🇱🇻 Erasmus+ Youth Exchange in Latvia 🎨 Upcycled Art and Creative Expression for Queer Youth and Allies 🌈

ReVive was born out of a desire to create more accessible and inclusive creative spaces, where making art is not limited by talent, financial resources or traditional ideas of what art should be or talk about. It is an invitation to look at the objects and materials around us with a different perspective, reconnecting with the joy of crafting and transforming what already exists.

✨ About the Project

ReVive is a 10 day Youth Experiential Learning Program that wishes to bring together young queer people and allies from diverse backgrounds in a shared creative space to explore upcycled art and artistic expression through a hands on approach.

The team aims to create a space where creativity can be explored freely, without pressure or expectations, offering the opportunity to experiment with discarded materials and objects. Through this process, you are invited to explore how creative practices can shape our experiences, being a tool to express ourselves, connect with others and perhaps see the world from different perspectives.

From the very beginning, the experience is shaped together, creating community agreements to build a safer and braver space for living and working, while encouraging active participation, accountability, mutual support and collective care. For the team, living together is a very important part of the experience. This means sharing responsibilities, taking care of common spaces and each of us, in our own way, contributing to the atmosphere we want to create. This can be through daily tasks such as cleaning, tidying up, decorating the space, preparing breakfast, collaborating on creative projects or simply spending time together. By living and working together, everyone shares in the experience of being part of a collectively created community.

The parts of an Erasmus+ project nobody tells you about before you go: https://youthworkshub.org/15126/

🎯 Objectives

🌈 Create a safer and braver space for queer young people and allies to explore creativity through upcycled art and experience creation as an open process of experimentation

🤝 Form connections through shared creative experiences, embracing intersectionality and building a supportive community that starts during the project and continues growing as a creative network across Europe

🖌️ Support participants in developing their own creative language and ways of expressing themselves, strengthening their confidence and sense of ownership over their creative process

♻️ Rethink the creative potential of discarded materials, promoting more sustainable artistic practices and inspiring participants to see value in what is often overlooked or thrown away

🖼️ Organise a local exhibition in Riga during the Youth Exchange, celebrating the artworks developed during the project, as well as local actions in each partner country during the local action phase

🧠 The Learning Approach

This learning programme follows an experiential learning approach and is highly participatory and interactive, giving you the chance for self reflection and self evaluation. This approach involves learning by doing and peer to peer learning, meaning learning from each other.

Within the given context and given group, you are the actor of your own learning and creator of your own experience. The outcome of your experience depends solely on you, while guided and supported by the facilitators in correlation to the rest of the group. You are part of an intercultural environment and, as much as possible, an intersectional space, and you have the chance to work individually, in pairs, in small teams and in a big group. You are able to explore different forms of creative expression and sustainability, understand what creativity and collective creation mean to you, and find inspiration in yourself and your peers.

⏰ The working hours vary according to the needs of the group and the programme. There are morning, afternoon and at times evening sessions, and the group works 8 to 10 hours daily accordingly.

🚫 The programme and the main activities do not include touristic trips and free days, so if you are interested in such possibilities you are invited to plan them for yourself, at your own cost, some days before or after the Youth Exchange.

🛠️ Working Methods

🫂 Support care groups, intercultural groups reflecting on your learning process on a daily basis and taking care of the community care tasks together

♻️ Hands on experimentation with recycled materials, exploring different techniques and possibilities in upcycled art, seeing the creative potential in objects that are often overlooked or discarded

🎨 Individual and collective creative processes, using fine arts and crafts as a tool for expression, reflection and connection

🌱 Tools, processes and techniques for personal reflection and growth

👥 Group work, intercultural peer learning and collaborative creation, learning from each other's experiences and artistic approaches

🖼️ Curating a local exhibition event to share the artworks and the journey with the local community

🌍 Another Latvian project rooted in inclusion, if that is the part that speaks to you:

ESC Volunteering in 🇱🇻 Latvia 🤝 Inclusive Youth Work with the Deaf Community 🎨 → https://youthworkshub.org/21226

🌟 What You Will Learn, Enhance, Experience and Reflect On

🖌️ Your own creative voice and ways of expression

🪞 Self awareness, self expression and creative confidence

📚 Your personal style of learning and sense of initiative

♻️ Your ability to work with recycled materials and explore new artistic approaches

💬 Communication, giving and receiving constructive feedback

🌍 Intercultural cooperation and connection with others

🧗 Navigation and exploration of your limits, stepping into your learning zone and responding to challenges

🤝 Team work, organizational, public speaking and presentational skills

🌈 Inclusion, intersectionality and intercultural awareness

⏳ Time management

✨ Inspiration and creativity, and shaping your own experience

👥 Who Can Apply

🎂 Age 18 to 30 for participants and 20 to 34 for group leaders

🌈 Part of the queer community, an ally, or interested in expanding your competencies in the topics

♻️ Interested in creativity, sustainability and working with recycled materials

🤲 Willing to be part of a diverse group, nurturing and respecting everyone's unique identity and self expression

⚡ Willing and able to work in a dynamic setting and group

🧠 Eager to learn, exchange and reflect on your experience, collectively and individually

🔄 Motivated to actively participate in all phases of the project, meaning preparation, exchange and local action phase

💪 Willing to increase your personal competencies and self empowerment and enhance intercultural awareness

🏘️ Willing to make a change in your local community by organizing or participating in events and other activities

🗣️ Able to work in simple English

🧑‍🏫 Group Leader Profile

🤝 Motivated to support and assist the team participating from your country in all the phases of the project

🪞 Motivated to support and guide the reflection process and the community care tasks within the support care groups during the exchange programme

🎨 Have some experience in visual arts and upcycled arts, and in the organization and facilitation of educational activities for youth

👨‍👩‍👧 Group Composition

The creative hub is co-created by a total of 30 people, 5 per country, meaning 1 group leader and 4 participants, who are resident in one of the participating countries.

🌍 Eligible Countries

🇫🇷 France, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇪🇸 Spain

🗓️ The Three Phases

1️⃣ Preparation, July to September 2026: online preparation with arranging travel and other logistics, as well as online assignments to be completed by the group, to prepare and get in the atmosphere of the programme and create first connections. An online preparatory meeting takes place in August 2026 for group leaders, where group leaders and team members meet to prepare for the project, with the date set after selection, and there is a possibility that instead of an online call the preparation takes place via online communication.

2️⃣ Youth Programme, 23 September to 2 October 2026: 10 days excluding travel days, at Gauja, Latvia, at the Zvīguli guest house.

3️⃣ Local Action Phase, October to December 2026: takes place in each partner country, with the support and cooperation of the partner organizations.

🎯 Sustainability with your hands in the soil instead of in the workshop, in another Youth Exchange:

Erasmus+ Youth Exchange in 🇵🇹 Portugal 🌱 Agroforestry and Land Regeneration for Climate Action 🌳 → https://youthworkshub.org/20947

📍 Venue and Accommodation

🏡 Home during the exchange is the Zvīguli guest house, a recreation centre located an hour away from Riga

🌲 The house is located in the Gauja National Park area, the largest and oldest in Latvia, with picturesque and untouched nature on one side and the Sigulda highway on the other

🛏️ You are hosted in rooms with 2 to 6 people accordingly, and the venue has shared facilities and spacious common areas

🧹 The accommodation is the learning and community space for the entire programme, which means it is taken care of together. It is not a hotel, and part of the approach and methodology is that there are community care tasks such as cleaning after meals and taking care of the common spaces and facilities

♿ The venue is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible and may pose challenges for individuals with mobility related disabilities

💡 The presence of automated lights may cause discomfort for people with photo epilepsy, and if you have any concerns or require further information about accessibility you can reach out to the team

🥗 Meals are prepared by Active Rainbow's cooking team, with their own cooks preparing food that is vegetarian and vegan

💶 What Is Covered and Travel Reimbursement

Accommodation, food and programme materials are provided by the co-financing of the Erasmus+ programme. The travel reimbursement happens when all necessary documents have been filled and collected and dissemination and local activities have taken place during the Local Action Phase. For travel reimbursement it is mandatory to send all your tickets, e-invoices, e-boarding passes and e-receipts, and if e-documents are not issued then originals are accepted. Without these, travel costs cannot be reimbursed.

🇫🇷 France: 309 €

🇩🇪 Germany: 309 €

🇬🇷 Greece: 309 €

🇮🇹 Italy: 309 €

🇪🇸 Spain: 395 €

🇱🇻 Latvia: 28 €

📜 Youthpass

During the project you also receive the Youthpass certification. It is a recognition instrument for non formal and informal learning, used within Erasmus+ projects.

🏢 About Active Rainbow

Active Rainbow is an educational platform and community that celebrates personal growth, inclusivity and visibility, welcoming everyone who is interested in non formal learning, mobility opportunities and contributing their verse to society. Founded in 2014 as a grassroots initiative, Active Rainbow has been engaged in youth work and non formal education for twelve years, designing and implementing learning programmes at local, national, European and international levels, working also in collaboration with partner organizations. In March 2020 the organisation was registered in Latvia.

Its mission is to improve the quality of youth work and LGBTQIA+ and queer education by making it more inclusive, accessible, intersectional and safer, deconstructing outdated views and practices. Through meaningful learning opportunities, the organisation supports young people and educators to grow and thrive. Its main approach and methodology is Activism through non formal learning, combining and working with a variety of methods, tools and good practices, offering experiential learning and training experiences focusing on community building, personal growth, active participation and inclusivity. One of its mottos is learning made simple, yet significant.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 The Team

The team behind this project are young queer people coming from different backgrounds and connected to creativity in different ways. Through their own creative journeys, they have experienced how difficult it can be to find the time, space or materials to experiment, try new techniques and simply enjoy the process of creating without pressure and the restraints of productivity norms. From this shared experience, they wanted to hold the space for their queer and allies community, where people can explore freely, transform materials, learn from each other and rediscover the joy of their own and collective ways of expressing through art. They are friends and colleagues who have previously co-created and worked together in educational programmes through their involvement with Active Rainbow as volunteers, youth workers and experienced professionals in the Erasmus+ programme, queer education, community development, mentoring, experiential learning and other methods used in the programme. They share common values for personal and professional growth filled with love, generosity, dedication, sustainability and the joy of creation, connection and impact making.

🤝 Partner Organisations

🇫🇷 France: Solidarités Jeunesses

🇩🇪 Germany: Klainmine

🇬🇷 Greece: Emphilo

🇮🇹 Italy: Global Cassero

🇱🇻 Latvia: Active Rainbow

🇪🇸 Spain: Asociación Dinámica

📌 Important Information to Keep in Mind

🙅 AI tools might seem like a handy shortcut, but the team wants to hear from you, your authentic self, your voice and your story, and applications that are AI generated are not taken into consideration

📚 This is an Erasmus+ youth educational programme that follows an experiential learning approach and it welcomes your full commitment and participation. It is not a holiday or a touristic visit, and the team and organization are strongly against the view of Erasmus+ projects as a form of free travel and tourism, so applications looking for such experiences are not taken into consideration

🎭 There are no intercultural evenings or energizer activities as typically known within Erasmus+ programmes. If you are not yet familiar with the organization and community, they inform you upfront that they have their own approach and alternative activities to warm up for the sessions, and to acknowledge, celebrate and honor each other's intersectionality, as well as build the project community together

🌍 The whole project is an intercultural experience and a dynamic programme that blends a variety of non formal learning methods

📝 The Application

By filling in the application form you are applying to take part in all 3 phases of the project and its activities. Filling in the form can take between 5 to 8 minutes accordingly. In the sections you are asked to fill in personal information relevant for the practical aspects of preparing for the project, including information required by the funding programme for the official documentation, sharing your motivation, your experiences so far and your contributions to making this programme a fruitful and remarkable one. Your personal data is kept private and is not shared with a third party in any case.

If you are selected, you receive a confirmation email letter with all details about your participation in the activities of the project, and only after receiving this email can you start booking your travels.

📩 How to Apply

Read the info pack again, make sure you understand all the requirements, are interested in the project's objectives and are fully available to participate in all its phases, then fill in the online application form.