For someone who is looking to get out of their comfort zone, meet and engage with people from different countries, make international friends and learn something new, I would say: Do not hesitate, go sign up for a project with Shokkin Group!“
“I was going to this project with the intention to gain some hope and learn how I can actually do something for the ecology and environment I’m living in. And I can say that I have it now thanks to the people who surrounded me during those days and people who made this project happen!
Tricky thing with non-formal learning is that at first sight you feel like you don’t learn much. You don’t study hard to pass some kind of a test, you don’t really force yourself to do anything. And for me, a person who has just finished high school, it feels like something very not productive, like I haven’t really studied anything. But the miracle starts when you start to analyse more deeply and realise that actually you’ve absorbed a lot of information.
During youth exchanges you don’t study one topic, but there is so much more. New words in different languages, interesting facts from different areas, people’s experiences, useful information that people share, opinions and completely different points of view. And this is so precious to me.
The most important thing I’ve learned is that when you leave your “box” and start giving some space for different opinions, you can still have yours, no one takes it from you. But your picture of the world gets so much bigger and wider and you can truly feel like a citizen of this amazing beautiful world.
‘Create a Climate for Change’ has really changed my attitude and way of thinking about climate. I had an opportunity to share my concerns, fears and faced only support and understanding from the people there. I think that our leaders dealt very well with every kind of stressful situation that we had and solved some appearing problems wisely and with no panic.
Knowledge about sustainable development and permaculture was new for me and I definitely want to read more about it. Also, the most inspirational part was about making compost and I think this knowledge I can implement in my summer house in the nearest future.
I also find quite useful the motto “if you see the possibility – it’s your responsibility” that we’ve learnt and discussed a lot. In my everyday life I usually have the intention to pass the buck to someone else. For instance: I see some dropped trash and usually I don’t pick it up, because I don’t feel like it’s my responsibility. But lately I started doing it and even want to participate in some kind of volunteering and gather my friends to go and clean some beach areas or woods.
About the Estonian team I want to say that I had a lot of fun. Everything was organized, all the processes starting from buying the tickets and finishing with the sending the documents to get the reimbursement. I felt safe and secure. Of all the teams we were the most organized at least from my point of view.
I’m grateful to Shokkin Group and Wheeling2help for the opportunity to discover Greece, learn about ecology, enjoy amazing nature and weather and have this reload of all my feelings and emotions. “
Masha
“A long time before the project started I was experiencing a lot of difficult moments and I had such a big feeling that I needed some kind of rest. Suddenly, I heard about the opportunity to participate in the youth exchange ‘Create a Climate for Change’ and felt that I should go there.
On the first day of the project, I already found some great friends and lots of interesting and different people. The topic of the project was a global problem that I used to think about. During the project I found answers to the questions that I had before. I was taught how to help our planet, how to help others, and how to help myself. Reunited with nature, feeling that you are a part of it… I’ve never had such an understanding of the world before. I never really thought that much about the word gratitude and the meaning of it but this youth exchange showed me why I need to be grateful.
Only now I can say that this youth exchange exceeded all of my expectations. I began to think more consciously about our world and about the people who are surrounding me. I’ve met a lot of wonderful people who continue to inspire me even after the project, and I feel extremely grateful for that.”
Dasha L.
“‘Create a Climate for Change’ was my first ever project and I’ve had an amazing experience. There were 6 of us, young members of Shokkin Group, travelling to Nisi Clamping in Raches, Greece to meet people from 5 different countries (Serbia, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Netherlands) and spend a week together learning about what can we as young people do to change climate for better.
People:
I was very excited to meet so many new faces and to hear about different lifestyles and to learn some new words in other languages. This was my first time being in such an intercultural habitat. It was extremely educational for me, but also very exhausting. I felt getting very tired from expressing myself in English, so I needed to rest and sleep a lot during the free time we had. Also sometimes it felt frustrating when I couldn’t share my thoughts well enough in English, but the fact that almost everybody felt the same way made it easier to communicate. We were all very understanding and gave each other time trying to say what each of us wanted.
Gratitude:
On this project the main thing I learned a lot was gratitude. I rarely happen to be in places with such a kind atmosphere and grateful people. This project showed me many people who do kind things in their lives like travelling to Nepal helping to build homes for people who lost them or feeding street dogs and helping them to get adopted. I felt gratefulness in the air and it felt so unique. I am grateful for this opportunity to participate in such an amazing project.
What I learned:
I liked how we connected with nature, learned to make compost and learned about eco-friendly lifestyle. For me the main things that I learned was sorting the trash, trying to think about climate from different perspectives and taking my responsibility if I see the possibility. I took home some creative ideas about how to make changes in my own home, at work and my society for the better world.”
Dasha K.
“Once upon a time there was a boy who was curious of everything. During the regular schooldays he found an opportunity to go to Greece and learn about climate change. So, he decided to do it.
Memories from Greece are so different, it is kind of an emotional roller-coaster. Remembering the very first day at Raches, the first thing that comes to mind is the project leading team. They were so excited to have all the participants in the project and was a wonderful feeling of being welcome. Day after day they proved that they wanted us to have an amazing time. I am thankful for them for creating such a friendly atmosphere.
And if we talk about the atmosphere in a project, it is impossible not to mention all the participants. When we got a chance to meet each other, I was really impressed how different people are and how they are open-minded to share their experiences. Though the activities of the projects people had an opportunity express themselves and I enjoyed it personally a lot.
We had a lot of fun in Greece, but suddenly one day Estonian weather found us. Cold and rainy. It was unexpected for everyone in the project, but we still had an opportunity to get all the activities done and again thanks to the leading team of the project for being flexible in schedule and count with weather.
One day we had even a bigger challenge than the weather, the very known trouble of our decade: COVID-19. One person tested positive and we all made tests. At some point people were scared and nervous about the situation, but I think that it caused as a result that people became more caring of each other. And even isolated people had an opportunity to feel how other participants and the leading team cared for them.
To sum it all up, I enjoyed project a lot. I got some new ideas learned and at the same time had fun. I am thankful for every single day at the project and for every new connection I made on the project. Also, I am thankful for Shokkin Group for giving me the opportunity to have this experience. And especial thanks for our group leader Jegor for all the job he made for us to have great experience.”
Artjom
“Almost by accident, this summer I found out about the opportunity to go on a Erasmus+ youth exchange project ‘Creating Climate for Change’. A week of workshops concerning the topic of climate change on a glamping site in greece? ‘Yes please, sign me up!’ I thought to myself.
Before going, it was a bit difficult to describe to others what it is that we were going to do there, and frankly, the cynic in me was doubtful that we would come to solve any climate change issues during that week. But I was excited nonetheless. Now, reflecting on the experience, I can say that it was absolutely worth it!
The week was packed with experiences, workshops and now great memories. My personal highlights were:
- Picking olives on an olive farm, and later a tour of the local olive oil refinery (which to me, as an avid olive oil consumer, was really interesting). The owner walked us through the process of making olive oil, determining its quality, and most importantly the difference between a virgin and an extra virgin olive oil.
- Cleaning up the local beach. In addition to the fulfillment of doing something good for the local community, we could reflect on the most commonly occuring pieces of rubbish (plastic bottles) and even pick up some recyclable items (a dirty but nice bershka T-shirt)!
- Hiking up to the local waterfall and eating outside, enjoying fresh water from the local spring and reengaging with nature.
Of course those were but a few of the activities we did. Through workshops that took place, I also learned a lot about taking social action and solving problems of communities using design thinking, EU Sustainable Development Goals and creating my very own compost.
But one can not avoid mentioning perhaps a less tangible, yet invaluable element of such projects: people. I think the best thing about the project was meeting so many young people from different countries and different walks of life. Realising that people from all over the EU have similar problems and concerns is somehow very reassuring and is something that brings us all together, making this world a lot smaller than it seems. Intercultural evenings were the best, learning about other countries, their dances and their food and drinks.
For someone who is looking to get out of their comfort zone, meet and engage with people from different countries, make international friends and learn something new, I would say: Do not hesitate, go sign up for a project with Shokkin Group!“
Stas