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Beyond the surface

Long-time readers would know by now that writing is my go-to reflection tool: it helps me think, assess what I learned, and process my emotions.

So, here I am… trying to unpack what happened during the training course Crafting Reality – held in the little city of Carei, Romania.

If the aforementioned readers (assuming they even existed) were paying close attention, they would also know that this wasn’t my first time in Carei.

In fact, one of the reasons why I chose to go there again was that I already knew how Delia and her Association Beyond work.

I’m happy to report that I’m not disappointed: they did their best to involve each participants and make them feel cared for – with great success, I dare say.

Hopes, expectations, and reality check

First things first, let me give you some context.

I’ve been taking part in European mobility projects for about 15 years, and several projects I now work with are actually funded by the European Union.

Erasmus+ training courses are aimed at youth workers, whose role is “to equip young people with the right tools so they can become active participants in their communities and in decision making” (according to the definition of Youth Work by the European Union).

In layman’s terms, these kind of projects generally target teachers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and other professionals in the field of education.

This particular project was meant “to explore how art, and non-formal education can strengthen the wellbeing and resilience of both professionals and the young people they support” (see also Crafting Reality page on SALTO).

Even though I knew full well what I was getting myself into (and I had read the infopack), I was still low-key hoping for more creative writing activities.

Instead, there has been a great focus on visual arts. Which is also good because it is mostly uncharted territory for me, and I have more to learn on that.

I was also on the lookout for new tools I could integrate into my own workshops with young people, especially because I have a couple of them coming up.

I am particularly happy about one method to express and understand feelings without using words, shared by the art-therapist-in-training Teeb.

Other than that, we have tackled important topics such as Trauma Informed Non-Formal Education and shared even more art-based tools and methods.

Lastly, during these days I’ve had the chance to meet awesome people from all Europe (and beyond). Some of them are working on projects that I find really interesting – and perhaps we may even partner up in the future, who knows.

Unexpected outcomes

This is usually my preferred kind of learning: the one that happens by surprise.

I shared my knowledge about creative writing, project management, language, music, and more. And in doing so, I was forced to reassess such knowledge.

As an example of a totally unrelated learning outcome, I realized that my level of foreign languages is overall a bit higher than I gave myself credit for:

Also, I love getting inspiration and ideas that I would’ve never had otherwise.

Sure, ideas are usually worthless until executed. But they are seeds awaiting to sprout. I did take some notes, and going through them I can see the potential.

And to be fair, sometimes ideas can be pretty powerful and transforming. I’d like to expand on that someday soon. Can’t promise anything, though. We’ll see.

For now, I just wanted to share with you something that is born from one such idea – a simple idea.

So here’s a short, haiku-like poem I wrote right after the closing session of the training course (last Wednesday, 17 September 2025):

Don’t let words fool you:
Truth’s in smiles, looks, and presence –
Silence speaks louder.