Free Hugs for Ukraine

On Saturday, 24th of January, AEGEE-Dresden members gathered in Pragerstr. to offer free hugs to everyone that passed by. But why did we do that and how did it turn out? Let’s find out!

In AEGEE-Dresden, we are very concerned about different issues in Europe, but one that really touches us is the current war in Ukraine. We condemn any kind of violence, and believe that all the problems can be solved through discussion and understanding.
As we have many friends from Ukrainian antennae, and specially from AEGEE-Kyïv (we will have an exchange with them soon, and we might become twin antennae!), we decided to start an action to raise awareness about the topic, since a lot of people don’t know much about what’s going on, with all the misleading media and complicated situation. Everybody likes hugs, and nobody likes war, so this was the best combination to bring up a sad topic but leave them with a nice smile on after the conversation.

We started at 11 am, and press was already there waiting for us. A journalist from Berlin came   without us knowing anything   to Dresden only to film our street action. Teachers had told about the street action to their students in class, and some came just because of that. We couldn’t believe all the reach of our event!
Together, we gave 438 hugs, raised awareness about the topic, and brought many smiles with it. It was a very fun morning, and we have many stories to tell, but if you want to know, come and meet us during our weekly meetings! Every Wednesday starting at 20h, the place is always written on our Facebook page.

If you want to see the rest of the pictures, you can see them here