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TGS On Line Newsletter 02/2020

Continua la serie di post in lingua inglese dedicati agli amici TGS Eurogroup oltre i confini nazionali. Attraverso la mailing list dedicata “Friends of TGS Eurogroup” raggiungiamo tutti i nostri amici, collaboratori, volontari che operano assieme a TGS Eurogroup in Gran Bretagna, in Belgio e in tutta Europa, con i giovani e per i giovani, attraverso molteplici progetti internazionali che ci vedono protagonisti assieme.
Buona lettura!

Dear Friends, a handful of weeks have now passed since our first newsletter. As Summer proceeds, our programmes to-be for the Summer have become part of our daily life. Three main fields of activities have been keeping us busy.

TGS Summer Camp

We developed a language course to take place at TGS Eurogroup headquarters at the Salesian College “Astori” in Mogliano Veneto (Treviso), consistent with the current local regulation for Summer activities addressed to the young. Although in a compacted version as it lasts 7 days, the 2020 language course still reproduced the main features of a regular TGS holiday stay in the UK. We considered two age groups and managed to offer English lessons in the morning, workshops in the afternoon, as well as study visits to Venice and lots of group activities. TGS leaders together with a Salesian priest were in charge of the students while the TGS Office staff supervised and supported the whole work.

The aim was twofold: on one hand we wanted to offer an opportunity to study and improve English, on the other we meant to involve students in a Christian experience of group life, according to the Salesian style and charism.

The second group of students left Mogliano Veneto last week. We have a spontaneous feedback from one of the students: ”I’ve had the chance to get to know new friends, I’ve learnt that teaming up is essential. I would like to thank my leaders and Father Paolo for being constantly present and supportive. I’ve learnt much from this experience. I’ve improved my English and I will always keep in my heart the relationships with the people I’ve met during this residential course”.

TGS Summer Camp On Line

In line with the general idea of the “Travelling from home” blog session, as mentioned in our previous on line newsletter, we are offering a set of informal meetings to allow English speaking people, friends and associates to gather on line. Some meetings already took place. The first took us to Surrey to meet Mrs Rosslyn Hill and Mrs Pauline Watts (local organizer in Caterham and host family in Coulsdon, respectively). Then we visited Ms Nicky Price, Manager at Guildford Tourist Information Centre, and Mr Ian Paine, English Teacher at Guildford College. The following week we knocked at our UK General Manager’s door getting a warm welcome by Mrs Maggie Anderson.

Meetings are meant to be an opportunity to speak and interact in English with friendly interlocutors. For those who have already experienced a traditional TGS Summer Course, they represent a good chance to meet students, their host families, their English teachers, the local organizers and all associates they got to know during their stay. For students who have not met TGS yet and for leaders-to-be, it is the right chance to take a look behind the scenes, to know the people in the Association whose cooperation is essential.

We’ll tell you, this experience soon became more than what we thought it could be. Were we in England, the meeting in every single TGS centre would involve only some people. TGS Summer Camp On Line allows us to let a wider number of people spend time together and exchange their points of views on a variety of topics.

We already had three on line sessions and a few more are to come. If you wish to join, just e-mail us and you will soon be our special guest!

Up and Down the Veneto

A brand new version of the “Up and Down” tours is currently being developed in place of the well know “Up and Down the Bridges of Venice” which, as you know, could not take place this year – although the next edition is already scheduled on 18th April 2021.

“Up and Down the Veneto” consists of a number of cultural tours to help discover the beauties in our Veneto Region. Addressed to members of the Up and Down the Bridges Management Committee, in turn representing all the Up and Down Volunteers, these walks are organized and promoted by a group of TGS associates. Week after week, TGS Volunteers guide participants discover Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, Padua until the end of September when the last scheduled walk in Venice will be the proper occasion for the 2021 Up and Down the Bridges trial.

The common thread linking each leg is TGS ideal for youth and social tourism, understood as an educational activity that enhances youth protagonism. This initiative aims to introduce the Veneto Region and its main cities through sustainable tourism and help discover local territory. City walks, public and collective transport instead of individual travel, last but not least tourism with a high educational and cultural value are the main focus of the Up and Down the Veneto.

What’s the common denominators in all these activities?

The activities we’ve thought for TGS Summer 2020 were first conceived during the lockdown and its severe impact, later expanded and improved as time passed by. As we developed them, we realized they represented our answer to the sad and uncertain situation that people were living worldwide, with no distinction of age, race, nationality or social belonging. We understood we could not press the “pause” button. We felt we had to find a way to keep moving, still respecting health measures and focusing on young people who are our future. Once again, our commitment for TGS Summer 2020 deals with youth and social tourism and has actually brought TGS to a different understanding of tourism which we’ve tried to forge as described.

We hope you enjoyed our second TGS On Line Newsletter. If you would like to send any comments and feedback, again, it will be a pleasure for us to receive them at blog@tgseurogroup.it !

Finally, we would like to remind that either our blog and our Facebook page are consistently updated and are ready to welcome any visitors willing to know more about TGS Summer.

Stay safe, stay tuned and enjoy your Summer as much as you can!

TGS Eurogroup 

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