YOUTH LEADER EXCHANGE X FUTURE LEADERS
A partnership between KFUM Spejderne and Les Scouts Tunesiens
The partership betweeen KFUM in Denmark and LST in Tunisia began i 2008 as a cultural exchange and has since the Arab Spring in 2011 blossomed into a force working with democratic change and youth empowerment with the project "Future Leaders" sponsored by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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The four of us are a part of a Youth Leader Exchange as an add on to the "Future Leaders" project. Our job is to both work as a cultural translator and link between the two organisations but also help with facilitation of the project activities and do communication about the project and our experience where this blog is one of our methods.
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A Youth Leader Exchange is a project sponsored by DUF - Danish Youth Council. Being a Youth Leader is a full time volunteer job where Danish volunteers are exchanged to a partner organisation.
All youth leaders have to attend a two weeks course at DUF training how to do a development project, how to create and facilitate a workshop and how to work together in a group across cultures.
THE TEAM BEHIND THE BLOG
CELINE LILIENHOFF JAGD
Hi! I'm one of the ryebread eating Danes. My name is Celine (like the famous singer). I like sunshine, dots, colors and patterns which Tunisia is definitely living up to!
I've been a scout as long as I remember and have hundreds of memories from my time in the green uniform. I love meeting new people, asking questions and exploring the world - some of the reasons why I applied for becoming a Youth Leader after I finished my degree in communications from The Danish School of Journalism and Media.
I will focus on Stereotypes on the blog because when we visited a scout group in Denmark and told them we were going to North Africa a boy said "Is that where people are hungry and need money?". I think one of my finest tasks is to help change the perception of beautiful Tunisia.
KHOULOUD SAMIR
Hi! My name is Khouloud Samir and I'm 25 years old. I'm a scout leader and now a Youth Leader on the Future Leaders Project. I've got a master degree in Logistics, Production and Quality.
I'm in charge of our Daily Life component because I believe that the readers of this blog should know more about our daily life experience so we can influence them to volunteer more and be Youth Leaders.
MARIA KONDRUP
Hey! I'm 26 and from Copenhagen, Denmark. I graduated high school in 2001 and have since then worked and done a lot of volunteering at different Danish NGOs. I know a lot about volunteer management, motivation and facilitating workshops. In 2015 I went to a Folk High School in Denmark where I studied human rights, gender and intercultural relations. When I grow up I want to do creative communication to children - tv, books, podcasts, theatre - and try to inspire every child to be open minded and inclusive.
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I'm writing the Democracy and Youth Empowerment content because I'm interested in the democratic changes Tunisia has been going through since 2011 and what possibilities that creates for young people to take action. A lot of people in Denmark - and probably in the rest of the Western countries - don't have an updated and equate knowledge about Tunisia and rely on the stereotypical idea of Arab countries.
YOSR AMAMOU
I am Yosr - not Youssef not Yousser but nevermind.
Being a 24 years old Tunisian woman is both challenging and fulfilling. Actually, the challenge is about the social and economic status of Tunisia and the fulfillement is related to the huge amount of opportunities accessible to willing individuals and youth changemakers. I can mention this Youth Leader experience as an example.
So, apart from being an international law master student, I joined Les Scouts Tunisiens over a year ago and I have been living an interesting experience since. Also, interacting with both the Danish and Tunisian Scouts has been deeply enriching and therefore I am going to write articles about scouting on our intercultural blog
WHAT IS RYE BREAD AND COUSCOUS?
Rye bread is a dark bread usually full of seeds and grains and very rich on fiber. It's the one thing that we Danes miss (besides liquorice) when travelling abroad - and no, your local dark toast bread with five pieces of grain is NOT the same!
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Couscous is made from durum wheat and is pretty much the stable food of many north African countries including Tunisia. In fact it has been debated for years whether couscous has its origin in Marocco, Algeria or Tunisia. You can eat couscous with almost everything, fish, meat or vegetables, and it tastes yummy-yummy.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: you are supposed to steam couscous, NOT boil it in water! A common mistake done by many Danes and the Tunisian part of this blog were not satisfied!
