Category Archive : poland

I like to move it, move it! Youth Exchange

This time wEUnite itself organized a project which took place in Vienna from the 15th until the 22nd of February 2018.

The main topic due to the title „I like to move it, move it“, was the impact of sports in personal daily life. A perfect fitting number of 25 participants from five countries (group of five per country) attended in the project. Besides of Austria with some German influence, also Poland, Italy, Lithuania and Estonia were on board.

Already before we met each other in person, a Facebook group was created along with assignments to get to know the other participants and an idea about the project as well as receiving information about the schedule and other essential stuff.




Move it, move.
I am going to start with our daily sport activities which began every mornging at 10:00 am after breakfast. Each day had another topic and they were built on each other. (01) The first day we did sports without movement and by ourselves. Jumping, stretching and sweating, all together but still alone. (02) The following day was about others and we had to choose a partner with whom we performed the given tasks. It was a lot of fun and together the exercises didn’t feel that hard. (03) The third day was about music. Up to now our sports activities were just accompanied by cheering and moaning, but that day our DJ (Antonio) provided good sounds. (04) On this day we were separated into five groups and had to fulfil several competitions – let the games begin. (05) Despite the forecast (snow and freezingly cold) we had a great walk to the city centre, like schoolkids divided into teams of two. Then we got an intense topic, like talking about love or what makes one happy/sad and after five minutes we had to switch partners. Thereby we again got to know other people better and we had great and meaningful conversations. (06) Again divided into groups we did a circle training with 6 stations. I cannot tell you how long three minutes can feel and how exhausting they can be. Just give it a try 😉 (07) The last day of the project was quite intense. Already before breakfast there were rumours about a hard workout. One and a half our later everyone broke down on the floor. Satisfied and filled with pure happiness. We all did a good job.

    

Hey buddy, hey what’s up.
On the very first day we had to choose a buddy who was from now on always by our side to support and help one another. During the program every participant set a personal goal and without my buddy I am not sure if I would have succeeded, but like that I did! I appreciated this concept very much and within days we became closer and closer. Additionally, there were five reflexion groups, each led by a team member, to talk about the daily experiences, problems and requests.

Yes, we can, yes I can!
I do not have enough time, I cannot do this, I am not good enough, et cetera…. There are so many excuses why we are hiding our light under a bushel. Throughout several aspects we learned to identify our excuses which stop us from doing what we want, reaching our goals and how to deal with them or even end them. Analysing your habits and excuses was quite intense and I will keep up doing it regularly and throwing them away. We are better than this. We can do anything we want. Just believe in you and put effort into reaching your dreams. 
Let’s just kill someone and grab a beer!
During our free-time we gathered together and played the well-known mafia game in the children area of the hostel lobby, went to grab some beers in a cozy bar around the corner, had funny as well as deep conversations, awesome live-music in the staircase and so much more. All in all, these intense days together brought a strong bondage in our group and to say goodbye at day 8 ways really hard. I cannot mention everything we did or describe the feeling you are going to have in such a project, or the impact it will have on you. Just one thing: DO IT, you will love it!

Yours, Anna

Punch the routine – I feel good!

From 3rduntil 11th of November wEUnite had the pleasure to take part in the Youth Exchange “I feel good” which was organized by Syncro Synergy Croatia. As the title already says, the participants punched their daily routines while being in the beautiful city of Rijeka. Alex, Bartek, Konrad, Manuel, Marion and Nina started their journey to Croatia with lots of motivation to do sports and experience a different, healthy lifestyle – as those were the main themes of the exchange. And they came back with an even higher level of motivation!

Directly after arriving, the team decided to explore the hostel’s
surroundings – as you can see it was breathtakingly beautiful and the weather made the view even more perfect!



With such an amazing view and the welcoming atmosphere, it wasn’t even that hard to get up for Yoga, which started at 7am, the next morning. After having tried out a new sport early

in the morning, there was breakfast and free time until 10am every day. And because all participants were very active and keen on sports (that’s why they chose to take part in this project) there was another sport session from 10-11am each day. Right after the workout all participants had time to write down their feelings and thoughts about the sport activity in their personal sports diaries. Using this tool was new to nearly everyone and seemed strange in the beginning but gave positive energy at the end of the exchange while reading how one’s fitness level and attitude towards sport can change within only a few days.

During “I feel good” the participants did not only learn about healthy lifestyle and sports, but also about different countries and cultures, numerous languages, their personal strengths and weaknesses (enhanced by ‘finding’ all Youthpass key competences during the city rally in Rijeka), the idea behind those Erasmus+ projects, and most importantly: they made friends. Spending a whole week with 30 people from officially 5 (but really 7) different nations

makes you see the world from different angles and understand opinions that differ from yours. You learn so much about others but also about yourself and your country as you talk about all the similarities and differences in your free time. (Which was always a lot of fun, as you can see on the pictures below).





For most Austrian participants this Youth Exchange was the very first Erasmus+ project but definitely not the last 🙂 They all agree that this week was fabulous due to the big variety in the program, the mixture of nationalities, the unexpectedly minute-to-minute changing weather and mostly because they learned in a way that was unusual to what they were used to from university. Non-formal and informal learning was the biggest punch in the Austrians’ daily routine and they will miss it. By the vast amount of hands-on activities and creative tasks throughout the week they learned without having to sit down and study. Having had extremely well-prepared organizers and facilitators all the team realized how easy it can be to feel better and feel good with just little changes in their daily lives.



And what they said right after coming back home from Rijeka:

“Really nice, new experience and a lot of fun!” (Konrad)


“This week in Rijeka was an unforgettable, pleasant experience for my body and my soul that I would not want to miss. :)” (Manuel)

“I really enjoyed the week and I am happy that I learned so many new things.” (Alex)

“Definitely one of the best projects I’ve been to, where I’ve learnt numerous useful things for my future!” (Nina)

“It was great to do so many different activities and having a good time together.” (Marion)

“I really liked the sport activities and that I could push my limits a bit further.” (Bartek)


Big thanks once again from wEUnite, Alex, Bartek, Konrad, Manuel, Marion and Nina to Syncro Synergy Croatia for this great Youth Exchange! See you soon 🙂 


KeepCalm! – 10 days left :)

Wow, time passes really fast… Our next project, KeepCalm!, is starting in 10 days already! You surely want to know what kind of project it is and what it’s all about 🙂 
It’s going to be a  training course, based on conflict management in everyday life situations and even more on those appearing in youth work. The focus will be put on strategies and techniques for conflict resolution, but also on how to use language efficiently for mediation. Another part will focus on the roots of conflicts but also intercultural exchange. „KeepCalm!” has the goal to teach youth workers how to react to conflicts and how to resolve them in an efficient way. Moreover, the participants will learn how to pass on their new knowledge to their coworkers.

As the beginning of this great week comes closer, we are getting more and more excited. You are curious now who we are? Well, the team that worked the last months to make this possible… 


Alexander Tscharre, Austria, organizer
“I was introduced to the Erasmus+ projects by wEUnite and they gave me an amazing view over the field of youth work and all it varieties. I want to change something in this world, especially for the youth, all the young people who are forsaken by society should get another chance and I want to give it to them. All of the different tools I’ve learned on my TCs so far and the ones I’ll learn in future will support me and help me to do my work with youth. In addition I got a view behind the scenes of an Erasmus+ project and the opportunity to involve in the organization of projects and I love it, I always give 200% for and during a project so you can enjoy it and have a good time.”
Studies: Paedagogical and Educational Science
Hobbies: Spending leisure time with friends, Youth projects, making videos, Music, Reading, Traveling




Nina-Bianca Anranter, Austria, trainer and organizer
“Thanks to the possibility of witnessing the world through numerous youth exchanges and training courses that I took part in, I developed myself a lot and learnt things that no school or university could have offered. Two years ago my colleague Kerstin and I decided to pass on our knowledge and give young people the chance to become more active. Organizing projects and being a trainer makes me happy as I always see people having fun, learn and grow.”
Studies: Teacher training programme English/Catholic Religion
Hobbies: Reading, Sports, Youth projects






Krzysztof Bruzgul, Poland, trainer
“With formal education in the field of pedagogy and three years in the field of non-formal education as a project participant, group leader, trainer and coordinator, my passion lies in education.”
My studies directed towards language, English and its philology, I specialized towards teaching this language as a second language. So, I am an English teacher by my education.
         My hobbies are wide and broad, for I am interested in a lot of things, but above all I value great stories. Listening, watching, reading or living through them





Kerstin Ess, Austria, trainer

“Taking part in youth projects for five years now made me a better person who wants to share those experiences. I wish for everyone to create such memories and great mind opening happenings. Cultural exchange opens not only your perception of others but also takes a great part in self-development.”
Studies: Meadia and Convergence Management

My hobbies are various, but what I prefer to do is travelling as it usually combines all my favorite activities.






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A roadtrip through Estonia, Lithuania, Turkey, Czech Republic and Italy!

As we were extremely busy travelling through all countries we barely had time to write about our cultural experience. It would be boring to list all the facts and figures, so we decided to ask around and give you some quotes and impressions by our participants 🙂


„It was very nice to get to know so many new things about Estonia and I found so many similarities between our nations. From what I have heard at the cultural night I can even imagine to live there some day.“ – Paula, 21, Poland




„My favorite cultural evening was the Estonian one. They had some really delicious food, showed us a nice traditional dance and their presentations were great! The self-deprecation with the tourist guide video was hilarious. Also, they made me fall in love with Estonia!“ – Alex, 20, Austria


„Lithuanian night was great – I enjoyed it so much! I like the fact about the most difficult language and about their passion for basketball. Of course I enjoyed the food they offered as well, it was just awesome and delicious!“ – Michal, 24, Czech Republic
(This participant, Michal, is a mystery to everyone else on the training course… We are not sure whether he is Czech, Italian or Polish, maybe Austrian, as he was part of all those cultural nights. If anyone knows more – contact us!)




„I really appreciate the richness of details, food and music, and also the traditional dresses! Turkey is really an amazing place, full of history and culture. A great mix of ethnies! I am charmed by this country and would love to visit it some day.“ – Federica, 24, Italy







„It was awesome to see the next country which has so many interesting things to offer. Yet again I was 
amazed and charmed. Next year I will visit the Czech Republic for sure!“ – Adam, 24, Poland 

I wasn’t aware that different cultures bring so many different aspects with it. I learned how to use hand gestures to underline the things being said. This was mostly brought to us by the Italians.“ – Manuel, 21, Austria

A short visit to Austria & Poland!

So many different cultures in only two days! If we would tell you all about Austria and Poland that we have heard at the cultural nights until now, we could write pages… That’s why we decided to ask some participants after every presentation how they liked it – by doing this they already used their newly learnt rhetorical skills : )


#1 Austrian night

“What I really liked at the Austrian night was the home-made Zirbenschnaps. By drinking it, I had the feeling to smell and drink a pine tree at the same time. Another thing I appreciated a lot were the traditional dresses the girls wore. It is not really popular or usual in the Czech Republic. Dancing the Waltz was extremely interactive and as it is one of my favorite dances I enjoyed it a lot.” – Jana, 18, Czech Republic

“The beginning of the presentation was a nice surprise. I didn’t expect the group to walk into the room and dance the Waltz. What I also liked was the Austrian chocolate, the Mozartkugeln, it tasted delicious! In general the prepared food was really good. And the video that was shown about Austria was interesting as well.” – Kasparas, 23, Lithuania

                                               (Jana&Kasparas)


#2 Polish night
“The video about Poland’s history was really interesting! But I also liked the second video with all those beautiful images of the country. In general I have to say that I liked the way how everything was presented.” – Cesare, 19, Italy

“What was the most interesting thing for me was the traditional clothing and folklore connected to it. And as we talk about Poland, I have to mention their tasty drinks – I liked them a lot!” – Maria, 27, Austria


(Maria & Cesare)


There are rumours about even more cultural presentations for the next days… Check our blog again & follow to be up-to-date!