Short Summary

Media Creator: Design & Creativity – youth exchange – London – UK

Voila! The project “Media Creator #1: Self Branding & Social Media” is concluded and now we are impatiently waiting for the Media Creator #2: Design & Creativity and Media Creator #3: Photo & Video. As a result of the first phase we have:

• 30 outstanding Media Creators
• 6 video movie productions
• 30 photo portraits
• 30 much more refined Facebook and Linkedin profiles
• Some freshly baked creative CVs, websites, prezi’s and video CVs
• Thousand of photos
• Unemployement campaigns
• Self-branding campaigns
• 24 self-brand analysis of interesting people in London
• 30 pitches
• 30 people knowing what Holy Herma is.
• 30 creativity circles
• 35 secret and public, but well bonded friends from 7 countries: United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Greece, Romania, Italy, Poland and Lithuania
• 7 strong partnerships: Brno Connected (Czech Republic), Synergy Flow (Greece), Break the Couch (Greece), Synergy Romania (Romania), EUROSUD (Italy), Europe4Youth (Poland), Inovatyvi Karta (Lithuania)

Videos by Media Creators

Testimonials by Abroadship’ers

Youth Exchange – Media Creator – Self-Branding & Media Creator – abroadship.org

Ruta (UK):  “Well designed and executed project inviting over 30 people from different countries to one place to share their experience and develop new skills. An amazing opportunity for anyone looking to boost professional life, explore their strengths in a different setting and do all that in a fun and hands-on approach! A thousand YES”

Miguel (UK): “This Youth Exchange is awesome, we were learning about self-branding and other competencies. It´s very participating, I would repeat for a lot of reasons (the instructors, for the content, for the participants…). I recommended it.”

Youth Exchange – Media Creator – Self-Branding & Media Creator – abroadship.org

Olympia (Greece): “The whole process was in a word refreshing. I managed to try new things, step out of my comfort zone and think outside of the box. I met new interesting people and exchanged opinions and ideas. I also managed to improve my media and time-management skills. I was lucky enough to make some new friends from all over Europe!! Overall it was a great experience that I would recommend to any individual willing to be a part of a a multicultural, creative team!”

Mateusz (Poland): “What can I say? Things like that don’t happen on a regular basis. It was a week with some greatest, most cheerful and inspiring people I’ve ever met. It was a week of boosting my creativity, teamworking skills, venturing far beyond the boundaries of my comfort zone and simply having fun in brilliant company. It was a week I will yearningly look back on yet for a really long time. Splendid experience to remember and live on! Thank you!”

Youth Exchange – Media Creator – Self-Branding & Media Creator – abroadship.org

Anastasia (Greece): “Very well organised Erasmus+ programme, with absolutely helpful and interesting activities, taking place in an amazing venue. I learnt about self-branding, things that couldn’t even imagine. Furthermore, I worked with totally aspiring minds, with great teamwork attitude, under the restless counselling of our experienced and well prepared coaches. Highly recommended!!!”

Izabela (Poland): “Marvelous intercultural experience! You gave us a tools how we can improve our self-branding. You also gave us a space to create connecion beetwen us. We were working together, playing together and after these few days we became the one big international family. Thank you for this wonderful adventure”

Youth Exchange – Media Creator – Self-Branding & Media Creator – photo credit: Ruta Skudraite

Alina (Romania): “Best experience ever! #selfbranding #team #multicultural #amazingpeople”

Petra (Czech Republic): “The best experience in my life!”

Ieva (Lithuania): “Sharing time and energies with people from multicultural backgrounds. It is done in a professional and easy going manner at the same time. I have enjoyed this experience and hope it will continue”

Project description

Youth Exchange – Media Creator – Self-Branding & Media Creator – photo credit: Ruta Skudraite

Project: Youth exchange “Media Creator #1: Social Media & Branding”

Location: London, UK

Dates: 5 – 13 April 2017

Number of participants: 35

Participating countries: United Kingdom, Lithuania, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Romania

Partners:

Infopack:  Media Creator: Social Media and Self-Branding – youth exchange – London – UK – abroadship.org

Description: Nowadays, digital skills are essential in almost all fields. The difference between today and ten years ago is the raise of social technologies that made possible innovative forms, such as self-branding. The issue is that youth represents a quarter of the world’s workforce, but they also represent half of the unemployment population around the world. MEDIA CREATOR project is developing practical and innovative digital skills that employers and clients (in case of entrepreneurial path) are looking after, involving youth directly as media creators.

Overall Focus:

• use media tools to express yourself, increase employability or explore your entrepreneurial path;
• self-brand through offline and online media, such as Facebook, Linkedin, blogs, websites, articles, photos, videos, creative CVs;
• create media by yourselves – using photo, video, creative designs, social media, blogging;
  promote your unique personal values and qualities on the labour market;
• increase intercultural competences to communicate effectively your message with people from other cultures;
  develop communication, team work, leadership skills and get equipped with tools for self-development.

Participants: The background of participants is youth (18-30 years old + 1 leader with unlimited age) that are unemployed and are willing to self-develop in order to be hired or pursue an entrepreneurial path or that are still under construction of their personal branding and identity.

Structure of of the 1st Youth Exchange: Social Media & Branding

DAY 0: Arrival

DAY 1: Intro, getting to know each other, identity, needs and vision, communication as a tool of learning, teambuilding.

DAY 2: Creating my personal brand – values, brand imperatives, mapping touch points, different types of campaigns.

DAY 3: Working with creativity – shaping new ideas, brainstorming techniques, innovation in the process, workshops.

DAY 4: Social media – simulation day – using social media to generate increased awareness.

DAYS 5 and 6: Production days, working on own campaigns, connecting with own social media accounts, feedback and improving content and results + Open day.

DAY 7: Showcase and closing – looking at analysis and assessment of branding, follow-up, dissemination, plans for the future.

DAY 8: Departure

Delivery Style: Methodology was a combination of:

• “learning by experience” – learning from experiencing different activities and putting them into practice;
• “learning to play, playing to learn” – connected with learning through games, from actions and playful environment;
• “media practices” – having youth as media creators.

Methods Used:

• group dynamic processes;
• teamwork activities;
• lectures and facilitated processes;
• group simulations and demonstration tutorials;
• dynamic workshops and presentations;
• online work and assignments;
• intercultural sharings and learnings;
• learning by doing in a group setting or individual processes.

Media Creator Team

George Adrian Oprea is a professional trainer working with youth and adults for over 6 years. His experience as entrepreneur, trainer in media and outdoor education, project manager in two NGOs, facilitator in adult teambuildings with over 700 participants/year has generated know-how in advertising, marketing and contouring brands.

Angela Aciobăniței – In the last years Angela gained experience as communication responsible in several organisations.
As a certified trainer she delivers learning programs to children, youth and adults using mainly non-formal methods on subjects connected to her skills: communication, sales, marketing, STEM, entrepreneurship. She is currently growing her start-up.

Justinas Brikys is an entrepreneur and founder of Abroadship.org, a centre of learning through mobility, which is an applicant organisation of Media Creator project. He is based in London, lives on a boat and enjoys alternative lifestyle. Justinas self-brands as media creator of a blog developingmoneyideas.com

Photos