The implementation of the “Blue Danube” project with number 2018-1-BG01-KA125-047681, financed under the Erasmus+ Program, has been successfully completed.
The implementation of the project activities provided an opportunity for 20 volunteers from Romania to get involved in the preparation and realization of the International Festival “Blue Danube Week”, which in turn gave young people the opportunity to show personal commitment and initiative and through their work to help the realization of socially useful activities and to feel significant. The European Voluntary Service was held in the city of Vidin for a period of 25 days – from 09.06.2018 to 03.07.2018.
The main goal of the Blue Danube project was to promote volunteerism, which was achieved by engaging young volunteers in the preparation and organization of an international event and involving them in the various creative and creative activities of non-formal education, such as the synthesis of art and cultural thinking, which helped to form new knowledge and skills and a responsible civic attitude towards art and the surrounding environment.
Through the implementation of the project, we showed the volunteers the benefits of carrying out activities to help society, exchanged experience and good practices with the partner organization Asociatia Tinerii 3D and improved our skills in working with young people. Through their participation in the project, the young people gained knowledge on various topics and developed competencies that would contribute to their personal and professional development. The bringing together of young people of different origins, ages and social status contributed to popularizing the ideas of volunteering, creativity and culture, environmental protection, relevant both within the European Union and on a global scale.
As a result of the implementation of the planned activities, the specific goals of the project were also achieved, namely:
• The youth promoted the idea of volunteering among the local community as an expression of empathy and tolerance towards society;
• Volunteers acquired key skills and competencies such as teamwork, organization, leadership;
• The Romanian participants developed their creative and creative thinking through their active involvement in the activities of organizing the festival;
• An atmosphere was created for the development of intercultural dialogue and solidarity, which provided prerequisites for an effective international partnership.
The implementation of the “Blue Danube” project had a positive impact on the participants in the educational dimension, and through the implemented activities contributed to the development of key competencies acquired through non-formal education methods, namely:
- Ability to absorb knowledge – during the implementation of the activities, we stimulated the participants to organize their own learning process, set goals and achieve them, use the acquired knowledge and skills, be motivated and self-confident;
- Improved communication in a foreign language – the project activities were carried out in English, which gave the participants the opportunity to learn to structure their speech in a foreign language and to argue using appropriate means of expression. All this helped to overcome the language barrier, which led to the successful implementation of the planned volunteer activities;
- Social and civic skills – in the process of organizing the festival, a number of activities were carried out that helped to build an active civic position of the participants in society;
– Cultural competences – the intercultural context in which the project activities took place and getting to know one’s own and foreign cultural features, traditions and history improved and helped the cultural awareness and growth of the participants.
The implementation of the set activities allowed the team of the “Bokaia” association, as the host of the project, and the partner organization Asociatia Tinerii 3D to reward their experience in working with young people and volunteers by using work methods based on non-formal learning, through which the young people developed a range of skills and competences, as well as helped to spread the idea of voluntary work effectively.
The current project is financed by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Program. This publication reflects the views of the author and the Commission only and cannot be held responsible for the information it contains.