Stories by Participants: Training Course: Digi-Tools 20 in Prilep, North Macedonia (By Konstantinos Rodis)

Stories by Participants: Digi-Tools 20

Training Course (13-18/06/2022) Prilep, North Macedonia

By: Konstantinos Rodis

Recently, I had the pleasure to participate in the Digi-Tools 20 project that took place in the city of Prilep of the Republic of North Macedonia between June the 13^th and June the 18^th  2022. The project lasted for five days starting from the 13^th to the 17^th (on the 18^th was our departure and return home day). There were participants from Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Latvia and North Macedonia. Each country had sent two participants age 18+. There was also supposed to be a German participation but unfortunately we did not have the chance to meet the person from Germany due to health issues, as we were informed by the project’s organizers. I sincerely hope that our fellow participant gets better and healthy soon and I wish him all the best. The sessions we had were focusing on the use of Digital tools in non formal education. We had the chance to become more familiar with various digital tools, such as internet platforms used to organize online meetings and workshops. Among others the sessions taught us how to organize workshops both online and in person and how to use these digital tools in order to become more skillful as youth workers. In that spirit, we also had the opportunity to learn how to work in teams, something really important and useful when it comes to organizing workshops. Another interesting fact was that the topics of the workshops we tried to organize by using Digital Tools were related with issues that are currently crucial for European societies and the global community as a whole, such as the protection of the environment and the refugee crisis. The organizers and the instructors from Info Front Prilep did an amazing job in all the fields mentioned above. I consider all the knowledge that I was able to obtain during the project as very useful and I am absolutely sure that it will prove to be a great help in the future both in terms of career and in general.

Furthermore, I feel the need to express my happiness about the fact that I was able to meet with very interesting people from various European countries. Having the chance to collaborate with them during the project sessions and to talk with them was something that truly facilitated me with learning about the use of Digital tools in non formal education and generally with becoming a more creative person. Another very nice part of the project was the intercultural night event that took place on the night of June 14^th 2022. During that event we were able to learn interesting facts about the home countries of each participant through dances, songs and quizzes while we tasted some very delicious snacks and drinks that every fellow participant had brought with them from their respective countries. We ourselves, as the participants of Greece, presented our country by performing the famous Sirtaki dance of Zorbas the Greek under the sound of the music composed by the ever memorable composer Mikis Theodorakis. We had also brought with us some very delicious traditional Greek snacks that were very much appreciated by our fellow participants. Another great part was the mug exchange that occurred during the first day of the project. I believe that it helped with getting all of us closer as a team.

In conclusion, I consider it wise to thank some specific organizations and individuals. I would like to express my gratitude to KANE Social Youth Development, the organization that sent us from Greece. Moreover, I would like to thank the Infofront team from the city of Prilep. Our organizers and instructors did, as previously mentioned, wonderful job and I would definitely like to have a chance to work with them again in the future. And, last but not least, I truly feel the need to thank my friend, colleague and fellow participant from Greece mr Konstantinos Lempesis for talking to me about this interesting project and for suggesting me to join him as the second participant from our beloved country. It was my first participation in an Erasmus (+) program and it was an exciting and very educational experience. I hope that many more will follow in the future.