Youth Camp 2016: Unleash your potential

From the 1st to the 14th of August the youth camp titled “Unleash Your Potential” took place in Tamera. Forty youths between the ages of 12 and 18 from England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Portugal and Finland came together for 2 weeks of community-building, adventure, and diving into the question: “How do we really want to live? What is our dream for a better future?”
In the first week of the camp we went to the beach for 3 days. There we took a coastal hike and slept under the stars. It was a great time to get to know each other and to first try out theatre and acrobatic exercises. Afterwards our theatre time in Tamera began. We asked the youths: What bothers you about this world? What would you like to change? And especially: What is the world like you want to live in? We had discussion groups and played games concerning these questions and at the end of the day we gathered the results on two big posters. That was the working basis of the different groups who developed artistic scenes in the following days. A rap group, a music group, a poetry slam group, a dance group, a theatre group, and an acrobatics group. In between times we got to know what is forum, went to speeches and community-events that were running in parallel during the Tamera-Summer and met in male and female circles for deepening talks. It was quite a dense and rich programme. And what was the central theme throughout this time?
For the team it was about creating a space in which experiencing community and trust, real friendship and cooperation was possible for the youth. And to encourage them to think about what they really want from life – free of societal expectations and pressure. We wanted to create a climate in which it is possible to dream and develop a vision of a world we can love.

And for the youth?
“That was the best youth camp I have experienced so far.”
“I had the feeling that I could fully be myself.”
“I’d never have thought that, together, a group of such young people would know so much about the world, about what is going on, and also about how we want to live.”
“We talked about questions that nobody else talks about, but that are important to us.”
“I finally met people who also have an awareness of the current problems of our time and who think about how to solve them. It was really great for me to see because at home I feel quite alone with that.”
“I could experience a very different climate of friendship and trust. Entirely unlike my school. I think this will help me to approach people with a lot more self-confidence, also when I am back home.”

We ended the time with a beautiful evening where we presented all the scenes we developed to the guests of the Tamera-Summer and the community. A big success with a lot of applause.
“One could really feel that you were able to create community in the time you were together, great!”
That’s pretty much what our camp was like.
If you want to know more, write to us or just be part of it yourself next year!