Hungary Follow Up
Hungary Follow Up
Description of our experience
On the first day we loved the ice-breaker games because we got to know each other better. But this was just the beginning of our journey! We went to Pissouri where we had a group activity. In each group there were one person from each country. We had to visit several places in the city, find famous places and take pictures and notes about them. This was also good for talking with other participants and making new friends.
The World Café where there were 8 tables with 8 topics (sustainability, fast fashion, slow fashion, circular economy, 4R concept and their effect on the environment) was challenging for us. It was hard to follow the discussions with Google Translate but in the end we understood the topic and said what we thought of the topic.
There was a session about 4R concept (reduce, reuse, repair, recycle) which we also implemented in the Professional Development Activity and repaired and recycled clothes. That was our favorite part of the project. We worked in national groups with the SDG Index. Even though we discussed it in Hungarian it was the most challenging task because we had to do research about topics we know nothing about. But we also enjoyed it very much and we were proud of ourselves that we did it. We did it in Hungarian and our team leaders translated it to English and presented it to the group.
The most interesting part of the project was Andreas' presentation about his sustainable brand. We immediately felt connected with him. We learned about where clothes come from and about the work behind cloth making. It was shocking to learn about the labour, working conditions, poor payment for the employees and the environmental damage that big fast fashion companies make. And with this bad behaviour they make tons of money. Disgusting! We did a questionnaire about our carbon footprint and found out that we do more harm to the Earth than we thought.
We learned about greenwashing, how big companies lie to people to make themselves look better and greener to get more customers. Everything is a lie in their commercials, it is infuriating! In international groups we had to come up with a green idea and present it to a jury in a one-minute pitch. It was also fun! We had a session about Youthpass and other Erasmus+ opportunities. We got excited and decided that next year we will apply for Discover EU because it seems like a really good opportunity.
There was an afternoon when all the team leaders did parallel workshops for us. We were in groups of 20. In the first workshop - led by the Lithuanian team leaders - we practiced public speaking. In the second workshop - led by our Hungarian team leaders - we did everything nonverbally, without words. Both of them were really good because we felt comfortable and easy to connect with others.
One day we went to Limassol where we were in national groups and had to do several tasks like interviewing local people, searching for stores selling local, handmade goods, talk to the owners. It was really exciting for us because we had to speak English and contact local people. Also the city was really beautiful and interesting. We had lunch on the seaside where we ate traditional food. We loved all the activities but our favorite, the best of all was the intercultural nights. It was good to see and get to know other cultures, to compete but also have fun during the kahoot quizzes. It was interesting to see other cultures' traditions, taste their food and drinks.
We would like to point out that all the participants were nice to each other, everyone connected, we got to know a lot of people, so in the end it was sad that we had to say goodbye. All in all we are happy that we got to know these amazing people. We are glad that we were a part of this project, we loved the programmes, the places, everything was perfect! What we take with ourshelves - mostly because of Andreas' presentation - is that we will be more conscious about buying clothes.
Follow-up Activities
1st follow-up activity
After arriving home from the GREEN WARDROBE Youth Exchange that took place in Cyprus, we organized a conference in Ötletfa afterschool on 9th of April 2024. All our colleagues, kids from the afterschool and their parents attended. The conference had two main topics: one report about what happened in the afterschool while we were in Cyprus and one presentation about the Youth Exchange. Our YE participants divided the work for the event: two of them made the presentation, one made a video, two of them presented the presentation, one took pictures and one greeted the guests. The presentation was about what we did day by day and how we felt, all the ups and downs, all the new information and the new methods we learnt, all the new foods we tried. About the whole journey that we experienced. It was surprising for a lot of people because they expected to see photos about the sea and palm trees (like a holiday) and they were shocked to learn how much work we did in Cyprus.
2nd follow-up activity
For the second follow-up activity we wanted to do recycling workshops, but so many good opportunities came across, we did 3 workshops at 3 differents programs.
On 1st of June, 2024 we were invited to Szeged for a Sustainable Family Day. We were talking about the experience took all the clothes we made in Cyprus and showed them, and we also made a jewellery making workshop, using empty coffee capsules, leftover felt and leather materials.
On the 8th of June
2024, we were invited to a rooftop family day to Szeged. We did two kind of
workshops: juggling and jewellery making. The YE participants shared their
knowledge about recycling and sustainability they learned in Cyprus and helped
everyone who came to our table to make recycled jewellery.
On 19th of June 2024 we organized the Summer Opening Party in the afterschool with the theme: Get yourself ready for summer! We organized 3 stations in the room: one for earring making from coffee capsules, one for sewing small bags from reused plastic bags and leather pieces and one for bracelet making from demolished old jewelry. After everyone made fashionable bags or jewellery, we ate bbq chicken and 'Cyprus-style' salad. All the participants enjoyed this workshop.
Links for online dissemination of the project
1st follow up activity
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/SyVUNDeeAtVAegAi/
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/gZrHmnEBNqc5qCkD/
2nd follow up activity
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/jxteUPLG5xzo6psb/
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/BxxdoZG33hP8PWWW/
Youth Exchange
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/QZ5KEWTjzKSyuoCU/
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/nEN8x4tjqoVwDSBy/
- https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvm.tiktok.com%2FZGe5VA4sM%2F&h=AT0ZZVAUdq76T1rBT-S2Ia4kptYOM8Ex6V4m0-80WDCsE740o4qiN0ihKM5bpyLHIINKkwwoD0R-yc4S1KZx48guBz-KnlQ3DJeNwxe1oJUJDQ23mrPw3AliXh9y3JBzRw&s=1
- https://www.tiktok.com/@hmvhelytanoda/video/7350427906037779744?_r=1&_t=8kz2NUUpUgr
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/SGePpzka1MJ6ziiQ/
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/9LsESXmE4FkwV915/
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/X6i4uFUpoLjd6X7q/
- https://www.facebook.com/eurotenderassociation/posts/pfbid02d8ghFryZwAfcw4sVh1jM7JY2Rp55rpFdcq3h9FP89qxchL2bkFzcvLfKNVj85hGMl
Evaluation Paragraphs from the participants
József Kóczé: I really enjoyed the project, especially that I have learnt new English words, and I started to speak English. The most important thing for me is that I found friends. That was my second Erasmus+ youth exchange and I am really impressed how different they were. I am really getting into Erasmus+ projects, I am really interested to participate more and more. The topic of this youth exchange was sustainable fashion. I enjoyed the practical workshops, mostly the Fashion Show. I was one of the photographers. Can't wait to organize workshops at home connected to the slow fashion and spread the importance of sustainable fashion. After the project I promised the Planet that I will think more about clothes shopping.
Tibor Bánfi: The GREEN WARDROBE was my very first Youth Exchange ever. I am really into fashion, so I was really interested in the topic. This project was a bit tiring for me because of the language barriers, but I really enjoyed the cultural programs: I learned a lot about traditions, culture, and nature from the other participants. During the project we were counting our ecological footprint, and if everybody would live like we would need 5.9 Earths, which made me very sad. So I realized that I produce a lot of trash, and I decided I'm going to work on it! But I really enjoyed the Fashion Show at the end, I was one of the DJ's and with Brendon we put on a really good music session together.
Orsolya Anna Dóró: We were in an amazing environment. I really enjoyed the practical workshops (sewing, decorating clothes and the clothes swap) and my favourite was the Fashion Show. I was nervous in the beginning because I am not comfortable with my English skills but then I could manage. I also enjoyed the cultural nights. I learned a lot about other countries, people and food. I like fashion but I don't like shopping, so I gained a lot of useful skills to renew my clothes. I realized I can do a lot more for my clothes to make them last longer.
Brendon Ajtai: That was my first youth exchange and it was a little bit challenging for me, but I made it enjoyable, because I wanted to! It was my first experience with airplanes and I was a bit scared, but I enjoyed it. During the training I was using a translator on my phone so I have read a lot, and I have learnt lots of English. That was a really good tool not just to learn English, but also to communicate with others in a very effective way. Thanks to the workshops I have learnt there is a lot of trash around the world, so I promised I am going to focus on reducing it! Since we are at home I collect the trash selectively, we don't drop out food and I think twice to drop out something or it can be repaired.
Dominik Ajtai: That was my first Erasmus+, and I enjoyed every minute! Before I was very nervous, because it was a brand new thing for me, sometimes I thought I would not like to come. But thanks to my friends and my mentors who supported me it was my best experience ever. I really enjoyed the multilingual and multicultural environment. I realized how important it is to speak English, so I decided I will learn more English. We were in a fantastic environment, I even tried the sea, and I also enjoyed collecting stones! I have learned that people make a lot of trash which is bad for the planet so I am going to combat trash! I already collected a lot of trash in Cyprus from the ocean. I also regulated my family at home about the trash based on the knowledge I got during the Exchange.
Jázmin Kolompár: My first Erasmus+ was really exciting for me, and also challenging, but I think I did a great job! I loved the venue, the place was beautiful. I am a very picky eater but I loved the food in Cyprus. I really enjoyed the Fashion show and everything with videos, photos and talking! I can't wait to organize fashion shows, cloth swaps and recycling workshops. I realized I can do much more than I thought before, so after the project I will keep it in my mind and heart!
Vanessza Rácz: I was in the most beautiful place in my life during my first Eramus+, and I love cats, and here I could meet lot of them. First I was shy but then I was brave to speak to other participants and I really enjoyed it. I also really enjoyed discovering different cultures, it was a very new thing for me. During the project I learned a lot of new things, like how much water is needed to make clothes. Now I know more about fast fashion and also about sustainability. I realized I have lots of clothes and I won't drop them out, but I will reuse them.