Webinar for Norec Participants on Exchange

Join us for a special training session where you’ll reunite with your peers from the preparatory trainings held in Kampala, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Kathmandu, and Bogota during January and February 2025.

While most Norec participants have a happy, meaningful, and rewarding time abroad, some days can be more challenging than others. Factors such as culture shock, loneliness, missing loved ones at home, and adapting to a new working and social environment can induce feelings of self-doubt and vulnerability. These challenges are part and parcel of international volunteering, but there are ways to prepare and remain resilient in such situations by increasing our awareness of common challenges and maintaining sound mental hygiene.

This two-part workshop is designed to teach you how to be more resilient in handling challenging times and finding solutions to these issues together with others.

Part One: Webinar Dr. Benjamin Weinstein, a licensed clinical psychologist based in Bangkok, Thailand, will share insights on stressors and challenges and how to handle them. Dr. Weinstein has been serving expatriate and local communities across Southeast Asia since 2003. He specializes in adult psychotherapy, employing an experiential-behavioral approach that integrates mindfulness and self-compassion techniques. His areas of expertise include trauma, emotional regulation, intercultural adjustment, and resilience.

Part Two: Interactive Seminar The second part of the workshop takes the form of an interactive seminar facilitated by Patience Sharukai, a senior training advisor originally from Zimbabwe. Over the past six years, Patience has worked with Norec’s trainings and has met thousands of participants before and after exchange. She will ensure you are grouped with peers from your preparatory training. Together, you will engage in exercises, share, and discuss your own experiences and ways of dealing with such challenges.

How to sign up? You will be invited by email – if you where on one of our preparatory trainings i 2025. If you did not, let us know via training@norec.no and we will send you the link to sign up.

When and where? The webinar will take place Monday 5th of May 2025 from 2 pm to 4 pm (CEST – Central European Time). When you sign up you will get the link to join the meeting. The meeting will be conducted via Zoom. Please sign in a few minutes early to make sure you eliminate technical hick-ups.

Language? The Webinar will be held in english