Soft Skills, Hard workers

 On the 16th November 2019, 24 young people from 5 different European countries travelled to Bulgaria to participate in the Youth Exchange Soft Skills, Hard Workers. Participants from Cyprus, Poland, Hungary, Italy and Bulgaria gathered together in Veliko Tarnovo to discover and enhance their soft skills, exchange ideas, and experience non-formal education. A whole week of activities gave us the opportunity to develop our soft skills. Each day was dedicated to a specific skill, namely Team Work, Emotional intelligence, Communication, Conflict Management, Digital Skills and Leadership.  The activities were numerous and the experiences invaluable. Through presentations of our work we developed our public speaking skills, the creation of a video with a topic of our choice gave us the opportunities both to work in a team and to improve our digital skills, laughter yoga helped us relax and introduced us to a helpful stress relief method.  Our accommodation was the ideal place for the workshop. Our hotel was hidden in the picturesque forest next to Veliko Tarnovo. The fresh air and calmness were perfect for our outdoor activities. Hiking and walks in nature were the perfect way to clear our mind from our everyday lifes and focus on the workshop.  A culture visit to the Tzarevets Fortress and an exciting activity in the town of Veliko Tarnovo gave us the opportunity to explore this unique European town. In addition, the intercultural nights gave us a glimpse of the culture of the participant European countries.  We left from Bulgaria with unforgettable memories, true friends living thousands of kilometers away and new skills to help us in the competitive labor market and personal lives.