We have been organising international summer camps together with our Spanish partner organisation El Bosque de Hielo for many years now. Over these years we have worked together not only with a lot of children, but also with many young people who were on their way to becoming leaders or later youth workers. Also in our joint youth exchanges, leadership, communication and organisational skills are always among the main topics. We decided to take this shared experience to the next level and organise an intensive training course for young aspiring leaders, where they would gain the basic skills and knowledge they will need in youth work.
The Erasmus+ training course took place in October 2023 and we had a lot of interesting moments together - we discussed political and philosophical issues, played communication games, shared our experiences in youth work, inspired each other and enjoyed the autumn magic of Tábor. At the end of the TC, participants organized their own learning activities in groups for others to show what they had learned in the past week.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
As part of the project, trainers Isaac and Maya created a "trainer's manual" describing all the activities they organized during the training. If you would like to be inspired and use some of our activities in your work, you can download the booklet here:
The summer camp in 2023 took place in an unusually late date from 11th to 19th August.It was attended by children and young people from the Czech Republic, Spain and even one participant from Turkey. The camp was led by an experienced camp leader, Isaac Casasola, who was supported by our team of leaders. Although the camp was held in late summer, the weather was unusually very warm and we spent a lot of time swimming and canoeing. The children enjoyed the traditional trip to Tabor and the chain bridge in Stádlec.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
When I saw the offer of the project in nature, I did not hesitate and immediately knew that I would participate. In addition to the Czechs, there were also participants from Spain and Armenia. After the first few days of shy silence, the ice broke and we all found friends among ourselves. The stress from the language deficits that I had upon arrival fell away from me as soon as the girls from Spain wanted to communicate with me through the translator. From this I understood that I am not the only one who is not completely sure about their ability to speak English.
During the morning program, every day we all learned a lot of information about the functioning of other countries. The topics were, for example, politics, healthcare, social care, education, or the view of all countries on same-sex couples. In addition, we have also been working on communication skills and the impression we make on other people. In groups, we then came up with realistic and less realistic ways to stop, or at least not worsen, the problems that threaten this planet and its inhabitants. What I remember most about this activity was the moment when one of the groups presented a proposal to eat people to stop starvation, which would, at the same time, solve the problem of overpopulation.
During our free time every day after lunch we went canoeing, swimming, sunbathing and the Spanish enjoyed their afternoon siesta. We had a lot of fun during playing games. For example, during the TikTok game, pantomime, or during the kiss or meow game, which was one of the last games we played together.
The last and, of course, very important point are the national days, when the participants of each country prepared a morning program for the others and cooked their typical national food for dinner. Even during these days we learned a lot about other cultures, learned games that are played in other countries and of course we learned many foreign words from each other.
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to be here.
Beáta Pavelková, participant
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
And here, you can find rules of all the games we played during our national days and the delicious recipes we then had for dinner:
During the Czech Easter we participated in a youth exchange in the sunny Turkish town of Mersin. The theme of the project was Green Future, so the workshops were based on ecological topics. The project location was right by the beach in a beautiful hotel in the Erdemli district, and the food and accommodation were of a high standard, as the Turkish hospitality is one of the best in the world. We were also pleased with the weather compared to the weather in the Czech Republic. In total, besides the Czech Republic and Turkey, 2 other countries, Poland and Italy, participated in the project. However, there were also participants from Ukraine who live in one of these countries. At the beginning, it was important to "break the ice", to get to know each other in a group through games such as speed dating and energizers, and of course team building activities, such as guiding blind or otherwise limited persons (we blindfolded each other).
As part of the theme, we worked in teams to create a product from already discarded materials and give it new (economic) value. At the same time, we had various discussions, which mainly showed that we should try to prevent waste in the first place and only after that work on figuring out what to do with it. In the evenings, we devoted ourselves to presenting our countries, performing various dances, such as mazurka and polka for the Czech Republic, which were popular among the participants. We also tasted typical food and drinks for each country. With the help of various quizzes and games we learned interesting, often surprising information about our countries. Also, on Easter Monday we kept our tradition and with the help of pom poms, water, and cologne we ensured the health and beauty of the women in the project. In return, they gave us painted eggs that they had painted the day before.
When we had time off from activities, we explored the surrounding area, visited a local canyon where people lived hundreds of years ago in caves, and a town with a castle on an island. One full day the whole group went to Mersin where the Turkish team showed us around the city and took us to the best places. We also tasted local specialties like Tantuni and Adana kebabs and shopped for souvenirs. We took away a lot of experiences from the project and made friendships, at least some of which I hope will last after the project is over. Thank you TOM Dumanci for the opportunity to participate in the project and we look forward to the next one. :)
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Tomáš Michalčin, participant
In October 2022, we organized the second youth exchange within our project "Summer Camp Challenge" in the Turkish town Erdemli. The project - as the name suggests - was a kind of a summer camp, where the young people were not half-participants and half-leaders - they enjoyed playing various games, but at the same time created and organized various activities by themselves.
What does Terka, one of the participants, say about the project? "Together with other Czech participants, I had the chance to meet many great people, who helped me to dive into the Turkish culture. We got to know new places, local markets, restaurants and we tasted traditional sweets and different kinds of dürums. I tried to learn to speak Turkish, fortunetelling from coffee, bought myself a Nazar boncugu and learned to dance traditional dances."
And Kryštof? "First time I took part in this programme, I didin't know what to expect and I was scared, but later found out what it really brings into your life. I believe it changed my life, my perspective on world and my social skills."
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Mája
On the 27th September 2022, we organized a conference about sustainable development and concrete eco-friendly practices in sport. The conference took place in a cultural centre in Radotín and it was attended by members of the Ministry of Education, National Agency for Sport, deputy major of Radotín, the president of "Sokol" (a Czech sports association) in Radotín and, of course, representatives of our NGO. For us, the conference was the final step in the Erasmus+ project Move in a Green Way, during which we were involved in research of sustainable development of sport and concrete practices in sport that would be considerate to the environment as well as the society. The participants of the conference mainly discussed the issue of financing sports in the Czech context and the possibilities brought by the current energy crisis in relation to more economical energy management.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Lukáš
Our Czech team saved a bit of our holidays for September, when we went to Italy to participate in an Erasmus+ project "I am OUT". We split into two groups. The boys went by train to Vienna and then flew to Bari. Me and Míša met in Prague at the airport and flew straight to Bari. We had enough time to explore this beautiful town and, in the evening, we showed it to the boys, who arrived later. In the morning, we searched together for a bus stop, which was quite exciting. We were very lucky and found one. We got on the bus, went to the center of Bari and then by train to Matera. There, we were picked up by the organizers of the project. They took us to the farm, where we spent the whole project.
After us arrived also other participants, which were from Greece, Estonia, Ukraine, Italy and Croatia. The locals had horses, cows, donkeys, hens, sheep, goats, pigs, and also kittens and dogs, which were running all around. The most interesting thing about the farm was its history and also the fact that it was all bio. There were no chemicals used in the process of growing all the vegetables - peppers, aubergines or tomatoes. They also made their own cheese and butter, which we even observed. We tried to make our own past and jam, we took care of the animals, picked the fruits and vegetables, painted vases and one group even fixed the henhouse.
One morning, the alarm came really early. The organizers took us to the lake Lago di San Giuliano. Our target for the trip was the historical town of Matera, to which we went 15 kilometers by walking. I must say the walking was very demanding because it was very sunny and there was no wind or shadow. When we came closer to the town, the weather got better, and everybody started looking forward to Italian ice cream. The historical center of the town was really beautiful. The Italians showed us the best views and best shops. We came back to Matera two more times during our time in Italy.
Thanks to the project, we learned a lot about bio products, recycling and life on a farm, we improved our language skills and learned new things about other cultures.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Mája Wollnerová, participant of the project
At the end of June 2022, young people from Turkey came to visit our campsite within the Erasmus+ project Summer Camp Challenge. The programme was preparing a summer camp, which will take place in Turkey in October. The Turks were greeted in the Czech Republic by our typical summer storm, in which they used canoes to get to the other side of the river Lužnice with all their luggage. During our common activities and building the campsite, we got to know each other. One day was dedicated to visiting the town Tábor - we went through the historical centre all the way to the shopping mall. What our Turkish friends didn't like so much, was the way back from Tábor, because we planned to go by walking. Even though it was hard, everybody managed in the end, and we could enjoy the evening having a rest. Both national teams - of course - had one day for presenting their country. On the Turkish day, we saw a presentation of their country and their city and tasted kebab and other delicious Turkish meals. On the Czech day, we presented the Czech nature to the Turkish team and for dinner, we cooked a typical Czech "svíčková". Some of us, me for example, cooked for the first time in their lives, but it turned out to be very good. We also had "bábovka" for dessert. On the last day of the project, we joined our Turkish friends for a tour around Prague - we showed them the important places, above all the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. And in the end, we went to finish the trip the Czech way - in a pub.
Vojta Pittner, participant of the project
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
In the years 2021 and 2022, our organization took part in a strategic partnership project named "Move in a Green Way". Together with our colleagues from Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania and Turkey, we were studying eco-friendly practices in the field of sport. Each country focused on a different sport, we - for example - were examining sustainability in tennis. As a result of the project, we created a brochure that sums up our findings. You can read it in English HERE. You can also check out the project website for more information.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Mája
In May 2022, we hosted an Erasmus+ project "Against Environmental Pollution - Long Live Life", which was organized by our partner organization from Turkey Akdeniz İlçe Milli Eğitim Müdürlüğü Mersin. Youth workers from 7 various countries met in Prague for 7 days in order to discuss environmental problems and their potential solutions. During the project, they shared their experiences and best practice connected to sustainability and nature-friendly projects. The most addressed topics were fighting agains environmental pollution (as the project title suggests), and application of the 3R rule. A big emphasis was put on being able to effectively share this new knowledge with youth (and other people as well) and to motivate them towards a "greener" way of life. Apart from this educational programme, the participants enjoyed also trips to Prague city centre and to Kutná Hora.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Mája
In spring 2022, the already fourth "Digital Youth" project for youth workers was carried out by our organization. After Armenia, the project returned back to its country of origin - Turkey. Participants from Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Serbia, Turkey, Latvia and Czech Republic met in a hotel ca. 35 kilometres from the city of Mersin. The main aim of the project was the same as always - to use the 10 project days to learn to work with a camera and editing software and to create our own short movies. Apart from various technical workshops and working on the movies, the participants also explored the various represented cultures, their habits and what they have in common. Intercultural dialogue and breaking down stereotypes also became the topics of some of the movies, which were created during the project.
On Saturday, the movies were done and we could enjoy a trip to the city of Mersin, where we experiences a typical turkish "bazar" and visited a mosque. In the evening, the finished the project with a projection of our movies, to which we invited also local people from Mersin. The fourth Digital Youth project is successfully over and we are already thinking of suitable places for the next one...
You can watch the movies, which we made, on our YouTube channel.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Barbora Baková, participant
From 8th to 14th March, a project called "Read Beyond the Title" took place in Trnava, Slovakia. Already from the title of the project, it is clear that the topic was validating information, media literacy, shaping opinions and arguments and working against manipulation.
The project was financed by the European Youth Foundation and the Council of Europe. The programme was organized by two awesome facilitators from the Slovak organization Youth for Equality. Together with Czechs and Slovaks, also other nationalities took part in the project - there were enthusiastic young people from Turkey, Greece, Belgium and Finland. Besides the above mentioned competences, the project also brought us knowledge about the cultures of the represented countries, which we learned mainly during the international evening. Especially the Slovak culture was presented in an unforgettable way, since Slovakia had a whole cultural evening for itself. Everybody tasted “halušky with bryndza” and listen to live folk music from a folk band, which even showed us a traditional Slovak wedding.
Most of the programme focused on fake news, therefore, it responded also to the current invasion in Ukraine. We asked people on the streets from which sources they receive information about this war and if they trust what they read. Apart from this, we also created board games, experienced art therapy, etc. I think those seven days were unforgettable for us all and I would recommend such experience to everyone.
Veronika Sodomová, participant of the project
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
In October 2021, we co-organized a youth exchange in a Romanian village Cehetel together with our Romanian partner organization. For our Czech group, the project started by a visit to Vienna on the way from Prague. Then, we took a night train from Vienna to Sighisoara, which is something we were a bit nervous about, but eventually, it was a great experience for all of us. In Romania, we arrived to a very small village in the mountains that we liked on the first sight. The topics of the project were intergenerational dialogue and rural traditions. Every national team prepared an interactive workshop about one rural tradition of their country - we learned traditional Hungarian wood painting, Greece bracelets, Spanish card games, etc. In the evenings, we enjoyed cultural activities and a lot of traditional dances. At the end of the project, we went for a trip to Sighisoara, the birthtown of Dracula. Because Transylvania is an ethnically interesting and mixed region, we enjoyed many debates about history and national identity. On the other hand, we also experienced a funny rural situations, when all the cows and geese decided to come visit us. On the way home, the participants were eagerly discussing, where we should travel next and who we should visit first, and I was enjoying a nice feeling of a job well done.
Mája
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
And here you can read the brochure that we wrote about the rural traditions and problems of our countries:
The capital city of Ukraine hosted from 21st to 29th September 2021 an international group of almost 30 young people, who spent this time together by participating in various non-formal learning activities, playing games and working together on various projects. We worked on various tasks given to us, developed our skills on personal and professional level and we were got to know our new friends and their cultures. Apart from Ukrainians, our group consisted also of people from Spain, Italy, Poland, Romania, Albania, Georgia, Armenia and us, three students from the Czech Republic.
There were also cultural evenings planned to present our national customs, food, drinks, dances, music, etc. However, we were not allowed to consume our own food and drinks in the hotel. Therefore, we spent most of our evenings in a nearby park Veselka (in Ukrainian "rainbow") and there - in 4 degrees Celsius - we got to know the real Ukrainian culture with Horilka in one hand and a pickle in the other. Most importantly, we made many new friends and I believe I will see at least some of them in the future.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Veronika Sodomová, participant of the project
At the end of summer in 2021, our campsite hosted young people from the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain and Transylvania for an Erasmus+ project called "Finger-travelling". The programme of the first week was a kind of an introduction to what was coming later. Through various games, we got to know each other and we learned more about the two main topics of the project - intercultural dialogue and non-formal learning. We also organized trips to Tábor and to Prague. In the second week, we finally got to the "travelling" that is promised by the name of the project. Each of the four days, we "travelled" to one of the countries represented in the project - on that day, the national team of this country organized the morning programme (teaching the others about their land and culture) and also cooked a typical national meal for dinner.
The Spanish team prepared typical national games and also an interesting debate about various aspects of the Spanish culture and politics. The Czech team organized a role-play game (showing what it's like to be foreigners in this country) and a workshop about camping skills. In Romania, we travelled from one city to another, learned more about these cities and got a better understanding of the poverty Romania was suffering under Ceausescu. In Greece, we learned how to make frappé, how to say weird Greek phrases, and we presented the most famous Greek theatre plays. For dinner, we had Spanish omelette, Czech cream sauce called "svíčková", Romanian goulasch cooked over the fire and Greek meat balls. Although we were dealing with a lot of rain and cold during the project, we all managed to enjoy it, make good friends and learn a lot of new things.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Mája
The theme of this year's summer camp was "The Witcher" - for two weeks, the children were living a story set in a fantasy world full of magical creatures and monsters. For their success in various games and competitions, they received pages of their bestiary and they learned new things about the creatures that live around, especially how to chase them away. When such a creature appeared near to our campsite, the children performed spells and boiled potions according to the bestiary in order to get rid of the monster. At the same time, they fulfilled various "tests" (test of courage, recognizing herbs and star constellations, etc.), thanks to which they were becoming wiser and more experienced witchers.
As it has been for many years, even in 2021 was our summer camp an international one. The group of children consisted of Czechs as well as Spanish, who arrived together with their leader and our good friend Isaac. The first week of the camp was also connected with a training course under Erasmus+, thanks to which the children could experience activities lead by youth workers from various European countries - Latvia, Romania, Turkey, Spain, Croatia, Slovakia and Czech Republic. Together with the E+ participants, we undertook a trip to Tábor and visited also the underground of the town.
In the second week of the camp, we organized a two-day trip - we visited a chateau garden in Vrchotovy Janovice, we slept in a garden in a nearby village and we visited a rescue station for animals in Votice. Just like every year, there were also plenty of campfires with singing, boat trips, swimming in the river, collecting blueberries and other things that the children always enjoy.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
In the first week of July, amazing group of young people from six different countries gathered in Slavňovice – a small village in south Bohemia, close to Tábor city for an Erasmus+ training course. As the name of the event suggests, main focus of this intensive training course was improving leadership skills, effective communication and learning about group dynamics through various outdoor activities such as debates, presentations, team-building activities and reflections. Participants from Croatia, Spain, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Turkey could learn about different approaches of leading, facilitating, manipulation, personal archetypes, developing of competences, critical thinking and much more… The topics of most of the debates were definitely not easy and went much beyond the main focus of the course I would say! Eventually everybody could put into practice the freshly gained knowledge not only among themselves but also while preparing activities for Czech and Spanish kids (6 – 15 years) on a local summer camp. Beautiful nature in the surroundings, the great support of the organizers, the delicious food and the attitude of everybody involved made this experience unforgettable! Thank you!
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Ajka Štindlová, participant of the project
Three years ago, we were discussing where to organize our third "Digital Youth" training course under the Erasmus+ programme. Eventually, we decided for Armenia, an Asian country that has a lot in common with our European culture. This country seemed as a perfect setting for addressing intercultural dialogue. We were planning to bring also participants from Turkey and Azerbaijan - we wanted to discuss how politicians abuse nationalist sentiments in order to divide the society and spread fear and hate between people from different countries and cultures. We were planning to organize the project in June 2020, unfortunatelly, because of the pandemic we had to postpone it. When we organized the project a year later, the situation was already different - after the war, there was no chance of expecting participants from Turkey or Azerbaijan to come to Armenia. Also, the boarder with Georgia was closed by that time. Despite all the inconveniences, I would say this Digital Youth project was the most successful one. The short movies that we created are full of emotions from the recent conflict. Young people from Europe gained the very valuable experience of seeing how destructive a war can be.
You can see the short movies that we created here.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Lukáš
Although the situation was quite tense until the very last moment, eventually, we managed to organize one more youth exchange at the end of the summer holiday. This time, the main topic was learning to live (and survive) in nature with using technology as little as possible, which is our main area of expertise. :) The participants from the Czech Republic, Croatia and Spain were developing a number of various skills - making a fire, using a canoe, moving around in a forest, recognizing edible mushrooms, etc. Together, they built a very nice wooden shelter and a sauna, which they used with great enthusiasm. The programme was lead mainly by our Spanish friend Isaac, who conducted debates about social issues and minimalistic way of life. The most impressive experience was without doubt the trip to the castle ruins in Příběnice, where we spent the night under the stars - we had sausages for dinner and spent a long time sitting by the fire, talking and enjoying the unique atmosphere of the old ruins. During the project, we also organized trips to Prague and Tábor - as always coming back to the campsite along the beautiful path next to the river Lužnice. We are happy we managed to spend the rest of the summer in a productive and cheerful way.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Mája
Even though we were a bit stressed about the pandemic, we eventually managed to organize an internationational summer camp (as we have been doing for many years now). The Erasmus+ youth exchange was attended by participants from Spain, Slovakia and even three Turkish participants, who were studying in Slovakia by that time. The programme of the youth exchange was quite rich. The participants were spending some time with the children, playing games prepared by us, such as the "good deeds" game, during which they explored the local neighborhood and interacted with the locals. A couple of times, they also prepared their own activities for the children - a "station rotation" with funny tasks, a night game teaching the children about archetypes, etc. With the Spanish leader Isaac, they experienced various activities and debates aiming to promote critical thinking, self-esteem and communication skills. Apart from these activities at the campsite, we also organized a trip to a nearby ruin Příběnice, to Tábor and to Prague. In our free time, we enjoyed swimming in the river, canoeing, volleyball and other outdoor activities and games. We enjoyed four national evenings, during which we learned about the cultures of the Czech republic, Spain, Slovakia and Turkey and tasted their traditional dishes. Overall, we had a good time and brought home many nice memories and valueable experiences.
You can check out the photos here.
Mája
Me and my colleague Isaac had been preparing this project since October and we were looking forward to it so much. It was a training course that gathered young people, who are just starting to work with youth and need to gain basic experience to build on. The morning parts of the programme were usually focusing on "leadership", the participants practiced their communication skills and discussed about the issues young people are facing in the contemporary world. The afternoon programme was about youth work - the participants presented their NGOs to the others, they themselves organized educational activities for others and tried to write their own Erasmus+ projects. To have a bit of a rest from the demanding programme, we organized a trip to Prague and also a variety of team-building games. We had the luck to gather a group of very motivated and active young people and we had a lot of fun working with them. Every evening, when we were sharing our "happy moments of the day", we had a lot of things to talk and laugh about.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Mája
We spent the last week of August in a small village near León in Spain, where we participated in an Erasmus+ project "Nature and Primitive Technology". Apart from the Czech Republic, also Spain, Croatia, Italy, Greece and Finnland were involved in the project. The topics of the project were coming back to primitive technology, the role of nature in today's world, ecology and living in harmony with nature. We were doing many practical workshops - for example creating solar clocks or simple shelters. A couple of times, we made a trip to the mountains and once we went into a cave. We had also national evenings, which gave us the chance to taste traditional food and learn about the cultures and traditional dances of the other countries. We spent one day in the historical town of León, through which leads the "Camino de Santiago". There were a lot of participants at the project, who were really enthusiastic about the topic. I met a lot of interesting people and found new friends.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Honza Třeštík, participant of the project
During the youth exchange called "Finger-travelling", young people from the Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, Turkey and Italy spent 10 days together at our campsite on the bank of the river Lužnice. As the name suggests, we spent the project "travelling" to each of the five participating countries. We spent one day in each of the countries, during which the national teams tried to show us what it's like to live in the country - they tought us national dances and games and we learned a lot about history and culture of those countries. In the afternoons, we cooked traditional dishes for dinner - Czech "štrůdl", Polish pierogy, Spanish omelette, Italian pasta carbonara and Turkish dish with minced meat. On the first day, we made a teambuilding trip to the chain-bridge in Stádlec, in the following days we also visited Tábor and Prague. Except for learning about other cultures, we also learned a lot about living in the countryside - for many of the participants it was the first time they were staying in a tent, walking barefoot in the forest of chopping wood. All of those experiences and new friendships made the ten days we spent together quite unforgettable.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Mája
This year's summer camp was in many ways similar to the previous one - there were again not only Czech leaders taking care of the children, but also people from Slovakia, Poland and Spain, who came thanks to a project under Erasmus+ programme. Also this year, we were "living" a story that unravelled during the whole two weeks. We found ourselves in the fantasy land of J. R. R. Tolkien and we followed the hobbit Bilbo Baggins on his adventurous journey to kill dragon Smaug - we fled from the orcs, we fought with spiders, guessed Gollum's riddles and prepared tea for Beorn. For points they gained in games and competitions, the children could win in three auctions various funny benefits - such as a bed-time song or a private boat trip. Three times, the morning programme was prepared by the leaders from other abroad. We also had the chance to learn more about their countries and taste their typical dishes. We enjoyed three night games, in which the children could test their courage as well as the skill to move silently in the dark. In half of the camp, we made a trip to Bechyně following a beautiful path on the bank of river Lužnice. On the last evening, we symbolically killed the dragon Smaug and burned it's "body" in the campfire.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Mája
This Erasmus+ project in Riga focused on the topic of media and it's aim was to teach the participants to think critically. After the phase of getting to know each other, we were altogether trying to achieve this goal. We listened to lectures of people working in the field, who presented their work in media and also the importance of critical thiking. We had also interactive sessions, in which we were supposed to use the information we heard and apply it to concrete cases. We organized intercultural evenings, that were successful (although they didn't come without a few misunderstandings). During the project, we made a few trips to the center of Riga and played a city quest.
Roman Jordán, the group leader
Three youth workers from the Czech Republic participated from 24th to 30th March 2019 in a training course "Improve leadership skills through storytelling", which took place in Mersin, Turkey. There we met with participants from other countries and together we gained new knowledge about leadership and using stories as a tool - no matter if the story is written or presented as drama or narrative. During the week, we learned the principles of leadership, the characteristics of a good leader and learned to share information with others in a diverting way. Thanks to working with international as well as national teams, we were able to get to know each other and learn from one another, share our experiences and skills. During coffee breaks, we could taste foods and drinks typical for the participating countries. Each national team also prepared a short talk about their country. We also got to know Turkey a bit better through an excursion to Mersin, during which we were hosted by the representatives of the city, visited a local musum and tasted "tantuni", which is a dish typical for the region. On the next day, we saw a beautiful dripstone cave west from Tasucu. We came to the project as strangers, but when we were saying goodbye, we were like one big family.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
The youth exchange IVOTEU19 brough together 35 young people from 18 to 28 years of age. The aim of the exchange was to raise the voter turnout in the European elections, which took place two months later. During the 8 days of the project, the participants had enough time to look at the topic of European elections from various points of view - they tried to identify reasons, why the voter turnout is so low in their countries, they discussed about statistics concerning the political situation in EU and they widened their own knowledge of the system of EU and its institutions. A lot of space was dedicated to activities carried out by the participants themselves - each national team prepared a workshop dealing with the current problems of the EU - Brexit, fake news, migration, etc. The participants also experienced a simulation game of EU elections, in which they presented their political party and tried to make it win the election. During the exchange, young people learned to present and support their ideas, understand the system of the EU and feel more like European citizens. After the participants came home, they shared their experience from the project with people around them and made the impact of the project bigger by motivating them to participate in the EU elections in May.
You can read more about the project here.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Jája Vlčková, participant of the project
After two years, we are right now finishing a project "The Long Way to Europe", in which our organization was involved as a partner. The aim was to raise awareness of young people about European Union, its history and common values. The project was inspired by the story of Zivi Miller - a Jewish street painter originally from Romania, who escaped from Auschwitz during WW2, went to Italy and spent 6 months on Cyprus as a prisoner of the British army before he managed to get to Izrael. The 4 international meetings of the project were located in the countries of Zivi's journey - in Romania, Poland, Italy and Cyprus. During each of them, the participants discussed a topic connected to the EU and organized a "street debate", during which they asked random people about their opinions, learned to confront their viewpoints, discuss and share their ideas. When the participants came home from each meeting, they organized a similar street debate in their town, which brought the impact of the project into the local level in various countries.
You can read more about the project here:
After organizing two projects in Turkey, we decided that we are ready for - at least from a geographical point of view - a bigger challenge and we applied for a project to take place in Lebanon. Our partners were our favourite trainer Ieva and NGO Amel Association International, that provided great logistical support. The aim of the project was to explore the concept of diversity and to learn to lead young people to see it as a value and not a threat. The diversity in the project itself was very high because apart from Europeans, there were also participants from Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Morocco and Jordan, which gave us a lot of opportunities for intercultural dialogue. There were many practical parts in the programme of the seminar - we organized short games for children in a refugee camp and a living library in the centre of Amel Association. We also visited the ancient town of Byblos and a detention centre where Lebanese soldiers used to be imprisoned by the Israeli. While evaluating the project, you could hear words as "unforgettable" and "life-changing" and we do believe that our adventure in Lebanon will stay in us and will keep forming our personalities long after we return home to our everyday routines.
Here you can read a perfectly detailed article about the project written by Lada, one of the Czech participants.
If you want to learn more about the Amel Association that was hosting us in Beirut, you can check out their website.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Mája
On 2. 2. 2019, we (six members of our organization) organized a trip to Prague in order to educate ourselves a little bit. We went to the National Memorial on Vítkov Hill and visited exhibitions connected to the history of Czechoslovakia - we saw pictures from the fighting at National Radio in 1989, we saw the last letter of Milada Horáková and much more. The most interesting was probably information about Klement Gottwald's mausoleum and his sloppy mummification. After lunch, we went to the National Gallery for an exhibition of Salvador Dalí and competed, who understands him the least. Before we went home, we managed to have a cup of coffee/hot chocolate and talk a little (also about the programme of this year's summer camp).
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Mája
In November 2018, the second part of the "Empathy" project took place in Romania, this time it was a youth exchange. The young people learned to better work with their emotions and their group leaders learned to teach them these abilities. The leader of the Czech group was Nikol, who the youngsters grew to love more or less as much as me and Jája in September. The programme involved energizers, discussions, cultural evenings and a trip to the town of Sighisoara - the birth place of count Dracula. Because the Czech group was coming form different parts of the Czech Republic, they had a lot of fun getting to know other dialects.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Because we really enjoyed the Digital Youth project, which we organized in October 2017, we decided to carry it out once more a year later. Our steps lead again to Turkey, this time to the touristic destination of Alanya. During the project, we organized a lot of non-formal learning activities in order to get familiar with the topics of intercultural dialogue and tolerance and we played various games in order to experience as much as possible on our own skin. At the same time, we had the opportunity to learn how to use the audiovisual equipment in various workshops carried out by professional filmmakers. In the second half of the project, we divided into filmmaking teams and each of the teams created their own film - there were 6 of them in total plus Aftermovie (a kind of "behind the scenes"). In our free time, we were getting to know each other, making friends, chilled at the beach and on the last day, we made a trip to explore the town of Alanya. On the last evening of the project, the moment we all expected finally took place and we watched the created movies. They were just as awesome as we expected them to be. We had a great time at the project and we are very much looking forward to making more movies in May in Armenia.
You can check out the movies here.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Mája
Between 7th and 12th October, I took part in a training course Green Youth Media on the Turkish island of Gökçiada. As you can see from the name, the main topic of the course was building awareness about ecology amongst young people via media. The place where the project took place had its reason, this island in the north of Turkey is very naturally interesting, mainly geologically, the local government is trying to maintain sustainable tourism and protect the environment. The project was five days long and there were participants from the Czech Republic, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania, Greece, Spain and Turkey. At the beginning we did teambuilding activities, then we had theoretical lessons with our trainer Bruno. We digged deeper into the topic of media and communication, using the potential of web tools and social networks and acquiring digital competences. The whole course was based on our own initiative, we also had workshops about environmental activism, social media, graphic design, etc. We also visited several local institutions. The project was a good inspiration for more environmental projects on a bigger scale, as the island itself provides a lot of inspiration.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Vít Votroubek, participant of the project
In September 2018, me, Jája and Nikol (who we found on the internet and immediately liked a lot) travelled to Romania to attend a training course for youth workers "EMPathY", in which we dealed with the topic of emotional management. From our trainer Oscar, we learned how to better work with our emotions and listen to the feelings of others, which will be very useful for us when working with young people in the future. In our free time, we had a lot of fun and also explored the beautiful countryside in the mountains, went to see the sunrise and visited a local truffle "farm". One day we also made a trip to Sighisoara and learned about its history. Me and Nikol also will probably never forget our trip to Cluj and sleeping at the airport in Bucharest and Jája her journey to Romania by train - sometimes you have to learn the hard way.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Mája
When this year's summer camp was over, we decided that we wanted to enjoy the beautiful summer weather at our campsite a bit more this year and we managed to organize one more project there before the holidays ended. The youth exchange "You(th) Play" brought together young people from the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia and the topic - as is obvious from the name - were games. Our aim was to find out, how much we can learn about each other and about the world around us by playing games. And I must say that it was definitely a lot. We also enjoyed two outdoor games at night and an adventurous game that helped us to get to know the town of Tábor. At the end of the project, we were supposed to create our own games, which was a challenging task, but we had a lot of fun fulfilling it.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Mája
This year's summer camp was very successful. We had quite a high number of children and thanks to an Erasmus+ project "Summer Camp Adventure", we could also welcome foreign leaders - this year from Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey. During the 14 days, the children were travelling around the world, visiting various countries, getting to know new cultures and also a little bit of political systems. The children will for sure never forget the visit to North Corea. Besides that, we also took part in a Brazilian carnival, fought with the Russian mafia and learned to create origami in China. In the second week, we also visited the town of Český Krumlov - we visited the gardens next to the chateaux and had lunch right at the castle. Because a professional filmmaker joined us this year, we are happy to have also our first summer camp video.
You can check out photos from the camp here and the video here.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Lukáš (Dum)
From 29th June to 9th July 2018 me and my friend from scout took part in a training course Through Outdoor Experiential Learning to the Best of You(th). This project focused on working with young people in nature and it took place in Slovakia. Every day we were learning how to work with young people and how to organize outdoor activities for them. We experienced many various activities and enjoyed many coffee breaks, during which we could taste food from the countries involved in the project (Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Lithuania, Croatia, Latvia and Estonia). At the end of the project we divided into several international groups and we went hiking for three days in Tatras. On the way we fulfilled various challenges (walking blind for a moment or with bare feet and more). I liked this part of the project the most. One aim of the project was to create an activity for young people, which we will later on implement in our countries.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Týna Bergelová, participant of the project
The second weekend in May, representatives of our organization took part in an international training under the Erasmus+ project "The Long Way to Europe". This time the meeting took place in Krakow, because this place is in many ways connected to antisemitism and holocaust. 28 participants from eight countries got the opportunity to visit Schindler's factory (famous thanks to the Spielberg's movie Schindler's List) and also the most famous concentration camp Auschwitz. The training ended by organizing a street debate in the streets of Krakow, which motivated the participants to be more active in the society when they come home.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE.
Lukáš (Dum)
On the 12th of May, we organized our first "street debate" as a part of an Erasmus+ project "The Long Way to Europe", which motivates young people to be more interested in what is happening in their countries and to take an active part in the society. The topic of this first debate was "difference" and our aim was to create a debate about this topic amongst random people on the street who would normally never start talking to each other. We - me (Mája), Eva Pešková, Míra Krampera and Petr Čáp - met in the morning on the square in Sedlčany, brought a big board and on it, we hung the question "Have you ever felt "different"? When?" Then we asked random people on the square and wrote their answers on the board - this way we created a kind of a collage of various experiences with "being different", which the passers-by could read and think about. The whole time there was a nice and friendly atmosphere, we enjoyed the time together and gained experiences, which we are going to use in the next debates we organize.
You can see photos from the gallery HERE
Mája
In the first week of February we organized a training course for youth workers named "Games for Change" in Říčany, Czech Republic. The participants had a great opportunity to learn to use games as a method in non-formal education and also as a tool for spreading tolerance and inclusion. People from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Latvia, Estonia, Spain and Turkey took part in the project. After the theoretical part of the project and a half-day excursion to Prague, which everybody enjoyed quite a lot, the participants got the chance to put into practice what they learned and create their own educational game. And the results were very interesting - besides using the knowledge and skills they gained during the project, they also used a lot of their own creativity and originality. The project brought together a group of great people enthusiastic about games and so we spent most of the free time playing board as well as non-board games and we had a lot of fun and gained new contacts as well as good friends.
Photos from the project are in the gallery.
Mája
In November 2017 we hosted our last project of the year. It was a youth exchange named "Eco Possibilities for Entrepreneurship", which was attended by young people from Spain, Slovakia, Turkey and the Czech Republic. By using the method of various games, discussions and "learning by doing" they learned about ecology and entrepreneurship and tried to find ways to combine these two areas and create their own business, which would be not only successful, but also eco-friendly. There was enough time left also for teambuilding activities, a trip to Prague and to a bio-bakery Zemanka and intercultural evenings, which everybody liked a lot. At the end of the project, we went to the local high school, where we talked to the students not only about eco-entrepreneurship, but also about Erasmus+ and the opportunities it gives to young people. The project had a very nice and friendly atmosphere, we had a lot of fun and made many new friends.
You can check out pictures from the project in the gallery.
If you are interested in more details about the project, have a look at the bulletin:
In October 2017, we organized our first international project outside of the Czech Republic. Between 11th and 19th October we met in a Turkish town of Patara with more than 30 people from Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and Latvia, who work with young people and want to broaden their horizons in this area. This time the topic of the training was using audiovisual technologies as a tool for making young people more interested in other cultures and make them more tolerant towards people who are different. During the first days the participants discussed about intercultural learning and youth work and at the same time learned to use a camera and shoot and edit videos. At the end they split into groups and created five original short movies that somehow address the topic of intercultural diversity. And because everybody worked hard and with a lot of enthusiasm, we also had the time to explore Turkish nature and culture - we visited a traditional bazar, a ruin of ancient parliament and on the last day we went canoeing. We are now enriched by new experiences, but also new friendships and common plans for the future.
You can see the movies frome the project here.
For photos, check out the gallery.
Mája
In August 2017 we organized our third training course for youth workers, this time the topic was "outdoor activities". 26 participants from the Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Macedonia, Spain and Portugal discovered during the 8 days of the project their relationship with nature and the main theories about learning in/from nature. We tried for example acrobatic yoga, walking on ropes and night games in the forest. The second half of the project was more practical - the participants tried to organize their own outdoor activities for children. The most interesting part of the project was undoubtedly the night hike, during which the participants slept in the nature, walked at least 20 kilometres and also fulfilled challenges that they chose - walk one hour without shoes or blindfolded, swim in a lake, talk to the local people and so on. During this project we continued designig ideas for our future activities and so we can be looking forward to meeting some of our new friends soon.
You can see photos from the project here.
Mája
This year, our summer camp was a bit of an experiment, since we had made two significant changes in the way of organization. The first one was joining the two terms (for younger and older kids) into one. The second change was taking the international side of our camp to the next level by connecting it with a youth exchange under Erasmus+ programme, which was called "Summer camp adventure". This way, we could use the help and enthusiasm of 18 young leaders from the Czech republic, Slovakia and Spain. They were accommodated in the two cabins on the other side of the river and their main programme was exploring what being a youth worker/camp leader is about, what it is like to organize games and activities for children, but also taking care of themselves, cooking their own dinner, etc. It was a great opportunity for them to experience life in the middle of the Czech countryside, learn to canoe (God knows it wasn't easy), etc. During the camp we also organized a trip to Tábor, where the kids as well as the foreign leaders could explore the historical sights and Czech culture and then challenge themselves a little bit by walking back to the campsite. As a reward, they organized for the children Spanish and Slovakian evenings, in which they introduced to them their food, music, languages... On one rainy day we also had a movie marathon of animated movies. For next year, we have this project already approved, this time we will host also young people from Finland and Italy.
You can find all the pictures from the project here.
And some of them also in the gallery.
Mája
From 14th to 27th May 2017 we hosted an Erasmus+ project in Prague, that was called Get Your Own Picture. We had planned it together with our partners from Turkey and Germany, who already have a lot of experience with similar projects. 50 young people from Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Germany, Latvia, Greece and Spain took part in the project. After three days of ice-breaking games and theoretical workshops, they started fulfilling the task for which they came - to shoot their own short movie. They were divided into groups and they could try to be in different positions - somebody got the role of director, then there were producers, cameramans and so on. The participants had the opportunity to explore Prague and to shoot their movies there. After ten days of work we celebrated our success by looking at our movies projected in a cinema at FAMU. With the same partners we are already planing more project for the future and we are looking forward to more similar experiences.
Here you can find pictures and video from the project.
Here are the movies that we created.
Mája
Training course named "Multipliers of Non Formal & Intercultural Communication" that took place from 15th to 23rd April in the Turkish city of Antalya was attended by four Czech participants from our organization. During a week full of non-formal learning we learned how to work with prejudices and intercultural stereotypes, we got to know how to approach topics such as discrimination, social exclusion, our identity and values. We tried to understand various types of learning and in the end we tried what it takes to lead our own workshop. Besides learning, during the breaks we got to know food from the participating countries. Each national team prepared their own coffee break with snacks and a short introduction of their country. We also had the time to explore the beautiful city of Antalya and the surrounding. We visited the town of Termessos, which was not conquired even by Alexander the Great. We left the project with many new experiences and also many new friendships which we hope will last as long as possible.
Here you can find pictures from the project.
Lucie Firlová, participant of the project
In march of this year (2017) a group of three Czech studets, me, Anna and Jaja, attended Erasmus+ project in Italy. The project took place in Moliterno(PZ) and was named Creative Enterprise. Our main focus was on creating a realistic business plan, making realistic idea of how business works. Everyone enjoyed this project because it was entertaining.
Vojtěch Matouš, participant of the project
During the week between 5th and 13th March an Erasmus+ project "Gender - Awareness to be Aware" took place in Pärnu, Estonia. On behalf of our organization there were two participants - me and my classmate Jenda. As the title of the project hints, we were dealing mainly with "gender issues" - gender identity and equality, discrimination and oppression. The first few days were a bit rocky, because all of us came with different oppinions and had a lot of emotions that needed to come out. For the first time we got to know the fact, that some people don't agree with a binary perception of society and that some of them choose to have no gender and some of them on the other side feel like being both. We heard many different oppinions and it was a real intellectual challenge to find those we could relate with. After a few passionate discussions, our group came to a calmer state, we learned to tolerate our differences and we became not only a functional team, but also good friends. And maybe because our way to mutual friendship was a bit tough and full of emotions, the harder it was to say "goodbye". The evening programme also contributed to general well-being - pantomimical movie quiz, visiting spa and unforgettable dancing in the dark. On Wednesday we enjoyed a relaxing day, we went sightseeing in the town and had a walk on icebound Baltic see. We had an intense week full of new experiences and self-reflection that we won't forget.
You can see more pictures in the gallery.
Mája
In November 2016 six people from our organization took part in an Erasmus+ project that took place in High Tatras. It's name was "Eco-entrepreneur", so obviously the main topics we were dealing with were entrepreneurship and ecology. We discovered the opportunities young entrepreneurs have in different countries and tried to come up with our own ideas. Although the programme was quite bussy, we also found time to go walking and explore the beautiful nature. On our way to Slovakia we visited Machocha - the deepest chasm in the Czech Republic - and on the way back home we made a stop in Oswiecim.
You can see more pictures in the gallery.
Mája
From the 27th August to 4th September 2016 we organized our second international training course for youth workers in Tábor. 28 people from 9 european countries took part in it. The topic was this time intercultural learning and designing activities for youngsters on this subject. The participants themselves were lead to question and break down their prejudices towards other cultures. There was also a practical part in which the participants had the opportunity to try what it's like to prepare educational activities for others. During the week we also made an adventurous trip to our campsite, where we enjoyed a few outdoor games and an evening by the campfire. The program also included a visit to Tábor, sauna and football. Just like last year, this project has been a big motivation for us to keep preparing new events.
You can see more pictures in the gallery.
Mája
Just like the previous years, we managed to hold two summer camps sessions, both two weeks long. Than means we spent the entire July in our campsite having fun with the children. In August we also lended the camp to scauts.
In the first session, there were again children from Spain - two girls and a boy. Two young camp leaders also came with them and helped us with games. This means the children had a great opportunity to improve their Engish and get to know the Spanish culture a little bit closer. The topic of the whole session was Game of Thrones. The children had to protect their kingdom form the threat of Targeryens and white walkers. At the same time they competed with each other in order to win the iron throne and become the ruler of the Seven kingdoms.
The second session was as usually for younger children. But they could also try some English, because two of the Spanish leaders decided to stay with us a little bit longer. This year our topic was indians - we looked for a hidden treasure, saved a captive and made our own dream-catchers. As always, we played a lot of games, bathed in the river, went on trips... and made a lot of memories we are not gonna forget.
We hope the children enjoyed the camp at least as much as we did.
Mája
In October 2015 we managed to organize our first Erasmus+ project in Tábor, Czech Republic. It was a training course for youth workers named "Magic of Non-Formal Learning". Five of our camp leaders took part along with 21 youth workers from other european countries. While we were taking care of the organization and logistical support, the programme had been designed by two experienced trainers from Latvia and Romania. Not only that we learned about non-formal approach to learning and discovered a lot of new games, we also got to know a group of great people and experienced unforgettable 10 days. Soon after the end of this project, we already started creating a new one. You can find more information in the "youth work" section.
You can see pictures from this project in the gallery.
Mája
In July 2015 we organized two summer camp sessions - the first for older children and second for the smaller ones.
This year we managed to host an international summer camp for the first time, 5 children from Spain and one leader from Slovakia participated in the first session. That meant that the children had a unique opportunity practice their English and learn something new about life in other countries. We also made a trip to the nearby town Tábor, so that also the Spanish kids could get to know the Czech culture better.
The theme of the whole session took palce in the Middle Ages, in the times of kings, knights and princesses. The children were divided into two teams and had to win games and fulfil various tasks to improve their half of the kingdom and protect it from its enemies, who were about to attack it.
The second session was designed for younger children and so it was a little bit more relaxed. We spent a lot of time swimming in the river, playing in the water and singing songs at the campfire. One day we went on a trip to a ruined castle Příběnice. This session was as well set into the Middle Ages.