Tommaso's experience in Bulgaria

At the beginning of last June, three other young people and I participated in a youth exchange in Kranevo, near Varna, Bulgaria, focused on different forms of communication, titled “Communication Change Communities.”

This exchange gave us the opportunity to interact directly with numerous other young people from both EU countries and partner countries, specifically from Turkey, Georgia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria.

During this exchange, we were able not only to develop, through various playful-educational activities and training games, non-formal skills related to different forms of communication (formal/informal, verbal and non-verbal), but also had the privilege to particularly strengthen three of the key competences that the European Commission identified as central for the 2014-2020 period:

1. Communication in the mother tongue

2. Communication in foreign languages

3. Intercultural dialogue

The development of the latter was made possible not only thanks to the group cohesion that formed immediately, after the first evening of ice-breakers and name games, but also thanks to the three intercultural evenings held during the project. Through tasting typical foods and drinks from the participating countries, participating in group quiz games with prizes, and enjoying traditional songs and dances, we were able to fully immerse ourselves in the traditions and folklore that make Europe so unique, admirable, and astonishing in the wider global context!

If you want to step out of your comfort zone, practice an essential language like English, meet young people from all over Europe, and develop non-formal skills increasingly sought after by employers, all you have to do is participate in one of these youth exchanges. At the end of it, you will also receive the famous Youthpass, the only certification currently issued by the European Commission, which certifies not only your participation in such a unique experience but also the acquisition/improvement of the eight key competences established as essential objectives for this period, which is now coming to a close!

​Tommaso Rossi