On September 28 through October 4, 15 winners of 2003-2004 YouthActionet awards attended the Third Annual YouthActionNet Workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Below read the reflections of Lilit Simonyan, a YouthActionNet winner from Armenia who works to engage young people in her community as active citizens. For further information, visit: www.youthactionnet.org.
   The excitement continued to build in the months leading up to the YouthActionNet workshop in Argentina. This was going to be my longest trip ever and my first trip outside of Europe. When my plane finally landed in Buenos Aires, I couldn't believe it. Did I have expectations? A lot - from the organizers, participants, from the country, and people living in this wonderful city.
   I was impatient to meet my peers from all over the world whom it seemed I already knew. We were able to recognize everyone, having read stories about each other. Our first "official" gathering was held late in the evening, in a rooftop meeting room where even the stars of the Argentinean sky were present. It wasn't like a real meeting, but an intimate chat among close friends. Sincere, emotional words about what motivates us came from the heart of each of us. Some even struggled to hold back tears.
    The days that followed were no less intense. The workshops were not standard ones. We learned to develop our communication skills, both practically and theoretically. We practiced interview skills in front of a video camera and worked to overcome the anxiety people generally have. The workshops gave us so much useful information which surely will help all of us to develop our fundraising and communication capacities.
    The participants, from various countries and diverse backgrounds, made the meeting special in every way. Even though we have different styles of working and dealing with various issues in our communities, we have a very important similarity: we are all united by a certain system of values when it comes to doing our best for the welfare of our communities, countries, and the world at large.
    Every participant, everyone I met left a trace in my heart - Dave from the Czech Republic with his seriousness, Ana from Serbia who seems like sister to me, Raj from Malaysia with his enthusiasm, David from Philippines with his analytical skills, Yevgen from the Ukraine with his balanced manner, Tang from China with his calmness, Jyoti from India with her shyness, Maria from Argentina with her energy… Every participant was unique in their personality, in their work, and in their hearts!
    I became personally more enriched. I realized how much sincerity touches people. Sometimes we, human beings - especially strong ones - try to hide the gentleness of our souls, but our meeting in Buenos Aires made me see things from a new perspective. I learned how a sincere expression of true feeling or emotion can make a big difference.
    In Armenian we have a saying, "The person is wealthy who has many true friends." So I became much richer than I was, thanks to everyone!
    The beautiful city with nice spring blossoms and flowers (it was autumn in my country already!), created a nice atmosphere for us. Wandering in Buenos Aires, admiring tango dancing, learning Cha-cha-cha and also a little Spanish, trying Argentinean cuisine, meeting Armenians from the Diaspora, and enjoying a 24-hour city - created many happy moments and memories. Now, I am back home in my usual circle, feeling more enthusiasm and power, trying to keep the strong ties created with my new family of YouthActionNet Ambassadors, each of us connected in seeking to create change in our world.