November 12-20, 2019, three representatives of RI-WEB, Shahrokh  Ashraf, Polat Yilmaz and Lukas Maschunskas, participated in a Training Course „Dialogue Above Judgment“, organized in Bakuriani, Georgia, by Danish NGO Mellem Education.

       The objectives of the Training Course were:

Understanding of existing problems and its causes, exploring existing lines oftensions/conflicts in Europe; Teaching young leaders useful tools and methodologies in order to reduce discriminatory and stereotypical thinking; To have a space for young leaders to share their best practices of their local societies; To involve young leaders from minority groups from various European and neighbor countries; Strengthening partnership cooperation among European Union and Eastern Partnership countries and empowering EECA NGOs; Creation of a network of likeminded organizations and individuals interested in further cooperation in the field of anti-discrimination and inter-cultural dialogue.

The context that was addressed by these objectives was:

The Velvet revolution in Armenia in 2018 showed that young people are most of all interested in democratic changes and that youth can really influence the political situation in the state. Thus, democracy is not only about the opportunity for young people to go on the streets and claim the democratic changes. Our Erasmus+ projects in Armenia and Georgia showed that the knowledge of local youth about democratic institutions and democracy in general is more of a theoretical type and that they are lacking practical knowledge and experience in this field. Tough, where can they get this knowledge if the majority of young people form EaP countries have never been to the EU countries and have never communicated with their peers from the above-mentioned countries? Our questionnaires and interviews showed that the desire of young people from EaP countries to communicate and cooperate with their peers and colleagues form the EU is very high. We were very happy when the Dutch NA of Erasmus+ program supported our project "Hug The Hague. Youth Involvement in Democratic Institutions".

The EU leaders’ summit to mark the 60th anniversary of Rome agreements signing, which eventually led to the creation of the European Union, took place in Rome on March 25. This anniversary makes one think of what the EU has achieved over the years. In my opinion, the main result is that Europe has not lost its role as one of the main players in the world politics. In addition, the Euro has become the second-important currency in the world. This is certainly a great success. The fact that for many years there are no internal borders in the Western Europe is also a huge achievement. In general, I believe that the experience of the EU can be a good example for creating the future structure of the world. But I would also like to pay more attention to a number of serious mistakes that prevented the triumph of the united Europe.

As usual the training started with the introduction. After several words about the project, organization and project Team, name-games were introduced to the participants.  The group was international and the names were so different but to work all together we were to get to know each other. It is obvious, that it is much easier to work within a group of people when the rules are set up. So, we worked all together to develop and accept the common rules agreed by all the participants.