Some of our activities through non-formal education

Enegizers: The aim of these activities is to facilitate the getting-to-know-each other, to energize them and also to facilitate the switch between the activities.

Usually these activities are group games that take up to 15 minutes.

Bingo

Participants received papers and pens and were given 20 minutes to go to other participants and ask questions about themselves. Some questions regarded their hobbies, favourite types of food, favourite actors, but the participants had no limits regarding the questions and they turned out to be very creative. In this way, they had to fill in each empty square drawn on the paper with the name of the participant and the answer. Afterwards, the facilitator chose randomly some of the names of the participants. When the youngsters heard that name, each person that had information about him/her, shared it with the others. In this way, all the participants found out new things about the others. When the participants had a line or bingo, they received a prize.

Chair chain

Aim: to facilitate communication and cooperation between participants

Method: teambuilding activity

Description: Participants were splitted in 2 teams. They put the chairs in a circle and each of them stood behind a chair. They leaned a little bit the chairs in front of them and when the facilitator gave them the signal, they had to move to the chair in their right and also, by using only one hand, they had to catch the chair and not let it touch the ground or fall. Every team thought about a strategy, identified a leader and found its own rhythm in order to succeed.

Some of the main activities

City rally

Aim: to facilitate teamwork

Method: teamwork activity

Description: Participants were splitted in mixed teams; each team received a list with several tasks, such as finding a European flag, making interviews with youngsters from the community about the “Erasmus+” Programme, helping some old people to carry the bags from the supermarket to their homes.  They also had to gather some proofs, like taking photos or making videos, in order to show to the other participants that they have successfully completed the tasks. While doing this activity, all the participants had the chance to discover the local community  and to interact with the citizens.

"Erasmus+" and Youthpass presentation

Aim: to present the new “Erasmus+” Programme and discussing on new opportunities

Method: interactive presentation, Q&A

Description: Due to the introduction of the new “Erasmus+” Programme, we considered a good opportunity to discuss on the differences between the actual and the former programme, “Youth in action”. We also had a debate about the new features of the  “Erasmus+” Programme and discovered together the new opportunities of merging with other cultures. We also discussed about the Youthpass certificate; what it means, what skills and competencies it validates and what are the benefits of having such a certificate.

Name, motto, logo

Aim:  to establish the first elements of identity of the company

Method: teamwork and sensorial presentation

Description: In the teams already formed, participants were given all the necessary materials to create these three elements of identity for their start-ups. The facilitator gave them the basic information and adviced them when in need. When they had to present their work to the other teams, the participants were asked to do a sensorial presentation. They had to present using all the senses beside talking, so the other participants can guess what are the name and the logo of the company.

Start your own company

Aim: to decide upon the domain of each company

Method: teamwork, debate

Description: Participants were splitted in teams of 6 or 7 people. They were explained how important was to discuss about the domain of the companies; all the members should agree on the domain and it would be better to choose something they would trully love to do in their real life also. In order to accomplish this goal, the participants discussed for 15 minutes about the qualities and the passions each member of the team has, so they can use these advantages when choosing the domain and when working on the business plan, later on. They were also given some informations and questions, in order to guide them during the process.

Advertise your company

Aim: to identify new ideas and methods of advertising a product or service

Method: teamwork, brainstorming

Description: The participants had to brainstorm and to come up with creative ideas to advertise their companies. They discussed and then they decided what each of them should do, based on the professional qualities of each member of the team. Firstly, the participants created a Facebook page (Happy 3 Houses, Phonection+, Re-Cool It, Think & Live Different, To XI) of the company and did all the necessary settings. Then, each team created an eye-catching video in order to present the company to the others. Each team had its strategy and did the video (Happy 3 Houses, Phonection+, Re-Cool It, Think & Live Different, To XI) using different tools. Afterwards, the participants posted the videos on their Facebook pages.

Intercultural Nights

We were anxious from the beggining to get to know more about each participating country and its culture, so the cultural nights that every country organized offered us the best opportunity to feed our curiosity. During the whole week, the participants of each country prepared the program of these nights as they wished; this usually included a presentation of the country, a presentation of customs and traditions, traditional music and dances, traditional clothes, food and drinks. We enjoyed every difference and similitude that we discovered and we were all very enthusiastic to find out more during the whole period of the project.

Business plan presentation

After doing a lot of work for their companies, but enjoying at the same time the whole process, the participants had an entire day to prepare the business plans. Firstly, the facilitators gave them information and hints about how to do a good business plan. The participants put the pieces of the puzzle all together (elements of identity, advertising plan, the marketing and budget planning parts and all the other necessary elements). They read it carefully and then, respecting the given deadline, they sent the business plans to us, on mail. This was the first thing to do in order to enter the competition called Lions Arena.

The next day, we set up the activity room in such a way that resembles to an arena, to fit in with the whole atmosphere created. There was also prepared the official table for three investors (the 2 facilitators and the head of the hosting organization) who, based on the presentation of each team and the business plans, decided whether to invest or not in that company. Every team had 8 minutes to present their business idea and then they answered the questions that the “investors” had.

All the teams did a really great job and they payed attention to details, that made the competition even more keen, so finally, all the teams got prizes. The judge decided to invest in each of the business ideas, so the participants received a lot of coins made from chocolate, but also a white envelope. They were asked to open it at a certain moment, all together. They enthusiastically  found a fridge magnet with the picture of the whole group on it. J