1. 1. Promote the exchange of working practices and tools among youth workers, enabling them to be able to intervene with young people through non-formal and informal education and artistic and cultural methods.
2. 2. Promote practical experimentation with non-formal, informal, artistic and cultural methods by young people, so that they can explore their potential, tastes and talents and be motivated to active participation. 
3. 3. To raise awareness in the youth sector and society in general of the importance of artistic and cultural practices for the personal, social and cultural development of young people, particularly those in situations of social vulnerability.

Day 1: Arrival on the 23rd of January with touring around Sanda Maria de Feira, lunch meeting and ice-breaking activities among the group of participants. At the first night we had the presentations of each group and a cultural night to get to know eachother better.

Day 2: On the second day of the activities, we had a stroll in the morning in the castle’s gardens (since the castle was not open due to restoration). In the afternoon we had an amazing theater workshop followed by live music in Cirac. 

Day 3: We started the third day with a discussion about art and then we visited the national gallery that everyone loved. After lunch it was the time for us to shine as we wrote a song (using creative writing) and composed the music too -as you can imagine it was a simple song but we enjoyed the process-. 

Day 4: On the fourth day we visited the Youth Cabinet of Santa Maria de Feira where the Youth workers presented several projects for the young people of the municipality which was like nothing we have ever seen before (neither in Greece nor in Italy).In the afternoon we visited the Paper Museum and actually made our own paper from recycled materials. Just before dinner we visited Europark, an enormous park made for all sorts of activities in which the had the opportunity to climb up to the roof of the main theater. After a delicious dinner we had a Quiz night at Cirac.

Day 5: On the fifth day all the team went to Porto. Firstly, we visited the Modern Art Museum Serralves and it’s gardens. It was a very intimate personal experience for everyone. After lunch, the organization had arranged a guided tour (a lot of walking uphill and downhill in Porto but it was totally worth it especially with the funny Irish guide to explain everything) and a night of Fado music.

Day 6: On the sixth day we had more free time and decided on the spot to talk about the outcomes and future activities in a cafe in Espinho (10 minutes away from Cirac) in front of the ocean. We talked about the chances of Erasmus plus and this program and everyone said their opinions about it. Arranging the final touches and commenting on the activities was pleasant since the people from Cirac are very open to changes and very easy going people. After lunch we had a once in a lifetime experience with the drumming team of the organization in which we all participated with our drums. In the afternoon we enjoyed the Saltimbangos show and tried some acrobatics ourselves. The night was dedicated to boardgames.

Day 7:  Departure day for the Italian team. For us it was a relaxing day touring and exploring Portugal as we had decided to stay one more day in the country.

Day 8: We started our journey back home very early in the morning as we had a 6am flight from Porto. We had 3 people from Cirac to drive us to the airport by the Van of Cirac just to say goodbye to us in a proper way! It was a lifetime experience and we are looking forward to participating in the next mobility in April.

Zoi: <<Thank you guys for everything. It was one of the best projects I have ever participated in terms of activities but mostly because of the people involved. As we said it is not goodbye we shall meet again soon!>>

Marios: <<Guys, honestly thank you for everything. Your hospitality, your good vibes and the bonding we had was just amazing. One of the best experiences for sure. Cirac is going to be the first reason to come back to Portugal. It was our pleasure, cheers! !>>

Sotiris: <<The Greek team is back in Athens. First of all, we want to thank the Portuguese - Cirac for the hospitality, energy and love they showed us, as they made us feel at home. It would be our great pleasure to meet again. We also want to thank the Italians for the knowledge they gave us about wine and everything else.>>

As EKO, we are very grateful and we thank Daniel Padrao and Paulo Alves from CIRAC for making this project happen and offering all participants an amazing interpersonal experience and lots of wonderful memories! Special thanks to all youth workers for making this project so special and for giving all their amazing energy and knowledge into every session.

Last but not least, a big thank you to the EKO team – Zoi, Marios and Sotirios –  for being so open-minded, motivated, passionate and active and for giving the project’s backbone a heart!