Intercultural training for a weekend !

On the weekend of 11 and 12 February, some thirty young people from Brussels, Namur and Walloon Brabant met for a training course on the theme of interculturality (financed by the PCI and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation). During two days, they were able to experiment with various experiences and other games in order to prepare them for their future mobility projects.

Thus, the young people were able to work on the notion of group cohesion with a great game based on rat and mouse traps. They also had the opportunity to exchange their ideas in lively debates on certain themes that they will encounter during their trip (the cultural codes of the country, prejudices and stereotypes).

During the night, the young people took part in a large treasure hunt in Louvain-la-Neuve in order to continue working on group cohesion. They had to take photos of places in Louvain-La-Neuve as quickly as possible.

During the second day, the group was made aware of the functioning of food redistribution at the global level through a documentary. In the second part, we presented them with a pack of photos representing the food purchases of a family from different countries as well as their weekly food budget. The idea was to show them the differences between Northern and Southern countries.

To conclude this second day, we ended with the big game Delta meets Karo. The idea was to divide the young people into two groups: the Karos and the Deltas. These two tribes have radically different ways of functioning. However, they will have to work together on a common project. This task was further complicated by the lack of a common language between the two groups. The young people experienced this particular situation; they were able to analyse their experiences and their actions in order to try to identify the challenges of an intercultural encounter.

These two days passed so quickly that the young people were already sad to leave. But they will have the opportunity to meet again during the youth leadership camp which will take place in April.