Cultural holiday camp in Sindelfingen

As part of the project “Cultural Holiday Camp”, young talents from Swjahel (Ukraine) from the field of culture had the opportunity to visit Sindelfingen and its surroundings for ten days with the support of the city of Sindelfingen.

The programme of the camp was prepared taking into account the rules and appropriate conditions for a safe stay of the children. It included a variety of excursions, presentations, workshops, training in working groups, etc. The aim of these activities was to promote personal development, restore confidence in the future and, most importantly, divert attention from the traumatic experience of war.

During this time, the children actively participated in the events and learned about the history, customs and traditions of Germany. In the first days, they visited the local town hall, where the Ukrainian guests were personally welcomed by Sindelfingen’s Lord Mayor Dr. Bernd Vöhringer. They visited the Mercedes Benz plant and were able to see how cars are made. The visit programme also included horse riding and ice skating, a visit to the Wilhelma zoological-botanical garden and the fairytale castle of Hohenzollern.

Despite the cold season, we were warm and cordial together. The Ukrainian children are very grateful to everyone who contributed to this project. It was a great opportunity for them to learn about the world around and to develop themselves.

Feedback from a camp participant:

“I think that every Ukrainian should participate in such a project. So that they can see and understand how they can help the government to develop the country, how to preserve historical monuments, and so on. I was impressed by the trip to Hohenzollern Castle. I liked that everything there is well maintained, that flowers are planted, that there are different Christmas decorations inside and outside. I would like Ukraine to adopt this kind of monument maintenance in Germany. In general, I liked it very much. I liked the organisation of the camp. I liked the attitude of people towards Ukraine and the way they try to help us in this difficult time.”