Testimonies New Horizons

18th-28th September 2018 New Horizons Bergolo - Italy A personal development youth program based on the Basic Synergy method Participants' experience

New Horizons is a youth exchange organized by This publication contains part of the testimonies Associazione Vagamondo together with other 6 written by the participants of the project as a follow- organizations: Syncro, Solidarity Mission, Synergy Bulgaria, Zig Zag prin Romania, Synergy LT, Infinity up activity and aims to express and disseminate - Synergy Spain from 18th till 28th September 2018 their experience. Read the full text here in Bergolo (Italy). The project involved 35 young people from Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Spain and Romania in activities aimed to explore different areas of personal development, foster self-coaching and rise intercultural sensitivity. The program was developed mainly through non- formal education activities and it was co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus Plus Program and Agenzia Nazionale per I Giovani.

I realized that I do not have to lose myself in metaphors. I learnt thoughts should became actions and feelings should be expressed in a natural and simple way. I realized that every second of my life I have the opportunity to be a better version of myself. - Edgar I realized that I am not completely stripped of emotions which I thought to be the case. I developed soft skills such as persuasion, being specific, more flexible and resilient when dealing with unexpected events. This project truly stood up to its name, it is all about exploring new horizons, seizing opportunities and creating successes. - Petros The activities from this project are more practical than I expected but within them is laying a great amount of knowledge which has to be deciphered by the participant. It makes this project to be an individual personal development journey. It helped me to connect more with my emotions and my body. - Andrei In those 10 days during the project, through games and movement, I could name my fears. The competencies which I managed to develop are mostly related to socializing, - I‘m already working much more confident in the team, I‘m managing conflicts easier and I am more actively participating in making decisions. - Justina I learned that most of my life is controlled by fear and I didn’t t realize how much it held me down until now. I got to understanding that, once you let go of your fear, there are so many beautiful things that can happen to you. This project helped me understand myself a bit better and it encouraged me to work on myself more. - Sara

This project was challenging for me to say the least. It put me off my balance and out of my comfort zone and in the end it stitched me back up and made me more durable and resilient. This project also brought up many questions, shaken up my firm stances and made me create new ways of thinking. - Slađana Many moments during the exchange were revealing a lot about my fears or things I don’t like about myself, but due to the nature of the project, it has been possible to go through them with joy and a lot of self-acceptance. I see many of my behaviors from another point of view, I look at my life and understand it deeper and better. - Aurora This project mostly gave me awareness of my own feelings and reactions to challenges around me. I realized how limiting my thoughts could be, how they could hold me back and keep me from seeing bigger picture. I realized what my comfort zone was but also everything that was waiting for me outside of it. - Eva This project was amazing because I had the chance to support participants as other people helped me when I took part in a similar program. I felt all the emotions I can imagine, but most powerful was the love for people. I left my comfort zone to be in this project and this project took me higher than I could ever imagine. - Alex It has been interesting to support this program. I saw beauty in people on every step and when I was tired, I kept reminding myself why I am here: to serve. I was happy to see that people are opening like flowers and that they are learning, either we see it or not. - Vojta

I’ve heard different stories about this method but I never took it serious. The results of the project are that I became more confident in myself, more open to the world and more creative. It was a wonderful experience that led to new perspective on life and personal development. - Ivo I heard from a good friend about this project, at first I was skeptical but then I figured out I learned about how to communicate with other cultures, how to trust myself and others, I have set goals to reach without deviating from them. I have learned to listen to the opinions of others, to be firm, to express my point of view, to support. - Teodor it has been a very intensive week in which I have been able to get into my emotions and feelings through different situations. I found that many obstacles in life are much easier than they seem. This project has filled me with motivation to continue working on what really fulfills me. - Merche I started taking more responsibility for what’s happening to me and realized how empowering that feels. I learned to trust more fully while appreciating the feeling of being trusted. Almost every day of the exchange leads me to a new idea of what I am and what I could be. - Andrius The biggest achievement of this program and what it did for me is that I stepped out of myself to look into myself. It used to take me a lot of time to take decisions, now I am more action-oriented, I just love it! - Theodora

While I was there I was feeling full of light and pure energy, I was feeling wild. We created a wonderful atmosphere where I felt safe and encouraged to be myself every single moment. I felt inspired and brave enough to do all the things I wanted to do. - Violeta The project for me was an eye-opening experience. I did not know what to do with my life and what direction to pick. After the training, I returned back home more relaxed than ever. I still don’t know what life choices I’d like to make but I’m not afraid anymore, I saw that it’s never too late to start over.. - Martin Going through all the events of the program gave me new insights, it opened my eyes again. In an ordinary day, feelings are hidden and this project helped me to go out from that ordinary day to meet those feelings and dig deeper inside me. - Marius I was at a point in my life that i needed a change and this program motivated me to go for that change. I went there with no expectations and i was overwhelmed about how much i liked it. It was like nothing else i ever experienced in my life. I made strong friendships with people I respect a lot.- John During the project I felt great, even though there were sometimes a little harder moments for me, I felt how strong I am and I truly felt the meaning of the phrase “You’re the creator of your own experience. I created new understanding in my life and develop new “life-strategies” that help me in my everyday life now. - Magda

This project gave me a sense of rebirth. It allows me to act and feel the most natural way we are supposed to live. As youth leader I was there to listen and to support, I realized that what makes me “Me” is the feeling of a loving group, sharing moments and the way of existing, that becomes pure meaning of love and joy. - Iskra What happened there, taught me a different way of thinking, seeing things and a different way of approaching situations and people. Through this program I learned how to think out of the box, to be honest to myself and others and what this will bring me. In just few words what happened was Joy & Self understanding, - Chrysoula An important realization about me was how relevant are feelings in life and how much I limit my happiness by not paying attention to them. I got the motivation to keep being curious and make new questions to myself so I can keep going. The whole process was very inspiring and I felt very safe to evolve, to inspire, to bloom - Dimitris Personally, this was one of the most painful activities I have ever encountered. Nevertheless, I would also evaluate this project as one of the best things that happened in my life. I cannot say it changed my life, however it changed my approach towards some important aspects, that let me flow. - Karolina By reflecting about my past and my actions the project made me learn by myself how to face problems, challenges and struggles, how to trust myself and every other people and to see opportunities in places and people that I never thought before. It's a point of no return and one of the best experiences in my life.- Isaac

I felt It was time for me to make some changes in my life and I thought this project could sustain me and encourage me to start and work on what I want to change. This project brought me happiness, fulfilment, regret, guilt, remorse, confidence, acceptance, kindness, friendship, gratitude, shyness and positivity. - Ioana This project gave me a lot of different emotions, love, happiness, the feeling of gratitude, some anger, impatience, frustration. I learned how to understand myself and the others more, and better, see that the world is full of different opinions and people, I learned to be more tolerant and to control my judgement. - Deividas Through the past year I have had anxiety, I decided to push myself and I thought this project would be perfect for that. I wanted to put myself in situations that are out of my comfort zone. I realized that fear was something that led my everyday life: it stopped me from doing many things. I realized I can do everything I set my mind to. - Dea During this project I let myself feel everything, I opened my mind and my heart. I got very inspired and motivated to do everything in my life with amusement and excitement. I can say so many things but overall I just want to say that there was a lot of magic happening during this project and I am so happy that I got to participate in it. - Lora This program is very dear to me and this experience in Bergolo surpassed all expectations. Being in such a beautiful landscape and contribute to creating an experience for the participants is pure joy. A space for emotions, understanding and acknowledgement that is there for everyone to actively enter and get what they need. - Nick

This project give me a lot of emotions, feelings and connections with myself and with other unknown people. I developed skills about meditation, knowledge about me as a person and awareness about what I want to do in the future. I have clearer picture about my life. I am grateful for every second I spend on this project. - Elizabeta Thank you!