“One day, during an unusually hot summer day in Estonia, I got an email from Shokkin Group. I had never heard of the organization before, and as the email seemed rather appealing, I decided to read it right away. It turned out that they were looking for participants in three different training courses. They all seemed very useful and educating, so I decided to choose one. A few days later I applied for a training course in Malta called “Game Zone” and I am so happy that I did, because it was one of the most eye-opening and useful training courses I have ever attended.
During this week in Malta, we really dived deep into the topic of educational games. The training course was both theoretical and practical, just how I like it. I’ve always seen games as one of the best tools for learning and in Malta I got to make a dream of mine come true: to make my own game. This training course made me realize how passionate I am about non-formal learning methods in general.
And of course, in addition to the comprehensive training program I also got to know cultures and youth workers from all around Europe. This group had a very strong bond and the atmosphere of the whole week was super nice and non-judgmental. I felt that we (participants together with the trainers) were able to set the perfect environment for everyone to feel comfortable in expressing their feelings and thoughts, which in my eyes is crucial for any kind of training course.
Overall I am extremely grateful that I decided to take part in this project. I took so many new ideas and methods home with me which I can now use in my work. I also have many new contacts and friends for future projects. I truly hope that I can work with Shokkin Group again in the future as the trainers and overall organization part went very smoothly and everything was well prepared and thought-out. Even after two weeks from coming back from Malta, I still have only positive thoughts and a smile on my face. :)”
Elisabeth Purga
“Taking part in the training course Game Zone in Malta was an amazing experience for me. It was my 7th Erasmus+ project with Shokkin Group and 11th in general. The main thing that I have learnt during the training is how to address some socially significant topics to youngsters in a creative way!
At first we got to know some basic theory of game creation, played few games and then started developing our own games. That was quite challenging and exciting at the same time. The whole group was divided into teams based on social problem or topic they were keen on, and each team had to create a game in one day. Our six educational games on different topics (healthy lifestyle, freedom of speech, disabilities, discrimination, environment, media literacy) turned out to be very interactive and memorable. After the end of each game we had reflection time when we shared our thoughts, feelings and discussed learning outcomes with the whole group of players.
Besides that, we had an amazing cultural dinner with all countries-participants representing their national food and drinks. One day we went to explore Mdina, the Old Capital and the Silent City of Malta. Another day we spent evening on the beach with barbecue, swimming and having great conversations. We did not forget to explore Dingli Cliffs, not far from our venue and took amazing photos in abandoned nature places.
Our host organisation MUYA took good care of us during our stay, and we look forward to meeting these people again! To sum up, I am very glad that I took part in this project, everything was well-organised and the whole atmosphere was amazing. Game Zone enriched my experience and knowledge in the field of youth work. The methods were used and games created I am going to apply at my work with youngsters.”
Valentina Appolonova,
Project squad member in Shokkin Group and
Youth worker in Lasnamäe noortekeskus
One day, when I was working, I decided to check my Facebook and there I found an interesting topic for project. I have quite big experience in working with Shokkin, so I started to explore the topic and its basic info. Since I usually work as a Group leader in summer camps, the idea of creating educational games was really useful for me. I got some expectations, so next my step was to fill in the application form. And at this moment I already started to count the days. What is more, I remembered how Pavel was telling us about previous cooperation with MUYA, so I was totally sure that the host organisation will be good.
The day of arrival will keep in my mind for ages. These unusual roads, buildings, everything shocked me. We came to Malta about 4 p.m. and already after 3-4 hours it was super dark, but still, on our way to the venue I was enjoying the view from the window of our bus. The week was super active, emotional in a positive way and energy giving. Even the fact that I had a cold didn’t break any of my expectations or anything else. Because they were already broken! I was expecting good people, useful theoretical parts, trainers knowing their stuff, but all of these things were much cooler. I got lot of new friends, I got to know about new cultures and I understood how it is easy to create good games. The team in which I was was so creative. Even bad weather didn’t break us. Unfortunately, this week was too fast for all of us. On my back way I was already inspired to create some more games. And as a result, already at second week after the project I played one of these games with youngsters and they were super satisfied.
My final opinion is that this project was really useful, it was full of info for us. If I could, I would like to come back to Malta and say personal thanks to every MUYA worker, because they did a very good job!
Oleg Ivanov