Fourth-year students majoring in 035 Philology of the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” Oleksandra Datsenko and Valeriia Syvak took part in the Erasmus+ project for youth workers “Integrating EU Youth Goals into Youth Work”, which took place in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş from 19 to 30 May 2024. The project was supported by the NGO “Development and Initiative” and project coordinator Kateryna Priazhnykova.
Each participant selected for the project was involved in group work, theatre performances and brainstorming sessions and became an ambassador of the EU goals in the project.
The main objectives of the project “Integrating EU Youth Goals into Youth Work” were to deepen knowledge about the EU youth goals, compare the activities of national NGOs in terms of their alignment with the EU youth goals, study best practices for integrating EU youth goals into the daily activities of their organisations, etc. Participants discussed ways to integrate these goals into various aspects of youth work, and developed new approaches to increase the effectiveness of their organisations.
Valeriia Syvak, a student of group 401-HF at Faculty of Philology, Psychology and Pedagogy of Poltava Polytechnic, shared her impressions of the project:
“It was a great experience of participating in trainings as well as organising trainings and building networking between organisations for more fruitful and productive cooperation, which will help all partners to better understand each other’s culture and mentality, find and involve new partners in their projects and ideas. Participants from Ukraine and different European countries had the opportunity to present their organisations and represent their countries at cultural evenings, share experiences, learn relevant and important information about each other and assess real opportunities for cooperation, which is a very important aspect of this kind of training.
Various types of workshops and events were also used to familiarise participants from Greece, Ukraine, Poland, Morocco, Jordan, Kosovo, Turkey, Georgia, Slovakia and Spain with the objectives of the training. Participants had the opportunity to engage in interactive sessions, discussions and group projects, which helped to create an atmosphere of trust and cooperation.
As a result, each organisation found a partner and identified common goals that united them. These goals and aspirations were discussed as part of a debate on their implementation in the European Union, ways and aspects of their implementation, and forms of cooperation between partners. We discussed real steps that can be taken to achieve these goals and shared best practices for their implementation in our organisations. This project has become a milestone in our professional and personal development, providing us with invaluable knowledge and skills that we will apply in future initiatives.”
Oleksandra Datsenko, a student of the group 402-HF, shares her impressions of another aspect of this incredible project:
“We lived in a very picturesque place, in the mountains, in a hotel with thermal waters. This gave us a unique opportunity not only to work actively during the day, but also to relax in the evening, recuperating in a calm and soothing atmosphere. After long and productive days, we were able to have some rest and gain energy for new challenges.
The project organisers provided us with a rich cultural programme. We visited local universities, where we had the opportunity to meet with Turkish colleagues, discuss joint projects, and learn more about their education system. This allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the mentality and goals of youth workers in Turkey.
Moreover, we went on numerous excursions around the city and the surrounding area, which allowed us to enjoy the beauty and diversity of the local landscapes. The most memorable were the picturesque places of Kahramanmaraş, where we had the opportunity to communicate with local residents, which gave us a better understanding of Turkish culture and traditions.
Every evening, we held a so-called “cultural evening” dedicated to a particular country. During these events, the participants could learn about the culture and traditions of other countries, as well as taste the national dishes of each country. It was amazing! The opportunity to share cultural experiences and learn more about each other was one of the most valuable parts of this project.
This project gave us an invaluable experience that will remain in our memory forever. We have gained new knowledge and skills, established important connections and forged friendships with colleagues from all over Europe. This will help us not only in our professional growth, but also in building and developing a new European society based on mutual understanding and cooperation.”
Earlier, Polytechnic students in Poland studied youth approaches to the development of environmental projects at the regional and national levels, and student translators took part in an Erasmus+ youth exchange in Italy and studied how children’s games can teach teamwork, creativity, self-reflection and social integration; a philology student, Diana Abbasova, took part in the Erasmus+ youth worker mobility project in Turkey; a second-year student of speciality 035 “Philology”, Alina Alieksieieva, took part in the Erasmus+ youth exchange in Spain, dedicated to the influence of social media on young people; a student of Poltava Polytechnic took part in the grant programme “Study Tours to Poland”, a philology student took part in a youth exchange dedicated to inclusion in Romania, Polytechnic students took part in a youth exchange dedicated to discrimination and gender inequality, studied the preservation of natural resources and economic growth of young people through a healthy lifestyle, and a student translator took part in a youth project against discrimination, xenophobia and bullying, Polytechnic students took part in the Erasmus+ project dedicated to the development of environmental awareness among Europeans and held a charity auction; philology students learned practical skills in the field of ecology and environmental protection, they considered the problem of alcohol addiction and methods of combating it, they raised awareness of cultural diversity, and they studied the problem of migrants and internally displaced persons.
It should be noted that students of Poltava Polytechnic have the opportunity to study abroad under the grant programmes of credit academic mobility for a semester or a whole academic year at the leading universities of Austria, Greenland, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, and the Czech Republic.
For more information about the current academic mobility programmes, please contact the International Relations Department (room 320-F, interoffice@nupp.edu.ua) or the Coordinator of International Cooperation of National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Germanic Philology and Translation Anna Kostiantynivna Pavelieva (room 310-C, email: kunsite.zi@gmail.com, phone: +3-8-(095)-91-08-192).
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