DAY 1
Erasmus+ Seminar – Engaging for Change (Nitra, Slovakia – 2025)
The first day was full of bonding activities and getting-to-know-each-other games. We split into teams, we worked together and we had wholesome results. 🥳
We started our day with presenting ourselves, doing bingo with fun facts about the others and then we moved on to more complex games, such as building a house together but without communicating with each other. Even so, we managed to cooperate and create an Antonio Gaudi-like masterpiece. 🏡
Afterwards, we talked about our experiences with young people, digital tools and individual skills that would be essential in our journey throughout the seminar. 💻
But the day was not over yet, as the organizers had planned yet another activity for us. It was time for a city hunt, a perfect opportunity to spend time with the other participants while exploring Nitra. We got to visit the Nitra Castle, while also admiring other architectural pieces, statues and learning about the history of both Nitra and Slovakia. 🗺️
Hashtags: #YouthParticipation #EuYouthGoals #9thGoal #EngagingForChange #erasmus #erasmusplus #youth #informallearning #siedas #nitra #education
DAY 2
Day 2 was full of learning, debating and brainstorming solutions for the issues young people are currently facing in our society, throughout the whole wide world. 🧠
We started by splitting into teams and tackling topics such as:
- Do young people currently have a voice in decision-making in your country? If not, what could change to make that happen?
- What real and accessible opportunities exist for youth to participate in local or national decision-making (e.g. councils, consultations, organizations)?
- How do digital tools enhance youth participation and engagement?
- What prevents young people from accessing or benefiting from digital participation platforms (e.g. digital literacy, access to devices, lack of trust, etc.)?
- If you could make one change to improve youth participation in your country, what would it be — and how could digital tools or gamification support this change?
We joined forces, answered these questions and explored the 11 European Youth Goals. We dived even deeper into this seminar’s topic, focusing on the 9th Goal – Space and Participation for All. 🌍
Hashtags: #YouthParticipation #EuYouthGoals #9thGoal #EngagingForChange #erasmus #erasmusplus #youth #informallearning #siedas #nitra #education
DAY 3
Day 3 was all about testing digital tools and learning about all kinds of platforms, games and digital outlets that we can implement in both our own work and our work with young people. 👩💻👨💻
In teams or individually, we tested different tools, exchanged feedback, opinions and impressions while learning about other opportunities for both educators and young people. 📝
We also had a lot of fun playing with VR gadgets and virtually travelling to places like Antarctica or Machu Picchu. ✈️🤩
Hashtags: #YouthParticipation #EuYouthGoals #9thGoal #EngagingForChange #erasmus #erasmusplus #youth #informallearning #siedas #nitra #education #VR
DAY 4
Day 4 came with the Hackathon that took place at the Kreativne Centrum Nitra. Here, participants worked in 4 international teams in order to create a digital tool or game and hack the 9th EU Youth Goal – Space and Participation for All. 📲💡
This day was full of generating ideas, exploring digital tools and learning how to operate them. It was a lot of work, but the results were more than satisfying. 🏋️🧠
Of course that fun and learning go hand in hand so hard work, creativity and laughter were at their peak during the Hackathon. 😊🤝
Hashtags: #YouthParticipation #EuYouthGoals #9thGoal #EngagingForChange #erasmus #erasmusplus #youth #informallearning #siedas #nitra #education
DAY 5
We kicked the day with a feedback session from the other teams. Then, the judges counted the votes and announced the winners…team YOUTHOPIA!!!! 🎉🥳
The game’s purpose was to teach people about the European Youth Goals through an FPS approach. With 2 different levels, the game is meant to help players distinguish between ideas that are related to the Youth Goals and ideas that are harmful, toxic and do not promote healthy values, as well as raise awareness and deepen the understanding of the 11 EU Youth Goals. ⚙️📢
All the teams created outstanding games and put a lot of effort and knowledge into their works. In the end, we celebrated all participants, feeling grateful for completing such a complex task. 💕
Hashtags: #YouthParticipation #EuYouthGoals #9thGoal #EngagingForChange #erasmus #erasmusplus #youth #informallearning #siedas #nitra #education
DAY 6
Nothing lasts forever so this seminar had to come to an end as well. ♾️
Although time passed by really quickly, we were all feeling grateful for the people we met, for the information we accumulated, for the experiences we shared and things we learned from each other, from the activities we had and, of course, from our wonderful trainers – Irisa, Luca, Paolo. 💗👏
During this seminar, participants from Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey explored the EU Youth Goals and discussed strengthening young people’s democratic participation and autonomy while providing dedicated youth spaces in all areas of society. 🌍
We inspired each other, we connected through a common cause and we navigated through a sea of games and digital tools. Together, we explored ways in which these tools can contribute to participation and community-building, while creating our own approach to this topic. 🤝
Although this opportunity is over, we look forward to what comes next and to implementing all the valuable resources and information we have acquired during our week in Nitra, Slovakia. ✨
Hashtags: #YouthParticipation #EuYouthGoals #9thGoal #EngagingForChange #erasmus #erasmusplus #youth #informallearning #siedas #nitra #education
