“Balancing Acts” was a 5-day Learning, Teaching, and Training Activity (LTTA) part of the long-ter project “EmpowerEd”, whose aim was to empower youth workers to explore and practice digital storytelling as a tool for emotional well-being, financial literacy, and sustainability awareness. Our Shokkin members Jana, Tanel, Sana and Elizaveta attended the activity from 25th to 31st of October in Madeira (Portugal), and these are their impressions!
“This training made me better understand my own financial habits and gave me insights of how emotions play a role when we use money. It was interesting to use storytelling methods in the context of financial literacy, which in turn made the learning process very personalized. Games and teamwork activities made this a shared experience and a relaxed, fun environment.
I am excited to see the outcome of the digital storytelling online platform that we contributed to with our feedback. Meanwhile I will put the new of those games and storytelling tools I learned into practice as a teacher and youth worker.”
Tanel
“As part of the project, we explored in practice such important topics as financial literacy, emotional well-being, and sustainability awareness. The training helped me understand how emotions influence people’s financial decisions and how our financial choices affect the world around us.
During the sessions, we also explored the storytelling method and how storytelling has become one of the most powerful marketing tools. The session on investments planted the idea in my mind that investing is something everyone can afford to do. With a clear system, discipline, and gradual steps, anyone can become successful in this field, ensuring long-term financial stability.
As someone working with children and youth, the training made me realize that financial topics are exactly what we should be talking about. It is important to address financial literacy from an early age so that the new generation grows up with healthy habits, becoming financially independent and environmentally conscious members of society.
The project sessions inspired me to conduct several classes on financial literacy at our school. I plan to use the project’s sessions as a foundation, adapt them to our curriculum, and discuss with students topics such as digital storytelling, emotional well-being, and sustainability awareness through the lens of finance.”
Elizaveta
“Thanks to this training, I got a new perspective on the decisions I make every day in different areas of my life and started reflecting on how conscious these choices are and whether they take into account not only financial possibilities, but also my emotional state and contribution to sustainability.
It was really valuable for me to discuss these topics with participants from different countries and age groups and to hear diverse opinions. The individual and group activities made complex topics much easier and helped to make the training more practical.
I also really enjoyed discovering various storytelling tools and modern formats that can be used today beyond social media, as well as seeing real, creative, and inspiring examples. The training was excellently organized: theory was well balanced with practice, and indoor sessions were balanced with outdoor activities.
As part of the program, I also had the chance to share my own experience in the field of investing. I’d be happy to continue sharing both my insights and knowledge and information received during the training with young people in Estonia.”
Jana
“Balancing Acts was my first-ever Erasmus+ training course, and it turned out to be a truly eye-opening experience. Over five days, I realised that storytelling is not just about creativity, it’s a powerful way to connect with others, express emotions, and communicate meaningful ideas.
One of the most valuable lessons I learned was how storytelling involves both the brain and the heart. The brain brings structure, logic, and facts, while the heart adds honesty, emotion, and vulnerability. When both work together, stories become authentic and memorable. We explored how great stories teach, entertain, and inspire and that the best stories often do all three. I especially liked the idea that if you care deeply about something, others will care too, as long as you show why it matters to you.
Throughout the training, we also explored different digital tools for storytelling, such as Medium, Wix, and Squarespace for blogging; Twine for interactive storytelling; Adobe Spark for photo stories; Anchor by Spotify for audio storytelling; and Piktochart and Powtoon for web-based and animated storytelling. Learning about these tools was very practical and inspiring, as I can use them in the future when working with young learners to help them express themselves creatively.
Overall, this training gave me a broader understanding of how stories can shape emotions, thinking, and learning. In the future, when I work with children, I want to use digital storytelling to help them express their feelings, share experiences, and learn about real-life values such as emotional awareness, financial responsibility, and sustainable living. This experience has truly inspired me to see storytelling as not just a form of art but as an essential part of education and human connection.“
Sana
As educators, we will be more confident in conducting classes on financial literacy, emotional well-being and sustainability, while using storytelling as a tool. For each of us personally the training gave insights on how emotions and sustainability factors are present in finances and how to make smarter decisions. Also, the investment workshop gave all the participants confidence to start investing smartly.