The Media Diet Youth Exchange has ended in 10th of August, 2017. We learnt a lot about being offline, how the online media affects our daily lives, made some international friendships, and we have already received our Youthpass certification about the program, as well.
However the projekt has ended in August, we still carrying the nice memories with us...
"This opportunity gave me a priceless
experience, which encouraged me to strongly recommend this kind of
projects to others. This was
my first exchange, and although I was a bit afraid of this new situation, I
have to say, it worth wonders to live my comfort zone. We spent seven days
together in a small village without our smart phones and other technical
gadgets. It was far more enjoyable than I could have expected. I am convinced
that all of us returned home more richly than we were when we had arrived. Not
to mention, it was wonderful to get to know these fantastic people and enjoy
the benefits of individuality while practicing empathy. So, this offline
international youth exchange showed me how colourful this world is, and how
much easier it is to realize it without being glued to our phones.”
(Farkas
Fanni, Hungary)
“ I
have met so many new people and new cultures. It was short but intense and
full of emotions. I've found that I can have fun even without being connected
to everyday life, far from my friends and family. The absence of the phone
allowed us to fully enjoy the experience. Now I've learned to use the phone
more properly, which often leads to a waste of time. Basko will stay forever in
my heart.”
(Alessia Marrocu, Italy)
„I have learned that it is very important to stay in contact with
people if you talk each other in real life becouse it is easier to understand
each other, rather than if everybody just write via whatsapp or facebook they would have problems to communicate face to face. That is a reason why lots of men are shy
to talk with girls because they didn‘t know what to say. It‘s almost enough just to
say hey, I am .... and so on. The only thing what changed since the exchange is
that I try to meet my friends in real life and talk each other.”
(Valentin Reddich, Germany)
 |
| Media Diet in the Newspaper of Beelen. You can find the full article here |
„In hungary I felt very comfortable, I could not speak
English, but you could communicate with signs, which was exciting and at the
same time lust. some think Google translator is faster, yes it is but it is
much more funny to laugh about the "misunderstandings"
The internet is not everything, you miss the beauty around
you. when you switch off the internet you see everything with another eye. You
admire the nature, the colors of the earth and you have much more time for your
family, friends. Why write with those when you can meet?
I found the idea to put the phone away very good, because I
had a lot more time with the people to entertain me. The human beings could not
save themselves the memories in the mobile phone, we have stored them in our
hearts.
I learned a lot. even more than I thought I'm more open now
.. I talk to the people personally and meet me with more, instead of spending
hours with writing.”
(Rojhat
„It's really impossible not to use smartphones for the daily
life - Life is easier with them. :) Especially if
u can use them right.”
(Elizaveta Popova, Czech Republic)
„The exchange taught me that even though we were all quite
different, had different background, hobbies and lives at home, we could have a
great time together. The exchange also gave me more self confidence, now I
could more easily go on a similar trip or do something that I might find
barrier-breaking.”
(Liva Steuk Hansen, Denmark)
„I was worried that participants would be anxious
without their connection to the outside world, but that didn't happen, I really
enjoyed it though, and we saw how being offline was good. I learned to communicate better with a group of people who were right in front of me.
Now I spend less time online because there is more
productive and real things to do with the real people around me."
(Jordan Cassells, Ireland)
(thank you for the video: Grépály Kata)
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