A few
kilometers from Heinola, next to the beautiful lake Ruotsalainen, is the
Finnish Red Cross Training Centre. The
site of the training center houses the old Nynäs manor which was donated to the
Finnish Red Cross by Kymin Osakeyhtiö. The training center is now known
after the name of the manor, i.e. ‘Nynäs.’ The Training Center is located
over a beautiful expanse of the forest which includes facilities for training
and accommodation of participants and of course a lakeside sauna.
Thirty participants are selected to participate in the annual Basic Training course for Future Youth Delegates. This course is conducted every year by the Finnish Red Cross and invites young adults between 18 and 28 years of age.
After completing the training course, the
participants join the Youth Delegate Reserve and have the opportunity to
be deployed on Missions. The missions are usually a part of the
development framework category, which involves cooperation and development
activities with Red Cross National Societies from around the world.
The
training this year began on 25th May 2019 and involved almost thirty
participants, both from Finland and abroad. The participants from Turku
were Mikko, Aliina, Oona, Milla and Ameya.
The training included
both theory and practical exercises. Firstly, the participants are
informed of the activities of the Finnish Red Cross. Secondly, the regulatory
and operational framework of the International Federation of the Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the International Committee of
Red Cross is discussed.
There is an array of teambuilding exercises
and presentations to develop team cooperation and communication. There
are also exercises that allow the participants to gain experience in
facilitating workshops. Some practical activities based on
team communication were conducted in the serene forest behind the Training
Centre.
The
training is intensive but ends up developing an excellent team spirit among the
participants. This teamwork
was showcased when the participants worked in teams to build a Project for the
Finnish Red Cross. Spirits
were high during the entire training, and the international participants were
enthusiastic about sharing experiences from their own Red Cross National
Societies.
This year the international participants were from
Austria, Lithuania and Ukraine. The training course also devoted specific
sessions facilitated by the international participants to discuss issues
faced by their national societies and what actions they take to tackle
them effectively. It was nice to see that the spirit of the Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement transcends borders and can make people come together and
work towards a better society.
Lastly, the session on recognizing privilege was impactful, and the
experiences shared by former youth delegates were inspiring. The
biggest takeaway from the training was that the Finnish Red Cross has firm
roots in both domestic and international humanitarian development
activities. The Youth Delegates Training empowers the Future Youth
Delegates in assisting the Finnish Red Cross in its local activities within
Finland, and it's deployments abroad.
The Youth Delegate Program ensures that the youth is involved within the activities of the Finnish
The Youth Delegate Program ensures that the youth is involved within the activities of the Finnish
Red Cross
and are working towards building a better world according to the principles and
cross-cutting themes of
the Red Cross Movement.
Ameya
Foujdar
Participant in the Youth Delegate Training 2019