In the period from September 23rd to 30th, through the NGO Mladiinfo Montenegro, I had the opportunity to take part in a youth exchange held in Sarajevo under the leadership of the organization BRAVO, which brings together volunteers from BiH. The training was part of the SLAM (Structured Learning for Awareness in Media) project and included 7 partner organizations, including the NGO Mladiinfo Montenegro, as a representative of Montenegro.
Given the fact that this is my first project and the first youth exchange in which I participate, the expectations were not great, considering that I did not even know what to expect. I applied for the training for many reasons, and one of them is developing communication skills that have been my weak point for a long time. The training itself will, of course, be a turning point in my social engagement and an attempt to contribute to my environment. I must admit that other members of the NGO Mladiinfo Montenegro had a great deal of understanding for the newcomers in their team and provided every possible support to make them stand out. In particular, the training I attended aimed to re-examine the role of the mass media in constructing the various stereotypes that prevail in society when it comes to migrants and refugees. The emphasis was on developing greater media literacy among young people and thus their critical attitude towards what they find in different media. Also, everything we learned about these topics was through our own work, and the participants were those who, through many interesting exercises, talk about the given topic in their own way, with the presence of a discussion after each performance.
On the other hand, such meetings are an opportunity to share different experiences, as you meet different cultures and therefore different views on life that can be a reason to reconsider your views, which is one of the most important links when it comes to human life – eternal criticism and even oneself and one’s views. In this sense, the opportunities offered by the NGO Mladiinfo Montenegro are the right way to improve their experience and acquire new knowledge.