01/09/2025
On the banks of the Danube, a group of young people from Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, and Bulgaria are spending nine days together, not as tourists, but as co-creators of a European experience that blends learning, culture, and civic responsibility.
Gathered at the Institute Perspectives Youth Centre, the participants launched their Erasmus+ exchange with a day devoted to connection. Activities such as “Me and Only Me” and Human Bingo set the tone, ensuring that names quickly became familiar and strangers turned into companions. The creation of personalised Youth Passports, where each participant outlined their fears, hopes and expectations, allowed young voices to be heard from the outset.
“By the evening, it was clear that bonds were forming fast,” said one organiser. “The ice had been broken, and the group was already becoming a community.”
The following days brought a mix of reflection and challenge. A timeline exercise revealed just how much participants still had to learn about environmental history, while workshops on the European Green Deal and the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gave substance to those gaps. Teams rotated between themes such as food, transport, and sustainable cities, guided by facilitators who turned abstract policy into tangible ideas.
Outside the youth space, the exchange reached into the community. On 20 August, the group travelled to a district of Svishtov to collect rubbish from the streets. What might sound like a simple act of service became a lesson in resilience. “The smell was unbearable at times, but it reminded us that environmental care begins with difficult, hands-on work,” one participant reflected.
Afterwards, the young Europeans turned their attention to advocacy. Using resources from the Activist Handbook, they explored the power of SMART goals and communication strategies, preparing to design campaigns of their own. Vision boards helped shape the next step: a field activity in Veliko Tarnovo, where they would interview locals about environmental challenges.
The cultural highlight came with that very trip. Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria’s medieval capital, offered both history and inspiration. Participants visited the Tsarevets Fortress and sampled traditional Bulgarian cuisine, while also engaging with the European Centre for Youth. For many, it was a reminder that cultural heritage and sustainability can coexist, and that Europe’s future is built as much on shared values as on shared pasts.
Evenings were punctuated by informal moments—humorous notes from the Gossip Box, energising games, and intercultural exchanges. Yet behind the laughter lay serious intent: to reflect on Europe’s challenges, from climate change to youth participation, and to imagine solutions together.
The project is part of Erasmus+, the EU’s flagship programme for education, training and youth. For the young people of Svishtov and their European peers, it is more than a programme: it is a platform for collaboration, a space where ideas meet reality, and where civic engagement is tested in practice.
As the exchange draws to a close, its impact is already visible. A cleaner street in Svishtov, a shared meal in Veliko Tarnovo, a new understanding of advocacy—all small steps that, stitched together, illustrate how Erasmus+ continues to nurture a generation of Europeans eager to act, connect and contribute.
The video is part of dissemination activities of project 2024-1-BG01-KA151-YOU-000209982.
