Name of the project: Rural Areas for You(th), You(th) for Rural Areas

Date:23rd– 31st March , 2017
Country/City:Slovakia, Červeny Klástor



What was the main topic of the event?
Erik Allik: Rural development and photography
Agnes Aus: The main topic of the YE was to analyze the situation in the rural areas of participating countries, find problems and what could be done to improve life in the rural areas. In addition to that we learned to use photography and videos to promote the area where the project took place.
Maria Vita: The main topic was development of rural areas through promotion and tourism and photography. We discussed the problems rural areas have in our countries and in that specific area where we stayed in Slovakia. The other main topic was photography, so we had some lectures about photography and we made photo and video material for the Pieniny National Park – the place we were staying.
Kristina Korell: This exchange was about promoting rural areas in Slovakia and finding out ways to develop tourism and business in those areas.
What was the biggest learning moments on the event for you?
Erik Allik: That a lot of young people think the same as I do about rural development, but also that many do not think like that at all, which is both encouraging, as well as challenging, at the same time.
Agnes Aus: Because I was already rather familiar with the topic I believe I gained soft skills the most – learning to work as a team, to divide roles, find strengths of others and communicate my ideas in a multicultural environment.
Maria Vita:For me the biggest learning moment was actually practising my English and getting overall knowledge of the other participating countries – their culture, people, problems… And i also got some new photography tips 🙂
Kristina Korell: The biggest learning moment was how important is workload distribution in team work and how to work with different people.

Do you have any plans to continue active in the field? If yes, what?
Erik Allik: Not specific plans, but I might join other projects on that topic, if possible, and I also have some commercial entrepreneurship ideas regarding rural development and economics.
Agnes Aus: As I recently started working more with young people I would like to do perhaps some learning mobilities to gain more knowledge about teaching and communication. I would certainly join another youth exchange on an interesting topic and I’m looking into the possibility to do Erasmus Young Entrepreneur.
Maria Vita: We were told about the endless possibilities Erasmus + has, so i am thinking of maybe participating in some other projects too, the Erasmus for young entrepreneurs for example.
Kristina Korell: I’m planning to continue participating in similar projects and maybe organizing a project like that myself.

Would you recommend it to your friends? I yes, why? If not, why not?
Erik Allik: Yes, I think participating in such project would be beneficial and eye opening to many young people.
Agnes Aus: I would definitely recommend it to my friends because YE is a great way to gain new skills that can be applied elsewhere in life. It will give you lots of new contacts and help you see different perspectives. Last but not least, it’s possibly the most fun you can have in a week.
Maria Vita: I would definitely recommend. You get new cool friends, see amazing places, get to discuss on topics that matter and make plans to make the world a better place 🙂
Kristina Korell: I definitely will recommend it to my friends, because besides gaining a lot of new knowledge there will be a lot of fun activities and new friends from different countries, and who doesen’t want that?
More comments or anything else you would like to share? You can add here in your own language, if you want!
Erik Allik: It was interesting to see that rural problems vary significantly from country to country, and that perhaps people from one country could offer quite original solutions to problems in a completely different country.
Maria Vita: It’s just something you can’t get while travelling on your own. 35 people in the same house for a whole week. They kind of become your sort of family for that time, and you forget the other life you have in your country. A great way for forgetting everyday problems and taking break to think of what really matters in life.

Our group was composed by: Erik Allik, Agnes Aus, Maria Vita, Kristina Korell and Eduard Porotnikov. 












This Project was financed by European Commission’s Erasmus + Programme
2018-01-09T15:23:22+00:00