Follow Up France

Participants from France made 4 follow-up activities in person for disseminate the results of our youth exchange as follows: 

Activity 1: Tuesday, December 3, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM at Espace Sango, Perpignan.

The workshop featured Alla Yukhymchuk, who inspired attendees with her presentation on international mobility opportunities for youth. She shared her experience from a KA1 Youth Exchange program in Cyprus, held from November 1 to 9, 2024, focusing on communication skills and intercultural dialogue. I highlighted the impact of Erasmus+ programs, emphasizing personal growth, teamwork, and enhanced cultural understanding.

There were 23 young individuals who had already participated or want to join in international mobility programs, particularly in non-European countries, and who are currently undergoing reintegration training. The event was also open to other young people interested in volunteering, working, or participating in mobility opportunities abroad through Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps (ESC) funding.

Another part of the workshop was organized by Europe Direct, this session included interactive and educational activities about the European Union.

Activity 2: 16 of November in Narbonne

Alla Yukhymchuk delivered a presentation of the KA152-YOU youth exchange project results during the EuroPeers France event on 16 of November in Narbonne during Kick - Off Meeting. The presentation reached an audience of 39 attendees, including representatives from the French National Agency and youth facilitators. The duration was 20 min as part of sharing opportunities with others youth and inspie them take a part. With passion and expertise, she detailed how the project fostered emotional awareness, enhanced teamwork, and developed crucial life skills among participants. The presentation particularly resonated when discussing the French participants' experiences and their growth throughout the program. Alla's narrative effectively illustrated how non-formal education methods were employed to encourage innovative thinking and promote personal development among the young participants.

Activity 2: 16 of November in Narbonne

The event proved to be an excellent platform for showcasing the project's achievements while simultaneously inspiring other youth workers and organizations. By sharing these results within the EuroPeers network, the project's impact extended beyond its initial scope, contributing to the broader goals of youth empowerment and active participation in European initiatives. This dissemination effort not only fulfilled the project's formal requirements but also served as a bridge for future collaborations and youth mobility opportunities within the Erasmus+ framework.

Activity 3: November 25th, Paris 

On November 25th, three participants from Paris - Max, Loralie, and Elena - presented the outcomes of the E=MC² youth exchange project at an ESN (Erasmus Student Network) event in Paris. The trio shared their transformative experience from the Cyprus youth exchange with an enthusiastic audience of around 15 international students and ESN members. During their presentation, they highlighted the project's innovative approaches to youth empowerment and shared personal stories of growth and intercultural learning. Their engaging delivery included interactive elements from the non-formal education methods they experienced during the exchange, effectively demonstrating how Erasmus+ programs create meaningful opportunities for young people. The dissemination event, organized in partnership with ESN Paris, successfully connected with the student community and generated significant interest in future youth mobility initiatives.

Activity 4: November 26th, Toulouse

On November 26th, three participants from Toulouse - Alla Yukhymchuk, Juan Martinez, and Marisa Delgado - presented the outcomes of the E=MC² youth exchange project at an ESN (Erasmus Student Network) event in Toulouse. The trio shared their Cyprus experience with an engaged audience of international students and ESN members, highlighting how the youth exchange fostered cross-cultural understanding and personal development. Their presentation focused on practical examples of non-formal education activities from the project and demonstrated how such Erasmus+ opportunities can empower young people to become active European citizens. The dissemination event, organized in collaboration with ESN Toulouse, successfully reached a 20 students and sparked interest in future youth mobility opportunities.

Links on social media for online dissemination

Evaluation Paragraphs from participants

Sasha: The project "E=mc2" was very emotionally intense for me: from stress and tension to inspiration and a deeper understanding of myself. I learned more about my strengths and weaknesses in communication and realized that I have a lot of useful information to share with others. For example, organizing and conducting activities, engaging and facilitating project participants, mentoring, and developing deeper ideas based on values. In turn, my treasury of international exchange experience has been replenished with important insights: communication is a "master key" that is worth "carving". Our French team impressed me with its diversity and variety - I am sure that I have found good friends for many years to come.

Elena: My first experience with the Erasmus+ program was a personal success. Although there were challenging moments and occasional miscommunication—something that can arise in any situation—we learned to cooperate through active listening and a genuine willingness to understand one another. As a student living abroad, I find that programs like these mean so much more than just the project itself. They offer the opportunity to step into a completely different environment, surrounded by people from diverse backgrounds, sharing ideas, and learning to communicate across cultures. Ultimately, what was once unknown becomes known, and what felt unfamiliar becomes familiar. For me, that transformation was the most precious takeaway from the experience.

Evaluation Paragraphs from participants

Sasha: The project "E=mc2" was very emotionally intense for me: from stress and tension to inspiration and a deeper understanding of myself. I learned more about my strengths and weaknesses in communication and realized that I have a lot of useful information to share with others. For example, organizing and conducting activities, engaging and facilitating project participants, mentoring, and developing deeper ideas based on values. In turn, my treasury of international exchange experience has been replenished with important insights: communication is a "master key" that is worth "carving". Our French team impressed me with its diversity and variety - I am sure that I have found good friends for many years to come.

Elena: My first experience with the Erasmus+ program was a personal success. Although there were challenging moments and occasional miscommunication—something that can arise in any situation—we learned to cooperate through active listening and a genuine willingness to understand one another. As a student living abroad, I find that programs like these mean so much more than just the project itself. They offer the opportunity to step into a completely different environment, surrounded by people from diverse backgrounds, sharing ideas, and learning to communicate across cultures. Ultimately, what was once unknown becomes known, and what felt unfamiliar becomes familiar. For me, that transformation was the most precious takeaway from the experience.

Juan Carlos: My experience with the E=MC² project was intense, but worth every moment. As a Latino European, I faced plenty of miscommunication, but that became my greatest teacher. I learned that when people from different cultures come together, misunderstandings are bound to happen. What matters is how you deal with them. Sometimes, simple words led to confusion, and assumptions complicated things. But through active listening and a genuine effort to understand each other, we grew. I learned to see miscommunication as a bridge rather than a wall. The project taught me to adapt, be patient, and see things from a different angle. Living abroad isn't just about the work. It's about learning to connect, seeing the unknown as familiar, and turning cultural gaps into new ways to grow. For me, that's the real success I got thanks to these project.
Loralie: This last Eramus+ project was for me very different from all my others Erasmus experiences. That was the first time I experienced that much tension in such a short time but we eventually went through it with all the communication tools we got during this project. I think I am now more able to handle a stressful situation with a team and communicate correctly, be it in a speaking way or in an alternative way. But this project was also very meaningful to me because of everything I learnt and all the people I met, it was wonderful in a way. To put it simply we faced some miscommunication in the work side but we had amazing memories in the human side.
Maksym: Youth empowerment. What does it really mean? This project "E=mc²" showed me. It was a vibrant experience that highlighted the full spectrum of my emotional scale. From discussing things in our national teams to learning how to communicate without opening the mouth, the activities were plenty. I gathered several insights for me personally. The first one is that probably after all these youth exchanges and being in a role of participant, I would really like to evolve into a group leader, facilitator, or project author. It's much more enjoyable to inspire other people by showing them how you did it than walking the same path over and over again. If you're a participant with a lot of experience, probably your best contribution to such projects can be quiet inspiring instead of loud involvement in activities. Secondly, communication is really key. And, ironically, I learned this not during the activities but outside of them, when the actual, real-life communication was happening.
Thirdly, accepting criticism might become one of your biggest assets as an individual, organization, or group. However, people really can't take it and most of them are scared of developing their personalities. There's nothing without the price in this world. And something that you pay to grow as a better individual—you have to struggle first. "No pain, no gain", as they say. I was amazed by our team and by several other teams. How they handled communication and group dynamics was truly interesting to watch and to act inside the group! In conclusion, the project impacted me a lot from a personal point of view, I consider it as helpful for my personal development.

Alla: The pre-project communication was clear, though we could have used more structured national team meetings beforehand. The program's implementation was excellent, with a smart progression from icebreakers to complex communication workshops. The mix of theoretical and practical activities. Cultural evenings were definitely highlights of the exchange. For improvement, I would suggest:

  • More structured free time for informal cultural exchange
  • Better technical equipment for multimedia activities
  • More practical workshops on tips for communication tools
  • More engagement of leaders
  • Better communication/organisation between facilitators

This project has fundamentally changed my perspective on international communication/management and cultural understanding. The skills and connections gained will undoubtedly benefit my personal and professional development.

Mario: This program was something special to me. It was my first Erasmus program. I mean Erasmus + program. Back in the early 2000s I went to France in a whole-year erasmus exchange program. A sort of a "pionner". More than 20 years later, I could have seen the evolution of -to my- is one of the best success program of the European Union. Participating as a team leader thanks to the kind opportunity that Unity Echo gave to me allowed me to live an experience that reminded me of what once changed my life. Two decades having passed, I confirmed that could use my developed skills during my working experience as a facilitator, project manager and team leader in a very special context and I am proud to say that it changed my life again and that the ERASMUS+ program adventure "ne fait que commencer"...

Marisa: No Erasmus+ experience can leave us indifferent or be negative, because the richness of exchanges and human relationships always stays with us long after we have returned home. I am happy to have met so many beautiful people whose strong memories I will have for a long time. And I am delighted to have discovered this magnificent island and to have been able to enjoy this late summer and the sea. The accommodation was amazing. But the project itself was tiring and stressful. There was very little free time, especially for the group leaders. I slept very little. And we had too much homework before and after mobility. During the exchange, the general schedule was too busy, and the collective rules were a little too authoritarian and not very flexible. Some activities were interesting but others were not well implemented and even if the initial idea could be interesting, the result was not good. In general, I would have preferred that there be not so many activities, but better managed and really developed. At the beginning the organization team was very closed to all suggestions or remarks from the group leaders; but in the second half of the exchange it seemed to me that some suggestions and requests were more taken into account, and I think that is a very positive point. The most negative point for me is that I suffered from the bad human management of our national team UnityEcho. It was a source of conflict and spoiled a large part of the benefits for many of us.