The MoviEUmakers youth exchange (8-12 September) welcomed 22 young people from Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, and Hungary, who spent five days in Varna exploring the topics of storytelling, scriptwriting and moviemaking to convey their personal messages into short films written and filmed by themselves.
The movies reflected the European Youth Goals and the EU values, such as equality, solidarity, inclusion and human dignity.
On the first activity day, the participants took part in a fun introductory activity to help them memorise their names. Then they were introduced to the EU, the European Youth Strategy (2019-2027) and the 11 European Youth Goals. The constitution of the project was drafted (consisting of common rules to be followed by all participants) and the young people elaborated on their fears and expectations related to the project. In the afternoon, they were introduced to the Youth Pass Certificate. The day concluded with a short presentations of the participating organisations – FECE (BG), SFERA International (MK), Multi Kulti (RO) and Creative Youth Academy (HU), outside activities and team leaders meeting.
On the second day, the participants explored each other’s interests related to cinema and moviemaking within the “Who are I?” non-formal activity. They also created group definitions about storytelling and moviemaking and participated in two creative activities – Blind Director (aimed at creating a sequence of photos telling a story) and Act It Out! (filming a short videos representing participants’ favourite EYG). The day concluded with a meeting of the team leaders.
The third day was focused on the process of scriptwriting and storyboard creation. The participants explored it by an interactive presentation and showcase of the VISYON’s short film “My ride through Europe”. They were introduced to the structure of the plot and the specifics of the story characters. In the afternoon, divided into international groups, they created scripts and storyboards for 3 short films – reflecting goal #2 Equality of all Genders #3 Inclusive Societies and #9 Space & Participation for all. In the afternoon the team of FECE presented the Spaces for Future board game and the preparations for the Intercultural Night started. In the evening the national groups presented their countries’ traditions, history and local foods.
The morning of the fourth day was dedicated to filming. In the afternoon, the young people visited Varna and explored the city’s landmarks, museums and leisure time spots. On the final fifth day the participants presented their short films and were introduced to the Erasmus+ Programme and created ideas for future projects (YEs and TCs), promoting a healthy lifestyle and joint learning. They also took part in a simulation aiming to explore citizen journalism, critical thinking and media literacy (as a part of European Digital Citizenship Education Week 2025). In the afternoon, the participants took part in a YouthPass awarding ceremony, evaluated the project and reflected on their overall experience.
The MoviEUmakers YE is funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme.
