Blog: Erasmus+ project: a unique experience in Georgia

Erasmus+ projects are known as an amazing opportunity to learn new things, improve communication skills, get acquainted with new cultures and meet a lot of new friends. Erasmus+ youth exchange projects generally bring together a group of young people for discussions, activities, excursions, cultural nights and team-building activities.

In February 2022, the Young European Ambassadors designed an Erasmus+ youth exchange project on the topic of “Media Literacy and its impact on Democracy in Eastern Europe”, which received Erasmus+ funding and gave a chance to 24 people from Latvia, Ukraine, Georgia and Italy to take part in a week-long project in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The key goals of the project were as follows:

• to connect and learn together about media literacy, disinformation, and critical thinking;
• to learn about different cultures, backgrounds, traditions, similarities; and
• to learn more about the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries.

The project was held from 5-13 November 2022 in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The main part of the activities was held in the premises of the GSG Hotel Tbilisi located close to the city centre, which hosted the project and its participants with all the necessary facilities for the week.

Each day was dedicated to different kinds of topics and activities and consisted of energisers, team-building activities and the topic of the day. Since it was the first project for a great number of participants, they were told about Erasmus+ opportunities and the 8 key competencies of the Youthpass. Participants had informal workshops, mindful games, and cultural nights with food, drinks and dances from the national teams. In addition, the Georgian team gave participants a chance to experience the Georgian ‘Supra’, or traditional feast, and have an amazing excursion across the city of Tbilisi to enjoy the stunning beauty of Georgia.

As one of the project writers and a Latvian group leader, I felt very proud for submitting this project and bringing it into reality as I received lots of positive feedback about the project from my and other national teams. People, who were initially unsure if they were willing to participate, said they had made a great decision when they agreed to come to Georgia and give it a try. This experience gave the teams an amazing opportunity to raise awareness about media literacy, foster critical thinking and explore cultural diversity.

I invite all of you to think about writing your own Erasmus+ project or at least to give it a try and participate in a project – I am sure you will enjoy it as much as we did! As people say – “Once Erasmus – always Erasmus!”The project “Media Literacy and its impact on Democracy in Eastern Europe” was financed with the support of the European Commission’s “Erasmus+: Youth in Action” programme, administered in Latvia by the Jaunatnes starptautisko programmu aģentūra, the Latvian National Agency. This publication reflects only the author’s views, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.