Change, Explore and Grow by Exchange took part as a partner organization in the Training Course "Rivers, waterfalls and lakes".

The TC is part of IPTA (Idei si Proiecte pentru Tineri Activi) portfolio of activities dedicated to youth workers who are highly interested in working with teenagers on building healthy relationships in their living environments. The concept of the activity is based on years of practice in combining youth activities, preventive work, and non-formal learning, with a specific focus on dissemination.

During 7 days, 18 youth workers from several countries played, discovered, and mastered the methods of work suitable for small and large groups. They had back-to-back debriefing sessions for everyone methods providing detailed understanding. The purpose of this activity was to prepare the participants with a good understanding of the impact of healthy relationships among teenagers and how the concept must be delivered. Activities during TC covered many topics such as emotional literacy, enrichment and non-conflictual communication, addiction patterns, peer pressure, self-esteem, personal development, inclusion, and self-acceptance.

The participants from Bulgaria, sent by CEGE - Maria and Omer gained a lot of new knowledge, built friendships and enriched their horizons. About their participation in the project Maria says: 

"The nature around Valea Verde in combination with the selection of participants from all around the world made this an unforgettable experience.

The wide range of activities and topics around the concept of relationships, that we covered provided me and the other participants with a better understanding of the complexity of our everyday life and what that means for the people we might be working with. Thanks to this training course we can now offer more powerful and professional tools for personal growth and self-reflection to the people we encounter. Exchanging ideas and experience with participants from all around the world was a crucial part of the training as that developed into discussions about our different points of view.

Hiking in the Romanian wilderness, the training we received during the workshops and all the time spent getting to know each other trully made all of us feel like one big, diverse family. After an emotional separation, we all carried back home our newly-gained knowledge, inspiration and global friendships."

We are happy when we share such moments and believe that the path of growth is still ahead of us!