some of them are really inspiring youth workers which means they have a big experience to share.

I would be happy to participate in other Erasmus+ projects. I want to thank our sending organization Active Bulgarian Society for giving us a chance to be a part of that Training course.

Nikola’s Story

When I saw the project, I immediately fell in love with it. Athens has always been a dream destination of mine to see and also, the topic was one close to the heart. Upon arrival, all of my expectations were proved – the city was beautiful, the people were nice and the project organizers were passionate. But not only was my week in Athens please, but it was also productive. The project had many guest speakers from all walks of life that helped me and my new friends understand the essence of bullying and to help prevent it in the future. They gave us a new appreciation on the magnitude of the issue and how traumatizing it can be for the victim. I believe that me and my groupmates have come out enriched from this project. The people from all the other countries- Italy, Greece, Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Poland were lovely. I got a multitude of new international friends with whom I hope to meet again. I felt very at ease with the other nationalities. Overall, this project has been one of the best things to happen to me in recent times. I congratulate the organizer for the extremely successful project and thank Active Bulgarian Society for choosing me as participant. I hope to have more projects like this.

Denis’ Story

OH MY FREAKING GOD... That’s what I can only say about the project that took place in Athens, Greece from 31st July to 6^th August. IT WAS THE BEST EXPERIENCE IN MY WHOLE LIFE SO FAR and I can firmly state that. So many emotions, sleepless nights and memories as well. My vocabulary is not even rich enough to express what I was feeling during this amazing Erasmus+ project, however, I will try somehow.

Lets begin with my expectations concerning the project. To be honest, I didn’t have any and I tried not to have. From my precious experience, if you have so many expectations about anything, you may get disappointed. On the other hand, I don’t know what could have gone wrong in this project. It was perfectly planned. We even had enough time to go to see the city, sunbathe on the beach and buying some stuff from local shops.

Not only did I learn more about a topic which has a huge importance these days, but also I made lifetime friendships with the participants from other countries. I am also invited to several cities in the participating countires. Moreover, now I am planning to go to see some of my Italian friends in Rome at the end of this summer. Everybody was so friendly and kind with each another that it melted my heart.

I would like to add that my roommate was from Italy and he was so generous, funny and chatty, even though he speaks barely English. However, we managed to understand each other with the help of technology, of course. In fact, at the end of the project he definitely improved his English skills.

During the project I felt as if I’m part of an imaginary world, because everything was perfect. And I’m not exaggerating. If I have another opportunity to take part in such a project once again, I won’t miss it. For sure J

Riva’s Story

The “No Violence, No Bullying, No Silence” project, which took place in Athens, Greece and lasted for one week from 31^st of July to 6^th of August was a fascinating experience for me. It was my first Erasmus+ project and I wasn’t sure what to expect from it, but in the end I was more than satisfied with the achieved results and more than happy that I had the chance to meet new people, make friendships with awesome ones, explore the city and get to know part of the culture of Greece. All in all, it was a great opportunity for me to be part of all that and I’m glad to tell more about it in the next few lines.

The first time I got nervous was quite before I met the other Bulgarians, because I didn’t know anybody and I was afraid we wouldn’t get along with each other. This fear disappeared the moment we met and got the chance to talk about ourselves. Then I understood that all of them are really kind, open-minded and cool people and that we have a lot in common. All this applies for all of the other participants from the other countries, which were Serbia, Romania, Italy, Poland, Greece and Turkey.

There were so many different people from different countries with different cultures, but during the project we were able to learn in details what we’ve already known – all of us are one whole, we might seem different, but we are all the same and we need to respect and care for each other.

The title of the project explains quite clear what the main subject and aim were, but I’d like to tell more about what useful knowledge about bullying and other additional skills I’ve gained. It is obvious that I was able to practice my English, because the language, in which the project was performed, was exactly English, but a part from that – I was able to be in an international environment, practice my ability to work in teams, gain knowledge how to define and handle bullying and violence in different forms.

Each day began with presentations from various psychologists, who presented to all of us, in details, information and statistics about bullying and violence for which we weren’t as aware as we thought. Moreover, we did role-plays, through which we were quite able to imagine what a bullied person feels and what provokes a person to become a bully, we were “able” to be in these peoples’ shoes. Even though the psychologists were really well prepared and did their best to keep our attention, we did get a bit tired at moments, so that’s when the energizers came in place – different types of games which refreshed us.

Nevertheless, the most important part when participating in any kind of project, except gaining knowledge and being able to contribute in any way, is to have fun. Here is where I can mention that during the lectures (as expected), but even after them all of us were spending our time together, exploring the city, going to restaurants or just hanging around the hotel and telling each other stories. This just one week was definitely meaningful to me and I really miss these people.

Boyana's Story

The “No violence, no bullying, no silence” project was my very first Erasmus+ project, I experienced a lot of new emotions, friendships and responsibilities. Moreover, I gained new skills and knowledge connected with the topic. Before I went to Athens, before meeting all these incredible and positive people I was shy, I didn’t feel the need to create new friendships, to connect with people from different nationalities or to work in a team. This project not only helped me learn new information, but also broke this barrier I had built for myself, that was constantly stopping me from getting out of my comfort zone.

You may wonder what was so special about visiting Greece and being part of an Erasmus+ project. To begin with, I had the opportunity to create a bond with people from different parts of Europe, which was one of the most important things for me. Secondly, I explored the beautiful Athens, which I haven`t had visited up until this point. Another advantage of this project was working in a team. I have never been a team player, I love to be in charge and to control every situation. This project showed me the perks of having people working with you and having common goals with others. Nevertheless, we participated in a conference, presented a presentation about bullying, violence and ways of dealing with it based on experiences from our home countries. The organizer of the project had invited different psychologists from Greece and even Brazil to tell us more detailed about bullying and the effects of our behaviour on others. What is more, the most fascinating part of the project was the visit to the Hellenic Police, where specialists from the Cyberbullying department gave a lecture about the danger of cyberbullying and the consequences of it.

The knowledge that I gained during this project made me realize that each one of us is important and if we want to make a change, we should start from ourselves. If we all have the guts to change the way we think, react and treat others we can change the world for better. I have learned that if we stay silent, if we don’t act, there is always going to be violence and bullying.

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