Programme & action: Youth in Action programme, action 4.3. training course
Dates: 12-20 October 2013
Venue: Sninské rybníky, Slovakia
Participants: Vítězslav Šavel, Tomáš Prskavec, Dana Moravcová
Participating countries: Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey
Project report:
My name is Vitezslav Savel and I was a part of the Czech team in a Training course “Youth: Social capital of Europe” . The project was funded by EU’s Youth in exchange programme and was held in Sninske rybniky, a city located in Eastern Slovakia. People from seven coutries (Slovaks, Czechs, Lithuanians, Romanians, Spanish, Hungarian and Polish) have gathered in a beautiful recreation area to acquire new knowledge about young people all over the Europe. The main aim of the project was to make us familiar with the term social capital. To show us how important the youth is for the future of our society and how to work with and nurture the young generation with the focus on overcoming poverty and social exclusion.
The event used non-formal learning methods to show us various aspects of social capital. We’ve done many workshops, discussions and roleplays and everyone had really good time. Although the training courses are usually much more formal than Youth exchange, we have found one day to visit Košice. It is the second biggest city in Slovakia and the cultural capital of EU for this year. It was great to see how they live in here. Each other nation presented itself during its own cultural night and it was really fun to see and compare the similarities and differences between us.
It was an amazing experience and gave me a lot of valuable lessons. Not only did I learn something about the social capital of EU but I have made a lot of friends from various corners of Europe and I feel bonded with many of them. It is a great feeling to know that the doors are always open for you and friends are waiting for your visit in other countries. It was an extraordinary experience and I would heartily recommend it to everyone.
Vítězslav Šavel
