TsaMpa went to Vilnius, Lithuania for the Youth Exchange " Work Fever " June 2022
Marianthi, Timos, Vasilis, Sissy, Maria, and Antonis were a part of the 36 people Youth Exchange "Work Fever" in Vilnius this summer!
Youths from Lithuania, Spain, Romania, and Greece came together thanks to the organization Active Youth!
Project Summary
The common idea that Covid-19 only affected adults and the elderly is wrong, even though the first months of the pandemic showed that young people are more resilient to the disease than older people. But are they also more resilient to its social and economic impacts? Even before the pandemic, youth unemployment in European Union was three times higher than among the over-55s. Youth unemployment increased dramatically in several European Union countries during the Global Financial Crisis. It took several years before youth unemployment rates came down to, or fell below, pre-crisis levels. Even by 2019, this had not been achieved in all EU countries. The COVID-19 pandemic is now posing the same threat: younger generations face a harsher labor market than older generations (source: Eurostat). Youth tend to work more in retail, hospitality, and tourism, which were severely affected by the lockdown measures, including travel bans, to control the viral spread. Young people are often self-employed, on temporary contracts, service agreements, or in other insecure and precarious work, and so are more likely to be the first to be laid off or to suffer cuts in hours. Moreover, as unemployment rises, they compete for work with older and more experienced workers who have a more settled pattern of employment. So they are more at risk of long-term unemployment and a tough initiation into the labor market.
To improve youth skills that are likely to be in high demand in the post-coronavirus world, the youth exchange “Work-Fever” will be organized in June 2022. To be more exact, this project seeks to:
(1) evaluate the changes in the labor market during and after the pandemic;
(2) develop youth soft skills and improve competencies that are likely to be in high demand in the post-coronavirus world;
(3) foster work opportunities for youngsters in the participating countries;
(4) improve youth’s understanding of entrepreneurship and the key skills needed to create a business, and
(5) boost the capability to adapt to change and encourage self-employment of those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. With this youth exchange, we would like to give a chance for youth to learn from each other and deepen their understanding of the work industry. In addition to that, youth will learn how to use the YouthPass competencies to improve their resume and increase their employment possibilities.
After the Youth Exchange the Greek Team shares thoughts, photos, feelings, and memories with us!
Marianthi Charoniti
"The Erasmus+ program that I participated in in Vilnius, Lithuania was about the threat of Covid-19 to the youth labor market in the European Union with rising unemployment rates. It was already an incredible experience. There was a strong team atmosphere and collective cooperation to achieve the activities. The people in charge of the program had planned quite an interesting program that included speeches from distinguished people, and group activities aimed at reinforcing workplace basics and preparing us for the proper creation of a CV. Then we had the opportunity to organize small parties in the evening and on our free day to go on a trip together to Trakai, moments that bonded us even more with all the guys. Through this program, I was given the opportunity to make new friends from different countries and to feel that they are my own people, something that I did not expect to happen in such a short period of time. This photo was the last one we all took together on the penultimate day where there was a special emotion between us as we hadn't realized how quickly the days had passed. Finally, I want to thank Tsampas for giving me this opportunity to participate in this unique experience and that even though it was something unknown to me as I had never participated in another foreign exchange program, they did not let me feel insecure for a moment and fully informed us about our mission there."
Maria Gkougkousi
"The program "work fever" was the third program that I participated and I dare to say that it is the best one that they have participated in so far. The organization was excellent as well as the content of the program because I learned many things about my curriculum and other relevant aspects of work.
Lithuania is a country with many beautiful landscapes and the people were also very polite. If you ask me, without a doubt I would repeat the program again if I had the opportunity. Thank you!"
Antonis Ververidis
"One of the most interesting experiences in my life came to the end. Erasmus project + that took place in Lithuania has just finished. This project which was participated by people from all around the world had to do with youth unemployment in the European Union and the threat of Covid-19 in the labor market. It was my first youth exchange project so I was a little scared and I didn't know what could I expect. But the result was amazing. Meet new people, make friends, gain experiences, and know different cultures were some of the purposes of this project and successfully came to the end. I want to thank Tsampanfg from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to participate in this project."
Vasilis Spyriadis
"Another successful Erasmus+ Youth Exchange project came to an end. The project lasted 8 days during which participants from Greece, Lithuania, Turkey, Germany (which was mostly Egypt), Romania, and Spain gathered in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the beautiful Meda house venue. The work-fever project was about youth unemployment in the European Union and the changes to the job market due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through various workshops, we talked with one another and had informative presentations. We learned how to make a proper CV, about Youth Passes and how to improve our soft skills. We had the chance to visit various places in Vilnius and really bond with everyone from the project, both the participants and the wonderful organizers. I want to thank TsaMpa for creating this awesome Greek team and I can't stop recommending Erasmus+ projects to everyone!”
Timos Lagaras
"The youth exchange "Work Fever" that took place in Vilnius was an amazing experience. First of all, we learned a lot about youth unemployment which was the main topic of the project, a problem that many youngsters have to deal with. Also from the very beginning, we created such strong friendships with some people and we got to make connections with everyone something unexpected for me as it was the first erasmus+ project that I took part in.
Last but not least I definitely suggest everyone reading this, take part in Erasmus+ projects as it is a really unique experience for everyone and I want to thank TsaMpa for the opportunity."
Keep Erasmus-ing people!
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