“National minorities: less in number, equal in rights” in Cyprus

Cyprus 

Cyprus is a beautiful country, and I am glad that I had the chance to visit it. To be more  specific, Agros is a very nice village. It has a rose factory, some cafeterias and restaurants and  is a good choice to spend some days for peace and relaxation. We also visited Limassol and  Nicosia, two amazing cities. We saw museums and tasted local food.

Intercultural night 

Each country presented their traditions, sightseeing and local food. I tasted Cypriot,  Armenian and Egyptian food and it was so tasty. Also, we danced traditional dances. It was  super!

Friends  

During this project, I made new friends, that are true and loyal. I learned a lot about their  countries and their languages. I hope we can meet again, why not in another Erasmus program.

Taking advantage of the opportunity offered by Praxis in collaboration with Erasmus plus, we formed a group of 10 people, with the aim of visiting Cyprus for 9 days with the National Minorities program. The program included very interesting activities.  More specifically, the purpose was to work collectively in groups, in order to learn to function as part of a whole and not individually and to develop our social and communication skills.

Through games, debates and various other activities we came into contact with people from Cyprus and two other countries that are outside the EU.  (Egypt and Armenia), which made the program even more interesting. A special experience for me was the workshop we undertook as a Greek group on the topic: “Refugee crisis in Europe and Integration/inclusion”. Corresponding workshops were undertaken by the rest of the countries, in order to process the above problems and to study the consequences they had in each country separately, but also at the European and International level.

Eythymia Kougioni

Even though this was not my first Erasmus project, it will surely reserve a special place in my mind and heart. All the feelings come rushing back every time I remember all the beautiful moments, we shared with people in unique ways, only made possible, by this experience. The relationships forged during this week are the kind that live through time and will surely flourish once we meet again.

The knowledge we gained has such an enriching impact on all of us because it helped us come into the following understanding; We found out that we all share the same core which is enriched by the colorful veil of diversity. Such experiences don’t come often enough in life, and I sure am grateful for this amazing opportunity which broadened my horizons, expanded my mindset and gave me the chance to meet incredible people in those touching and impactful couple of days.

Ioannis Kyrkopoulos

Recently I participated in my first Erasmus+ program by Praxis in Cyprus. It was a lifetime experience. I don’t know how, but so many people from different countries and backgrounds made such a joyful group, maybe the ice breaking games and the team building games helped us there, but overall, it was the Erasmus vibe that connected us all so well.

The intercultural nights were amazing and interesting since every country got to present their culture. Also, the workshops were very informative. I really liked the multicultural character of the project and I believe that participating was the best way to learn about other religions and countries. Last but not least the two daytrips we had in Limassol and Nicosia were very beautiful and enjoyable. I’m going to miss those days in Cyprus and the people I met there.

Athina Prassa

At the beginning, it was my first time in an Erasmus plus program and I was excessively excited, because I looked forward to start a new experience. I was not sure about what to expect from the program, but surely, I wanted to come into contact with people from different countries and cultures and learn interesting things from them. This was a challenge for me to be out of my comfort zone and gave me the opportunity to acquire more knowledge and spend quality time with people there.

So, through the activities we learn about each other better and I felt more comfortable with them. Moreover, I became more familiar about the topic, which is an important issue that everyone should be aware and sensitized. I learned deeply some things that nowhere else would I have the opportunity to do this.

One of my greatest memories was from the last day when we have as an activity to write for each other some things in order to keep something from everyone. I feel really lucky to have a lifetime experience and to meet this fantastic people. I would like to go in another Erasmus program as soon as possible. I truly recommend to everyone with the first chance to participate in a program, you have nothing to lose!

Areti Nikou