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NorthMacedonia: Youthassociation
Infofront-Prilep
CzechRepublic: Cestarozvoje,z.s.
Italy:
GNU-INTERNATIONALAPS
Turkey: KaradenizEgitim veGenclikDernegi
Greece:
KINONIKISINETAIRISTIKI EPICHERISIELLINIKI SYMMETOCHINEON
Projectsupportedby:
Todaywehadateambuildingactivity called“MissionImpossible.”Inthenice weather,wehadtosolve15tasksduringa shortperiodof30minutes.
Aspartoftheactivity,weperformedthe Macarenadance,builtahumanpyramid, sangasongtogether(Oneofthe participantsplayedthepianoforus),we alsocollectedobjectsforeveryletterofthe Englishalphabet,foundoutwhohasgot themostsiblings,wetookapicturewith theoldestandtheyoungestparticipant, andmanymore.
Thissessionbroketheicebetweenusand helpedustoworkbetterasagroup,to communicateandlistentoeachother.We gottoknoweachotherbetter,and,lastbut notleast,wehadalotoffun!
Purposesoftheactivity...
1.Gettingtoknowthecityandthelocals
2.Getinfofromlocalsabouttheir experiencesduringCovid-19(whichalso resultedindiscussionsaboutthisproject)
3.Cooperationwithourteammembers
Weweredividedintomultipleteams,and weweregiventhecity'smapwith5tasks tocomplete.
Whatwedidandaskedpeople...
HowdidCovid-19affecttheirlives (studyingdifficulties,mentalhealth issues,usingfacemasks)
Whichmobileapplicationsdothey mostlyuse(Facebook,Instagram, TikTok,Viber)
Whatistheirknowledgeaboutthe Erasmus+programme(themajority didnotknowaboutit,althoughsome hadattendedaprojectbefore)
Toteachussomesimplephrasesfrom thelocallanguage(Hello.Howareyou?
Thankyou!)andaMacedoniansong
WesangMacedoniansongs (Makedonskodevojce,JovanoJovanke, ...)
Wesharedourexperiencewiththe wholegroupanddiscussedissues aboutthepandemicandquarantine ondeeperlevel.
Thisactivityhelpedustogetintouchwith people,exchangeideasandthoughts aboutthelast2years'globalsituation. And,finally,improvedourskillstowork together.
Thisactivityfocusedonourexperiences duringtheCovid-19lockdowns.Wedidthis activitymainlybecauseyoungpeople wereoneofthemostaffectedsocial groupsbythecrisisandiitwasvery importanttobeabletoreflectonit,raise awareness,sharepersonalexperiences, becauseeveryonehaddifferent approaches-collectivists,individualists, geographicallocationetc.
Firstwelinedupandthenwewereasked questions,suchas:
"HowdidCovidaffectmyeducation?"Thecommonanswerwasthatwe weren'tsatisfiedwiththemanagement oftheonlineformofourcountries' education.Manyofusmentioned problemswithkeepingfocusduringthe homestudies.Buttherewerealso someoppositeopinions-one mentionedthattheyreallyenjoyed beinghome,becausetheycouldfreely eat,drink,andthedistantlearning suitedtheirlifestyle.
"HowdidCovidaffectmysociallife?"Тhisonesparkedabigdiscussion. Prettymucheveryoneagreedthatit madebigchangesintheirlives,for betterbutmostoftenforworse.We mentionedourneedstocomebackto ourfamilyhomes,hometownsandit changedourfriendgroups.Manyofus lostimportantcontactswithour classmates-especiallyitwasverybad fortheoneswhojuststartedattending universityandhaven'thadthechance toevenmeettheotherclassmates. "HowdidCovidaffectmyfinancial situation?"-Sincemostofusdon't havebigresponsibilities,suchas havingkidsonourown,wedidlose someofourjobs,butwedidn'tstruggle tomakeitthrough.
Weendedthisactivitybysayingthatwe havealotofunspokenideastowhich camebackduringthecoffeebreaks.By sharingthesepersonalissues,theice meltedbetweenusandweleftfeelingthat wecouldalwaysturntoothersifwe neededanyhelp.
Duringthisactivity,we–theparticipants–wereinvitedtouseaveryself-explanatory websitenamed“getbadnews.com.”The purposeofthissimulationwastolearn moreaboutcredibility,howitgrowswhen youhavealotoffollowersonsocialmedia andwhatarethestrategiesareusedto makefakenewsseemlikerealones.
Wefoundthiswayoflearningaboutthe topicveryinterestingandinnovative becauseitledustochooseourown optionsasifwewereactuallywritingfake news.
Attheend,wecameoutwithalotof impressiveinformationandabigsenseof awareness,thankstotheopportunitytobe ontheothersideandbeabletoseethe background.Forinstance:Themechanism ofgainingfollowersnotalwaysmatches withmoralitybecausewenoticedhow easyitisforafakenewswritertoput“dirt” oninnocentpeople. Wefiguredoutthatverifyinginformationis mandatoryifonewantstoprotect themselffromfakenews,andonehasto searchforfurthersourcesandalwaysread beyondinordertodevelopcritical thinking.
Thepurposeofthisactivitywastolearn howtousemobileapplicationstomanage ourmoney. Together,wetried5differentmobile money-managementapplications.We prepare5presentationsabouteachof them,andafterwardsreflectedonthe reasonsforusingthemandtheirefficiency.
Weconcludedthatnotallapplicationsare useful,buttherearesomeofthemthat couldreallyhelpus.
Forthisactivity,dividedinmultiplegroups, wewereaskedtoimaginethatwewantto becomeprofessionalsincertainjobs,and tocreaterealisticplanstotryand succeed.
Weweregiven5questionsonwhichwe basedourplans:Howwouldweeducate ourselvestoachievethegoal,Howwould westandoutfromtheothers,Howwould wemarketourselves,Onwhichplatforms wouldwework,and,Howwouldwegetthe money?
Graphic designer wannabe
English teacher wannabe
App developer wannabe
Youth worker wannabe
Duringthisactivitywetriedtocomeup withideasofhowtomotivateourpeers, sinceyoungpeopleoftenlackmotivation asaresultofunderestimatingthemselves. Oneofthemainissuesthatcameupfrom ourdiscussionswasthebadinfluence socialmediahasontoday'sgenerationof youth.It'sshowinguseverydayafake imageoftheworld,societies,andittwists thereality.
Youngpeopleoftengetdemotivated,even apatheticfromthepressurestheyface.It's notonlythesocialmedia,it'salsofamilies andhowschoolsystemswork.Parentsand teacherswantonlythebestfromthekids, havingthemdecidetheircareerstoosoon etc.
Butit'sveryimportanttolookatthebright sideofthingsintoday'sage.Wehave accesstounlimitedamountsofknowledge forfreeatanytimethroughtheInternet, wecanlearnlanguageseasilyby interactingonlinewithforeignersinstantly andsoon.Erasmus+isbeingoneofthe verybestofopportunitieswe'reableto enjoy.Notonlycanwegostudyabroadfor free,spendoneortwosemestersina differentcountry,butwecanalsotakepart inmanyyouthexchangesortraining courses,forwhichwedon'tevenhaveto bestudents.
Oneofthemostgeneral,yeteffective methodstofindmotivationistofocuson thebrightside,lookforthingsthatare makingusfeelgoodandpursuethose. Andifwelackhappinessinourlives,it's alwayspossibletomakesomechangeschangestudyprogramme,finddifferent joboranewhobby.Wearelivinginanage fullofopportunitiesandwemightbeable togetlostatfirst,butoncewelookjusta littlebitaround,oftenoutsideofour comfortzone,we'lldiscoverawholenew worldwhichisreallyaniceplacetobe.
Whenitcomestotimemanagement,with thisactivityeachofuswasgivenanempty timesheetandwritedownwhatour generaldaylookslike,tothehour.
Afterwards,westartedgatheringinpairs, andlargergroups,untilweformedonebig groupwithallofus.Asthegroupsgot largerandlarger,weneededtomakeall ourindividualtimesheetsfittotheothers.
Attheend,wehadformedonetimesheet thatwassuitableforallofus.Theaimof theactivitywastoteachushowtoadapt todifferentpeople'sschedulesandmake thingsworkoutasintended. DAY3
Duringthisdayweworkedonlocalproject actions,initiativesandcampaigns.We weregiventheformulaforsuccessfullocal actions,andbasedonitwecameupand elaboratedthreeideas:
Working online duringtimes likeCovid-19
Weconcentratedontheissuewewanted totackle,whatactivitieswewould organiseduringtheprojectaction,who wouldbeourtargetgroup,whatresultswe shouldexpectandmuchmore.
