Erasmus+ KA1 Youth Exchange “Social media and youth” will take place in Slovakia between 15th and 23nd October 2016 Participants: The participants should send the application form to apply to be part of this project. It is required that the group should be able to work independently as well as with the other groups and the participants should have such IT skills to be able to prepare their own videos and activities about social media during the exchange. 6 participants from each country, 5 youngsters between 17 - 20 years old +1 group leader. Language: The working language will be English. Excellent speaking skills are not a must, but basic level of English is required. About the project: Information and communication technologies move the world and social media have become an important part of our lives. They influence people´s mind and behavior. They make our lives easier and more enjoyable, but on the other hand they can be easily misused to manipulate people from an early age. The fact that teenagers spend most of their free time on social media is alarming. They use social networks for social interaction. Our project is the reflection of the fact that teenagers don´t spend their free time effectively and meaningfully, they confuse virtual world with reality and tend to be dependent on their performance on social media what might lead to negative phenomenon and decrease the quality of their lives. What is more, some of the risky behavior such as casual sex, drug abuse and some kinds of bullying are shown as exciting and cool on social networks. Teenagers challenge themselves with the activities that are actually meaningful. Such kind of behavior leads to unconcern, disrespect and selfishness among the people. Teenagers are becoming the members of different groups on social media which influence their personal development in a very negative way. Sometimes they are motivated by the curiosity and they don´t find their behavior harmful, but from different point of view they push the limits of aggression and manipulation. We need to make teenagers think, be critical and make them more responsible for their lives and the society in general. There is no doubt that social media and networks connect people. However, they can make people isolated in reality too. We believe that this project is essential to point out all the risks of social media and networks. And on the other hand show the possibilities how we can use them for the benefit of people because they are no doubly the source of information that we can get very easily. However we need to sort out this information and learn how to use social media and networks for our benefits. The aim of the project is to concentrate on the following objectives in order to address the issue: Through this project we want to improve the key competences and skills of young people so that they will develop their personalities To promote solidarity, respect, tolerance and intercultural dialogue with the focus to raise participants ´awareness to responsibilities for their own lives through working on the same topic To make participating organizations more recognisable, attractive and competitive in their areas, improve the quality of the youth work and promote active youth participation To Exchange ideas and good practice examples to be able to offer the activities that are progressive, motivating and challenging for the other participants To promote ICT new technologies with the emphasis on digital competences Promote effective use of social media and encourage the participants to be more responsible users of the internet Analyse the groups active on social networks that present extreme ideas and ideologies and preparing activities related to this topic with the aim to prevent people from manipulation Each team per country will prepare a project logo proposal (one for each organization) It will need to be designed in a graphic editor and capture the idea of the project and it will have to be an original work of the author. It will be chosen during the exchange by all participants. Free accommodation + food: Catering will be organized, 3 meals per day, plus coffee and snacks. Travel costs: According to new Erasmus+ rules, the reimbursement of travel costs will be calculated used a specific program called Distance Calculator: 170€ per participant. Arrival: The nearest airport is in Kosice (about 55 km from the venue). However, you can find much cheaper tickets if you fly to Budapest (about 300 km from the venue) Note:Organisers will not provide any accommodation for additional stay in Slovakia. If participants plan to arrive a few days earlier or depart a few days later if they want to visit Bratislava , Budapest or any other city near they can, is up to them. YOUTHPASS: Every participant is individually entitled to receive a Youthpass Certificate, which confirms participation. The document can be of benefit in terms of the educational or employment future of the participant. Through Youthpass the European Commission ensures the youth exchange activity is recognized as a nonformal learning experience. For more information on Youthpass you may wish to visit www.youthpass.eu Accommodation: www.penzionaquamaria.sk Download Application form Download Information