The project Explaining Europe was held in Poland from 4th till 11th of September. The participants were from Poland, Spain, Czech Republic, Romania, Malta, Lithuania, Bulgaria, FYROM and Italy. The aims of the project were to share the countries’ attitudes towards European Union, describe youth involvement in social and political life, find out the programs available in countries for the young people. The topics were EU awareness, active citizenship and youth social and political activeness.
When I realized I was selected to participate in international project, I was both very happy and curious. Lithuanian NGO Innovation Office did an excellent job providing all the information necessary about the event. Filling in all the application forms, writing motivation letter was smooth and with no pressure. So from the very beginning organizers took great care of us, for example making guidebook how we could safely and on time arrive to the meeting point. The effort of organizers was well assessed.
Non formal atmosphere. The leaders of this training were informal and they performed two important functions – helped the group achieve it’s objectives and strengthened group’s existence. I strongly believe that the result of non formal atmosphere was effective decision making. There was targeted use of knowledge of the group members, proper use of time and qualified solutions made.
Creativeness. Explaining Europe let participants find themselves in a rich, constructive, structured environment which formed creativeness. The individual work was encouraged and group work was full of sharing and support. Cultural differences and knowledge were accepted. All the participants could have felt the trainers’ effort to make the environment safe to share, express the opinions. So the creative force of the project was used and developed properly.
Social interest. The man is social by nature. One of the inherent human need is togetherness. During the project we could have felt sense of community which is composed of two parts – the need to belong and the need to contribute to the group’s life. So a person who feels like a real member of the group, feels he/she can be useful, safe and confident enough to be significant. Social interest of the project was active and motivating, empowering the behavior, the participants were turning to the socially useful way and were seeking to contribute. Sense of community was a great force connecting all the participants.
Activeness and cooperation. All the participants of the project were supported and encouraged by organizers and trainers. The youth leaders were able to work hard and relax during the breaks and in the evenings. So combining active participation and recreation led to the productive way of spending time during sessions. The ability to communicate and collaborate was an important factor. Good communication was the perfect way to deal with the various issues and to build community. Immediate cooperation in Explaining Europe project helped to develop full powers.
In conclusion, I’d like to say that the project Explaining Europe was a great opportunity to be educated, empowered, provided with new innovative approaches of promotion EU awareness among young people in Europe. Thank You for this.
