This was the first time our “National organization for Health-Enhancing Physical Activity HEPA Macedonia” to participate as a project-partner in a mobility activity financed by European Programmes. Main motivations for taking part in this project was to experiment and develop new learning practices and training methods, to share our own knowledge and skills with young people and other youth workers, to reinforce the cooperation with the partner organisations, to expand our professional network and to increase quality and quantity of international youth projects organised by our organisation.
Programmes in the field of youth (Erasmus+) are a wonderful experience, specially having this exceptional group consist of partner organizations from Spain (Gran Canary and Madrid), Italy (Pescara, Florenca and Sicilia), Portugal (Lisbon), Slovakia (Zilino), Croatia (Bedakovici), Jordan (Aman) and the Republic of Macedonia.
It was an amazing opportunity for creating links between many people from different types of “Youth Worker” organizations, countries and origins. With shared interests related to “CLOSER – Key Competences and Healthy Lifestyles in Youth Work” working on a healthy living, we were a very dynamic group.
Participating in this Erasmus+ activity, the following competences are developed related to building cooperation with players in civil society: practical skills (e.g. new learning practices/methods, planning and organising, project management), interpersonal and social competences, emotional skills (e.g. having more self-confidence, etc.) and sense of initiative and entrepreneurship.
The participation in the project, have also effects on personal development. The most important benefits are improved communication skills, theinter-cultural dialog between multi-ethnical participants through creativity, practical workshops as well as a non-formal learning experiences for young people.
The most important objective is to enhance motivation and to increase creativity of participants with direct impact on their future work with young people and their healthy lifestyle as well as determinants of healthy behaviours at international level.
The highest result of the project was exchanged experience and good practices among participants. The most important benefit for us is to foster improvements in Macedonian Draft-Youth Policy/Strategy at the national level (2019-2027), because we are in process of a new Youth Strategy development.
I hope all participants with increased the efficiency of their action will improve their local conditions within respective countries with experiences gained from the “CLOSER – Key Competences and Healthy Lifestyles in Youth Work” project and from each other.
President of HEPA Macedonia, Prof. Vera Simovska, MD., PhD. WHO HEPA European community
5 July , 2018, Skopje