Martyn Sorge works in Berlin, Tjaša Arko works in Ljubljana and Maribor. So many kilometres apart, but they see each other almost every year. Why? Because they are passionate about holding time and space for youth to bond in the context of international youth exchanges. We talked to them in 2019 during an international youth exchange with the title ‘Find Yourself’. It’s been 5 years since the conversation but not much has changed. We of course didn’t organise exchanges during the pandemic until last summer, when the title of the exchange was ‘Young Again’.
Can you briefly introduce yourself, what do you do?
Martyn: I am a project coordinator in a small NGO in Berlin that runs an adventure playground, a children’s club and other similar projects.
Tjaša: Head of Volunteering Programme at Slovene Philanthropy, we mostly work with other organisations and volunteers, but to work with youth is my passion, which I gladly fulfil through international youth exchanges.
When long have you known each other?
T: We met when I was still a volunteer for CPM (Youth Aid Centre) and we were at a European playwork association congress in Palermo, Sicily. I think we started talking about cats and the chemistry happened. The next summer we already did our first youth exchange.
M: Yes, we met in 2004 and did the first exchange in 2005, in Maribor.
T: I was young, 24, and still a volunteer, and Martyn still had black hair. (laughter) After Maribor there was Berlin, Basque country, Hermannshagen … that was all with CPM. And then we started organising them again with filantropija and did it three times at Zapotok and one time at Pokljuka.
How did co-creating these exhanges progress through the years? Is it any different now than it was at the beginning?
M: maybe it developed a little, but every time is different, with different energy and different goals.
T: One time we made a movie, another time in Germany we had a medieval theme and role-played historic events. What is important for me is that Martyn and I established trust between each other quite early on – and no matter what happened at the exchanges with other organisers and other groups, we could rely on each other. We trust the process, we trust the young people and the playfulness we all have.
What is most rewarding about what you do?
T: For me it’s making youth exchanges in the way we do them – they are meaningful and make a huge impact on the lives of the youth that participates. Through the years we had some youngsters with us that had mental health issues like mild depression and similar, and during those 12 days they opened themselves up. It empowered them to go on with their lives with added strength.
And we always mix different young people. We never do an exchange only for persons with one kind of disability or less opportunities … but for all. That always results in better peer-to-peer learning. For youth who comes from a more or less normal background it’s always a revelation, because they are usually not aware about the conditions that other youth in their country live in – either without parents, or with lesser means, … to not even start about improving in languages. Some of the youngsters come saying: oh, I don’t speak English well or I have such bad grades in English, but after the exchange they all come home with boosted confidence and knowledge of conversational English.
M: Even for me as a youth worker it’s something special, I get so much energy from these exchanges. A much stronger connection is created through an experience like this, so during an exchange we become closer to the kids. When we are in Berlin we just meet during daily activities and say hi, and here we have so much time and opportunity to talk. I just went to the shop yesterday with one of the boys from the German group and we had an amazing conversation about what he wants to do with his life, what he wants to become. It was important for him and for me to know these things.
T: There is also a kind of magic that happens after a youth exchange. Since I began working at Slovenska filantropija, an intercultural dimension was added, because at least half of participants from Slovenia are young refugees. After the exchange they keep on spending time together, they form friendships and even do projects together. One of the volunteers, Nives, did a movie with one of the refugees. Last year, she did a theatre play with another one. So I would say what we do with the exchanges is basically planting seeds. And another thing – quite a few of the people that were involved in our exchanges are now youth workers!
Do you think you get them inspired?
M: Yes, I think that is the main point of this. They see what life is like when you step outside your small world.
T: My story is that I went to a summer camp for 12 days when I was 16, and it changed my life. Before that I thought I wanted to be a lawyer or a journalist, but I was inspired by the youth workers, and thought ‘I would like to do this’. And now I’m doing it!
You inspire youth and also each other … that probably means that you’re looking forward to working with each other again every year?
T: Of course! We both did many youth exchanges with many different people. My opinion is that any problems, difficulties or other negative stuff happening at an exchange, it is always because of the staff – the youth leaders. It is never the young people’s fault. The most important thing is the trust between the youth leaders, that they can discuss things even if someone is offended or doesn’t agree with another. If we have that amongst us, the participants see it, sense it and feel safe because of it.
So choosing a new youth organisation and starting to work with them, having them join the exchange, is always the biggest challenge.
M: But we still do it.
T: Yes, we do it, and we were really lucky with our partners so far.
Do you want to keep doing this?
T: Of course! For another 15 years at least.
M: Yeah, minimum.
T: Last evening we were discussing what we would do if we had a huge amount of money. I said I would buy a house and I would just do youth exchanges – let’s say four per year. I would do them with Martyn and other youth workers I know. That’s the dream!
Slovene Philanthropy organises youth exchanges with the purpose of offering the youth an experience of intercultural cooperation, sensitizing them to differences and encouraging them to become agents of an open and solidary society.
Zavod Movit, the Slovenian National Agency of Erasmus+ programme, has recognised meaning in the project; the European Commission supported the project with funds, which enabled the quality in the programme and free participation for youth.
