NOORTEVAHETUS
Name of the project: “Solidarity First: development of an united society’’ Youth Exchange
Date: 12th September – 20th September 2022
City/Country: Naples, Italy.
What was the main topic of the event?
Andreas Palm – Understanding the concept of European Union and its values
Carl Christian Kalmann – The main topic for the project was to research ways how young EU citizens can be active in European Union.
Ester Nugis – The main topic of the project was EU Solidarity, different concepts of EU and how European Union works overall – different institutions, programs (for the youth mostly, but for everyone as well), volunteering etc.
Joonas Põldoja – European Solidarity
What were the biggest learning moments of the event for you?
Andreas Palm – My biggest learning moment was about the European values topic, because like most of us, I had never actually read them but just had a gut feeling what they might be. I got to fully understand why it is essential to know them and act like an exemplary European citizen.
Though, the most interesting (and useful) topic in my opinion was about ERASMUS+ and ESC (European Solidarity Corps). The facilitators of the program described the possibilities and ways we all can have more experience, travel and learn about the world. For example you can start a company, then pitch your business plan to the commission and when it gets approved you can choose a company abroad with similar concept that is already fully working and go there for 3months to 1year to an internship. You can learn all about the essentials, what you might need, etc then go back to your country and implement the strategies on your own company.
Carl Christian Kalmann – For me it was interesting to hear what other people had to say about the topic and I learnt that even if you and someone else are both from EU but different countries, then you both could still have your own vision of how European Union works.
Ester Nugis – Biggest learning moment and what I just liked the most was different simulations and mini-projects in groups, because it gave us, participants, the opportunity to use our creativity, think trough different aspects needed for the exercise but also hear out other people, who share their experience in this particular field. One of my favourite parts was getting to know different Erasmus+ opportunities, that young people in EU have and the benefits and structure of these different programs.
Joonas Põldoja – For me the biggest learning moment was the last group project, where we were given the task of making a short video introducing a topic to young people. It was very fun to come up with ideas on how to make our video look interesting and executing them. Also getting to see the finished project felt really rewarding.
Do you have any plans to continue being active in the field? If yes, in which way?
Andreas Palm – I plan to be as active as my university allows right now. But every chance I get I want to have more experiences and go to these projects to educate myself more and more. Also because I got to know these other cool ways as well I plan to use them when I am older.
Carl Christian Kalmann – Yes of course, I am going to be volunteering for some activities.
Ester Nugis – Yes, I have plans to continue being active in the field. First of all we talked about different ways to be an active citizen in EU so definitely try to be more active, but also because youth exchanges and training courses are part of EU (because of Erasmus+) then I would be happy to be active in the field as a participant of different projects.
Joonas Põldoja – No, because i feel like im doing enough in my day to day life already.
Would you recommend this experience to your friends? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Andreas Palm – I would 100% recommend it to everyone. You don’t know when or how much chances you will get in life for these kind of things so I would use every possibility. If you are reading these experiences right now and deciding whether you should go or not, my answer is DEFINITELY because these memories will stay with you forever.
Carl Christian Kalmann – Yes, I recommend these types of activities to my friends because I think it is important to know what people in other countries think of the same topic and it improves your skill to analyze different scenarious.
Ester Nugis – Yes, I would totally recommend this experience to my friends, unforgettable memories. It was really fun to explore the city, learn new things about how the space we all live in is organised and just meet new people from around the world, communicate with them and also learn about their experience on the topic in their countries
Joonas Põldoja – YES. I will definitely reccomend it to friends. This has been an amazing experience for me. I feel like I have learned so many new things, grown as a person and met so many new and interesting people. This was my first project and almost everything exceeded my expectations.
This Project was financed by European Commission’s Erasmus + Programme
