About the project
ExChange 2023 “Rural Voices” is a youth exchange for 28 young people from Italy, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Greece which aims to equip them with the knowledge, skills and tools to create and implement sustainable and innovative grass-roots cultural activities and initiatives in rural areas. During the week in Palazzo Adriano, a dynamic rural town in the Sicilian Hinterland surrounded by rivers, mountains and a strong activist youth community, the learners will learn how to create, plan and implement engaging cultural events that empower rural youth and benefit the local rural community. Through a series of group-led, interactive, non-formal learner activities (simulation activities, problem solving tasks, hands on communication and awareness-raising training, critical reading and viewing of key texts and films, brainstorming, debate, walks through the natural patrimony, tours of Palazzo Adriano, encounters with local cultural actors) over the course of the week the young people will acquire the following:
→ Knowledge about: how to respond to the needs of a rural community and empower its position in society through social and cultural events.
→ Tools: in event planning and implementation, collaborative, inclusive and accessible event organisation, implementation and communication.
→ Skills in: cross-border cooperation with other learners; confident and considerate self-expression; speaking english; preparing for and leading discussions; thinking critically and transmitting this skill; empathy;
awareness-raising; community engagement.
All of this knowledge, tools and skills will then directly be put into practice by the learners thanks to their active participation in Palazzo Adriano’s Cinema Paradiso Film Fest (https://www.paradisofilmfest.com/), the town’s annual international festival for independent documentary and short film cinema which hosts filmmakers and musicians from across Europe.
Involved countries
– Italy, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Greece.
The venue
The youth exchange takes place in Palazzo Adriano, a city founded in the second half of the 400’s by a group of Greek-Albanian refugees becoming part of the extended arabesque community located in Sicily. The village has a cozy and charming atmosphere thanks to beautiful monuments such as the octagonal fountain, the Dara and Mancuso buildings, and the Bourbon castle. It has many churches of Latin worship like the Chiesa di Maria Santissima del Lume and churches of Byzantine worship like the Chiesa di Maria Santissima Assunta. Other astonishing churches of singular beauty are Chiesa di Maria Santissima Assunta, Chiesa di Maria Santissima del Carmelo, Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, Chiesa di Sant’Antonio, Chiesa della Madonna della Pietà, etc. Then you can visit the Lavatoio, and old washhouse built in 1938 during the Fascist regime.
However, please note that since the options in the locality are very limited, the ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES for the participants are VERY BASIC AND ROUGH – you will be accommodated in shared rooms and sometimes even double beds. So before applying, make sure you are ready for this challenge – though we are sure that the beauty of the historical village and authentic rural life will fully compensate for it. 🙂
The eligible participants
There will be 6 participants + 1 group leader per country.
The participants:
- are aged 18+ yo;
- are interested in empowering of the rural areas and improving their position in the society;
- want to improve their skills in event planning;
- have a basic intermediate level of English.
The group leader:
- is aged 18+ years old;
- is able to support his/her group;
- has a decent English literacy (B2/C1) level;
- ideally has previous experience in Youth Work and/or Erasmus+ programme.
Financial conditions
Accommodation, food and all materials at the project will be covered by the Erasmus+ programme.
Plase note that in case you are selected for the project, you will be asked to pay a membership fee of 900 CZK (or 35 EUR for payments from abroad) – we will use this contribution to cover the compensation for the trip coordinator, the costs of materials and preparation, and the complete support of the participants before, during and after the trip. Instructions for paying the membership fee will be sent to you by e-mail, along with instructions to confirm participation and other steps.
The membership fee also ensures your membership in the Youth Progress organization, free entry to all local activities and is paid once a year – if you decide to go on another project with us this calendar year, you will not have to pay it again.
Your participation in the project is fully financed by the ERASMUS+ program. However, the program does not reimburse us, the sending organization, so thank you for helping us continue to provide these great opportunities to young people. 
* In case of cancellation of participation by the participant, the contribution is non-refundable.
** In case of cancellation of the project by the organizers or due to force majeure, the contribution will be refunded to the participant’s account.
*** The membership fee may be waived in exceptional cases, e.g. if the participant faces a financial disadvantage, which will be evaluated individually by the sending organization.
