Today was our final day.
Ten days ago, participants from Bulgaria, Romania and Greece arrived in Smolyan as separate national groups.
Today saying goodbye felt much harder than many of us expected.
The final day was dedicated to evaluation, reflection, Youthpass and looking back at everything we experienced during “Sustainable Youth Action for Community Impact.”
We revisited our expectations from the beginning of the exchange.
Some had come hoping to improve their English.
Others wanted to meet people.
Some were interested in sustainability.
Some simply wanted to experience Erasmus+ for the first time.
The final reflection showed that the project became much more than any single expectation.
We learned about sustainability and responsible consumption.
We discussed democracy and active citizenship.
We explored Smolyan through a community treasure hunt and PhotoVoice activities.
We spoke with local people.
We discovered Rhodope culture and stories.
We visited RIEW Smolyan and connected environmental learning with institutional practice.
Most importantly, we learned how to cooperate with people we had never met before.
The official feedback from the exchange also reflects these results.
The reports confirmed strong outcomes related to teamwork, intercultural cooperation, critical thinking, tolerance, active citizenship and European belonging.
But numbers cannot capture everything.
They cannot measure the inside jokes created during ten days.
They cannot measure the first time somebody had enough confidence to speak English in front of the whole group.
They cannot measure how strange it feels when people who were strangers one week ago suddenly feel like friends.
That is another kind of Erasmus+ impact.
Before leaving, we received Youthpass and reflected on the competences we developed.
But perhaps the most important question came at the very end:
What happens next?
If everything stays only in Smolyan, the project ends today.
If we return home and share something, change something, participate more actively or motivate another young person to take an opportunity, then the project continues.
So this is not really the end.
It is simply the moment when 19 young participants take the experience of Smolyan back to Bulgaria, Romania and Greece.
Thank you, Erasmus+.
Thank you, Smolyan.
And hopefully — see you somewhere in Europe again.
Project: 2025-1-BG01-KA151-YOU-000298009
Erasmus+ Youth Accreditation: 2023-1-BG01-KA150-YOU-000193502
Activity: Sustainable Youth Action for Community Impact
Dates: 22–31 December 2025
Host: Young Improvers for Youth Development (YIYD), Smolyan, Bulgaria
Disclaimer: Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the competent programme authorities. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.