Erasmus+ Youth Exchange
Boost Yourself Merine (Lecce), Italy | Nov. 4-12, 2021
Table of Contents
01 About VulcaniaMente 02 What was Boost Yourself? 03 Dissemination 06 Chef Cristhian‘s Recipe 07 Credits
ABOUT
VulcanicaMente is a non-governmental organization promoting personal and community developement both locally and internationally, creating opportunities for mobility, intercultural and intergenerational learning.
Our mission is to empower the community, beginning with young people, to create a generation of European citizens.
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WHAT WAS BOOST YOURSELF? Boost Yourself was an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange that allowed our participants to grow, reconnect with themselves and others, and take inspiration from the surrounding nature. It took place in Merine, Italy, from November 4th to November 12th, 2021 where 25 young people from Italy, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Spain participated in this sevenday Youth Exchange. In this time they tackled modern issues impacting their self-esteem by boosting their confidence, improving communication skills and deepening their connection with nature and surroundings.
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Some of the activities we did were: active listening workshops body awareness exercises dance mandala in the dark meditation in nature molding our feelings in clay visiting ancient trees mindful dinner and much, much more
DISSEMINATION HUNGARY ALEXANDRA, EMMA, ZSOFIA introduced their friends to youth exchange opportunities and organised two activities related to self consciousness, self esteem and citizenship (name your country, who you are).
ESZTER organised an online event where she gathered her friends and introduced them to IKIGAI - the Japanese secret to a long and happy life.
FANNI prepared a workshop for her mentor program students. She introduced them to Erasmus+ in general and non-violent communication.
ITALY THE ITALIAN PARTICIPANTS did an online presentation where they presented the project and introduced their attendees to Erasmus+ opportunities. To end their session they did a guided meditation.
POLAND
THE POLISH PARTICIPANTS hosted a webinar on Zoom where they discussed the Boost Yourself project and the activities they did. They also presented Youth Exchange opportunities to their attendees.
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SLOVAKIA JAKUB held his dissemination in two separate presentations at his school. In the first one he presented the Youth Exchange and practiced mindful eating. In the second presentation he introduced the activity about blind drawing where one has to guide their partner through the drawing process.
JESSICA did a presentation about the Youth Exchange at her school where she also introduced them the two activities „IKIGAI“ and „24h of your life“.
MICHAELA
continued her art therapy project as the dissemination. Together with six other exhibitor partners and curators she created a community where they talked about mental health through photos. For the second activity she chose to write about fears and wishes.
KRISTINA organised an online event for her friends. She introduced them to Erasmus+ projects and explained them the concepts of IKIGAI and SMART goals. She also showed them the concept of meditation and how it can improve your life.
SONA gathered for a mindful dinner her sister and her friends during her stay in Edinburgh. They started off with eating two green olives, eating the first one right away and eating the second one with more thought and presence. After this they continued with various Scottish dishes and concluded that mindful eating has positive effects both on physical and mental level. 04
SPAIN XAVIER introduced his friend to some visualisation, relaxation and meditation techniques that he learned in the Youth Exchange. He asked his friend some questions to help him gain more awareness and ended up doing a meditation. He also showed him more concepts that were covered in the Youth Exchange like the IKIGAI.
JESUS
organised his dissemination at the place of a friend and discussed with him about topics of self-confidence and self-awareness, followed by explaining the activities IKIGAI and SMART goals.
SANDRA organised an event with her roommates to introduce them to eating mindfully and drawing the „life flower“. They also did a practice about active listening.
NURIA organised a meeting with her friends and acquaintances to tell them about her experiences in this Erasmus+ project. They did two activities where she introduced them to IKIGAI and a meditation session. Through these two activities they have discussed the importance of mental health and got the opportunity to gain more awareness of themselves.
DIEGO gathered three friends for a workshop, where he introduced them to Erasmus+ programs and to Boost Yourself itself. He did three activities with them: IKIGAI, active listening and meditation. 05
CHEF CRISTHIAN‘S RECIPE WARM SWEET POTATOES SALAD WITH ORANGE VINAIGRETTE (6 SERVINGS)
Ingredients: 2 pounds sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes) 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (for sweet potatoes) 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 3/4 teaspoon salt (for sweet potatoes) 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 Orange (juiced, for dressing) 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or sunflower oil, for dressing) 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 1/2 teaspoons honey (plus more if desired) 1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more if desired, for dressing) 1 dash cayenne 1/2 Orange (peeled and roughly chopped, for topping) 2 tablespoons dried cranberries 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese 1 scallion (minced) 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)
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Directions Put some music and preheat the oven 190° C. Line an extra-large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the sweet potato cubes on the baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the cumin, salt, and black pepper. Stir with a rubber spatula until evenly coated. Place baking sheet on the middle rack of oven. Roast the sweet potatoes on middle rack of oven, stirring once halfway through the cook time, until fork-tender and lightly browned, 30-40 minutes. Check to see that sweet potatoes are done. Remove from oven or add time as needed. Allow sweet potatoes to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. Whisk together the orange juice, oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, and cayenne in a small bowl until emulsified. Taste and add additional salt and honey, if desired. Arrange roasted sweet potatoes on a serving platter. Drizzle evenly with dressing. Top with the chopped orange, dried cranberries, goat cheese, minced scallion, and pine nuts if using. Serve immediately.
Credits
Project Managers: Jacopo Sgrò & Sandra Perez
Photos & Graphics: Michelle My Truong
Venue: Villa Diana, Merine
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TELEPHONE: +39 380 5082104 EMAIL: vulcanicamente.project@gmail.com ADRESS: Via Martini 9, 73016, San Cesario di Lecce, Italia