In January 2025, 21 young people, including 3 participants from the Czech Republic, gathered in the country in the middle of Spain for an Erasmus+ training course. Expecting to learn more about the European Solidarity Corps and make new friends from all over Europe, we arrived late in the evening in Toledo, a beautiful historic town only 30 minutes by train from the capital, Madrid. In front of the train station, we met with the rest of the group. Because the venue was in the middle of nowhere and there was no public transport connection, we took a private bus. We arrived just in time for dinner. Later, we played some energetic games to get to know each other, and because everyone was tired after the whole day of traveling, we went to sleep.

The next day, we started doing proper activities related to the topic. Daniel and Santiago, the organizers, introduced us to the opportunities the EU offers to youth, including Solidarity projects. We continued discussing this problem the whole week and even divided into groups to prepare our own projects. We also learned how to write down our ideas, answer all critical questions, and submit them for EU funds.

Apart from non-formal education activities, we spent a lot of time learning about different cultures, breaking stereotypes of other nationalities and enriching our knowledge about the world. The peak of this was the cultural night when all seven countries got the chance to present their country. We danced traditional dances, answered quiz questions, and tasted delicious local food.

After seven days of learning and having fun, we had to say goodbye to our new friends, who were full of new knowledge and great memories. We headed back to our home countries. It was an unforgettable week.
Tomáš Karásek
The project has been co-funded by European Union.
