At SIEDAS` invitation, alongside with special agents from Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Italy, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal, Estonia, Macedonia, Turkey and Hungary, the Romanian delegation shared their country`s realities and acknowledged the others, focusing on youth unemployment and Erasmus +.
Special agents: Albulescu Maria, Blaga Ioana
Secret location: Bojnice, Slovakia
Mission: Contact making event #jobagent007
AOR (Area of Responsibility): Partnership building with youth workers and youngsters focusing on youth unemployment
Arrival: 25th June
Departure: 2nd July
Special Report
Waking up with the mountains` view every day, in the idyllic and fairytale landscape of Bojnice, the special agents had a busy week, with a tight schedule, in order for the mission to be as fruitful as possible.
The ice was easy to break, from the minute they arrived at the pension, late in the night when they started sharing about their long trips from all over Europe. So, the contact making part was already done when the project started, everybody already knew each other`s names and countries. Thanks to their communication skills and, the special agents knew from the start that their mission of building partnership will be easy to accomplish, given the friendly and open foreign special agents.
During the week, the activities were diverse, ranging from fun and informal, such as treasure hunt through the tranquil small town of Bojnice to the entertaining and original intercultural nights including the Slovak traditional grill, called opekacka, or the unusual experience in the Bojnice castle.
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Of course, it wasn`t all fun and games. Most of the week the special agents worked hard to understand the youth unemployment dynamics of all participating countries and EU in general. Under careful supervision of Sir Luca Frongia, from TDM 2000 International , the goal was achieved through discussions about the needs of young people, presentations of countries` realities, group work analysis of different elements that can be improved in order to diminish the rate of unemployment among youngsters.
Combining energizers with hard work (listening (intelligence sharing), analyzing and learning):
In the last days, they draw conclusions and made recommendations; everybody focused on future projects and partnerships:
Laughter, traditional food and customs from all the participant states, splendid views from the top of the hill and the amazing special agents from other countries turned the important mission into a valuable memory and the beginning of some beautiful friendships.
Each day, each activity and each experience was different. Through gathering very young persons (the youngest participant was 19 years old) and experienced people that manage projects and NGOs all over Europe in various domains, the overall event was a source of inspiration, a great place to share good & bad practices, skills, stories and contacts.
Romanian special agents have successfully completed the mission, acting professional, being valuable members of any ad-hoc team, often in leading, actively participating in all activities, discussions and presentations, proudly representing both GEYC and Romania.
In the end, a coalition of willing allies was formed between all participants and their representing NGOs and everybody is looking forward to meet again in other projects.