A couple of weeks ago we had our second international activity of 2019 in England. The Grand Prep brought together the preparatory teams of the 2019 events to discuss democracy and practical planning of international events. The teams are made up of representatives of previous year’s activities, the hosts for this year and representatives of next year’s events.
Here you can read the impressions of Siobhan Gallagher who took part in her first international preparation meeting as a representative of the 2020 host of the Autumn Seminar.
Grand Prep Meeting 08.05-12.05, Farthingstone, England
Members of Rural Youth Europe gathered to prepare for Rally 2019, Autumn Seminar 2019 and the Democracy event.
As an Irish delegate I attended with a view to gathering as much knowledge as I could to help Macra na Feirme Rural Youth Committee prepare to host the Autumn Seminar 2020.
As a previous delegate to a Rural Youth Europe Study Session I had an insight as to what was involved in attending such an event, however I did not grasp the dept of work involved in preparing for such an event. I now have a greater respect for the host teams and Rural Youth Europe for the work that goes into preparing and presenting the programme and all mostly led by volunteers.
At the outset I shared my aspirations for the Grand Prep meeting which was to gain a better understanding of Rural Youth Europe events from a hosting perspective and understand the funding element of such events. I also wanted to learn from previous hosts what worked well for them. Needless to say, I gained so much knowledge and insight to these events – more than I was expecting to!
In an informal setting the 19 delegates made up of Rural Youth Europe staff, board members and host teams from the various events being held in 2019 & 2020 came together to share thoughts, ideas, knowledge and from sessions over 4 days we presented the programmers for the upcoming events of 2019. It was a great opportunity to meet with RYEurope members and gain insight into their organisations.
The Grand Prep meeting is vital in hosting a professional, informative and above all else enjoyable experience and allows members to forge friendships to last a lifetime. I recommend anyone to grab the opportunity to attend any RYEurope event, and I also recommend all countries to take the opportunities to host such an event – You won’t regret it!!