In the second half of 2017, HEureka Generator was partner of the project entitled 'We, Entrepreneurs'. The authors of the project were our Lithuanian partners from the EuroHugs organization. Apart from our two organizations, Urbana mladez from Croatia, Walk Together from Bulgaria, Latvijas Jauniešu Attīstības Centrs from Latvia and Associazione Culturale JumpIn from Italy also took part in it.

The aim of the project was to create opportunities for participants to develop their skills in frames of topic of entrepreneurship.

The main activity in the project was to take place in the picturesque town of Trakai, 28 km from Vilnius, where the biggest attraction is the castle from the 14th century located on the Galve lake.

We decided to involve young people from our two partner schools from Krasnystaw: W. Jagiełło Secondary School and C.K. Norwid Secondary School. Ms Monika Kwiecień, who is our contact teacher at the W. Jagiełło Secondary School was a group leader. She previously participated in a seminar for youth workers, which prepared her for active participation in youth projects.

According to the structure of the project, the group leader was to take care of 7 participants. The youth exchange was supposed to start in December, but before that, the group had to prepare for departure. For this, a preparatory meeting was also held. Polish participants learned about their duties during the exchange, their rights and the place where the meeting was to take place. Formalities related to insurance and transport logistics were also discussed.

On December 1, early in the morning, the group set off to Trakai near Vilnius. More than 10-hours long journey in a rented minibus passed without problems and finally the participants could get off in front of the venue where they were to spend the next 10 days.

To break the ice and learn the names of everyone in the international group, the participants first took part in integration games and team building activities.

Then it was possible to move on to the activities related to the main topic. One of the tasks of the Polish group was to present in any form they want what problems young entrepreneurs may face in Poland. The participants decided to present their reflection with the help of theatrical methods.

The next step was to present inspiring examples related to entrepreneurship of young people in Poland. Our group talked about the fashion platform 'Showroom', about the company 'Phenicoptere', which offers innovative make-up removal gloves 'Glov', about the technological startup 'Social WiFi', about the professional tool for monitoring the Internet and social media 'Brand24' and 'I like it' agency, which is one of the first social media agencies in Poland.

Polish participants were active in international groups, which allowed them to practice the use of the English language. As the subsequent evaluation showed, the project increased their self-esteem and confidence.

The end of the meeting was celebrated with the Youthpass certificate ceremony. It is a document confirming participation in an international youth exchange and at the same time an effective tool that allows to discover what we learned during such a meeting.

Polish group was satisfied about the experience and they are looking forward to the next projects.

A video promoting the exchange can be seen here: