Student of group 401-HF, specialty 035 “Philology” of the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic” Svitlana Kis became a participant of the youth exchange under the Erasmus+ programme “Shaping New Tomorrow”, which took place on June 13-22, 2022 in Store Klaus (Denmark). The youth exchange was carried out with the full assistance of the organization “Kurdish Women Union Denmark” (KKF) as well as with the support of the Copenhagen Youth Network and Youth for Society (Georgia) within the framework of the Erasmus+ program.
Active, enterprising young people from Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Jordan, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia, who increased their own level of cultural diversity awareness and acquired new practical skills of critical thinking, became participants in the large-scale international project.
Among the main tasks of the project there were:
- raising the awareness of today’s youth about the importance of cultural competence in order to feel more confident and comfortable interacting with people from a different religious, socio-economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds;
- enhancing young people’s knowledge of cultural diversity and critical thinking, namely culture, identity, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, inclusion, communication and community impact.
Within the framework of the exchange project, participants had the opportunity not only to discuss such important topics as cultural awareness, combating hate speech, minority rights, social entrepreneurship and digital skills, but also to inventively and creatively reveal their content by preparing a whole performance or shooting a video. In addition, during the project, the participants studied 8 Key competencies for lifelong learning: digital, multilingual, literacy, cultural awareness&express, entrepreneurship, citizenship, personal social&learning and STEM, which are necessary for all people, especially young ones, to increase personal potential as well as development, expand opportunities for employment, social integration and active citizenship.
“The days on the project flew incredibly fast and intensively, every day there were at least 3 sessions aimed at team building and finding the right strategy to get the best joint result. This approach provided an opportunity for each participant to express their opinions regarding the topic of the task, and therefore to be fully involved in the process. Moreover, cultural evenings were a great opportunity to learn more about the culture of the participating countries, where we enthusiastically participated in quizzes, danced folk dances and enjoyed traditional delicacies of different countries. A day spent in Copenhagen will also be remembered forever, we as a group of young and active tourists had a tremendous aesthetic pleasure, observing many architectural monuments, visiting museums and taking a boat trip around the city.
I am extremely grateful to the team of the Ukrainian NGO “Development and Initiative” and personally to the project coordinator Kateryna Priazhnikova for the opportunity to develop and enhance my own knowledge, improve practical skills within the framework of Erasmus+ competencies. Trying something new is always a challenge when you don’t know what to expect, but when you do dare to do it, the door opens to a whole new world of possibilities. It was my first experience of taking part in a non-formal education project, and, without exaggeration, the best one, as the participants and organizers of the project are simply incredible people, and the sessions as well as various activities were useful and informative. These moments will forever be etched in my memory!
If you are interested in expanding your horizons and deepening your knowledge of topics important to modern society, I sincerely recommend participating in similar international projects. Moreover, it is a great opportunity to see the world, learn about the culture of other countries and make many new friends. I would like to express my special gratitude to my teacher – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Germanic Philology and Translation of the Poltava Polytechnic Anna Pavelieva, who inspires young students not to be afraid and to try their hand,” – shared her impressions of the project Svitlana Kis.
Previously, a philology student became a facilitator of the Erasmus+ project dedicated to combating harmful addictions, a Polytechnic scientist was elected as coordinator of external communications at the European Council of Postgraduate Students, Doctoral Students and Young Scientists; six polytechnic students became participants in the Polish SPINAKER scholarship program from NAWA, a philology student became a participant in the Erasmus+ youth leaders project in Greece and took part in the Erasmus+ training on mental health in war conditions, joined the social entrepreneurship development project and became a participant in the online training under the Erasmus+ program “Volunteers beyond borders”; and Poltava Polytechnic scientist Anna Pavelieva took part in the Erasmus+ academic mobility program “Future Skills Now”, dedicated to improving the professional skills of young teachers and scientists.
Media Center of
National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
