ERASMUS+, Key Action 1: youth exchange
Venue: Salovci, Slovenia
Dates: 21 August—1 September 2023
National team: 5 participants + 1 group leader
Please read the info-pack.
Hosting organisation: Association Connect
Project report:
The day we got on train and met our Czech team – five strangers from all around the country – we knew we’d have amazing twelve days adventure ahead of us.
It all started on August 21st, when we arrived to Markovci-Šalovci, Slovenia – picturesque village close to the borders of Hungary – and met participants from other countries (Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain). Even when we didn’t know each other, we talked till night.
The project started the next day. First, we played name games to remember all 34 of us and some icebreakers. Then, we finally got to the topic of our youth exchange: Fast Fashion is out of Fashion.
During the project, we presented problems of fast fashion in our own countries and strategies our governments use against them. We talked about EU programs like ReSet the Trend and EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles; we did our research on the topics and tried to come up with our own solutions. We even held our own debate representing the government, fast fashion corporates, activists and consumers. We analysed the subjects of European fashion industry from different points of view, understood it and subsequently found non-formal methods how to educate others about the problem. We created posters, brochures, videos and acted in small plays. But most importantly, we talked about solutions in local scale, how we ourselves can improve our villages, towns and cities. And maybe, one day, whole regions and country. We found slow fashion brands, special containers for clothes that can be reused and repurposed, second-hand shops and small projects helping to reduce pollution of textile industry.
But that’s not all youth exchange is about. It’s also about meeting other cultures and having fun. We organized intercultural dinner so we could show others our traditional dishes and cultural evening, where we presented our countries. We had karaoke night, singing songs in English and our mother language and danced to it. Other night, we watched movie and baked corn on fire. One whole day we spent in Murska Sobota, town where we went to swimming pool and to the city centre, to see how locals live in bigger town than our village in Markovci.
In conclusion, I must say these twelve days of my life were wonderful and I believe every one of us left with beautiful memories. We won’t forget about our great time in Slovenia neither all the knowledge we acquired. And with that said, I hope we can make the world a better place.
Hanka
