These days, it is very important for young people to know how to use the so-called soft skills. Knowledge of these increases their attractiveness in the job market, as well as their communication competencies in their personal lives. Thus, the Cypriot youth organisation Youth Dynamics decided to host the S.K.I.L.L.S. UP youth exchange we participated in from July 5th to 14th 2024.

The first day of the exchange in the journalistic village of Pervolia was mostly introductory. Our team of ten Slovaks got to know the other 50 participants from Cyprus, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia and Spain through various icebreakers. New friendships started to blossom which ensured our great collaboration throughout the nine days we spent together.

Workshops on the improvement of our soft, digital and green skills started the second day. More icebreakers followed, but we furthermore participated in activities focused on teamwork, communication and presentation skills. Later, we also discussed strategies to combat stress in our work and personal lives. In the evening, we could relax during the first of a series of intercultural nights during which we were introduced to the beautiful countries of Cyprus and Lithuania.

In the morning of the third day, we were all herded into the bus and on our way to a day trip in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. In Nicosia, we were allowed to visit the Cypriot parliament, where we learned a lot about its workings, as well as the origin of Cyprus and its division. After the visit, we walked to the Eleftheria Square, or Freedom Square, from which we walked to a restaurant for lunch and then deeper to freeroam the city. It was around 45 degrees in Nicosia that day, but we still had a lot of fun exploring its nooks and crannies. Some of the braver people also visited the Turkish side, which is divided from the Greek by the so-called Green Line. After we were done with the city, we made a pitstop at an elementary school to do some volunteer work and to put our green skills into practice.

During the fourth day, we participated in two workshops by visiting presenters. The first one by Arts and Culture Against Radicalisation was on the topic of battling and preventing youth radicalisation through engaging creativity and our artistic skills, which we could also try out in multiple ways. The second workshop by the Center for Social Innovation included talks about robotics and its usefulness for communities and individuals alike, as well as the building and programming of our very own breakdancing robot. After the long day of workshops, we could once again let loose at the Latvian and Italian intercultural night.

The fifth day signalled the beginning of workshops led by individual countries. At first it was Lithuania with their presentation on communication skills, which we then put into practice in discussions, as well as creative activities. The following workshop was presented by our Slovak team. Our topic was critical thinking and its importance. We certainly forced the participants to use their imagination and own critical thinking to determine what some of the main features of hoaxes and misinformation are. Our workshop day was closed by the Spanish and their sports day at the beach, during which we were again forced to put our competitiveness and teamwork into good use. In the evening, it was time for the long-awaited Slovak-Spanish intercultural night during which we had the opportunity to showcase what Easter looks like in Slovakia, while the Spanish completely ate the cake with their theatrical performance of their region’s traditions. It was a night to remember.

The sixth day was also the last day of individual workshops. Latvia prepared a workshop on artificial intelligence, full with an AI-generated song to commemorate the project, while Italy tested our teamwork through building the highest towers with only straws and pieces of paper. In the afternoon, we participated in another guest workshop in which we learned how to create the perfect CV, to absolutely ace our future job interviews and how to basically take the labor market by storm and be successful in our chosen careers.

The seventh day had also started by all of us being herded onto a bus, this time to travel to Ayia Napa. Our first stop was at an outdoor museum of statues and cacti with a wonderful view of the wide blue sea. Afterwards, we moved to a 5-star hotel to listen to a Cypriot businessman speak to us for more than an hour - reactions were mixed, to say the least. Luckily, all was well once we had eaten and could roam the town, the beaches and spend some time in the sea of Ayia Napa.

At last, the final day of the project came and it was full of emotions. We summed up all of our gained knowledge and experiences, and began to say goodbye to each other for the time being. All 60 of us promised to see each other again, because we forged very strong bonds during those ten days, which will, hopefully, last forever.

Thank you, Cyprus, for the wonderful time we had there and for the opportunity to participate in such an experience-full and, especially, friendship-full project!