| |
|
The
visit to Mumbai was a both informative and interesting cultural dive
into the Indian lifestyle and hospitality. We appreciate the amount
of work and dedication all the people involved had put on the success
of the Mumbai days. We saw different sides of Mumbai, both the tourist
attractions and the every day life of a metropolis. We wish to express
our special thanks to Campion School and the parents for taking such
a good care of us all.
We are, however, sorry for the delay of our flight which caused problems
in schedules and made us feel quite tired when exploring Mumbai. We
are also sorry that we missed the Museum of Prince of Wales and the
bookstore which were both originally planned and included in the programme.
When planning the next student visits we suggest that you save some
free time for students to explore Mumbai on their own in the day time
with local guides.
When we first arrived at Spandan Ecopark we were positively surprised;
the toilets and the showers were awesome. The accommodation was satisfactory.
Having seen the facilities and the surroundings our expectations for
the 6-day camp were high and we were highly motivated. The first student
meeting where the students were supposed to find a topic and form groups
was chaotic. The students were unable to approach the vast concepts
of climate change. They should have been given more specific problem-related
tasks which could have helped the students to get started more easily
and open their group topic.
On the other hand, students were asked beforehand to choose a suitable
topic for themselves from the list sent by Abel Foundation. Additionally,
a lot of energy and preliminary work was done by Jouko and the students
because it was expected according to the quality and quantity of the
correspondence between both Jouko, the students and Peter/Abel Foundation.
How was all this utilized and taken into account? We teachers missed
clear instructions and camp rules which would have concerned each and
every participant. We could have assisted in the realization of these
rules and thus the confusion and unpleasant incidents could have been
avoided.
What we found most impressive was the positive energy the students possessed
while working together. They were like a seamless patchwork; everyone
giving 110 per cent of themselves to reach the common goal. The days
were long and hours stretchable from dusk till dawn. However, the various
activities in the programme ensured the flow of energy and made each
day different from one another. We especially enjoyed the memorable
dinner party at St. Peter´s School. All this made us enjoy our
stay.
Spandan Youth Summit 2008 became an ever-lasting experience to us Finnish
participants.
aaaaa
In
every respect it was evident that huge effort was put in the realization
of the success of the youth summit. We are privileged to have experienced
the richness of Indian culture, the diversity of nature and the power
of co-operation and youth.
We wish to express our gratitude especially to Mr Ewart Lazarus, Principal
Mr Paul Machado, Headmaster Mr Desmond D´Monte, Mr Peter Patrao
and Mr Hemanth Tripathi.
In Porvoo on 11th November, 2008
Soili
Roihio - Pääskytie School
Eveliina Passi - Myllyharju School
Marja Markkanen-Linnankosken Lukio,Upper Secondary School
|
|
