Priča s Erasmus+ razmjene mladih

Hello everyone!

My name is Lejla Jerab, I am 16 years old and I am a student of the 1st High School in Osijek. I live in a town near Osijek, Tenji. I like hanging out with friends, creating new activities for us, and playing sports such as volleyball, basketball and running.

A little over a year ago, I started volunteering and that way I started to discover Osijek as a city and what activities it offers for young people. Then I went to different workshops and educations and I told myself that I need to take a little bigger step in my experiences, so I decided on a youth exchange in Pirovac, Croatia.

I participated in the Erasmus+ youth exchange "Digit Yourself", which took place in the Pirovac Training Center in the municipality of Pirovac, lasting 10 days from June 24. until 3.7.2022. , organized by the PRONI Center.

As part of this exchange, we participated in practical workshops where we learned about digital tools and how to use them effectively: Canva, Europass, motivation letter, online interview, video and photography.

I think it's okay to mention that before my first exchange I felt different fears. The main fear that prevailed was that I thought that I would not be able to communicate with the other participants because my knowledge of English is not the best, but it turned out to be the least problem because every day it got better and we used "both hands and with my feet", and my friends from Croatia were always kind enough to help me with translation and understanding. The second fear was that I had to leave for ten days from my family, friends and the environment that is familiar to me, but day by day it became easier. We started the day with breakfast at 8 a.m. and had an hour to get ready and prepare for the workshops that started a little after 9 a.m. Before the beginning of the workshops, we had energizer exercises that were very interesting and gave us a lot of energy to move on. Every day was a different topic and we always learned something new. There were morning and afternoon workshops with a coffee break and lunch. After the workshops at around 4 pm, we had discussions in groups where everyone gave a brief review of that day (how he experienced it) and wrote down his experiences and knowledge in the Erasmus diary, which eventually helped us write the Youthpass.

When we finished with the more structured part, we had our free time, which we often used to have fun on the beach, and in the evening we went to the city or gathered in the yard and played social games, but depending on the day, one country had a presentation (so-called intercultural evenings ) and after the presentation we tried specific food and got to know the traditional dances and music of each country.

We dedicated one whole day to a trip to the famous Croatian islands, Kornati, and we had great fun, saw beautiful nature and got to know each other even better and became closer.

I am motivated for further exchanges similar to this one and I hope that my next destination is somewhere outside of Croatia. I learned a lot from the other participants who are completely different from me, who are full of energy, and they passed it on to me, and it helped me develop myself. I would recommend all young people to take part in these kinds of activities, because I can say from my personal experience that this is the most beautiful experience I've had so far and I got to know myself even more. It's worth the risk, because in my case it turned out great because of the excellent organization by the PRONI center, who provided us with everything from food, transportation, accommodation, and last but not least, great entertainment (free of charge). From every activity like this, I believe that everyone can grow as a person. Of course, not everything is for everyone, but you should check to find out if it is right for you.

Lejla Jerab, Tenja

Updated on Dienstag, 17/02/2026