From the 21^st-26^th August 2022, VIDES UK held a camp for Young People 13 to 15 years old at Pentrenant Hall in Wales. The term Anima is directly translated to 'soul' and an individual's true inner self. This idea of soul and finding your inner self was really displayed throughout the week through the inputs and general atmosphere of the camp. Through the different inputs and activities we, as the volunteers, were able to see and learn a lot about the young people on camp which was heart-warming and rewarding.

The camp aimed to develop their skills, educate them on important and for us to find the next generation of VIDES volunteers and let me say the future of VIDES is looking strong with such potential in all the Young People attending.

Throughout the week the Young People attended inputs each day where they were taught about important Human Rights and how some people aren't able to access their own human rights. After each input the Young People were put into their designated groups to explore the topics further and do different activities to consolidate their knowledge and also show how local organizations can help.

As well as these inputs, each evening our team of volunteers led social nights full of fun, competition, and teamwork. These evenings were such a good chance to really get to know the young people and have a lot of fun playing different games and working together to earn points. Each day the young people enjoyed trying to guess which one of our volunteers were running the social and what theme it would be.

From start to finish we were so pleased and blown away by the Young People; they were fully engaged in all the activities and weren't afraid to give their opinion and share their own ideas. There was a chance for 6 of the Young People to be elected to the new VIDES UK Youth Council. The idea of a Youth Council is to give Young People a platform to share their opinions and ideas which our team can incorporate this into future weeks of Anima, keeping it relevant to issues that really matter to the young. All of the young people wrote their own manifestos on what topics are important to them & why they would be good as a VIDES Youth Councillor. They then had the opportunity to read each and every one before voting on their top three. After all the votes were in the six youth councillors were elected and we couldn't be happier with the team. This team will have meetings throughout the year to give ideas, opinions and will take part in a trip to Turin and Mornese.

Overall, the week was a perfect chance to really get to know the young people, see and help develop their skills and truly show them what VIDES is all about. The camp was a success in many ways; we got to see the young people who show real potential to become future VIDES volunteers, elect our first six young people for the Youth Council and deliver important sessions addressing importing topics in our world today. We cannot wait for the next Anima, Youth Council meetings and VIDES projects to come!

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Ellie Creighton