Programme & action: ERASMUS+, Key Action 1: Youth Exchange
Venue: Kesterciems, region Engure, Latvia
Dates: 16 – 25 June 2018
Participants: Martina Paulusová, Matěj Valenta, Denisa Libnarová, Tomáš Červenka, Kristýna Kroupová, Lenka Tomečková
Group leader: Michal Ardan
Participating countries: Armenia, Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine
Please read the info-pack & daily programme
Hosting organisation: Kulturas biedriba “Alternativa Realitate”
Project report:
Hello everybody! How are you? We’re great because we took part in the amazing first part of the E+ youth exchange called Action in ECO Direction from 16th June to 25th in Kesterciems, Latvia. Perfect way of starting your longest summer holiday ever, isn’t it? The project was about nothing less important than sustainable future and eco-friendly attitude of the humankind. We learned a lot and met plenty of great creative and beautiful human beings from all over Europe.
Czech team firstly met in Riga day before the project and the team spirit was great constantly. We felt bonded since the begining of the project. We joined the bus with several local participants and Italian group and start chatting after few seconds. The trip to Kesterciems was tiring yet satisfying in the same time.
The first thing we had done when bus arrived to the destination (since the accommodation was really close to the beach) was surprisingly – walk on the beach. The weather was sunny (like really sunny, we didn’t expect that) and the beach was just amazingly beautiful. Accommodation was clean and cozy and everything was really cool.
Before we got into the topic itself we had got to know each other during first part of the project. Original energizers and team-building activities helped us to memorize each others’ names and to feel more comfortably in the international group . Shortly after we started with activities connected to topic. And we continued until the end of the week. Activities were prepared partly by the national groups and every group had really interesting and different approach. We concentrated on environmental problems and were finding solutions. Thanks to the diversity of national groups it couldn’t get boring and every day was different and original.
Every group had the opportunity to present the culture and traditions of their countries during intercultural evenings. Every country of the exchange (Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Italy) took it super originally and created unforgettable memories for the others.
Even though second part of exchange wasn’t as sunny as the first one we enjoyed it even more. We had the Riga trip. We experienced Riga with local participants, visited the most interesting places and spend nice time in the local gaming club.
The exchange had two main tasks. We had to facilitate program (ECO topic) for kids at the end of the project and to build playground by recycling and upcycling materials from our surrounding. We managed both tasks very well and at the end of project we were super proud of our work – especially about the playground.
The whole exchange was just great. We met amazing people we wouldn’t have opportunity to meet without the project. We spend a lot of time finding proposals of solutions for environmental problems got new experience and also partied together a lot. As a Czech group we felt very good from the beginning of the project and it got even better with the time and we would definitely aplied again.
Michal Ardan
