Summer youth meeting in Hamm

In the second half of July, the team of juveniles and staff of the Youth Culture Center went to Hamm, the partner city of Kalisz. For almost a week we were guests of friends from Jugendzentrum - an establishment with which MDK has been maintaining uninterrupted, systematic contacts for 23 years.

The hosts, as usual, tried to integrate Polish-German groups and fill the common time with attractions up to the minute. The main motive of this year's holiday meeting were workshops during which young people filmed trailers about culture. They often worked in subgroups, and so, for example: an artistic group painted umbrellas in Maxipark, a cultural group visited a Buddhist temple, a photo group took photos in the city, and a cooking group cooked Polish stew.

As part of getting to know their friends' country, the youth went on a trip to Cologne. First, they visited a film studio, where they had the opportunity to learn about the backstage of film and television programs. Then they used excess energy in the trampoline park. At the end of the visit, they took a walk around the historic part of Cologne, during which they admired, among others, the beautiful cathedral.

Each day was complemented by outdoor games and long conversations in three languages. The evenings were spent drawing, making bracelets, singing and dancing together. On the last day there were tears and promises to meet in a year, this time in Kalisz.

Holiday meetings and implementation of joint projects by kids and youth from MDK and Jugendzentrum are possible thanks to funding from the Polish-German Youth Cooperation and the City of Kalisz.

Text and photos by MDK
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