{"id":220,"date":"2025-09-01T12:55:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T12:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/?p=220"},"modified":"2025-09-01T12:56:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T12:56:00","slug":"youth-voices-on-cohesion-romania-10-04-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/youth-voices-on-cohesion-romania-10-04-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Youth Voices on Cohesion: Romania (10.04.2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On April 10, 2025, a group of 15\u201316-year-old high schoolers from Romania came together to reflect on one big question: <strong>What does it really mean to live near a border?<\/strong> The session used a fun and interactive method known as the <em>Gallery Walk<\/em> or <em>Sticky Note Activity<\/em>. Each participant had the chance to write down their thoughts individually on sticky notes and then share them with the group by placing them under different questions \u2014 a creative mix of brainstorming and crowdsourcing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first question sparked some very honest and varied reactions: <strong>\u201cIs living next to a border an opportunity or a disadvantage?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some students immediately pointed to <strong>global tensions<\/strong> like war as a reason why borders might feel unsafe today. Several said that living near a border is more of a disadvantage <em>right now<\/em>, mentioning the war in Ukraine, possible threats like \u201cPutin might bomb us,\u201d and the fear of what might come from across the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Others shared <strong>more practical worries<\/strong>, like feeling disconnected from big cities or the national economy, while a few described their own <strong>negative experiences<\/strong> with people living across the border \u2014 saying some were \u201cawful,\u201d even if they believed kind people exist too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the group wasn\u2019t all pessimistic. Many saw <strong>real opportunities<\/strong> in living near a border:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Faster travel<\/strong>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Easy access to other countries<\/strong>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Learning from different communities<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural diversity<\/strong> were some of the most mentioned positives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several teens spoke about the chance to form <strong>international friendships<\/strong>, help both countries grow, and enjoy \u201cmore diversity.\u201d One participant summed it up best: <em>\u201cIt can be both an opportunity and a disadvantage \u2014 it depends on the border.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second question asked: <strong>\u201cIn the place where you live, what are the main topics where cooperation is needed?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here, students spoke with clarity and creativity. They wanted more <strong>activities for young people<\/strong>, <strong>stronger ties between schools and local authorities<\/strong>, and <strong>better cooperation among volunteering groups<\/strong>. Many believed that if communities were more united and friendlier, it would be easier to create fun, meaningful projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One participant suggested that <strong>Red Cross collaborations<\/strong> could help save lives, while others emphasized building <strong>stronger connections between youth and adults who influence their futures<\/strong>. The focus was clearly on making their communities <strong>more active, more connected, and more supportive<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next, participants were asked: <strong>\u201cCan you name an Interreg project that you find useful where you live?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many students mentioned <strong>Erasmus+<\/strong>, with one saying it was \u201can amazing experience\u201d they\u2019d love to repeat. Others referred to <strong>EU-funded renovations<\/strong> of schools, hospitals, highways, and recreation areas. Some named projects like <strong>PNDR<\/strong>, <strong>POCU<\/strong>, and <strong>FEDR<\/strong>, showing a clear awareness of how European money is already making an impact in their regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One participant proudly shared their involvement in what seemed to be <strong>the Kamali (or Hamali) Project<\/strong>, which promotes the <strong>Sustainable Development Goals<\/strong> (SDGs) at the local level \u2014 a great example of youth leadership in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fourth question hit a bit deeper: <strong>\u201cIn your daily life, what are the biggest difficulties for cross-border or international cooperation?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their answers were eye-opening.<br>Some pointed to <strong>language barriers<\/strong>, saying they thought English would solve everything \u2014 but not everyone speaks it well. Others mentioned <strong>a lack of interest in meeting new people<\/strong>, and even <strong>discrimination<\/strong> based on ethnicity or background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One student shared how their <strong>sister struggles to fit in<\/strong> with people in another Romanian region. Others said that <strong>hate and lack of empathy<\/strong> stop people from collaborating, and <strong>leaders\u2019 egos<\/strong> often get in the way of real progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, students were asked to dream big:<br><strong>\u201cWhat would your ideal cooperation project look like?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s what they imagined:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Projects filled with <strong>excursions<\/strong>, <strong>festivals<\/strong>, and <strong>cultural diversity lessons<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Events with food, music, and activities<\/strong> from different cultures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>People from other regions visiting places like Tulcea<\/strong>, to appreciate their beauty and people.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some dreamed of <strong>creating an institution<\/strong> that organizes <strong>trips around the world<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> Others preferred more <strong>local Romanian connections<\/strong>, bringing together people from different regions and fields of knowledge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On April 10, 2025, a group of 15\u201316-year-old high schoolers from Romania came together to reflect on one big question: What does it really mean to live near a border? The session used a fun and interactive method known as the Gallery Walk or Sticky Note Activity. Each participant had the chance to write down [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":222,"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions\/222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yodec.rotineret.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}