The youth exchange „Sexual health for youth“ in Drama, Greece, 24.11.19 – 2.12.19.

The youth exchange „Sexual health for youth“ in Drama, Greece, 24.11.19 – 2.12.19. 

It`s a youth exchange that comes from the cooperation of the young people of 6 European countries (Estonia, Spain, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, Latvia) informal youth groups and local stakeholders (municipalities, organizations and the media) in Drama aiming at raising awareness on the need of reliable and taboofree information about sexual health and healthy relationships in youth. The project also aims to encourage young people to take action in their local community.

25.11.19

The day started with the introduction activities and breaking borders between the participants. While doing different activities, we learned names, hobbies and interesting facts about each other. After that we were divided into international teams and had to do local activity in Drama to promote our exchange. We completed several tasks in the town: shaking hands with strangers, making photos with some of the sights of Drama, asking people to give us something for free and many others. It was a lot of fun, because we learned more about each other and got to see the town.

After the lunch we had a lot of ice-breaking activities in our training room and the organizers also gave us information about Erasmus+ programs

26.11.19

The day started with the introduction activity in our training room. We were talking about definitions related to roles and stereotypes, for example bisexuality, etc. The purpose of this activity was to get to know the topic and improve our knowledge of the terms related to sexual health and gender. 

Also, each country had to prepare a workshop related to the topic of the exchange and the second day was the turn of Estonia to present it. Our topic was „Gender roles and stereotypes”. After a short introduction we asked the participants to represent scenarios with those definitions in a form of a pantomime. The workshop was successful, because people could be creative and present their ideas in a humorous way. 

The rest of the day was about discussing stereotypes and gender roles. This involved a small walk in Drama and discussion in groups.

Finally we created debates about gender equality: does it exists or not? 

27.11.19

In the morning we had the workshop from Spanish team. It was interesting: we felt included and very motivated to contribute to the idea of healthy relationship.
After that we had an opportunity to think about ourselves through meditation.

In the second half of the day there was another activity about contraception. We learned a lot about the methods of prevention which was very useful for every participant.
In the evening we also visited the Red cross of Drama, where we had an opportunity to listen about volunteering in red cross.

In the evening we had an intercultural night. Delicious food and drinks, dances, songs – we enjoyed the evening and had a lot of fun.

28.11.19

In our free day we took the opportunity to go to Kavala, a beautiful coastal town near Drama. This day was the warmest – 18 degrees, it felt like summer and some people even swam in the sea. 

We also visited an old castle, from where opened a breathtaking view of the whole city. The day spent in this beautiful town was for sure a highlight of the project.

29.11.19

That morning our first activity was about sexual rights. We were separated into groups, so each one had a particular right and we represented it in role playing. The goal was to be aware about the law and where it is the limit.

After that, we had workshop from Montenegro about activism. We had to prepare presentations about different movements, for example LGBT+, #metoo, time's up, etc. This workshop was really interesting and educating and the idea of sharing personal experiences was great because it is the best way to learn from each other.
After the lunch, we started preparing the local activity in Drama, also in international groups. 

30.11.19

In the morning we had Latvian workshop about stereotypes. In this workshop we had an imaginary trip in train from Spain to Greece where we had to decide who we wanted to go with or not. It was a great opportunity to put ourselves into different roles and think about stereotypes and how we are influenced by them. 

After that, we had time to prepare the local activity in Drama, which was one of the goals of the project.

1.12.19

The first day of winter was the last day of the project. This was also the day when we did a local activity in Drama, which we were preparing during previous days. This activity had two main goals: to raise awareness about sexual health and to raise awareness among young local people about Erasmus + projects. While doing it we had a lot of fun – we interviewed local people, gave them some information about our topic and Erasmus + and enjoyed ourselves spending time together at the local Christmas market. The day was sunny and warm, but the Christmas spirit was already in the air.

In the afternoon there was closing of the project. We shared our thoughts and emotions about the local activity and the project itself. The revelation of the secret friend also took place :) 

Of course, the project could not end without a goodbye-party, which was organized by one of the Greek participants at his place. We danced to live Greek music and just enjoyed the last night with people, who became a family during the project : )