Questo post è disponibile anche in: Italian
It has been recently finished the training course “Be Active Youth” 
held from 8th to 14th of July in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia and coordinated by educational team of Youmore Morcelli Giovani – Don Alberto Boscaglia, Paolo Festa, Sona Arevshatyan, Uliana Bychkova and Justina Krauledaitė – in collaboration with FYCA – Federation of Youth Clubs of Armenia, under the platform Erasmus Plus promoted by NGA – National Agency for Youth. Protagonists of the training course, developed and directed by the educational staff of the Agency Eurodesk of Chiari Youmore Morcelli Giovani, are twenty-six young people from Estonia, Italy, Armenia, Romania, Georgia and Ukraine who shared their experience, some methods of informal education and points of interest to involve youngsters in work activities of rural areas. The young participants came into contact with the Armenian reality through guided tours in the rural centers of the Armenian associations and in the technology center Tumo they had the opportunity to find out some job offers to Armenians peersafter school. There were guided tours in the most important cities of Armenia, but also itineraries of study to know about non-metropolitan areas of Armenian territory. There was also the guided tour dedicated to a tragic event in the Armenian history, the centenary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, led by Sona Arevshatyan that allowed all young people to learn more about the culture and local history.
“It was seven intense and exciting days! – said the project manager of Youmore Morcelli Giovani Sona Arevshatyan –A goal of the project was to enhance the value of creativity in youth work, by identifying the key skills developed in the youth sector and useful to improve the work in rural areas. We realized different activities, ice-breaking games, simulation games, group works, presentations of organizations, initiatives of youth policy and partnership led by the president of the Federation of Youth Associations of Armenia Atom Mkhitarya while I personally showed in training sessions the new program of the European Commission Erasmus Plus and strategic links for the europlanning. We were happy to see all the participants taking part with great pleasure in every offered activity. It was also a very effective test of the skills for the educational team Youmore Morcelli Giovani thanks to educational insights of prof. Paolo Festa, the logistical and organizational support provided by Justina Krauledaitė while Uliana Bychkova managed to update online news, activities and photos of the training course on social networks and on our official website of the Agency Eurodesk of Chiari. Don Alberto Boscaglia was invited to interview on TV – even on the First Channel of Armenian TV! -, on the radio and in Armenian newspapers thanks to the interviews with the president of the Federation of Youth Clubs of Armenia they could achieve a wide audience to promote 
wide-ranging project “Be Active Youth” but also many activities of Youmore Morcelli Giovani. The group of twenty-six young people reached the maximum harmony with the intercultural evening where each participant presented their original country with the local cuisine and national songs and dances. Mostly, a tremendous success obtained traditional Georgian and Ukrainian dances meanwhile the delicious Italian cuisine was also appreciated by all the participants. “
The highlight of the training course in Armenia of Youmore Morcelli Giovani was the participation at the annual Festival of Vardavar which takes place on July 12, exactly 98 days after Easter, to celebrate the ancient tradition of the “Water day” which was celebrated in the famous and ancient monastery of Geghard, a world heritage of humanity of UNESCO. The Armenian custom wants the locals on 12 July to pour buckets of water as a sign of greeting people on the street, especially foreigners. “The event of Vardavar- explained Sona Arevshatyan – has a religious meaning for the Armenian Apostolic Church which reminds the Transfiguration of Christ in front of the three Apostles and it is one of the most solemn holidays in our religious calendar. Actually, the purpose of the festival is not only to involve people in the pouring water on each other and to participate in dancing and singing, but it is a celebration that wants to communicate love and puriness. To understand the spiritual meaning of this event of the Armenian tradition, all twenty-six participants of the training course “Be Active Youth” were involved in an individual flashmob on the theme of water and these images were published by each member on their profile Facebook to increase the visibility of the project of transnational exchange. It`s also possible to watch some video of Vardavar festival here:
At the end of the training course, all participants received the Youthpass issued by the Commission of European Union of Erasmus Plus. The enthusiasm shown by twenty-six young people who were part of the project “Be Active Youth” is a strong incentive for the educational team of Youmore Morcelli Giovani to elaborate new experience of youth exchange in Europe, of which we will soon share information and more details on our website www.youmore.org»
