40 youths (aged 15-19) from 6 countries - Bosnia & Herzegovina, Greece,
Slovakia, Spain, Romania and Ukraine - gathered in Bran, Romania, between the
1st and the 7th of September 2024 for the
DigiEcho Heritage: Digital storytelling connecting to cultural &
natural heritage
youth exchange.
During one week, participants had the opportunity to experience non-formal
education activities, connect with nature, with their culture but also with
each other, embracing diversity. Moreover, they had the chance to discover
Bran and Brasov, through an interactive city game. The objectives of the youth
exchange were:
- raising youth's awareness on the importance of knowing, preserving and promoting cultural and natural heritage,
- equipping youth with digital storytelling skills to create, share, and promote content that highlights the significance of their cultural & natural local heritage,
- fostering cross-cultural understanding and collaboration by connecting youth from different regions to share their cultural & natural heritage stories and exchange their digital storytelling best practices.
The topic of this youth exchange is linked with the general theme of the
European Heritage Days 2024,
Heritage of routes, networks and connections. Thus, we invited
participants to discover more about cultural heritage across the
continent, showcasing the interconnections which have shaped Europe's
rich and diverse heritage throughout history, from ancient roads to modern
digital links.
In the same framework, participants created 6 digital campaigns, in
intercultural teams, tackling issues such as:
- cultural treasures of Romania from medieval times to modern days,
- adopting a more sustainable lifestyle,
- negative impact of fast fashion,
- preserving Turcul river (Bran),
- preservation of old buildings in Brasov,
- raising awareness on Balkan culture.
The event was organized by GEYC and co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the
European Union within GEYC’s Erasmus+ 2024 Youth Accreditation. The
international partners who joined our efforts were: Udruženje Mladih "Nostra"
(BiH), Growth Hub (Greece), Ye Too Ponese (Spain), Youthfully yours
(Slovakia), and NFE4Y (Ukraine).