CROATIA – From October 4-10, 2024, six youth workers from Ma’an lil-Hayat (Ibrahim, Bilal, Sahar, Yasmine, Yousef, and Waleed) took part in an in-person TwidSA project training held in Zadar, Croatia.

This is the 4th training course of the TwidSA project, which is funded by the European Union. The project aims to equip the youth workers with the skills and knowledge for self-advocacy. 

Many activities were on the agenda of the training, which was an opportunity for all youth workers coming from the 4 partnership countries of Palestine, Croatia, Egypt and France to finally meet and get to know each other in person. 

In the first few days, the youth workers of Ma’an delivered a presentation about Palestine, its traditions, and customs. They also shared with their counterparts insights about daily life in Bethlehem and the local community, in light of the difficult political situation in the country.

One focus of the training was on organizing and hosting webinars aimed at young people. According to the project, the youth workers will host 16 webinars, targeting 1,600 young people. The webinar topics will include active participation, inclusive societies, quality employment for all, and mental health and well-being.

The training in Croatia also covered activities and workshops on self-advocacy, safeguarding, teamwork, and confidence building, among other topics. Some time was also taken out from the program to introduce the participants to the beautiful city of Zadar.

In preparation for the training in Croatia, each youth worker was asked to prepare a video, using equipment funded by the project, about a proud moment that they lived. In Zadar, they were able to present it during the training in front of all the participants.

During the final day of the training, each youth worker shared a little about the experience they had in Croatia. At the end, a celebration took place where gifts were exchanged.

Ma’an lil-Hayat would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who organized the training as well as the coaches who came from France, Canada, and Australia. A special thanks goes to Mr. Miron Perić, Community Leader of L’Arche Zagreb, and his wonderful team and community, who supported us at every step, making it possible for us to reach Croatia. We are also deeply grateful to our friend Sanja, who warmly welcomed our team during their first days in Zagreb.

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of Korablja and partners only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.