Our friends are always asking about our Erasmus+ projects. For those who don’t know, a Youth Exchange is an educational experience that involves young people from different European countries, offering them the opportunity to share cultures, ideas and skills through activities and collaborative experiences.
What about us? Five countries took part in a project in Druskininkai, Lithuania, concerning the theme of social justice, among which Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece and the host country itself. This exchange allowed us to improve, in addition to our language skills, our ability to put ourselves at stake as individuals and as a group, our knowledge on the activities’ topics and more generally our ability to exercise our rights and duties as active citizens in our society.
Thanks to our lovely facilitators Carlos and Jurgita, we had the opportunity to get to talk more about those topics that aren’t discussed enough but that at the same time are fundamental for a civil and peaceful coexistence.
More specifically, we brainstormed ideas of social justice, managing to come up with a definition that allowed us to move forward with the activities.
We then came to concretize these topics with practical activities and games. Among all the issues that have been dealt with, such as legitimacy, power and privilege, conflicting identities and empowerment, the most debated was social rights over which we detabed, sometimes getting too excited to the point it became an active debate but always showing interest and respect.
These comparisons helped us open our minds, trying to change our point of view in case of error. In the middle of this unforgettable experience we had the opportunity to visit Druskininkai, a small but cozy village near our accommodation.
The atmosphere was dreamy, with snow covering everything and the lake where we spent some of our time together (a greeting to Drunka). It was a very interesting trip since we learned something about the town, and we tasted the spa water (our faces that were a little disgusted but also funny).
Let’s not leave out our unforgettable nights spent together dancing, singing and playing, but above all learning a little more about the beautiful countries that took part in this project, the commitment they put into showing everyone the passion and love for their home and the fact that they urged us to visit them.
We just have to thank everyone and recommend these experiences to our friends because the Erasmus experience is a unique journey that enriches your life in unimaginable ways. Living in a foreign country, immersing yourself in a new culture and making international friends creates a stimulating and transformative environment. Erasmus projects are not only exchange programmes, they are indelible chapters of personal discovery and collection.
written by: Arbjona and Elly