On December 5th, 2025, GEYC marked the International Volunteer Day by hosting a SPARK dissemination event in Bucharest. Titled “Bloom and Act!”, the event brought together young people, volunteers, and community members to explore themes of sustainability, healthy living, and youth-led innovation.
This gathering was not just a celebration of volunteering - it was an opportunity to share the outcomes of the SPARK project (Supportive Program for Advancing Rural Knowledge), which supports rural and underrepresented youth in designing and testing social entrepreneurship initiatives. Funded through the Erasmus+ programme, SPARK has empowered participants across France, Italy, Slovakia, and Romania to turn ideas into action through mentoring, local involvement, and peer learning.
As part of the event, Maria Chițu, one of the SPARK participants and a fellow from Romania, presented her initiative, Bloomplate Education Programme - a nutrition education track focused on fertility and hormonal health. Developed with support from SPARK mentors, the project now reaches hundreds of people through webinars and live workshops.
Maria’s session combined a project showcase with a cooking activity, inviting participants to reflect on how accessible, evidence-based nutrition can be part of broader social impact work. The cooking session wasn’t just about food - it was about how small actions can create lasting change in communities.
The Bloom and Act! event exemplified one of SPARK’s core goals: dissemination through community engagement. Rather than simply presenting static results, the event created a space for interactive learning, dialogue, and connection between young changemakers and local audiences.
While Maria facilitated the session, her work was just one of many social initiatives developed within SPARK. Other participants worked on topics such as:
- bringing STEM education to rural schools,
- empowering migrant-led cultural initiatives,
- simplifying access to EU funds for farmers, or
- creating youth-focused mental health tools.
These and many other stories are featured in the SPARK Guidebook, a digital publication gathering the lessons, tools, and case studies from the project. This Guidebook can be accessed here.
About SPARK
SPARK - Supportive Program for Advancing Rural Knowledge is a European project co-funded by Erasmus+ (KA220-YOU). It supports youth workers and aspiring social entrepreneurs in developing their competences in innovation, participation, and rural development.
This dissemination event was part of the project’s final stage, designed to highlight results and engage the wider community in conversations around youth-led innovation. Project ID: 2024-1-FR02-KA220-YOU-000251048