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Switch to a bike. Protect your home!

2021-1-PL01-KA152-YOU-0000082592021Mobility of young peoplefinalized
Countries: PL|PT|CZ|SK|HU|LT|LV · Grant: €28,664
Environment and climate changeGreen transport and mobilityDigital skills and competences

Objectives

Through the implementation of the project, we managed to explore the most "burning" problem related to environmental protection in the youth exchange region, i.e. the issue of air pollution. The participation of as many as 7 organizations in the youth exchange allowed us to internationalize the local problems we struggle with, and thus broaden the perspective of perceiving these issues (through the interpenetration of observations, opinions, ideas, knowledge, experiences). As a result of organizing a youth exchange in which as many as 42 people from as many as 7 EU countries took part, we managed to create a project space within which we significantly expanded awareness of issues related to environmental protection in urban space and found cause and effect relationships. processes that have both positive and negative impact on the natural environment in the places we live. Participating in the youth exchange initiated a lasting mental change in us, resulting in moving away from traveling in the urban space of our towns by car to using bicycles (city or private) for this purpose. Participating in the youth exchange made us aware of threats that may have a destructive impact on the natural environment in which we live every day, and also taught us how to notice and transfer "to our own backyard" effective pro-ecological solutions used in other EU countries and around the world. The most important goals of our project, which we managed to achieve during the 8 days of youth exchange, include a) learning how to create maps of threats to the natural environment, as well as recognizing cause and effect relationships in relation to these threats, b) acquiring knowledge on topic of the European Green Deal, c) learning how to "scan" our towns in search of positive and negative manifestations of human impact on the natural environment, d) gaining knowledge and inspiration in the use of: green public transport and bicycles as the main means of getting around in urban areas from the most developed EU countries and the world in this respect, e) seeing with your own eyes what the city fleet of buses looks like, the task of which is, among others, minimizing the negative impact of their use on the natural environment, as well as learning how to shape the policy of municipal enterprises in this regard, f) learning how to use city bicycles and bicycle paths, as well as how to shape one's own mentality in in the field of "cycling" in every possible situation for the benefit of ourselves and the natural environment, g) learning how to involve young people in activities related to the promotion of "cycling" so that these activities are effective and in line with into the hearts and minds of young people permanently, h) acquiring practical knowledge and experience in the implementation of international projects, which translates into readiness to undertake further pro-ecological projects. A visit to the Municipal Transport Company in Tarnów, during which we had the opportunity to meet specialists in creating strategies for implementing low-emission green transport in Tarnów and see with our own eyes the principles of operation of low-emission buses, turned out to be a hit! The scale of knowledge and experience gained in the field of low-emission green urban transport resulting from the visit to MPK in Tarnów exceeded our expectations! It should be emphasized that thanks to many activities (visits, conversations) preceding our participation in the youth exchange (carried out by members of our Polish group and representatives of the SIKMA authorities), we obtained really great support and openness from the management and employees of MPK in Tarnów, thanks to which our visit to MPK in Tarnów took place in an extremely interesting formula, which is best seen in the video materials illustrating this event which we present in this report --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKczb_Ynib4&t=94s. The second extremely important activity we carried out during the youth exchange was the session "Get on a bike. Actions, not words!", in which we took advantage of the opportunity to rent city bikes and ride them around Tarnów --> https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=1yFQCLHwEcY. An additional achievement that went beyond the initial expectations was certainly the integration of our group, which took place as a result of our trip to a paintball field specially prepared for us, where, by implementing various game scenarios, we managed to consolidate our 42-person team and lay the foundations for creating a well-cooperating design team.

Project partners (7)