#Youth4Bauhaus - Design your city | Young people design the green & smart city of the future
#Youth4Bauhaus, 27 February - 3 March 2023, Bucharest, România Between 27 February - 3 March 2023, the third meeting of the #Youth4Bauhaus project took place, in Bucharest, Romania, participating more than 40 young people from Portugal, Slovakia, Belgium and Romania. This project emerged with the launch of the New European Bauhaus initiative, of which GEYC is a partner. The role of the project is to encourage young people to actively participate in decision-making regarding the co-creation of public space in their cities in a sustainable, ecological and inclusive way. Young people have an important role to play in making such decisions, as they influence how they will live, work and spend their free time in the future, as well as the future of our planet.
These are the opinions of the young people from Bucharest who participated in this stage about what this project represented for them:
„I have to say, this was one of, if not the most unique projects I've ever been a part of. Meeting people from different countries and actually getting to know them as individuals was incredible. I especially enjoyed working in teams, as it allowed us to show off our greatest assets. We were also divided multiple times and as such I interacted with nearly everybody present which was a nice change from the usual format, in which you partner up with whoever is closest to you. During the first day, we learned how to use sign language which was something I had never tried before and certainly enjoyed a lot. We also got to walk around the city, which honestly felt as if I were a tourist in my own town, in the sense that I was able to look at the many amazing places in Bucharest through a new perspective. I also really liked working on Minecraft, it was so amazing using an app that is well known and beloved among people in my generation to create and project our vision of what the perfect Bucharest would look like. The intercultural night was a great showcase of each country's culture and traditions. I particularly enjoyed the slovakian wedding ritual and traditional clothing. At the end we each danced to the different songs from each country which was very fun. Last but not least this project helped me bond with my own colleagues, us working together in order to create an enjoyable experience for our friends from Belgium, Slovakia and Portugal. Overall, this was an amazing experience, in which I learned a lot and got to meet a lot of new and interesting people.”- Spătaru Bianca
„Before arriving at the hotel where the activity would take place, I didn't know what to expect.
After three days of participating in this project, I must confess that Youth4Bauhaus offered me a unique experience, which I recommend to any young person.
I had the opportunity to meet new people, with whom, in the course of just a few days, I realized an extraordinary project based on sustainability and accessibility. I was able to apply the ideas I came up with in a park I knew, and which I knew needed a change.
However, my favorite part of this whole experience was the time I spent with the other participants. I had the opportunity to learn all kinds of interesting things, especially about the cultures of young people from Portugal, Belgium and Slovakia, but I was also able to show them my favorite places in Bucharest!
All the information I was left with, but even more importantly, all the people I met, determined me to try to participate in as many such projects as possible! It was an unforgettable experience!”
- Maria Calin
„From the moment I received the letter of acceptance in this program, I knew that it was going to be a life changing experience. I have always dreamed of being part in an Erasmus project and Youth4Bauhaus gave me the opportunity to begin this journey. I have to say that I was quite nervous at first because I did not know what to expect, but this was an exciting unknown that I was looking forward to. I like to accept challenges, but there were plenty of them constantly coming to me. With the wholeheartedly given help of our supervisors we managed to cope with every uncommon situation that we faced due to the cultural differences. I have to say that on the first day of the project I was socially exhausted because I had been talking in English all day long and I was not accustomed to it! But I enjoyed it completely! After having elapsed all the three days of my interaction with other nations, I realized that I had learned a few words in portuguese, flemish, slovak, and in the signs language. My knowledge absorption went up exponentially and I was surprised how many things I could learn in such a short period of time, not to say how many people I got to know! It was extremely wonderful and I am more than excited to go in the next part of this project in Portugal!” - Benescu Maria
„This was my first Erasmus experience and to be honest it was so much better than I expected. I’m very glad I was part of this project. The part I liked the most was the interactions we had as a group. I really enjoyed doing the activities and just talking to people. It’s a very warm feeling to find out that there are people that feel and think like you about certain topics. In just three days we were able to form the start of some amazing friendships while doing something fun and educational.”- Benu Paula
„Despite it being my first Erasmus Project, I enjoyed myself tremendously. I enjoyed being able to work in a large variety of teams - I loved the relaxed and non-judgemental atmosphere, the change of pace when it came to readapting to my own City and the independence that came with showing everyone around our beautiful capital. We were able to do so many things in such a short time frame, and really form friendships that last to this day.
This project has already been a life altering experience, and I cannot wait to see what more lays ahead with the mobility to Braga!” - Simina Pascal
„The Youth4Bauhaus experience, being, moreover, the first in which I was offered the chance to participate, left a very good impression on me, far exceeding my expectations. Although I knew how the activity would unfold, I didn't expect to be able to collaborate so quickly with people I didn't know and even make friends. I appreciated the fact that, despite the few days we had at our disposal, we had the opportunity to choose certain destinations where we could spend part of our time, managing to include a little of everything: culture, entertainment, history, nature And so on I think, however, that my favorite moment of the whole experience was "intercultural night", because I was impressed to see how each of them chose a moment representing their country, together with images, games, traditions and traditional snacks. Also, I will not forget the evening of the last day, when we had the opportunity to keep as a memory messages from all the participants and to say goodbye.”
- Eliza Radu
„An experience that will definitely be a big part of my development as a person. In these five days, I managed to observe Bucharest, the city where I have lived since I was born, with different eyes. The places I was just passing by, before, I ended up analyzing them and thinking, together with other colleagues from different countries, how I could improve them. By working in a team with the other participants from Belgium, Portugal and Slovakia, we discovered the architectural differences that we had between the cities we came from and, following the discussions, we managed to create an optimal version of a park in the capital of Romania.
Within this project, I most appreciated the trust that both the teachers and the organizers gave us, leaving us alone to make important decisions.
I particularly appreciate the fact that Youth4Bauhaus supports values such as: sustainability, inclusion, development and sustainability.” - Alexia Tubac
„The Youth4Bauhaus experience, being the first I participated in of the Erasmus type, was a unique experience, which I would not have expected. I managed to meet very interesting people with whom I had not interacted before, from different countries.
I had the opportunity to change a park in Bucharest, the Opera Park, to make it accessible to people with disabilities, but also to modernize it and make it more pleasant. But, from my point of view, the most interesting part of this project was the interaction with people of similar ages from Slovakia, Belgium and Portugal. Thus I learned things about their culture, traditions and customs, being able to show them my favorite places in Bucharest.” - Tane Alexandru
„It was an amazing experience. Youth4Bauhaus gave me the opportunity to meet so many people, to find out more about other countries, about their customs, histories and famous tourists spots.I learned a lot about responsibility, especially during Free Time and I got to practice speaking in front of many people. Also, I played Minecraft for the first time and everyone had a lot of patience with me and I’m thankful for that. My favorite part of the project was The Intercultural Night. I loved all the dances, the food and the presentations. I got to work with friendly people, who I enjoyed talking to, espacially during the trips we went on. I had so much fun and I can’t wait for the next part of the project Youth4Bauhaus to begin!” - Catinca Onofrei
„When I arrived at the hotel I was very emotional. I couldn't wait to meet the other children. In these three days, I not only learned new things about sustainability and accessibility, I also learned how easily I can make friends, even from different countries. This project was a very interesting experience and gave me the opportunity to develop both culturally and socially. Throughout the three days, we were part of several teams, in which we tried to answer the requirements as best as possible. On this occasion we got to know each other better, learned new things from each other and had fun.
My favorite day was the one in which we had the intercultural activities because, being March 1, we had the opportunity to surprise the other participants with martisoare, a beautiful Romanian tradition. That evening we learned, in our turn, interesting information about the culture and traditions of the participants from Slovakia, Belgium and Portugal, presented by the children from each country in an interesting way.
I consider the time I spent with my teammates preparing the minecraft project a real benefit. Even if we encountered some technical problems, in the end, everything turned out well.
I am delighted that I had the opportunity to participate in this project, from my point of view this represents an opportunity to evolve that I recommend to any student.” - Ana Gross
For more information about the New European Bauhaus, you can read here.
