Programme & action: ERASMUS+, Key Action 1: Youth Exchange
Venue: Mugla, Turkey
Dates: 2 – 9 October 2017
Participants: Markéta Sokolová, Marius Lisztwan, Witold Lisztwan, Veronika Deketová
Group leader: Michal Klukan
Please read the INFOPACK
Participating countries: UK, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden Poland, Czech Republic, Macedonia and Turkey
Hosting organisation: Girisimcilik Kulubu
Project report:
Breaking Walls Opening European Windows was held in th town Marmaris in Turkey and gathered together participants from Macedonia, Sweden, Slovakia, Poland, Great Britain and our team from the Czech Republic. It was organized by very experienced organizer Erdem Guler and he tried the best to hand over his experiences to us. The aim of this project was the topic of European Union, especially its advantages, its problems and the understanding of the whole ecosystem. The aim was to find out what is behind this term, what processes are taking place here, what are the candidate countries and what they need to meet and focus on the EU 2020 targets.
There were theoretical parts on the functioning of the EU and its institutions, the conditions for admission and basic information, what are the plans for 2020. Thanks to this knowledge, we were able to work better on the tasks we had to prepare. We have discussed a lot on Turkey and its possible membership of the EU, and we have also often shared our national views on refugees and immigrants.
Turkey’s membership has been a frequently debated issue, we have discussed the benefits and losses on both sides. Our practical task was to go in the streets and make interviews and surveys with Turkush people. We traveled through the city and talked to the Turkish citizens about their views on the EU. We were surprised by a very different mindset of every different people.
However, in addition to politics, we could also get to know the local area during a afternoon breaks and evenings also acompanied by a whole day boat trip.Thanks to the amazing Intercultural nights, we have seen and learnt about other cultures. During these evenings, we looked into the disputes between Macedonia and Greece, Brexit, Catalunia, and, of course, we enjoyed foreign snacks!
A very diverse and friendly group of people from all over the world met in a beautiful hotel with delicious food every day. We have all created beautiful experiences within 8 days. Nobody will forget about floods in the hotel, when the rain was pouring and everyone around was involved in luggage rescue. Eventually it became the most humorous and most awful experience of the whole project.
The last day we spent the whole evening together, reviewed our work, and enjoyed the last time together. Then it was very hard goodbye. During such a short time, we have learnt so many things that we wouldn’t normally find out. We have made many friendships and created beautiful memories. It was a great experience and a great way to get own opinion on the topics we knew only from the news. Michal Klukan
