Erasmus+ Youth Exchange
NLP
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Mindfulness and Positive Affirmations for young people.
The Project
About NLP
This project was born from recognising a gap in opportunities for young people, especially in remote areas, when it comes to developing self-awareness, self-confidence and personal growth. Many young people experience stress and pressure, lack access to experiential seminars or alternative self-improvement practices, and often feel isolated.
The programme responds to these needs by offering tools such as NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Mindfulness and Positive Affirmations, helping young people manage stress, develop positive thinking and strengthen their self-esteem.
It connects directly to the priorities of Erasmus+ and youth exchanges: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Moving Rural Youth Forward, quality non-formal learning and inclusive societies, bringing together young people from different socioeconomic backgrounds and with fewer opportunities due to geographical isolation.
Priorities
What the project wants to achieve
- 01
Strengthen mental health and wellbeing, helping young people build resilience and manage stress.
- 02
Develop self-awareness and self-esteem through NLP, Mindfulness and Positive Affirmations.
- 03
Move rural youth forward, creating opportunities for young people from remote areas.
- 04
Promote quality non-formal learning through experiential, participant-led methods.
- 05
Build inclusive societies by bringing together young people from different backgrounds and with fewer opportunities.
Activities
What we will do together
NLP, Mindfulness & Positive Affirmations
Experiential workshops where participants explore and practise the core tools, designing and running their own NLP and Positive Affirmations exercises under the guidance of mentors.
Nature walks & beach observation
Walks in nature and observation exercises on the beach, connecting personal growth with the surrounding environment.
Small-group leadership challenges
Small group challenges that help participants develop leadership and teamwork skills.
Reflection circles
Daily reflection circles and sessions where everyone shares what worked well, what felt new or emotionally powerful, and where they need support.
Caretta caretta turtle awareness
A collaboration with the local Caretta caretta sea turtle rescue team, offering a workshop on wildlife and the importance of protecting it.
Non-formal learning methods
Group discussions, role-plays, brainstorming, peer learning, dramatization, focus groups, world café and open space. Young people become co-creators of the programme, taking on roles in organising and coordinating the activities.
The week, day by day
Tap or click an activity to read what it is about.
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Sunday 13.09Arrival
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Welcome to the camping! We will settle into our tents, explore our new home for the week and have our first informal moments together as a group.
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Monday 14.09Getting to know each other
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Our first playful challenge together. We will learn everyone's names, start talking to people from different countries and turn 26 new faces into one group.
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Everyone will secretly become another participant's “coach” for the week. Your mission is to notice their strengths, positive actions and small moments that might otherwise go unnoticed.
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Grab your bingo sheet and start meeting people. You will move around the group, ask questions and discover surprising things you have in common with the other participants.
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The classic game with a twist. While people share two true stories and one false one, we will practise noticing small changes in voice, movement and behaviour without jumping to conclusions.
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A playful introduction to the main ideas we will explore during the week: attention, communication, language, perception and the different ways people experience the same situation.
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Fast conversations, different partners and interesting questions. With every round you will experiment with a different way of listening and discover what makes a conversation feel like a real connection.
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Tuesday 15.09Communication & perception
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One person secretly controls the group's movements while everyone else follows. Watch carefully, stay connected to the group and see how smoothly leadership can move from one person to another.
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We will all walk along the same route, but not everyone will experience the same world. Some will focus on what they see, others on what they hear, and others on what they physically feel.
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Become a detective of everyday language. We will take vague statements such as “Nobody understands me” or “I can't do this” and use curious questions to discover what they really mean.
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Different people can approach the exact same situation in completely different ways. You will physically move around the space according to your choices and discover some of the different patterns inside our group.
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Sometimes people disagree on the details while actually wanting the same thing. Through a playful communication challenge, we will move between the “big picture” and concrete solutions to find common ground.
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Wednesday 16.09Self-discovery
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One situation can look completely different depending on the frame around it. Together we will take limiting thoughts and discover alternative ways of looking at them without pretending that difficulties do not exist.
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Everyone is already good at something. In this activity, you will interview each other and break a skill down into its hidden “recipe”: the small steps, thoughts and actions that make it work.
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What matters most to you when you cannot choose everything? First you will explore your personal values, and then a live auction will force you to decide where you really want to spend your limited points.
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You will draw your life as one flowing river through your past, present and future. Along the way you will mark important people, challenges, turning points, strengths and the strategies that helped you keep moving.
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Thursday 17.09Outdoor experiences
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The natural environment becomes part of the conversation. You will choose something from nature that somehow represents an idea or feeling for you, while your partner explores your metaphor using simple questions without interpreting it for you.
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One person will experience a short trail with limited vision while their partner becomes their guide. You will discover how words, sounds, touch, attention and trust can completely change the way we experience the same path.
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During our hike, a thought or belief will become something you can literally carry. As the journey continues, we will explore what it feels like to carry certain beliefs and whether we want to keep giving them the same weight.
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The same environment feels very different after the sun goes down. During this night experience, we will experiment with breathing, posture, attention and inner dialogue to notice how we can influence our own state.
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Friday 18.09Sport & wellbeing
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Time to move, compete, cooperate and have fun by the sea. Mixed teams will take over the beach for an energetic evening of volleyball.
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A calmer side of the evening. Through movement, stretching and breathing by the sea, we will give our bodies some space to slow down and recover.
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Saturday 19.09Challenge & wellbeing
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A physical challenge surrounded by the landscape of the island. The focus is not only on speed, but on effort, persistence, supporting each other and reaching the finish.
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Back to the beach for another round of team play, movement and shared energy.
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Stretch, breathe and recover after an active day with another relaxed movement session by the sea.
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Sunday 20.09Creativity & application
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After two very active days, the morning is yours. Sleep a little longer, recover, enjoy the camping and recharge before we continue with the final part of the programme.
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Welcome to a marketplace where normal products are boring. You will have to sell something strange, ridiculous or completely impossible and find creative ways to convince different kinds of customers that they absolutely need it.
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We will turn communication problems into live theatre. Watch a scene, shout STOP, rewind the moment and step inside to try a different response and see whether the story changes.
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Your phone becomes a tool for noticing things you normally walk past. In small teams you will explore the environment through photography missions focused on details, senses, textures, perspectives and unusual moments.
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Later that evening, our photographs come to the big screen. We will see how different teams experienced the same environment and discover how many different realities can exist inside one place.
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Monday 21.09Reflection & future
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Time to look back at everything that happened during the exchange and recognise how much learning can happen outside a classroom: through conversations, challenges, teamwork, mistakes and experiences.
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We will bring the whole journey together, revisit important moments from the week and think about what we want to take home with us.
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After secretly observing someone throughout the week, it is finally time to discover who your Secret Coach was. Expect real examples of strengths that other people noticed in you during the project.
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Imagine meeting a future version of yourself. What would you like to see, hear and feel in that future? You will turn that image into a personal letter containing something concrete you want to move towards after the project.
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Tuesday 22.09Departure
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Our camping week comes to an end. We pack our tents, say goodbye and begin the journey home with new experiences, friendships and stories to carry with us.
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Who takes part
Participants & partners
28 people in total: 24 participants, 3 group leaders and 1 facilitator. Participants are young people aged 18 to 25 from Greece, Romania and Croatia, with 8 participants per country. 12 of them face fewer opportunities (economic, geographical or health-related), and gender balance is ensured.
Partner organisations
Apilea youth 🇬🇷
Applicant organisation. An informal youth group passionate about self-improvement, nature and non-formal learning.
Euroactive Hrvatska 🇭🇷
Partner (green travel). An NGO promoting youth participation and inclusion in the Virovitica-Podravina region of Croatia.
Asociația „Bridge Club Curtea de Argeș” 🇷🇴
Partner (green travel). An NGO focused on youth empowerment, building bridges between communities and inclusion for young people from disadvantaged areas.
Before you come
Practical information
The exchange runs for eight days at Simos Camping in Elafonisos. The 13th and the 22nd of September are the arrival and departure days, so they count as travel days.
- Participants from Greece, Romania and Croatia travel to the venue by green transport (bus and van).
- Elafonisos is a small island reached by a short ferry crossing, so please coordinate your arrival time with the team to make sure you catch the ferry together with the group.
Can I arrive earlier and leave later than the specified dates?
Only after consultation can you arrive up to two days before the program and leave up to two days after it, to stay in Athens.
Requirements:
- The tickets you find are cheaper
- The costs of accommodation and meals for the extra days are borne by you
- The organizers have agreed to this decision
- Accommodation, meals and local transfers during the project are fully covered.
- International travel is reimbursed up to your Erasmus+ distance band cap (economy fares).
- Keep and submit all originals: electronic tickets, boarding passes (both ways), receipts for buses or trains, and any baggage receipts.
- Use taxis only when public transport is unavailable (keep a justification + receipt).
- Reimbursements are processed after we receive complete documents.
All countries travel by green travel.
Travel reimbursement per participant
- 🇬🇷 Greece · €56 · green travel
- 🇭🇷 Croatia · €417 · green travel
- 🇷🇴 Romania · €417 · green travel
- Bell tents with 2 participants per tent, each on their own mattress.
- Sanitary blocks: 4 large shared buildings, separate areas for men and women, cleaned 24/7.
- Sheets, pillows and a sleeping bag are provided, so you do not need to bring any bedding with you.
- On site: a dedicated activity space, supermarket, restaurant, shared kitchens with fridges, tennis court and an outdoor gym.
- Beach: the famous Simos beach is about 4 minutes on foot, and we will have a shaded area there.
- Town: the Chora is about 5 minutes by car; we will visit it at least twice on free afternoons.
Greece is typically around 25°C and sunny in the daytime; nights can be cooler (we sleep in tents).
- Summer clothes, swimsuit & flip-flops
- Hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, reusable water bottle, towel
- Comfortable closed shoes for activities
- 2 warm hoodies or jackets for the evenings
- Personal medication
- Passport/ID and (if applicable) EHIC or insurance
Follow-up
After the exchange
This space will be filled after the project with photos, results and the reflections shared by the participants. Come back soon!
Get in touch
Contact
Have a question about the exchange? Reach out to the coordinating team.
Apilea youth · Applicant organisation, Greece
💬 WhatsApp general group: to be announced