Close-Up 2: Culture Since Rome (in Portugal)

Another international project were Asociația Babilon Travel NGO, as partner organisation, is sending bling youngsters, as participants.

Main themes of the Youth Exchange “Close Up 2, Culture Since Rome” are European citizenship and cultural diversity. The project promotes and disseminates the best practices in youth work and non-formal education, as well as empower youngsters skills, self-awareness and cultural understanding.

Close Up 2 aims to join youngsters and youth workers in a process of reflection about the different cultural and social aspects in Europe, through a evolutionary perspective since the Roman empire.

Intolerance is a symptom of the cultural issues in Europe and discrimination is the reflex of the non-acceptance of diversity.

The inter-cultural dialogue, during the project, will fight the intolerance and the lack of knowledge of the “other”. This actions are not only inherent in the thematic of the project but, in a transversal and global way, will help youngsters to build themselves in a peaceful and open minded conscience.

Close-Up 2 is developed within a local partnership of a public school (Escola D. Manuel I- Agrupamento de Escolas nº2 de Beja) and local NGOs. It will involve the participation on the Roman Fair Market and the parade that will take place in the city during the city holiday celebrations.

Objectives:

• Promote solidarity and tolerance – through a multicultural group that creates the atmosphere to share cultures supported on acceptance;
• Promote active citizenship – through cultural awareness make youngsters more committed and active in society, family and promote European suffrage participation;
• Promote mutual understanding between young people – by promoting the meeting, communication and acceptance of different cultures and cultural backgrounds and including young people with special needs / fewer opportunities in a different linguistic environment (where they can get in touch with Portuguese language);
• Empower and develop systems to support youth activities – by promoting the innovative thinking, creativity, entrepreneurship and employability.

The youth exchange will take place in Beja, in Portugal, between May 16-24, 2016, during the Roman Fair Market. The 33 articipants will come from: Romania, Portugal, Hungary, Estonia, The Netherlands and Poland. They will be between 18 and 25 years old (with exception of the group leaders which should be more than 18 but don’t have upper age limit), coming 5 (4 participants + 1 group leader) per country plus 2 facilitators from Portugal and 1 support staff member from Romania and another from Portugal. 2 of the participants, from the Romanian team, are blind and one is visually impaired.

Board, lodging and program costs will be covered by the Erasmus+ programme. Travel costs will be reimbursed up to a limit established by the programme.

Partners to the project:

• Autonomia e Descoberta, Portugal;
• Asociația Babilon Travel, Romania;
• Continuous Action, Estonia;
• Magyar Őnkenteskűldő Alapitvány, Hungary;
• Regionalne Centrum Wolontariatu, Poland;
• The Exchangeables, The Netherlands.