First meeting in Arad
A European journey into water, memory, and participation
In June 2025, the first Learning, Teaching, and Training Activity (LTTA) was hosted in Arad, Romania, by EIVA, hosting future ambassadors of the project in their first meeting. Over three days, the young participants took part in immersive, creative, and sensory workshops exploring the theme of water, its perception, and its management in our societies. This marked the beginning of the youth-led participatory research phase of the project.
Day 1: Getting to know each other differently
The LTTA started with a silent collective walk through the park, where each participant wore headphones and listened to a specially created podcast. In the recording, Furkan spoke about the Wateracy project, the meaning of water in our lives, its urgency in the current global context, and the importance of building a community around water literacy and care. He also included conversations with random people on the street, reflecting on their own relationships with water, knowledge gaps, and responsibilities.
It was a deep, thoughtful invitation for each person to reflect individually while walking together through the park, along the river, and in the middle of nature. A shared yet silent moment of connection with the purpose of the project. We ended the day by returning to the working space for a group debrief. Youth and facilitators gathered in a circle to share impressions from the podcast walk, what stayed with them, what surprised them, what moved them. Reflections touched on the emotional and symbolic connections to water, and the different ways it shows up in memory, identity, and everyday life. These shared insights were noted down and will help shape the participatory research tools we’ll be building together in the next phases.
DAY 2 – EXPLORING WATER WITH HANDS, HEART, AND SENSES
A rich and intense day, marked by collective and sensory activities reflecting on our relationship with
water. Collective creation with LEGO In small teams, participants built a model representing the future of water. It was an opportunity to imagine alternative worlds, question current practices, and bring out complementary visions from each country. Sensory workshops around three senses: Smell: identifying different types of water (river water, bleach, algae, tap water) Touch: blindfolded, feeling and connecting textures to memories (shells, ice, soil, coconut…) Sight: using goggles that limited their field of vision to
5%, teams had to choose water-related emergencies in just 20 seconds, each second representing a year.
A powerful activity that revealed, in the end, that we actually only know about 5% of water-related issues. The cards highlighted the complexity of these challenges: new species, pollution, resource distribution
Artistic water cycle By national delegation, teams painted the water cycle using only coffee grounds and
colorful paint. A creative activity that showcased cultural and contextual differences in how each
country understands water systems and access. Personal questionnaire To close the day, each participant completed a questionnaire about their daily water consumption, a moment of reflection to assess the impact of our habits and compare knowledge about water providers, costs, and hidden water use in different countries
DAY 3 – HOW TO ENGAGE AND RAISE AWARENESS?
In national teams, participants worked on methods to raise public awareness by: asking open questions (“Have you ever had trouble accessing water?”, “What is your personal relationship with water?”)
using a kind, non-judgmental approach developing suitable tools to collect testimonies and perceptions
They also worked on finalising the research questions and methodology that will be used in the next phase of the Wateracy project: a youth-led participatory research process, where each national group will collect stories, data, and perspectives on water justice in their local contexts. A heartfelt thank you to all participants, partners, and facilitators who contributed to this meaningful and engaging experience.
The Wateracy project is just getting started, and the journey continues!
