"I sound like a TopShop ad... But thats not everything, yet!"

I got my first experience through a youth exchange in my hometown Pärnu - a local youth worker invited me to some interesting project, of which I had no idea abot. It turned out that we spent a week with the Spanish people, discussing migration and its different types and getting to know each other's culture. By the end of the project, I even realized that YE in the name of our Facebook group means Youth Exchange! Together with this knowledge, great acquaintances, proper English language practice and a wider worldview, I also took a little "germ" of Erasmus+ with me from this week

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Some germs disappear from the body, while others take root instead. You don't have to assume much about what became of this little thing, because I now have exactly 8 Erasmus+ projects in my experience. In the meantime, I have reached Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Belgium and also Raeküla (in my hometown) and my elementary school Paikuse (also in my hometown) with projects. My projects gradually happened to take place further away from Estonia. Since after the first project I already knew what the youth exchange was all about, I showed my interest when I saw the project invitation on social media and I was able to go to the project on Lithuanian waste-free life. After half a year, I dared to ask after one Facebook post, "Hey! You have a higher age limit, but would you also take a 14-year-old with you?" Asking was useful - soon 3 friends and I flew to Luxebourg for a youth exchange on eco-entrepreneurship. Therefore, it can be said that the projects have definitely developed courage in me, both in terms of speaking a foreign language, communicating with people of different ages, and I am just getting started. There was also a funny story about the different ages in the Luxemburg project - all the other participants were 18+, mostly 22+, so the three underage chicks blended into that group quite interestingly. The thing about English is that if my language was still quite weak and knotted during the evenings of the first project, then now speaking in a foreign language for a longer period of time was no longer a problem.

Courage and language, check! But that's not enough, somehow the projects are still with me? The main reason is knowing that I still have so much to discover in European youth programs. For example, I have European Solidarity Corps (ESC) projects completely intact, and I have not yet been able to apply for DiscoverEU. (I am especially looking forward to this!) And at least as big a reason is the sincere emotion that goes along with the projects. The feeling of joy when we sit by the fire with new friends and talk about every topic in the world, or satisfaction when I am particularly good at planning a trip, or sadness when I run after the bus, watching my project colleagues drive home. In addition to the emotions and the abundance of opportunities, there are approximately 100 other reasons to participate. For example, E+ projects are an ideal opportunity to see other countries while traveling for free, get to know everything that lies deeper than tourist attractions, make friends with whom you can either send cards at Christmas or communicate weekly, and learn about the topics that speak to you most through informal methods. For example, most of my projects have been about youth participation or the environment. In addition, I believe that Erasmus+ projects have influenced my development as a person very strongly. Therefore, if you also want to develop into a friendly and knowledgeable person with an open attitude, E+ is the perfect opportunity for that!

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But I haven't reached the most powerful part - you can design your entire experience yourself and also offer it to others through writing projects. I myself have written a youth exchange and a youth participation project, and in addition to the opportunity to create a project with my own face on the most exciting topic for me, it is also significant that during the writing process I have a vastly improved view of the project world and my previous projects.

Just yesterday we planned our youth participation project "Young people decide today!" the last activity, which is a local council simulation. However, our thoughts went from simulation to council-themed murder mystery, board game and escape room. In addition, every 10 minutes, some flighty or slightly unrealistic idea about the event arose, which made us excited - an absolutely awesome feeling! Writing a project is an experience that every young person should have. Even if you are no longer interested in the topic of the project after a few years, or if you do not intend to organize any more events, deconstructing, justifying and clearly writing down ideas in the form of a project application will greatly develop your analytical ability and argumentation skills.

I sound like a TopShop ad but… that's not all! On its own level, it is great to introduce these opportunities to others, either in the form of an article like this or by being active in the EuroPeers network. EuroPeers are young people from all over Europe who have Erasmus+ or European Solidarity Corps experience and want to share it with others. We organize events presenting the possibilities of European programs, we share information on social media and at events, we go to schools to speak, etc.

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And you can travel too! For example, the EuroPeers Annual Network Meeting took me to Rome, where in addition to meeting other passionate EuroPeers, meeting lovely online friends in real life (!) and sharing experiences, we also got to explore the wonderful Italian capital for a few hours! It was truly inspiring to hear what other more experienced EuroPeers have done (the Estonian network is still quite young) and to make plans together on how to reach even more young people with our activities.

In addition, we went to Strasbourg with EuroPeers in October, where we had the opportunity to conduct our workshop at the European Youth Event (EYE). EYE is an event that brings together nearly 10,000 young people from all over Europe every 2 years so that they can discuss issues important to the EU and participate in workshops. The workshop we organized made the young people, through a role play, explain how E+ and ESK experiences are helpful in the labor market. Of course, all the preparation had taken place online, so suddenly meeting the zoom boxes in real life and working together was an exciting feeling! Therefore, even when sharing your experience, it is possible to discover something new and meet many like-minded people. Among other things, one should not underestimate the sincere feeling of happiness that arises when a young person says, "Oh, I didn't know there was such a small opportunity! I will definitely apply!".

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So, every young person's to-do list could include one Erasmus+ project and one project writing experience. If you discover that this project stuff doesn't suit you at all, even then you will be richer by a very valuable discovery. If you discover that E+ and ESK are just your topic, there are many doors for you - both directly in the form of projects and with the support of these experiences elsewhere and in your future life!

PS: The projects are not only intended for already active young people! There are separate subsidies to support the participation of young people with special needs and, for example, to use environmentally friendly transport - I recommend using it! In terms of age - Erasmus+ projects welcome participants from the age of 13, and the upper limit is such that even if you are 150, if you work with young people, you can still participate as a supervisor. When you see the project calls, you can feel free to check whether you can be exempted from age (if you are still 13-30 years old, i.e. the age that can participate in the Erasmus+ program as a young person).

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Updated on вторник, 30/08/2022