Digital Action for Youth Participation

The project began on April 27 for our Czech team at Václav Havel Airport in Prague. We flew to Tirana and then by bus to Ohrid, North Macedonia. The project took place in a village named Dolno Konjsko that is located alongside Lake Ohrid. We spent a week alongside participants from North Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Together we explored the topic of digital citizenship, youth participation, and advocacy through engaging activities that helped us grow and connect.

The very first day kicked off with a series of creative icebreakers that set a fun and relaxed atmosphere for the week. We did a round of “speed dating,” where we had to discuss a statement with a mixed team to get to know each other, and introduced ourselves using emojis that represented our personalities and lifestyle. These playful activities helped us break the ice and made it easy to start forming connections.

After that, we created a group social contract where we set rules to maintain a respectful and supportive atmosphere. We also discussed our fears, hopes, and expectations. Each session began with energizers led by different national teams. As part of our workshops, we studied what it means to be active citizens in the digital world. We discussed what youth participation really is, why it matters, and how we can get more involved — for example, through supporting our local communities, advocacy, different projects, etc. One day, we took a boat ride to visit the Bay of the Bones museum and the Monastery of Saint Naum. A meaningful part of the program was a workshop focused on guiding people who are visually impaired or blind and effective communication with individuals who are hearing impaired. We tried how to safely guide someone who is blind. The international nights were, for me, a great highlight. Each country brought a piece of their culture for example, traditional food, dance, songs, or quizzes. Our Czech team sang a song instead of teaching a dance. We spent most of our time either in the common room or outside with a beautiful view of Lake Ohrid.

The Czech team will always have a special place in my heart. We were a great team that was composed of a variety of personalities and that complemented each other. They’ve grown on me and I will miss them. We had a lot of jokesters in our national team and our jokes brought people from all countries together, but behind that humor was reliable and supportive team. Taking part in this Erasmus+ in North Macedonia was a meaningful journey that I will cherish.

Throughout the week I uncovered new sides of me, learned about different cultures, built friendships, learned new dances, understood what it means to be an active youth participant, improved my English, improved my communication and social skills. It encouraged me to stay open-minded, to welcome new challenges with open arms and to value the connections we created no matter where we are.

Tereza Gajdošová