In the week between October 14th and 21st, six young people accompanied by Alessandro, a trainee of the Civil Service in the Youth Policies office, took part in the international exchange in Hungary.

The project had as its objectives the promotion of multiculturalism and individual expression through art, and this is where the name "Melting Cultures" comes from: a place, a week and 42 young people from Hungary, Italy, Czech Republic, Portugal, Lithuania and Estonia to share their backgrounds and traditions.

The first day of the project, as usual, was dedicated to activities of knowledge and games to break the ice, to facilitate the ability to immediately feel at ease by revealing the fears and expectations related to the project in a context so different from everyday life at home.
On the second day, the host association presented the context of the exchange, shifting the focus of activities on the creation of a performance to be brought on stage at the "Brides Festival" of Pecsvarad (in Hungarian Pécsváradi Leányvásár), a festival of national importance that gathers tens of thousands of visitors from Hungary and other European countries.

With this goal in mind, during the next three days three working groups were formed: the creation of the performance, the setting up of the decorations and the management of social media, at this time each participant could choose which of these was the best channel to express their creativity. Since the beginning an excellent synergy created and this brought to light many ideas and great enthusiasm in realizing them: from the definition of the performance, through the help of an expert trainer who guided the boys illustrating some techniques of improvisational theatre, to the customization of costumes and promotional material for the event, entirely made by the boys without the use of prints or machinery, up to the promotion and creation of social pages containing the experiences of the participants and many photographs that documented the creative process.

In this excited and creative atmosphere, the evening of the performance came quickly, so on October 19th we finally went on stage in Pecsvarad bringing the fruits of our hard work. Despite the exotic nature of the performance in such a traditional setting, we were greeted with great enthusiasm by the massive audience. The rest of the evening was a time of leisure, thanks to which we were able to visit the countless stalls and attend extraordinary concerts and performances.

With the last day of activities, finally came the Youthpass ceremony, the certificate that attests participation in the project in the European context and certifies transversal skills, followed by a trip in name of well-deserved rest at the thermal baths of Mohacs and a visit to the historic centre of the city.

The experience in Hungary marked for many a first time as participants in a youth exchange, for this reason we will let them tell you about it!