FLEX-Ability Workshop, end of March

Skyline of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia

A wooden icon of Mary in a church from the 5th century

At the end of March, I was in the land of milk and honey... otherwise known as Georgia. No, not the one next to Alabama - the country! I was one of three PCVs chosen from the Caucasus to help lead the first annual FLEX-Ability South Caucasus Workshop, a four day training program for about 50 youth from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. This workshop aimed to teach participants about Program Design and Management, create several frameworks for simultaneous community projects to take place in all three countries by August 2010 and forge stronger connections between participants for the three countries. The workshop was organized by American Councils, an organization that sends youth from former Soviet republics to American high schools through a US-govt funded program called FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange). Consequently, all participants in the workshop were former FLEX students, meaning they were talented, bright and, most importantly, fluent in English.

And when I say fluent in English, I mean these kids were telling Chuck Norris jokes and saying things like "everything's bigger in Texas." I kid you not.

Texans, or kids from the Caucasus? Don't be fooled!

Revenons au sujet. So what's the big deal about a workshop like this? As many of you know, the Caucasus is not one of the most peaceful regions in the world. Azerbaijan and Armenia have been officially at war for over 15 years, with Armenia still occupying a handsome chunk of Azerbaijani territory. Russia invaded Georgia two years ago, strewing chaos in the northern regions of the country. Couple these conflicts with the general neighborhood (Chechnya in the north and Iran in the south) and you have quite the precarious place. You also have a place where cultural differences are largely imagined and exploited by media and politicians. It seems that every nationality lays claim to every Caucasian type of food, dance or music.

After the first night, it was clear that the workshop would be a success. We sat in mixed groups at a Georgian restaurant, some participants clearly less than excited to sit next to their "enemies." Yet as soon as the music began, our Georgian hosts got up and performed their national dances. Surprisingly (or not surprisingly), it looked raaaather similar to the dances of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Within minutes, all three nationalities were flailing about Caucasian-style on the dance floor, leaving us poor Americans guessing who was who. In fact, many participants ended up asking themselves the same questions. It was pretty neat to see pre-conceived notions being broken down in the face of the truth. And the truth was, the people of the Caucasus have so much in common it's scary!

The other two PCVs that led the Program workshops. Turns out Armenia has Holland cheese too!

My job during the Workshop was to teach a group of 15-20 participants how to structure projects and write grant proposals effectively in order to improve their local communities. Together, we wrote a project to take place by August 2010- no small task considering the participants had just met each other and were from different, warring countries. But by the end of four days, I am positive my group gained the skills necessary to bring change home. I am so proud of them and inspired by their example. It gives me hope that one day, OUR VISION of a peaceful Caucasus will be OUR REALITY.

Success.