🇩🇪 Erasmus+ Training Course in Germany ♻️ SOUL 🎨 Upcycling, Social Inclusion & Creative Youth Work, Großkayna 🇩🇪
Every Erasmus+ project leaves behind leftover materials, forgotten props, unused resources — things that quietly pile up and never quite find a second life. SOUL asks: what if those leftovers became the curriculum? This fully-funded Erasmus+ Training Course in Großkayna, Germany, brings together youth workers, trainers, facilitators, and volunteers from five countries to explore how handcrafting, DIY culture, upcycling, and arts can become powerful non-formal education methods — building social inclusion, community, and sustainability one creative act at a time. The application deadline is 27 March 2026.
🌍 Did You Know? Großkayna is a small locality in the Geiseltal area of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany — a former lignite mining region that has been dramatically transformed into one of central Europe's largest artificial lake landscapes, created by flooding the old open-cast mines. The venue, Sport- und Zirkuskirche Geiseltal, sits right in this extraordinary regenerated landscape — itself a powerful symbol of upcycling on a grand scale, turning an industrial scar into a thriving natural and cultural environment.
What Is This Project About?
♻️ SOUL stands for Self-Expression, Openness, Understanding & Learning — a training course that starts from a very real problem in youth work: what do we do with all the leftover materials, props, and resources that accumulate after every project?
🎨 The answer is creativity. SOUL transforms that challenge into a methodology — using handcrafting, DIY culture, upcycling, and artistic expression as genuine non-formal education tools for social inclusion, participation, and community building
🤝 The programme is co-created with participants — before the training begins, 1–2 preparatory online calls will be held with all participants to shape the programme together and divide creative hands-on sessions among national groups
🌍 SOUL is not just about making things — it's about building a long-term network of organisations ready to collaborate on future projects, sharing a toolkit of creative NFE methodologies that participants can take home and use immediately
🌿 Sustainability runs through everything: from the circular economy principles that underpin upcycling, to the encouragement of green travel, to the ethos of low-impact youth work practices
🌍 Did You Know? The circular economy — the principle of keeping materials in use for as long as possible through reuse, repair, and recycling — is projected to create up to 700,000 new jobs in the EU by 2030. Upcycling, the practice of creatively transforming waste or unused objects into something of higher value, is one of the most accessible and impactful entry points into circular economy thinking — especially in youth work contexts where budgets are tight and creativity is the greatest resource.
Project Goals
🔍 Identify challenges in promoting social inclusion and participation of young people with fewer opportunities — and develop concrete creative responses
🛠️ Develop a shared toolkit of NFE methodologies based on handcrafting, upcycling, and artistic expression that participants can immediately use in their youth work
💪 Equip youth workers with skills including creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, effective communication, and green competences
🌿 Raise awareness about environmental sustainability, the circular economy, and low-impact practices in youth work
🏘️ Strengthen community building and reclaim youth spaces as safe, creative, and empowering environments
🌍 Promote intercultural learning and the values of the Erasmus+ programme through genuine peer exchange across five countries
🤝 Build a long-term network of partner organisations ready to co-create future Erasmus+ projects together
Who Can Apply?
🎂 Youth workers, trainers, facilitators, and volunteers aged 18 and above from one of the five partner countries
🤝 Work directly with young people — in NGOs, youth centres, informal groups, or community settings
🎨 Involved in social inclusion, community building, or creative projects — and want to integrate upcycling, handcrafting, and arts into educational practice
🗣️ Able to communicate in English at a level that allows active participation throughout the programme
📅 Ready to take part in the full programme — including preparatory online calls before the training, the full week in Germany, and local dissemination activities after returning home
👥 Each partner organisation selects 4 participants — applications go through sending organisations
What to Bring & Prepare
🪪 Travel documents and European Health Insurance Card — both mandatory
🧴 Toiletries, medicines, and everything you need for one week abroad — including a warm jacket
🍽️ Snacks and drinks from your country to share during the intercultural night
📋 Optional: information materials about your organisation to share with other participants
🎨 Prepare 1 hands-on creative session with your national group — the organisers will provide more details during the preparatory online calls before the project
Accommodation, Food & Travel
🏛️ Venue: Sport- und Zirkuskirche Geiseltal, Grüne Straße 1, 06242 Großkayna (Braunsbedra), Germany — a unique and inspiring space in the regenerated Geiseltal landscape
🍽️ Travel, accommodation, and food are fully covered by the Erasmus+ programme
🌿 Green travel is strongly encouraged — an Interrail ticket is specifically recommended for eligible participants; greener travel receives higher reimbursement
✈️ Recommended arrival airports: Berlin BER (metro to Berlin Südkreuz, then train/Flixbus to Halle), Leipzig-Halle LEJ (S5 metro to Halle Hauptbahnhof), or Frankfurt FRA (direct train to Halle, 3–4 hours); from Halle, take a regional train or bus connection to Großkayna via Merseburg
⚠️ Before buying any tickets, you must send your travel plan to the organisers for approval — only pre-approved travel costs are reimbursable
📄 Keep all original travel documents: invoices, tickets, boarding passes, and booking confirmations — all are required for reimbursement
💳 Reimbursement is made by bank transfer after you submit all original documents and complete required participant reporting (evaluation form etc.)
📏 If your starting point differs from your association's registered address, calculate your distance band using the official Erasmus+ Distance Calculator
Key Information
Eligible Countries
🇩🇪 Germany, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇵🇱 Poland
Application Link
⚠️ Important Notice
1️⃣ Source of Information
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2️⃣ Responsibility for Content
The organiser is solely responsible for the accuracy, details, and updates of the opportunity content.
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4️⃣ Disclaimer of Liability
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💡 Final Note:
All listings are shared for informational purposes only. Please always verify details directly through the official organiser or programme website before applying.
