Antalya, Turkey April 2019. A place of film, an Erasmus training course and 32 people from eight countries in Europe. The group participating in the "EVS beyond borders" project, which was held in Turkey in mid-April, tells us in this interesting chronicle how this Erasmus + project has been about the EVS program and its possibilities. Keep reading because it won't let you down.

They say that young people are the future. That we have the witness to decide what kind of world we want. And, definitely, experiences such as this Training Course show that there is a hopeful common future, that there are young people excited to create solidarity projects and direct society and its young people to better ways.

And it was thanks to the Mundus Association that we have been able to meet 32 ​​young people from different countries of the European Union with an immeasurable desire to change the world. During this training, we, four young people from Spain (Rubén, Cristina, Lucía and Julia), have shared space with young people from the UK, Ireland, Greece, Malta, Romania, Turkey and Macedonia for a week. The place: Antalya, a coastal city in Turkey, washed by the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by snowy mountains.

The aim of the training was to learn more about the EVS (European Voluntary Service) program, which allows the mobility of young Europeans to different countries of the European Union, with different themes and duration. In addition, they have explained the options that it encompasses and how we could organize an EVS in our community and be the hosts, teaching us the requirements, the objectives and, above all, how to write a project and have the European Union approve it. This has seemed an incredible opportunity, since there are endless possibilities and many young people delighted to meet new cultures and contribute their grain of sand. All this allows us to work on a topic widely demanded under multiple cultural points of view, which allows us all to enrich ourselves with knowledge that, at the national level, without being part of this type of project, would be incomplete.

But not everything is "work", and we have also had creative, sharing, leisure and tourism moments. Specifically, there was a night in which we could delve deeper into Turkish culture, knowing its music, some of its typical dances, and some food and drinks.

On the other hand, we had another intercultural night, in which we tried some of our delicatessen, such as cheese, ham or fuet, as well as the internationally demanded SANGRÍA, much more appreciated by foreigners than by ourselves. Without a doubt, it was the hit of the night. Not forgetting the culinary tasting offered by participants from other countries, such as Greek feta, Irish baileys or Macedonian rakia. Without a doubt, this is a golden opportunity to get to know in depth and first hand the different characteristic features and customs of other countries of the European Union.

In short, although we all knew the concepts of key competences for lifelong learning and the recommendations of the European Union in this regard, the Erasmus plus program and its multiple opportunities, it is through these formations that are offered to us when we are able to develop them, understand them and learn to teach them to make young people be and be the architects of their own lives and contribute to a positive change in society.

The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.