By Marko Tomovski

This June, I once again had the amazing opportunity to be part of a great experience from which I gained new knowledge and skills, revealed a whole new perspective about what it is to be a youth worker and met a phenomenal group of ambitious, experienced and friendly people from 7 other countries.

Held in the small town of Busteni, situated in the beautiful mountain area of central Romania, the Erasmus+ project “Do it for the Youth” was an ideal occasion to truly step in the NGO sector and figure out what is really happening in the structure management, strategic planning and realization of the goals in one non- governmental organization. For me, the training was a revelation about what does it mean to be part of one affiliation, to represent one organization to many new partners from abroad and to strengthen the link between myself as a youth worker and the organization as the place in which I find the opportunity to make the society a better place. As I was presenting YMCA Bitola during the NGO night or the conversations and discussions with the other participants, I felt extraordinary proud and grateful to be a member of an association that pushes our community further.

The project had a very magnificent program that took me to the future in order to see the upcoming trends, issues and challenges that will affect the NGOs and the society as well. Furthermore, the training sessions where we engaged into group discussions and activities for finding methods to innovate, adapt and to self- sustain our organizations were rewarding experience. Not only have I discovered new aspects of what would the future bring but I have also started to think of how we can achieve success in the unpredictable course of action. Therefore, the experience brought so much improvement to my personal skills, such as to anticipate and react more successfully on everyday problems, to think more creatively in finding solutions and to prepare a well-established schedule for execution of the plan.

However, the training could not be possible if there was not the positive energy and enthusiastic attitude from the participants and the facilitators. We created strong relations and exchange a lot of different ideas, opinions and cultural values that enriched our personality. Whether I collaborated with young newcomers as me in the field or veterans with 25 years of professional engagement in the sector, it was always exciting to hear different perspectives and work together to finish the objectives.

Finally, I can say that the “Do it for the youth” project exceeded my expectations, it was a perfect combination of new knowledge, challenging activities and meeting amazing people.