After a year of carrying out our public awareness activities online, the discussion workshop around the film Mercy’s Blessing, facilitated by educators from the Troisvierges youth center in April, was a first for the year 2021 in many respects. 

On the one hand, being the first workshop of the year organised in person, it was also the first collaboration between UF and a youth center in Luxembourg. On the other hand, the chosen animation format was innovative in its objective, the time allocated to the workshop and the animation itself. Welcomed in the music room of the Jugendtreff Norden in a warm atmosphere, the young people sat on the carpets and armchairs to be transported into another cultural universe through the short film Mercy’s Blessing, set in Malawi.  

As part of their music project related to the Luxembourg Youth Prize “Jugendpreis”, the 10 young people had as an underlying objective of the workshop to explore their emotions and express them through song. The training given by UF allowed the educators to take charge of the whole animation and to let the exchanges between the young people run smoothly, guiding their reflections with the questions related to the film. Thus, as opposed to the usually used 1h40 time slot (screening + discussion), the educators chose to take 3 hours to introduce the film in detail, to deepen two themes of the film and to take the time to conclude with an oral feedback from the group. 

The atmosphere of friendship and trust allowed for rich and constructive exchanges resulting in new thoughts and resolutions in the participants. Based on the story of the film, the youth reflected on the concepts of privilege, sacrifice, the notion of choice and the implication of these in their own lives. 

The injustices suffered by the characters were particularly touching and they explored how certain harmful and destructive cultural traits are accepted in our societies.The questions also drew them to discuss their power to act in helping those around them, and they all expressed gratitude for their current lives and the importance of rejoicing for their privileges. 

Finally, the oral feedback from the youth at the end of the program was very enriching for Unity Foundation. Some said they were surprised by the “deep” questions the workshop brought up and the level of discussion in their group. Educators also expressed appreciation for the depth and inspiration the workshop provided to the youth and to themselves as “role models”. The desire to continue exploring the discussion was unanimous among the group and Unity Foundation will be happy to continue this program with them!

We are very pleased with the feedback, which once again confirms the potential of this workshop and the need for young people to discuss these topics with each other: an activity intrinsic to their special age for the formation of their identity and moral structure. 

It was a very pleasant end of the afternoon at the Jugendtreff Norden, where it is once again evident that the improvement of the world depends on giving young people the opportunity to become aware of the resources they possess and the choices that allow them to become actors of social progress. This awareness depends on the accompaniment of their entourage (families, teachers and social guides), which at the Jugendtreff Norden, is probably a great source of trust and complicity between the educators and the young people. 

A big thank you to the Troisvierges youth center and to Andy and Corinne, the educators!