Noortevahetus "EcoFriends" Kreekas

Viola Kasak, 22, grupijuht

Olen eelnevalt osalenud kolmel noortevahetusel, kuid selle aasta mais avanes mul võimalus minna noortevahetusele  "EcoFriends", mis toimus Kreekas ning mille peamiseks teemaks oli keskkonnasõbralikkus. Lisaks minule osalesid projektis veel viis eestlast, kes olid kõik väga säravad isiksused ning mul on hea meel, et sain just koos nendega seda seiklust kogeda.

Projekt programm  oli väga sisukas ning tegevusterohke, kuid samas oli meil ka mõistlikkus koguses vaba aega. Korraldajad olid organisatsioonist Neoi Ellados se Eyropaiki Drasi (inglise keelne versioon Youthfully Yours Gr) ning  minu isikliku kogemuse põhjal alati  abivalmid ning vastutulelikud.

Niisiis, mis mulle eriliselt selle projekti puhul muljet avaldas? Mulle meeldis, et ilusa ilma korral toimusid enamik tegevused väljas ning õnneks oli ilusat ilma parajalt. Loomulikult oli meeletult tore teistest riikidest osalejate ning nende riikide kohta uut ja huvitavat teada saada.

Mulle meeldis, et oli ülesandeid, mis panid mind loominguliselt ja ratsionaalselt mõtlema (nagu näiteks ideaalse linna planeerimine), kui ka ülesandeid, mis panid enda sisse vaatama, oma käitumist analüüsima ning mõjusid spirituaalsel tasemel (Satir’s mandala, üksteisele silma vaatamine ja selle kaudu emotsioonide edasi andmine). Samuti oli tore, et anti võimalus ka osalejatel oma ideesid välja pakkuda ja mõned sessioonid nendega sisustada. Kõige meeldejäävamateks jäid minu jaoks rannakoristamine, sest selle käigus tekkis tunne, et panustasimegi nüüd ja praegu meid ümbritseva keskkonna paremaks muutmise nimel ning jooga/meditatsiooni sessioon, sest see oli midagi uut ja erilist minu jaoks.

Projektist sain ma mitmeid armsaid uusi sõpru; teadmisi, kuidas keskkonna sõbralikumalt igapäeva elus toimida (näiteks vältida kilekotte ja plastikpakendeid nii palju kui võimalik, poodi minnes on alati kaasas oma riidestkott jne) ja üritan suunata ka end ümbritsevaid inimesi samale teele.

Oli kihvt projekt. Aitäh!

____ in English____

Viola Kasak, 22, group leader of Estonians

I have previously participated in 3 youth exchanges, but this year in May I got an oppurtunity to participate in a youth exchange called “EcoFriends”, that took place in Leptokarya, Greece and its main topic was eco-friendly living. In my team, there were 6 Estonians, myself included, who were (and still are) incredibly cool youngsters. I’m so glad that I had a chance to share this adventure with these guys

The project program was very pithy and active, but we still had a reasonable amout of free time. Organizers were from organisation Neoi Ellados se Eyropaiki Drasi (in English it was called Youthfully Yours Gr) and based on my own personal experience, they were always heplful and accommodating.

Well, what did I really like about the project? I liked, that when we had a nice weather, most of our activities took place out-door and luckily the weather was good almost every day. Of course it was super nice to get to know people from other countries and get more information and knowledges about their countries.

I also enjoyed activities that made me think in a creative and rational way (e.g. planning a ideal city), and tasks that made me look into myself, to analyse myself and my actions and that influenced me in a spirituallevel (e.g. Satir’s mandala, eye-contact challenge). Also, I found it very cool that organizers gave participants an oppurtunity to generate their own ideas for open space sessions. The most memorable for me were beach clean up, because it made me feel that we actually contributed in that very moment to making the world a better place; and  yoga/meditation session, because it was something totally new and special for me.

From the project I got many new and lovely friends; new knowledges about how to be more eco friendly in every day life (e.g. I try to avoid plastic pags and packagings as much as possible; if I go shopping, I will always have my fabric bag with me etc) and I also try to guide people, that surround me, to live more eco friendly life.

It was cool project! Thank you!

Brigita: Mulle väga meeldis see projekt nii korralduse, tegevuste kui inimeste poolest. Õppisin sellest projektist palju, kuna osalejate seas oli nii taastuvenergiale spetsialiseerunud insener, keskkonnakaitset ja muid sellelaadseid alasid õppivad tudengid, zero-waste elustiili harrastavad inimesed, taimetoitlased jne. Seltskond oli tõepoolest kirju ja iga inimene lisas sellesse kompotti midagi isikupärast. Võrreldes oma varasemate kogemustega projektides oli seltskond väga ühtehoidev ning keegi ei hoidnud väga omaette. #üksipolekeegi :))))

Mul olid Kreekas meeletult lõbusad 10 päeva ning ma ei unusta seda projekti ega neid inimesi kunagi!

Negatiivse küljena oskaksin välja tuua vaid ülima korraldajate poolse punktuaalsuse ning ajakavast väga rangelt kinni hoidmise, mis mulle lihtsalt isiklikult väga ei meeldinud, kuna tundsin, et see piirab meie loovust ja mõttelendu esitlusi tehes ja nendeks valmistudes. Mõistan, et ajakavast kinni hoidmine on vajalik, aga leian, et sellise projekti raames ei peaks ajakava olema kivisse raiutud. Kui see välja arvata, meeldis mulle projekti juures kõik ning tahaksin öelda müts maha korraldajate ees, kes suutsid lagedale tulla niivõrd mitmekülgsete ja huvitavate tegevustega nendeks 10ks päevaks, kus me ainult ei õppinud end ümbritseva keskkonna vaid väga palju ka enda ja oma kaaslaste kohta.

I really liked how this project was organized, the people, who took part in it and the activities we did. I learned a lot from this project, because the group was really diverse and not only did we have an engineer in the group, who specializes in renewable energy, but we also had students of environmental protection, people, who are zero-waste, vegetarians etc. Everyone had something unique to add to the pot. Compared to my previous experiences in projects the group of people, who took part in this project, was really close and nobody was on their own. I had the best 10 days in Greece and I’ll never forget this project or those people.

If I were to complain about something I would point out the supreme punctuality of the organizers and being very strict with the timetable we had, but that’s just something that I don’t like personally, because I felt like it’s restricting our creativity with the presentations and preparing for them. I understand that it’s necessary to be puncional for the well-being of the group, but I think that in this case we didn’t have to be that strict and could have been more forgiving with our time management. Other than that I really liked the project and I would like to applaud the organizers for coming up with such interesting and diverse activities for those 10 days, where not only did we learn about the environment that surrounds us, but we also learned a lot about ourselves and our mates.

Merris Kivisoo

Selle aasta kevadel oli mul võimalus minna keskkonnateemalisse projekti “EcoFriends”, mis leidis aset Kreekas. See oli minu esimene noortevahetus, kus osalesin. Mulle väga meeldis see projekt - toredad inimesed, hea korraldus ning põnevad teemad. Kõige lahedamad olid aga just inimesed, kes projektist osa võtsid. Kõik olid üksteise vastu soojad ja sõbralikud. Ma pole kunagi varem nii palju kultuuri ühes ruumis näinud - nii palju erineva taustaga inimesi ning oli huvitav kuulata kõikide arvamusi erinevatel teemadel. Me saime teha palju ülesandeid gruppides, mis oli hea meeskonnatöö arendamiseks ja üksteise tundmaõppimiseks. Korralduse poole pealt oli kõik suhteliselt hästi tehtud - kõik toimis, ajakavast hoiti kinni ning kõik teemad ning töötoad olid hästi läbi mõeldud. Võib-olla oleks tahtnud rohkem väljas olla ilusa ilmaga, aga õnneks võtsid korraldajad meid hiljem kuulda ja üritasid võimalikult palju väljas olla.

Last spring I had an opportunity to participate in an environmental project called “EcoFriends”, which was held in Greece. This was my first youth exchange. I really liked this project - nice people, good organization and interesting topics. But the most I liked participants of the project. Everyone were warm and friendly towards each other. I haven’t seen so much culture in one room - everyone had different backgrounds and it was fascinating to hear their opinions on different topics. We did many tasks in a group, which was a good way to practice teamwork and get to know each other. In terms of organization, everything was relatively well done - everything worked, the schedule was kept, and all the topics and workshops were well thought through. Maybe I would have liked to be more outdoors in fine weather, but luckily the organizers listened to us later and tried to be outdoors when possible.

Helis

Projekti veetlevaks pooleks oli kindlast osalejate positiivne suhtumine pea igasse etteantud tegevusse. Grupp tegi koostööd, toetas ning arvestas üksteise vajadustega. Sõpru võis leida iga riigi esindajate hulgast! Korraldajad hoidsid kümne küünega kinni paberile kirjutatud kavast, mis tekitas lahkarvamusi osalejate ja läbiviijate vahel. Ilusa ilmaga võiksid ikka tegevused väljas toimuda, mitte maa-aluses keldris. Asukoht oli imeline.

Participants were really sympathetic almost about every activity they had to take part of. Group cooperated well, they helped out and respected each other needs. It was easy to make friends from every country. Organisers wanted to keep up with the initial schedule, which was not always necessary and caused disagreements. People preferred spending time outside with nice weather, but organisers thought otherwise. The place was located in perfect spot!

Erik Lest, 23, osaleja

Olen varasemalt osalenud ühel noortevahetusel, mis leidis aset 2018. aasta märtsis Lõuna Itaalias Castellammares. Seal saadud kogemus oli minu jaoks niivõrd positiivne, et tekkis tahtmine osaleda mõnes uues projektis, mõnes uues riigis. Seekord käisin Kreekas ning osalesin noortevahetusprojektis, mis kandis nime „Ecofriends“ ning mille siht oli muuta noori inimesi rohkem teadlikumaks keskkonnasõbralikkusest, reostusega kaasnevast ohtudest ning võimalikest lahendustest. Kokku osalesid projektis noored seitsmest erinevast riigist. Lisaks minule  osalesid projektis veel 5 teist eestlast, kes olid igati vahvad ning meie grupi dünaamika toimis.

Mulle meeldis projekti ülesehitus ning oli näha, et korraldajad olid töötubade, teemade ning vaba aja jaotamisega näinud korralikult vaeva. Ka korraldajad ise olid äärmiselt abivalmid ning murede puhul oli tunda, et nende poole saab pöörduda.

Projekti jooksul toimusid töötoad ning vestlusringid nii siseruumides, kui ka väljas, kui ilm vähegi soosis. Kuna päikest oli palju, siis toimusid ka mitmed töötoad just väljas, mis oli igati meeldiv ning igati sobilik arvestades ka projekti temaatikat. Oli nii praktilisi ülesandeid, nagu näiteks ranna koristamine, kui ka ülesandeid, mis pakkusid vaimset väljakutset, näiteks kui pidi 5- minutilise aja jooksul teatraalselt ja loominguliselt andma edasi mõnda keskkonnaprobleemi  või pidi gruppidena mõtlema hüpoteetiliselt, missugune oleks ideaalne linn, ilma igasuguse reostuseta, kui rahaline ressurss poleks probleem ning meie ise oleksime need kujundavad arhitektid. Kõige selle käigus õppisime mõtlema rohkem pisiasjadele, mida igapäevaelus saaksime ise ära teha, et oma ökoloogilist jalajälge vähendada ning võimalik, et nakatada ka mõnda sõpra selle niiöelda „Ökopisikuga“. Kuna projektis oli riike 7, siis sai läbi esitluste ülevaate ka olukorrast teistest riikides. Minu vaieldamatuks lemmikuks jäi päev, mil oli täielik praktiline lähenemine: mediteerimine, muusikateraapia ning ranna koristamine. Igati meeldejääv ja uus kogemus minu jaoks!

Kindlasti ei saa mainimata jätta ka kõik neid sõbralikke ning armsaid inimesi, kellega ma projekti jooksul tutvusin. Osadega neist suhtlen tänaseni ning ma olen igati rahul, et projektis osalesin, kuna tänase päevani, kui mõtlen tagasi projektile ning nendele toredatele inimestele, siis läheb süda soojaks. Igati väärt kogemus, tutvused ja teadmised. Aitäh!

😊

In English

Previously I have participated in a project which took place in 2018, in the south of Italy in Castellammare. The experience gained from there was positive in every way. It was even so positive that i wanted to apply to another project in some new country. This time I went to Greece and participated in a youth exchange project titled „Ecofriends“. The aim of this project was to make young people more aware of ecofriendliness, the dangers that come with pollution and offer possible solutions to such problems. In total, there were young people from 7 different countries who participated in the project. In addition to me, there were 5 other estonians with me who were great and the dynamics of the group worked out really well.

I liked the overall design of the project and found that the organizers had worked hard to distribute workshops, themes and leisure. The organizers themselves were also very helpful and in case of concern I felt that they could be approached.

Workshops and discussion sessions took place throughout the project, both indoors and outdoors, whenever the weather favored. As the sun was high, several workshops took place outside, which was very pleasant and very appropriate considering the project theme. There were both practical tasks, such as beach cleaning, and tasks that posed a mental challenge, such as having to theatrically and creatively convey an environmental problem within a 5 minute period or, as groups, we had to think hypothetically what an ideal city would be, without any pollution, if financial resources were not a problem and we could be the architects. Throughout this, we learned to think more about the little things we could do in our daily lives to reduce our carbon footprint, and possibly infect some friends with the so-called "Ecofriendly germ". As the project included 7 countries, the presentations also provided an overview of the situation in other countries. My indisputably favorite was the day that had the complete practical approach: meditation, music therapy and beach cleaning. A very memorable and new experience for me!

Of course, all the friendly and dear people I met during the project cannot be overlooked. I still communicate with some of them and the projects still warms my heart to this day when I think about it sometimes. Overall I am very pleased that I participated in the project. Well worth the experience, acquaintances and knowledge. Thanks!

😊

 

Katariina

Osalesin mais Seiklejate vennaskonna kaudu projektis  "EcoFriends" Leptokaryas, Kreekas. Projekti eesmärk oli leida viise olla keskkonnasõbralikum. Rääkisime ka oma kodumaade suurimatest keskkonnaprobleemidest ja proovisime neile lahendusi leida. Tegime projekti jooksul palju tööd gruppides ja selle tõttu saime kuulda erinevaid mõtteviise ja arvamusi. Selle lisaks saime võimaluse teha ka ise töötubasid ning meie korraldasime väikese grupiga rannakoristust. Päevad olid pikad ja tegevusrikkad.

See projekt oli eriti tore just seltskonna tõttu. Seltskond oli väga mitmekesine ja huvitav oli kuulata erinevatest maadest pärit inimeste arvamusi ja kogemusi. Isegi pikkade päevade lõpuks oli tore sama seltskonnaga aega veeta.

Sellest projektist jäi mulle eriti positiivne mulje, kuna teema huvitas mind ja seltskond oli super. Lõpuks jäi mulle tunne, nagu oleksin käinud reisil kuues maas ühe korraga, kuna õppisin nii palju erinevatest kultuuridest teistega suheldes.

I participated in the project “EcoFriends” in Leptokarya, Greece. The goal of this project was to find ways to be more environmentally friendly. We also discussed the biggest environmental problems in our home countries and tried to find solutions for them. During this project we did a lot of group work and thanks to that got to hear different sides to things. We also had the chance to plan our own classes or workshops and with a small group we organized a beach cleanup. The days were long and busy with a lot of classes.

What made this project especially great was the people. It was really interesting to hear experiences and opinions of people from different cultural backgrounds.

Even after long days of classes it was always fun to spend time together in the evening.

This project was a great experience for me because the subject was interesting and the group was amazing. In the end I felt like I’d visited six countries at once because I learned so much about other participants and their home countries.