On 28 September 2026, the participants of Growing Europe met online for the first time. Four days before the flight to Alicante, the group came together from different towns, some of them seeing each other’s faces for the first time.
This meeting was the start of the project’s first phase: preparation. A learning mobility doesn’t begin at the airport. It begins when people start to see their own surroundings with new eyes. So as well as going through the practical side of the trip (flights, luggage, health insurance, safety contacts and how we travel as one group), we gave everyone a piece of homework.
The task: “My place in 3 photos.” Before departure, each participant photographs three places in their own town:
- Proud: something that works well and they would show to a guest.
- Stuck: something that should change.
- Together: a place where people meet, or could meet if something changed.
Each photo comes with one sentence or a short voice message explaining the choice.
These photos won’t sit in a folder. They’ll travel with the group to Alicante and be used throughout the week:
- to introduce ourselves through our places,
- to talk about inclusion and who public spaces are really for,
- to practise sharing images safely online,
- to compare our streets with those of local participants in Alicante.
In the end, each participant’s “stuck” photo becomes the starting point for a small plan to take back home.
Participants also filled in a short “starting point” form about their travel experience, digital confidence and involvement in their community. They’ll complete it again on the last day, so they can see for themselves how far they’ve come.
Next stop: Sofia Airport, and a week of learning by doing in Alicante.
About the project
Growing Europe is an Erasmus+ learning mobility for adults, coordinated by Association Aries (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) and hosted by Asociación Europea Equalis (Alicante, Spain). From 3 to 10 October 2026, adult learners, many of them with fewer opportunities, will build practical skills in three areas:
- Digital: checking information, collaborating online, staying safe online.
- Civic: democracy, human rights and active participation in local life.
- Social: teamwork and working across cultures.
They’ll meet local people, identify real community needs, and plan and carry out a small joint initiative. At the end of the week they’ll adapt what they learned to their own communities back home, and their learning will be recognised with a Europass certificate.
Project code: 2026-1-BG01-KA122-ADU-000418580
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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