Erasmus+ Project: Be The Game Changer
Project Reference: 2020-2-BE05-KA105-003000
Youth Exchange “Be the Game Changer” was developed thanks to the active involvement of 8 consortium member organizations from 4 EU countries (Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain) and 4 EaP region countries (Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova). The implementation of the project was planned om 01-12 April 2021 in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia.
Be The Game Changer was the title of the training course we coordinated, alongside the hosting organizer and trainers. We learned how to tackle topics like discrimination, violence, hate speech, and online bullying on social media, specifically to fight real-life problems such as youth unemployment, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, and critical thinking in Europe, especially for the youths.
The project took place in Tsachkadzor, Armenia, (17 Oct-28 Oct.) thanks to the Erasmus+ program and hosting organization we were able to share, learn, experience, enjoy and laugh with people from other European countries. The program seeks a different approach where we can experience other cultures and get to know our European friends and neighbors better, that is, a way to create bonds between people who otherwise would never have met.
Impact
The objectives of the “Be the Game Changer” are along with the ones of the Erasmus+ program, since its mobility and cooperation between stakeholders from EU and EECA, fosters mutual understanding, social inclusion, solidarity, and intercultural dialogue between young people from different countries, develops young people’s key competencies, provides a learning stage for participants with fewer opportunities, fights against discrimination, hate speech and radicalism in Europe.
The project distributed hands-on knowledge, skills, and competencies in regard to various cultures, traditions, and habits through exploring traditional games of project member countries. National games are a unique tool for cultural education and self-expression, they do not require prior competencies and can ensure the involvement of every person despite his/her education, gender, religion, and race.
Thus, the main objectives of the project are:
• To boost participants’ awareness about European multiculturalism, cultural values, and tolerance;
• To advance intercultural dialogue, solidarity, social inclusion, and mutual understanding between youth from the EU and EaP region countries;
• To provide knowledge about partner countries’ traditional games and explore them from educational and cultural perspectives;
• To transform traditional games’ learning components into team building activities, energizers and icebreakers, that can be used within non-formal education projects;
• To identify and explore the opportunities provided by the EU Erasmus+ program from mobility, non-formal and cultural education perspectives;
• To identify the competencies obtained through European non-formal education projects and their certification by Youthpass;
Brochure can be found here
Progress Report can be found here
