By Nikol Parvanova My name is Nikol, I am a senior in university and had never gone on an Erasmus+ program before. This article is not only my way to disseminate the practices and takeaways from the first one I went on, but also a raw self-reflection of how the experience changed my perspective on sooo many levels. (Also my first time writing such an article.) There are two types of people when it comes to what their email inbox looks like: one keeps it clean and tidy, with all the important emails read and replied to, while the second has subscribed to a dozen newsletters that they never open. Well, if you are reading this, you have probably gathered which type of person I am. So,…

By Stefan Tashev In the period between February 6 and 15, 2026. Zarika Association took part in a training course dedicated to the "Legislative Theater" method. The training took place in a wooded area in the Carpathians near the town of Busceni, Romania, an area that is well known to have a high population of brown bears that have become accustomed (or not so much) to human presence. This added an additional, albeit informal, element of adventure to the learning process. The course was organized by A.R.T. Fusion with facilitators Monica Tudorache and Antonia Pîslariu, and brought together over 25 participants from across Europe and neighboring continents with different professional and civic backgrounds, united by an interest in social change, activism and advocacy. From the very beginning,…

YOUniverse was created as a hands-on, creative lab for youth workers to explore embodiment in action. Throughout the project, participants got to experience a variety of embodied approaches (somatic experiencing, contact improvisation, playfight, etc.), with plenty of room to try things out, lead their own sessions, and receive supportive feedback. The facilitators also offered practical guidance to help make these methods easy to understand and adapt for different contexts. One of the most important parts of YOUniverse was what happened next – each participant took their learning and put it into practice within a month after the project, bringing their new skills to life in their own communities. Here is a testimonial by Barbara Steinmann, representing Bulgaria and Zarika at this project: In the secluded village of Habří,…

Water to the Moon mobility for youth workers was a journey into our responses to conflict - an exploration of how we face challenges and what alternative paths we can take with more curiosity and less fear. Through embodiment and storytelling (including the Human library methodology), participants engaged both their bodies and narratives to discover new ways of navigating conflicts. A key aspect was the follow-up actions, where participants implemented their learning within a month after the project. We would like to share some testimonials by the participants representing Bulgaria and Zarika. "Water to the Moon has been an incredibly transformative course for me as a community facilitator. I have taken valuable activities and tools and am now using them in my community to develop more understanding…