“From TRADition to Employment: wood crafts” was a 10- day youth exchange project, funded by Erasmus+ and Youth Board of Cyprus, hosted by PlanBe, Plan it Be it. TraDe Wood took place in Kampos village in Cyprus mountains during the period 27th of June until 6th July 2016.
The project involved 36 young participants from Cyprus, Poland, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy and Greece and it was primarily oriented to youth in risk of unemployment or with certain geographical or economic obstacles. Particularly it was promoted to young people in rural areas as well as young people willing to explore the entrepreneurial path through tradition and culture.
Our activities were based on hands-on workshops about wood processing, carving, furniture and constructions, entrepreneurial study visits, workshops with local practitioners (young and elder) and presentations of different practices amongst the participating countries. Project activities further focused on enhancing creativity and personal development of participants through a variety of games, role-plays, team-building activities, group discussions, brainstorming, and everyday reflective sessions.
To encourage inter-cultural dialogue and bonding we organized cultural evenings and spend time together learning the basics from each other’s music, dance, and language. A one-day exhibition was organized promoting the products and activities created from the project, to disseminate results and exchange ideas with the local community. Making use of the social media, we maintained a platform of shared practices for facilitating dissemination in our home countries and encourage future collaborations.
The aim of this project was to guide participants to wood-related traditions and professions, providing them with inspiring ideas regarding employment and entrepreneurship and empowering them with skills and self-confidence for fighting today’s unemployment. Making a real difference to young participants seeking employment and raise awareness of alternative employment options that can benefit not only the individuals, but also, the communities they live in.
Employment, although tackled at personal level, is a key factor for promoting active citizenship and cross-cultural understanding at local and European level. The knowledge the participants gained, the skills they will learned, the contacts they made, and the personal decisions they took, was a crucial base from where the change can happen – in their lives and in the lives of people they will inspire by their example.