ERASMUS+, Key action 1: youth exchange
Dates: 10—20 March 2025
Venue: Sarata Monteoru & Buzau, Romania
Czech team: 4 participatns + 1 group leader
Please read the info-pack.
Hosting organisation: Fundatia Pentru Tineret Buzau
Project report:
In March 2025, our small group embarked on a journey to Romania to participate in an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange project titled „Be Kind to Yourself!“ that was organized by a local NGO called FPT – Fundatia pentru Tineret Buzau. Our group’s journey started on 9th March because we decided to use green transportation and travel to the project by train. We were surprised to learn that on our journey from Prague to Bucarest we only had a single transfer in Vienna, where we got on a direct overnight train. We woke up travelling through the sleepy Romanian countryside that was slowly awakening from its winter slumber. We arrived in Sarata Monteoru on 10th March and until 18th March we stayed there in a beautiful hotel surrounded by forests and beautiful nature.
In Sarata Monteoru we met the Romanian facilitators Tolea, Iasmina and Bogdan from Fundatia pentru Tineret Buzau. We also got to know 34 other participants who were sent by partner organizations from Spain, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Greece, Serbia and Latvia. Throughout the project, we learned a lot about different countries and cultures both during daily activities and during three amazing intercultural evenings.
Throughout the week in Sarata Moneteoru we explored topics of minorities, discrimination, cyberbullying, media literacy, political correctness and active citizenship. To explore these topics we engaged in discussions, land art projects, poster making, clay modelling, rope debate, storytelling, and video making and we even tried to create our own fake news.
Last two days in Sarata Monteoru we were split into three international workshop groups that focused on: creating posters and a booklet about the project, videos about discrimination and Forum Theatre. Last evening in Sarata Monteoru, we presented the posters, booklets, videos and forum theatre performances in front of all participants.
The outcomes of all workshops were very well crafted and impactful. There were 3 very interesting and impactful videos. The first explored the topic of emotions experienced by people who are being discriminated against, the second video was a slapstick comedy about the absurdity of racism, and the third video captured the power dynamics between the bullies and victims. Forum Theatre is a technique of Theatre of the Oppressed, where the actors perform a short scene about oppression, and then replay it again and invite the audience to join in and change the story. Our Forum Theatre groups prepared two performances. The first was about the oppression of Native Americans in the Wild West and the second one was about the discrimination of migrant workers in present-day Italy. The last group of participants produced a booklet and poster that perfectly captured all the activities we engaged in throughout the Youth Exchange.
On 18th March we left Sarata Monteoru and traveled to Buzăuwhere we learned about the city and disseminated the outcomes of the workshops. On our way to Buzău, we also visited fascinating mud volcanoes in the Buzău Land UNESCO Geopark. The whole Youth Exchange was concluded by an amazing pizza party in a local restaurant where everybody received their Youthpasess from their secret friends.
I think that all participants enjoyed this project and left this Youth Exchange with a lot of knowledge about discrimination, new skills and a lot of great memories with new friends from all around Europe.
Martin K.
