Our author Dora Iatan, 19, is a proud Kiwanis youth camp participant. She comes from Romania– and is enthusiastic about what she learned, experienced and will never forget.
Diversity, equality, inclusion. These are the key words that dominated our entire camp, the values we learned and carried back to our country. Three words coming to life through us, flesh and bones, actions and feelings. Solid principles born from liquid emotion, materialized in projects, ideas, in decisions…
However, if I had to choose one word to sum up the entire camp, I would rather opt for a slighty more abstract, larger term… for „opportunity“. Kiwanis Youth Camp was my opportunity for cultural exchange, improving English and applying leadership concepts. It was my opportunity to meet new perspectives and human mentalities. Germans, Italians, Romanians, Swiss, we are all different, all the same.
I can’t forget our discussions about green energy, education, war, life and death, our common desire to do good. Those words were lost in the murmur of the rivers, buried in the depths of a lake, for eternity hidden in the little chambers of our hearts. I think I just can’t forget my friends. Also unforgettable are the secrets of a successful business.
Every day we visited some Swiss companies, both local and international, learning about their strengths and weaknesses, about organization and uniqueness. But the cultural exchange overshadowed everything. Dances, songs, traditional food, each of us proud of his own nationality, each curious to discover a new one. Diversity, equality, inclusion, these are the words I have to say!