YEAP 2.0 in Yerevan, Armenia

On Thursday I am going to Yerevan, Armenia, for the YEAP 2.0- Young Erasmus+ Ambassadors of Peace 2.0. I'll be the leader of the Italian group and I'm proud to have been selected for this role. A you all know, I like sharing ideas and discussing with people from other countries/religions/cultures to learn something new, something I took for granted, something that can make reflect.That's exactly the goal of this second edition of YEAP, which started last summer in Alskathemmet, Vasa, Finland.

WHO: 9 countries: Finland, UK, Italy, Russia, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Ukraine and Armenia

WHEN: February 25-March 4, 2016

WHERE: Yerevan, Armenia

HOW: by working all together, participants will understand the different confessions, which seems something mandatory right now, in order to avoid stereotyping other confessions and religions.

WHY: breaking the stereotypes and gaining a mutual understanding and intercultural learning is very important for people under 30, who are the future of our societies. In order to be able to understand what's happening not only in Europe, but all over the world, we need to focus on one of the main topic that keep taking people apart: religion. 

When the Italian organizers contacted me, the first thing I asked was the topic of the exchange. By reading the title, Ambassadors of Peace 2.0, and knowing it was related to Europe, I immediately thought about the attacks in France, Charlie Hebdo first and then the multiple massacres in Paris. I know how hard can be for a journalist to write about some very delicate issues, such as religions or politics, and I know all the risks of this job. While growing up, I learned how to be honest, no matter what. That's probably why I always say the truth in my articles when it comes to talk about these topics. I do the same when I have to do public speeches or when some NPO invites me to talk about women/children/religion/3rd world.

Speaking up your mind and at the same time respecting all the people is one of the most difficult things to do nowadays, when we all want to be right. I really hope to be able to teach something to these youngsters during the exchange, and I will try to share with them several things I learned about different religions. Something you can only learn by traveling and living with people who believe in the same God you believe, but they just call him by a different name.

#weareunderthesamesky