Between the 3rd and the 11th of May 2022, 40 young people gathered in the beautiful town of Bran, Romania, for the Eco Echo Youth Exchange. During 10 working days, the young people discussed the topics of sustainability and youth participation, the working methods being based on non formal education, such as: debates, simulation games, theatre, team building, workshop, interaction with local people, intercultural nights, cultural activities and reflections.
The specific objectives of the project were:
1. To foster active citizenship among 40 young people until the end of the youth exchange through workshops in areas like education, health care, and social inclusion.
2. To raise awareness of young people related to environmental problems and the need to change the habits and society toward more sustainable behaviours through non-formal educational activities during the project and via the dissemination process after the project.
3. To power up intercultural collaboration among the participants and the 7 partner organizations during the youth exchange by promoting mutual respect and understanding while working together on the project results.
The project was a space of peer-to-peer learning and sharing between the young people; they were supported by the facilitator to plan and run several sessions using different methods, from World Cafe, learning space dynamics, improvisation, debate and theatre.
The activities focused on a variety of topics related to active citizenship in the field of sustainability:
- understanding the concepts on which the project is based: circular economy, sustainability, alternative energy, pollution, social inclusion;
- presenting national realities in terms of recycling, ecology, the participation and understanding of people related to climate change;
- debates on sources of energy and genetically modified produce;
- creating business plans for sustainable companies;
- coming up with advice for someone who wants to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and ways to reduce consumption;
Overall, the youth exchange challenged the participants to think outside the box, come out of their comfort zone and reflect on their learning.