21-30 July 2004 Nasutow/near Lublin, Poland

Countries: Poland, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Romania, Lithuania

   The idea of the exchange was born during the annual training for multiplicators that is organised by European Meeting Center – Nowy Staw Foundation. We decided to arrange the meeting of young people from different cultures to check if the receipt for happiness is the same in different countries and if it depends on geographical social condidtions…or not.
   The main aim of this youth exchange was showing young people that we all have the same desires, same problems and that no matter where we are from our happiness depends on few really basic factors like: calm, peace, smile, hope and spontaneity.
   From the very beginning we started to search for our own keys to happiness. We visited different institutions and we talked to their workers in order to notice the reality in which many people are forced to live in and in which noone of us has ever lived before. Talking to those people made us realise that all we need to be happy are health, peace and possibility to live equally with other people. For happiness we don`t need all those material things that we got used to so much – like money, job, good car etc.
   That was really hard to notice for us people who live a regular life in the “normal” country where are no wars and where basic human rights are beining honoured. Living from day to day we could not appreciate how precious can be basic things in life.
   We have visited Little Prince Hospice – the place which takes care about children that have incurable diseases. The headmaster of the place told us many stories of children who despite of being at the end of their short life were full of hope and were able to give this hope to their families.
   We prepared a small gifts for children. Those were frames with our pictures with special dedication for each of them.
   We also had a workshops with the volunteers from Amnesty International Poland. Those young people work for the defense of human rights all over the world. Also we as participants had a chance to take part in a foto – petition that was a part of action against using a gun by children.
   Next visit took place in the House for Elderly People. There we had a chance to see how places like this function in Polish reality, but also to discuss how it works in other countries. While our stay there a journalist from the local Tv channel came to visit us and to record a short material for the evening news. That was a new experience either for us or for the inhabitants of the House.
   During all the exchange we found our universal 7 keys to happiness. The receipt for being happy in life - thanks to simple things and feelings. We have also learnt how to appreciate what we have.