You are standing in the kitchen, getting ready to present your cuisine to newly made international friends. You look around to realize that there are conversations going on in 10 different languages right now, you are hearing them all at once, understanding only a few words – “grazie” ; “bitte” ; “great”. Stories, traditions, culture and food are brought together from all over the world. That is an average day from “Metropolis 2026” which unites young people from 10 different countries in Wiesbaden, Germany. The project is full of cultural diversity, giving the participants the chance to create valuable international bonds and understand different cultures deeper.
Moreover, participants are merged through art, to which the whole project is devoted to. Split up in different workshop groups, people are doing photography, videography, theatre and wire art. At the end of the project, a show is organised at Arco’s (the host organization) space. The theatre group has a performance, the photography and the wire art group are doing an exhibition, the video group is presenting videos they created during this week. Creative work is helping the participants explore their talents and abilities and find inspiration for self expression. That is the sole purpose of the workshops – give young people the technical skills they need for free self expression.
The third detail that makes the project bigger than just an exchange week, is its location. The participants spend 10 days in nature, in tents, at a campsite called “Jugendnaturzeltplatz”. This space is where you can hear the birds chirping in the morning, linger in the sun, and see the night sky full of stars, with minimal light pollution. Being close to nature creates a kind of comfort that encourages participants to connect with each other, with nature, and with art. With cultural diversity, art, and nature combined a powerful project for the youth is created.
The project consists of five Georgian participants, out of which three, including myself, ended up at the project through Model United Nations. We participated in a MUN session by the Georgian Future Diplomats Association (GFDA), winners of which were awarded to be the participants of “Metropolis 2026”. Model United Nations is a simulation project, where delegates are adapting to different roles, engaging in diplomatic discussions around different subjects.
Camping is a big addition to developing important skills in participants. They have to clean and organize their own spaces and take upon kitchen and cleaning duties based on a prior made schedule. A lot of attention is devoted to minimizing and sorting waste in the right manner. Young people approach these topics with a lot of care and responsibility, which leads to influential results. Going back home after the projects, participants have a new drive and skills for changing their everyday lives for the better, step by step.
“Metropolis 2026” is an Erasmus+ project, meaning travel, accommodation, and food costs are covered. Even more, participants receive a Youthpass certificate after completing the exchange. Youthpass certificate is a document for Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. It highlights the skillfulness and the youth work of the participant. Youthpass focuses on the EU framework of eight key competences for lifelong learning: Literacy competence, Multilingual competence, Mathematical competence and competence in science, technology, and engineering, Digital competence, Personal, social and learning to learn competence, Citizenship competence, Entrepreneurship competence, Cultural awareness and expression competence. Participants are working on all of these competences, proportional to the goal of the project.
The project creates a friendly, creative, critical, and progressive environment for young people around the world. You could be next!
