By Ana: ”My experience in outventure was very interesting and filled with different types of emotions. Most important for me was getting to know all the people there, listen to their experiences and share mine! The challenging topic of Mental Health made us open up about our struggles and we often spent countless hours at night sitting and chatting. But not doubt the most magical moment for me during all project was time spend with my support group that i was elocated to in the beginning of the project. We supported and cared for each other (duh) but we also spent huge chunk of our time just laughing, joking, gossiping and distressing after challenging tasks we were performing during the program. All in all, human interactions and the bonds I’ve created were the most important things I took out of the project!”
By Frederik: ”The spring/summer youth project in Hopeland, Greece was a new experience for me. It was my second Erasmus Youth Project this year and I hadn’t concrete expectations and was curious about the people I will meet during the exchange. The stay in the Hopeland community was really relaxing despite the serious topics about mental health in the LGBTQ+ community. I met many interesting people from different backgrounds. I really appreciate the diversity of people’s stories, ideas and energy which they brought to the project. The openness of some participants was inspiring since I am rather shy and introvert person, but despite that I was able to find connections with some participants and we had much fun. The memories from such an experience will stay with us for the rest of the lifetime and bring you new point of view to the life and the process of self-acceptance. I want to thank the organizators of the whole project. One of the best parts of the stay was definitely ,,mandžare,‘‘ which means food and it was delicious and tasty. Also the environment in Hopeland was inspiring and nice, the mountain views were spectacular.”
By Edite: ”My story of Outventure or how it ignited the thought – of how it would be to venture more openly with my queer identity. The magic of being in a project like this is feeling a part of a community just by being who I am without needing to hide a part of me or pretend that parts of me don’t exist. It was a safe bubble where all identities and expressions were welcome. I enjoyed connecting with new people whose life stories and experiences are different from mine and yet we had topics with which we could relate to each other. It was a learning experience for me about me and the people around me. About realities in different countries and what other people face when being openly or not so openly queer in their communities. A realization once again on how different yet similar we all are as human beings.”
By Anna: ”My experience during Outventure was very diverse. I enjoyed hearing other participants’ stories and points of views as well as taking the time to look within myself and give myself the time to regenerate. It was also incredibly joyful to see so many queer people gather and create a safe space, it was truly magical and healing to be around queer folks. I loved how the programme allowed for both personal and group reflections and the silent hour is certainly a practice I’ve been incorporating in my daily life. All in all, it was an incredibly fulfilling and intense project filled with numerous affirming practices that I hope to pass on to my community.”
By Vanda: ”Outventure was my second abroad erasmus+ project and also the first longer project, the first was only four days. I really like the theme of the project, but sometimes it gets really exhausting. The venue, the people, almost everything had a vibe like home. I felt like I was a child again and this was a summer camp. There was safespace to share my feelings and emotions. I really appreciated the existence of the reflection groups and that we could share our emotions and the feelings in a small group. Mine was amazing and helped me a lot and I was really happy that I could be open to them and they were open to me. It was really interesting (and also sad) to compare and talk about situation of queer people in our countries. The thing I enjoyed the most was the insight to the ballroom culture. I was really happy that it was also practical so we tried some parts of it like voguing, catwalk or duckwalk. And then we also had a chance to have a small ballroom there and it was really amazing. Outventure gives me amazing people, big inspiration and new energy to change the world to a better place.”