Programme: ERASMUS+: Youth, Key Action 1: youth exchange
Dates: 23—31 August 2021
Venue: Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Please read the info-pack.
Hosting organisation: Connected for Future
Participating countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, North Macedonia, Lithuania, Poland, Italy
Czech team: Pavla Wernerová (GL), Vojtěch Lipták, Nikola Ručková, Eliška Vašířová, Lucie Indrová
Project report:
Welcome to Bulgaria, a country full of cats, history and rose-scent. There was no better way to explore this country than with 4 other Czech people and with more than 30 other participants from several completely different countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, North Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and Lithuania. The project was called “INsight” and took place between 23rd of August and 31st of August 2021 in the beautiful historical city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria.
What did we learn? Not only how to communicate with ourselves but also how to communicate with others. The first part of the project was focused on intra-personal communication. We talked about our life stories, explored our biggest challenges and thought about what we could change with our lives in the future. The second part of the project was mainly focused on interpersonal communication: how we talk with other people and mainly how we are able to present ourselves to others. We enjoyed the debate club, learned how to prepare magnificent presentations and also tried talking about a powerpoint presentation which we had never seen in our lives before because it was prepared by our facilitators (the best practice for learning improvisation). We also got many tips for job interviews and even had an opportunity to try mock job interviews for our dream jobs. The topic of the program enabled us not only to explore our relationships with others much but mainly to explore the relationships with ourselves.
Apart from the official program, we also learned a lot about the local culture. We enjoyed our free day exploring the historical parts of Plovdiv (which is stunning) and also spent endless nights talking about everything that crossed our minds with participants from 7 different countries. The main topic of the project “Communication” made it a great opportunity for connecting with other participants.
At the end, I also have to highlight the work of our two facilitators, Anna and Maria, who were both amazing and tried to make everything as smooth as possible for all of us. This was my first time in Bulgaria and this country will definitely have a place in my heart thanks to this wonderful experience.
If you ever hesitate to go on a project, do not hesitate any more. You will not only learn a lot about yourself but you will also get the most memorable experiences of your life.
Pavla Wernerová
