by Representatives from the project partner organizations spent seven very interesting days in Lithuania 15th – 21st of July, 2022. During the Exchange Visit to Lithuania, partner Active Youth hosted 20 youth and youth workers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Portugal. Foreseen exchange topics were:
- Experiences in supporting youth in increasing IT skills – potentials in IT employment
- Organize visits to local entities relevant in the field of IT – what employer do to attract young employees, how prepared are young employees, what is crucial for young people in search for jobs to know…
- Tools applied for increasing competencies of youth, Increasing potentials for PwD in employment, Cooperation with local businesses, Connection mechanisms between young people and potential employers, Involving youth in democratic processes and decision making processes
During the wonderful 7 day stay, participants visited IT companies to see firsthand the atmosphere, efforts and work of the companies. In discussions with company representatives participants became familiar with efforts employers invest in attracting youth to become involved in the IT sector, one in which Lithuania has made one of the largest steps. Participants learned about efforts of stakeholders at all levels, local and national, which contribute to youth employment and the promotion of entrepreneurship and encouragement of young people to create their own businesses and also to be prepared for employment once finalizing education.
In addition to the formal meetings and workshops, participants had the opportunity to visit interesting sights in Lithuania (Vilnus, Kaunus and Trakia) and become familiar with the Lithuanian culture, customs and way life, tried traditional Lithuanian food and drinks; tried to adjust to the Lithuanian climate and in general get to know a country for which none of the participants had any knowledge of in the past nor had ever visited.
All in all, we had a great time: learned interesting facts, saw best practices, experienced a new and unusual country with specific weather, strengthened partner friendships and came up with new project ideas.
