RECONATURE

RECONATURE: YOUTH EXCHANGE, 6-13 June 2021

 

Special notice: The proposal for the Youth Exchange RecoNature was developed & designed by 2 EΚΟ’s volunteers Nora Chorozian and Nikolaos Christodoulis, during their long-term ESC project “Sol.E.D” at Asociacion Viaje a la Sostenibilidad, in Zaragoza, Spain! We are proud and grateful for your wonderful job!

Aims & Objectives

Through the project “RecoNature”, Asociacion Viaje a la Sostenibilidad, in collaboration with 4 partners brought together 25 young people from different countries to jointly achieve the following goals:

  • Put nature’s protection as a priority for European youth & promote self-sufficiency in the primary sector, by teaching youth how to produce their food, as well as other products such as organic soap, deodorant, antiseptic, etc.
  • Deepen the knowledge about sustainability, ecology, and circular economy
  • Explore and adopt new ways to minimize the negative impact on ecological footprint at the personal level
  • Foster cultural awareness & intercultural competencies of participants

Project partners

Country

Organization

Spain

Asociacion Viaje a la Sostenibilidad (Coordinator)

Greece

Entrepreneurship and Social Economy Group

France

 Via Brachy

Italy

Vulcanicamente

Poland

FUNDACJA WSPIERANIA ROZWOJU MEDEINA

 

Workshops & Activities

During the 8 days of the program, many activities were devoted to explore, share and reveal information about the ecological crisis the world is facing nowadays. Combined with hands-on workshops, team building games, endless discussions, formal and informal debates, dance, role-playing games/theater, participants were able to learn and adapt new skills and achieve project aim & objectives.

Day 1

Day one was the day of arrivals, most of the participants reached the venue late in the evening. The participants got the chance to get to know the national teams during the travel time since most of the teams traveled together. After dinner, everyone gathered in the circus gym to discuss ground rules and the importance of covid-19 measures.

 

Day 2 & 3

Days 2&3 were devoted to getting to know each other, explore the venue, and learn on how a household can reduce its energy consumption and push towards sustainability. Moreover, activities to comprehend and accept cultural differences were implemented.

 

Day 4

On day 4 the group dove deeper into the topic of climate change and the broader ecologic crisis,  discussed extensively, and shared eye-opening information about the situation in the partner countries – this activity let the participants understand the international perspective on this important matter. Four mini-plays during the theater break with the topic of ‘’Earth 2050’’ allowed participants to express their ideas and concerns in a creative way.

 

Day 5 & 6

After 4 first intense days of workshops and activities, participants had a chance to visit a nearby town to recharge their batteries and enjoy some free time. Day 6 was devoted to the topic of the Circular Economy and its pros & cons. After analyzing some theoretical aspects of the topic, participants had hands-on workshops where they created up-cycled wraps and soap!

 

Day 7

During the last day of the project, participants shared their experience in the context of Erasmus + and ESC programs and the presentation of the Erasmus + and ESC programs opportunities was presented.  And last, but not least – the last night of the project participants spent together reflecting on the project outcomes and celebrated the success of the project near the bonfire 🙂 

Special thank you goes to Martina  Garau and Jorge Vidal from Viaje a la Sostenibilidad for making this project happen and offering the participants an amazing educational experience and lots of wonderful memories!

 

And of course, thank you Alexandros, Theokleia, Petros, Kathy and Phoebe members of team Greece, for being such collaborative, creative, open-minded, and spirited participants, making this project richer with your presence!