The Erasmus Plus Project “Bringing Youth Back to Work” was truly a wonderful and inspiring experience for me. My decision to participate in the project was conveniently formed by the fact that I am finishing my studies and will soon be looking for employment. Therefore, coming to Pamplona, my main expectations were to share my views on youth unemployment and have a chance to hear what are the problems other young people face. As it can be seen, I tend to concentrate on the “serious” part. However, I believe this event gave me a chance to be pleasantly surprised by all the other aspects of the project.
Firstly, I was delighted to see how young people from different parts of Europe shared their experience, information and knowledge about situation on unemployment in their countries and where able to discuss differences and similarities. As well, seeing compassion, understanding and willingness to make a change, to discover available options and to act towards their realisation was inspiring to me.
The part that I especially enjoyed was working in groups, discussing and exchanging views on topics relating human dignity, values, life experiences and potential changes that can be made. The experience of doing it while sitting on the grass in the university campus, surrounded by greenery and smiling faces of lovely people who are open to debate was truly fulfilling. Finally, putting are heads together and forming a declaration that will present our requirements and proposals regarding youth unemployment was quite thrilling.
This event gave me a chance to develop new friendships, get to meet young people from all over the Europe, and be inspired by active promoting of human dignity of other WYA members. Together with newly acquired knowledge on advocacy, it was something that gave me a little push towards engaging in my local community as I realised my contribution can also make a change.
Lastly, the beauty of Spain and Pamplona mesmerized me. I truly enjoyed spending my days on Pamplona University Campus and was delighted to share this time with our wonderful hosts. This Erasmus Project was an amazing opportunity to visit foreign country and get a slice of their culture. It brought me closer to understanding what potential and power young people have and can share with their community. In the midst of the corona crisis, I am very grateful for having opportunity to participate in this event that gave me a lot more than I imagined.
[su_divider top=”no”]
Published: June 21, 2021
Written by Tanja Prskalo, a participant in the project Bringing Youth Back to Work