Youth 4 Respect

The youth exchange “Youth 4 Respect" gathered 36 youngsters from Sint Maarten, Croatia, Hungary and Turkey, and was organized in St. Peters, Sint Maarten at 15 – 24 January, 2024. The project aimed to break stereotypes, overcome hate speech, support the fight against stereotypes, foster understanding, tolerance and non-discrimination. As well as to promote equality among young people. The whole project was designed with a conscious approach towards inclusion and diversity. 

This project was aimed at helping young people to have a better understanding and awareness of discrimination, its causes, and effects; tolerance and understanding. The development of their knowledge had multiple benefits. Participants not only developed their skills and attitudes, but also their awareness improved about personal and community values, active citizenship, consciousness about the future and their role in active change.  

Participants' Testimonies

In January, we spent 10 days in the Caribbean on the St. Martin Islands on an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange 😍

The programmes focused on combating discrimination, racism, xenophobia and respect for each other in a non-formal education framework 💡

For me, it was very eye-opening to see the totally different ways of thinking of different cultures, which we were able to experience during the hands-on activities. Besides, of course, there was also time for fun, in the form of beaches, Latin evenings and mountain climbing!🏔️ 

The inhabitants of this stunning little island are very friendly, so it's rightly called a "friendly island". All in all it was a fantastic experience, a big thanks to the Youth Bridges team and the Caribbean organisers for the opportunity! 

 - Pálfy Gergő

I have had the opportunity to participate in several Erasmus projects, but this was probably one of the most memorable! It was an exciting topic and the team really bonded over the days. I think the Hungarian team had several very good sessions with Dodi in the lead! The Intercultural nights were also exciting. It was a huge miracle for me to come to such a beautiful place like Sint Maarten, which I had never dreamed of before! Once again I would like to thank you for the opportunity to participate in such an exciting exchange and such a special place for a project! I hope to see you many more times in the future.  - Pozsa Dávid

I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with other nations on inclusion and diversity. I realised that there cannot be enough discussions on these issues. I think it's important to be more aware and mindful of exclusionary behaviour in our everyday lives and to take action against it if we can.  - Kisvári Lilla