Practicing resilience - our students have returned from CUP Summer School

For the third time, on the initiative of Catholic universities from Europe and the USA, the CUP Summer School was held under the theme “Practicing Resilience - Preparing for Recovery.” This year's edition took place in Šibenik, Croatia, and was attended by students from the Catholic University of Lublin - Julia Sroczyk, Adam Szymański, Tomasz Szmaglinski (journalism) and Julia Dybko (theology).

The summer school, which lasted eleven days, was not only a good opportunity to spend the first days of summer vacation in picturesque Croatia. Students from Poland, Ukraine, Croatia, the United States, Slovakia, Georgia and Hungary attended lectures each day on the main theme of building resilience and inner strength in difficult times, primarily in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Lecturers from the Catholic University of Croatia, The Nanovic Institute of the Notre Dame (USA), Ukrainian Catholic University and Universià Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy) presented content from a psychological, cognitive, but also business angle. As a result, our students learned about practical possibilities, how to approach life's challenges with flexibility, and ways to plan activities.

The Summer School program placed great emphasis on practice. Students met daily in smaller groups, working on a final project. The cultural group searched for a common symbol of resilience, while the social group was tasked with finding a solution to a problem present in each community whose representatives attended the CUP Summer School. The results of the week's work - a video promoting the social campaign, graphics with symbols, and a profile on Instagram - were presented at the summer school's closing meeting, at which the rector of the Catholic University of Croatia, Rev. Prof. Željko Tanjić, was present.

- “Let's have a talk, not a drink” is the slogan of the social campaign within the group project we created during the CUP Summer School - says Adam Szymański, a journalism student who, along with his group, prepared a video promoting their campaign. - We addressed the problem of alcoholism among young people and the ever-decreasing age at which teenagers reach for alcohol for the first time. We noticed that young people around the world are struggling with this. We wanted to normalize talking about our problems with others. It is the cooperation, dialogue and help of loved ones that can allow us to overcome difficult moments. Alcohol often deceptively seems to us to be the solution to our problems, and in fact it cuts us off from real support, separates us from the other person - says Adam, who was responsible for preparing the video in terms of production.

Staying in Šibenik for Julia, Julia, Adam and Tomek was not only about learning, but above all about establishing international relationships. Fierce volleyball games, evening integrations, relaxing on the beach, praying together - they used all these moments to get to know each other and talk with colleagues from other countries. They regard participation in the CUP Summer School as a wonderful experience that allowed them to take a broader view of the various problems facing young people.