What happens when people who don’t know each other — and often don’t even speak the same language fluently — sit around one table and start talking about the future?
In February, a group of youth workers from across Europe came to Rzeszów for an Erasmus+ networking seminar. It could’ve been “just another project,” but it wasn’t. It was a week of sharing stories, noticing the little things, and asking the big questions: What can we do together? How can we bring change into our own communities? Where do we start?
Urban Lab – the seminar venue – turned into a space of possibility. There were brainstorming walls full of sticky notes, circles of chairs that shifted with every new discussion, and long coffee breaks where ideas moved faster than the line for tea.
The group worked on common challenges – from youth participation to social inclusion – and came up with small but powerful steps they could take. One afternoon, they even created mini-NGO models, based on their personal passions and contexts. Another day, they simply walked through the baroque corridors of the Łańcut Castle, letting history remind them how many versions of Europe have come and gone — and how much of it is still being written.
One evening, they joined the local community at Open Café. There was no stage, no presentations. Just people, stories, and questions. For many, it was the most powerful moment of the week — a reminder that youth work isn’t about theory, but about presence.
By the end of the week, the flipcharts were full, but what stayed with us were the quiet reflections. The early morning walk to the venue, conversations over lunch, the feeling of “I’m not doing this work alone.”
Some connections will turn into future projects. Some will stay as warm memories. But all of them made a difference — even if just in how we see our own work.
