Youth Exchange “The art never dies, it transforms”

Between the 15th and the 24^th of July happened the first Youth Exchange organised by CYA, called “The art never dies, it transforms”. Young people from Italy, Greece and Bulgaria were gathered in the Art School, in Tryavna.

After the arrival, the first day (it was the middle of the night for the Italians), and a presentation of the week the second day, with games for team building and an explanation of the Erasmus + program, it was time for the participants to start the three days of workshops. Pell-mell, icons, painting, wood carving, plastic art, figures, jewelry, clock, book and postcard’s creation have been practiced by the participants.  Some already knew the technics, others have completely discovered an art, like icon’s reproduction. All the pieces of art created had been presented during a charity bazaar and the funds collected given to the family of a young man with severe health issues. And it turned out to be a success ! It was definitely worth it.

Because in our society, if you’re good at doing something, it’s always useful to be able to earn money with it, the last day with “lessons” was dedicated to the SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a project), the canvas business model and the crowdfunding, if you don’t have the chance to obtain a loan in a bank.

Learning and working is important, but relaxing and talking to other participants in the evening make the group stronger. That’s why, the three first evenings, one dedicated to one country, Italians, Greeks and Bulgarians made discover their culture through food, beverages and expressions or habit to the others.

To end this Youth Exchange in a Bulgarian way, the Sunday has been spent near Veliko Tarnovo to attend to a traditional wedding. Traditional clothes (we all wore a shirt made in Bulgaria), music, food (beans soup, bread and white cheese) and… a burning sun (the felt temperature was around 42°C).

A last morning with water games (always enjoyable when it’s hot) and it was already time for our Greek and Italian friends to go back home…

Thanks for sharing with us your culture, guys !

The project is co-financed by the European Union under the Erasmus + Programme. The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the author. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.