Stepping Forward • Youth Exchange • January 21 – 30 • Városlőd, Hungary

“Stepping Forward” was an Erasmus + Youth Exchange project focusing on the topic of Social Entrepreneurship.

Dates: January 21 – 30, 2023

Place: Varoslod, Hungary

Participating countries: Georgia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Hungary.

Project Description

In the picturesque Hungarian town of Varoslod, young people from Georgia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Hungary gathered to discuss a common vision of the future, exchange experiences and talk about the traditions of their own country.

Erasmus+, a student exchange program that provides an opportunity to study, undergo a project in another country participating in the program, or attend short-term youth exchanges, where young people from different countries share their experience in a certain topic, using the principles of non-formal education.

Despite the fact that the event took place over 9 days, the preparation began long before that.

Balaz, one of the organizers, says that the biggest challenge was to get funding.

«It was quite difficult due to covid and the economic crisis. Besides, I was very busy and it was problematic for me to find time. I had a lot of learning experiences here; we had a lot of fun but I feel like it was useful for people, because I can see some people arrived very shy and now they are talkactive, open so I feel like my mission was completed as a orgiziner and I hope I will see you all», — he adds.

The main topic touched upon was social entrepreneurship. This is an entrepreneurial activity designed to solve social problems and meet the needs of society. We can say that social entrepreneurship is a unique opportunity to combine a social mission with the desire to earn money, provide certain services and sell goods. During the week, the participants attended trainings, immersed themselves in the topic of entrepreneurship, did practical tasks and even created their own projects.

«In Hungray it is undeveloped topic. It was locally in need in our country and other countries too», — says Balaz.

One of the most interesting moments of the exchange are the cultural evenings of each of the participating countries. Participants could study the culture and history of countries, dance national dances, sing traditional songs, taste national cuisine. Such youth exchanges are a great opportunity to gain international experience, find friends from all over the world, creatively present your country, practice English, travel and just have fun.

The participants of the “Stepping forward” exchange shared their experience with us:

First of all, I want to say that I’m greatful for the possibility of being here. Talking about the experience I gained here I found out information about social enterepreneurship and the most important thing- we have a great time together” – Polina from Ukraine

“It was very interesting to meet people from the different sides of the world and I barely get the chance to do that. This kind of projects are really valuable for a young person because you can broaden your horizon and see what the world is like” – Juste from Lithuania

“I think Erasmus is a really huge opportunity for everyone I’m just regreting that this is not my 10^th time; I just would like to go more and more, because you can met the best people here” – Kinga from Hungary

“I really enjoyed the most late night talks when we had opportunity to share our culture and feelings with others and these night talks was the best part of the project for me” – Lukasi from Georgia

Remember that opportunities are always nearby. Each of us can change the world for the better. As you can see all of stepped forward.