Exploring identity and building understanding: a life-changing journey
Saturday August 11th marked the beginning of the Belongings Journey for 15 young Cameroonians – who were out for a trip they had little knowledge about, after going through a competitive selection process to be part of the Belongings team. Belongings is one of the British Council’s projects that aims to develop leadership skills in young people by promoting intercultural dialogue and generating shared understandings between individuals and communities in Africa and the UK.

Belongings creates opportunity for young people from Africa and the UK to explore identity and community through a series of international exchanges. It uses a bold, simple design to provide creative individuals with the opportunity to have life-changing experiences and then to share these with their home communities.

Young people taking part in the exchanges record their experiences in their communities at home, pack bags with objects reflecting those experiences, and then share these with others on their journeys. On returning home they work with schools and youth groups, developing projects that share the experience of their journeys with others.

The pre-exchange which took place in Cameroon gave the young people, drawn from diverse youth organisations, the opportunity to start packing their bags with cultural and leadership ideas and objects that they would share with young people from other countries. As such it oriented the youths towards participating in Belongings by practicing skills that would help maximise the experience and establish the group. During the pre-exchange they explored their values, beliefs, assumptions and leadership characteristics. They played with tools designed for the exchange.

The most interesting exercise that was completed during the pre-exchange was the ‘handbag’ exercise. The handbag was identified as the women’s closest neighbour and friend. With the permission of the ladies, some handbags were dissected by the guys and the contents shown to the group. It was noted that all the girls carried handbags with similar contents which were valuable to them, thus portraying how people own and respect similar values.

At the end of this activity the dynamic team of 15 was set for the journey to the UK with their bags full of objects and ideas collected from their communities. The journey of exploration and leadership had begun; from Cameroon to the UK and back to Africa.