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Dall'Islanda alle Isole

2025-1-IT03-KA155-YOU-0002982882025Discover EU inclusion actionfinalized
Countries: IT · Grant: €11,854.75

Objectives

The project focused on a travel experience designed for newly 18-year-olds with fewer opportunities who had not found space to express their talents within school or family environments. The group of young participants would have been guided through a special Interrail journey across Europe’s major islands, starting from Iceland and ending in Corsica, passing through Ireland. The project involved a single mobility lasting nine days for five youngsters and two accompanying persons. The theme of the project, titled “From Iceland to the Islands”, symbolized that we all live on small or large islands in Europe, seemingly distant from one another, yet only together can these islands ensure development, well-being, and participation. Metaphorically, the islands from which European citizens—including ourselves—come share the same needs, dreams, and challenges that must be faced collectively. The second theme concerned a change of perspective: it is essential that our young people learn to look at reality from different viewpoints and, above all, move beyond the belief that their own country or local environment is the center of the world. The DiscoverEU program, in a perspective of integrating various forms of learning, could offer great benefits to these young people. Regarding the trip itself, the idea was to start from the northernmost capital in the world (Reykjavik, Iceland) and explore major attractions using alternative means of transport, discovering the Arctic landscape. The next stage would have been Ireland, where participants, upon arriving in Dublin, would visit key cities such as Galway and Cork. From Ireland, the plan was to travel by ferry to France, reach Paris, and visit the main landmarks. By train, the group would then continue to Nice and finally board a ship to Corsica. Due to the lack of a direct transport connection between Iceland and Ireland, while keeping the project objectives and all other aspects of the project unchanged, we opted for an alternative itinerary. We travelled to Iceland, where we stayed for four days. We then continued to Denmark, spending one day in Copenhagen, followed by one day in Hamburg and three days in Berlin, completing the mobility within a total period of nine days. Beyond the itinerary, the main goal was to provide a travel and learning experience to a group of five young people in a context completely different from their usual one. Above all, it aimed to help these youths undertake a journey they would never have made otherwise because: they did not know how to apply individually for the centralized DiscoverEU action; their families could not afford such an experience (and perhaps did not even see its value); and due to their disadvantaged background, they were not yet able to take on and complete such responsibilities on their own. Therefore, it was crucial to set the goal of enabling them to plan and manage their first journey—deciding what to visit, where to go, and how to get there. The project’s objectives were: - To showcase the diversity of European cultures, particularly on Europe’s largest islands, and their ways of life. - To strengthen a sense of European identity by countering the growing wave of Euroscepticism. - To motivate young people to engage in democratic life and to form their own opinions about the importance of expanding the Union, especially in light of recent crises and conflicts near Europe’s borders. - To carry out a first, safe mobility experience serving as a stepping stone for many other opportunities they were previously unaware of. - To bridge educational gaps through the support of non-formal learning.

Project partners (1)