We kicked off the month of April by getting prepared for “YOUth are the Voice” training course. The project aimed to use different methods for youth workers to prepare effective social media campaigns. The trainers were my organization’s president, Marco, and Lorenzo from Italy.
Lorenzo previously worked in the EU, Western Balkans, and Eastern Partnership. He is currently working in the EU4youth program and is also a trainer in Erasmus+ projects. It was a pleasure to meet Lorenzo, who has worked in the youth field for nearly 20 years in Belgium, Ukraine, Georgia, and England, and to hear about his experiences in the field.
Throughout the project, I collected the tickets and boarding passes of the participants. I prepared the participant lists and Youthpass lists. I registered the information of the participants in Mobility Tool+. I also attended the sessions whenever I had the opportunity and introduced my hosting organization, Noored Ühiskonna Heaks, to the participants of the project at the “NGO Fair” session.
Also, one of the partners of this project was my sending organization, Pi Youth Association. I hosted our volunteers Büşra and Canberk, who came to represent our association in Tallin. I showed them historical and tourist places. Also, I used Bold Scooter for the first time with the encouragement of Canberk. Although it was difficult at first, I got used to it later. Now I can drive at an advanced level. One of the best news in April was the removal of all mask restrictions, including public transportation.
We organized the youth exchange project “Be an Agent of Change” in May. This project was the first project of our ESC coordinator, Liis. The project aimed to raise awareness of sustainable living opportunities and implement sustainable habits. We organized this project in the Tõstamaa district of Pärnu with 31 young people from Estonia, Romania, Lithuania, Spain, and North Macedonia. Thanks to this project, I had the opportunity to go to Pärnu for the first time. Pärnu, located in the south of Estonia, is also known as the summer capital of Estonia. One of the project’s most important moments for me was giving brief information about the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) and Erasmus+ opportunities at Tõstamaa high school. Also there the participants had a chance to share their project experiences, countries, and cultures with high school students. I wrote the report on the activities of this project with my Estonian friend Natalie, with whom I had the opportunity to work for the first time. Again, as usual, I prepared the participant lists.
The projects that we continue to prepare for in May and that we will host in the coming months are as follows:
- “Ecosystemic Community Organizing” KA2 Project- June
- “Turn Green Again” Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas- July
- “Learning Through Board Games” Youth Exchange- July
In May, the weather turned warm. Taking advantage of this opportunity, we traveled to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. The hardest part of our trip was that Müşerref had the flu just before the trip. Of course, being sick didn’t stop us from traveling. We took about 30,000 steps during this one-day visit and were exhausted. Also, since our flight was early in the morning the next day, we spent our night at the airport. Of course, I should also mention that staying overnight in Stockholm was costly, which also influenced this decision. ? By the way, Stockholm is a much more expensive city than Tallin.
The public concert I participated as part of 9 May Europe Day was the first outdoor event I attended in Estonia. During the show, I had the opportunity to listen to the music of many Estonian artists. One of my favorite things in Estonia is its importance to folk music. They combine this with today’s music and create beautiful tunes. I joined the Viljandi Folk Festival in Tallin, one of the best examples.
In the next chapter, I will talk about the Turkish Cultural Night, which we held in Tallin in June, and indispensable for every ESC and Erasmus+ project. I hope that what we did will inspire other friends who want to organize a culture night.
See you ?