From March 10th to 18th, we had the opportunity to participate in youth exchanges in Turin, Italy. The project brought together 44 participants from six countries: Estonia, Romania, Georgia, Spain, Italy, and Germany. It was exciting and enriching experiences where we worked together on innovative and educational topics. The focus of the exchanges was to make education more engaging and interactive. Specifically, we explored how to present educational content in playful manners. Our groups worked on the topics of microplastics in water, and in the end, we successfully created escape games to explain these environmental issues in entertaining and educational ways. We were excited about the opportunities to meet peers from different countries, work on meaningful projects together, and exchange cultural perspectives.
The topics also sounded very interesting, as they combined creativity with education. Throughout the projects, we participated in various activities, including developing and designing escape games, working in teams to create different challenges and puzzles, and playing and testing escape games developed by other groups. These activities allowed us to engage with the topics in hands-on ways while improving our teamwork and problem-solving skills. One of the most exciting discoveries was learning about new websites that allow users to create their own escape games. Additionally, we improved our communication and collaboration skills by working in international teams. It was also fascinating to see how different cultural perspectives influenced the ways we approached the tasks. Besides the project activities, we also took time to explore the cities in the evenings.
Walking through the streets of Turin, we discovered beautiful sights, enjoyed delicious Italian ice creams, and played games together, which helped strengthen our friendships. One of the highlights of the exchanges was the cultural evenings, where each country presented aspects of their traditions. We shared traditional foods, gave presentations, and enjoyed performances. The Spanish participants impressed us with lively dance performances, while the Georgians taught us how to write our names in their unique scripts. These moments were not only fun but also allowed us to learn more about each other’s cultures in engaging ways. Now that we are back home, we are inspired to incorporate more interactive learning methods into our studies and personal projects. The experiences showed us that education can be both fun and impactful. These youth exchanges were good experiences that broadened our horizons, introduced us to new people, and taught us valuable skills. We highly recommend participating in such projects to anyone interested in cultural exchanges, teamwork, and innovative learning methods.
