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It was an amazing experience! I made friends from all around Europe, I had the chance to learn about their culture and I saw the world from a different perspective. All the guys were super kind and funny and through this experience we got very close…

I’m still in touch with a lot of them! I was aware that Islamophobia exists but I didn’t know that much about the topic. I came back to Greece knowing enough

to change the way think and help other people to learn the truth behind that problem.

The best thing about the project was the fact that I had Muslim friends to explain me how they feel about it, their point of and also to answer me some questions I had about their religion.

Our trainers were very helpful and full of energy and they never failed to make me participate even when I was too sleepy to. Their learning method, I think, was something really interesting, because even though it never felt like a course, it was more effective from the typical ones. Through all these conversations and projects every day, I wanted to learn more, it kept me focused and interested (and believe me it’s difficult for me to stay focused). Also, they gave us all the knowledge we need to organize an advocacy, which is really helpful if we want to affect some people or, if we are lucky enough, the world. Some of the activities were emotional for me, too. I felt really sad when I saw how much of a problem this is for these people. I truly believe that every human being should have equal opportunities (to use or to even lose- it’s up to them) and theoption to build a happy life. Everybody should be able to prove their capabilities, and judging by their beliefs in region it’s not

fair.

It was my first time staying in a hostel. Before I got there, I was super nervous staying with other people in the same room, even though I’m very social kind of person, but from the first day there I felt comfortable with the other girls and with the hostel itself, so I really enjoyed it, it felt like home. The fact that all the projects, dinner/lunch and rooms were in the same building made the project easier to run and I loved being 24/7 with the other guys. Also, it was pretty fun that on our free day me and the other guys, organized a trip- we rent cars and we visited the Bled Lake and Ljubljana in Slovenia. I’m so grateful for that trip ride. I will never forget that on that day I couldn’t stop laughing. These people, this experience, these 9 days gave me so much

happiness to my life, for real. This trip was truly a gift to my heart and my mind.

Islamophobia.Theorganization and coordination that existed was evident from the beginning and through non-experiential learning and activities we gained many benefits and knowledge which are very useful and helpful for our future.Below we will

analyze the above mentioned. As mentioned above, although people from different

countries and cultures, the team became "one" from the beginning.The collaboration between us helped us to better capture and consolidate the knowledge that the trainers transferred to us through the actions.The way in which we were able to understand some things, the root of a problem, to find the solution to the problem and to understand in depth a phenomenon through non-experiential learning we

think is truly a unique educational way. We believe that we developed some skills that we did not know we had. We learned ways through which we can discover elements, why something is done and where it comes from. It would be interesting at this point to refer to the daily program during our participation in the erasmus +.Our activity starts in the morning, after we have had our breakfast. The program was then as follows, our trainers divided us into groups and the action began. The first day I

do not include it because it was a day of acquaintance of the team.The issue we focused on was to define the concept of Islamophobe. In the following days our interest focused on the search for the reasons why this fear was created and in general the roots of the different problems that are emerging in our society. We looked for the percentages of Islamophobia in the countries from which we come (Greece, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands). We have also tried to find ways of reducing this escalation of Islamophobia. How could we sensitize society on this issue, so that they understand that things are not like that, that Muslim terrorists are not violent and the reasons that have been created these prejudices have another

background and are not due to Islam? We played games in which indirectly reflected society and the different problems. In conclusion, the benefits we gained were great. It was a special experience and unique. We believe that we have understood and delved

into the issue of Islamophobia. We investigated it from different angles and observed the truth and how deception can blind the world. Our daily interaction with people who are Muslims had created the need for us to monitor and participate in this program against Islamophobia, because we live in a democratic and free society and violent attitudes towards people due to diversity are not acceptableat all. That's why we try to learn all the time because knowledge is powerful and opens the mind and expands our spiritual horizons. So this experience helps us to move forward in life, to see the different aspects, to try to deal with and eliminate any racist and irrational behaviors due to the fact that someone is different from us.

Thank you a lot!!! -Andriana Nakou and Athanasios Gkanoulis.

Islamophobia: The organization and coordination were evident from the beginning and through non-experiential learning activities we gained many benefits and knowledge, which are very useful and helpful for our future. Below we will analyze what we mentioned. Although people from different countries and cultures, the team became one from the beginning. The collaboration between us helped us to better capture and consolidate the knowledge that the trainers transferred to us. Τhrough the activities we comprehended the way in which we can deal with some things, the root of a problem, to find the solution to the problem and to understand in depth a phenomenon through non-experiential learning. We think it is truly a unique educational way. We believe that we developed some skills that we did not know we had. We learned ways through which we can discover information, why something is done and where it comes from. It would be interesting at this point to refer to the daily program during our participation in the Erasmus+. Our activity starts in the morning, after we have had our breakfast. The program was then as follows: our trainers divided us into groups and the action began. I won’t include the first day because it was a day of acquaintance of the team. The issue we focused on was to define the concept of Islamophobia. In the following days, our interest focused on searching for the reasons why this fear was created and in the general roots of the different problems that are emerging in our society. We looked for the percentages of Islamophobia in the countries where we come from (Greece, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands). We have also tried to find ways of reducing this escalation of Islamophobia. How could we sensitize society on this issue, so that they understand that things are not like that, that Muslim terrorists are not violent and the reasons that have been created these prejudices have another background and are not due to Islam? We played games in which indirectly reflected society and its different problems. In conclusion, the benefits we gained were great. It was a special and unique experience. We believe that we have understood and delved into the issue of Islamophobia. We investigated it from different angles and observed the truth and how deception can blind the world. Our daily interaction with people who are Muslims had created the need for us to monitor and participate in this program against Islamophobia, because we live in a democratic and free society and violent attitudes towards people due to diversity are not acceptable at all. That's why we try to learn continuously, because knowledge is powerful, opens the mind and expands our spiritual horizons. So, this experience helped us to move forward in life, to see its different aspects, to try to deal with and eliminate any racist and irrational behaviors due to the fact that someone is different from us.

Thank you a lot! -Andriana Nakou and Athanasios Gkanoulis.

Ισλαμοφοβία. Η οργάνωση και ο συντονισμός που υπήρχε ήταν εμφανής από την αρχή και μέσα από μη βιωματική μάθηση και δραστηριότητες αποκτήσαμε πολλά οφέλη και γνώσεις που είναι πολύ χρήσιμες και βοηθητικές για το μέλλον μας. Παρακάτω θα τα αναλύσουμε. Όπως προαναφέρθηκε, αν και άτομα από διαφορετικές χώρες και πολιτισμούς, η ομάδα έγινε ένα από την αρχή. Η μεταξύ μας συνεργασία μας βοήθησε να συλλάβουμε και να εμπεδώσουμε καλύτερα τη γνώση που μας μετέφεραν οι εκπαιδευτές. Mέσα από τις δράσεις μπορέσαμε να αντιληφθούμε τον τρόπο με τον οποίο αντιμετωπίζουμε κάποια πράγματα, τη ρίζα ενός προβλήματος, να βρούμε τη λύση στο πρόβλημα και να κατανοήσουμε σε βάθος ένα φαινόμενο μέσω της μη βιωματικής μάθησης. Νομίζουμε ότι είναι πραγματικά ένας μοναδικός εκπαιδευτικός τρόπος. Πιστεύουμε ότι αναπτύξαμε κάποιες δεξιότητες που δεν γνωρίζαμε ότι είχαμε. Μάθαμε τρόπους μέσω των οποίων μπορούμε να ανακαλύψουμε στοιχεία, γιατί γίνεται κάτι και από πού προέρχεται. Θα ήταν ενδιαφέρον σε αυτό το σημείο να αναφερθούμε στο ημερήσιο πρόγραμμα κατά τη συμμετοχή μας στο Erasmus+. Η δραστηριότητά μας ξεκινά το πρωί, αφού έχουμε πάρει το πρωινό μας. Το πρόγραμμα τότε είχε ως εξής: οι εκπαιδευτές μας χώρισαν σε ομάδες και ξεκίνησε η δράση.  Την πρώτη μέρα δεν θα την συμπεριλάβουμε γιατί ήταν μέρα γνωριμίας της ομάδας. Το θέμα στο οποίο επικεντρωθήκαμε ήταν να ορίσουμε την έννοια της ισλαμοφοβίας. Τις επόμενες μέρες, το ενδιαφέρον μας επικεντρώθηκε στην αναζήτηση των λόγων που δημιουργήθηκε αυτός ο φόβος και στις γενικές ρίζες των διαφορετικών προβλημάτων που αναδύονται στην κοινωνία μας. Αναζητήσαμε τα ποσοστά ισλαμοφοβίας στις χώρες από τις οποίες προερχόμαστε (Ελλάδα, Ιταλία, Γερμανία, Πορτογαλία, Ολλανδία). Προσπαθήσαμε επίσης να βρούμε τρόπους μείωσης αυτής της κλιμάκωσης της ισλαμοφοβίας. Πώς θα μπορούσαμε να ευαισθητοποιήσουμε την κοινωνία σε αυτό το θέμα, ώστε να καταλάβει ότι τα πράγματα δεν είναι έτσι, ότι οι μουσουλμάνοι τρομοκράτες δεν είναι βίαιοι και οι λόγοι που έχουν δημιουργηθεί αυτές οι προκαταλήψεις έχουν άλλο υπόβαθρο και δεν οφείλονται στο Ισλάμ; Παίξαμε παιχνίδια στα οποία αντανακλούσαν έμμεσα την κοινωνία και τα διάφορα προβλήματά της. Συμπερασματικά, τα οφέλη που αποκομίσαμε ήταν μεγάλα. Ήταν μια ξεχωριστή και μοναδική εμπειρία. Πιστεύουμε ότι έχουμε καταλάβει και έχουμε εμβαθύνει στο θέμα της ισλαμοφοβίας. Το διερευνήσαμε από διαφορετικές οπτικές γωνίες και παρατηρήσαμε την αλήθεια και πώς η εξαπάτηση μπορεί να τυφλώσει τον κόσμο. Η καθημερινή μας αλληλεπίδραση με ανθρώπους που είναι μουσουλμάνοι μας δημιούργησε την ανάγκη να παρακολουθούμε και να συμμετέχουμε σε αυτό το πρόγραμμα κατά της ισλαμοφοβίας, επειδή ζούμε σε μια δημοκρατική και ελεύθερη κοινωνία και η βίαιη στάση απέναντι στους ανθρώπους λόγω διαφορετικότητας δεν είναι καθόλου αποδεκτή. Γι' αυτό προσπαθούμε να μαθαίνουμε συνεχώς, γιατί η γνώση είναι ισχυρή, ανοίγει το μυαλό και διευρύνει τους πνευματικούς μας ορίζοντες. Αυτή η εμπειρία, λοιπόν, μας βοήθησε να προχωρήσουμε στη ζωή, να δούμε τις διαφορετικές πτυχές της, να προσπαθήσουμε να αντιμετωπίσουμε και να εξαλείψουμε τυχόν ρατσιστικές και παράλογες συμπεριφορές λόγω του ότι κάποιος είναι διαφορετικός από εμάς.

Σας ευχαριστούμε πολύ! -Ανδριάνα Νάκου και Αθανάσιος Γκανούλης.