Thurday 24th September - the big day!

    So here we are: the big day is finally arrived!
    This morning, while having breakfast wearing our customized t-shirts, we were pretty excited about what we were going to do. As we went together to the Leipziger field the sun was shining which was definitely a good sign for us.
    As soon as Paul gave us some more information, we started working. Some of us went to take the refugees from their centers in order to be right on time at the field, all together. A girl of us went with the Wisamar crew to the supermarket: they bought all the necessary to make sandwiches and drinks for all the participants and then it was task of some girls to prepare them. When Italians notice that there is free food, well you know what happens. We were kinda hungry, in fact.
     At 14 the match should have finally started. Most of the teams started arriving soon after 13, though something unforeseen was about to happen. One team was missing and others showed up whitout having signed up. It was a problem for the whole tournament, so we had to rearrange the matches. Ok, we managed that too. Now we were officially ready to start!
    The field was completely full: people playing on the two fields we created, other teams sitting on the green waiting for their turn, staff members running to and fro to get everything arranged.
    The day was incredibly busy for us all: the boys were playing in the tournament with a team - Dinamo Delio - while the girls had to split tasks such as prepearing and serving the food, writing down the results, communicating with the teams. The atmosphere was really nice, with many nationalities mixing together  and everyone seemed to enjoy the match.
    It was then time to check the scores and see who was going to  play in the finals. We were all very nervous at this moment, since many teams hoped to win. When we finally got the names of the best teams, we all rejoiced: our team was playing too to get the third place! The other teams playing were the Forest, who played against our team, and the International and Tourgau Strasse fighting for the first place.
   Though the climate among the spectators was really tense, everyone was happy when te winners were announced: the Forest got the third place, Tourgau Strasse the second and finally the International team were the absolute winners of the game!
   The most important thing in out tournament was not winning, but having fun all together in a day that everyone would remember for a while. After the names of the winners were announced, certificates and t-shirts were distributed to every participant and medals were given to the winners. We also had some musical entertainment by the folk band Widarsihtig and everyone had one more chance to get free drinks and food from out buffet.
    Slowly all the players started heading home and we remained alone, the music still playing, tidying up the field. We were definitely tired, but so happy to see that the event was over and was definitely a success!
   
    So this is now the end. The end of this blog but more importablty of a journey that lastes three weeks and got us here, to see with our eyes the final reault of much effort and hard work. Thanks to everyone who took part in the tournament, but above all thank to every member of the staff group. All the days spent together between work at the office and laughs through the streets of Leipzig won't be easy to forget. We all made this experience special!
   

Wednesday 23rd September

    Can you believe that just a day is left before the event? We definitely can´t.
    When we started this journey we thought this day would never come, that these three weeks will be such a long time. But they are eventually gone.
    It is hard to describe the atmosphere at the office today. Everyone is getting so nervous: our tutor kept telling us how crucial it is to finish everything on time today, starting from the to-do lists for tomorrow. Apparently we have so much to do and we will be so excited, that the risk to forget something is very high. That is what everyone was busy with today. Write down the welcome speech,
the shopping list, the rules of the tournament, a budget list, arrange the tasks for the day... These are just some of the tasks that needed to be done for today. It was pretty hard to keep calm while working, especially in the afternoon.
    We can just hope that everything will be fine tomorrow, since another busy day is waiting for us.

Tuesday 22nd September

    What´s the thing Italians enjoy the most doing? Eating. So we were extremely happy to organize a brunch at the guesthouse this morning, to celebrate our success. 

    After receiving some money from our tutor, a little group of us went to the supermarket to get some supplies. After having our food prepared for three weeks, we were really happy to choose what to eat on our own. After a while the team came back to the guesthouse carrying a shopping trolley full of food and drinks. As soon as we arranged the table with everything they got, we stood up and started grabbing whatever was in reach. That´s how we spent our morning: eating and chatting all together.

    In the afternoon the sponsoring and the marketing teams went in the city center, as usual, to collect as much money as they can. The program group has two different tasks: some of them went buying the t-shirts that we are going to wear the day of the match, the others are scheduling the teams that are playing in a few days. The creative group - this is a way to say us - is not doing any challenging work, to be honest. Everyday is quite always the same: updating the blog, taking photos of groups working.

    Tomorrow is the last planning day before the match and we can´t wait to see the results of our three-week work. 

Monday 21st September

The third week has already started and the event day is almost there! On the one hand this means that everyday we are more excited about the match, but at the same time it´s always more difficult to find new tasks to fill our daily schedule. In fact, the tournament is almost ready and we now feel more relaxed.
    This morning the marketing group went to the refuges´centers to make sure that they would be able to reach the field by bus or tram the day of the match. Unfortunately they have no tickets and so it´s task of this group to buy them for this occasion.
    The members of the sponsoring group went to the city center, as usual, to collect some more money since we have not so many resources. They will spend this afternoon doing the same activity.
    Since the big day is quite close, the program group has probably the biggest responsibilities. In fact, they have to define the last important details and check what is still missing. To give an example, today they went to buy medals that will be given to the winners of the tournament. In addition, they are also writing the list of participants and the final program.
    For what concerns the creative group, we are updating the blog with daily posts and photos of our free time.
    To sum up, it has been a productive beginning of week!

 

 

Friday 18th September

   Two weeks out of three have passed. Tiredness and homesickness start to take over.
   Today was probably the worst day since we are here, one of the less productive at least.
    After a meeting at the office, everyone left to do their daily tasks. However it didn't last for long, since a few hours later everyone was coming back. Not finding sponsors and having to ask for money on the streets doesn't help to make our mood better. Because of the poor results we had today, after our lunch break we had to deal with our tutor's reproach.
   In the afternoon Paul took us to a center for refugees. It was a good opportunity to recruit players for our match. Surprisingly enough, the first thing we saw when we got there, was a soccer field with many children playing together. The best thing about this visit was to see that the concept behind "A match for equality" does really work: playing soccer all together is a way to make friends and forget about daily worries.
  Today we also got good news: the Wisamar office kindly decided to give us tickets for the amusement park Belantis, where we are going to spend our Sunday. We can finally enjoy our last weekend in Leipzig!

Kids playing

Thursday 17th September

    When we first arrived at the office, we thought three weeks would be such a long time to organize a soccer tournament. We can barely believe that today just a week is left before the big day. So much happened during those days: from deception to enthusiasm, alternated  with moments of homesickness. It is true that we got some really good results so far, but at the same time we still need to work hard to finish everything on time.
   Today the marketing group tried to recruit some players by writing emails to some more schools suggested by our tutor, as well as going to the university. They also printed some more flyers, which were useful for the sponsoring group, that was spending the day in the city center. Fundraising turned out to be really productive as we always manage to collect a fairly good amount of money, not to mention advertising our event. That is why we are going to spend all the spare time we get doing this.
    The program design group kept looking for possible t-shirt shops where we can have our staff t-shirt printed.
   Finally our group -the creative- is working on a special project that is going to be published online soon!  
   

Wednesday 16th September

 
    One of the most satisfactory things for a group of young people organizing a project, is seeing people showing interest for it. That is what happened to a group of us today, who spent the afternoon in the city center collecting money and handing over flyers.
    The day at the office started with the designing of some posters, on which our project and philosophy were briefly explained both in English and German. Some people from the marketing and sponsoring group went to the city center to collect money. Some of them held the posters they previously made, while others tried to attract some people explaining for what the fundraising was. Even though they had some rude reactions, they managed to collect a good amount of money.When they came back to the office, they were all very excited about their results. In particular, they told us about some people that showed their concern about the issue of immigration in their city and were particularly willing to contribute to our project.
    The remaining groups spent most of their time working at the office. The program group also went to a shop to look for medals, which will be given to the winners of the match.
     We leave you with a picture that best shows our enthusiasm during the day.
 
 

Fundraising in the city center

 

Tuesday 15th September

    Today was not just a simple day at the office. The price for that though, was getting up earlier than usual.
    Our appointment with Paul was at 9:30 am at the tram station. We then headed to the sport forum, a building near the stadium, where we would have a conference about sport in Leipzig. After giving us some brochures with information about the different sport events that took place in Leipzig, a woman from the association started explaining us the importance of sport for the citizens of this city from the time of the DDR until today. Since the woman admitted not to have a good English level, she held her speech in German. Our tutor Paul was then kind enough to translate everything into English, so that everyone was able to understand. At the end of the presentation it was time to ask questions. Since we were to shy to ask questions ourselves, we received some from the woman concerning the sport event we are organizing as well as the progress we achieved so far and our working schedule.
    After our lunch break, we went back to the office where we started doing our daily tasks.
    The marketing group went to some printing shops to have the flyers printed. They are now ready to hand them over or hang them around to advertise our event. To get even more advertisement, they decided to write an article for a local newspaper which is going to be sent to the editorial in the next days.
    The sponsoring group, as usual, kept on finding sponsors and writing emails. They also wrote down a budget chart.
   The program group contacted the local band which is going to play at our event to entertain the spectators. They also searched a security agency and looked for some t-shirts that we can have printed for the staff.
   Each group has worked on a power point presentation about what we did the last week and what we are planning on doing in the next two weeks. Then it was our task (the creative group) to collect all the ideas from the different groups and make a new presentation that we are going to explain tomorrow in front of the Wisamar staff.
    To sum up it was quite a demanding day at the office. Now we feel pretty involved in our project and we are trying to give the very best of us.

During the conference at the sport forum.

Monday 14th September

     Our second week in Leipzig has started. After the first days of orientation we now feel comfortable spending our days here at the office, doing our daily tasks and working in teams. Would the day come in which we will regret that all this came to an end?
     Today was a very busy day for the marketing group. First of all they went to some local schools where they asked for the permission to hang some flyers to promote our event and recruit players. Unfortunately the results were not as we expected: in fact, it seems that students here in Leipzig have to stay at school until late in the afternoon, which means they can´t take part in our event. Other people from the group decided to design the certificates of participation, which will be handed over to the participants at the end of the tournament. They also created a Facebook page that will come in handy for the advertisement of the event itself.
    The sponsoring group continued their daily search for financial support. This time they didn´t just go to local shops, they also went to the university. But again they had to handle with disappointment. Nevertheless some of the shops they had previously contacted wrote an email to communicate their willingness to help us.
   Finally, the program group checked the prices for medals, trophies and t-shirts. They also started to write down the rules of the game and they contacted the Wisamar office to arrange the rental of tables, benches and other equipment useful for the match.
    A good start in the new week for our team, which seems to get more and more productive as the days pass by.

Check out our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/amatchforequality

Friday 11th September

    Having a specific goal means having to work harder.
    That is why our day at the office has been busier than ever. Each group started to organize its members to get the most of the day and see the first results.
    After looking for possible sponsors online and writing down a speech that could best present our concept, the sponsoring group to take the field and ask some shops for their financial support.
    The marketing groups was involved in creating the official email address and designing the logo and the flyers, which were then handed at students of local schools. They also contacted some people in charge of  centers for migrants.
    The program group is in charge of more general tasks, which are nonetheless important: what they did so far was checking the prices for the emergency kit, the referee, water and fruit. Moreover they wrote an email to the GEMA to get the permission to play music during the event.
    Last but not least the creative group - that is to say us - has been working hard to publish this content online and document our experience.
   Today was our last day of work before the weekend. Since we worked pretty hard and got some results, we also got some more free time as a reward. We are now ready for our weekend trips and for coming back on Monday more resolute than ever.

Thursday 10th Semptember

    Being teen also means not having to worry about money. So we probably should not put the blame on us when we felt completely shocked hearing the total of the business calculation.

    This was in fact the main task of the day: each group had to write down its hypothesis about costs of all kind of equipment, material, food, etc, that we need for the event. It was definitely harder than we thought: every time we thought we had finished our list, we realized something was missing. 

    The worst part however was summing up the different ideas to have an overall one of the costs we need to cover. The result was roughly 1.300 euros. It is pointless saying how scared we were by the thought of not finding enough sponsors. 

    It was then time to organize our work in target groups, each of them with a specific task : the marketing group, which is responsible for designing the logo, printing the flyers and handing them over; the sponsor group which has probably the biggest responsibility; the program group and finally the creative group. 

    Now that everyone has a defined task, we just need to roll up our sleeves and do our best for this tournament to be a success.

Wednesday 9th September

    Everybody knows how excited teens get when they see a football field. Unfortunately we were not there to play. It was location-check time!
    As soon as we got out of the tram and we saw the bright green grass, we started running and taking pictures and just enjoying the sunny day. After a moment of pure fun, two of us made a map of the field so that we could analyse the space we could use after we would get back at the office.
    It was time to come back, when Paul proposed us to have a tour of the stadium of Leipzig. What do you think the answer was? So off we went to the tram that took us there. Leipzig has a big stadium, actually bigger than we expected. Unfortunately it was closed to public and we were not able to do a tour inside, as most of we wanted. So we went back to Wisamar office and we took our lunch break.       At 13.45 we met Paul again in front of the office and we started working. Our first task was to find a motto, a logo and the philosophy for the event. We worked in four groups and then each group presented its own idea and we voted the most original one. So we now know the name of our concept: "A MATCH FOR EQUALITY" !
    Then Paul gave us a more challenging task: doing the risk management, involving the solution to every possible problem that could occur on the big day. Each group had some different ideas which were then summed up. Doing these planning tasks makes us feel closer to the event.

Tuesday 8th September

Today things started to get serious.
    After a brief self introduction, we were divided in groups and asked to put into practice what we had learnt during the previous lessons back home.
    It was not as easy as we thought. Since we have absolutely no experience in this field, all we have to start it is a bunch of general information we got. It is now our task to use it combined with our own skills.
    The tournament we have to organize turned out to be for the refugees here in Leipzig. As we have been told by our tutor Paul, immigration is currently a big issue in Germany, especially in this area, where always more people keep looking for a safe place to live away from war and poverty. Because of that, we have a big responsibility for what concerns the success of this event.
    Fortunately, today work was just away to test our competence before starting the actual planning. When it was time to present our work to the other groups, we noticed that many things were missing and we realized how difficult it is to be a sport event planner.

Monday 7th September

    Waking up at 7.00 after a day spent between flights and a little bit sight seeing was definitely not easy. But eventually we managed to reach the city center where we had some free time before our first day of work.

     After lunch we met Maria, a girl from the Wisamar office. While taking us to the room where we would spend the most of the next three weeks, she made sure that everyone would be able to find the way on his own. When we arrived, our tutor Paul was waiting for us, Together with Maria, he showed us the concept behind their no-profit organisation, as well as the program for our stay in Leipzig.

     The best part of the day was definitely the tour of the city that we had with Maria. Not only she showed us the most important sights of Leipzig, such as the Markt Platz, the S. Nikolai and S. Thomas churches, she also gave us information about the story behind them and tips for other sights, museums and pubs to visit during our free time. The highlight of the tour was probably seeing the first sight, a big graffiti representing the Monday revolution that started in the city of Leipzig. that is also where we decided to take our first group photo.

     All in all, it was a very exciting day, in which we got to have a first impression of what our exchange program will be all about.