One Big Step Toward Change

By Park Chan-mi

My week in Pollica, Italy, was full of precious opportunities to mark a new beginning. I applied for this camp with one purpose: to learn how other cities, and especially the youth living in them, are working to end discrimination. This is because I have seen and experienced that some people have to fight for their rights, even though such rights are what they deserve, and those who always suffer more are socially disadvantaged. Thus, I wanted to play a part in improving and spreading the universal value of human rights, not the privilege enjoyed by the majority. Moreover, I wanted to help enhance people’s recognition and interest in human rights so that more and more of us could think and practice in this way, making a better world to live in together.

In fact, I was not the first selected representative of Gwangju; I joined the group at the last minute, which made me feel more special once I was chosen. The Gwangju International Center gave us full support, helping us to get ready for the camp. We also had a little orientation in preparation for the five main themes:

1. A geographical approach: the future of living together in diversity

2. A multistakeholder approach: race as a product of racism

3. A societal approach: robust community engagement through inclusion

4. A cultural approach: engaging tools to fight against discrimination

5. A policy-making approach: the foundation to build inclusive societies

This experience helped me to organize my thoughts, and with some feedback, I learned how to speak out with my own thoughts and opinions.

Arriving in Italy was the first task, and after about 15 hours of flying, I felt like we were traveling through time due to the seven-hour time difference. We stayed in Rome and Florence for a couple of days and traveled around. They were beautiful cities full of history and modernity at the same time. Given all the archaeological sites that were right in front of me, I could not believe my eyes and that I was actually in Italy.

It could have been better if our trip had been all nice and perfect; however, I did have some issues. I almost got pickpocketed by a pregnant woman on the subway, which was a shock to me. Moreover, unlike our expectations that all Italian food is delicious, some food was too salty for me. But we certainly enjoyed gelato almost every day. If I had had more time, I would have wandered around the streets, sat down in a cafe full of summer sunlight, and drunk espressos.

We next took a train to Vallo della Lucania Train Station in Salerno, Bernardo, where someone came to pick us up. The closer we got to our hotel, the faster my heart pounded in anticipation of meeting our new friends. Among the 13 participants, seven of us stayed at the Angelo Panoramic Hotel. I cannot forget the view it had: In front, I could see and feel the Mediterranean Sea as it twinkled brightly.

Our camp was held at Princes Capano Castle, and on our first day, we were invited to a dinner party hosted by the Future Food Institute. The best thing about this camp was that it was not a big group, so we were able to have deeper conversations and get to know each other more. We got close to the locals, too, so we were able to hear what we should do there. We ate, danced, and everything just happened on our first day, which made me expect more for our next few days.

Surrounded by a beautiful environment and healthy foods, even though it was a totally different diet and lifestyle from what I had had before, it certainly was a valuable experience to have friends from different cultures and backgrounds gathered together for the same purpose: to eradicate discrimination from the local to the global level. Whether we were from different countries or not, our hope for embracing others bound us together fast, and most of all, trying to understand each other helped us see people from diverse perspectives.

Among many other activities, the “story circle” we made under an olive tree will remain with me forever, as in that moment, many things passed by me. By hearing the stories of my amazing friends and speaking my own out loud, I felt relieved and stronger than ever, and I also realized that I was not alone. I am truly grateful that I could be part of this long journey and, hopefully, our activities helped someone else and led to change, particularly an escape from prejudice and stereotypes, as I experienced.