We took part in a youth exchange project in 20th-28th of August 2017 called TEAM - short for Together Everyone Achieves More, during which we spent an unforgettable week in the midst of the Slovenian Alps. There were people from seven different European countries: Italy, Malta, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia and Estonia. Together we participated in exciting workshops which focused on developing our teamwork skills.

The project took place in a small village between mountains called Jezersko. We stayed at a lovely guesthouse which also supplied as with goods from surrounding farms. We really took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in tents, completely immersed in nature. We went to test out the mountains and conquer their peaks a few times, we also did some orienteering around the village. There were many different animals on the farm: our every morning started with a rooster crowing, a group of goslings trod past our tent and you couldn’t miss the cute, huggable kittens.

​The organisers were very committed and you could see how they really enjoyed working on projects like this. Although we spent just a week in the mountains, leaving was difficult nonetheless - the company was extraordinarily cozy. The most thrilling part was sharing experiences with people from other countries and getting to know their cultures. Socializing all day and every day definitely developed our English and through playful teambuilding games other social skills - ones also essential in everyday life. It was definitely a project we will never forget - we just can’t because all the awesome friends we made all over Europe are already waiting for us to visit them again!

We would definetley recommend the projects orginised by the same group, because they’re really professional and nice people!

Summary was made by Andres Käosaar

On the 20th to 27th August the project “Discover the World of Business” took place in a small Slovak town called Zvolen. There were 5 participants from Estonia, Poland, Croatia, Lithuania and Slovakia. A total of 25 people took part of the project, the main purpose of which was to educate young people about entrepreneurship and to share knowledge about doing business in different countries. The program consisted of lectures, group works and practical assignments.

The project had lectures to teach how to start your own business and how to keep it profitable. The participants also asked local people what they think their city needs, they analysed the information and tried to come up with solutions. Participants’ communication and presentation skills were developed a lot, because of many group works and presentations.

The project also had an intercultural night where people introduced their country and gave other participants a chance to understand their culture a little better. Every country provided something from their cuisine and showed videos and pictures of their famous sightseeing objects.

Many educated and active young people took part of the project and it was a chance to make great and valuable connections around Europe. The project gave people a lot of inspiration to start their own businesses.

Summary was made by Marthen-Patrik Kummer

On the 13th -27th of August 2016 near a small Austrian city called Klaffer took place a youth exchange under the name of “Points of YOUth-under the construction”. The exchange brought together youngsters interested by the topic from seven countries- Estonia, Italy, Austria, Lithuania, Macedonia and Spain. All together 57 great and interesting people.

The nature was just breath taking. Often you could find yourself admiring the beautiful mountains and on top of this, you could do that from the big gorgeous lake shore. For the Estonian group the nature was amazing and outstanding- considering the landscape in Estonia. Just great, it’s hard to find a more beautiful place for a youth exchange!
 
There were a lot of activities and games. Every new day started with an energizer, where we played a lot of games to stop being sleepy. Different theme groups took place on many days in a row- Gender roles and Stereotypes, Balanced Lifestyle, Human Rights and Ethics. In all of the theme groups we learned many new and interesting things. There were also a lot of evening programs- Movie nights, campfire nights, where you could make your own bread, or just games that brought us more together. Also there was enough free time so everyone could find their own activity- some tanned, some went swimming, some went and discovered the beautiful nature and some just went to sleep.

A whole day was devoted for a trip to Linz. In the morning we got on the bus and when we arrived at Linz everyone went to the place they had picked- TV Station, Radio Station or the Newspaper . In every place they showed us how what works and how everything took place in the building before it arrives to the viewer, listener or reader. After that we had some free time to look around the city and go sightseeing, small and beautiful city.
 
Also the youngsters were listed into three groups that dealt with preparing of the presentation night that was before the leaving day and where we had visitors from out of the exchange. the first group made a newspaper, the second group made a film and the third group made a theatre show. The presentation night was awesome and well organized.
 
On the last day before going home was basically free and we could go canoeing on the lake J. In the evening we got our youthpasses and also they revealed our “secret friends” who were raffled at the beginning of the youth exchange. After that we had our last party.

This was the best project I had ever had and I know everyone enjoyed it a lot. Every single person there was awesome including the best organizers ever- Chrisi and Sonja.
 
Summary was made by Steven Martin Suits and Rauno Tisler.