I n t e r c u l t u r a l H o r i z o n s i s a y o u t h

e x c h a n g e p r o g r a m o r g a n i z e d b y

ESN Kolding from 28th November

t o6th December 2018 in Rødekro,
Denmark, together with other 7
E u r o p e a n o r g a n i z a t i o n s :

A s s o c i a z i o n e V a g a m o n d o ( I t a l y ) ,

S m o k i n y a F o u n d a t i o n ( B u l g a r i a ) ,

S y n c r o ( C r o a t i a ) , S o l i d a r i t y

M i s s i o n ( G r e e c e ) , S y n e r g y L T

( L i t h u a n i a ) , Y M C A R o m a n i a

( R o m a n i a ) , a n d E u r o d y n a m i s

( S p a i n ) .

T h e p r o j e c t , b a s e d o n n o n - f o r m a l

e d u c a t i o n m e t h o d o l o g i e s , i n v o l v e d

4 0 y o u n g E u r o p e a n s i n a p a t h o f

s e l f - d i s c o v e r y t h a t s u p p o r t e d t h e m

i n i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r i n t e r c u l t u r a l

s e n s i t i v i t y a n d t h e i r a w a r e n e s s

a b o u t t h e i m p a c t o f t h e i r c u l t u r e s

o n t h e i r e v e r y d a y c h o i c e s .

I t w a s t h e p l a y g r o u n d f o r t h e m t o

s h a r e , r e f l e c t , c h a l l e n g e t h e i r

c o n c e p t s , b r e a k t h e i r m e n t a l T h e p r o j e c t w a s c o - f u n d e d b y t h e E u r o p e a n
p a t t e r n s , d e v e l o p n e w w o r l d v i e w s ,
U n i o n t h r o u g h t h e E r a s m u s P l u s p r o g r a m a n d
e x p e r i m e n t d i f f e r e n t w a y s o f
t h e U d d a n n e l s e s - o g F o r s k n i n g s m i n i s t e r i e t
t h i n k i n g a n d d o i n g a n d o v e r c o m e

t h e i r l i m i t s . .
 It is crazy how a 9-days project can create so many emotions, feelings
and thoughts in a person. What this project gave me is first of all an
unforgettable experience with a group of amazing young people, all
working on developing themselves and their surroundings. Furthermore,
it made me more self-aware, motivated, inspired, open-minded, enriched
and eager to pursue my goals. IVA

I was focusing on all the wrong things both in my professional and

personal life. Through this unique experience I have gain clarity, a fresh
start, a chance to do things the right way, to feel happy and fulfilled.
DENIS

At first, I was extremely skeptical going as far as to call such

experiences pseudo-psychology but in the end, curiosity and the project
coordinators' seriousness won me over. It was one of the most intense
roller-coasters I have ever experienced, every day was a continuous
cycle of crisis, reflection and improvement and I am glad to have taken
this opportunity. STEFAN

This project was like a maze to me and I had to find its center, which
was all along my own self and the passion that was lying dormant in me. 
I had to use different items in my inventory, such as wands of foreign
languages, meta-cognitive learning strategies maps, potions of sense of
initiative or the googles of cultural awareness in order to find all kinds
of hidden treasures and gems that were around me. RUXANDRA
 I learned to collaborate better, to trust myself more, I overcame some
discomforts that I had and I realized situations from my past, which
helped me to understand myself more. It was interesting and useful for
me also to listen to other people’s stories and experiences. In that way I
gained understanding and I reduced my judgmental thinking and
prejudices. VERDJI

The project’s intercultural setting helped a great deal by adding an

interpersonal and intercultural element that transcends each participant’s
personal journey, brings people closer together, shows several different
modes of learning, and uses the context of Erasmus+ to provide something
so valuable that it is a bit difficult to measure it in standard terms. In
short, I have never experienced anything quite like this project, and I
mean this in the most positive ways imaginable. MISLAV

The project was really good reflection for me. I made a huge step – I
experienced my worries and fears in another way. I saw how I was
bullsh*ting myself and why. I saw how I am repeating the same
mistakes and running in circles in my personal and professional life. it
was changing individual experience in a group context.  ALEXANDRA

I figured out to awaken my passions, my hobbies and to get out of my

shyness zone. Thanks to this project, I increased my level of cultural
awareness, I improved my communication skills and my critical thinking,
together with the ability to realize the impact I can have in my social
and civic environment. ISABELA
 This project brought me a lot of feelings, emotions and thoughts. It gave
me a clearer picture of who I am, how others see me, what are my
strengths and weaknesses. During the training I was provoked to go out
of my comfort zone, but exactly this moments was the most powerful for
me and my learning. My best take away is the sense of freedom that I
got. MARINA

Through the project I understood how important is to be able to trust

other people and share feelings and experience with them to understand
better yourself and learn from the other’s experience. Finally this
exchange helped me with my fluency in English because I was asked to
deliver my ideas to people from other countries and also to understand
what they wanted to share. THEMIS

It is hard to summary what this project gave to me along the 10 days

that I expend in Rødekro but for sure was much more that I could ever
imagine. I have experience a sense of freedom, release, joy… a pure
energy around the body that makes you able to achieve the moon with
your hands. ALBERTO

I realized through the project that most of the people in my age they
were unhappy with their life and they were looking for something new.
They were desperately searching for hope and I saw despair into their
eyes. However, the biggest presents for me, were the smiles of those
people I received every single day, their energy and of course their
internal change. DEMETRA
 I can say “thank you” to myself for applying because being with all those
people coming from every European Union’s corners has been very
inspiring. Supporting in different ways is something that belongs to me
and some activities in this project made me think about it more deeply.
After this period abroad I’m also more determined to keep on being a
supporter for people who need one. MARCO

I learned that I’m still holding on to my past and that I need to forgive
myself, I learned that I don’t trust myself enough and that it’s holding
me back, I’ve learned to share my feelings with people without feeling
judged. All that I learned I will take and work on it in my everyday life.
Never in my life have I felt so much emotions in one day and felt so
much love and support in one room. ANJA

The project was very intense and drained my energy and my emotions.
However, by doing so, it made me reconnect with episodes from the past
and helped me to find peace within myself only by understanding the
feelings associated with those memories. The competence I developed
the most was cultural awareness and expression. KATE

Through the project I was placed in some situations where I had to use
the knowledge and the learnings I gained in order to get the things done.
I expanded my social skills, orientation skills, leading skills and
communication skills and I stepped out of my comfort zone. My best take
away from this project is the tools we used, I feel confident with myself
and I use the tools to success. ALEX
 I have been to over 10 Erasmus+ projects and none of them can even
compare to this one. What I experienced in Denmark was so unique and
inspiring that I can still feel how it changed me and my relationships
with others. Things we did in this project made me realize how much
overthinking is setting me back. "Universe applauds actions, not
thoughts" literally became my new motto in life. EGLĖ

Now, after this experience, I can say you that I have had the possibility
to learn different things, in particular what it means trying to arrive to
an objective with all the group. Also, I learned to create a connection
with the other participants, and now I would like to put into practice
what I have learned. For example, I can apply my new knowledge in my
future job. DANIELE

I cannot express how happy and grateful am I to be a part of this

training. It gave me many things to remember, friends around the world,
moments, experience and knowledge about myself, but mostly it gave me
feelings and emotions. My best take away was to set one small goal at a
time to achieve and to always act instead of think. A thank you is not
enough! HARA

The people i met there were amazing and we all shared our stories and
our problems. This project healed us. Leaving from there i knew that a
different period for my life was going to start. The smile i got after
finishing the project was the best thing i got. EVI
 The challenges I’ve faced during the project improved my social and
civic competences since I’ve spent time in the different country with
people from different cultural backgrounds. There’s so many things that
I took away from the project, but the best I would say is – giving myself
more credit and the importance of the right (and positive) people in my
life. It’s one of a lifetime project that everybody should try! KAMILĖ

During the project I felt accepted for who I really am and truly
connected to people around me. I met amazing people who I’m still in
contact with. I worked on my active listening skills and learned how,
instead of offering opinions on problems, I can help others find their
own solutions. My way of perceiving my own problems became more
positive with more plans to act instead of just think. VITA

My best take away from this project is the true love I received, the
appreciation. I feel I was myself during all the project and I felt loved
for that reason which gives me the insight I was doing good on my life.
This acknowledge came in a period while I was underestimating myself,
my actions plan, my dreams. KIO

Simply amazing! A lot of completely new things that brought my mind to

a whole new level. I developed my presentation skills, I learned to be
brave from the people around me, to have the courage to make the first
step, to say my opinion out loud. I learned to use things that I know in
theory and apply them. ANA
 Feeling safer outside of my comfort zone, is one of the things that I
think have improved a lot after the project, as well as listening to
others, understanding that we are different culture, education, our
vision or experiences in life ... But really we all need very similar
things, sharing, happiness, feeling safe, dancing! LAURA

What this project taught me was definitely to value myself by having a

healthy relationship between one’s spontaneity and rational use of
emotional intelligence. I learned to respect the flow of giving and
receiving and by thinking, feeling and consequently acting upon it and I
received so much appreciation in exchange. MARIAM