“Art therapy in a forest and yoga at the beach”

Mental health is one of the most important topics of these times. That’s why AEGEE-Warszawa put this topic in the centre of its Summer University with the title “Take a Shot of Mindfulness”. It took place from 20 July to 1 August 2022 and was a great success.

Golden Times: What was your Summer University about?
Brygida Tucka, AEGEE-Warszawa: Topics connected to mental health and mindfulness. We worked in cooperation with AEGEE’s Mental Health Working Group to prepare and conduct workshops about well-being tools such as for example yoga, art therapy, meditation, but also alcohol consumption, self-development and more. Of course, we also organized many activities and sightseeing tours, through which our participants could get to know Polish culture. Cooking and dancing workshops were included as well.

GT: How many participants and how many organizers and helpers did you have?
Brygida: We had 24 participants, 11 organizers, 13 helpers, 1 trainer and a Safe Person Responsible from Safe Person Committee.

GT: What were the greatest thematic program highlights of the SU?
Brygida: Our SU was divided into four parts: several days in Warsaw, then two days in Toruń, then a couple of days by the lake and again back in Warsaw. The purpose of that was to introduce our participants to the busy, noisy and big capital, to give them a different perspective by taking them to a small, gothic town, then to finally be able to switch off, rest and relax being surrounded nature.

GT: Did it work?
Brygida: I think this plan turned out to be very successful, because the lake part was perfect to conduct the main mindfulness programme that we planned. Our participants were amazed by Polish forests and lakes, enjoyed art therapy in a forest and yoga in the morning at the beach. Moreover, we managed to offer activities which are impossible to experience anywhere else, such as visiting an interactive Museum of Toruń Legends, where we could take part in small performances based on medieval Polish legends or learning how to bake true, Polish gingerbreads. And last but not least, our main optional programme activity, which was a trip to Suntago Water World was also connected to the topic of our SU, because our participants could not only have fun at many water attractions, but most importantly they could relax at many different kinds of pools, thermal pools and saunas.

GT: What were the funniest or most exciting moments?
Brygida: Punishments for a stolen mascot. Our Panda Wanda was brutally kidnapped during one of the workshops and kept imprisoned by the Dutch part of the group. As a punishment the organizers had to serve breakfast in beds to all participants. Unfortunately, Wanda didn’t make it home yet, because our Spanish ghetto managed to steal her from the previous thieves and challenged them to take a bath in the cold lake in a middle of the night during one of the parties. The task ended up with the half of the Summer University racing to the water.

GT: How was the group of participants?
Brygida: They were all amazing! We could not have wished for anyone better. They were engaged in every workshop, activity and all parts of the programme. They supported each other and us. They all showed what real AEGEE spirit is. Some of them were really experienced members and some of them were quite new, but it was really great to look how well they all worked together and that the older members shared their experience and new ones brought some new perspectives. Everyone fitted perfectly in the group in their own way and added value to the whole event. They were all such bright souls. They were not afraid to share their opinions and talk about topics that might be hard for many people, but at the same time we all had the time of our lives and a lot of fun with each other.

GT:  How did you manage to integrate the group of participants?
Brygida: We started with the introduction games that everybody loved. It is one of the most important parts of the SU, which can influence how well the participants will integrate with each other. We repeated them for the first two or three days until the last participant joined the SU to make sure that no one felt left out. The topic of the SU was mental health, so we tried to create an environment, in which everybody felt safe to be themselves and that also helped with the integration of the group. And most importantly, organizers were also very close to the participants, because of that there were no boundaries and we all were like a big happy family.

GT: How did you deal with Covid?
Brygida: Our organizers fully followed polish Covid regulations and kept the participants updated. Before the arrival, we required full vaccination and a valid Covid passport or a registered antigen test. We tried to organize as many outdoor activities as possible, reduce the time spent indoors and avoid contact with people from outside of our group. The participants were informed that if they would have any symptoms, they would need to immediately notify the organizers.

GT: How successful was the SU overall?
Brygida: The SU was a great success. Those were really intensive days – we visited three cities and had many activities. However, most importantly during that time, we all became really good friends, showed that no matter where we are from and how different we are we should always respect each other. It was the first SU organized by us after Covid and we were extremely lucky to have a group of participants that made us realize how much we missed organizing this event in Warsaw.

GT:  Anything you would like to add?
Brygida: There were two nights that everybody will remember. One of them was the European Night, which was probably one of the best parts of the SU and the other one was the last night, during which we had the closing ceremony. It was special for many reasons. Saying goodbye is never easy, but to make it a little bit sweeter we prepared awards for every participant and organizer. The titles given were often unexpected, but the certificates will serve as a great memory of this SU.