🇮🇹 "Active Green Generation" / 02-10.05.2025 - Furnari (ME), Sicily, Italy
- Be The Change Italy
- Feb 16, 2025
- 10 min read
Updated: Jan 7
Early May 2025 - In Furnari, a small village on Sicily’s northern coast, sustainability stopped being a “topic” and became a daily practice. From 2 to 10 May 2025, this seaside corner near Tindari and the Tyrrhenian Sea turned into a shared learning space where young people met, created, debated, cooked, recorded, edited, cleaned, reflected - and left with a clearer sense of purpose.
Active Green Generation, an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange, brought together 37 participants (30 young people, 6 group leaders and 1 facilitator) from Italy, Türkiye, Greece, Spain, Romania, and North Macedonia. The common goal was simple, but ambitious: strengthen environmental awareness and eco-leadership through non-formal education, intercultural exchange, and digital storytelling.
Climate challenges can feel huge, abstract, even paralysing. This exchange reminded us of something essential: change becomes real when young people connect, learn by doing, and transform ideas into actions and messages that others can copy, share, and replicate.
Throughout the week, the group explored questions like:
How do the SDGs connect to daily choices and to the realities of our different countries?
How can young people communicate environmental messages in a way that feels real, emotional, and relatable?
How do we move from awareness to action, without burning out?
How can intercultural teamwork turn sustainability into something stronger than an individual effort?
Below is our travel diary of “green moments” in Sicily. Andiamo! 🌿🇮🇹
🌿 Green leadership grows in a community, not alone
From the very beginning, Active Green Generation was built as a learning community rather than a classroom. Knowledge wasn’t delivered top-down - it was co-created through teamwork, real responsibilities, and honest reflection. English became the shared language, but what truly connected the group was the rhythm of the days: energisers, workshops, creative tasks, outdoor moments, and evening reflections that helped everyone make sense of what was happening, personally and collectively.
Comfort zones were challenged in small, meaningful ways: speaking up in plenary, collaborating with people you had just met, negotiating ideas in an intercultural team, recording your voice, showing your face on camera, or taking the lead in a group task. Step by step, participants started to act less like “attendees” and more like young people shaping a shared experience.
Athena (Greece): “I am very grateful for having the opportunity to interact with so many different people... it is challenging because you are stepping out of your comfort zone, and that's very impactful for your own growth”.
That sentence became a quiet summary of the week: sustainability is not only about the planet - it is also about relationships, responsibility, and the courage to try.
👋 First steps: Welcome, icebreakers, group rules and “Secret Friend”
The opening moments were dedicated to one thing: becoming a group.
The project started with a clear, non-formal introduction to the exchange: what the week would look like, what values would guide it, and how everyone could contribute. Then the practical magic began - names, laughter, and the first wave of “we’re really doing this together”.
Icebreakers like Human Bingo and My Favourite… helped create a safe atmosphere quickly, especially for those who were joining an Erasmus+ mobility for the first time. No pressure, just playful interaction - and suddenly strangers started to feel familiar.
A key step was the collective creation of group rules. Expectations, fears, and personal contributions were shared openly, then turned into a simple group charter: respect, inclusion, listening, shared responsibility, and care for each other’s pace. Instead of “rules imposed”, it felt like a shared agreement that protected the whole experience.
The day also launched the ongoing “Secret Friend” activity: envelopes prepared, instructions shared, and a week-long mission started - small anonymous gestures of kindness that quietly strengthened the group bond.
In the evening, the first social intercultural moment (games and informal activities) created a relaxed space to connect beyond workshops. In the daily memories, participants recalled the beauty of the venue, the first photos together, and even the first Sicilian pasta as a symbolic “welcome” into the week.
🤝 Erasmus+ Human Library, SDGs in action and the Water Filter Challenge
Once the group had a foundation of trust, the programme moved into content - without losing the non-formal spirit.
An Erasmus+ Human Library opened the day: participants with previous mobility experience shared real stories and practical tips about Erasmus+, making opportunities feel accessible, concrete, and human. The Youthpass framework and the 8 key competences were introduced through a visual, participatory method that helped participants connect “competences” to daily actions and real behaviours.
The session on Volunteering and the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) linked sustainability to active citizenship and long-term engagement. It wasn’t framed as “information”, but as motivation: what can young people do after the exchange, back home, with their communities?
In the afternoon, the focus shifted to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their links to climate change and global warming. A quiz captured the group’s starting point, then intercultural teams created slide presentations on selected SDGs and their connection to real challenges in different countries. Presentations turned into shared learning: different realities, similar urgencies, and many practical ideas.
Then came one of the most “learning by doing” moments of the exchange: the Water Filter Challenge. Using recycled materials, teams built simple filtration prototypes and tested solutions together. It was messy, creative, and surprisingly intense - exactly the kind of activity that makes sustainability tangible.
Concrete outputs from this phase included:
SDGs slide presentations created in intercultural teams
Water filtration prototypes built with recycled materials
Key messages and examples later reused in videos and dissemination content
The day ended with an Intercultural Night hosted by Italy and Türkiye, where food, traditions, and humour strengthened the sense of community and made intercultural learning feel natural, not forced.
🍳 Sustainable cooking, volunteering stories and the moment the group “clicked”
By this point, the atmosphere had already changed. It became natural to sit with anyone, not only with your national team. The week was gaining speed - and the group was gaining trust.
The morning started with energisers that mixed movement and laughter with quick mental focus. Then came one of the most unexpectedly educational activities: a sustainable multicultural cooking competition. Participants worked in mixed teams to prepare dishes while keeping an eye on mindful choices and reducing waste. It was practical, chaotic in the best way, and full of negotiation: who does what, how do we manage time, how do we avoid unnecessary waste, how do we present the final result?
The cooking challenge became a small mirror of sustainability itself: not perfection, but awareness, teamwork, and better decisions.
In the afternoon, the focus shifted to volunteering and active citizenship. Participants shared real experiences from their countries, collected examples, and transformed them into short presentations. The session didn’t stay abstract: it was about motivations, barriers, and what makes young people actually take action.
The reflection format was Fishbowl, allowing different voices to emerge naturally, without pressure. Some people spoke, others observed, then roles shifted - and the conversation went deeper than expected.
Yorgos (Greece): “We spend the same amount of time in one day that you would spend with someone else during a whole week... now they feel like my family”.
The intercultural night that followed (hosted by Greece and Romania) felt less like a “planned activity” and more like a celebration of how quickly diversity can turn into belonging.
🌊 Milazzo, MuMa and the story that made it “real”
Some learning moments don’t need many words - they stay with you because they hit emotionally.
The visit to Milazzo and the MuMa - Museo del Mare, located inside the Castello di Milazzo, was one of those moments. The museum’s story of Siso, a sperm whale that died because of plastic pollution, made marine pollution impossible to ignore. It wasn’t a statistic. It was a narrative with a face, a timeline, and a consequence.
For many participants, this shifted the tone of the entire exchange. Sustainability stopped being “an important topic” and became a personal responsibility. The emotions from that visit directly influenced the creative choices of the group in the following days, especially when writing scripts, selecting messages, and building the videos.
After the museum and the castle exploration, the group experienced the territory through the landscape itself: Capo Milazzo and the Piscina di Venere, a natural rock pool surrounded by clear water and cliffs. The environmental message didn’t come from a slide - it came from being inside a place worth protecting.
🎬 Turning sustainability into stories: video production
This was the moment when the exchange moved from learning to public communication.
Participants worked in intercultural teams to create short movies!
Teams developed storyboards, assigned roles (script, camera, voice, editing), and translated environmental themes into messages that young people would actually watch. The facilitator provided structure and timing, while creativity stayed fully in the hands of the participants. What made it strong was the diversity of perspectives: the same theme could become emotional, funny, dramatic, or reflective depending on the group. Here the final results:
🌍⚡ Raising Awareness Video - “Politikon Zoon”
A strong message on collective responsibility and human cooperation as a response to indifference and environmental challenges
🚀💚 Motivational Video - “Active Green Generation”
A positive push toward action: small steps, consistent habits, and the power of peer influence in sustainability.
📚🌱 Educational Video - “Active Green Generation”
A clearer, more informative format designed to explain key ideas and connect them to practical behaviours.
⏳🛍️ Raising Awareness Video - “Overconsumption”
A narrative video built around the idea of a “letter from the future”, helping young audiences reflect on daily choices and waste
🌅 Beach clean-up at sunset: a simple action, a strong meaning
Before sunset, the week’s most visible action took place: a beach clean-up in Furnari. It was simple and powerful. A direct gesture of care for the local environment, done together. What gave it an extra layer was the closing moment: a circle, a shared reflection, and a collective hug - turning action into meaning.
Andrea (Italy): “Good feelings for the people where I am with... it was really beautiful to stay all together especially in front of the sea watching sunset and sharing deep thoughts”.
The intercultural night (hosted by North Macedonia and Spain) closed the day with warmth and connection.
🎧 Editing, testimonials and first podcast voices
After the creative peak, the project shifted into production mode.
This phase was dedicated to editing and finalising outputs. To keep a healthy pace, the schedule was intentionally more flexible, giving participants enough rest while still protecting the quality of results.
A guided meditation reflection helped the group slow down after intense creative work, reconnect emotionally, and check in with themselves. The boardgame night later balanced focus with lightness, keeping cohesion high without adding pressure.
For many participants, this was also the first time trying podcasting. Recording a voice felt like a new form of confidence: your message can travel, your reflection can become an output, and your story can inspire others.
Arlan (Italy): “Mostly I feel calmness, curiosity, and fulfillment... I build some connections I would like to keep in touch with in the future”.
🎧 Podcast corner: “Balkan Coffee Talks”
A series of 5 podcast episodes recorded in multicultural teams. It’s the most “human” output of the project: honest conversations about sustainability, comfort zone, volunteering, and what it feels like to live a European experience together.
🎧☕ Active Green Generation Podcast - Magda, Mina, Sena
🎧🌍 Active Green Generation Podcast - Giorgos, Corina, Marianna
🎧🌿 Active Green Generation Podcast - Cemal, Ayşe, Ibrahim
🎧✨ Active Green Generation Podcast - Giorgos, Tayssa, Alice
🎧🎙️ Active Green Generation Podcast - Elif, Martin, Athina
✅ Closing the Circle: Final outputs, Youthpass and Arrivedercis
The last part of the exchange wasn’t just “wrapping up”. It was about closing the loop properly: organising everything that had been created, making learning visible, and leaving with clarity.
The group worked in intercultural teams to finalise and organise the project results: videos, photos, Canva materials, short descriptions, and content ready for dissemination. This phase mattered because it transformed creative work into something usable beyond the project, not only memories.
⭐ Featured videos
Video Testimonials - Active Green Generation 🎤
Short personal reflections where participants share emotions, learning moments, and how the experience shaped their eco-leader mindset.
Project Video - Directed by Athina 🎥
A video “summary” of the exchange, useful as an official project presentation for stakeholders and future partnerships.
Digital Booklet (Active Green Generation) 📘
Un booklet digitale che raccoglie l’intero percorso dello Youth Exchange in Sicilia: attività di educazione non formale, momenti chiave del “travel diary”, riflessioni e citazioni dei partecipanti, insieme a foto e materiali utili per la disseminazione. È pensato come memoria del progetto ma anche come risorsa replicabile per youth workers, scuole e organizzazioni che vogliono proporre attività su sostenibilità, cittadinanza attiva e comunicazione digitale.
Then came Youthpass and final evaluation. Participants connected activities to competences, reflected on their personal learning journey, and shared feedback in both non-formal and structured ways. The final circle was a mix of pride and tenderness - the kind of moment you don’t script.
Daniela (Moldova): “I feel open-minded... inspired to connect and learn with people all around the world”.
🗂️ Full archive
For those who want the complete picture, here are the full collections and the permanent project “library”.
📹 YouTube playlist - All videos
🎙️ Podcast playlist - All episodes
💻 Project webpage archive
📸 Full photo album
🌍 Dissemination and impact: beyond Sicily
Active Green Generation didn’t end with departure day. The outputs stayed online, and the message travelled through the participants.
After returning home, each national team continued the multiplier effect by organising local follow-up actions that combined:
A presentation of the project results to peers and local audiences
A practical green action in the community (clean-up or similar local initiative), to keep the message concrete and visible
These follow-ups helped expand the reach of the project beyond the original 37 participants, involving peers, schools, youth groups and local communities, while showing that sustainability is not a one-time event but a habit you can repeat.
✌️ Be The Change
As we close our Active Green Generation story, one thing is clear: when young people are trusted with real responsibility, they respond with creativity, care, and action.
Athena (Greece): “I am very grateful for having the opportunity to interact with so many different people... it is challenging because you are stepping out of your comfort zone, and that's very impactful for your own growth”.
🌐 Our partnership ❤️
A huge thank you to our partner organisations who made Active Green Generation possible.
Special thanks to the Agenzia Italiana per la Gioventù, the Erasmus+ Programme, and Tindari Village for their invaluable support throughout the project, as well as to MuMa - Museo del Mare Milazzo and the Municipalities of Milazzo and Furnari for their cooperation, hospitality, and commitment to environmental awareness and youth participation.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Grazie❤️
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