A&S Balkan: ...the people in the Balkans there are differences but also a lot of similarities

Veronica Crnkovic, Young Participant from CROATIA in a Youth Mobility Project

Erasmus+ KA152 Push Up Sports & Arts Balkan

Erasmus+ project ' Push up Sports and Arts Balkan' took place in Thessaloniki from August 18 to 25, 2022. The goal of the project was to gather participants from the Balkan area in order to see what similarities there are between them, where the emphasis should be on sports and art. In order to learn about similarities and differences, we talked about games characteristic of each country, learned traditional dances, drew a creative poster about important historical events for each country (picture 1). In order to learn something about art through religious symbols, but also to learn about religious differences, we visited a large number of churches. After visiting religious institutions, everyone drew for themselves what spirituality means to them. Although we didn't have a lot of space for sports activities, in order to learn the importance of sports, we went hiking, where we saw how it is possible to socialize and engage in recreation at the same time.

What we realized during the project is that among the people in the Balkans there are differences but also a lot of similarities, such as some similar words, customs, habits and etc.