Student at the university of Luxembourg and volunteer with Unity Foundation, I had the chance to facilitate a workshop with Unity Foundation at Lycée Saint-Anne in Ettelbruck on Thursday, 3rd February. The high-school students could share their feelings and reactions while watching the poignant short film Mercy’s Blessing, which illustrates powerful concepts like sacrifice, empathy, justice, and how we can participate in the improvement of society by implementing those values in our daily lives. Discussions have been enriching, enabling each girl to think about herself and her relation to society. 

As a teenager, I was limited in my ambition for myself and for society because of a certain number of commonplaces: “one has to accept norms”, “an individual can’t do anything against global problems”, “one can’t change human nature” and of unspoken notions in the school environment: no opportunity to discuss social issues or to question oneself – focus on daily life and on academic results. I wanted to contribute to offering this space for reflection and this opening to the world to young people by becoming a volunteer for Unity Foundation. I am convinced that young people cannot create meaning in their lives without being stimulated in their thinking. Unity Foundation provides elements of reflection and encourages their analysis in everyone. 

Clara Albrecht

Youth reflect on the qualities and attitudes they need in different situations, such as making difficult choices or sacrificing a part of their comfort to be of service to others.