They all look like they’re very good friends, as if they have known each other all their lives but they had actually met only a week before. These young people from three different European countries – Estonia, Italy, Slovakia and Malta – were in Malta to take part in “Heritage Trail”, a European-funded exchange organised by the Labour Youth Forum of Dingli and the Dingli local council.
Nine participants from each country, apart from Italy which had three, aged between 16 and 25 took part in this “Heritage Trail” two weeks ago.
Like any trail, the young people travelled around Malta, discovering the country and its culture. However, the objective of such an exchange is not only tourism, it had a precise purpose. “We organised workshops on heritage, culture and architecture; then the participants had to put forward ideas to create a trail that could be used by tourists,” said Ian Borg, mayor of Dingli and president of the Labour Youth Forum.
For instance, the participants put up a signage board near Dingli cliffs to show tourists the places of interest. In addition, all groups prepared workshops on topic related to heritage; for example the Slovakians made a presentation of conservation methods.
“It has been pretty much a holiday,” says 20-year-old Gertel, a girl from Estonia. Indeed, apart from the visits, they had plenty of time to go to the beach. Every evening, each group made a comprehensive presentation of its country including the tasting of typical food, drinks and local dances. “It is much better than the usual holidays because it combines fun and educational things,” says Tauri, an Estonian boy.
This exchange was partly financed by the European commission. Participants just had to pay 30 per cent of travel costs, as everything else was financed by the European Union. It is part of the youth European programme, whose aim is to promote European awareness through youth exchanges. Organisations of all kinds can apply to create their own project with young people aged between 16 and 25; it should be specified that this not a holiday as such and they must establish contact with the local population through workshops. Every year, Malta’s national youth agency in the Ministry of Culture manages several projects like the “Heritage Trail”. Last year, 23 youth exchanges involving foreign countries took place in Malta. But despite all the advantages of this programme, it is unknown to most. (see article on Maltese youngsters’ thoughts below).
Knowing that the exchange was coming to an end with the trip to Gozo, all participants started feeling sad. “We got really close to the Maltese group,” says another Estonian girl. Close indeed, a Maltese guy dated one of the Estonian girls. The leader of the Slovakian group is enthusiastic too: “We really enjoyed our stay here, we appreciated all the visits, and especially the beautiful beaches.” Even the three guys from Italy had a great time, though they didn’t speak English. “We had the help of the Maltese group, as they translated everything so we felt very much at home here,” said Oreste, 18. They all promised to keep in touch and, why not, perhaps another next trip abroad.