Chop Chop Youth Exchange
Action Type: Mobility of young people | Youth Exchange
8 countries involved: Estonia, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Spain, The Netherlands
Topics: Employability, Youth Employability, Physical And Mental Health, Well-Being
Dates of APV: 01.04-02.04. 2023 | for Group Leaders
Dates of the exchange: 30.06.- 09.07. 2023 | excluding travel days | for Group Leaders and Participants
Chop Chop is a project for you if you are between 18-30 years old, want to develop teamwork, communication, planning and organizing skills in your career path and have fun while cooking and being part of different activities together with people from around Europe.
We aim on bringing together 8 group leaders and 32 youngsters in the project, who are coming from Estonia, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Spain, The Netherlands.
Learning Approach & Working methods
The project offers an experiential learning approach (learning by doing) that invites everyone to actively participate and be involved in the program. You are the creator of your own experience and your learning will be supported by the team of organizers and rest of the group. You are going to live and be part of an international environment, where you have the chance to work with the others in pairs, trios, small and big groups.
Even if the project is making use of cooking as a main tool for learning, it is not a requirement to know how to cook. The cooking activities are present to serve in the development of various competencies and skills and offer a new approach to connect and grow through a common activity.
Other tools and methods: outdoor games and trips, impro theatre, role-play, dance, reflection sessions, group work.
Timeline of the project
Requirements as a Group Leader
- Have participated before in a Youth Exchange and would like to learn more around how to coordinate one
- Willingness to work in a dynamic group and enthusiasm to involve yourself in different processes and activities while using cooking as a tool for learning and development
- Proactive attitude towards exchanging best practices and ideas with other peers and youngsters
- Supportive and inclusive attitude towards youngsters and dedication in guiding them throughout their learnings by conversation and reflection
- Committed to taking part in all the phases of the project: APV, Online Assignments, Youth Exchange and Local Action Phase/Follow up
Requirements as a Participant
- You are between 18-30 years old
- Want to improve your competencies and skills – eg. communication, cooperation, planning, organizing, time management, etc- that would further support you in your career path
- Might feel stuck at this moment in your life and you don’t know what is the next step in your development
- Facing either social, economical, or geographical obstacles and you wish to find creative ways of overcoming them
- Little experience in living and working in an international environment
- You are willing to participate in the Online Assignments, Youth Exchange and Local Action Phase/Follow up of the project
What you can take-away throughout the project
- Develop and improve communication, teamwork, planning, and organizing skills that support you in your career path
- Increase your sense of initiative and learn to make decisions easier in your day-to-day life
- Learn to use creative way to solve different problems that occur throughout your days
- Improve your self-esteem and self-confidence in relation to others by learning to make clear agreements and leading up different activities
- Get to know new healthy recipes while cooking together with others and consuming tasty foods
- Take part in different games and role-plays such as the “Masterchef” challenge, impro theatre, cultural evenings, outdoor trips
- Meet the locals in the Netherlands, especially the people of the region Overijssel, who own different food industries and farms and have the opportunity to see how their usual daily work looks like
- Be one of the authors of The Cook Book, a recipe-book of 40 guidelines of successful Chefs and personalized recipes
- Learn the traditions and habits from different countries and expand your knowledge in regards to differences and similarities between cultures
- Create life-long friendships with people around Europe and find out which of the opportunities best suit your path and next steps
Youthpass
After the project, you will have the opportunity to complete your Youthpass certificate: a recognized instrument for non-formal and informal learning, used within Erasmus+ projects. You can find more information here.
Travel reimbursement
Erasmus Jeugdinstituut and Erasmus+ are offering travel reimbursement for all participating countries.
You will be reimbursed for your travel, up to €275. Exception for Greece, where the travel is reimbursed up to €360, due to longer distance to the Netherlands.
The travel will be reimbursed to you a few days after the completion of the Youth Exchange via bank according to the country you are coming from.
Accomodation
The youth exchange will take place in Ommen, the Netherlands, at Olde Vechte Foundation – group accommodation.
Partner countries
If you want to receive more details about the project before applying, feel free to contact our partner organization or contact us directly via the e-mail of Synchro Foundation.
How to register
If you want to register to the youth exchange you can complete the application form by clicking HERE, and preferably be from one of the following countries: Estonia, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Spain, The Netherlands, either as a citizen or resident.
If you are selected, you will further receive more information about your participation in the phases of the project, practical information and next steps.
Coordinators of the exchange
The coordinators are represented by a team of international people who will support throughout the project with practical arrangements, guidance in different sessions and be available from the start of the implementation of the program until the end.
Agnieszka | Antonio | Cristina P. | Cristina Z.
We have one more place available in the team. If you want to join us, let us know by sending an e-mail to Synchro Foundation –info.synchrofoundation@gmail.com.