Erasmus+ training projects are an awesome opportunity for young people to socialize, learn and travel. For that very reason we decided to participate in this training course project in November last year in Ankara, Turkey.
We found out about this type of project from our peers who had worked before with some NGOs and participated in some Erasmus+ projects so we wanted to try it for ourselves. Why we participated in this project was because we wanted to know and learn more about the way of volunteering and the way that NGOs can help and provide for the community and for the volunteers themselves. Thankfully we had a lot of help from CET Platform Macedonia about the information and guidelines and how we can be a part of this project.
The whole journey was really fun from the very beginning to the very end. Some of us had participated in similar project but some of us did not. With that we experienced new things, met a lot of new people, formed relationships for a lifetime and acquired skills in different sections of life.
Activity program
Every day we had 3 sessions where we learned a lot of new things. We did a verity of activities in which we participated with full interest because they were very entertaining and informative. Our communicating skills became better and better every day just because of these types of activities. Furthermore, we did a lot of presenting and public speaking so with that we perfected our leadership skills or if some of us did not have them they gained the courage to try and be better every day. The topics we talked about were about NGOs and volunteering, cultural differences, youthpass, managing skills and a lot more. We drew, sang, danced, laughed and most importantly had an unforgettable time. And at the very end we had a very fun cultural night where we learned about different cultures, ate food and received our youth passes.
Relationships
Forming relationships that last a lifetime and meeting new people from all around the world is really the magical thing these types of projects give. Learning about new cultures, new people, new languages and lots and lots more. For young people forming relationships is very important so this program helped a lot in that part and we are very thankful for that opportunity.
Outside activities
Even though we were very busy with the sessions we found time to go outside and discover some things by ourselves or we had help from the awesome volunteers on the project. Either way we visited different places like the castle, the prison, different shops with traditional food, cafes and bars, Anitkabir,… We ate baklava, kebab, kadaif, drank Turkish coffee and salep, danced to Turkish music and sang Turkish songs…
Over all the whole project was very interesting and very educational. It thought us about different views of different countries and about all the things about NGOs and volunteering. It is so important to know about these types of organizations because they have a big impact on the community and need more recognition for a better future. We loved every second of the project and thank you for including us in it.
