Dear brothers and sisters!
Following the successful completion and development of the DONE educational programme over the past 12 years, (2008 – present), we are happy to announce and open the registrations for the 13th year of the DONE programme, beginning in November 2020.

The educational training programme, DONE 020, is designed for Blessed Children over 18 years old, who are interested in participating in spiritual training and education. The programme is open to those who have just graduated from high school, as well as young adults who wish to take time for their spiritual education at a later stage in life.

The education will focus on strengthening your life of faith and becoming a more responsible adult; deepening your relationship with God and True Parents, developing self-awareness and character, and building lasting friendships with brothers and sisters. From our experience, DONE is especially suitable for those who want a trusting and supportive environment with a serious spiritual focus; rooted in the Principle, but with enough space and freedom to develop and shape your experience independently.

Overview

The DONE programme offers participants down-to-earth education and care in aspects of building their relationship to God and furthering their understanding of life. Through the varied schedule and educational opportunities, participants are given the chance to make their spiritual life and knowledge lasting and real. The education takes place through the content, mentoring, personal reflection and sharing throughout the programme; learning useful skills and wisdom for life from the educators, peers and by searching inwardly.

We believe that Blessed Children need to have a healthy understanding of who they are, seeing their potential and role in taking a lead to develop new environments wherever they go and whatever they do. In line with this, DONE aims to provide participants with the opportunity to strengthen their confidence and maturity so that they can believe in their capacity to take responsibility and the positive difference they can make in this world.

The organisers and educators have a substantial amount of experience and expertise in supporting Blessed Children of different backgrounds and situations. We are dedicated to assisting participants to find their place and peace within the Unificationist community and to be encouraged and supported on their path towards the Matching and Blessing.

DONE 020 is organised, guided and managed by the ESGD staff team.
Managing directors: Julius Alexy and Patrick Hanna
Educational support: Yebuny Hanna and Martin Alexy

Programme Structure and dates

The DONE programme is made up of 3 modules, and follows the schedule of the European academic year, this year beginning in November 2020 and ending in August 2021. On completion of each module, participants can then decide if they wish to sign up for the next one, with the aim of putting the training they received into practice and by giving something back in follow-up modules. The first 2 modules are the ‘core’ modules when they will be as a DONE group, and the final module involves joining other projects as DONE graduates.

Participants can therefore see this as a full-year programme with a valuable break in between each of the three modules. Indeed, the break periods have been very useful for past participants and formed an important part of their whole year programme experience. Past participants have used these break periods to travel independently, fulfilling personal desires and making the most of the precious opportunity between studies. Others have invested in developing connections with new DONE friends, and many have used that time to work or apply what they have learnt by investing into their families and communities back home.

Special note: We are constantly monitoring the situation of travel restrictions and safety regulations related to COVID-19. Based on the recent situation and forecast, we have had to make adjustments to the usual programme. We are, however, committed to running DONE 2020 and below are the programme details as they currently stand.

1) DONE First Module (The Core Training Programme)
Dates: starting on 7th November – ending either on 13th or 20th December 2020 (detailed arrival and departure information will be communicated with the acceptance letter).

The first module is the signature DONE educational programme; all participants considering DONE need to complete this core programme. It is a five to six week-long training programme, comprised of three educational periods, possibly one service project and possibly a mountain challenge. Due to the current circumstances, we have not concluded whether to include the fundraising training in the first module this year and we are prepared to run the programme without fundraising.

The module consists of:

• 25-40 days of educational workshops (Divine Principle studies, Intercultural Communication Training, Communication and Management Basics Training, Character and Personal Growth Education, Marriage and Blessing education, Relationships training)
• Possibly 4-5 days of service project
• Possibly 4-5 days of mountain challenge
• Possibly active fundraising training (6-7 days)

Location: The programme will begin and end in Slovakia; arrival to, and departure from, Bratislava or Vienna. DONE 020 will take place mainly in a seminar house in Dunajská Lužná town near Bratislava, Slovakia. The service project, mountain trip and fundraising training (if we include it in the schedule) will take place in different locations. If traveling abroad is possible and safe, we might go to Austria, Italy or Germany.

NB: If necessary, we will be flexible to modify and adjust the schedule based on the changing circumstances.

2) DONE Second Module (DONE Mission One)
Provisional dates: between February and May 2021.
There is a break of approximately 8-12 weeks between the first and the second module. The second module, known as ‘DONE Mission One,’ is based upon the successful completion of the DONE core programme (Module 1).

This second module is in the form of a follow up DONE MISSION ONE programme that offers the chance for participants to put the training into practice and grow further by taking more responsibility and leadership for themselves and others. The structure and the content are flexible and finalised, to some extent, by both staff and participants. This module provides the chance to build on what was learnt in the initial training period, as well as providing opportunities for new experiences e.g. international projects, service projects, leadership training, organising education for Blessed Children of high-school age.

We highly recommend that successful graduates of the first module of DONE consider the second module, DONE Mission 1, to go much further and deeper in their journey of growth. We fully understand, however, that for some participants a full-year commitment is not possible and that the initial 5-7 weeks of DONE (Module 1) is a great catalyst for moving on to personal plans for the remainder of the year, or before returning to work or education.

3) DONE Third Module (Summer Programmes)
Provisional dates: July/August 2021. There is a break of approximately 6-8 weeks between the second and the third module.

After the second module, we understand that many from outside of Europe will return home and have different summer plans alongside having time to prepare for university and investing in local activities. However, we would still encourage all successful graduates to consider the potential of the third module; for personal growth as well as a chance to offer something to others.

The third and final module again builds upon the Core-Training Programme and DONE Mission One. It is an opportunity to fully participate and help staff ESGD summer activities across Europe by taking an active role in educating and caring for younger Blessed Children. In addition, there is the opportunity to end the year by participating in the Original Divine Personality Plus Workshop (ODP+); connecting to others outside of the DONE programme and practicing what they have gained throughout the year.

Application and programme fee

Application deadline EXTENDED:  30th September 2020 
Programme fee:  1400 EUR
The fee must be fully paid at the start of the DONE 020 First Module regardless of whether the participant will continue on other Modules.

We are aware that this fee is higher than the usual fee of 1000 EUR. This is because of the financial implications that will be on the programme running costs this year, due to the likelihood that there will be no fundraising as part of the schedule. However, we are also aware of the financial impact that the recent pandemic has had on Blessed families and will do our best to minimize the participation costs.

In any case, we would encourage participants to look for sponsorship opportunities in their communities to support their participation fee.

Please see the attached DONE_020 application_form and send your completed form to done.europe@gmail.com. As a part of the application form, we want to ask all applicants to send their CV, a motivation letter explaining why you want to apply to DONE (approx. 222 words) and a self-reflection letter sharing your personal strengths and weaknesses. When you submit the application form, please also fill in a short online registration form here.

Please note that DONE 020 is limited to 28 participants. Complete your application by the 30th September 2020. If your application is successful, a confirmation letter of acceptance will be sent out, latest by 7th October 2020.

If you have any questions, please feel free to address them to done.europe@gmail.com or call Julius +421 905 430 939.

Julius and Patrick
(on behalf of the ESGD team)

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Graduate reflections: “What did you gain from DONE?”

“When I talk to other people, it’s impossible not to refer to time as “life before DONE” and “life after DONE”. I think this expresses very beautifully and accurately, how big of an impact the programme had on me. Taking time, while I was young, to practice being present internally, learn about God, life and relationships gave me a huge advantage. At a defining stage of life, DONE helped me get my priorities sorted out, and have a compass that guided me on the journey of growing up. And on top of that, becoming part of the DONE family created a love-net around me that has supported and taken care of me ever since.”
Svetlana, Hungary, DONE 016

“DONE helped me build a life of faith that is built on thinking for myself, taking responsibility for my growth and learning to make my own healthy life choices. Since DONE, my relationship with God and others is therefore more genuine. It also helped me develop a ‘normal everyday’ spirituality, that is sustainable. It made me realise that being a good person doesn’t necessarily mean doing crazy, epic things; even in our ordinary daily life, we have the potential to be good people, by choosing to care for others and invest in goodness.”
Alesia, Belgium, DONE 014

“DONE has honestly provided me with a new spiritual outlook on life. It has really helped me gain a bigger perspective on my life, and the friendships and memories that I’ve made are unforgettable. I now feel empowered and much more secure in my standards and the lifestyle that I want to lead.”
Abigail, UK, DONE 017

“DONE has given me the confidence to explore what it means to own and nurture a personal life of faith. The approach to spiritual education is direct, meaningful, and realistic. I feel lucky to have somehow stumbled upon the DONE program, and all it has to offer, as it genuinely helped sculpt the life I intend to set forth.”
Alex, USA, DONE 015, 016

“DONE was a wake-up call.” I wrote that in my DONE reflection back in 2016 and now, three years later, I still think that. Something I really like about the programme is that the change you experience and the progress you can make is not just a bubble that pops once you return home again. DONE provides you with a lot of tools to be a better version of yourself. And in my case, through applying those tools, it was possible for me to create a much better and more meaningful lifestyle, build a much stronger character, feel at peace, get closer to God and simply be happier.
I learned to be better at taking responsibility and to be strong enough to not always take the easy route but to push beyond my limits and my comfort zone. But DONE also helped me to make me think outside of myself. I learned how to be a better friend, sister and daughter and that I can develop a much greater care and love for others once I accept and love myself for who I am.
And I believe the friends I found there will last a lifetime.”
Graduate from Germany, DONE 016

“There are three things that have changed in my character, since doing DONE almost 3 years ago. I have become more proactive, more responsible for my own life and more accountable for others. DONE provided me with a feeling of responsibility towards situations in life, combined with understanding the reality of life and the effort it takes to create a meaningful life. Since DONE, I have therefore more naturally taken the necessary steps to get to where I want to be in life. Furthermore, DONE has provided me with like-minded people who, despite living in different countries, are a significant source of support and are still very much part of my everyday life.”
Katrine, Denmark, DONE 016

“On DONE, I learnt that I have to take initiative if I want to change something for the better. I learned that I do have the power to influence my surroundings as long as I am aware of the people around me and am ready to invest into them. DONE has enabled me to grow what family is to me, being about more than just my relatives, but all people I truly care about.”
Imano, Austria, DONE 012

“One of the attitudes I gained from DONE is that whoever I am now can infinitely improve; I can be more loving, sensitive, balanced, stronger, and more in tune with myself and others. I also learned that God created me to be on this boundless journey of growth, and that this is what makes life infinitely interesting and exciting. It also makes life reassuring because no matter where I am, or the mistakes I’ve made, I don’t have to stay there and feel stuck; things can always improve and get better as long as I put in the necessary effort.”
Cecilia, Australia, DONE 015, 016, 017, 018

“After I finished high school, I wasn’t really clear about how I want to go on or how to define my future. By doing DONE, my life of faith was really confronted. The most important lesson that I took from this time is this: in your faith you shouldn’t depend on a certain environment but be able to build your own spiritual environment wherever you are. Looking back, my struggles or challenges in life haven’t change at all, but what changed for sure is the way I look at and deal with them now.
Through DONE, I was able to reconsider how I can adopt a consistent and committed lifestyle for the values that I would like to treasure.”
Otniel, Germany, DONE 016

“My time on DONE was a formative stage of development in my spiritual life. Wanting to seek, learn and grow, I learnt how to cultivate a perspective and lifestyle that has given me clarity to this day on how to navigate the challenging and complex path of life we have ahead of us. I shared this process of growth and learning with fellow BCs who I have become very close with and I’m grateful to have been apart of it all.”
Graduate from New Zealand, DONE 015