Saturday, July 19, 2008

Civic Leadership 2008

On July 13th, thirteen students from Vanadzor, Idjevan, Nor Kyurin Village and Yereghnadzor joined twenty-three of my students for a five-day civic leadership camp in the village.

The camp, sponsored by the Open Society Institute of Armenia and the Peace Corps, brought students together to study topics including corruption, human rights, civic responsibility and country studies.

Each afternoon the students used team-building skills to create and compete in country groups. Competitions included country introductions to a mock European Council, a culture exposition similar to the popular Armenian television show two stars, a mock war and a conflict-resolution rope game.

On the final day of camp, students were asked to imagine their country's future and participants painted a mural in the village's playground.

Students stayed in Surenavan with host families from the village. Each evening students were invited to gather for theme night activities including sports, movies, a disco and an excursion to Khor Virap, the famous monastery near Mt. Ararat.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, what an opportunity for them.