🇮🇹 "Stand Up and Speak Out" - 12-20.05.2023, Messina Italy

"Comfort zone" can be defined as something that feels familiar and comfortable, whether it is places, spaces, people, and routines that make us feel safe and don't present any challenges.

Unfortunately, young people often find themselves trapped within their comfort zones, fearful of failure and hesitant to take on new challenges. This reluctance to step out of their familiar routines can lead to stagnation and boredom, hindering their personal and professional growth. One significant barrier that holds many young individuals back is the fear of public speaking, an irrational dread that can impede their development.

Keeping this in mind, the youngsters from Jugend für positive Veränderung (Germany), together with our organisation Be The Change (Italy) and all the others partner Youth Council Next Generation Skopje (North Macedonia), Academy of Success (Bulgaria), Youth Workers Alliance (Serbia), Young Folks LV (Latvia) decided to develop and carry out the project "Stand Up and Speak Out" and implement the Youth Exchange in San Saba (ME), Sicily between the 12th and 20th of May 2023 to empower and equip the young participants with the necessary skills to express themselves confidently.

Imagine 42 young people from six countries coming together to overcome their fear of public speaking. The project aimed to help them to become more confident speakers who can express themselves and make a difference with their words.

Right from the start, the atmosphere was filled with excitement as the Italian hosts warmly welcomed everyone. Each day was packed with activities, challenges, and workshops. Fun games to know each other kicked things off and got everyone energized. We also had special "speed dates", secret friends and a "poker chip game" (if you know what I mean...).

But that's not all! We played team-building games, and sports competition activities to bring us closer together and find common interests. We even had a chart where we volunteered for different tasks to share the responsibilities of the project's success. It was a blast!

We also learned about public speaking. We watched famous speeches by people like Emma Watson and Martin Luther King Jr. and talked about how they delivered their messages. We even looked at speeches from our own countries to understand what makes a good speech. It was eye/hear-opening!

Is that all? Nope. We had incredible intercultural nights where each country showcased their traditions through music, dance, and food. And let's not forget the karaoke night—oh boy, there were some interesting performances! Pasta parties, Pasta Parties without Pasta but with Music, birthdays, outdoor activities, a Trip to Taormina with Cannoli, Pizza, Granita and Arancini, Night Games, "Punishments" and much more!! Did I say Pasta?

As the days went by, we practised speaking, get deeper in leadership styles and skills and created our own speeches. With the support of the Facilitators Viktor and Emanuel and our Group Leaders, we gained confidence and learned valuable skills.

We finished the program with a big event where we presented our speeches and shared our thoughts and feelings about the whole experience. This was the peak of the project, everyone had the chance to perform individually on the stages, face their own fears and be aware of their personal development and gains. The speeches have been amazing, touching on important social topics and delivered with passion and open hearts!

Saying goodbye was tough, but we left knowing that we had grown as individuals. We felt more confident, learned leadership skills, and realized the power of our words. The "Stand Up and Speak Out" project showed us that speaking in public can be fun and empowering. We're now ready to make a difference with our voices!

Let's give a big round of applause to these brave young speakers who are ready to take on the world, one speech at a time!

We create a lot of promotional material to give visibility to the project, the Erasmus+ programme and the partner's organizations! Let's have a look together :)

Final Event

Project Booklet

Booklet - Stand Up and Speak Out!

.pdf

Download PDF • 14.25MB

Testimonials

TikTok / Reels / Videos (Playlist)

WebPage

https://yestandupandspeakout.wordpress.com/

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