On one rainy Sunday morning four of us, brave and tall estonian girls excited about their trip to the south,  met in Tartu coach station to start a day full of travelling. After many hours by buses, a plane and a train we arrived to Poronin, a small town in Poland that became our home for the upcoming week.
The project held there was called „Erasmusic+“ so as expected by the title we did have a lot of activities connected with music. Every country-Lithuania, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and Estonia- had to prepare a presentation about their national music in different decades starting from the 60’s and finishing in the present. To our surprise there were also some songs that were surprisingly famous in other countries. For example there was a Romanian participant who could sing „Kuula“ (by Ott Lepland) by heart and a Greek girl who loved „Rändajad“ and its performer Sandra Nurmsalu.
In addition to presentations about music we also had a lot of fun during every other activity. For example we had a hike to Morksie Oko in Tatra mountains where we saw an elk only two meters away, a relaxing evening in the thermal pools, a city game that included tasks like „find a happy horse“ and then lots and lots of competitions in billiards, table football and table tennis.
Every day finished with an intercultural evening. It was a great chance to test our knowledge in quizes, learn the fact that there is still much to learn about every country on Earth, to taste different national foods and drinks and to get to know some new interesting songs and dances.
Time flew and before we even realized it the week was over. How else but writing our own song would finish Erasmusic+ perfectly! Listen to it here!

Summary was made by Liis Randmäe
​Pictures made by Genelyn All

The 8 day youth exchange took place in a historic city of Istanbul, Turkey from 20th November to 27th November 2016. It gathered together 60 young people aged 16-30 from 6 countries (Estonia, Denmark, Lithuania, Norway, United Kingdom and Turkey).
The aim of project was to increase the satisfaction and the motivation of the young people, to contribute to increasing the productivity with the right choice of career and right employment.
During the 8 days young people learned about unemployment and jobs in other countries through question and answer work, group work, discussions and surveys.
Youth Exchange allowed them to get to know new people, become aware of socially relevant topics and discover new cultures through activities such as cultural evenings, games, ice-breakers, energizers and outdoor activities.
People had a chance to take part in a world café, prepare and improve their CV, motivation letter and test their skills in public speaking exercise.
At the end of youth exchange every one of us got something from this awesome project:

• • Made new friends
• • Became more confident
• • Gained experience communicating with other people
• • Improved language skills
• • Learned how to work in a team

​Summary was made by Veronika Taraskina

Romania .. a land that might seem quite far and unknown, but actually hides so much more than one could guess at first. It brought together 9 very different young people all over Estonia, each with an aim to participate in a youth exchange on the topic of „Eco life.“ This kind of opportunity was provided by Seiklejate Vennaskond, what provides and also carries through different projects, bringing together people from all over the world. Of the 9 Estonians who participated, only 2 had an experience with this kind of thing, meaning that for the most, it was a first experience of this kind and it did not disappoint. The project took place quite far from the capital city of Bucharest, in mountainous Poiana Negrii. The place of the accommodation was marvellous, with the main house and smaller houses for sleeping. Worth mentioning is the fact that accommodation, food and different activities are all free for the participants and even the transportation costs are paid back later – incredible! Like every project of this kind, the first days were spent learning each others names, getting used to the surroundings and everything like that, because there were so much to do and so many people. Countries who participated were Estonia, Lithuania, Spain, Czech Republic and Romania. Every day there were group activities, games and other these kinds of activities and the evenings were for the cultural nights. All this helped to create friendships, that still last. It is worth a mention that we also took a day trip to Vatra Dornei, a little town nearby and had a hike in the 12 apostle mountains. All this was in defiance of different weather conditions, like rain, hail and snow, but still, there was also sunny weather sometimes. One of the most memorable things was definitely the Oscars Gala – during the day we worked in groups and each group had to film a video clip, that would bring attention to the ecological lifestyle. In the evening, during the gala, the best movie and best male and female etc. were chosen – everything felt like the real Oscars gala.
One thing that definitely described the whole youth exchange was the fact that perception of time disappeared completely. It was because there was so much to do all the time and spending time with great people makes you forget the time passing. So that’s why it was so sad to say goodbye to Poiana Negrii after almost two weeks and the goodbye for many people was happy and bittersweet at the same time. Even though I have been to project before through Seiklejate Vennaskond, I can surely say that every youth exchange and training is different, but the experiences you get are all worth it. I can surely say that none of us 9 would have never gotten to this kind of place like Poiana Negrii on our own and that is why these Erasmus + projects are a great way to explore new places, get new experiences and make friendships that last a lifetime.  
​Read more in project blog.
Summary was made by Renata lukk. 

​In November 2016 we took part in a youth exchange project between 5th and 14th called "Livin' The Green Life", during which we spent an unforgettable week in Polish Tatra mountains in Poronin. We stayed in a really good hotel and ate typical polish food in a restaurant nearby. There were people from four different European countries. Together everyday we participated in exciting workshops which focused on ecology and its influence on our everyday life. One of the main topics of the project was the balance at the human-nature level and using natural resources without excessively infringing our nature. During a week we had a lot of games, focused mostly on ecology, we had an opportunity to present Estonia and see presentations of other countries as well. But most important is that we made a lot of new friends and had a chance to see Poland, which was really amazing.

Summary was made by Irina Vihhoreva

What is well-being? Thanks to Seiklejate Vennaskond, to Erasmus+ and the European Union, five Estonian women had an opportunity to participate in the youth exchange named the Happit (happy+habits) from 17th to 25th of October in Iasi, a beautiful city in Romania. From Estonia, Poland, Italy and Romania the participants shared life’s pearls and stings, analysed causes and practised healthy activities, such as yoga, hiking and aerobics. Not less important was the karaoke night out, where the group gained local popularity, and the international evening, where everyone danced together in Romanian, Estonian and Polish national rhythm. In the end of the exchange the group shared their positive energy with disabled kids in the local school. It was a challenge at first, but the group handled it very well and the goal was accomplished: kids were active and left with a big smile on their face.

One important ingredient in well-being is to create values. Everything, that was shared in these days, released laughter, warmth, courage and honesty, which all are priceless values. Laugh from the bottom of the heart is the best cure, and if one is warm inside, then no minus degree can push them to apathy. It takes great courage to show light to shadows and to stay honest in doing so. It’s important to understand, that a beautiful crust doesn’t mean anything, if the core is broken. A happy life is not a naive fairytale, it’s a decision and something we all are worthy of.

In the youth exchange everyone opened themselves more and more. The activities and story-telling revealed to everyone something about themselves, which had existed for long and quietly and had eaten their energy. The exchange shaped a perfect example of a well-operating community: people, who want the best for themselves and to each other. So that a refreshing breakfast would welcome each one in the morning and a rich dinner in the evening, everyone had to contribute in it themselves. For that, four-member groups were formed and every group took care of a meal on a specific day. Despite of the lack of sleep or an exhausting day, all the groups took this commitment as a holy, because it was definitely something, that influences the well-being of the community. Let there be said, that every evening all sat together at the table as a family and every dish was praised.
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All that happened in these days made things in life more clear in its cultivating nature: this exchange improved knowledge, taught behavior and enriched emotionally.

Read more: http://www.thehappit.eu/

Summary was made by Anna Luther. 

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 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.

On the 18th of July 2016 a youth exchange called Something More Events brought 25 young people from Estonia, Poland, Romania, Greece and the United Kingdom together to Sheffield, UK. In seven days the group learned to understand the process of organizing events and, in addition, volunteered at the local Tramlines music festival. The objective of the youth exchange was to discover event planning skills and to raise awareness about the different requirements for organizing different events.
 
The youth exchange consisted of two parts. The first included workshops, social games, group projects, debates and roleplays. The second part took place at Tramlines festival, where the participants were divided into groups to take care of various tasks in order to help manage the festival. The participants were also left some free time to enjoy the concerts and discover the lovely city of Sheffield.
 
The project was funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme.

​Check out the project video HERE
Summary was made by Laura Hääl