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From 18 to 20 July 2022 we hosted the “Emotional Management: tool to fight social media dependency” Strategic Partnership’s final transnational meeting of the project mentioned. This project involves several school professionals, town halls and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from three countries (Spain, Portugal and Romania) and aims to improve the capacity of the entire school community to manage emotional issues and minimize the harmful effects of social network dependency. The project managers and connected staff of all nine partners attended the project. keep reading

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Recently we finished the Youth Exchange on Communication and English which was directed towards youth aged 14-18 and was about communication and practicing English. 4️6️ youth from Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Spain and Turkey took part, who were welcomed in Cristuru Secuiesc thanks to the financial support of the Erasmus+ Program. The first day was about getting to know each other, the program, and the community. To end the introductions, we finished the day with an intercultural snack night.

The second day was about understanding the topic of communication. In the morning we went to the park of the Gyárfás estate and created 6 posters with 6 burning questions: “What types of communications are there?”, “Where do we communicate the most?“, “What are the barriers to effective communication?”, “What are the characteristics of verbal communication?”, “What are the characteristics non-verbal communication?” and “What are the consequences of lack of communication?” and then through the World Café method we checked all of them out and added other ideas. Coming back to the office we watched a short video about why face to face communications breaks down and analysed it in national groups and then all together trying to find examples in our real life. The afternoon we found out what type of social media platforms are used nowadays for messaging (Whatsapp), checking photos videos (Instagram, Youtube), following what people do (TikTok). After that, 6 teams chose a platform and created a post on them about their experience in the youth exchange so far.

On the third day we went deeper into types of communication. In the morning we held a debate about the positives and negatives of online communication while in the afternoon we looked at all the types of communication there are and asked pairs of youth to create combinations of face-to-face/digital, constructive/destructive and formal/informal messages on the same topic. After dinner it was time for learning about our cultures through folk dances.

On the fourth day we did some discussions on face-to-face communication. We debated questions such as why is face-to-face communication better? How could it be bad? We also realized how easy it is to change the meaning of our words or sentences, just by switching to another tone. To end the morning, we tried to discover how everyone makes toast, what steps they follow and how they can break these steps apart individually and in groups. In the afternoon the team had a cultural visit to Sighisoara, the Medieval fortress.

The fifth day was all about talking. After a little bit of warm-up, we organized ourselves into pairs so we could discover our inner artists. Sitting back-to-back first with words, afterward by finger drawing on each-others back had to explain different kinds of shapes and pictures, and the other one had to draw it down on a piece of paper. Next, we formed teams from the pairs, and it was time for the situational game. Each team received a scenario that they had to perform in front of the others, and at the end, we could have a discussion related to the topic. We ended the day with open space discussions in English on 9 topics that were suggested by the participants. We organized ourselves into smaller groups and the only task was to communicate.

On the sixth day, we tested out our engineering skills. The first task was to build a spaghetti tower with a marshmallow on top. Some successfully completed the task; others would have preferred to cook the dried pasta. A very brain-training task was up next. We had to decide what was a feeling and what was an emotion. The answer is surprising. But we followed up the tough debate situation with a bit of target shooting. Each participant had to throw a dart at a target, which landed on a feeling, which had to be portrayed in a photo. There were some interesting approaches, but everyone did a great job. We ended the day with speaking exercises in English and discussed a variety of topics.

Day seven started in the Gyárfás garden with a little forum theatre. Every team was given a communication situation which they had to perform in front of the whole team. The others had to find solutions to the problems in the situation. We finished the morning session with a drug prevention workshop, where we had guests from the ministry and police force. The participants could get involved in an interactive discussion with the specialists. After lunch, the focus was on practicing English communication with the usual Open Space activity.

On the last day, we were finishing up our activities. First, we familiarized ourselves with the idea of “YouthPass”. What is it? How does it work? Why is it important? Afterward, the participants had the chance to reflect on their own development during the program. After lunch, we had a chance to hear what kind of programs our participants would be interested in the future. We closed the day and the youth exchange, with a bit of evaluation, handing out the certificates and saying our goodbyes. 

It was an experience full of learning and new friendships made. Stay tuned for the next one as it is coming soon.

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What are we organizing a few days from now? What is communication? What does communication mean to you? How do you communicate?

Whatever answer you may have found, imagine a world without communication, and you will get a fair picture of the essence of communication.

In a few days, we are organizing a youth exchange for the purpose of practicing communication and English for young people aged 14-18. In our youth exchange organized in Cristuru Secuiesc, 46 young individuals will participate from Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Turkey.

Our goal is to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of how to communicate in various situations, how to better understand ourselves and the world around us through verbal and non-verbal cues. How we change, how we evolve, and how our vocabulary expands, how our language usage changes, or how we communicate in different life situations.

The acquisition of effective communication skills is extremely important in everyday life, in business, in school, at the university, and essentially anywhere social interactions take place. During the youth exchange, our aim will be to enhance the communication skills of young people and help them better understand themselves and each other because an individual’s success in life is closely tied to the acquisition of effective communication skills. According to some studies, 85% of success is attributed to communication skills, and 15% to the acquisition of job-related skills. Effective communication skills facilitate individuals’ behavior and guide them towards their desired goals.

We pay attention to aligning and approaching perspectives, concepts, and ideas, as well as developing smooth communication within a team through non-formal activities.

Proper communication skills aid in making sound decisions, rendering judgment without fanaticism or bias. We strive to equip participants with essential skills, such as listening to the other party in a credible and unbiased manner.

During the youth exchange, participants can acquire these skills through non-formal learning methods. Learning from each other, followed by joint discussions and debates, characterize the work processes. Participants in the exchange program can not only enhance their communication skills but also practice the English language and get acquainted with new cultures and completely new languages, as well as non-verbal signals.

The youth exchange is financed by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.

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Between the 18th and 25th of May, we organized our latest Youth Exchange, the Youth Exchange on Disabilities, which could not have been possible without the help of the Erasmus+ program. The first day was all about getting to know each other, the town, and the Erasmus+ program. Of course, our participants were from all around the world, to be more exact, Turkey, Greece, Poland, Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.  

On the second day, it was time to learn. We organized ourselves into smaller groups, and we began the Word Café. During this activity, our participants had a chance to share their knowledge and experiences related to the topic. After our discussion and the Word Café, we had a guest, Filipov-Soó Zsuzsa, from the Három Galamb association, who shared her experiences about taking care and working with disabled people, and what should we take into consideration when organizing activities for them.  

Throughout the following days, our participants had a chance to learn a lot about deaf culture. Our guests Remus Ilisie, who is a deaf artist from Oradea, and Lavinia Chițu, who is a hearing child of deaf adults (CODA), talked a lot about events organized for deaf people, usually organized by themselves. Also, they were kind enough to teach us some basic sign language, such as the ABC and common phrases.  

The weekend we tried to make sure the program was light but still taught a lot to the participants. We watched the movie CODA, which focuses on the child of deaf parents, and her story of how she managed to make her dreams come true. The movie won multiple awards including Academic Awards’ Best Picture and Script. It was remarkably interesting, especially, since our guest Lavinia Chițu, who is also a CODA herself, has a terribly similar story growing up. Afterward, Remus Ilișie continued with teaching the basics of sign language and talked a bit more about his culture. On Sunday, the participants discovered a bit more about our culture, since they had a chance to visit the Bethlen castle at Criș and the medieval fortress of Sighișoara. 

On Monday, we tried our best to play something resembling football, Goggle Football. Our participants experienced how it is when their vision is limited. They realized quite quickly, how hard is it to even walk in a straight line, let alone do anything else. After the amazing football match we had, we started working on our program ideas for special needs people, since we had the opportunity to visit the Három Galamb association for a day and work with the young adults with special needs there.  

The programs that were planned by the participants soon became reality. We started with dancing, singing, and playing child games together with our special guests. Afterward, we organized ourselves into smaller groups and set up our stations to start the activities. Outside, there was a puppet-show and gardening. Inside we had drawing, painting, gluing, and macaroni art. And of course, such a special day deserves a special meal. We made a big batch of goulash, which was delicious. 

On the last day of the youth exchange, we still managed to learn a bit about the local community and its history in the Molnár István Museum. Taking advantage of the clear weather, we sat down on the green grass and talked about the Youthpass and what our participants learned during their stay in our town. The rest of the day focused on wrapping up everything, discussing what happened during the program, what we discussed, and what the participants will take home with them.  

Overall, this was a successful and useful youth exchange. During the program, our participants had a chance to catch a glimpse of a culture that they were not familiar with, the deaf culture. They had a chance to interact and work with disabled people and learn about a topic with such complexity and so many layers. They had a chance to explore and experience things that are hard to come by every day. Because of this, I am convinced there is no individual among our participants who have not learned something during our youth exchange related to disabilities.  

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Our organization hosted the 2nd seminar of „Digitool – Distance Guidance and Innovation” project bewteen 07.05.2022 – 10.05.2022. During the seminar we focused on improving different digital tools. The first day was about getting to know each other, then we started to create improvement plans, interactive videos in order to make our tools more attractive and user friendly.

Besides of the hard work, we had the possibility to learn more about the countries and cultures who were present, on day 2 we had an intercultural night. At the same time, participants of the seminar visited the surrounding of our small town, including the famous Sighisoara.

As a conclusion, we could say that our seminar reached its goals, however the work won’t stops here. We are already preparing ourselves and our tools for the next seminar.

The project is funded by Erasmus+, project partners: Solidarity Tracks/ Monopatia Allileggiis (Greece), Associazione Costiera Amalfitana Riserva Biosfera (Italy), Asociatia de Tineri din Ardeal (Romania), project promoter: D’Antilles & D’ailleurs (Martinique, France)

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Ah, there is nothing like the excitement prior to a new project, especially if it’s the first project of our 7-year strategy. After months of planning and organization, there were participants from Italy, Hungary, Spain, Slovakia, France, Croatia, Turkey, and Portugal. But why were they here, in our lovely little town? They participated in our Seminar on Addiction, between 28th of April and 3rd of May.
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At the end of April, two of our team members packed their suitcases and traveled to Portugal, the home of cheap and delicious coffee. We visited a colorful, quiet little town, Águeda, in order to participate in a training course related to non-formal education, what it is, how it works, its benefits, and its downsides.

We started the week with some getting-to-know each other programs since we were many from many different places. We only had a short week to learn a lot of difficult names, but I can confidently say (or at least I hope I can), that we somehow managed. After our first dinner together, it was time to work and learn. The first program of the training was a simulation exercise. I won’t spoil anything for anybody, but I honestly hope everybody has a chance to “play this game” in their life. BUT, I will let you in on a little secret, I learned a lot about our society, values, and even myself. (Apparently, I don’t like to ask for help, unless it’s absolutely necessary.) We closed the program with an evaluation and closed the day with an international snack night.

New day, new experiences, new competencies that could be learned. An interesting and complex trainer’s perk is that he can pull a rabbit (or in our case a balloon dog) out of his hat. After our discussion on how to build and organize a non-formal workshop, then the smaller teams could start to work on their mini-workshops. Each team was given a topic (the EU’s Youth Goals, one/ team. If you are interested, HERE is a bit more information.), that they had to prepare for the others. It’s true, that we didn’t have a whole lot of time to prepare, but teamwork made it work.

When we were ready the next day a whole rollercoaster awaited us. There were good parts, emotionally challenging, morally “problematic” and calming parts. It was a day with mixed feelings and mixed emotions, but it was evident that we learned a lot.

However, every good thing comes to an end. It’s a bittersweet thing to say goodbye to all the new friendships we just built. We learned a lot, but we left with even more questions. This is the never-ending circle of education, the more you know, the more you want to know.

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Our organization, the Youth Association from Transylvania, visited the quiet, lovely little Álora, Spain. We were welcomed by the team of Imagina, our Spanish partner in the project. The purpose of the trip was to attend the third Transnational Meeting of the project named “STEP 1 – the right step to be a volunteer”, funded by the National Agency Erasmus+ Youth in Action, and promoted by Psientífica, from Águeda, Portugal. While there was some time to enjoy the beautiful natural landscape of the area and walk the Caminito del Rey, the main focus was on the business side of the job. We worked on and discussed the following steps of the project, especially the mobility, which will take place in Amarante between 18 and 24 of September 2022, and be hosted by our partner, Casa da Juventude de Amarante. The meeting team was completed by our partners from Poland, Just do it , and Greece, You in Europe. All-in-all, we made great progress, and we are ready to take the next step in the project.

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Between 6 and 13 of November, we and Liceul Teoretic “Órban Balàzs”, hosted the job-shadowing that took place in Cristuru Secuiesc, Romania as part of the project called “Emotional Management: Tool to Fight Social Media Dependency”, which is a strategic partnership funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Commission. Teachers and youth workers from Portugal and Spain participated in the job-shadowing. keep reading