Together with a network of German and Austrian partners, we organised the first Europe discovery trip to Vienna. 6 participants with 2 youth workers from the youth welfare programme at ifas GmbH Göttingen travelled to Vienna by train in September 2024.
Here is a short report from the youth workers who accompanied the group to Vienna.
For some of the participants, it was their first trip outside Germany and they were correspondingly excited before their trip to Vienna.
The programme had the motto: ‘What can Europe do for you?’ and aimed to show Europe in all its diversity and historical developments and to whet their appetite for more.
After a few preparatory sessions in Göttingen, the train journey went smoothly. On the very first day, there was an introduction by our Austrian partner Felix Haffner, who organised the whole week perfectly with the network partners.
The programme alternated between lectures and workshops with EU content, guided tours and cultural events until the last event on Friday, where our participants met Austrian young people from OJAB (non-profit operator of student residences, residential facilities for senior citizens and training centres for young people, refugees and adults).
This first trip was a complete success!
It was just the right mix of ‘programme’, culture and leisure activities.
Especially the exchange with non-German ‘other cultures’ and people in similar situations in a completely different context was a totally important experience, from which all participants grew noticeably.
We noticed a very positive group dynamic from a group that had actually only met very briefly beforehand.
The new encounters, the discoveries in a foreign environment boosted the self-confidence of all six participants and provided new, very positive impetus for their further development
The programme ran like a red thread through the week and, in addition to the interesting content, also provided an orientation structure. Every evening, we gathered our experiences and were able to see how exciting our participants found the programme and the activities on offer and how independently they organised and enjoyed their leisure activities – from the Hundertwasserhaus to the opera – from Vienna’s museums to Schönbrunn Palace
After the trip, which we were fortunately able to complete just before the major floods on 14 September, everyone returned to their homes in Göttingen exhausted but incredibly happy.
We definitely want to continue organising such learning mobilities and are delighted that we were given this opportunity.