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Naomi, Ananya and Kornelio are three students from different countries and from different backgrounds. Naomi and Kornelio come from Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Naomi is preparing a Master’s degree in Governance and Development at the University of Antwerp and Kornelio is currently a student at the Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu. Ananya is from Bengaluru, India and is studying for a five-year undergraduate law program at the National Law University in Delhi.
All three have participated in Global Pen Friends and are happy to share their experiences with us. Naomi participated for the first time in 2020 and again in 2021, together with Kornelio and Ananya. In 2021 Naomi and Ananya got to know each other as Pen Friends. It was the second time Naomi had an Indian Pen Friend. Kornelio had a Pen Friend in Nicaragua.
Hello Ananya, Kornelio and Naomi, thank you for wanting to share about your experience as a Global Pen Friend. To get started, tell us more about yourself.
Ananya
Hello, my name is Ananya Upadhya. I am 21 years old and from Bengaluru, India. In addition to studying, reading and writing about law and legal issues, especially criminal law and technology law, I enjoy participating in and running quiz contests, watching crime shows and documentaries. and explore new cuisines.
Kornelio
Hello, I am Kornelio KABAGALE, I live in Bukavu where I am a youth leader and socio-community development actor.
Naomi
Hello, I’m Nabami Naomi, I’m Congolese but currently I’m studying for a Master’s degree at the University of Antwerp in “ Governance and Development ”.
What made you want to do Global Pen Friends?
Kornelio
I had thought that Global Pen Friends would be an opportunity for me to resume writing and above all an opportunity to exchange experience with students from other universities and other countries. It was an enriching experience for me. Indeed, since ALFAJIRI, the Jesuit College of Bukavu of which I am a former student, I had no longer taken part in these types of activity. This was an opportunity for me to sharpen my pen once again.
Ananya
The Global Pen Friends seemed like an interesting way to meet a like-minded individual from a foreign country. I wanted to do this all the more since the countries concerned, in addition to Belgium and India, were the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco and Nicaragua, countries where it is very rare for Indians to go but of which I had read. I also knew that the issues these countries face in terms of sustainable development are quite different from India’s and I was keen to learn more from a student’s perspective. I was also excited about the prospect of being published on the USOS blog!
Did you have a lot of experience with writing?
Ananya
Before the Global Pen Friends, I had had some experience of creative writing at school level through writing workshops and competitions. I was also the editor of my school magazine and wrote an article on sustainable development which was published as part of a compilation of 100 student essays in cooperation with UNESCO. I already had a lot of experience with writing .
Naomi
When I was contacted to take part in the Global Pen Friends and was told about the project in general, I was immediately convinced given my passion for reading, writing and sharing knowledge. I also especially enjoyed the idea of talking about various topics with someone on the other side of the world and making friends through that channel as well. It was also a very nice and enriching experience for me… It was a pleasure to discuss subjects that fascinate me and to discover how such and such a reality is experienced in another country. And also share on these issues from the perspective of my country.
From which country was the person with whom you exchanged letters? Have you met many people from there in your life?
Ananya
My correspondent, who was Naomi, comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I had never met anyone from there before and it is the only one I know from the DRC! My only exposure to DRC before meeting her was in textbooks or quiz competitions, and singer Mohombi (whom we talked about in our first informal interaction!).
What did you like the most about Global Pen Friends?
Naomi
The very concept of exchanging on various subjects with people from other cultures, certainly having visions, realities and perspectives different from ours. Also, the fact that our exchanges were published on the blog of the University of Antwerp, thus making this information available to a wider audience. And the fact of publishing these letters on the UAntwerp blog is always a plus, considering the publications made that can be useful in the CV.
What did you find difficult?
Naomi
The hardest thing for me was sometimes to understand the supervisors’ comments and also the feedback program was not always well explained.
It’s true that we received a lot of feedback. For USOS it was also a challenge to organize such a big project between 5 different countries. By gathering all the feedback from the participants we were able to work on some organizational points, which gave space to some new ideas. In 2023 we are planning some changes that should remove doubts from participants.
Ananya
Personally, I would say that the cultural exchange was the most difficult – it is perhaps also what made it the most pleasant! It was also sometimes difficult for me to respect the word limit when I had so many ideas and information to share on the subject (the intersectionality of gender-based violence); but it was a lesson in brevity. Also, I had to use DeepL to understand Naomi’s letters (because they were in French), which resulted in occasional confusions that I had to clear up with her.
Did you learn anything about your Pen Friend? Or from your Pen Friend?
Ananya
Having the privilege of living in a stable society and region, I had never really thought about conflict-related gender-based violence. Hearing about it from Naomi in her letters made me realize the gravity and horror of the situation. That said, our correspondence ended on a note of hope, where we expressed a desire to improve the situation of our country and a certainty that the other would do the same. Also, corresponding and staying in touch with Naomi made me recognize that we young people have more in common than we realize, and more similarities in core values, choices and challenges than differences in nationality. , language or field of study.
Naomi
From Ananya I learned that she is interested in gender issues and is an activist in the fight against gender-based violence like me. She is also passionate about fashion and music, especially American rap which I love just as much. She takes French language classes and it always makes me happy to chat with her in French to help her improve her French vocabulary.
Kornelio
I learned from my Pen Friend that she was studying Psychology and had ambitions to open a kindergarten. She is an enthusiastic woman who takes life on the bright side. She believes that resilience is a value that should be cultivated by people today to make the world a better place.
What did you learn about yourself by participating in this project?
Naomi
I have learned that I have a capacity to tolerate other people’s views on a given issue that may be different from my own. I also learned that I could maintain a relationship at a distance with someone I had never met before.
Kornelio
I rediscovered my passion for writing. My exchanges with Karla on access to primary health care for all have been enriching. Those on mental health and resilience allowed me to discover that I have shown resilience at several points in my life, especially in my medical training course.
Ananya
Thanks to the Global Pen Friends, I learned that knowing the cultural and social factors of any region is essential to understanding it. For example, I now know that any researcher studying a country in conflict will have to take this into account; likewise, any researcher working on gender-based violence will also need to consider the differences in times of conflict and in times of peace. This can, of course, be extrapolated to any other multi-faceted topic.
Naomi and Ananya clearly became good friends. What about you Kornelio, are you still in contact with your Pen Friend ?
Kornelio
Karla and I have kept in touch and are becoming good friends.
Why would you recommend students to join Global Pen Friends?
Ananya
I think the Global Pen Friends is a great opportunity to interact with someone on the other side of the globe and discover your similarities and differences. It’s a way to learn more about your topic of interest as a comparison between two countries and to have your work featured on a blog. Finally, if you are lucky like me, you can also make a friend from a new country with whom you will stay in touch for months or years!
Kornelio
Global Pen Friends will certainly allow students to come out of their shell, to feel the reality of the lives of other students from other countries through exchanges and the framework that Global Pen Friends offers.
Naomi
Because it’s a great experience that allows us to broaden our social circle while at the same time enriching our knowledge on issues of capital importance in the current reality of the world.
Thank you so much Kornelio, Naomi and Ananya for your responses. I hope you will continue to write letters and inspire others to do so.