KA1 UNIYOUTH

“United We Stand, European Youth for Tolerance” (UNIYOUTH) is a youth exchange project organized by MAD for Europe to give young people the opportunity to develop an issue about the interests and real needs of all, despite of their origin, tolerance as personal development and knowledge of diversity, to different people by race, religion, culture or sexual orientation, to break the barriers between humans, especially in this era of change.

The exchange began on April 22 of 2018 and was in the city of Madrid (thee APV was held in March). The main objectives of our project are closely related to the Erasmus + Youth 2017 priorities towards the young victims of marginalization.

Most of the activities were realized outdoors, in open spaces like the Parque del Retiro, Templo de Debod or the city centre. During these activities, participants not only worked in groups, but they also had to involve the local citizens.

Partners:

-Spain – MAD for Europe

-Croatia – EKONOMSKO-TURISTIČKA ŠKOLA

-Italy – Enjoy Life

-Poland – Zespol Szkol Zawodowych nr 1im. Komisji Edukacji Narodowej (ZSZ nr 1)

-Lithuania – Kauno taikomosios dail6s mokykla KTDW

-Sweden – Eu Diaspora Council

-France – PARCOURS LE MONDE GRAND OUEST

-Turkey – Arpaçbahşiş Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi

TARGET GROUP: Young people between 16 and 28 years old.

Activities:

ENERGIZES

The first days of the project, the French group was in charge of organizing “ice-breaker” games so that the participants could get to know each other better and have more confidence with each other. Some of the games they did were to say their names up, put themselves in order depending on age or write the names on a piece of paper and try to find out who it belonged to.

“BE POSITIVE”

Juego del Foco. All the participants created a great circle, and each of them presented himself in the middle of the circle. By groups, they chose three positive qualities for each participant, which was written on a poster and posted in Hall Hall. This activity lasted three days, 16 people every day.(Meeting room of Hostal Las Musas)

“A WALK-THROUGH TOLERANCE”

The 48 participants made a tour of the city together. During the tour, we stopped at different places in Madrid, knowing the history and culture of the monuments and palaces of the city, which are related to tolerance. In each of them, a group composed of 4 participants, imitated specific monuments they saw referring to tolerance. All the photos were uploaded to the Facebook page of the project. (Downtown of the city of Madrid, 120 minutes)

“CITIZENSHIP AND REFUGEES, AN INTERVIEW FOR TOLERANCE”

The participants were divided into teams of 6, and each was made up of people from different countries. In each team, there was a person from Spain to be able to translate. The participants interviewed the citizens of the city: the objective of this activity was to try to understand their opinion about the refugees; how much do they know about the status and rights of refugees; what tools and policies do citizens think should be implemented to address this problem? They recorded the interviews and taught them later.(City of Madrid, 90 minutes)

“PHOTO CONTEXT: CAPTURING RESPECT”

The participants gathered in teams of two and made photographs of Madrid that represented tolerance and religion. To do so, they captured images of people, monuments, everyday events / situations … In the end, each group uploaded their photos to the Facebook page, and on the last day, we showed the best photos and gave them prizes. Each group presented their best photo, explained the background, motivation and their connection to tolerance and religion to all other participants acted as an exhibition audience. (Latin Quarter / Tirso de Molina)

“BUILDING DIVERSITY: THE COLORS OF EQUALITY”

In this activity, the participants were divided into teams and created a poster that defined the project: they were expressed using different colours to “draw” and visualize tolerance. The drawing helps to encourage creativity and expressiveness based on the colours of the LGBT flag. At the end of the activity, all the posters were shown (in the form of a circle to be able to create a final logo afterwards), and the participants themselves chose the winner.(Temple of Debod)

“FOLLOW THE PATH: STRENGTH LIES IN UNITY”

Gymkhana in Retiro Park: This activity focused on topics such as diversity, tolerance and culture. The participants were divided into different groups, each composed of one member from each country. They learned to orient themselves and carry out activities with a map of the Retiro Park where the different tracks were. On the last day, a prize was given to the group that finished earlier with all the right questions and tests. (Parque del Retiro)

“UNDERSTAND, MEDITATE, ACT”

This activity made the participants reflect on intolerance. They all sat in a circle and listened to the testimonies of three people who have been involved in episodes of intolerance, for example there was a testimony of a boy who suffered harassment in the network. The participants listened, understood and meditated on the violence, as well as asking questions to the speakers and sharing their ideas and opinions. It served to open the eyes to young people who did not know this type of crime that also exists in the digital world. (Hostal Las Musas)

“BUILDING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH CINEMA”

In this activity, the film “Billy Elliot” was screened, a work in which the protagonist is subject to intimidation because he wants to practice ballet, an activity commonly perceived as “feminine”. The objective was to see an example of a film in which the themes of tolerance and respect will be represented. (Hostal Las Musas, 120 minutes)

“FINAL EVENT: DANCING FOR FREEDOM. FLASHMOB”

During the exchange, participants learned and were rehearsing a choreography. On the last day, they performed a show at Playa Mayor, an open space in Madrid. In the centre of the square, they began to dance one by one, progressively, until the end, they all danced together. The objective of this activity was to spread the message of Youth Exchange to citizens, spreading understanding and the importance of respect and tolerance. Those who were in the square could see how everyone danced for this cause, and even some joined the dance. After this activity, in the afternoon, a participant from each country went to a local radio station of Madrid City Council, and they did an interview about the project. (Plaza Mayor)