About
Eat me up!
Sharing food with others keeps people together and connect them.
Next to our differences concerning our culture, nationality, religion, the colour of our skin and background, cooking and eating food is something that we all have in common with one another.
Eat me up! It is an 8 days Youth Exchange program that brings together 24 young people from 4 European countries to share and learn about food, nutrition, and cooking.
It is a playground to learn about different cultures and to improve soft skills in the context of teamwork.
It is a journey to create acceptance, connection, and social inclusion.
“I realized very early the power of food to evoke memory, to bring people together, to transport you to other places, and I wanted to be a part of that.”
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– José Andrés Puerta, chef
Outcomes
Participants while going through the program can identify different areas of improvement and choose to work on them according to their needs and interests. Nevertheless, the possible outcomes connected with the main topics of the project can be:
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gain a set of new competencies in the field of nutrition, cooking
and food
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develop their soft skills in the context of team work
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increase their chances to enter the labour market or improve their job position
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gain experiences and competencies in facilitating and implementing non-formal activities
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improve their lifestyle while adding healthier habits to their routine
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gain practical insights on how to take initiatives and develop businesses related to food
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have a wider picture of the food industry
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be more active inside their sending organisations
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gain familiarity with operating in intercultural settings, increase openness towards people different than them
WHEN & HOW
Eat me up! is a project made by 3 phases. Participating partially cannot be an option as by the regulations of the Erasmus Plus program.
Preparation phase #1
21th October – 18th November 2019
Participants prepare for the exchange together with group leaders and the sending organizations, they plan the practical aspects of the exchange (travel, finding the resources to pay the personal contribution), and participate in the on-line assignments (happening through a Facebook group with all participants).
Youth Exchange #2
18th November:
Arrival Day of the leaders
19th November:
Arrival day of the participants
20th – 27th November:
Program
28th November:
Departure day
Participants are involved in non-formal activities like workshops, simulations, assignments, reflections, sharing, games, visits and meetings aimed to train their competences in the field of food, cooking and nutrition and to improve their soft skills.
Food as a goal: the exchange focus on the relation food-sustainability, body needs, seasonal food, fast food vs slow food, nutrition, local vs global food, preservatives and herbicides, gardening, food blogs, food marketing, vegetarian and vegan diets, successful food businesses, large scale vegetable production, practical cooking skills, food and culture, creation of healthy lifestyle
Food as a tool: cooking is used to stimulate the development of soft skills in the context of teamwork like cooperation, communication, problem-solving, time management, delegation, leadership, creativity, meditation, pro-activity. We use cooking also as a way to discover and interact with cultural and personal differences in the context of the participants of the exchange and beyond.
Follow-up #3
December 2019 – January 2020
Participants write a short testimony of their experience, fill in an evaluation form and share the material produced through the exchange: a video-documentary, the testimonies and a booklet of the project.
Expenses
Latvia
30€
Spain & Italy
40€
France
50€
Latvia
310€
France & Italy
230€
Spain
40€
TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT
In order to receive the reimbursement for your travel to Spain:
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take part actively in all phases of the project (Preparation, Exchange and Follow-up);
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use the most cost-efficient way of transport available to you;
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provide a printed version of all the required travel documents (flight itinerary and boarding passes, bus and train tickets). You are allowed to arrive or depart MAX 2 DAYS BEFORE AND 2 DAYS AFTER the activity dates of Youth Exchange.
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Bear in mind that extra days will not be supported with food and accommodation and if you stay longer than 2 days before/after your travel costs will not be reimbursed.
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So before booking the tickets for your journey wait to receive the official confirmation letter, send us your travel plan and wait for our approval. The reimbursement is done when follow-up activities are completed as a natural closing step of the project, up to the amounts stated
This program is supported by a co-funding of the European Union allocated by the Erasmus + program through the Spanish National Agency. Therefore accommodation, food, materials, the program and the travel costs up to the maximum amount will be covered or reimbursed.
PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION: We ask each participant to contribute to the implementation of the program with an amount stated in the table below that is related to the overage wage of the country where they are resident. It's a sign of real interest, an investment you do on yourself through the project and concrete economic support.
In case that the contribution represents a real obstacle to your participation explain it in the application form and contact the sending organization from your country.
Where
The exchange will take place in Los Escullos, a village of 62 inhabitants in the municipality of Nijar.
Participants will be accommodated in shared rooms in Camping Los Escullos, in the natural park of Cabo de Gata.
There will be a common transfert from Almeria train station to Los Escullos and vice versa the day of arrival and of departure. The cost of this transport is 35 EUR both ways that we deduct from the travel reimbursement amount, consider it while planning your travel: it is the only way to reach the venue.
During the exchange there will be 2 visits, one to Nijar to visit a greenhouse and Asociación de Inmigrantes de Níjar; another to Almeria, to meet FAAM, an entity that connects 18 organizations active in the field of inclusion of young people with disability, where participants will attend a cooking workshop.
WHO
COORDINATOR
Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the biggest student association in Europe. It was founded in 1989 and legally registered in 1990 to support and develop student exchange.
ESN Almería is a non-profit association founded in 2009 whose main aim is to support international students in their experience during the Erasmus program.
ESN Almería cooperates with the International Office of UAL and with other private and public entities in Almería province. It has its own offices inside the University and inside the Civitas student campus.
It also runs a youth pub where it organizes leisure activities for young people.
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ESN Almería has 10 years of experience in working with exchange students. One of the goals of the organization for 2019 is to give access to youth international mobilities to more young people in the province of Almeria, to the university students of Almeria (14.000) and to young people with fewer opportunities in the local area.
Through the new program "Erasmus for Everybody", ESN Almeria aims to develop activities in the Erasmus+ KA1 and to become a point of reference for young people in the field of youth exchanges, trainings and European volunteering, both as sending then hosting organization, in cooperation with other entities active in the local territory and filling the gap with other areas in Spain where there are many organizations active in this field and more opportunities for young people.
CONTACT PERSON
Partners
ESN Besançon
Contact person: Caroline Malpesa
Mail contact: president@erasmus-besancon.com
Facebook page
Participants
Eat me up! Can be a project for you is:
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Your age is between 18 and 26 years old (except the national leaders whose limits are 20-35)
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You want to discover more about food, cooking, and nutrition
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You want to train your soft skills while getting actively engaged in non-formal activities for a total of about 10 hours per day
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You care curious to meet and get to know people different than you for culture, social background, abilities, values, and world views
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You are able to take an active part in all the phases of the project and in the whole program of the exchange
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You are able to communicate in simple English (keep in mind that we will use an international simpler version of English if your level is very fluent you may need to simplify your communication in order to be understood)
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You are officially resident in one of the following countries: Spain, Latvia, France or Italy
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You will not be benefitting from any other Erasmus Plus fund during the program in Spain
Important to know
Erasmus Plus projects are great opportunities to travel, discover new cultures and countries, meet different people and create international relationships without spending a lot of money.
In order to support the learning process of the participants drinking alcohol is not allowed during the whole duration of the experience in Los Escullos. If you cannot stay without drinking for 8 days this project is not for you. Also, the use of any kind of drug or substance that has a psychoactive effect on the brain is not allowed. In case you are taking prescribed medications that affect the functioning of your brain let us know in the application form.
Also, if you are not able to stay for 8 days without drinking alcohol, if you are not able to enjoy without using alcohol, if you are not able to connect with people without consuming alcohol, you have a problem. Have a look at this tool and contact professional support.
In case you are interested in travel, discover new places, meet different people and create international relationships in a cheap way but not in the topics of the exchange, you cannot actively participate in all the phases of the project or you are not willing to learn about cooking, food, nutrition and to develop your soft skills, it's perfectly fine and we don't get offended. We ask you then not to apply for this program - it may become a not pleasant experience for you - but go for what you really want and make it awesome!
In that case, you may find useful tools like Couchsurfing, Blablacar, traditional hitch-hiking, to get inspiration from other travellers through blogs or groups like this one or this one. If you have read all the web page until here and you still want to participate write in the section “secret code” of the application form the phrase “I am not s free holiday seeker”.
