The program was supported by EU !
The Power of Expression
After we finished our ‘Happy & Healthy You(th)’ youth exchange in 2019, we felt enthusiastic, and also our leaders, and we felt a strong desire to come together again, to go deeper, to explore our inner world though expression and also to develop even stronger intercultural bonds.
When we express ourselves we give some life to the thoughts and feelings inside us. Every person has
the right to express himself or herself and feels the need to do it – we feel this is the issue nowadays
more than ever and we feel this need in our lives and we're seeking to address it through this project.
Expressions are an important part of every human being on this earth. Through expressions we can
achieve a harmony between the physical body and the mental core. As important as it is to express
ourselves, it's definitely not easy because of the barriers we have created within ourselves.
There is not just one right way to do it. And when we express ourselves sincerely and openly, we get to
know each other better and we can create stronger relationships.
The aim of ‘The Power of Expression’ is to come together and express our thoughts and feelings through
music, dance, theatre, sports and hands-on activities to balance our body and mind and to build strong
friendships.
The project objectives are:
1. to actively promote the importance of expression in a balanced life through creativity and culture
2. to promote a physical and mental health among young people by promoting participation in sport,
art, cultural activities and teambuilding activities
3. to promote Erasmus+ opportunities for youth, the voluntary idea and Youthpass
4. to develop social and leadership skills of the youth and promote social inclusion and active
participation in the society
5. to provide youth with intercultural experience and create appreciation, tolerance and awareness of
different culture
Impressions from our ‘Happy & Healthy You(th)’ youth exchange in Simhachalam last year –
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Empowered by Diversity was a youth exchange project with youth organisations from Mediterranean countries, Central European countries and Western European countries and North European countries, with similar goals and needs, but with different experience with youth work and EU projects. Bringing different cultures together enriches our
lives, provides new opportunities and teaches us how to become one.
With this project we wanted to proactively promote and cultivate the idea of unity in diversity, inclusion and empowerment, and develop respect, mutual appreciation of different cultures, and by learning about different cultures and more about Erasmus+ opportunities for youth also getting new ideas of how to transform our talents into entrepreneurship opportunities.
On EU website it says: "It signifies how Europeans have come together, in the form of the EU, to work for peace and prosperity, while at the same time being enriched by the continent's many different cultures, traditions and languages."
We believe that we need space to grow and exercise diversity and this youth exchange was a perfect place to do it.
We wanted to explore this during "Empowered by Diversity" youth exchange project which took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia from 13th August 2019 to 19th August 2019, and empowered 44 young people from Latvia, Spain, Slovenia, Germany and Netherlands. Our idea was to come together, work toward common goals and learn firsthand how
diversity can really be a source of strength.
The idea for the project came from youth group in partner countries. Our need was to balance and unity in our lives so we could prosper and reach our potential. We also felt the need and strong wish to meet youth from other countries, feel accepted and form friendships. The aim of the project was for us as youth to learn together about differences and to become more
motivated to live in unity with people from different backgrounds, countries, speaking different languages, with different colour of skin, opinions.
Project objectives were:
1. to actively promote the idea of unity in diversity, inclusion and empowerment
2. to offer new ideas for entrepreneurship and foster skills and competencies within the participants which will promote entrepreneurial attitudes and be relevant for and enhance job opportunities.
3. to promote Erasmus+ opportunities for youth, the voluntary idea and Youthpass
4. to develop social and leadership skills of the youth and promote social inclusion and active participation in the society
5. to provide youth with intercultural experience and create appreciation, tolerance and awareness of different culture
By actively participating during all phases of the project the participants gained new skills, knowledge, and attitudes on unity, health, personal progress and creativity to use in their everyday life, they became motivated to be more active in their local community, using skills and ideas gained during the exchange. As one of the long-term benefits the youth wanted to spread this message of Empowered by Diversity in their circles and create a much needed wave of positivity in the world.
Also their social and leadership skills improved, as well as their self-awareness and self-assurance.
They formed some long-lasting friendships with other participants.
We strongly believe that our project focused on some of the main objectives and goals of Erasmus+programme as the newly acquired skills and experiences of the participants was validated in Youthpass and disseminated within their sending organization and local community.
It was also connected to Europe 2020 strategy for inclusive and
sustainable growth as we emphasized unity in diversity, social inclusion and health.
