In the beginning of September in Pompei, Italy, Active Youth for Europe implemented an amazing youth exchange called “Sport to combat violence and cyberbullying”. We are now pleased to share information about the project and some of its results, because sharing is caring!!
The youth exchange gathered young people between the age of 18 and 26 from Italy, Spain, Latvia and the UK to analyze how, in the recent years, violence and (cyber)bullying has increased. The main objective of the project was to make young people aware of the problem of violence and cyberbullying and its implications for young people and society, stimulating them to tackle the problem by using the power of sport as a unifying factor.
The implementation phase included mobility with a diversified program based on non-formal education. It had activities that aimed to provide a platform for youth learning and included: knowledge activities among participants, team building activities, rules and orientation (mainly the first 2 days), information activities such as understanding the terms, present the situations in their countries, campaigns of the No Hate Speech Movement, practical exercises involving the practice of sports and sports games as well as working on case studies, fishbowl discussion and problem tree method. There were also public activities during the exchange in order to spread the message between the local community. Activities like a running marathon and soccer tournament with local youth, to show the power of sport, took place during the project. In the following link you can find a video of the marathon:
Each of the groups had responsibility for the implementation of games and sessions already assigned in this phase which guaranteed an active participation and involvement of the young people. There was also time for the participants (Open Space) to plan activities, seminars and strengthen their leadership. The project also included the planning of follow-up activities, as well as the development of materials to promote the exchange itself and involve more young people in the last days of the project.
The participants created many different project outcomes such as a video, interview, logo, brochure and a website to share their amazing experience in Italy with all of you!
You can find the website on the following link:
https://www.erasmussportpompeii.com
And here you can find the interview:
We also made a final video of the week to share with you all!
Last, but not least, participants also did some amazing online and offline campaigns such as presentations with their colleagues to share their amazing experience and to share a message of love, respect and tolerance and for always being active and engaged!
One of the participants got so inspired during the human library workshop where European Solidarity Corps (ESC) was presented that she, right after the project, signed up for an ESC-project as a volunteer. While you are reading this, only two months later, she is now living in Naples, Italy for 10 months.
Active Youth for Europe 