Almost 180 participants from Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Lithuania, Austria and Belarus took part in Central European Platform organised in Olomouc, in the eastern Czech Republic on October 11-14th. This year the Polish delegation consisted of nearly 50 people, being the biggest group representing a country taking part in the event.
Despite the autumn weather, the days were sunny and pleasant as well as the evenings. Having arrived on the Thursday afternoon, the participants with national colors painted on their faces could take part in the Flag Parade across the streets of Olomouc. The final destination was the opening ceremony where they could hear the speeches of representants of the Palacky University, the President of ESN Czech Republic, and the Head of the OC.
From Friday to Sunday everyone participated in plenary sessions that were aimed at presenting the news from the international level such as the future of the ESN logo and ESNreview. The agenda of this year’s CEP was adjusted to the attendees in order to avoid the lack of concentration caused by the amount of information that one needs to quickly acquire. The issues were presented in an easy to understand way even for members who had not had much experience in ESN. The number of workshops one could take part in enabled everyone to choose what fitted their interests.
Also the social evening programme was organised in a way so that ESNers could get to know members from other countries and sections. They could take part in the city game, during which they wandered around the town of Olomouc after dark and sung together at karaoke. Moreover, there was a grill and board games! Not only did these activities allow everyone to meet people from various ESN countries but also it created a perfect occasion for Polish ESNers to integrate and get to know each other better. The CEP participants were able to gain many valuable contacts, get to share good practices and check what solutions propose members of foreign sections.
Central European Platform has helped many ESNers deepen their knowledge about our region as well as gain information that could be share with local sections. Organising such a large event was surely a challenge for the OC, therefore they should be awarded with enormous applause for doing it so great.