EU.R.E.K.A. – EU Resilience Embedded in Knowledge of mutual Acceptance

In the year 1957, the Treaty of Rome, one of the basic documents of the European Union, was signed and in the following one came into force. Thus in the year 2018 we will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of European Economic Community, the predecessor of the EU. In that respect, we would like to sensitize the young people about the European integration process and benefits, but also problems, the EU membership has. To do so, we chose a method of a play with puppets created from recycled materials. This way ensures us that the participants of the youth exchange will become more aware about the environmental protection and the need of recycling, but also will enable to boost the participants’ creativity by creating the puppets and presentation skills by delivering the play for the local people and students of high schools in Istria. Last, but not least, we plan to include partners from both old member states, new member states and also from candidate states aspiring to become members of the EU. This will give us and the participants a unique opportunity to strengthen mutual ties, understanding and cultural exchange with peers from all around Europe. The aim of having such a diverse group is to find common issues that all countries encounter, but also to point out the different perspectives on other issues. Having a group from such diverse backgrounds will give the participants a challenging, albeit rewarding chance to exchange ideas and find compromises where the opinions differ.
To sum up, the EUREKA youth exchange program design is based on four main goals: 1) Sensitizing about EU integration, institutions, enlargement process and benefits of the EU membership in the light of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome; 2) Spreading awareness about the environmental protection and recycling; 3) Boosting creativity, presentation skills and self-confidence of the participants; 4) Providing a platform for cultural exchange and dialogue among young people from different countries and backgrounds, enabling them to become active open-minded citizens of the EU.

We aim to include 4 young people plus a group leader from 4 European countries. Preferably, one of the founding members of the EU, one from the Western European states that acceded to the EU prior the end of the Cold War, one country from the “new members” that entered the EU in 2004 / 2007, and finally one country that is currently aspiring on the EU membership. The youth exchange will take place for 10 days in the village of Brtonigla, situated in the Istrian peninsula in Croatia.