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Harmonically living
Start date: Jun 1, 2015, End date: Sep 30, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The project "Harmonically Living " was born from the desire to offer to youngsters european the possibility of living a special experience in a natural place where all the beings of the heart lives happily and harmonically together and where the gender, abilities and species difference are more considered as a plus than a minus. The aim of the project was born from a simple and basic idea to think, but ambitious and hard to realize: to offer a real and deep participants's integration no matter the differences between them. The project took place in Centro Armonico Terapeutico (C.A.T.) in Campogalliano (MO), Italy, that is a farm where many animals live: dogs, cats, donkeys, horses, rabbits and a pig. During the year, the centre arranges Pet Therapy Relation integrated projects. Harmonically Living took place from August 31st to September 6th, in a period of the year where the weather is particularly enjoyable in the countryside. The youth exchange realized a bilateral partnership between LUNEnuove Cooperativa Sociale from Italy and HOMESHARE SPAIN from Spain. Since the first moments the partners worked synergistically together to find the most appropriated participants and accompanying person for the project. They found 20 participants (balanced by gender, country and difference abilities), 8 accompanying person in total and a trainer. So, there where ten italian and ten spanish from 18 to 30 years old, and each group was 50% composed by people with disabilities and 50% without. For the reason that leaving home and family and go abroad in a country where an other language is spoken and there's another culture, we preferred to involve accompanying person who knew at least some of the disabled participants before, so they could represent a good reference for them and for theirs families. In order to let all the participants to understand each other better and to have a smaller cultural shock, we preferred to involve just two countries with pretty similar language and culture. All our wishes on the project have been realized in an enthusiastic way. The italian accompanying people and trainer, professionals in the field of Pet Therapy, were great mediators for the entire group in order to facilitating the relationship between the all beings: between people with and without disabilities, between people and the context, between the Spanish and the Italian group and between people and animals. The activities carried out were the PetTherapy one's integrated with other co-terapies: natural augmentative communication, music therapy, art therapy, green therapy, yoga, photography, sensory lab, creative recycling and cooking. All the activities have been structured by using the non formal education methodology. The schedule was arranged respecting everyone's needs and possibilities and was realized as planned. Participants get along together and with animals completely safely, experimenting their way of interacting each others in relationships. Personal contribution was promoting by the whole group, that added a precious value to the project. To show the deep bound between all the beings in the farm out of it, the last day was arranged a big party open to the local community, it was the opportunity to publicly celebrate friendship, commitment and joy of sharing and stay together. For the event it was arranged a photo's exhibition of the participants most beautiful pictures took during the week, a craft's exibition from the activities realized and the explanation of what we made day by day. In the evening youth passes were delivered publicly, participant by participant, giving the resonance that the certification deserve. Than, it was shown the Harmonically Living video in first preview, a video collecting the best moments of the week, now available on Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. Than the secret friends were revealed, and everyone had the opportunity to show their own feelings and experiences about the project using their own creative way: somebody used words, somebody smiles, others tears, there was who used dance, and who used other videos or music to show their own feeling and to say goodbye.

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