A mentally healthy person works more productively and is capable of contributing more to his/her surroundings. It is clear that mental disorders could lead to serious problems and wasted human potential. Therefore, the core goal of this Youth Exchange “Be Kind to Your Mind” was to increase knowledge about mental health between youngsters and the general public.

The Erasmus+ project "Be kind to your mind" was a life-changing experience for me. I went there not knowing anyone from the project and came back to Bulgaria with friends from 6different countries - Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Malta and Lithuania. The workshops were really interesting and eye-catching, I learned many new things about mental health and how to protect it. We had many activities involving getting to know each other and learning more about our backgrounds. We were visiting many new places, participating in different activities as a group, not as individuals, we had so much fun together and I can confidently say that I made friends for life there and I really can't wait to meet all of those amazing and unique people again. Each one of them contributed to the group with their attendance, the project wouldn't have been the same if someone was missing. We learned more about the different cultures around us - we sang Bulgarian songs, Greek ones, Turkish ones, everything you can think of. The thing I liked the most, besides the topic itself, was that even the first day when we had just met, it felt as if we had been friends forever already. We shared our opinions without fear of being judged because the atmosphere around us allowed it, everyone was open-minded and let others speak up and express themselves. I really like that because I changed my opinion about some problems in the world, listening to the point of view of the others, I can proudly say I became a better version of myself after the project and that I personally grew up as a person. This experience was unforgettable and each day I miss the participants more and more, I hope we'll all participate in another project again in the near future.

Victoria Mileva

I have participated in the project “Be kind to your mind” in Malta from the 25th of November to the 3rd of December 2021. I will never forget those days that I have spent there. I have met a lot of people from all over the world and made a great relationship with them. This is a great opportunity to meet with other cultures and improve your English skills.
The organization team was amazing. Samanta and Chris helped me realize how important is to take care of your mental health. I am very glad that I had the chance to meet them.
I am very thankful to the Active Bulgarian Society for this opportunity and I am looking forward to the next Erasmus projects.

Silvia Pavlova

First of all, I would like to introduce myself. I am Maria Borisova, a student from UNWE in Sofia. I study international relations. I had the possibility to be part of an Erasmus exchange in Malta the name of the project was, Be kind to your mind”. I wish every student should have such kind of experience to develop their personal and professional skills. It was never hard to adopt even in the first days when you don't know anyone. We had a good time with students and locals.

This kind of experience helps everyone to understand themselves better and helps a lot in self-reflective. Everyone should focus on their self-growth in different fields, they have the possibility to see different cultures different sets of minds from all over the world.

For me personally, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

To conclude, I would like to advise you to do things before you think you are ready or you can do it. Just do it, do not be afraid of difficulties, do not be afraid of leaving your comfort zone. Take a risk and do not lose the opportunity to get an unforgettable experience. And if you feel alone with a million questions in your head, find the group of Erasmus students from the project of your choice on Facebook and do not be shy to ask for help, friendly people will certainly not only help you but also will give you additional inspiration.

Maria Borisova

The project in Malta was my first Erasmus+ project and it was really amazing. I’m so glad that I had the chance to participate in it because I met so many kinds and open-minded people there. Everyone was so friendly and we immediately became close to each other. We spent so much time together that now I realize how great were these 9 days of the project and how much I miss all of these people that I met there.
I learned a lot from this project, the activities and the games that were included in the program were so interesting and enjoyable. The whole project was organized so well because of Samanta and Chris, the project’s facilitators. They were so good and helpful and everything happened in the best way because of them. I’ll never regret that I participated in this project and I can’t wait to go on another one.

Gabriel Nikolaev

My experience in the project in Malta was more than amazing! I met so many new people, I improved my English and the other languages that I speak. I also visited several interesting Maltese places and sightseeings. But the most important part is what I’ve learned there. The topic was mental health. I have raised awareness about mental health, we had several activities where it was said how we can help people with mental issues or how we can manage those issues if we have them ourselves. We also had several workshops and did several surveys in the local university or the center of the city. The Maltese people were very warm and welcoming, they were acting so nice to us. I will try to keep in contact with all the people that I met during the project and I hope I’ll see them in a future project. It was an amazing one week and a half that I will never forget!

Dimitar Purnarov

I went to this project without any expectations and I came back fulfilled with positive energy and new knowledge. It was a big enjoyment to be part of it, the organizers and the participants were all very great and helpful with everything needed. The atmosphere was very pleasant and to work in such an environment was a pleasure.
The whole process was quite organized and everything was going around the topic of the project. The activities we had were very interesting. One of my favorite ones was the public activity we had. We were supposed to think of an idea of how to increase people's awareness about mental health. In this task, each of us was supposed to think of an idea and then we were combined into groups of a few people to organize our thoughts and then make a plan how to make them come true. There were pretty interesting suggestions and then at the end the final stage - to present the whole thing and actually make it in front of strangers and involve them was even better. It made me think about how people are not really thinking about their own mental health, but if they have the right stimulus they are much more likely to consider it more.
Other things I loved were all art connected and the meditation workshops we made. Due to the fact we were a lot of people when we were having one of them the whole energy in the room was so different and peaceful.
Also should not be neglected all the things we learned and outside the topic. We had a big cultural exchange, I learned not only a lot of things about Malta but and about Lithuania, Greece, Turkey and Spain.
The whole experience is unforgettable and irreplaceable. I am really happy I took place in this project!

Juna Ivanova

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