Programme & action: ERASMUS+, Key Action 1: Youth exchange
Venue: Poronin, Poland
Youth exchange dates: 10 – 17 December 2018
APV dates: 10-11 November 2018
Participants: Monika Kopřivová, Karel Janásek, Zuzana Malecká, Kateřina Grohmannová, Elena Brunerová, Kristýna Jeklová
Group leader: Vít Votroubek
Please read the info-pack.
Hosting organisation: Stowarzyszenie Inicjatyw Kulturalno-Młodzieżowych Art
Project report:
„Youth has the right to want what it does not have and even what is not possible“, what would be the first thing to come to your mind after hearing such a sentence ? Would it be something like „Oh, is this some kind of motivational quote ? or a new catchword for some political movement ? No, you would be nowhere close with those ideas! „Youth has the right to want what it does not have and even what is not possible“ is an Erasmus + project which took place in a village called Poronin at close proximity to Tatra mountains, in Podhale region, Poland. Six national teams participated in this project including Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Romania and Portugal.
We spend seven days together discussing the project topic, acting on the stage as dancers, actors or singers, sharing our national traditions, habits and language, partying, hiking and we even visited thermal pools together. Sounds exciting doesn’t it ?
In the first days of the project we were meeting and mainly discussing the problems of today’s youth, our dreams and goals, we openly shared our ideas and experiences, everyone had their own idea or problem starting from not having too much importance as a youth on the political level, not having right to vote (some participants were under 18, they felt discriminated because in their countries legal age to participate in elections is 18 or more but at the same time some participants wanted to increase this age limit to for example 21, with the argument that average person is not mature enough yet at the age of 18), we were shooting opinions from left side to right side of the political spectrum, discussions were heated up, sometimes we were fighting, but in the end it was enriching experience in which we could share many interesting opinions and ideas.
In the next phase of the project we were supposed to make a short theatre performance for the local primary school students. We decided to create performance, the topic was peace, cooperation and tolerance. Our performance included many activities such as dancing, singing and acting, everybody could choose a role which suited him, I decided to play as an actor, describing the problem of violence on women.
We also had free time after the sessions and we were able to plan and carry out many fun activities, starting from intercultural evenings, hikes, study visits to local museums, natural center, thermal pools (with which I fell in love so deeply that I had to visit them again and again) or we were just playing cards or other games in our accommodation.
In my final words I would describe the project as highly successful, also thanks to the organizer Michal and to the facilitator Luiza, both of them proved themselves as competent facilitators, organizers and leaders. I would also like to thank to my sending organization EYCB for giving me chance to participate in this project. It was definitely worth it !
Karel Janásek
