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At the beginning of the 2023 year, we launched a new project with our Greek partner You In Europe called Get The Net, where we organised activities for young people on the opportunities offered by the European Union, on aspects of environmental protection, also several skills development activities in the field of self-development.

“The fourth trimester of the GET THE NET PROJECT is closing, and our networking project is coming to the end. It was a year full of activities and initiatives dedicated to young people, as “GET THE NET” brought together a consortium of partners with the same approach to the involvement of young people in Democratic participation, inspiring a mentality of active participation and aiming to create the citizens of tomorrow. 

We managed to give space to young people to make themselves heard, we informed them about possible opportunities for contribution, involvement and participation in democratic procedures, and gave them the tools in order to create the local societies they want to live in. 

 

The 11 members of our network from different European countries, gathered all their energy, imagination and ideas, and designed, organised and implemented a series of activities in the important social issues:

More specifically we organized:

36 Infodays on environment, the protection of the animals, cyber bullying, healthy lifestyle, 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) in waste, inclusion and multiculturalism

44 Empower Days, on the opportunities that young people have through the initiatives of the EU and the European Commission for issues such as the innovative entrepreneurship, learning mobility, voluntarism, creative arts, European projects etc., self-branding & CV as a way to promote themselves and last,  advocacy and ways to claim rights or solutions for issues affecting the local communities.

20 Youth working Groups, promoting the youth creativity especially of those youngsters that live in social margins

5 Training of Trainers, that offers the necessary tools to the youth workers, in order to act as coaches of young people when they want to take initiatives for their local societies.

3 Simulation Events, to promote the active participation of young people through the dialogue with local authorities in order to gain voice, role, position and experience in the frame of their local society.

16 Web-radio // Podcasts, where local youngsters had the chance to plan, create and implement their broadcasting shows, based on social issues related to active participation and citizenship.”

 

We are all excited for this collaboration, filled with more passion, initiatives and knowledge to move on.

Check out more here: https://www.getthenet.eu/

Partner Organisations

You in Europe

Menų agentūra Artscape

Xeracion

Casa da Juventude de Amarante

Сдружение “Вдъхновение” / Association “Inspiration”

PiGreco – SEMI di Intercultura APS

Institute of Youth Power Croatia

Stowarzyszenie Rozwoju i Integracji Młodzieży STRIM

CODEC

Youth Association from Transylvania

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On Friday, 15/12/2023, early in the morning, our volunteer team bravely set off where no direct bus or train line from Cristur dare go – to Miercurea Ciuc, aka Csíkszereda (aka Chick Wendesday? Tschickmittwoch? Mercredi-Chique? 🙂 ).

The reason for our trip was solving certain bureaucratic issues at the Harghita immigration office – thankfully, the immigration office personnel were very kind and friendly, so we managed to solve the bureaucracy without having it turn into bureaucrazy, and in the afternoon, our weekend adventure could begin.

After having lunch in a restaurant in the city – which was actually pretty good –  we went to the centre, where our accommodation was located. Our hosts were the NGO Care2Travel, which also hosts ESC volunteers. Having left our stuff and met our hosts, we went to have a coffee, after which we took a walk around the city centre, visited the Christmas market  (after all, you can`t spell adventure without advent), and tried the kürtőskalács (known in English as the chimney cake, and in Romanian as cozonac), a traditional Székely cake. As it was pretty big, we split it among us, and, I can say, really enjoyed it!

In  the evening, we joined some of the Ciuc volunteers in their activity – playing board games in a local café. We played with Dixit cards, which required of us to use our imagination – each round, one of the players had to choose a topic, and all of us had to choose a card we thought represented the topic best; at the end of each round, we voted for the cards we thought represented the topic the best.

Following the game night, we took a quick snack at a fast food nearby, and went to a bar, where we had a few drinks, played table football and even met some locals. After this bar closed, some of us went on to visit some nightclubs, where we had the opportunity to enjoy listening to some manele hits and mingle with the locals a bit more.

The long night was followed by a short, yet surprisingly effective sleep, and I went to visit the city museum, located in the Míko castle. The museum hosts several expositions. Some of them are temporary, such as the exposition on beer-brewing culture in Hungary and Transylvania, or the sabretache plate exposition, which was opened just on the day when I visited the museum. However, the most important exposition in the museum is probably the permanent one, which documents the history of the city, from prehistorical times all the way up to the fall of communism.

Saturday afternoon, some of us went to the cinema and watched Wonka, a film showing the origin story of the famous character Willy Wonka, originally from Roald Dahl`s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We found the film really enjoyable, especially considering that in Cristur, we do not have so many opportunities to go to the cinema and see movies in their full, cinemagical glory.

After this, we headed off to the Lajos Vákár sports hall, where some tried iceskating, while others, like me, felt too clumsy that day, and were satisfied with observing the iceskaters from a safe distance.

At the venue, we also befriended Dávid, a young local man working on the food and drinks stand at the hall entrance. He gave us some insight into the life of local youth, and, after finishing the work at the stand, joined us at dinner in a local restaurant. Following the dinner, he invited us to take an inside look into a recently opened club that he is running. We entered the club in an unusual and adventurous way, sneaking into it through a window. As a big party was held in the club the night before, a cleaning was still in progress when we arrived. We hung out with the club employees and our host a bit, and then went on to play some more table football.

Sunday was the final day of our Csíkszereda trip. We went to have a brunch in a restaurant together with the Csíkszereda volunteers, and, in the afternoon, took a bus to Odorhei, where we managed to find an affordable taxi that took us back home – and we arrived just in time for the Christmas market in Cristur, where we took a look at the products exhibited at stands, and, most importantly, enjoyed some more kürtőskalács. All in all, it was a pretty great weekend!

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Our young volunteers explored Álora to learn about gender equality through different artistic way, also to develop their knowledge about the situation of the domestic violence against women and men in Turkey, Portugal, Poland, Italy and Spain.


On 25th of November we started our travel with minibus, then changed to a plane and finished the long trip with a train from Málaga to Álora which is a small but charming town in Spain. It was around 8pm when we arrived, after that we got a tour around our accomodation and working place, Casa Imagina, then ate some typical Spanish dinner.

Next day we started our day with an energizer, then we got a clock to write others’ names to each hour as “dates” to get to know each other better and to break the ice between the participants. After the teambuilding activities, we talked about our fears, expectations and our contribution connected to the youth exchange with which we could benefit the work of the team. We also agreed on the rules of the YE.
The coordinators presented to us the schedule of the week, then we were introduced to the workshops we will be attending and the cleaning schedule since everyday we cleaned Casa Imagina showing respect for the cleaned place they provided us, also it was a good bonding with the other teams and with eachother too.
After this, we went for lunch, we ate a really good local soup, local meatballs with tomato sauce and a local sweet for desert.
In the afternoon we played cohasion games to strengthen our trust towards each other, then in the evening we tried out each cultures gastronomy’s specialities during the Intercultural Snack Night. 


On the second day we dived into the topic of the exchange and started the workshops by a discussion about controversial themes and we had to decide that we agree with or not, or maybe we are neutral with some stereotypical statements regarding gender-based activities and attitudes.
After we talked about other crucial aspects like sex, gender and gender confusion, we worked in groups to make freezed scenes about different moments of the daily life to get into and practice our acting skills.
In the afternoon we dyed T-shirts in purple which symbolize gender equality.
In the evening we had a cultural night for Romania and Poland, where we learned and showed traditional folk dances. I can say that I am proud of our team since we were in the first raw during each dances through the week.


In the next morning we started the activities with a discussion about all the official types of violence: verbal, physical, psychological, socio-economic, and sexual violences.
After identifying these, we got separated to five teams with all members from different countries. Our goal was to present the five types of violence in short theater scenes. After presenting them, we split up again to five teams to create banners on against violence, which we brought later on to Álora.
As a closing activity for the day, we learned Italian gestures, Portuguese stereotypes and some cool dances from both countries.


Next day, after a rough start in the morning, since we had some problems with our stomach which can happen with anyone when they are traveling to a different country with different types of food, we went to Álora by bus. In the city center we listened to the mayor’s speech about violence against women within the framework of a bigger ceremony. After the speech and celebration, we played the Gymkhana game, where we explored the city of Álora in national groups, so our youngsters had to work together to solve the tour game by visiting the attractions of the city.


On the fifth day we had free time to look around, therefore we decided to visit Málaga and to spend the day there. When we arrived in Málaga center by train, we explored the beautiful city center, we saw Soho street which is an artstreet full of wall paintings drawn on different styles, and naturally the spectacular Christmas decorations all around the city center. We also bought a lot of souvenirs decorated with the main attractions of Malaga, e.g. bulls, cactus, dancing figures and so on. For a lunch we went to an Italian restaurant, where we ate pasta, pizza and lasagna and have been loyal to our motto: “Sharing is caring”.
After that, we visited the Plaza Málaga, a game store, then climbed up to the Gibralfaro where we just caught the wonderful view of the sunset over the city and the harbour.
In the evening we also tried Japanese cuisine which we found interesting and unusual but also delicious.


On the next day we went back to the topic of the exchange. The first workshop was about being in national teams and making a presentation about violence against woman in our country. After this we had a coffee break and for the next session we organized different scenes about violence against woman which depicted kidnapping, murder, cheating and toxic relationship within family. After lunch we relaxed a bit, had a siesta as almost local people, also socialized with the members of other teams. After our free time we worked more on our scenes and dressed up for the main rehearsal. Following the coffee break we did our theater plays and we watched each other’s as well. 
After the pizza-dinner the Turkish and Spanish team presented their own cultur where we learned how to dance a typical Turkish wedding dance and an easier Spanish dance. In the evening we said farewell to our Polish team, because next morning they were going back home.


The last day was about evaluation of the week, cleaning up and writing our YouthPasses. Our exchange in Álora, Spain was an amazing experience for all of us, we had the chance to learn a lot about the topic of gender equality in general, but also we learned a lot about other countries’ situations, and we cannot forget how much fun we had during the theater exercises, so we want to send our love and appreciation to IMAGINA for hosting this Y.E!

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Gathering her courage, our newest member Gabriella set off alone to the city of ancient Greek architecture to discover her inner leader, her strengths and weaknesses, and to gather new ways to improve them, during a training course organized by our partner You In Europe.

“During the trip I already had a chance meeting with another participant, thanks to a unique pattern of trousers, because already at the Bucharest airport I noticed the dress style of the Bulgarian participant from Spain, which accompanied me at various points of the journey, until I was certain at a bus stop in Athens , that we are probably going to the same place, and so I started a conversation.

This is how many of my friendships, perhaps for life, began.

On the first evening, almost everyone had already arrived for dinner, after which a small conversation developed between the participants. My Szekler, i.e. Romanian Hungarian identity was not at all strange or complicated, as a truly international group had gathered, officially representing 12 countries, but more than that in terms of ethnicity. There was a Spanish-speaking participant representing France, Croatian and Argentinean members in the color of Austria, and I could even mention again my friend who was born in Bulgaria but now works in Spain. I think the rich background has created a strong bond between everyone from the very first moment.

The first official day of the training was of course focused on getting to know each other, noting names and people, discussing the program’s rules and participants’ fears, requests and consent, which was followed by the introduction of YouthPass through non-formal activities.

As the second day dawned, we threw ourselves into the mapping of leadership skills and types with full force. During the team tasks, after presenting the different styles in a short play, we analyzed the behavior of the protagonists of a story from the perspective of the leader’s five key competencies, which led us to the conclusion that we can either be born leaders or just beginners, nobody is perfect, and everyone can improve.

The third day showed a very colorful palette with activities such as shooting a commercial, learning about the steps of team forming outdoors, and after lunch, learning about the importance of communication skills and techniques. During one of the exercises, although humorous, the cultural diversity of the team members caused a lot of complications, as some of them could only speak to each other in their mother tongue, which made it a bit difficult to work together, but in the end, everyone managed to complete the task successfully.

On the fourth day of the training, we explored the more serious topics of SWOT and PEST(EL) analyses, also examined methods for managing change and conflict in teams. A very interesting exercise for me was to help us understand the power of questions, where after the introduction of closed, open and perspective-changing questions, we had to reveal the identity of a mysterious figure by asking carefully thought-out questions.

Arriving at the last day, we received a real “leader” guest, who as the inventor of the Save the Hood environmental protection initiative presented their activities on the coasts of Greece, also revealed to us the secret of the well-oiled system of the work process with thousands of volunteers.

To conclude our activities, emotions came to the fore as everyone shared their thoughts and feelings about the week during the evaluation. For me personally, it was a great opportunity to discover the world and myself again on my own, which, although it may have been a series of obstacles, I feel I managed to overcome. Apart from the friendships I made with the participants, I came away from the training with a wealth of experience and knowledge that I will certainly use in the future in my work at ATA.”

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The VET-Pact project we are coordinating is progressing well, with lots of new and exciting activities happening currently. As a reminder, The “Enhancing VET practices and capacities through Transformative Learning (VET Pact)” project aims to enhance the quality, perception, and capacity of VET in three European countries (Romania, Hungary, Spain) and three Latin American partner countries (Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador). The project adopts a transformative learning approach and aims to develop a curriculum for 1,800 VET students and a training module for 180 VET teachers to become trainers. It also integrates digital and green practices, focusing on environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

The most important thing we were engaged with in the past weeks was putting together the curriculum for students that will at first stage be trained to the teachers from the six countries in the training done in El Salvador and after that these teachers will adapt it and train it to their students, testing and upgrading it. The content of the training uses transformative learning approaches and aims to give the students crucial life skills for their careers and future opportunities that are usually not taught in regular VET training.

Beside this, the research report that the curriculum is based on is finalized and translated from English into Hungarian, Romanian and Spanish and in the next days it will  also be designed, ready to be published, disseminated and used not by the partners, but by anyone wishing to understand the the current situation of VET in the 6 countries and the needs of VET students. 

Furthermore, we are all ready, with tickets bought, bookings done for the training in El Salvador that will start on the 20th of November. An NGO representative and four VET teachers will be traveling to San Salvador from each country in order to attend the training based on the above mentioned curriculum.

Last but not least, the VET Pact website is already up and running at https://vet-pact.eu/. From now on, the website is the main place where you can read all the aspects and updates of the project.  We will be back with new updates soon.

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Between 21-28 October we organized our last youth exchange this year, which covered the topic of addictions, including 5 behavioral addictions. The Youth Exchange attracted 42 participants from 6 countries, namely Spain, Latvia, Turkey, Slovakia, Croatia and Romania.

On the first day of the programme, participants got to know each other and the Erasmus+ programme type. They talked about their hopes, fears and contributions. The participants also prepared an agreement, a set of rules for the remaining days of the program. In the afternoon, they completed a Mission Impossible task that allowed them to get to know each other and the city a little better.

On the second day, they talked about addictions in general, compiled definitions of addictions in teams, and then watched an exciting TED video by Gábor Máté, related to the topic. The analysis of the video was followed by presentations by the representatives of participating countries, in which they presented national statistics and facts regarding addictions. In the afternoon, digital and work addiction were discussed, which were processed by the participants by creating a digital brochure.

On the third day, after the completion of the brochures, a guest speaker visited the team, namely Melinda Orbán, family therapist, who talked about addictions in an interactive workshop, and participants could also fill in a codependency test. In the afternoon, creative work took place again, as addictions related to eating habits and shopping were discussed by creating vision board.

On the fourth day, after finishing the posters, the team explored the region during an organized excursion. They visited Szejkefürdő, as well as the Salt Region, Praid and Korond. In these regions they could admire the famous and unique Szekler gates, the unique natural wonders of the Salt Gorge, and the special painted ceramic vessels of Korond.

The fifth day was full of work again. In the morning, the teams wrote slam poetry about travel addiction, and then received more information about the forms, use and history of paper theatre. Since the final product of the youth exchange was a paper theatre, the participants were again divided into teams and spent the afternoon planning and writing the story.

On the sixth day, after finalizing the story, they started drawing scenes, coloring, and at the end of the day they practiced for the high school presentation.

On the penultimate day of the program, in the morning, the teams visited the students of the Berde Mózes Unitarian High School and introduced them to 5 addiction paper theater stories as well as slam poetry. In the afternoon, school activity was evaluated.

On the last day, the Youthpass certificate, its significance and importance and the 8 key competences related to it were given a major role. After this future projects were discussed, and we closed the event with the Youthpass ceremony.

The program offered an opportunity to get to know different cultures and explore their traditional dances and tastes. The Youth Exchange took place within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme.

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Our last Youth Exchange of the year, which will take place between 21-28th of October and will be around addictions, will start soon. The program attracts participants from 6 countries: Turkey, Latvia, Spain, Croatia, Slovakia and, of course, Romania.

The Youth Exchange will actually be a continuation of our previous programme, this time it will not be about addictions related to different substances,  but behavioural addictions will play an important role. Over the 8 days, digital addiction, addictions related to travel, shopping, work and eating habits will also be discussed. We will approach the topic in completely non-formal ways, digital catalogues, posters, slam poetry, as well as paper theatre will be produced in order to better process individual dependencies, understand them and look for possible ways out.

Of course, the program will also provide space for getting to know certain cultures, tasting traditional delicacies and learning dances. The project and the 8-day exchange are implemented within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme.

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In September, our Youth Power in Motion project, supported by the European Youth Foundation, was launched, the main goal of which is to create a well-functioning, active city student council by the end of the project.

Currently, the team is being selected from the 3 middle schools, to whom we will provide practical training during the project. Our goal is to involve 30 young people from our town and  teach them the basics of lobbying and decision-making processes, also participants can expand their knowledge in the fields of self-knowledge, communication, negotiation techniques and research methodology. In the second phase of the project, practical activities will take place, followed by a European Parliament simulation.

News about trainings and events will be posted on our social media pages. If you’d like to join the team, or if you just want to read about activities, you can do so on Facebook or Instagram.

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The summer is over, the heat is slowly fading away and it’s time to say goodbye to our 12 foreign volunteers who came for this season. Working with you guys was a great experience, and we are proud of you, as each and every one of you improved, acquired new skills and became more well-rounded people. However, you didn’t just make such a positive, deep impression on us. We are sure that more than 150 children, whose summer you made more colorful will remember you with fondness. Although, due to the language barrier, you didn’t always understand how interested the little ones were in you, the Hungarian speakers were asked countless times when you would come again, if they would see you in the future.



Marina was the first who packed her suitcase and memories and left our small town. She was soon followed by Inigo, then the French team, and finally everyone else… It’s strange to think how much people can change in such a short amount of time, how much experience they can gain. Sóskút, Betfalva, Kőrispatak, Szentábrahám, Székelyvarság, the one-week trip between the camps… it’s as if we had just planned what you would do here today. 



At the same time, not only from our part, but also on behalf of the small Hungarian community, we would like to thank you for your work, the fact that you took on the world and embarked on this adventure in your free time. You brought freshness here, and thanks to you, the children here could taste Western cultures, admire your dances, and taste your national dishes. These experiences broadened their horizons, tore them out of their usual world. 



We would like you to know that although this program has ended, we are always preparing new ones, and we look forward to welcoming you back for them. In the meantime, we hope that you will remain with positive opinions about us and the community here, all the memories you made in Transylvania.