The European Erasmus+ program is an interesting source of funding for the mobility of young people, as well as informal education for adults, so on behalf of the LAZ association, volunteers regularly submit projects and apply for tenders. As partners, we were successful with the youth exchange project in Latvia. Jelka Babič attended a preparatory meeting in Riga at the end of August.
In the association, we already have experience with youth exchanges. We have already sent many young people from Jablanska dolina to several European countries, where they met their peers from Europe, Turkey and other countries that are beneficiaries of the Erasmus+ program.
In 2014, however, we were the hosts of the project and the hosts of the exchange, the nine-day program of the project Self-Efficient Village we carried out on Breg pri Litija – in the premises of the permanent collection of pebbles and on the Panternoster farm. Watching the video it’s here.
Acquiring competences is the most important goal of projects. In the last week of September in Riga, a group of young people from our valley will take part in a youth exchange on the topic of handicrafts. They will get to know European culture, heritage and teach each other handicraft skills. They will live with their peers from Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Turkey in a cozy house on the outskirts of Riga, and we believe they will have a great time.
At the preparatory meeting, we reviewed the technical and program details. The safety of the participants comes first, but of course it is in the interest of all organizations participating in the project, so that the implementation of the exchange program will be of high quality and that young people will really upgrade their competences or Knowledge and skills.
The head of the Madeline program from Bulgaria, who will lead the whole week’s activities, is a young but experienced and responsible person, as is the team of the Solis Tuvak association, with the president Andra Vanaga at the helm.