The delegates who attended PTPI’s 2011 European Youth Forum (EYF) have returned home after spending nearly a week together in Berlin, Germany. Students ages 15-17 from all over Europe participated in a unique theater project, with the theme “Interacting Diversity.” Read two of the delegates’ reflections on the last day below, and see more photos from the EYF on PTPI’s Facebook Page.
Day 5
Have you ever met that old gentleman that passes and never comes back, and his name is Mr. Time? I’m sure you have. We also met him this week in Berlin. I saw him for a second and then…he ran away like a shadow. One day it was Monday and in a few seconds is Saturday. It’s like a spell. Anyway, the sad thing is that we will never be able to have a ticket to go back to the past. So, live this moment like it is your last one because Mr. Time doesn’t have feelings.
Theater performance: depicting the collision of generations and values
Today we performed the play. In a few hours we will leave this place and maybe some of us will draw a line in our minds. Don’t feel sorry for the moments when you have done mistakes.This is so wrong…to waste time thinking about useless things. Martina (the theater director) will forgive you anyway because she has a great heart. No matter what happens she will understand that maybe you were nervous or maybe a stupid thing doesn’t allow your brain to concentrate. Advice: be brave! Breathe at least a pinch of life in those words you are saying on the stage and everything will be perfect.
Theater performance: subway band, "The Guys"
This week is about to finish and we feel sorry about this. We had really special moments here. I hope that Verena and Lars (the PTPI Europe staff) are feeling the same way too. An idea would be that we should talk to Mr. Time. We should stop him in our favourite second… forever maybe.
Thank you, guys for such a week. It was brilliant! I learned a lot of useful things and I will miss you so much. We had a great time developing the play. I hope we managed to keep the bar of expectations that the participants before us have set. During this week, each person gave 21 grams of soul to find out what Peace through Understanding means. I hope everyone has succeded. Goodbye, Berlin! Goodbye Verena and Lars!
- Diana Lapusneanu, Romania
The morning started with great difficulty. The thought that it’s all going to end today made us want to never get out of bed. The friends that we made, the atmosphere full of nothing but knowledge, love and art – in other words, this small paradise that we created in the heart of Germany was something that none of us wanted to let go of. To all this grief added the pressure of the piece de resistance of the whole forum, because today we would finally perform the theatre sketch which we had been assiduously planning and rehearsing for the last two days.
Filling out evaluation forms at the close of the EYF
But there was still one thing which made our heart beat, our legs twitch and slowly crawl out of bed – the idea of spending one more day within paradise theatre. And this was a good decision, because the play went like a charm, and I swear that when the lights turned on and the applause started, I have never seen people more radiant with joy than this group of 25 teenagers. Suddenly, the grief of saying goodbye vanished in the ambush of smiles, all of us realizing that no goodbye can ever take away what we have experienced here and that our paradise will last forever in our hearts. I stand here with great pride as a leader of five such participants, but more importantly, as a witness to the miracle that PTPI has created for us, through us.
- Vadim Toader, Romania
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