11th-15th October 2021
From 10 to 16 October 2021 the mobility of the students involved in the Erasmus Mediation project took place at Peso da Règua. Students from Malta, Poland, Greece, Portugal and Italy were involved.
The experience was beautiful because right from the start a great feeling was created with all the guys involved in the project.
Probably, having shared months of isolation due to the lockdown has contributed to the birth of a strong bond between all the guys involved, precisely because in all there was the desire to return to sociality and to be free from all the limitations to which they had been forced. Also, even if we were all from different nationalities,the language has not been an obstacle to our desire to make friends! On the contrary, we were glad that this mobility gave us the opportunity to practise our English for real. This project represented a window on the world for everyone, an opportunity to meet, albeit only remotely, through a computer monitor. All this was possible thanks to the technological tools we have today, without which the sharing of this project would not have even been thinkable.
Mobility was the result of a project that lasted about two years, during which various issues related to conflict situations were addressed, which were asked to provide solutions through mediation activities.
In addition, taking part in this two years activities at school and during online schooling has meant for us practising civic engagement. It made us want to gain interpersonal effectiveness and inspired us in being active students and citizens.
During the mobility, in fact, at the school of the host nation, namely the J. De Araùjo Correia institute of Peso da Règua in Portugal, each delegation presented the work carried out during the various meetings. In addition, as a result of a real laboratory activity, during which the students created some texts, each concerning a different conflictual situation, there was the practical representation of the events simulated in the scripts.
The project was fundamental to understand the possibilities that mediation activity offers students in the hypotheses in which conflicts arise within the school.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide training courses for mediators in order to ensure their presence in the school.
This is because surely a more immediate solution could be provided to any conflict situations without resorting to the intervention of third parties external to the conflict.
Entrusting the role of mediators to peers would certainly increase the chances of success in resolving conflicts, precisely because it would be easier to understand.
The experience was also an opportunity to get to know the local culture and the beauties of the place making everyone eventually want to meet again, even if we would have liked to stay longer to know even better the uses and traditions of the territory: it exceeded our expectations.
Once home, the proverbial "saudade" will accompany everyone for days!
