Malta Follow Up

Presentation of the Youth Exchange at Kato Alissos Camping in Greece (19 - 27 July)

During the week 3 - 7th October, our school organised a fair for the first-year students. In this fair, first-year students can view and meet representatives from all the different school organisations and groups to discuss their participation in the organisations' activities in the forthcoming year.

Between 3 - 5th October, our eight youth exchange participants, took turns staying at the stall to present what they've learnt and shared their experience of the youth exchange held at Kato Alissos Camping in Greece between 19 - 27 July with new students. They engaged students with short conversations, and a video containing clips and photos from the exchange played on the monitor.

In the following photos you can see how this follow up activity was.

Impressions from participants from Malta

What our participants and leaders said about the project:

Samuel Stellini: This project was a tremendous educational opportunity for both the participants and the leaders. To begin with, the organizers of the youth exchange have done an impeccable job at planning activities centred around relevant topics and skills. At a personal level, I have enhanced my interpersonal, IT and pedagogical skills. The project was also a perfect illustration of how education does not have to happen between the four walls of a classroom but is more effective if done informally and creatively. I want to thank all participants who have, in one way or the other, contributed to the success of this project.

Erica Grech: The whole experience was really fun. I got to make new friends from all over Europe while learning about such important topics which have a severe impact on our future. Both climate change and human rights were interesting to discuss with the people involved as you get to hear different opinions through different people's different point of views. The best part were the intercultural nights were we got to share our countries' traditions and leaning about the other countries' cultures. Dancing the traditional dances was really fun.

Erica Hammenborn: This Erasmus experience was definitely a success. Most people from the group, including me had doubts due to it being a camping trip. However, once we got there most of us realised that it was not as bad as expected and I personally think it allowed the whole group to get closer as a whole. It forced all us youths to be in close vicinity to each other allowing us to bond and to form new connections whilst learning about others' cultures. The activities which were mainly based on public speaking allowed me to gain more confidence in myself, feeling more comfortable to present and speak in front of a whole group. The culture nights were a nice way to learn about the different countries as we ate their food and danced their traditional dances. Each night was always finished off with a mini party where we would dance and talk at the restaurant with music playing in the background. During our free time in the afternoon, most people would head to the beach and play volleyball in the water for as long as we could. I personally thing it was sweet how in our free time most people would collectively find things to do to keep ourselves entertained whilst socialising as a group. Being outside in the nature was a nice change as in Malta we are constantly surrounded by concrete and buildings due to the rapid and forever increase in urbanisation.

Julia Barbara: ABECCCOL project has become a sad-happy memory I will surely cherish for years! It allowed me to encounter new people with whom otherwise I would have never met, have an insight into some of the life of five different countries, and re-evaluate my own personal understanding of the question of climate change. It compelled me to reconsider my own contribution towards battling or enhancing further the tragic environmental issues now taking over our planet, and although little of a success, I have already noticed myself restricting unnecessary use of water and various plastic products. I sincerely hope that my fellow participants can also share this sentiment and that through united steps we will actually "change our lives"!

Jasmin Darmanin: This project has helped me mature as a better student, and gain vast knowledge from traveling abroad and meeting other youths and students with one aim in mind, that is, to help the environment in the best possible way we can. I have learned about different cultures, traditions, food, languages, habits, ways of thinking, and insights, but one thing which I found most interesting is that even though we may all be different in our own way, especially because of the fact we all come from different countries, we were all gathered as one in Patras, Greece, to discuss one common problem that was troubling all of us, that is, Climate Change.

We have increased our environmental consciousness (such as the impacts of large-scale industries, the effect that environmental problems have on people, the effects of single-use plastics, the effect of fast fashion industries, the importance of sustainable food consumption, and the importance of taking care of our oceans and natural habitat). All of these discussions and seminars were held whilst also including fun/non-formal learning methods, which include games/ talks/ poster making/discussions/ activities/ etc.

We have also visited cultural places such as St Andrew's Orthodox Cathedral & Patras Castle in Patras, and in the evening, we went to a traditional Greek folk festival, where traditional dances and food were exhibited. In this manner, we were having fun all along, whilst learning about Greece's culture, religion & traditions as youths and students.

Kyle Micallef: This Erasmus project was not only a fun experience, but it also taught me some very important life lessons. One lesson I have learnt during the seven-month process is that it is okay to be yourself. When I started coming out of my shell and show my true self, I have made more friends than I have thought in the beginning. I also had opportunities where I can say I would not have experienced if I didn't have the courage to talk to the other participants. Before this project, I was terrified of public speaking. I was scared that I would stutter and would embarrass myself in front of everyone. However, during the project I had to come out of my shell to express my ideas regarding for example, the logos and the posters. The project helped me become more confident in my own skin while also expressing myself better with others.

Liliana Francalanza: This Erasmus project and all of the participants within it were absolutely incredible. This trip allowed me to grow so much personally, and challenged me to step out of my comfort zone. I believe that this experience improved my critical thinking skills, my communicative skills, and made me more knowledgeable as regards the current climate crisis and the way forward. With all this in mind, I must add that there are always things to improve upon for future projects, such as being more environmentally conscious with our meals and transport. Nevertheless, I met some truly wonderful people, and shared experiences that I'll carry with me forever. I found myself really connecting to both participants from other countries, as well as the people in my own group. I'm endlessly grateful for the opportunity given to me, and I hope to be a part of Erasmus again in the future. :)

Milos Macanovic: I just wanted to start off by saying how grateful I am that I was chosen to be a part of this amazing project. It was a pleasure to learn about the environment, climate change and human rights while listening to workshops and doing activities. We had a lot of fun hanging out together, getting to know people, and learning about different cultures in addition to participating in activities and creating posters. A project to remember with lots of ups and minimal downs, marked by the amazing people I met. Thanks to everyone who made this experience unforgettable, it was a wonderful trip with wonderful people!

Jamie Carter: During the trip the activities and tasks provided brought upon awareness and thought towards the climate change and environment around the world and the different countries which participated. Poster making proved to be quite enjoyable as i put my creative and artistic skills to the test to create a well written and designed poster to capture the onlookers eye and to give them a taste of what is and what might happen to the world in the near future if we keep on doing what were doing without any conscious of the consequences. I also learnt how to pronounce words in other languages thanks to my new friends which i met during the trip, although this seems unimportant due to this, the language barrier between us seemed to soften up which proved quite important to work and communicate as a team. Other activities also taught us the importance of financing and budgeting our money. National nights proved to be the most culturally educational as we learnt how to dance, play, communicate with eachother and appreciate other people's culture from their hometowns and countries. Energizers were also fun, helping us bond with each and every one of us especially in the beginning of the trip were we knew only our friends from our own country. The end of this erasmus trip proved to be quite emotional yet i was very pleased and proud to have been a part of this and to have learnt such a vast quantity of information from all around the different countries which took part.

Video

Post in Social Media

The following links are posts that are beeing done by participants for our project: