It was a pretty quiet group this morning—clearly impacted by the powerful Lifestories activity from last night.
After breakfast, our day began with an Opening Circle, of course. Today, however, we focused the discussion to allow us to debrief last night. What struck me with the comments was how many people felt honored to have been a part of the experience. "It was really hard," many people said ... "And, life-changing."
I'm always amazed by the depth of the sharing that occurs when we take the time to create a safe and sacred environment. The power of a story really does affect how people treat each other and how they work together. My advice to them last night was to be gentle with one another after the activity. This morning, I suggested that in sharing an important part of themselves they claimed the power from their story, the good and positive, letting any pain or hurt fade a little more quickly. When it comes to drawing the learning out of an experience, this group is extraordinary.
Next up, the Daily Evaluation for yesterday and then our group two Icebreaker Team lead us in an activity which required a lot of coordination (and a fearlessness when it comes to being embarrassed!). The idea is to position an orange between the foreheads of two people and then do a whole bunch of crazy dancing. It was a lot of fun and they were once again able to link the idea of this kind of teamwork activity to the concept of leadership.
The rest of the morning was all about their Group Leadership Projects. A few more intense hours focused on design and planning. We were joined during this time by Radovan and Refki from ISC-Kosovo (and later, Valton), who seemed to enjoy observing the youth in action.
After lunch, we continued in their work groups, focusing now on Budget Development. We've created some new tools for this project work and were all so impressed by how hard the teams are working. Yesterday, we were able to secure 2,000 euros to support these projects. I can't believe the seriousness with which they've approached their work since then. It's more impressive than many groups of adults I've seen!
After a quick coffee break—during which time most of the groups kept working—we asked the groups to create a Presentation describing their projects. They presented both a high-energy pitch for their projects as well as a kind of print poster that they might use to market them. While they were presenting, Molly was transcribing all of their worksheets so they'll have a more formal document to guide them through the next stages of their work. A couple of participants who didn't find the right project, used their time to create a really terrific Facebook group, inviting all of the participants and creating a great hub for all of our social media.
We ended today with the Daily Evaluation and a Closing Circle, which tonight focused on the "Ripple Effect." I asked the participants to tell us with whom they would share highlights of the Academy when they returned home. I spent a lot of time talking about the power of one person affecting so many more through our Social Circles and used this picture of waves in the ocean to help make the point about how a simple action—like tossing a pebble into the water—can impact so much more.
Following a quick meeting of the Listening Team and then dinner (moussaka!), we held the first annual KSYLA Talent Show. You'll have to check out the pictures to see all of the acts, which included everything from guitar playing and singing to comedy and the "Thriller" dance. When the performances were through, we all watched the movie Ratatouille, to prepare us for the cooking we'll be doing for tomorrow night's National Dinner. The movie was made a bit more exciting by a mountain bat which flew in through one of the giant windows in our training room. Fortunately, the internet provided us with all the information we (I should say they ... I hate bats!) needed to safely catch and release it safely back outside.
This, was a crazy day!
