From 5 to 13 May, our team took part as a partner organization in the Erasmus+ training course “Knowledge is Happiness: In the Name of the Rose,” held in Alanya, Türkiye, and organized by ARYAS NGO. This training course is the second edition of the Knowledge is Happiness strategy, bringing together youth workers from Romania, Türkiye, Bulgaria, Serbia and Poland.
Just like the first edition, the training was built around the SENSE methodology, an approach that connects meaning-making, curiosity and learning through personal experience with eco-oriented attitudes and actions, understanding ecology as our relationship with ourselves, our community and nature.
Exploring, testing and building together
Each day of the training was organized around exploratory workshops, applied labs and group work. Participants were introduced to the main concepts behind the “Knowledge is Happiness” strategy and discussed how these ideas connect to their daily work with young people. In mixed groups, they tested and adapted non-formal methods that build curiosity and meaning-making, and worked together on a practical training framework that youth workers can apply in their own organizations and in future Youth Exchanges.
Alongside the workshops, the programme included dedicated sessions for networking and cooperation building, giving participants the chance to strengthen existing partnerships and form new ones within the Knowledge is Happiness framework.
Building on what we started
Taking part in this second edition gave us the chance to continue the work started in the first training course and deepen our understanding of the SENSE methodology, alongside old and new partner organizations from across Europe. Mutual learning remained at the center of the experience, with discussions, knowledge exchange and collaborative activities helping participants strengthen their competencies in youth work and gain practical tools for their local contexts.
We continue to support the development of youth and youth workers, with the belief that knowledge gains its true value when it is shared. We would like to thank ARYAS NGO for organizing this training course and for the invitation to take part, together with all the partner organizations who made this exchange of knowledge possible.