The February 2009 Journey of Understanding!
Arriving at London’s Bali Memorial, 24 apprehensive yet excited young people ended their first journey, from as far afield as Indonesia, the US, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and across the London Borough of Westminster, and embarked on a new one, a ‘Journey of Understanding’ which would take them from London to the wilds of Wales, along plenty of ups and downs, both physical and emotional, to what was hoped to be a new place in their thinking and understanding of one another.
At the Bali Memorial a talk from Alex and Claire Braden put the reasons for this group of young people coming together for this ‘Journey of Understanding’ into context. It was then back onto the Tube to west London where the introduction to the programme began with a BANG! A game of BANG! that is (a very energetic way of learning each other’s names which soon became a firm favourite of the group). 
By the time the group boarded the coach for Wales the next afternoon, barriers within the group were already being broken down, thanks to the group building activities which continued into Saturday. Then finally, following a coach journey which we’re sure most of the group would prefer to forget (let’s just say that nausea and plenty of plastic bags were involved!), we arrived in the peaceful surroundings of the Outward Bound® centre in Aberdovey, before retiring to bed to prepare for the week’s activities.
Sunday morning began with a SPLASH as the group took their ‘jog and dip’ into the chilly Aberdovey estuary. That definitely woke people up! From that moment on, the days were packed with challenging outdoor activities, including rock-climbing, abseiling, raft-building, canoeing, trapeze, ‘flying fox’ and an uphill hike all the way to the top of Cader Idris. Wow!
On top of this, the group engaged in the mental and emotional challenges of the discussion workshops which pushed the boundaries of the participants’ thinking and introduced them to new perspectives and ideas through ‘crossing the line’, acting stereotypes, unwrapping identities, confronting different issues and facing up to individual experiences that shaped their lives. 
These activities sparked debates that carried on into every night, and got the group thinking about questions that they would carry with them back to London.
Saturday saw probably the most honest and open discussions of the programme as the group was asked to write down the remaining questions that they had from the week, which would be asked and then discussed within the whole group of 24 with topics ranging from ‘How affected by crime is your community?’ to ‘How would Israelis and Palestinians like their conflict to be represented in the media?’. The participants were then put on the spot and asked to be as honest as possible in giving both positive and negative feedback to each person in the group.
Sunday was a day of exploring the nation’s capital, with the group packing in an unbelievable amount of sightseeing, including Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Abbey Road, Notting Hill and Buckingham Palace to name just a few places they visited! 
Then it was back to west London for Intercultural Night, which saw a very American version of the infamous ‘I like the flowers’ song, a showcase of traditional Palestinian culture, an amazingly colourful and detailed Indonesian dance, a modern take on Shakespeare from the British group, and some very lively traditional Israeli singing and dancing by the whole group.
Finally the last day of the programme was upon us, and the groups visited 2 schools in Westminster to talk about their experiences before joining friends and supporters of Encompass for the Closing Ceremony at the Central Police Training Centre where the end of the programme was celebrated, certificates were handed out, and lots of photos were taken. Then it was a final round of singing, dancing and group hugs on the street outside, much to the amusement of the passing crowds of Londoners, before final farewells were said and the participants left to make their journeys home.
As this ‘Journey’ drew to a close, the focus was on ways in which the participants can use their experiences in their everyday lives, both in the way they approach different situations and in getting involved in projects and activities in their local communities which promote the ideals of Encompass.
The next Encompass newsletter will include accounts of the February 2009 ‘Journey of Understanding’ from some of the participants, and you can look forward to receiving this soon!
The Encompass Team.
Click on photo below to see the Album;
Posted Wednesday March 4, 2009
