Hello everyone! I am Lorena and I have been working for 7 years at the FCV. Taking the opportunity to clean up during these days of confinement, I found a promotional brochure of the second youth exchange in which I participated, now 12 years ago!, which made me reflect on the importance of that experience in my life and what is most likely contributed to getting me where I am now.
For three consecutive summers (2007, 2008 and 2009), when the program was still Youth in Action, I participated in three youth exchanges that took place in Burgos, Finland and Portugal. At that time, I had only travelled abroad once, to France with my uncles, so these projects were for me an awesome experience.
The first year, and thanks to having a father from Burgos, I participated as part of the hosting group in the exchange that was hosted in La Horra, Burgos, and destiny wanted that this experience opened the doors to travel to Imatra, Finland and Cabeceiras de Basto, Portugal in the following two years.
And destiny wanted to continue wanting that, with the passage of time, I would be the one working to facilitate the participation of young people in this type of project.
Seeing with perspective the positive impact of participating in a youth exchange, I will list here some of its benefits:
- You will meet people from very different countries and you will create new bonds of friendship. There are people who will become your friends for a long time!
- You will discover other cultures, ways of doing, ways of thinking, languages, that will question your ideas and expand your horizons. Of course, you can also share your own culture and traditions.
- You will learn almost without realizing it about a specific topic, through different games, dynamics, debates, teamwork, always using non-formal education as a methodology.
- You will have a lot of fun! Laughs in this type of project are guaranteed.
- You will get the Youthpass, a certificate that you can attach to the curriculum and that will corroborate your participation in the youth exchange as a training activity.
You’re now probably thinking… I want to know more! What do I have to do to get informed and be able to participate?
Here you will find the contact of my colleague Elena (dinamitzacio@catalunyavoluntaria.cat), who will be delighted to inform you about the opportunities we have at the moment and the steps you have to follow in order to participate.
Keep in mind that youth exchanges are projects granted by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission, with which you will have all expenses covered during the mobility.
An opportunity that you certainly cannot miss!
Are you in?