Polish-Dutch youth (not-only)photo exchange
The next edition of the Polish-Dutch youth exchange program, carried out under the name “WE – Young People See Nature”, is underway. From 2022, with new energy and ideas, under the wing of the Secretariat for Youth of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
As every year in September, ten West Pomeranian students aged 13-15, selected during school recruitment, are preparing to take part in the project. Each school year, the same group of young people participates in two trips, during which they cooperate with peers from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, under the supervision of their teachers and organizers. We are organizing one trip to the Netherlands and the second one in Poland, in the highly valuable natural areas of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
This year, the first project trip took place on September 24-29, 2023.
Dutch participants were waiting for us in the forest educational settlement near Oldebroek.
In the following days, young people together:
– Acquired knowledge about nature and environmental protection in Europe (in English);
– Compared the ways of using natural resources in the Netherlands and in Poland;
– Completed daily photo challenges and tasks;
– Learned photography as a way to present their relationship with nature;
– Overcame language barriers and stereotypes;
– Talked about what was important to young people: their passions, problems, climate changes, plans for the future;
– Presented their works to the entire group during daily evening photo presentations;
– Expressed their opinions and voted for the best photos;
– They had a great time and collected amazing memories!
For all Polish students, it was their first visit to the Netherlands. For most people, it was also the first opportunity in their lives to use a foreign language “live”.
In our projects and events we are guided by the interests and passions of young people in order to support their participation in the social and public life of the region as effectively as possible.
We are pleased to observe the development of every young person who took part in at least one of the initiatives we offer. Today we are proud to show you photos taken by the participants of the 2023/2024 edition:
… and here’s how young people spend their time chasing the best photo shots:
The next meeting of the same group will take place in Poland, June 2024. We can’t wait 🙂
The project is financed from parents’ own funds, the budgets of schools and communities where students live, and project partners including the Secretariat for Youth of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
