From February 25th to March 5th, 2023, 36 young people from Italy, North Macedonia, Türkiye, Bulgaria, Germany and Spain gathered in Hemmersheim, Germany, for the Youth Exchange "Gender through the Media Screen," funded by Erasmus+. This project brought together students, young professionals, NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), and young people with fewer opportunities, all aged 18-30 and with a strong interest in gender issues and equality.
The Youth Exchange aimed to increase the participants' knowledge about gender equality and to exchange good practices on how to create a more inclusive society. It also sought to inspire participants to question their stereotypes about gender roles and the LGBTQIA+ community. Additionally, the Youth Exchange aimed to strengthen the network among the participating organizations and to create opportunities for future partnerships that could lead to the creation of new events and activities to increase awareness about this topic.
"Gender through the Media Screen" is aligned with the European strategy for 2030, which aims for a more inclusive environment, as well as with the objectives of the Erasmus+ program and the national policies of the partner countries.
Booklet created by Participants (Have a look!)
During the Youth Exchange, participants had the chance to develop a clear idea about the topics of gender, stereotypes, discrimination, minorities, inclusive language and the impact of media representation, and learned how to successfully use media to reach the public, from the choice of the correct stream of communication to structure and composition. Working in groups allowed the participants to develop soft skills such as: teamwork, communication, time and stress management, organizational and decision making, as well as practising communication in different languages. These topics and skills aim to diminish miscommunication and stereotypes, promote inclusivity and education, reduce inequality, and shading light on the reality of minorities, all while addressing interculturality, in order to raise awareness on the impact of our actions on others.
The youth exchange included both PowerPoint presentations on the topic as well as a variety of activities based on non-formal education: intercultural nights, theatre performances, outdoor activities and group projects that had the purpose to develop new content for the project like videos, testimonials, suggestions for a more inclusive living and even this article.
Using non-formal education methods created a supportive environment where the participants could learn from each other's experiences, making the project more engaging and meaningful. At the end of the week, the participants were sent the Youthpass certificate. In addition to the main activities, the participants enjoyed the small village of Hemmersheim, as well as the nearby village of Aub and the city of Würzburg which were visited during the stay; making new friends from across Europe and learning about other countries, cultures and traditions, trying their typical food and underlying the importance of interculturality were also a considerable part of this project.
Testimonials:
Davide
“The most inspiring activity about this exchange program was the one that took us to Aub, a really small village in the heartland of Germany. During that day our task was to simply take photos, at times, even of "banal" things like architecture, patterns and so on but I was amazed to see how each one of us, despite there being so few things to take photos of, we were able to shoot it from so many different perspectives. Even if the activity was extremely simple, it was able to show me how many things even just a building can be seen from so many angles and each one of them can be as beautiful as the other one and true as the other one. I believe this activity is extremely relevant to the topic we discussed because it made me understand that many issues and ideas can be seen and perceived from different points of view and still be relevant and true. No discussion can be created if there is not the desire to understand the other's perspective.”
Giorgia
“For me the most inspiring part was having to deal with so many unknown people at the same time, facing the initial shyness, getting to know them better in a short period of time, also working in groups, confronting other people's ideas and opinions and expressing my point of view with the others. For me, it was really a challenge to speak in public, so this was something I have done during the project and I'm going to take it with me. Also, creating a video, writing a speech and shooting it. It was the first time I did something like this, and I'm really happy about that, and I hope to have the opportunity to do it again in the future.”
Nerea
“For me, the most inspiring thing about this project has been being able to share knowledge on different topics and learn from other people. In addition, discovering new points of view on different aspects of gender equality has also been very rewarding for me. Looking to the future, this project has helped me to be able to communicate in another language and motivated me to continue learning about social media, language, talking in public, meeting different people and new places.”
Lucia
“The most inspiring thing for me has been to share and learn about the different opinions on gender diversity issues. This project has made me get out of my comfort zone and I think that this can help me to try new things in the future.”
Emiliya “The most inspiring aspect of this youth exchange for me was actually the group. I rarely meet so many active, smart and multitalented people in one place as I've met here and I've rarely seen a group with such chemistry before. The connection we built within these nine days some teams cannot build even for 10 years of collaboration. That is simply because living together as a community in a remote area and going collectively through challenges works as a catalyst. Since day one we were helping each other all the time with all kinds of small issues and thus we created a safe space of support and empathy. Our facilitator Alexander even said that we have one of the best group dynamics he had seen, even if he has been to more than 100 projects. I'd like to stay in touch with these participants and maybe even work together in the future.”
Virginia
“Something I will take with me from this youth exchange is definitely the connection with other people and the memories of all the time spent together, this project wouldn’t have been the same without them. Anything is better when done with others, especially with such a diverse and kind group of people.”
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