Dates of the event: 9-14 March 2018

Place: Cacin, Spain

On the 18th of January, the email was received from Granada Europe: partnership building activity PBA Ruralities got approved!

Partnership building activity (PBA) is a tool for trans-national co-operation between youth organizations in the EU and its Partner Countries. We didn’t think much who to send as representatives- Mateja was already packed, so we just had to call Veljko Kukulj, mentor of Strive! and Len Tin Tin Studios to arrange the travel.

The project took place between 9th and 14th of March 2018 in the little village Cacin, around an hour and half of a bus ride from Granada with the aim to help in the challenge of creating new projects in rural areas (less than 20,000 inhabitants), projects rooted on the places.

Project gathered 18 participants from 9 different countries: Bulgaria (SDRUZHENIE “DEAR” – DARE ASSOCIATION), Estonia (SEIKLEJATE VENNASKOND), Greece (Astiki Mi Kerdoskopiki Eteria En Gnosi), Hungary (Támaszpont Mentalhigiénés Oktatási és Prevenciós Közhasznú Alapítvány), Israel (Kfar Hanoar Kyriat Shmona), Italy (PAOLAB, Associazione Connecting Europe), Lithuania (ASOCIACIJA APKABINK EUROPA), Spain (Ayuntamiento de Cacín), and Croatia (Association Strive!).

During this 6 amazing days, we had the opportunity to discover the impact and social change that an Erasmus + project can have within a small local community, possibilities of local participation and to find good and reliable partners from rural areas with whom to develop projects.

Also, Veljko and Mateja had the opportunity to present Croatian startups. Veljko Kukulj, as a mentor of Len Tin Tin Studios, presented Robot Puppet Theatre as a multidisciplinary educational tool. Using the Robot Puppet Theatre among students encourages the development of generic skills needed for life in the 21st century, such as creative use of mother tongue, foreign languages, problem-solving and creative thinking, communication, and collaboration, self-regulated learning, active response to social problems and contemporary reality.

Mateja Gabor has presented the work of Association Strive! and Fierce Women cards, a fun, educational and dynamic social card game that familiarizes the players with fierce women who have made significant contributions to society in the fields of culture, politics, science, human rights, and art.

Thanks to our trainer, Daniel Gismera, and logistics support of Sara Vilchez, we had a great time, learned a lot about creating projects in rural areas and connected ideas together.

After the project, we have used our travel days to visit Granada and enjoy in beautiful Alhambra! Now, is the time to put ideas on paper and apply projects for the next Erasmus+ deadline.

Author: Mateja Gabor