W dniach 26-29 maja br. delegacja Oddziału Zachodniopomorskiego PTSM z udziałem Wicemarszałka Województwa Zachodniopomorskiego Tomasza Sobieraja i Dyrektora Gabinetu Marszałka Olgierda Geblewicza – Krzysztofa Barczyka wzięła udział w wizycie studyjnej w Bergen w Norwegii.
Do udziału w polskiej delegacji została zaproszona prezydent DJH w Landzie Nordmark z wydzielonym Hamburgiem prezes – Angela Braasch-Eggert.
Gospodarzem spotkania był dyrektor schroniska Montana w Bergen Egil Drange – sekretarz generalny Norweskiego Stowarzyszenia Schronisk Młodzieżowych.
W spotkaniu uczestniczyli także Sven Larsen – prezydent HI West oraz Tor Gjostein- prezydent Norweskiego Stowarzyszenia Schronisk Młodzieżowych z Oslo.
Celem odbytych rozmów było przygotowanie projektów do realizacji w latach 2020-2022:
- dwustronnego, dla młodzieży w oparciu o schronisko norweskie Montana w Bergen i Schronisko Szmaragd w Szczecinie Zdrojach
- trójstronnego dla młodzieży z Norwegii,Niemiec i Polski finansowany ze środków PNWM
Polska delegacja poznała zasady pracy wolontariackiej w oparciu o projekt realizowany przez stronę norweską. Polega on na świadczeniu opieki na rzecz turystów z całego świata przebywających w schronisku Montana; wolontariusze prowadzą również stronę internetową są aktywni na Facebooku. I właśnie członkowie delegacji realizowali także program turystyczny z wolontariuszami z Europy. Delegacja zapoznała się również z pracą schronisk młodzieżowych położonych w Zachodniej części Norwegii.
Wicemarszałek Tomasz Sobieraj zadeklarował wprowadzenie do regionalnych polityk turystycznych zapisów o funkcjonowaniu na terenie województwa zachodniopomorskiego hostelingu – międzynarodowych schronisk młodzieżowych.
Zarząd Oddziału Zachodniopomorskiego PTSM podejmie starania, aby w schronisku przy jeziorze Szmaragdowym realizowany był pilotażowo projekt wolontariatu społecznego. Egil Drange zadeklarował pomoc w szkoleniu kadry zarządzającej schroniskami w zakresie pracy z wolontariuszami.
Wizyta studyjna została opisana w dwóch artykułach. Pierwszy pod linkiem:
Drugi: tu się liczy atmosfera
oraz w dwóch wersjach językowych:
HERE THE ATMOSPHERE COUNTS!
By Elżbieta Kubera (Kurier Szczeciński 5.07.2019)
Translated by Agata Gąsior
The network of youth hostels is treated mainly as a cheap accommodation base during trips.
Meanwhile, more and more hostels are introducing additional activities that are an attraction not only for youth groups but also for individual tourists regardless of age.
The West Pomeranian Branch of PTSM decided to draw the best models not only from neighboring Germany, but also from Norway.
“Many people think that youth hostels are just beds. However, in West Pomeranian voivodeship more and more of these places are opening up to other forms of activity.” – says Maria Syrek, president of the West Pomeranian Branch of the Polish Youth Hostel Association in Szczecin. “The cooperation with German shelters for many years helps them in this. The Norwegians, with whom we established cooperation, showed us how important volunteering in the youth hostels is”.
Two projects
The recent visit of the West Pomeranian delegation in Bergen is to bring tangible results of cooperation, and most importantly, increase the attractiveness of functioning of West Pomeranian hostels. “We would like to use the knowledge and experience that the Norwegians have given us in the field of work and the use of youth hostels and youth volunteering”. – emphasizes Jacek Kowalski, vice president of the West Pomeranian Branch PTSM.
The Poles learned about the volunteer work of young people in the Montana hostel in Bergen. This project involves working for tourists visiting Bergen.
“We are open to all groups, so youth volunteering is not about working for the hostel, but about working for people”- explains Jakub Kujath from the Department of Municipal Services in Szczecin.
The purpose of the talks were two projects. The first is a bilateral Polish-Norwegian project for youth. It will be implemented on the basis of the Montana Norwegian hostel and the Szmaragd hostel by Szmaragdowe lake in Szczecin-Zdrój. The other project is tripartite – and it will be for young people from Norway, Germany and Poland. This project is to be financed from the funds of the Polish-German Youth Cooperation. Both projects are to be implemented in 2020-2022.
During a visit to Norway, Egil Drange, director of Montana hostel in Bergen, declared help in training Polish management in the field of working with volunteers.
“The Norwegians have worked over ten years to develop the procedures connected with volunteering. Today it is at a high level, so it’s no wonder that the interest of young people from different countries is huge. 300 people apply during the recruitment while there are only 100 places” – says Jacek Kowalski.
Six Rules
Norwegian youth hostels operate according to the established statute of values. It covers barely six key principles of the functioning of these nets. The first point is included in the word Solidarity. “International Youth Hostels are meeting places for young people from all over the world, regardless of their skin color and social position” – we can read in its description. The second point is about the fight against racism and xenophobia, behaviors that strike peace and friendship. The third point of the statute is Tolerance. It speaks of respecting the freedom of each individual, taking into account cultural differences. The fourth point – Autonomy and Commitment – it assumes encouraging young people to travel, learn about other cultures and join in active activities in shelters. The fifth – Learning and Understanding. It means that very different people meet in the hostel: boys and girls, young and old people, people from different backgrounds. Therefore, the contacts between them should be based on respect for the separateness and equality of each of them, in accordance with the assumption that „diversity is a treasure that we should cultivate”. The last point is the Ecological Consciousness, meaning the attention paid by employees and users of shelters to what effect their activities have on the natural environment. Youth hostels in Norway have ratified the Statute on Non-infringement of Environmental Balance of International Youth Hostels. “There are a Muslim, a Catholic, a Jew sitting at the table and everyone talks about the topic that interests them without differentiating anyone whether they have such or other beliefs” – said Sven Larsen, the president of HI West during the jubilee of PTSM in Szczecin in spring.
Representatives of the West Pomeranian PTSM admit that a youth hostel is not a hotel that is why the atmosphere prevails in it. Young people are learning here through work, they participate in activities related to other cultures They take part in culinary workshops during which they jointly prepare dishes typical for a given country or region and at the same time they get to know each other.
“In our region, which is very active, it is worth developing such a voluntary service, because it will be beneficial for people staying in hostels as well as for the local residents” – says Maria Syrek.
The Deputy Marshal of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Tomasz Sobieraj, declared the introduction of provisions on the functioning of international youth hostels for regional tourist policies in our region.