Implementation
Day 1 – Thursday August 20, 2026
Written by the facilitators team 🇪🇺
Day 1 of the project, which means tons of icebreaking activities, getting-to-know each other games and exploring the area! After an introduction by the team of Nikolas, Gita and Bobbie, the day began with musical chairs, one of many energizers that took place in the Youth Exchange led by each of the national teams throughout the duration of the youth exchange.
This was when we jumped straight into get-to-know each other games. To start, each participants received a paper tape stuck on them, acting as a make-shift nametag. On this tape, there was enough space with the same amount of letters as our names. For example, for Nikolas with would be _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . For this activity we went around, fished for our letters of our names. The rule was that we could only get letters from people who not only have the same exact letter as us, but we could only get one, and only from persons from a different national country.
Right after this, we played the portrait game. For this game, Bobbie was playing music, and each time the music stopped, we get to draw a different part of our face, wether it's the eye, ear, mouth and so on. It was funny, and because different people drew each part of the face, it created interesting looking portraits of ourselves. These portraits, along with envelopes were stuck on the wall in our activity area which we used for messages for each other, our Instagram tags, and also numerous activities used it in the rest of our days.
Right after this, we had a short speed dating game, where, in mixed groups, in different stations we had teams where we had to discuss certain concepts and questions, such as "what would you do if you suddenly became super rich?" or "if you could only pick one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?"
After coffee break we continued with yet another icebreaking activity, the human bingo, which asked us to find participants who share certain traits as on the paper, such as "This is their first Erasmus+" or "speaks 3 or more languages". The rule once again was that we could only have each person once, and only persons from a different national country.
Continuing on, we focused on our fears, contributions and expectations. Using the backpack methodology, where participants draw a bag, and fill in the three categories above. This allows the facilitators to modify what needs to be done for the next days, and how to fulfill participant needs to the fullest.
- One team who does the energizers of the day
- One team that writes the journal of the day (this page!)
- One team who takes the photos of the day (the photos you see here!)
- One team who helps the facilitators out (with sticking things and more)
- One team who hosts the intercultural dinner and night
The afternoon began with yet another set of short icebreaking games, the first being the blanket game, where in 2 teams participants had to quickly say the other participants name when they see them, as well as the sun shines on, where participants have to move in the center of the circle if a given statement, given by participants themselves applies to them.
This was when also when we learned all there is about the Youthpass, with different mini stations doing different tasks to learn about the competencies. This was done in mixed groups, with tasks all around the room based on each of the 8 activities, using the Youthpass passport concept, with participants Emilis and Apostolia being the ones responsible for giving competency stamps for each activity completed!
For the last activity of the day, participants took part in the "Nature Detectives Challenge", were, once again in mixed groups, participants were tasked to find different items based on biology around the accommodation. Check out the full activity below!
The night ended with the first intercultural night, with the host country taking the helm! Lithuania showcased its food, by making Šaltibarščiai (Cold Beetroot Soup), meat cooked in traditional way, Gira (Kvass) as well Šakotis (tree cake) for dessert.
As for the very end of the day it was team Lithuania showcasing their traditions with a presentation to learn all about Lithuanian history and try out Lithuanian dances.
Day 2 – Thursday August 21, 2026
Written by the Cypriot team 🇨🇾
The day started with Poland's energizer that was to follow the dancing leader. This basically is a game where you have to follow a person who does the dance moves without making it obvious who your are following . Another person has to be in the middle to try to guess which one is giving the orders. With switching persons, this activity helped us wake up.
Speaking of, check out a showcase of some on the energizers in the video below!
Then the presentations of all the countries homework which was about showing the ideas that each country has on how education could become more relevant, engaging and useful for young people. It was interesting to hear all country's perspectives of the issues in education and how almost every single country mentioned how financial literacy is one concept they wish they learned more of.
This was followed by the presentation of Bobbie "Productive Digital Tools for everyday life", meaning an extension of what ICT classes in school is something that they should teach. Tech is something that should serve as a tool to speed up life, and not the opposite. As such Bobbie showcased 3 uses of apps.
1 – Flighty / Aviate – A flight tracking tool for future and ongoing personal fights, assisting participants (who are interested in future projects) to speed up looking for boarding gates, potential delays and more all from a central app
2 – Better use of Calendar and Contacts, where Bobbie showcased such how much content you can add in a single calendar event, such as location, repeating dates, and entire files which can be attached to calendar events.
3 – Gamified fitness, such as Apple Health and Fitness with friends, serving as a healthy and easy way to be motivated to work on one's health.
After coffee break, we participated in a team game called "Money Matters" and we all had to work as one person that had to manage his financial situation for 6 months. Basically, this activity was about learning how to survive in the difficult conditions in nowadays. Each of us were given a salary, choices of different types of bank accounts (with different interest rates and monthly costs), situations to overcome and more.
After lunchbreak we participated in Catapult Creation. This activity made as be more creative and make changes to our catapult throughout the activity if needed. Based on the school lesson of physics, and competing against other mixed groups, we tested which catapults can go the furthest, which one has the most accuracy, which one is the most portable, and even which team was communicating in the group the best. This activity ultimately focused learning about physics, momentum, weight distribution in a much more hands-on manner.
After lunchbreak we participated in Catapult Creation. This activity made as be more creative and make changes to our catapult throughout the activity if needed. Based on the school lesson of physics, and competing against other mixed groups, we tested which catapults can go the furthest, which one has the most accuracy, which one is the most portable, and even which team was communicating in the group the best. This activity ultimately focused learning about physics, momentum, weight distribution in a much more hands-on manner.
Next, we had an activity called "three ways to learn-beyond the classroom" that were organized by Bobbie, Gita and Nikolas that created lessons through formal, non-formal and informal learning. While the session focused on the concept of bullying, a concept that happens a lot in a school setting, we did not know in advance the differences between the three sessions. Bobbie's one was the formal one, and he was a teacher at a school, while Gita's session was a non-formal activity, where participants take steps forward based on a given role and position in society and Nikolas' session was the informal one, where he theatrically bullied certain participants (with they themselves knowing in advance of course) but a surprise to the rest of us nonetheless.
At night of we had Hungarian dinner, which was cold fruit soup, Lescó with Bodag, and Madártem for dessert. The Hungarian night also had a Hungarian quiz, as well as of course Hungarian dances!
Day 3 - Saturday August 22
Written by the Lithuanian team 🇱🇹
The morning started with Cyprus' energiser which was mantili, a traditional Cypriot game.
Then, we were divided into six teams and took part in the "Make Your Own Activity" session. Each team had to choose two topics for example "Job interviews + stress management", combine them and create a 20–30-minute lesson using non-formal techniques for the other participants. We were given forms with questions such as "How is this topic relevant in real life?" and "Will your activity effectively communicate the message in 20–30 minutes?" These questions helped us structure our ideas and create activities that were both useful and engaging.
You may access a sample document that were used throughout the preparation phase below!
The six teams chose the following topics:
Team 1: Job interviews + stress management
Team 2: Public speaking + teamwork
Team 3: Critical thinking + digital safety
Team 4: Time management + independence
Team 5: Communication + intercultural diversity
Team 6: Healthy relationships + conflict resolution
Before the coffee break, participants focused on developing their ideas, filling in the activity forms and building their teams. After the break, the groups continued working on their activities, preparing the necessary equipment, creating cards, rules, games and scenarios, and testing their lessons before presenting them to everyone.
After lunch, Cyprus presented another energizer. Participants were paired up and divided into two groups, with one partner in each group. They had to walk around in a circle while Cypriot music was playing, and whenever the music stopped, they had to quickly find their partner from the other group, hold hands and sit down together. The last pair to sit down was eliminated. It was a fun and active game that made everyone laugh and engage.
Afterwards, the groups presented their finished and tested activities one by one. For each activity you may access a completed version of the above document below.
Team 1 created a role-play based on job interviews, with participants taking the roles of employers and employees.
Team 2 organized debates that required participants to work together and practice their public speaking skills.
Team 3 - Recognizing fake news in digital space.pdf here.
Team 4 created a time-management activity where participants had to make timetables for different situations.
Team 5 created a communication game where half of the participants were given a story and had to remain silent, while the other half could speak and had to guess what the story was.
Team 6 created a series of interactive plays, each presenting a different social problem.
Overall, this was an amazing experience because participants not only had the opportunity to create an activity that was interesting and relevant, but also to develop teamwork, creativity and new ideas. Throughout the activities, we had the chance to take part in job interviews, practise public speaking, debate and teamwork, create timetables for different situations, improve our communication and listening skills, understand the importance of body language and explore intercultural differences. We also had the opportunity to look at different real-life problems, understand them from different perspectives and think about possible ways to solve them. This was also because the session was followed by experienced youth workers who were leaders in the project, who commented on all the positive aspects of the activities, and how to expand on them even further.
The activity was a success and showed us that learning does not always have to happen through traditional lessons. By creating and participating in activities ourselves, we were able to learn new skills while also having fun and working together.
For dinner, it was the Austrian's turn who cooked for us Fritattensuppe, Eiernockerl, Buchteln mit vanillesauce, however cultural night was moved to Monday evening due to the weather!
Day 4 – Sunday August 22
Written by the Hungarian team 🇭🇺
We started the day with breakfast, giving everyone a chance to arrive, relax and prepare for the activities. After breakfast, we had the first energizer, the "Hi Ha Ho" game. It helped everyone wake up, get moving and prepare for the day while also requiring attention, quick reactions and interaction with others.
After the energizer, the participants had to design the front page of a newspaper about the storm in Lithuania. The main focus of the task was creativity and visual presentation rather than the amount or quality of the written text. Afterwards, everyone presented their newspaper front page and explained their ideas. This served as the first step of the following activity, focused on jumping much more into the fake news aspect
The next activity focused on analyzing news articles. While the news articles themselves weren't real, the participants had to look for possible mistakes, misleading information and signs that could help them decide whether the content was trustworthy. The activity encouraged critical thinking and raised awareness of the importance of checking information before trusting or sharing it. Participants learned important aspects of checking information, which ultimately could be boiled down to the following
Check the source
-verify if the website or publication is reputable. If yes, check WHO is funding it, who benefits from their opinions?
Bias and Agenda
- as above
Language and tone
- Sensationalist, overly emotional, or extreme language? Probably a red flag
Verify accompanying images
- is it using altered imagery? Is the image relevant to the news?
Check Official Sources
- if a claim involves government policies, check the official source also.
After the lunch break, we had another energizer. This time, speed was the main focus. The participants had to react to the instructions as quickly as possible, which required concentration, quick thinking and fast reactions.
After the energizer, the participants started preparing for the theatre activity. This theatre activity is to take place during our cultural trip in Vilnius based on 6 different prompts that participants in groups had to choose from. These are the following, number one which was not chosen.
Participants worked together, practiced their parts and prepared the scenes for the performance, including creation of different items that will be used the day after.
For cultural night, Romania did a presentation on Romania, with quizzes, dances and fed us yummy Romanian stuffed peppers as well as soup, and snacks such as Rom. Next stop, Vilnius!
Day 5 - Monday August 24
Written by the Polish team 🇵🇱
Trip day! The whole group of participants in Erasmus+ project took part in an excursion to Trakai, one of the most picturesque and historically significant places in Lithuania. The highlight of our visit was the famous 14th-century Gothic castle, beautifully situated on an island in Lake Galvė.
Due to our trip schedule, our visit focused on a scenic walk around the castle's outer fortification walls and along the island's shoreline. We had the opportunity to admire the impressive medieval architecture from the outside, which looks truly stunning surrounded by the calm waters of the lake, while enjoying the fresh air and natural landscape.
During the walk, we of course got our group photo which you can see below! Following that, we had some free time to take individual photos, explore the surrounding paths at our own pace, and relax.
Our next stop was the Vilnius Cathedral, where we were going to present five stories about the history and legends of Vilnius. It was a little bit windy, and some of the participants were shy about performing in front of strangers. Bobbie encouraged everyone to sit on the stone circle, and soon everybody had joined.
Based on the preparation from the day before the first story we presented was "Gediminas Hill: The View from the Top." Participants showed us the story of how Vilnius came to be. Long ago, people were wondering what should be built on the hill, and everyone had a different idea. At the end, a person from the future appeared and told them that this place would become the capital city of Lithuania – Vilnius. The performance ended with a big applause from the group.
The second story was "The Iron Wolf." Participants acted out the famous legend of Grand Duke Gediminas, who had a dream about an enormous iron wolf howling on a hill. The group had to decide what the dream could mean and what message the wolf was trying to send. Different interpretations made the story both funny and interesting.
After that, we presented "A City Is Born." This story took us back to the 14th century, when Gediminas invited craftsmen, merchants and other people from different parts of Europe to come and live and work in Lithuania. The participants had to imagine what it would be like to receive such an invitation and decide whether they would move to the new city. They also had to think about what they could bring to the growing Vilnius.
The fourth story was "Three Crosses Hill: Memory Cannot Be Destroyed." This performance focused on the history and memory connected with Three Crosses Hill. The participants acted as a group of young people who secretly continued meeting on the hill after the Three Crosses had been destroyed during the Soviet period. They had to decide whether they should protest, preserve their memories, and how they could keep the story alive even without the monument.
The final story we presented was "Cathedral Square: If This Square Could Talk." Participants imagined that the square itself could speak and tell stories about everything it had witnessed throughout the centuries. People from different historical periods met in the square and shared their memories. At the end, the square asked the group what they wanted their own generation to leave behind.
Performing the stories in the city made us look at Vilnius not only as a historical place, but also as a living stage. Even though some participants were nervous at first, everyone gradually became more involved and willing to perform. The activity allowed us to learn about Lithuanian history in a creative way, while also working together, improvising and interacting with people around us.
For the rest of the day, we visited all around Vilnius.
Vilnius turned out to be a city where history, literature and modern culture meet in a very natural way. The visit was an enjoyable cultural experience and an important part of the "Beyond School: The Missing Lesson" exchange, showing that valuable learning can also happen outside the classroom, and in today's case, outside the accommodation.
At night, we had the Austrian cultural night which was moved from Day 2 due to the electrical issues in the accommodation. Team Austria had a presentation and presented facts about Austrian traditions, food, a quiz, as well as teaching participants the Viennese Waltz, as well as the ever-popular Galopp.
Day 6 – Tuesday August 25
Written by the Romanian Team 🇷🇴
We started the day with breakfast, followed by an energizing game prepared by the Austrian team. It was based on an Austrian dance, and participants, laughed and had a great time together. It was a wonderful way to start the day and helped them feel more relaxed and connected with the other participants.
Until lunch, we took part in several hands-on STEM activities, called the Environmental Pentathlon. These mini-contest games were -
1- Building a tall tower: Participants had to build the tallest possible tower using cardboard, with a ping-pong ball placed on top. This activity developed creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, planning and engineering skills.
2- Paper challenge: The participants created different objects from paper, such as paper planes or crumpled paper balls, and tried to throw them towards a target. They developed fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, precision, creativity and adaptability.
3- Water filtration: We created a water filter using only materials collected from nature. This was one of our favorite activities because it was both challenging and very interesting. The children developed critical thinking, scientific observation, environmental awareness, problem-solving and teamwork skills.
4 - Floating paper clips: The participants had to carefully place paper clips in a large plastic cup filled with water and make them float. This activity encouraged patience, concentration, precision, observation and scientific thinking, based on the concept of buoyancy.
5 -Pizza-box boat - We built a boat using an empty pizza box, plastic straws and a balloon. The challenge was to make the boat float on the lake and move using the air from the balloon. This activity developed creativity, engineering skills, teamwork, problem-solving and an understanding of basic principles of buoyancy and propulsion. It was also a lot of fun!
Check out a video covering this activity in its entirety here!
After the lunch break, the Austrian team prepared a second energizing game, which brought lots of laughter and energy back into the group. The participants enjoyed moving together and interacting with the other participants.
After the energizer, we took part in the Identity Flower activity, which focused on the concept of self-identity. This is a particularly relevant topic, as while self-identity is not specifically addressed within formal education, it is during these same years that young people are actively developing and forming their identities.
Participants started by drawing a flower, with 8 pedals. On each pedal they write one term that is part of their identity. Then, here comes the hard part.
1st – to remove what they consider their most important identity
2nd – to pair up with someone, and they get to remove 2 parts of their identity.
The activity showed us how identity is something we attach to ourselves, yet it may not be something necessarily important to someone else. This is precisely what can lead to stereotyping, categorizing and harm, something, that everyone, will come across at some point.
As for the rest of the day, the reflective period starts. Each group started working on a short video about our entire Erasmus experience. The children had the opportunity to reflect on the activities and decide how they wanted to present their experience. This helped them develop communication, digital, creative and teamwork skills, as well as the ability to express their opinions and share their memories. This video making activity.
Check out the videos under Day 7, which was also when the watch party took place!
Overall, it was a very active and enjoyable day, combining STEM learning, creativity, teamwork, communication and intercultural interaction. The children were engaged throughout the activities and learned by experimenting, creating and working together.
At night, it was Polish team, after eating polish dinner of Kluski slaske, Mizeria and Szarlotka, the cultural night included a theatre play of an average Polish Christmas Dinner, a Presentation, Quizzes and of course Polish dance of Belgika.
Day 7 – Wednesday August 26
Written by the Austrian Team 🇦🇹
The last day of the project, which began with the final touches on the video editing, and ultimately the watch party!
Check out all of the videos created by each of the National Groups below!
Cyprus
Lithuania
Hungary
Poland
Romania
Austria
After the watch party, Bobbie went over every single opportunity we can take part in. This included youth exchanges, training courses, KA2 projects, the youth card, DiscoveryEU, and more.
Facilitator Nikolas followed up this activity by helping us prepare follow-ups, meaning what we will do after our return to our home countries, in order to not only disseminate our knowledge further, but to make changes in our local communities with said knowledge.
This was also when we received the youthpasses!
But the day wasn't over yet, as the night finished with Cyprus dinner and cultural night with koupepia souvlakia, rizogalo, gemista, and a night with presentations, dances and a farewell party!
