Learning to plant the SEEDs
How did the Lithuanian team feel during the 4th training? What did they learn? Were they satisfied? Find out the answers to these questions in the article below!
Radviliškis Lizdeika gymnasium has been participating in the Erasmus+ program project SEED “Social Enterprise - Educational Development”. The main activity of the project is to develop entrepreneurial competencies and strengthen tolerance and empathy. The activities of the project have taught young people to discuss the social problems they face and try to solve them by setting up social enterprises and fundraising events. In May this year, representatives of Lizdeika gymnasium traveled to the fourth training, which took place in Skopje, Korchagin gymnasium.
On the very first day in Skopje, Irina Janevska, the leader of the coordinating NGO ARNO, started the workshop by introducing the project activities and the rules as well as the responsibilities of the project training. After the introduction we had a fun time - we played "BINGO" its winners were Karlo, Matija, and Luka. However, all of the project participants, especially the Lithuanian team, felt hesitant, and to work as one big team we had to gain each other's trust. The "shoe" game helped us to achieve this. This game strengthened our self-confidence, and we achieved the goals we had strived for in all previous SEED online trainings.
In the afternoon, we presented our companies and charity events. We introduced the student company “Student to Student” and talked about how we worked, what problems arose and how we solved them. We also presented charity events - the Great Christmas Festival and the Golden Owl’s Awards. At the Golden Owl’s Award on 31st March, we acknowledged the most deserving members of the gymnasium community and donated the raised money to Ukrainian children studying at Lizdeika gymnasium. At the end of the day, we were divided into teams:
white - symbolizes the facts: what the weather will be like, where the event will take place, and who will speak
black - pessimism, anxiety… (ex. that not all guests will come)
red - feelings, asking everyone how they feel,
green - creativity, this team had to come up with a variety of ideas
yellow - optimism, positivity …. (ex. there will be good weather, everyone will have a great time, there will be no worries…)
blue - was represented by the group leader Irina, she had to make sure everything went smoothly and without problems.
All these colors allowed us to discuss and learn that without friendly teamwork there will be no perfect event. We all started organizing the final event together - planting SEEDs.
The next day we walked in Skopje and visited two social enterprises. The social enterprise КОПЧЕ (Kopche) helps poor people in North Macedonia by donating second-hand clothes. The company was established in 2018 and is thriving today. One of the company’s goals is to encourage a sustainable living model. Another social enterprise "Esnaf" combines business and social equality. They sell products made by artisans and craftsmen from the lowest social levels of the community.
After getting introduced to social enterprises, we visited Mother Teresa's house. Mother Teresa is the founder of the Albanian Religious Order and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. According to the regulations by the Order of Mother Teresa, her sisters cannot work for the riches and money. Their job is to take care of struggling children, the sick, the dying, and the starving people in the poorest neighborhoods of Calcutta. Near Mother Teresa’s house, there is the center for Support of Social Enterprises led by Barbara Sadowska. This center provides its users with advice and guidance on such issues as fundraising, business development, available financial support, and many other services. This visit has strengthened our empathy and awareness. We realized that other people desperately need our help, but they are afraid to ask it. In the afternoon we listened to a lecture by a magician from North Macedonia on sorting waste and ecology. The magician showed us the tricks of magic and linked them to ecological problems. He said he was showing children tricks about the disposal of plastic and since then, the children have asked their parents not to buy plastic and to use other ecological raw materials instead. We have realized that we must take great care of the environment because its future depends only on us.
At the end of the day, we continued to organize the SEED event, divided into teams: guest lists, workshops, photographers, planters, moderators, live filmmakers, security guards, and journalists. In our teams, we made a plan of activities. We wrote what we would do, what we would need, which problems we would discuss and which goals we would achieve.
After the hard session, the dinner was spectacular as each team presented their traditional food, and their country and we all had fun dancing folk dances together. This day brought us even closer and we started working as a team with more courage.
On the third day, we went to the biggest cinema in Skopje, where we watched two films - "Honeyland" and a Ukrainian animated film about a love story. The documentary tells the story of the bee-keeper Atidze who utilizes ancient beekeeping traditions to cultivate honey in the Macedonian mountains. She also strives for restoring the bees' natural balance, but when a neighboring family tries to do the same, it becomes a source of tension as they disregard her wisdom and advice. This film, shot in North Macedonia, is an exploration of the observable visual narrative of indigenous people, who greatly influence our treatment of natural resources and the human condition. This film showed us the difficult life in the Macedonian countryside as a poor woman takes care of her ill mother and keeps herself with the help of honey. The film has been awarded in many film festivals. After the film, we listened to lectures on the greenhouse effect and how it harms nature, the lecturer from the "Go Green" association discussed with us how we could solve the problems and reduce pollution. Accordingly, when we came back we found out that we have a sorting system in Lithuania that contributes to the improvement of the environment. Unfortunately, Macedonia does not have such a system yet but expects it to emerge. At the end of the day, we continued to organize the seed planting event.
On the last day, a major event called "Let's Plant the SEEDs and watch them grow" took place. Irina Janevska the leader of NGO ARNO, conducted the whole event. The Magician showed his tricks and the principal of Korchagin gymnasium, Dragan Arsovski, delivered a speech to the participants regarding sustainable consciousness, Marko Giorgiievski, the director of the National agency spoke about the meaning of international cooperation, and Barbara Sadowska shared her thoughts about the importance of social entrepreneurship. During the event, we summarized the new things we were learning about Social Entrepreneurship in North Macedonia. At the end of the event, guests planted seeds in pots that will grow into beautiful flowers, and what the flowers will look like was drawn by a team of creative workshops.
At the end of the day, the teams searched for sustainable development goals in Skopje. One of the goals of sustainable development is "living underwater". We linked this goal to the high pollution on the side of the Vardar River in Skopje. It is so heavily polluted that it is no longer possible to clean it. Also, it is home to very few aquatic animals because they have been extinct due to pollution.
The training in North Macedonia taught us many necessary things for the people of the 21st century and has led us to pay more attention to ecological problems and how to deal with them, as NASA said "there is no planet B", so we need to take care of our planet - Earth.
Pijus Noraitis, Kajus Grigaliūnas, Nojus Jokūbaitis
Lithuanian SEED team