This project included 2 mobilities, one in Arad, Romania and one in Reunion Island, each of them during 9 days, including 2 days’ travel, enabled 17 young people from Réunion and 12 young Romanians to take part in an immersive intercultural experience, focusing on social inclusion and integration and European citizenship.

The young Reunionese, aged between 14 and 16, are part of a support programme run by the Saint-Benoît town council to help young people find their place in the education system. The 12 young Romanians, aged 15 to 17, come from the Ghiba Birta national high school in Arad. These two groups, from different backgrounds, were able to share their experiences and discuss their perspectives, thus contributing to the development of intercultural skills.

The aims of the proejct were to :

To develop collaboration between organisations in order to improve their capacity to offer non-formal education programmes adapted to the needs of young people on a European scale.

The activities, which are mainly based on non-formal education methods, have been designed to create an open and stimulating learning environment, conducive to self-expression. personal expression. By exploring themes such as European identity, active citizenship and social inclusion, the young people had the opportunity to develop their sense of belonging to a European community and to reflect on contemporary social issues affecting their generation.

The activities took place in the Lunca Mureșului Nature Park, a natural area rich in biodiversity and landscapes, providing an ideal setting for outdoor learning. Located near the River Mureș, the park is a site for the protection of local flora and fauna and hosts educational activities on the environment, which has also helped to highlight the ecological aspects of the region. The meals, provided by a local caterer, were delivered daily to the activity site, ensuring a practical service adapted to the organisation of the days. adapted to the organisation of the days. A team of guides was put in place to accompany the young people throughout their stay.

Thierry Chaffre and Mickael Bertille, representatives of Saint-Benoît town council, and Stéphanie Siente-Icaze, activity leader at the Centre Jacques Tessier. Tessier. On the Romanian side, the youngsters were supervised by Laura Putnic, headmistress of the Lycée Nicoleta Giurgiu, English teacher, and by the EIVA activity leaders,

Cristian Babutau, Roxana Borbilau, Sibel Ulucay and Anjely Devillier, who were responsible for leading the activities and monitoring the young people. This Erasmus+ project is part of an approach aimed at reducing the marginalisation of young people and encouraging their civic participation. The use of digital tools and storytelling methods facilitated young people’s expression on complex issues, helping them to formulate and share their opinions on current societal challenges. The project partners hope that this experience will have a lasting impact on the young participants, as well as on the communities and organisations involved, by strengthening their capacity to deliver inclusive and meaningful education programmes.

In January 2025, it was the turn of the Romanian students to go to Reunion Island, for the second part of the project. They stayed for 10 days on this Island on the other side of the world

They talk about the project in the News of Arad :

Through a youth exchange between France, Croatia and Romania, 30 young people gathered together to learn about environmental awareness and how to develop pro-environmental habits and produce a change in their communities. It focused on maximising the good impacts humans have on nature and inspired others to develop environmental awareness through cinema.

Take a look to the 5 shorts movies produce by the young people of the project. They created the movies in 2 days.

About the short movie:

In a world dominated by anxiety and the relentless pursuit of instant gratification, “Take a Deep Breath” delves into the profound impact of two divergent lifestyles through the lens of experimental filmmaking.

This metaphorical journey serves as a poignant lesson, prompting viewers to reassess their lives and discover a harmonious equilibrium between the chaos of modern living and the serenity found in connecting with nature. Conclusion: A Lesson in Balance As the two parallel lifestyles coalesce, the second inspires the first to contemplate a transformative lifestyle change.

Credits:

Anjely Devillier

Roxana Borbilau

Florine Becue

Romain Bourdon

Iris Matokic

About the short movie:

IIn an era where overconsumption and overproduction reign over the world, this short film presents a post-apocalyptic vision of what would happen to the earth after all of this. In a poetic text, it is the earth that addresses us with a final message. Long, overlaid, black-and-white shots depict scenes where life no longer exists, except for the last shot, where birds, perhaps the symbol of innocence itself, are seen, far from human foolishness.

Credits:

Victor Stana

Sarah Michelin

Zoe Coutout

Luka Eric

Joe Vercambre

About the short movie:

Gaia is a young woman who is fond of clothes and taking care of herself. She loves designer garments and often goes shopping to buy a whole new wardrobe. More recently she has discovered online shopping which allows her to buy even more clothes… But at what cost?

Credits:

Augustin Francois

Andrea Costiniuc

Nadia Nadim

Anastasia Aksakova

Lorine Darcq

About the short movie:
Humanity is fighting to survive in this near future where plastic waste has been out of control, turning the world into darkness.

Credits:

Ugo Saveant

Klara Skaric

Stacy Laroche Bessey

Andrea Gulic

Erin Caubit

About the short movie:

The film “The true cost” is an illustration of two classic types of behaviour when it comes to fast fashion. The film is divided into two main parts:

The first part shows the differences between excessive and compulsive shopping, in the hope of keeping up with fashion trends, and sustainable shopping, where quality takes precedence over quantity. The differences can be seen in terms of where the characters do their shopping, their own style of dress and their general habits of keeping clothes.

The second and final part of the film shifts the focus from the micro to the macro, bombarding the audience with the consequences of fast fashion: excessive pollution of the planet. A plea is also made to the audience to limit their purchases just from trying to keep up with the already accelerating trends and to understand that change starts at the individual level.

Afterwards, those small individual changes we all make will make a difference.

Credits:

Adina Buhum

Josipa Kupres

Nicoleta Bibart

Liviu Murgoi

Marko Andrijic

Dealing with such a serious subject could be tough, but the fact that we were able to use our creativity to produce a short movie on this topic, was just an amazing experience.

I do feel that this intense week was an overall success for all the participants, and as a Youth Leader, I could see the benefits that such projects can have on individuals

Stacie Laroche Bessey