CHARE: Challenge Hate: Act, Report, Engage

CHARE: Challenge Hate: Act, Report, Engage

(Águeda, Portugal, 1-8 April 2023)

Erasmus Youth Exchange

We spent 10 days total in Portugal, 2 days traveling through Lisbon, 8 days filled with work, work in the topic of Hate Speech, work on the Intercultural Nights, work on great friendships from all four country. I really love the fact that all four country everybody was open to everyone, and we did very important and useful tasks. My favorite was the short film making, while it was the hardest. I did a lot of acting, another lot of video editing, but the product is something I am really proud of with the team. Another really good task was the Paddy Paper, where we had to do a number of great tasks, and a lot of interviews with locals. The fact, that I had to use my English 24/7 was a good practice, I loved every second of it, just like the whole Erasmus. Overall, it was really close to a perfect Erasmus Project, with the people, the accommodation, the city of Águeda, the topic, everything.

Mérő Barnabás

When I applied to this program first, I was scared because I had no idea how it’s going to be, but as the days went, I realized I just don’t wanna go home.

The theme for this project was very interesting and I am thankful that I got the opportunity to learn about hate speech more. We were discussing the topic with Portuguese, Ukrainian and Spanish students. During the day we had interesting workshops and some free time in the afternoons, when we could do anything, we wanted. We also had intercultural nights where we could get to know each other’s cultures. It was really great how nice, open and extremely friendly was everyone.  We made very good friends and connections. All the ten days were incredible, we had a really good time.

I am very grateful for the teachers and for my school for this opportunity and for this trip. It was amazing and definitely unforgettable. 

Kocsis Bernadett

I took part in Erasmus, where, in addition to the many workshops, my English skills improved a lot, and I made many new friends. Erasmus was about hate speech, in the programs we learned how to deal with haters in real life and on social media. We were in a beautiful city, we ate a lot of delicious rice, I really enjoyed the Erasmus, in addition to the many programs, we also had time to hang out. Thanks to the many kind people, the good weather, the beautiful place, and the enjoyable and useful programs, we were part of a very enjoyable Erasmus.

Nagy-Hunya Márton János

Going to the Portuguese Erasmus was a very good decision. I have only been studying English for a year and a half and it was a very good opportunity to improve my language skills. Apart from learning a lot, I met a lot of new people I would like to keep in touch with. We were in a very nice environment and the weather was very nice. The activities were long but well attended and we had energy even in the evenings. We were allowed to stay up late in the evenings, and we managed our free time as we wanted. The accompanying teachers were very nice and helpful. I am very grateful for this project, and I am glad I signed up for it.

Ladányi Zorka

When I applied for the Erasmus program in Portugal, I didn’t think I would be accepted and so I didn’t think about it. But when I got the message that I had been accepted, I was very flattered and very happy. Before the trip, we had a couple of familiarization classes with the Hungarian team. The big day came, and the journey was long and tiring but the few hours we spent in Lisbon were very enjoyable and we saw all the important sights. The town where the project was located was called Agueda and it was very beautiful.  We stayed in a four-star hotel with two people per room. I had a Ukrainian young guy as my roommate whose name was Anton, he was very nice although communication between us was difficult because he was not the best in English, but we managed. The 8 working days were very meaningful. 

We met the teams from the three other countries (Portugal, Spain, Ukraine), explored the city and another nearby big city called Aveiro, learned a lot about hate speech and how to fight it, and together with the Hungarian team we made two short films on the subject which were also very well done. A lot was going on during the week and it was a very tiring week for me because the programs were very busy and exhausting but that’s every Erasmus. I learned a lot during the week, mainly my English improved which I was happy about because it was my first goal when I applied, I met a lot of new people from other countries and the poli and I made a lot of unforgettable memories. The best experience was probably the intercultural evenings where each country presented its nationality and traditions, where I had a great time and learned a lot of new information and had a lot of fun.

The way home was long and tiring but again we had some time in Lisbon which was again very nice. On the way home I started to miss the Erasmus team and Portugal!

Zalavári Lőrinc

Before the project started, I was a bit nervous since this was my first ever Erasmus, but there was nothing to worry about. The people who we went with were really fun people to be around. Teachers and students alike. The transportation went flawlessly and as soon as we got to Agueda, we were greeted with food. The first night was really fun they gave us desserts too (the cookie cake was delicious) and our hotel was simply amazing!

The programs were a good mix of fun and working on the projects theme. The Ukrainians, Spanish and Portuguese participants were really easy to get along with and since we had international groups for most of the project, we really got to make new friends. We also had intercultural nights where one of the four countries did a program of their own choice and brought food from where they come. There were a lot of cahoots, and we also danced a lot! I really enjoyed those nights!

All in all, I think this was an amazing experience and I hope to keep in contact with all the friends I made there! Hungarians and people from other countries too.

Juhász Dóra Virág

At first, I was unsure about this one-week youth exchange, mainly because I didn’t know my team other than a few people and also, it’s a big environment change for one week. At the same time, I was lucky enough to be selected to the preparatory visit in February so I knew that we would stay in a nice city and the team leaders and organizers are motivated, nice people. When traveling there my mindset was to get the most out of this Erasmus, try to meet new people and also get informed about the topic of the project. Gradually trough out the project everyone started opening up to the point where I think that I and everybody made super friendships and connections, even though, at first communication and workshops were a bit rough and slow going. The first half of the week we got a lot of information about hate speech maybe to the point that it was a bit overwhelming, but I’m sure that now we all have a clear picture about its consequences, about where it comes from and about its impact in our heads. A great addition was the energizers where we got the gears in our heads and bodies moving and also the Chare & Share programs where we shared our process and progress on social media to spread awareness on hate speech. I truly enjoyed the snack times and the breakfasts, lunches and dinners where of course apart from eating we could socialize freely. At the second half of the week, we started working on informative and preventative short films about the topic of the youth exchange, and I can honestly say they turned out great which showed the competence of all the participants and how invested everybody was. I guess everyone’s favorite part was the intercultural nights where we could experience other cultures and get to know about the other nationalities countries. We tasted foods, learned games and dances, and got to know fun facts from Ukraine, Spain, Portugal and Hungary. At the end on the last night, I think that everyone was shedding tears and hugging because it was time for goodbyes. This reflection could be a hundred times longer to fit everything that has happened in it but to be honest I’m happy because of that, it means that this youth exchange has left an impact on me and filled me up with wonderful memories. If I could, I would do it again, for longer or even shorter because it was the experience of a lifetime.

Garamvölgyi Vince

This was my first Erasmus trip.  When I applied for the CHARE youth exchange, all I knew was that we would talk about hate speech. In my mind that word meant bullying, picking on or to excommunicate somebody. I was interested in this topic because I wanted to meet people from other countries and completely different cultures who had been through or been on the other side of bullying.  

The first thing I learned at CHARE was that hate speech does not equal bullying. In the circle of hate speech, there is bullying, but not every hate word is a simple bully. Hate speech has many variations and have a spectrum. Of course, every hateful word is terrible. Still, there’s a difference between picking on someone because of their ethnicity and talking about actual genocide or encouraging others to hate a society or a specific kind of people.

We talked a lot about different kinds of hate and looked into many examples. Nowadays almost everyone has access to the internet, which means there are no limits to what you can post that everyone can see, and this way, you can spread things that can cause multiple problems and lead to someone getting physically hurt.

We learned everything about reporting a post, an account, of how to make social media a safer place, and nothing hateful is tolerated. So if you see even a bit of hate speech in some meme on Instagram or a Facebook post about how a specific culture can be dangerous or harmful etc. REPORT IT. You can help within 30 seconds by telling the given social media supervisors that this post has no place here.

We can make a difference.

Vad-Horváth Málna

Before the project I was a little scared because this was my first Erasmus, but I soon realized that there was nothing to be afraid of. I met amazing people and made so many memories on the trip, that I didn’t even want to come home.

As part of the project, we learned about hate speech and how to prevent it and made a short film about the consequences. We also had intercultural nights, where each team made a presentation and introduced their country to the others. On the first and last day we had time to explore Lisbon, and during the project Aveiro, so a lot of sightseeing was included.

I went to this project with hope of meeting new people and learning about hate speech and other countries, and I’m happy that I could. 

Gampel Szonja Réka

This was my first Erasmus project, so I was very excited about it and I think I can say that it was the best nine days of my life. I was able to make deep connections with people from other countries that I thought would be impossible. The Hungarian members were also fantastic for this project, and I am glad that I participated.

Regarding the project, we had a lot of things to do and had almost no free time. This was the only negative thing about it. On the other hand, I learned a lot of new things about the topic, which was hate speech and how to avoid it. My English language skills also improved greatly during the program.

My favorite task from the project was the intercultural night. We had a big party with fun activities, and I had a great time. However, I did not enjoy the part where we had to go home. If anyone is considering participating, I highly recommend it. You won’t regret it.

(Duplapacek)

Cseke Kolos

We spent 8 days with the CAAB Organization talking and learning about hate speech and its consequences, while getting to know each other, the foods, the cultures and discussing the topic related problems all around the world.

Hate speech refers to offensive discourse targeting a group, or an individual based on inherent characteristics (such as race, religion or gender) and that may threaten social peace. It’s so important to talk about what words can mean to another person, what effect can have on whole communities, and to understand the tools we have to stand against it the most effective way. Out time in Águeda was meaningful, with a lot of games and interactive learning practices to engage in the topic, building it and understanding it from its roots. The hosts were creative and driven, willing to guide us through our learning paths with every tool they had. Mostly spent our days in the Águeda School, building teams, connections, and at the final days of the journey making short films about introducing what hate speech means, how does it feel, with the help of a professional film maker, Artur. Portugal is beautiful, we had the chance to look around in the nearby city, Aveiro, what called ’The Venice of Portugal’, walk around the city with colorful tiles, palm trees and orange trees everywhere. Tasted the delicious ’Pasteis de Nata’ and so many pastries, fruits and more, and at the evenings enjoyed the peaceful view of the small Mediterranean city, our place to stay, Águeda.

It was a great adventure with a meaningful topic and a beautiful country, with a lot of new people and important conversations about each other’s culture and country. Learning is different this way, the experiences and the information were built into each other, strengthening the memories and leaving a deep print in our mind. We got the tools, we made the films, and got the knowledge to make a difference.

Karsai-Toronyai Flóra

We had a great opportunity to learn more about the topic of Hate Speech. It is true that we’ve already known something about the topic but in Portugal, we could get useful information about the causes, the different forms and the short- and long-term effects of it. It was a breaking point when on of the group leaders of the organization asked if we have ever reported any hate speech on social media platforms. We know about these issues, but we don’t start to think about it. While it’s a hard topic, we had everything we needed: a very calm and beautiful Portuguese city next to Porto – Agueda –, a very kind group of Ukrainian, Spanish and Portuguese students and group leaders. Beside the workshops, the brainstorming discussions and other creative tasks about hate speech, we could make friends through energizers, games and the unforgettable Intercultural Nights of every national group. During these night activities, we could get knowledge about different cultures, cuisines, languages. Of course, we had an own intercultural night about Hungary and Poli. Our participants had great ideas, dance moves during this night, I was very grateful that everyone pulled his weight: after our presentation, we served Hungarian dishes and snacks.

The second half of the week was also useful for us. We had to make short films about the consequences of hate speech. To accomplish this creative and modern task, the local cinema club, Cinéclub Bairrada helped us by giving some advice, great ideas and a lot of film making tricks to get a great short movie. Our films’ point is to visualize the local hate speech situations about LGBTQ and Gypsy people. The videos will be streamed later, and we will make a presentation about it later, in May perhaps.

The youth exchange programs are very useful not only for the students of Poli, but also for the teachers too. It’s a great opportunity to get more knowledge about a specific topic that surrounds us while we can know other cultures in a lovely place like the city of Agueda.

Német Zalán