Step one

PROJECT „Catch the right chance!”

Provide people prevention                                                               

Step one (22.10- 24.10.2009)

Partners meeting in Estonia October 2009

Aims of the meeting

·        To get to know each other closer

·        To define our main directions for the following project year

·        To divide responsibilities

·        To work out the name of the project and it’s moto

·        To make sure that we all understand the project’s idea the same way

Day one

Like it was planned our first partners meeting was held in Estonia, NArva city. Unfortunately not all of the partners could come but we couldn’t postpone our first meeting any more. So next time we hope that Swedish partners will have chance to be with us. We are actually coming to them!)

Our working team is pretty young but this is actually our power. It would be easier for us to establish a good contact and build a partnership with the TG as they are also young. Beside our age we have good and rich experience in project work. SO we don’t need to learn how to hold a project.

We had only 3 days to work on a lot of topics and to hold discussions. We started from thinking of any prejudices that we have before starting the co operation. Usually it’s said that You have no right to think not positively, but we want to have a realistic view and picture of our co operation. So it came out that our prejudices are similar. Here You can see all of them.

Pic. 1  Our prejudices before we all start co operating 22.10.09

As our discussions and introduction of each organization went on and on we started seeing more clearly how different we all are how different we understand the same things. It just gave us more inspiration and brought extra variety in the methods of work we could exchange and learn from each other.

When defining the aims we would have to achieve by the end of the first year, we first couldn’t agree if we call this list of the thesis „Aims“ or somehow else. Then we came to conclusion that regular people, who don’t work with projects don’t make any difference between words like „aims“ and „targets“. So we chose „aims“.  By the end of the first year of the project we could come back to them and see if we really succeeded and managed to reach all of the aims.

Pic 2.  Defining our aims once again to see them in the same way 22.10.09

We sensirely hope that our thoughts and ideas will come true and the impact that we want to make will be done with a positive result in the end.

Day two

As our co work continued we started thinking of the name for the project. The one that we had in the application (“Baltic-Norden- Belarusian and Russian NGOs co-operation 2009-2011”) was too long and confusing to use so we decided to create an easy and short one. So when we present the project to a TG or write an article we could use an easier one that also reflects the idea of the project. Through using „brain storm“ method each of us offered the names he/she thought of. As the result we had chosen the following: Catch the right chance!. Beside the name we had also worked out our moto in both languages: Provide People Prevention/ Подсказать Помочь Предупредить. So later on when we start the promotion of the project we can use this name and the moto.

Pic. 3 Looking for the best name for the project through „brain storming“

The biggest part of the second day we devoted to a closer study of the ELD method. Our Swedish partners provided us with all the needed materials and Ilona Ignatuhhina took up a challenge to represent the method. First we gave our group reflections on the idea of the ELD.

Pic. 4 How we all understood the idea of ELD method and our questions about it

Later on each group tried to visually represent the practical use of the method. Thanks to it we figured out what was unclear and confusing for us. So next time when we meet in Sweden (Step 3) we could all have a common understanding of the method. It’s also expected to have a workshop from the Swedish partners.

As the partners had a chance to meet several representatives of the Office of Unemployment and a representative of the LFT (Living for Tomorrow) it provided all of us with a clear understanding of support systems for human trafficking victims and unemployed offered in Estonia. Each partner also tried to describe the support system for unemployed in their countries. Later when we all arrive to Sweden we also will be looking

forward  to hear how Swedish government supports unemployed and those who became victims of human trafficking.

Pic. 5     Olena Valdenmaiier  a representative of LFT (Living for Tomorrow) 24.10.09

Day three

The last day of the meeting our team devoted to an improvised promotion of the project and familiarizing with the potential TG. As promoters we expected to hear youth ideas concerning the project and their expectations as participants. Our guests were open and quirious. So we succeeded to have a fruitful discussion. Guests experienced communication with the local youth and could practically see who Estonian partners would work with. Partners and youth exchanged the feedback concerning each other, which helped to create a ground for the further thinking and planning of activities.

Thanks to an opportunity to have a closer chat with the TG partners also created a list of the problems that need to be overcame through the project’s activities. All partners concluded that local youth

·         doesn’t use the opportunities and advantages they are offered by local community

·         doesn’t use internet resources in order to familiarize with the chances that surround them

·         strongly wants to go abroad in order to escape from the present reality in Estonia

·         has low level of a language use

These points were loudly said infront of all the participants and the TG so each side could make their own conclusions or to disagree. The TG also had tiem to think of the expectations that they had connected with the coming project and shared their threats about taking part in it.

Pic. 6 Ilona Ignatuhhina represents the list of expectations and fears of potential TG

Within the Step 1 we all came to a conclusion that our partnership was very right. We all very good complete each other. In the end when saying good bye to each other we agreed to prepare a clear working plan to be realised by our next meeting in Sweden (CIU) in December 2009.