The project, ‘Promoting Diversity and Tolerance Through Media and Information Literacy,’ aims to promote inclusive growth by equipping youth workers with media literacy skills to combat social exclusion and discrimination. It intends to deepen their understanding of these societal issues and offer hands-on experience with media tools that shed light on such issues. The primary goal is to enhance youth workers’ ability to promote constructive dialogues and engage younger individuals, increasing social inclusion. Objectives range from heightening participants’ critical approach to media, deepening their understanding of social exclusion and discrimination, improving the quality of related activities, encouraging active participation of youth in creating inclusive societies, to sharing best practices in this domain. Additionally, it aims to expand their knowledge of the Erasmus+ Programme, sparking new project ideas and future collaboration opportunities.

Youth Exchange Program
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fLfGaUX4dnOh00Yvzs_qOVm3hEV Tb-su/edit#gid=663018350

DATES: 19 – 27 November 2023
LOCATION: Rettenegg, Austria
COUNTRIES: Austria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Spain and Türkiye.
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 28 (4 participants per country) + 4 staff

Participants of the Training Course should have the following background:

Youth workers in age 18 + residents of participant’s countries;

Strongly interested in the topic. Motivated to work on the development of their personal and professional competencies in an international setting (communication, teamwork, problem- solving, conflict management, facilitation, and presentation);

Motivated to take part in the Erasmus+ project, work in an international team and share their experiences in the follow-up period;

Ready to work in a mix-intercultural learning environment, to contribute to successful project implementation;

Learning by doing methods.

Name games, ice-breaking and team-building activities.

Creative workshops, discussions, role plays, interactive presentations and other methods and techniques that are consistent with the tenets of experiential learning.

Outdoor activities, creating a video, Booklet & project’s Blog.

Intercultural and various social activities.

Accommodation and food are 100% covered by the Erasmus+ programme. The participants will be lodged in Rettenegg, Austria (https://goo.gl/maps/aH1CFZL6ojkkSnM87). Retteneg is a small town located one and a half hour from Vienna and Graz, surrounded by mountains and typical Austrian architecture. The facility is rented out to schools, associations, organizations and private individuals, primarily with a focus on children and youth. The venue is wide, with a great outdoor area and nature. Each room has a private toilet and shower. There is a common working area, dining area, game room, professional kitchen as well as board games corner.

Important information about accommodation

• During the activity participants will be accommodated in a room with 3-5 other people from different
• Each participant will have a roommate from a different country and we can’t make exceptions to accommodate people from the same country in the same room. The rooms will be gender
• We can’t arrange separate rooms for couples or make additional changes in the room
• The rooms have bunk Mattress, duvet and pillows are provided (bed linen included). The participants must bring their own TOWELS and toiletries.
• Every room has its own bathroom ( toilet and shower)

Food

There will be 3 meals per day provided, prepared by a cook.

During the official part of the event, and in the territory of the hotel alcohol and drugs are strictly forbidden! Smoking is not recommended and in case of urgency only permitted outdoors in a designated space.

Everyone is welcome with these restrictions. Violation of this entitles the caretaker to immediately dismiss the person(s) concerned. No refund on travel costs will be guaranteed in case of dismissal.

Please, inform us in the application form about your food needs (vegetarian, vegan, food allergies).

Attention

The accommodation is covered at Rettenegg, only for the days of the activity (19-27.11.2023). In case of a longer stay, there is no chance of reimbursement of travel costs.

You are not allowed to arrive after the 19th of November or leave earlier than the 27th of November. Please keep in mind when booking the tickets. For any other questions consult with the sending NGO from your country.

IMPORTANT: Traveling sometimes requires an additional day for catching a flight and staying for an additional night at the city, where the airport is situated. We are aware of such situations, but organizers can’t cover this cost, it is the participants’ own cost. For that reason, we recommend you use hostels (http://www.hostelworld.com/) or friends https://www.couchsurfing.org/).

WE ARE NOT ABLE TO REIMBURSE MISSING TICKETS!!!

An invitation to try to travel mindfully – with no excess luggage and extra effort to store it. Welcome to use tips from EC: https://bit.ly/3r23I00

1. Fly to Vienna or Bratislava Airport

It is the closest airport to the venue. Flying to Bratislava is an alternative if you are arriving earlier. If landing in these airports, you will have to take a Bus, Metro, or Train to Vienna City Centre

2. AT 20:00 Jump on a Private Bus to

There will be an organized, private bus waiting for you at HBF Wien – Vienna Train Station (https://goo.gl/maps/woF5oCxZJ1dJ6EEo7). The hosting organisation will provide the bus and share with you the exact location (all partners will get info for the location).

NOTE: the bus will leave at 20:00 sharp, so make sure you are there on time. There is no other way to reach the venue.

On the DEPARTURE DAY, the same bus will drop you IN THE AIRPORT, around 8:30 – 09 am.

If you are arriving from another place and not using the arranged transport, please use the most economical way of transport.

Please note that only most economic travel and only public transport are subject to reimbursement. Taxi is not covered. Booking EXTRA LUGGAGE is not covered. Booking seats are not covered. Please consult your sending organisation before buying!

YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO LEAVE THE PROJECT ONE

DAY EARLY TO CATCH YOUR FLIGHT OR BUS. PLEASE BUY YOUR TICKETS ACCORDING TO PROJECT’S DATE and TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZED.

MONEY EXCHANGE

Austria’s official currency is EURO. Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere.

When purchasing tickets, buy economy class tickets, and upload them in your google drive ASAP. The link to your Google Drive will be shared by your organisation.

We advise you to buy your tickets as soon as possible so that it fits into our limited budget for 100% reimbursement. Before buying, you should get approval from your sending organisation.

We kindly ask you to save all documents (original tickets, boarding passes, invoices or bills with the ticket price) which are related to your travel, since the documentation background is obligatory for reimbursement. We kindly ask you to buy all the tickets for the travel for both directions – return tickets (plane tickets, train tickets, bus tickets and etc.), because we will be able to reimburse only REAL EXPENSES (made expenses). IMPORTANT: We cannot refund any travel costs done by taxi, seat reservations, extra luggage, or extra services… please keep this in mind!

After sending your original tickets and boarding cards, participants will receive the reimbursement of their travel costs. Travel (flights, other means of transport) expenses are compensated (up to 100%), based on the actual expenses incurred and the distance from your location of residence to the location of the project. These distances must be calculated using the distance calculator supported by the European Commission. We send money to your sending organization and sending organization will pay participants for the duration max 2-3 months after the project ends.

Please note if you buy your tickets in a currency other than EUR, we will convert them to EUR according to the exchange rates from the official European Commission website: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/inforeuro/index.cfm?Language=en

Participants must travel from the country of the sending organization, and back. Following the guidelines of the Erasmus + programme the travel back must be realized by the participants in a direct way within a maximum of 2 days.

Budget for travel for Spain – 225€

THE ORIGINAL BUDGET OF 275 EUROS IS REDUCED BECAUSE OF THE ORGANISED BUS ROUNDTRIP VIENNA – RETTENEGG – VIENNA.

• The cost given is a limit in total PER PERSON, for both
• PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ACCORDING TO ERASMUS+ RULES MONEY FOR TRAVEL WILL BE REIMBURSEDACCORDING TO THE REAL COST YOU SPENT, up to the amount given above per country, but not more (which means that if you spend less – you will be reimbursed the money you actually spent or if you spend more – you will get only limit)
• Before buying your ticket, please remember your cost limits, EVERYTHING THAT WILL BE MORE THAN THE LIMIT WILL BE YOUR OWN
• Before booking the flight, please, make travel arrangements CONFIRMATION with your sending organisation from your country!

• Passport or ID
• Comfortable clothes for the
• Please bring clothes according to the weather
• Towels and personal care products: shampoo, toothpaste
• Camera, laptop
• Pills and medicines
• Sleepers
• Food/drinks/materials for the intercultural night
• Materials from your organisation
• Positive attitude

HEALTH AND TRAVEL INSURANCE

PLEASE, WHEN COMING TO AUSTRIA, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A VALID EUROPEAN HEALTH INSURANCE CARD WITH YOU OR PRIVATE INSURANCE. ALSO, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU NOTIFY US OF ANY HEALTH RISKS POSSIBLY NECESSARY MEDICINES, SPECIAL FOOD ARRANGEMENTS(AS VEGETARIANS, VEGANS, INTOLERANCES) … AND SO ON.

• Find interesting videos/games/exercises / educational activities related to the
• Morning/Afternoon Energizers: We would be really happy if each group prepare some energizers to increase the group’s
• Wherever possible, take your laptops, digital cameras, smartphones and tablets – we will be doing some multimedia work that requires mobile equipment!

All the participants will be expected to be present and active in all the activities unless being ill. Unauthorized absence from the activities and workshops won’t be tolerated. Stress, nerves and bad mood are prohibited everywhere. Bring your best mood and a big smile with you and keep it through the exchange! Prepare for fun!

Participants Task: It’s very important to care for the scheduled time, be kind, respect, be positive, destroy the borders, have maximum fun, be cheerful and try to be part of the solution.

Participants of the project will have to agree to the following rules for participating. They will sign a document on the first day of arrival for accepting the rules. Rules that participants should follow according to Erasmus + Programme: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16m4gIg2xDGJA 67Q7PPUhoww76R8RW_wd0UURiJe5L6g/edit? usp=share_link