Our journey starts in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. From there, we took a train to Brasov. After getting off at the station, we shared a ride to the hostel where the project was taking place. It quickly became apparent how challenging it must be for young people in certain Romanian towns, as they are much more isolated than we had imagined. On our first night, April 9th, we met the other participants who came from different parts of Europe, like Estonia, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, and of course, Romania.
The first few days were incredibly enriching. We immediately started getting to know the other participants and understanding the various challenges they face as young people living in the most rural areas of their countries. We discussed our expectations for the coming days, our fears, and how we could connect with each other.
From there, we delved into the topic of different opportunities for young people and how much the European Union offers us in terms of opportunities. We wrote about our values, discussed them with each other, and to end the second day, we had the International Night for Estonia and Spain. We proudly shared our dances, food, and regions. We also learned a lot about Estonia, their dances, and their people, which we won't forget.
On the third day, we discussed the importance of voting in the upcoming European elections, how things are managed in the European Parliament, and even made videos and memes to encourage young people to vote. To wrap up the day, we had a lively debate among all the participants about whether 16-year-olds should be allowed to vote. It was fascinating to see the variety of opinions, which often depended on the European party they represented in the activity.
The next day, we talked about the importance of identifying fake news and how it can affect different marginalized groups, like migrants, or pose a threat to the European Union, especially from more extremist parties. We then did a simulation of how the media, depending on their beliefs, manipulates information to fit the narrative they want to present. That evening, we had Italy's cultural night, where we all sang "Sara perché ti amo" together, and Slovakia's cultural night, where we learned some super fun traditional dances and laughed a lot!
Midway through the project, we started discussing the various barriers we face in our countries and how different they are. For example, in Spain, we talked about how young people often have to leave their towns and move to the capital in search of precarious jobs, and how this affects young people from rural areas. In the afternoon, we went to Brasov, the nearest city, to ask people about their opinions on the European Union and the European Parliament, and we received many diverse responses.
The next morning, we discussed different ways to improve participation in our communities, how to do it democratically, and take action. We talked about methods to change established decisions through protests and how to become decision-makers through petitions, organizing the community, and advocating for rights, while being transparent throughout the process. That same day, we divided into groups to create our own projects, showing ourselves that our ideas can become reality and make a difference.
Nearing the end of the Erasmus, we had a day dedicated to unleashing our creativity, where each of us created artworks representing different ideas related to the project. We had much of the day to think and create peacefully, and in the evening, we had the highly anticipated Romanian cultural night. They gave an extensive PowerPoint presentation about the differences and similarities between Romania and our countries, revealing that we are more alike than we seem, and shared interesting facts like Romania having the second-largest Parliament building in the world.
On the second-to-last day, Leo, one of the Erasmus coordinators, interviewed each of us about what we wanted to convey to the European Parliament, as they were going to take our messages there. We also had time to create more memes about all the opportunities the European Union offers us, and in the evening, we watched the animated movie "Hotel Transylvania."
Finally, on our last day in Bran, we reviewed everything we had learned—how we had developed our skills, the knowledge we had gained during these days, which we've briefly shared in this article, but above all, what we are capable of doing and how our attitude and behavior were crucial for this project.
We discussed how we felt more European and our newfound desire to work and cooperate with other countries. We also talked about ERYS (European Rural Youth Summit) happening this year from July 23 to July 27, 2024, where people from all over the world will gather to discuss many topics related to helping their rural communities improve and how to attract young people.
The last day was very emotional; we evaluated the project and ourselves as a group, reflecting on our experiences. We not only took away the project and knowledge but also the human connections we made in such a short time, how we connected with people who were just strangers not long ago, and how we all became friends, leaving behind any prejudices. It was an experience none of us will forget—all the laughter and growth.
And so, the day came to return home after eight incredible days. We thank the organizers and all the participants from the different countries. From all across Spain, thank you for the experience, and we hope to see everyone again.
Text: Melisa Covaci
Images: Dezvoltare Activa Romania
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