As Abraham Lincoln said “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people”.
And truly, this experience in our lives gave the opportunity to get deep into the concept of democracy with our fellow participants from different countries, where we learned they have very different opinions from each other about such a global concept as democracy. It was the most fulfilling thing to hear about different perspectives and discuss them in such an environment and atmosphere as we created in Cyprus with the participants from Moldova, Denmark and Croatia.
Something in us changed during the exchange, and it feels like we returned back as a more independent and personally-grown person. It is true, that you start acknowledging yourself even more when you are in a completely different environment and you start obtaining flexibility in adapting to a different culture. And we definitely felt that.
This experience in Cyprus has a very strong influence in our self- growth. It strengthened our ability to confront changing environments, and it helped us get to know ourselves better. We can see who we are through the differences and similarities we observe within other cultures. We organized workshops, during which the participants discussed crucial topics like the role of the EU, principles of democracy and human rights and etc. We also were lucky enough to get the opportunity be at the House of the EU and the Parliament in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, where we witnessed how
two cultures emerged together on the border between Cyprus and the other side of Cyprus, occupied by Turkey.
We had the opportunity to have excursions around Limassol, one of the most beautiful beach-side cities of Cyprus, and, of course, Nicosia, one of the coziest cities and the capos of Cyprus. And of course like every where else in the world, we found some Armenians who were living and working there.
Aside from personal experiences, as some of our Armenian team members are studying the field of politics, this was a great opportunity for professional growth. It gave us the opportunity to share our knowledge and learn more about the things that are not written in books.
Words are not enough to express our feelings and apart from having an incredible experience, the more important thing is that we definitely found friends for a lifetime.
We want to express our words of gratitude towards the whole team of FIOH, who helped us with everything we needed and in the first hand, chose us to be a part or this amazing journey together !!!
