Programme & action: ERASMUS+, Key Action 1: training course
Venue: Yerevan, Armenia
Dates: 11-19 December 2015
Participants: Ondřej Přikryl, Alexandra Šebestová
Please read the info-pack and daily activities schedule.
Participating countries: Czech Republic, Malta, Hungary, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Belarus, Portugal, The Netherlands and Croatia
Hosting organisation: Youth Cooperation Center of Dilijan NGO
Project report:
Barev! Welcome to Armenia – a Caucasian country with difficult history and hospitable people!
Me and my colleague Alexandra were given a chance to participate in a training course called See a Game in Yerevan, Armenia between 11.12-19.12.2015. And we really enjoyed this opportunity! Not only because of the venue which was truly amazing (how often do you go to Caucasus?) but also because of other participants of the TC. We have met extremely various mix of young and old and less or more experienced youth leaders and workers from countries like Georgia, Moldova, Belarus, Malta, Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal and of course from the hosting country – Armenia.
Many thanks go to the group of organizers – Giorgi, Artur, Davit and Mack. These guys prepared a project which was – I dare to say – far above average quality of European projects. The quality of everything was simply perfect! Starting with accommodation in beautiful hotel, plenty of local food to eat and not ending with entertaining workshops.
But what was the project about? The name opens a secret a bit. We played games but not some usual games. Two days of the project were devoted to playing Menu and Fair – card games developed to foster entrepreneurial skills among young people. What skills? Teamwork, creativity, time management, project management etc. So here we go – the project was about entrepreneurship! Beside the games we discussed how it is to open a business in each of participating countries, we visited some local businesses and worked on shaping out our own entrepreneurial ideas.
But the activity I liked the most happened outside of a training room. Organizers gave our teams some chocolate and sent us to the city meet some local people. The goal was to barter – to exchange goods for other goods and always get things with higher value. Trading with local people was so much fun even though they didn´t speak English – Russian and Armenian only. It taught us how to step out of our comfort zone and sharpened our selling skills. Our team actually ended up with some (I believe) silver old-time bracelet!
Organizers knew that the project was not only about sessions but also about discovering a culture. So one day was devoted to an excursion to a monastery and a temple in local mountains. Oh yes, Armenia is well known for its beautiful nature and monasteries.
All at all – the project was awesome! Perfect structure, entertaining and valuable workshops, different but hospitable culture, awesome participants and tasty food. I highly recommend to visit Armenia! And many thanks go also to EYCB – our sending organization which made this exceptional experience possible! Thank you!
Ondřej Přikryl
