St. Petersburg, Russia - On April 14-17, UPF volunteers and the Peace Council of North-West Russia started a youth camp as part of the “Guiding Star” project. The coordinator of the project, North-West Russia Peace Council chair Tatyana Krasnosumova reported:
… Pictures of our happy life in the youth camp are passing before my eyes. Here’s the first meeting. We, both children and teachers, are strangers to each other. They are grouping mostly with their classmates. Our task is to impress them, awake their interest. We form teams, purposely separating them. The first task was to create the name for their ship, the motto and emblem. One very important step was electing the captain, the mate and the boatswain. The first business-game was Country of the future.
They had to concentrate their thoughts and ponder on finding the best answers to the questions of the coordinator. They made it, though it took them time!
Afterwards we watched and discussed a short video 'Neighbors,' drawing serious conclusions about causes of conflicts and the way to solve them. Then, after the discussion followed a brain-ring. Here now, we are ready to digest the term peacemaking and the role of young Peace Ambassadors.