This innovative project, “Cultural Heritage for Youth”, enabled 43 participants from 8 European countries (Greece, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Spain and Turkey) to come together in the natural environment in Pylos, Messinia, sharing experiences, ideas and feelings. This young team met, discussed, and shared experience and examples of good practice about cultural heritage. This enhanced their experiences to meet new people, to be exposed to new cultures, to take part in open discussions and to share experiences about common European cultural heritage. Youth involved in this project, via the realization of intangible cultural heritage, shaped a better view of its cultural identity and its civilization. Materializing all forms of cultural heritage, young people expressed themselves and their talents, developed their critical spirit, cultivated perception, imagination, creativity and their initiative, broadened their horizons. This Youth exchange project took place over 8 days in Pylos, Messinia, South Peloponnese, and truly allowed each youngster to acquire and develop competences and art skills, offered youth opportunities to learn about cultural heritage of universal value, refreshed the cultural elements that were about to be forgotten. During the implementation of the Project, the participants cooperated and were motivated to the whole steps of the Project, creating their own portfolio of competences, art skills and knowledge in order to succeed in labor market, following the principles of the non-formal education. They acknowledged other organizations’ culture and art reality in different European countries. The participants were expected to act as multipliers, who first understood and were aware of the gained experience and then applied the newly acquired knowledge with their beneficiaries after coming back to their respective local communities. The Youth Exchange program aimed at promoting the active participation of young people in democratic EU life and fostered debate about cultural heritage, improving key competences, skills of young people, promoting their participation in society, their social inclusion and well-being and fostering improvements in youth work and youth policy at local, national and international level. They really developed their key competences through art sessions and workshops, as they were empowered for being active European citizens. Youngsters participated actively in recognizing and developing their own strengths in the subject and identifying and sustaining their own lines of enquiry. The project worked towards being a toolkit for such work to be implemented as an ongoing success project. 5 participants per partner aged 18-30, and 8 for the coordinator, especially those with fewer opportunities or coming from disadvantaged families, were the target group working with the method and activities of non-formal Education. The project’s objectives were: •To gather young people from different cultures, giving them the chance to study and appreciate tangible cultural heritage (museums, monuments), to sparkle their interest about cultural values. •To motivate youth and enhance their culture heritage awareness and expression through art, theatre and culture workshops and activities. •To enhance and raise cultural awareness of the participants and train them in storytelling, bringing them together from different European countries, promoting their social, communication skills and team spirit. •To increase and develop youngsters’ basic competences and art skills necessary to be active European citizens. •To be able to share experiences, exchange ideas and best practices among participants and to establish quality partnerships with colleagues from other European countries. •To encourage new forms of communication between local citizens and participants, to interconnect them and to ensure exchange of experiences and create a network with common activities. •To bring together youth with the NGO’S, local stakeholders from the local community, interact and exchange ideas, experiences. •To enhance active participation of European youth both in tangible and intangible cultural heritage through a holistic and learners-driven project.
This innovative project, “Cultural Heritage for Youth”, enabled 43 participants from 8 European countries (Greece, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Spain and Turkey) to come together in the natural environment in Pylos, Messinia, sharing experiences, ideas and feelings. This young team met, discussed, and shared experience and examples of good practice about cultural heritage. This enhanced their experiences to meet new people, to be exposed to new cultures, to take part in open discussions and to share experiences about common European cultural heritage. Youth involved in this project, via the realization of intangible cultural heritage, shaped a better view of its cultural identity and its civilization. Materializing all forms of cultural heritage, young people expressed themselves and their talents, developed their critical spirit, cultivated perception, imagination, creativity and their initiative, broadened their horizons. This Youth exchange project took place over 8 days in Pylos, Messinia, South Peloponnese, and truly allowed each youngster to acquire and develop competences and art skills, offered youth opportunities to learn about cultural heritage of universal value, refreshed the cultural elements that were about to be forgotten. During the implementation of the Project, the participants cooperated and were motivated to the whole steps of the Project, creating their own portfolio of competences, art skills and knowledge in order to succeed in labor market, following the principles of the non-formal education. They acknowledged other organizations’ culture and art reality in different European countries. The participants were expected to act as multipliers, who first understood and were aware of the gained experience and then applied the newly acquired knowledge with their beneficiaries after coming back to their respective local communities. The Youth Exchange program aimed at promoting the active participation of young people in democratic EU life and fostered debate about cultural heritage, improving key competences, skills of young people, promoting their participation in society, their social inclusion and well-being and fostering improvements in youth work and youth policy at local, national and international level. They really developed their key competences through art sessions and workshops, as they were empowered for being active European citizens. Youngsters participated actively in recognizing and developing their own strengths in the subject and identifying and sustaining their own lines of enquiry. The project worked towards being a toolkit for such work to be implemented as an ongoing success project. 5 participants per partner aged 18-30, and 8 for the coordinator, especially those with fewer opportunities or coming from disadvantaged families, were the target group working with the method and activities of non-formal Education. The project’s objectives were: •To gather young people from different cultures, giving them the chance to study and appreciate tangible cultural heritage (museums, monuments), to sparkle their interest about cultural values. •To motivate youth and enhance their culture heritage awareness and expression through art, theatre and culture workshops and activities. •To enhance and raise cultural awareness of the participants and train them in storytelling, bringing them together from different European countries, promoting their social, communication skills and team spirit. •To increase and develop youngsters’ basic competences and art skills necessary to be active European citizens. •To be able to share experiences, exchange ideas and best practices among participants and to establish quality partnerships with colleagues from other European countries. •To encourage new forms of communication between local citizens and participants, to interconnect them and to ensure exchange of experiences and create a network with common activities. •To bring together youth with the NGO’S, local stakeholders from the local community, interact and exchange ideas, experiences. •To enhance active participation of European youth both in tangible and intangible cultural heritage through a holistic and learners-driven project.