My engagement in Changemaker started in 2007. I was 14 years old, and so eager to contribute to change in the world. I was so intrigued by international politics, by the unjust systems nobody seemed to care about, and the opportunity to demand for change. However, there was also another aspect of Changemaker that I fell in love with; the social relations that I made through my engagement. Especially on the summer and autumn camps, which in Norway are called SNU, I had the time of my life, and grew and learned in an informal and inspiring environment.
By creating ACTION! we wanted to bring aspects from Changemaker’s SNU to REJADH. Young people engaged with advocacy work are a special group. We are not yet professionals, but we still deal with a lot of complex and difficult topics and processes, and it is something we do in our own free time. Thus, it is truly important to have fun with what we do. If we manage to learn and grow in ways different from those we are used to, the knowledge will settle in us differently. I believe engaging in youth advocacy involves the entire human, and therefore we must strive to explore different topics and skills to grow as advocates.
The week in Naivasha was truly amazing, and I went home with a warm heart and a big smile. It was so much fun to get to know each other even better, so interesting to listen to the stories you told, and so inspiring to listen to the sessions some of you facilitated, to the questions you asked, to the discussions we had and to share great new memories.