From the 14th until 25th July 2019, four Bulgarians gathered together with other youngsters from 9 different countries in the Youth Exchange 'One Step Ahead' in Bansko.
Each of them shared the story of their adventures, emotions, and experiences during the project.
The Youth Exchange “OneStep Ahead,” hosted by Active Bulgarian Society (ABS) in Bansko, Bulgaria finished on Wednesday, July.24. During these 10 days (July. 14-24) youngsters from 10 different organizations in Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Greece, Georgia, Malta, Cyprus, Lithuania and Latvia shared ideas how to create an exciting workshops connected to employability, also discussed topics in the scope of youth work and constructed a plan for the future development of the project.
During this youth exchange, all the participants had the chance to share their ideas and create their workshop. The only thing that they needed to follow is that their activity should be somehow connected to employability skills.
During the first three days, the activities were created by the group leaders because they knew previously what is needed. The purpose was to give the participants an example so they can see and create their own game or workshop.
In the fourth day, all the 52 people went for a hike. From this experience, they learned how essential is the excellent teamwork and how relaxing it is to walk into the beautiful mountains.
In the next days, from day 5 to 8, the participants were divided into ten groups. There were five people for each group, and together, they made ten different activities. They were also divided into two outdoor and indoor activities. The outdoor activities were called: Olympic Games, Scavenger Hunt, Candy Crush game, Obstacles challenge, and Paperclip challenge. Each game was so creative. The youngsters improved their public speaking, teamwork and their foreign languages.
Days 9 and 10 were beautiful because they were more about realizing the essential things that youngsters learned during these different activities. The participants shared what they learned, and they discussed all the competences from the Youthpass that they improved during this exchange. The participants got a surprise as well; they went for another hike in Pirin mountain where they had the chance to see the beautiful nature of Bulgaria even better. Moreover, after the hiking, ABS surprised them once again and brought them to the longest water slide in Bulgaria, that they had the chance to enjoy fully.
And here are the four stories from our Bulgarian participants. Underneath, you will be able to read about every single one of them.
Estela:
My name is Estela Valeova; I am 20 years old from Blagoevgrad. Currently, I am an intern at Active Bulgarian Society, and thanks to that, I had the chance to participate in the fantastic Youth Exchange 'One Step Ahead.' During this project, I had the opportunity to be a Group Leader. I have never been one before, and I was super nervous but at the same time, excited. We group leaders, together with the other team members, arrived two days before the other participants and got things started. This whole experience made me think a lot about my potential, my future, and my social and communication skills. I have also improved my public speaking and finally got the chance to me, myself lead a workshop with a big group. I will never forget this beautiful experience, and I genuinely believe that I have got exactly what I have needed from it.
Desi:
Shortly, my name is Desislava Taskova from Blagoevgrad. Fortunately, I had to chance to participate in this fantastic youth exchange with 52 people from 10 different countries. I met many amazing people, and I could say that we created a strong friendship which will last for many years. I participated in workshops connected to public speaking, employability, and professional skills. I could say that this project thought me a lot of things that I will use in the future.
Mario:
My name is Mario Milenkov from Sofia.
Taking part in this project was an unforgettable experience that helped me improve my employability skills. Being on both sides, as a participant and also as an organizer of different workshops taught me a lot, and made me realize what I would like to do in my future. People getting out of their comfort zone was the key I learned. After making friendships with such great individuals from other countries, I also enriched my public speaking and communicational skills. I am thankful to ABS for giving me this fantastic opportunity and enhancing my life experience through this unforgettable journey.
Diana:
Ten days, 1000 emotions, 52 new friends, 51000 reasons to smile. This is how I would sum up this fantastic experience in one sentence If I had to. And now let me represent you myself: my name is Diana, I live and study in Berkovitsa. 'One Step Ahead' was not my first Erasmus project but was the first one where I went without knowing anyone. I was so nervous at the beginning- would I find new friends? Was it going to be fun? etc.. However, step by step, I went one step ahead every single day and found out how beautiful projects can be. This project was different than all the others. We were learning to learn together but in various ways by playing games, which taught us many skills such as public speaking, time management, and appreciating our cultural differences and similarities, etc..
During the project, I had so much fun because every day was full of emotions, friendly people, and unforgettable memories. We learned many new things that I will use in my future. So now is the moment to say a big thank you. To all the group leaders for doing all these educational activities and exciting workshops; to the other participants for being so friendly and real. Thanks also to Anna and Krisztina, for their efforts and passion, and ABS for giving me the chance to experience this.
This project is co-financed by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Commission and coordinated by the Active Bulgarian Society.
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