Youth exchange "Let's change before the climate does" Lastours, France

It all started on 08/30/21, when six Greek youngsters were at the airport Eleftherios Venizelos drinking coffee and waiting to board the plane to N. France and specifically a small village in Lastours, which was to be their home for her next two weeks. The environment developed between us even before we reached the camp that would host us and everything showed that the next ten days, would be full of a lot of laughter and unforgettable moments.

The aim of the program was to raise awareness on the issue of climate change and what we can do in order to keep what we have intact. The program was much more interesting than just a series of environmental activities. For ten days we tried to live as eco-friendly as possible, based on the principles of sustainability. It was really a challenge for all of us, but as we used to say in the program ... "if it does not challenge you, it does not change you".

On this journey to change, we made friends from all over Europe (Children from Spain, France, Italy, Lithuania, Romania). The morning activities aimed at team building, swimming in the icy river of the medieval village, the sauna, the workshops that gave us the practical knowledge to fight climate change, the theatrical sketches that we had composed with so much imagination, the walks in nature and the conversations on beautiful clearings, the afternoon coffee watching the sunset, the evening movie screenings and the frantic parties under the starry French sky were enough to build our relations with our European friends.

But what we all looked forward to, were the intercultural evenings. A unique opportunity to get to know other cultures first hand, to break stereotypes and finally to understand that we are not different from each other. Leaving the program, our ‘International Friends’, had loved Greek cuisine (they still send us messages to give them the recipe from fried pumpkins), tsipouro and Greek dances !!!

For many of us, this was the first ERASMUS + experience, but it will certainly not be the last. With the help of the Epirus Youth Center, we have unlocked a new world and for that we thank the organizers for the opportunity they gave us. We are looking forward to the next program and we hope those of you who have read our small experience, do not hesitate and explore the world of ERASMUS + NOW !!

ERASMUS+ 

This project was co-funded by European Union, the Erasmus+ Program