Programme & action: ERASMUS+, Key Action 1: Youth exchange
Venue: Maceira, Fornos de Algodres, Portugal
Dates: 8-16 September 2019
Participants: Aneta Daněčková, Lucie Sedláčková, Mia Kolínská, Hana Kovačicová, Markéta Vrbová
Group leader: Zuzana Boháčová
Host organisation: Associação Maceira
Participating countries: Portugal, Latvia, Spain, North Macedonia and the Czech Republic
Please read the infopack. Also view the photos and posts in the Fb group of this project:
https://www.facebook.com/European-Photosynthesis-100387211363518
Project report:
Wonderful end of summer in Portugal (Maceira, Fornos de Algodres) !
Our 6-member Czech team was lucky enough to spend 8 amazing days at the end of summer (from 8th to 16th September) in a small picturesque village in the centre of Portugal together with participants from 4 other countries: Portugal, Spain, Latvia and North Macedonia.
From the very beginning the Portuguese team, the leaders and everybody who took care of us during the exchange were very welcoming. They showed us around and shared their culture. We were even able to attend a traditional village festivity the very first evening and so our intercultural exchange began.
The first activity day we started with many icebreakers and teambuilding activities, so we got to know each other better, we worked in groups and shared our fears and expectations. Shyness and fear of cultural or linguistic barrier started to fade.
We discussed what culture means to us or what prejudices or stereotypes are, we shared our insights within small groups but also presented our conclusions in front of the whole group so we could learn from each other.
After all these discussions we set off to take some pictures of beautiful Portuguese nature and several villages – not only Maceira and Fornos de Algodres but we also visited a beautiful historic village of Linhares da Beira. We were walking around, meeting locals, looking for beauty in seemingly ordinary places. To our own surprise, we managed to capture a lot of beautiful pictures that we later shared with each other and that we also used for creating original postcards.
But the project was not only about taking pictures, it was also about realizing what an amazingly diverse continent Europe is and that everyone has something to share with others. During several intercultural evenings we were happy to share our own culture and hear about culture of others. We tasted so much good food and drinks and then enjoyed the evenings with different national dances and music.
The exchange lasted only a little more than a week, but everyone will certainly remember this experience for a long time. We will be taking pictures in our countries and cities and sharing it with each other and everyone who is interested in the wonderful diversity and beauty of Europe.
Zuzana Boháčová
