IOYR - At my first IYC

International Organisation of Youth with Rheumatism

At my first IYC

by Halla Hrund Hilmarsdóttir, Iceland

That was my first IYC and I was very nervous before I came there. I didn't know what I was getting in to. But that was not necessary.

Everybody was so friendly from the first moment and I felt right away that something that was in the air, but I didn’t know at first what it was. I soon found out that it was this great power that was in each and every one of us. This great power was dominating the whole time there.

Meeting people with the same and similar illness as I have was very good for me. I didn't have any experience of other people with the same illness before I came there. Because I live in Iceland and we are not that many in my organisation and we don't have anything special for young people yet. But at IYC we, the participants, had interesting discussions and chats about our lives and I was glad that we all could share so much because that was very new for me. We learned from each other, we shared information and experiences. The atmosphere was powerful, but also very friendly and relaxing.

We did not only have to listen to presentations and lectures at this congress. We had a lot of group work and we always discussed it afterwards. That was really good because then you took more part in all of this, you were not just a listener.

It was not all hard work. There were also a lot of activities for us. Water-skiing, horseback riding, partying, making new friends and just enjoying all that Haraldvangen had to offer. The environment was very special, you woke up every morning hearing wonderful music that was only played for you to wake up in the best possible way. I can not think of a better way to wake up.

It was interesting to meet more then 70 people from 22 countries, we came from different cultures and had a lot to share. Even though we were all different before we came to Haraldvangen we all had one thing in common, rheumatism. But in Haraldvangen we had more in common. We broke a lot of barriers together and that made us closer to each other.

Everybody could be themselves and relax. I got so many friends there and they are all very special to me. I will never forget them and this congress. It owns a big part of my heart now. Participating at the International Youth Congress is one of the best experiences in my life and I hope that I can be a part of the next one.

More articles about the IYC 2001: Articles from Newsletter no. 7 - August 2001