Implementation

In this page you can find a brief description of our project day by day.

Day 1 - Saturday November 2

Written by the Facilitators team! The first day of the project!

After an introduction by the president of our hosting organization, Nikolas Nikolaou telling us the rules, we then met the 3 facilitators of the project.

Rana Al Ghadban, a Lebanese 22-year old girl who is the writer of this project

Erma Georgiou, a Cypriot girl from Limassol, the city we will visit on our cultural trip!

Boghos Avetikian, an Armenian Cypriot short king from Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus.

We started our activities outside by simple warm up activities and stretching! It was a great way to start the day. Afterwards, dipping already into the topic, non-verbally we attempted to make a line depending on certain factors. The first was height, easy!

The second was by age, which was rather difficult considering many were the same age, and we had to think of the month and date. The third was shoe size and finally, our name, alphabetically.

Since the weather was nice, we stayed outside for a hangman name game. For this, we put duct tape on ourselves, and made underscores for the amount of letters for our name. For example Bobbie would be _ _ _ _ _ _ !

We fished for letters from each other, we could only get one and give only one.

Lastly, we had a portrait drawing game, where we passed around a paper with the shape of our face, and every time the music stopped, we filled in a different part of the body, such as one eye, an ear or the mouth!

After coffee break, we did the contributions, expectations and challenges backpack. We thought and wrote down what we brought to our project, what we expect from it, and challenges we may face.

In the afternoon, we were in the square of Pissouri, the village we are being hosted in for a treasure hunt. In mixed groups, we were given a task list, and explored Pissouri, solving riddles and answering them by taking answers, one of them even revolved around looking for the office of ACPELIA, the hosting organization. Didn't work out so well though because of the rain! So we came back to the hotel earlier, for reflection and some rest, preparing for the next day.

Day 2 - Sunday November 3

Written by the Lithuanian team!

We started the day with a Top 10 game, where the question was the top 10 countries by size! The Lithuanian team managed to get all 10! Afterwards we began the day with a bit of energy, as the Armenian team was leading the energizer that set a positive tone for the day. We then explored the 8 key competencies and engaged in some meaningful discussions and mini-activities. At each station, there were mini-tasks that focused on each activity. Some teams managed to get all 8 competency stamps, while others didn't.

Bobbie then explained the importance of the Youthpass, non-formal education, and how these competencies are used. Right after the coffee break, Rana introduced us to the topic of the youth exchange, with a mini-game about communication. She asked us to draw, without giving clear instructions. She asked to draw certain shapes. In the second round, she gave the same instructions, with more detail. Turns out, all the shapes created a house! She focused on the importance of communication, clarity and most importantly interpretation.

Then, we had a guest, Stathia, who engaged us in music-based communication activities. This allowed us to showcase our creativity and teamwork, as well as the concept of communicating non-verbally. After lunch break. Erma introduced us to concepts of active listening, which brought us closer together as a group. This was because we were put in pairs, and were forced to not ask questions, up until the 10 min time limit, and then be able to respond.

After this activity, we played a small minigame focusing on passing information forward. Called the SHS activity (shoulder head shoulder), in a line, we tapped certain parts of either shoulder and the head, in order to denote a number. It was interesting to see where the chain kept getting lost! After the evening coffee break, we did an activity called "Draw my Life" where we focused on understanding certain milestones of our lives. We ended our day with Lithuania's and Poland's intercultural night! It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about other cultures.

Day 3 - Monday November 4

Written by the Polish Team!

We got up early in the morning, then had a delicious breakfast. While improving our communication skills, we played, among other things, Directions and Directions. Another activity - "3 monkeys" - allowed us to empathize with people with disabilities (blind, deaf, mute) - it turned out that despite limited speech, hearing and sight capabilities, interpersonal communication is possible.

Next, after coffee break, we decorated Mona Lisa as if she was born in our countries - so we learned how the perspective with which we see the same thing changes. As usual, we worked in international mixed groups and thanks to this we could get to know each other better - language skills were not a barrier for us.

During the after-dinner activities, we presented scenes from the game "being in your shoes", during which all groups showed great creativity: everyone put themselves in the place of the person they drew. Thanks to this game we could see what possibilities each of us has and what difficulties they have. All energizers led by the French group ("hi ha hu", "shuba") perfectly integrated the project participants - working in subgroups, we trained our reflexes, stimulated our bodies and minds to action. At the cultural evening, the French, Macedonian and Armenian groups presented their countries. We learned a lot about these countries thanks to the quizzes they prepared. We also tasted wonderful delicious food from each of these countries. At the end, we danced traditional Armenian and Macedonian dances.

Day 4 – Tuesday November 5

For the 4th Day of the project, we went to Ancient Kourion, an ancient Greek theatre in the province of Limassol, right afterwards we visited the city of Limassol.

In the city of Limassol, we were given also three tasks. These weRE

To take 4 different photos that communicate a concept and turn into a collage.
To take a video or photo of people engaging in communication, gotta check out how the Cypriots communicate, tends to look like an argument from the outside!
Individually, to take a photo in the city, that communicate the emotions that we are currently feeling.

You can see some of the examples below!

Day 5 - Wednesday - November 6

Written by the Romanian Team!

Morning Activities:

Top 10 Activity to Earn Points: Participants engaged in an exciting challenge aimed at earning extra points for punctuality, encouraging everyone to be on time for activities. This added a competitive yet motivating element to the day.
Energizer - Polish Dances: To start the morning with energy and cultural appreciation, we introduced a Polish dance as an energizer. This fun activity boosted our spirits and encouraged interaction among participants.
Video Screenings: We watched two informative videos, covering the topics "What is Stress" and "Miscommunication." These videos set the tone for our discussions on stress and communication in both personal and team contexts.
Coffee Station Discussion Topics: Our coffee station became a platform for a deep dive into stress management, with participants discussing:

Common sources of stress in daily life.
How stress impacts individual and team performance.
Personal strategies for managing stress effectively.
The importance of communication in minimizing stress within a team.
Ways we can support each other when someone is experiencing stress.
Recognizing signs of stress in teammates.

Mandala Drawing: As a creative and relaxing activity, participants drew mandalas, allowing for a moment of mindfulness and a break from structured activities. This exercise encouraged self-expression and reflection.

Afternoon Activities:

Riddles for Points: Another opportunity to earn points through riddles sparked curiosity and engagement. This activity reinforced the importance of punctuality and quick thinking in a playful way.
Energizer - Macarena Dance: We energized the group again with a dance session featuring the iconic "Macarena" and another fun dance, adding laughter and movement to the day's agenda.
The House Metaphor: Participants explored the "House Metaphor," a reflection tool where they envisioned different parts of a house representing various aspects of teamwork and personal growth. This activity fostered a deeper understanding of collaboration.
Homework Presentations: Each country group presented their pre-project homework, sharing insights and preparations. This showcased diverse perspectives and set the stage for our upcoming collaborative efforts.
Intercultural Night: The evening concluded with an Intercultural Night featuring a rich array of traditions. We experienced a traditional Romanian wedding, a Lebanese cultural presentation, and a Cypriot wedding celebration. The night highlighted the beauty of cultural diversity and allowed participants to immerse themselves in each other's customs.

Day 6 - Thursday November 7

Written by Cyprus team🇨🇾

Today marked the seventh day of our project, and it was one of the most engaging yet. We kicked things off as usual with the game of "Top 10". From there, we moved into an energizer activity organized by our wonderful Romanian teammates, which really helped everyone get into the spirit.

The first main activity involved splitting into two groups. Each member from Group 1 picked a number from a jar, and the corresponding member from Group 2 would draw the same number, pairing us up for debates. The format was simple: two chairs were set up at the front, and each pair was given a topic, such as "city life vs. country life." One person would argue for city life, and the other would advocate for country life. Our group leaders observed each debate and chose the winner based on the strength of our arguments. It was an exciting exercise that pushed us out of our comfort zones, encouraged us to hear new perspectives, and helped us connect more deeply with one another.

After a quick coffee break, we returned for our next activity, titled the "Sale Game." We split into teams and were challenged to design a hilariously bad product. Once each team presented their terrible creation, we swapped products with another team. Our new task was to create an advertisement for the other team's product, performing a short skit to sell it.

After lunch, we received our final task of the day: creating a video to capture our journey so far, highlighting what we've learned and presenting statistics related to the project's theme, which is communication. We're still working on our videos, preparing to share them in tomorrow's presentation.

All in all, today was one of the best days of the project, filled with creativity, laughter, and meaningful connections.

Link for the Video: https://emc25.webnode.page/promotion-videos/

Day 7 - Friday November 8

Written by North Macedonia Team

The last day of the project! The day began with a watch party of all the videos each national group made. It was fascinating to see how the concept of miscommunication and communication was presented by each group. Some were dramatic, some were comedic, but most importantly of all, they were all entertaining and educational. Right after this, Bobbie did a session called Erasmus+ Opportunities. Here, Bobbie spoke about all the different opportunities erasmus offers, such as training courses, Erasmus Mundus, ESC, DiscoveryEU and more! Right after that, we went to do a whole evaluation of the project, as well as the Youthpass ceremony! We also celebrated Stephani's birthday! Lastly, we found out about our responsibilities for the follow-up activities, and had a farewell party!