It´s been quite a long time without any chance to participate in a young exchange, and finally in summer 2021 I learned about „Environment as a culture of education“ youth exchange in Armenia. After considering all the pros and cons, I decided to give it a chance. Even though my journey there and back took me 96 hours in total, it was totally worth it.  

The project took place in stunning surround of Tsaghkadzor, a small town situated in the central part of Armenia. Shortly upon the arrival I was introduced to other participants, who came from Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, United Kingdom and Armenia. 

The main goal of the project was to name major environmental issues, such as different types of pollution, deforestation, climate change, and finding ways how we, the humanity, can adress these issues. In order to achieve that the organizers invited an expert in this field who guided us through the bigger part of the project.  

Throughout the whole week we had a chance to learn more about environmental issues occurring not only in Armenia, but also in other European countries. Thies knowledge made us to realize: we must undertake pretty much the same actions to save the environment all over the world. 

Apart from the main topic we did have a lot of fun. On the third day of the project we managed to go to Lake Sevan, where we enjoyed freshly caught fish in a restaurant right on the Sevan shore. Two days later we went to the capital city of Yerevan, where a whole disco bar was rented only for us, and on the way to the city we visited some other magnificent places.  

The week flew by so fast and it was time to say goodbye. Full of new experiences and nice memories, I set off on a long journey home, during which I was recalling all the beautiful moments we had with other participants. 

On this occasion, I would like to thank the Youthfully Yours organization for giving me such an incredible opportunity. I do believe I have gained such a unique experience that encourages me to raise awareness about environmental issues here in Slovakia.