July 25 – 31, YMCA Artsakh held the “Camp for Peace”, this time as the YMCA Europe Roots Peace Award prizewinner.
It brought together 90 young people from different regions of Artsakh (many displaced persons among them) and was the logical continuation of the previous 4 camps that were organized in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. The working group comprised leaders from Artsakh.
The main components of the camp were:
● Trauma-healing support
Artsakh youngsters spent 44 days under the sounds of explosions, some of them became refugees, and some lost their loved ones – husbands, brothers, fathers. As the status and the future of Artsakh are not known yet, young people still feel unsafe. The post-war stress is also getting high, as there is always a tense situation in Artsakh, especially in bordering areas.
● Educational (training and workshops) part
YMCA is a place where you enter, and then exit with some soft skills and knowledge. During the week the participants learned a lot about conflict management and peace work tools, debates, critical thinking, etc.
● TenSing and Cultural component
YMCA TenSing component targeted developing the campers’ creative thinking. TenSing has always been a strong side for YMCA Artsakh and several Musical Festival events have been implemented, namely in the town of Shushi in 2007, 2008, and 2009. This year the Dance, Song and Theater group did its’ best to organize the camp’s entertainment part.
● Sport activities
As volleyball was invented in the frames of the YMCA, this year we had a championship of volleyball, as well as other sports games.
Participants had 7 days of happy and peaceful life in nature, learning, and sharing. Many of them found new talents in themselves, and many went back to the ones they already knew about but lost in a life full of war and trauma. At the end of the camp, all the participants thanked the organizers, underlining the importance of this kind of events, as not many organizations work in the area because of political issues.
Full photo album in HD available here
