NOORTEVAHETUS
Name of the project: “Bee Active’’ Youth Exchange
Date: 18th July – 24th July 2022
City/Country: Sanguedo, Santa Maria da Feira – Portugal
What was the main topic of the event?
Anna Suzdalev – Biodiversity around young people and bees in environment and how to promote learning by different actuvities in the nature
Cecilia Eero – Targeting the social exclusion of young people, by creating opportunities for learning in a natural and multicultural environment
Elisabeth Luisk – Environmentally friendly behaviours, biodiversity and the role of bees.
Kirke Rumvolt – 1) the problem of social exclusion of young people
2) the promotion of biodiversity
Mariann Lamp – The project encouraged young people to be active and see different cultures and environments.
Sanna Elisabeth Armilda Ylönen – To combat the problem of social exclusion and to promote biodiversity.
What were the biggest learning moments of the event for you?
Anna Suzdalev – The biggest learning moment for me to see how disabled people are treated in one of the places and how by giving them freedom and instructions in safe nature can help them to feel important to the society
Cecilia Eero – It was the time we visited the Biological farm AMICIS whose mission was to promote the inclusion and social rehabilitation of people with disabilities. Seeing how full of life, how positive and resilient they were was just so eye opening and made me very grateful for the life and health I was given. It made me reconsider how minor some of my struggles are compared to them. I had never really been in direct contact with so many people with disabilities so it was a great learning experience that I will not forget.
Elisabeth Luisk – Biggest learning moment was seeing the work of Red Cross in Sanguedo and understading their system of emergency work which is totally different from the one we have in Estonia.
Kirke Rumvolt – For me personally, the biggest learning moment was when I realized once again that people from different countries can have quite contrasting cultural backgrounds and ways of living but by sharing and explaining these aspects to others, people can create amazing bonds and learn a lot from each other.
Mariann Lamp – When we visited the Biological Farm, the biggest learning moment for me was that even if we are not “normal”, we are all humans and we are capable of doing great things for society.
Sanna Elisabeth Armilda Ylönen – The biggest learning moment was to get to know other countries and their culture.
Do you have any plans to continue being active in the field? If yes, what?
Anna Suzdalev – Yes, I would like to get to know better how disabled people are treated in Estonia and what are the differences. Firstly I want to get better understanding and then see where it will take me
Cecilia Eero – I believe including youth should be commonplace in every field. The youth are our future so it is logical to include them in the creation and decision making of their own future environments. Thus, I definitely will be promoting youth inclusion more in the events or projects I got a chance to be part of. I am already working on including youth in for example city planning aspects, but now I will take it even more seriously and detailed.
Elisabeth Luisk – In addition to all environment-friendly actions I already do, I want to read more about the work of bees in Estonia and visit beekeepers here as well.
Kirke Rumvolt – Yes, I would love to partake in other youth projects and once I’m more experienced, I’d like to try being a group leader since working with young people seems to suit me very well.
Mariann Lamp – Yes.I definitely plan to participate more in the youth exchange project and help as a volunteer.As a volunteer, I would like to help and reconnect those young people who have previously participated in the YE project and also help new young people who are interested in youth exchange.
Sanna Elisabeth Armilda Ylönen – Yes, i would like to participate in other projects in the future as well.
Would you recommend it to your friends? If yes, why? If not, why not?
Anna Suzdalev – Yes and No. Yes because the idea behind was really interesting and you got to see how are things done in other country. And No, because it can be hard topic for someone who maybe has someone who doesn’t get the same opportunities like they in Portugal.
Cecilia Eero – I believe yes as every young person learns not only about the theme of the project but also about themselves through this experience. You also get to visit places where you would literally never go on a casual tourist trip. Those places show you the authentic daily life of the local people and that is the best way to learn about a new culture or country.
Elisabeth Luisk – I would recommend this experience as we learned about Portugal, their nature and culture plus got to meet amazing people around the world.
Kirke Rumvolt – Yes, I would definitely recommend my experience to friends because projects like Bee Active give the youth an opportunity to learn more about interesting and essential topics and at the same time create global connections with like-minded people and promote open-mindedness, empathy and willingness to constantly learn and improve.
Mariann Lamp – Yes, of course. The youth exchange is a wonderful opportunity for young people to experience the cultures and customs of other countries. In addition, it also offers the opportunity to meet other cool active young people from different countries and it gives the opportunity to create friendships. The youth exchange will be an adventure you will not forget.
Sanna Elisabeth Armilda Ylönen – Yes, beacause you can widen your eyesights and get new experiences and new knowledge. Meet new people and get new friends.
This Project was financed by European Commission’s Erasmus + Programme
