Hi, my name is Elena. I am 23 years old and studying Slavic Languages at the University of Vienna. In my free time I try to do as much as possible like going out, doing some sports, travelling, meeting people etc. To get this balanced I also love to stay at home doing nothing and just being lazy.

What do I like about youth projects?
Youth projects are the best way to get to know people from all over the world. It’s not just meeting them, it’s a chance to get really acquainted. It’s unbelievable how much you can learn from other cultures. Another great opportunity are the different topics of the projects. I loved the way of learning, which is proceeded by creative, active and non-formal methods.

What have I experienced by taking part in YPs?
I get to know a lot of interesting people, learned a lot about volunteering and could experience pure humanity with a lot of fun!

Why am I part of wEUnite? / Who told me about it ?
One of the founders asked me if i would like to participate and spontaneously I agreed. It was a really great opportunity and for sure it was not my last project! 🙂

Hi! My name is Patricio, but everyone calls me Pato and I am 22 years old. Currently I am working as a part time social worker in a refugee center and I’m studying international business in the Economic University of Vienna. I have so many hobbies that I stopped counting them – but mostly I love to play guitar and get into the subject of technology.

What do I like about youth projects?
I love the idea because it connects so many young minds and create unbelievable deep bonds in no time. Within one week you will meet people and get so close to them that you get the intention, not even at home you will find such connections. Additionally, you learn so much from every workshop session and every presentation.

What have I experienced by taking part in YPs?
I experienced not only a completely new country, but also numerous different mindsets. Working with people with so many different mentalities let you change the way you think about your surrounding. When you get to know a person during a YP, you start to put yourself in their head. And meeting not only one, but many people during an entire week in a relaxing environment you are more or less empowered to look at situations from their points of view as well. This is basically enough to teach people how to communicate and act in a peaceful way.

Why am I part of wEUnite? / Who told me about it?
Actually I know wEUnite since the first post on Facebook. I know this because a friend of mine – which I regret not having talked to her about wEUnite much earlier – is one of the founders of wEUnite. She is one of the most motivated and caring people I know. I am part of wEUnite because WE UNITE. Learning in ways that are presented at YPs is completely different than what I have ever known before – and I think this has to be spread. wEUnite can definitely help to do that.

Heyo! My name is Manuel, I am 26 years young and I study Software Engineering & Internet Computing at the Technical University of Vienna. I would call myself a Web Engineer, because this is where you can find my profession. Beside that I also work as a Software Developer at Catalysts. I love to travel and to explore new places all over the world. On my trips and during my daily life I enjoy taking lots of photos; not only, but also because I am a visual type. 3D animated movies, computer graphics and drawing are also part of my life to express my creative nature. Fitness and sport activities like running, climbing (indoor and outdoor) and skiing belong to myself to keep my body in shape.

What do I like about youth projects ?
First of all the possibility to get out of your normal living. To step out of the comfort zone is what I like most about youth projects, because this is how we can grow. Beside that as a participant you have the possibility to travel around Europe and to meet new open minded people which, at the end of a project, you can call friends.Especially the topics of the projects where I was able to participate were very interesting and I could not even learn new things, but also change my behaviors towards a better way. „Sharing is caring“ was one of the projects (unofficial) slogans which we have created and the time, stories, experiences and learnings we have shared and spread, I will never forget.

What have I experienced by taking part in YPs?
At the beginning of each project it is always very exciting to meet a LOT of new people from all over Europe. Different cultures,different looks, different opinions. What you learn really quickly is to get rid of stereotypes that have been created in our minds. I took the opportunity to get lots of background information from people and to get new views and opinions on many things(people, country, culture,…). During this process you really get to know several people very well and real friendships arise. At first you might not believe this, but maybe at the last day and for sure some days after a projects has ended, you know that you miss some people and that you want to see your new friends again. Most important: It is never a `Good Bye!`, it is always a `See ya!`. The spirit that evolves during the project within the whole group is most exciting. It is kind of hard to imagine that you just have met most of the participants some days ago. You can feel the power that is created, when all people just work together and try to create something big. And most of all, I never could have imagined that it is possible to just sleep three to six hours per night; but time passes by so fast, that you really do not want to miss a second with this wonderful people.

Why am I part of wEUnite ? / Who told me about it ?
I am part of wEUnite, because I really like the people and the idea behind this whole organization. The enthusiasm, motivation and love they spread is addictive. You immediately feel that you are part of their family and that you can easily be part of their activities within the organization, if you want so. I was kind of surprised when I first heard about wEUnite and what they offer to young people. Sarah, friend of mine, introduced me one day (I still can remember: it was 1th Mai 2015, Maifest in Praterpark, Vienna) to Tini, who is also a very good friend of her and – as I got to know later – one of the founders of wEUnite. We become good friends and after some time she asked me, if I would like to be part of a Youth Exchange in Ireland. It took me just a second to say ‚Yes‘ to this great opportunity. Since the first day, I really love the way wEUnite works and how nice and helpful all members are. I am proud to be one of them!

Hi! My name is Julia, I am 23 years old and I study Business Informatics at the technical university of Vienna. I have various interests reaching from IT obviously to fantasy novels and superhero movies. One of my passions is acting and I have been part of my university’s theater group for three years.

What do I like about youth projects?
I like getting to know young people and learning about their perspectives about different topics. Furthermore, I enjoy working together in groups and developing new and innovative ideas.

What have I experienced by taking part in YPs?
Meeting people from all over the continent made me realize how diverse Europe is, but also how much we have in common. I opened my mind about many countries and I am very eager to visit them and find out even more.

Why am I part of wEUnite? / Who told me about it?
I found out about the program accidentally on Facebook and decided to take part in it right on the spot. I am very glad I participated 🙂

Once again we were lucky to send a team on an amazing project – Palmse (Estonia) it was this time. Wanna know how it was and what it was all about? Read Manuel’s impression 🙂

The Youth Exchange ‚The Science of Boomerang‘ was not my first Erasmus+ project, but it was my third project. It was the first time, though, that I participated in another country. We started our journey on 14th October and came back home on the 24th October.

First arrival was in Tallinn, where Pato, Elena, Julia and I met. We spent the first evening checking out the secrets of this town and enjoying the tasty medieval food. On the next day we met our last participant of the Austrian team, Manuel. And here’s our first group-picture: (left to right Pato, Julia, Manuel, Elena, Manuel)

At evening all 50 participants of the project gathered at a meeting point and we drove off to Palmse by bus. I remember me talking to myself: “Oh my god, who are all those people?”.

Everybody seemed very excited so we spend our first night with some drinks, talking and singing together. It was the beginning of some awesome nights with a lot of joy and activities prepared by the participants. Now, being back home, I would definitely call them friends.

The next day the first project session started, so I was curious and really wanted to know what the “Science of Boomerang” is. As in any of my attended projects so far we started with some icebreakers and group activities. Pretty soon everybody could feel the awesomeness of this group. I never learned 50 names that fast before!

During the project we learned lots about formal/informal/non-formal learning, Erasmus+ and EVS projects, intercultural learning (ICL) and of course about volunteering. But still I couldn’t see what the science of boomerang was… Coming to the end of the project we prepared some volunteering activities, which we were actually doing in Tallinn. 50 people separated in groups were walking with dogs or helping at an animal shelter. Some of us worked with kids like my group. We prepared some dances. At the end we found out, that some of them where awesome dancers. It was a mistake to think that we could teach them something new. After the dancing we all sat down in a circle and talked about our hobbies, dreams and of course about volunteering. Hearing those kids singing, dancing and talking about their dreams was very touching to me. I still think about that sometimes.

After this activity all 50 participants met again in Tallinn city center. It wasn’t planned by the facilitators but the participants organized another big event at the Old Town Square. We organized a flashmob where we danced together in the name of volunteering. We gave it the Hashtag #voluncare so check it out on Facebook and Instagram 🙂

So the YE came to an end after this event and I thought about the science of boomerang once again, but this time it hit me. I remembered how many people started to dance with us on the square. I remembered the smiles of the participants when I did some nice things for them. Mostly I remembered the kids we danced with. I knew that all this happiness didn’t come by accident. It acted like a boomerang that I threw away at the beginning of this project and it came back at the end but much more powerful than I expected.

A big thanks to everyone who made this project this amazing!

Yours, Manuel (without beard)

Curious to hear more and get to know wEUnite members? Stay up-to-date, like us on Facebook and follow our blog!