Have you ever questioned yourself about what it takes to move from your country to another one? What if you had to leave all behind and get refuge somewhere? What must people in this situation feel? What makes them take these decisions? What does this have to do with me, how does it affect me? Above all, how can we help them?

What’s the best way of answering all these questions? Here’s the recipe that was chosen by Agora Aveiro:

Gather together 25 people with a thirst for change. It’s important that they’re from different countries, in this case, 6 countries will do it. Take them out of their comfort zone with games, wanderings, fictional newspapers.

Show them what has already been made and what they can replicate. Add a pinch of special guests experts on the matter.

At last, stir everything very well and take the knowledge to the streets. Prove to them that it is possible for a bunch of unknown people to become a team in less than 10 days. Actually, make them prove it to themselves, and by the way, that they can create an event within just 3 days. Live Libraries in which strangers get closer and a Human Museum that invades the streets of Aveiro. Oh! And, of course, don’t forget to break the 4th wall, we don’t like distance. That’s it.

The result? Just one of the best experiences and ways of knowledge transmission.

This was the Training Course “Home Away From Home” of Agora Aveiro, which took place between the 5th and 14th of October. This and a lot more. For 10 days the Municipal Library of Aveiro became “home” for 25 participants of this initiative, which is financed by the Erasmus+ Project and supported by Aveiro’s Town Hall.

The participants are now ready and motivated to reproduce as well as to apply what they learnt in Aveiro back in their countries, making their local communities more inclusive and active in what touches the migration and refugees issue. Furthermore, they loved our city and have promised to come back someday.

This project was  funded by the Erasmus + Programme.