EU Grant: 20.733 EUR
Applicant: NUORISO- JA MATKAILUKESKUS HYVARILAOY (Non-ENYC member)
Partners from ENYC:
MLADINSKI CENTER KRŠKO – YOUTH CENTER KRŠKO (SLOVENIA)
- Start: 03-05-2017
- End: 02-12-2017
- Project Reference: 2017-1-FI01-KA105-034548
- Programme: Erasmus+
- Key Action: Learning Mobility of Individuals
- Action Type: Youth mobility
The project was a youth exchange between 5 countries (Finland, Slovenia, Portugal, Italy and Hungary) bringing together 25 young people and 5 leaders to Hyvärilä youth centre, Nurmes Finland for 9 days on 10-18 August July 2017.
The idea came from the initiative of Hyvärilä’s Slovenian EVS volunteer, who became very skilled in working with groups of young people in Nurmes. He got the idea, constructed a proposal for a project collecting ideas from local young people doing Ukulele workshops at the youth house, and found the partners for the project with the support of Hyvärilä youth centre’s international coordinator.
The participants were young adults mainly between 18-29 (five of them 16-17 years), 5 youngsters and 1 leader from each country: Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland. The French partner could not manage to form a participant group for this project.
The Finnish participants came from different cities in North Karelia (Nurmes, Juuka, Lieksa, Outokumpu, Kuopio). They were six female participants aged 19-29 years, all except one were unemployed and did not study anywhere. Most of them had social obstacles, they had difficulties communicating with other people, they were shy or hyperactive, one of them was dysflatic and had problems being in a noisy surrounding.
A couple of times during the exchange she had to leave the room and sit in a room next door accompanied and supported by international coordinator. Hungarian participants were 16-22 years old, 3 male and 2 female, they had been playing ukulele before but they all were abroad for the first time due to economical and other obstacles. Slovenian participants, two female and 3 male aged 17-25, were all active musicians without work, and they wanted to find themselves a bit more and create new things. Italian paticipants were 1 female and 4 male students, aged 18-21 years facing economical barriers. Portuguese participants were 1 female and 4 male coming from town Porto with different backgrounds.
The main aim of the project was learning ukulele as a tool for self-expression and self-actualisation. The project offered a process for the participants where through using and exploring the instrument they can learn about their selves as well as develop their competencies. It was also foreseen that through the active “hands-on approach” we managed to create a comfortable setting for intercultural learning, awareness of ones self and others, and peer support to take place, in a positive and meaningful way.
Preparation stage May-August 2017:
- Skype meetings (online planning meetings, mostly between group leaders)
- Facebook group (all participants involved, updating with new informations and ideas, introducing themselves)
- preparatory meetings with young people in each country
Implementation stage 10th-18th August 2017:
- Musical workshops learning to play together
- Team building and getting to know games
- Visiting Kuopio Puijo tower
- Cultural evenings introducing different countries
- Public action workshops in Nurmes and Kuopio (guerilla ukulele workshops: teaching, playing, asking questions, filming the meetings, taking pictures aso.
- Outdoor sports activities in Hyvärilä (paddling, football, basketball)
- Planning, structuring, building the sets, rehearsing, acting (playing ukuleles, singing and playing in roles) and recording the music video
- Non-formal learning excercises (lead by leaders – linked to self-esteem)
- Playing songs, recording, finalizing and sharing in social media
- Final concerts at Porokylä school and Kyrölä old people´s house
Evaluation stage :
- Reflection of each activity, reflection of the day
- Mid-term evaluation between leaders
- Questionnaire shared though social media
- Discussing the impact, sharing photos, videos, memories, new ideas and developing them further in Facebook group
Participants got international experience and learned about other cultures and countries by listening, singing, playing and recording music, through discussions and country presentations, tasting snacks from other countries and building long-term relationships which is seen through active communication in Facebook group.
The Hungarian partner is applying a new project to continue with ukulele and percussions and some other extra spices. The competence of organizing international youth projects developed in organisations and plan to make a long term cooperation in future.
The local and regional communities of Nurmes and Kuopio were invited in the project and the internationality buzzing around Nurmes and Kuopio (market places, city centres, school, old people´s house etc.) left a positive mark on the landscape and minds of people. Same ripple effect is also happening in the partner organisations´ countries, as participants has shared the results of the exchange with their local communities.
For more details, please access the link HERE.