The Youth Exchange Our Values, Our Europe took place in Golden Sands, Varna between 16-23 September and gathered 32 young people from Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Czech Republic to get a better understanding of the EU and its core values.
The project raised awareness of the core EU values, promoted integration and fostered European citizenship. The European Union has always aimed to promote peace, stability and prosperity, the well-being of its citizens and fundamental values such as: dignity, equality, democracy, solidarity, rule of law and general human rights. Having this in mind, everyday of the youth exchange was devoted to one of the core EU values.
The general objective was to empower young people to become active citizens and through their activities to foster integration and promote the European way of life. The project implementation was based on the Youth Participation Strategy for enhancing active participation in the democratic life of their communities.
The project set specific objectives to bring an understanding and new knowledge to participants of the history and diversity of the EU; to foster European citizenship and the participation of young people in the democratic life of Europe; to develop key skills of young people such as civic awareness, critical thinking, integrated problem solving, as well as skills for argumentation and constructive participation in community activities; to create civic space where young people can have their voices heard and to raise the capacity of youth organizations to work with European topics.
The methods used to reach these objectives were a mix of civic and non-formal education, such as energizers and ice-breaking games, role-playing, simulations and teamwork as well as discussions, brainstorming and reflections, intercultural and experimental learning.
The project is funded through the Erasmus+ Programme.