C-Side Conference

Hi! My name is Lianna and I am member of the MEGA club Luxembourg. I have had the opportunity to participate at the MEGA2 conference in Namur which was followed by the C-side conference in Oostende. In this report I am going to talk about the conference in Oostende where 18 delegations from 16 different countries all over Europe have come together. My dear friend Vanessa who has participated at both conferences as well is going to tell you about our impressions of the MEGA2 conference.

The “C” stands for connection: connecting with people and thus strengthening our European connections and also connecting the heart and the mind. The Covid-19 pandemic has put a stress on the importance of the connection between the mind and the heart. (Homeschooling has focused mainly on keeping our brains busy while the social aspect has gotten largely neglected.) Therefore, well-being at school stood in the centre of our discussions during the conference. Peter de Bruyckere, a professional psychologist, explained us the link between motivation, studying and well-being at school. Furthermore, we have learnt about the power of a strong bond within a group and the related higher performance of this group due to their bond. Talking of strong bonds and team building, here the next picture I’d like to share with you: oostrende

As you can see, we did some fun beach sports challenges which were great to better get to know each other. With the foundation we have laid during our team building we were then ready to master our next challenge. We did workshops together where we analysed the results of a survey concerning well-being at our schools. Based on the information we got we discussed what measures could be taken to further improve the atmosphere for students at school. We wrote down our ideas on posters which were presented by our fellow students at the Gala dinner on Saturday. Of course we also visited Dendermonde and the Oscar Romero College. The students were delighted to show us around and to teach us the ‘t’Ros Beart’ song, which has great tradition and is well-known in Dendermonde. Afterwards we did some sightseeing in Ghent, which included the visit of a castle and a boat tour.

The conference was a great success and I am very glad for the friendships we’ve made and the experience that I have gained. I have learnt that teachers and students think in many ways alike when it comes to well-being at school. The workshops gave me input on what could further be done to make students feel well at school. One such idea would be to make necessary hygiene products available at school for free. Moreover, I have acquired some knowledge about different cultures through the diverse delegations present at the conference. After this amazing journey saying goodbye was not easy as I have taken our “slay”-gang into my heart. However, goodbyes don’t always have to be forever and I am already looking forward to seeing my friends again (plans for a reunion in Vienna this summer are in the making… 👀).