What if a youth exchange could be a space to slow down, reconnect with nature, and learn simple tools for emotional wellbeing? PEACEFUL, "Promoting Emotional Aid, Connection to Ecology and Future yoUth Leadership", is a pilot Youth Exchange in the Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania, run within a larger capacity-building project in the field of youth.
The exchange tests the methods learned in the project's training courses and empowers facilitators from the partner organisations to use the tools they developed with their own target audiences. It brings together young people from Romania, Spain, and Palestine for a week of experiential, nature-based practice.
🌿 What the Exchange Explores
The youth exchange is built around a set of embodied, nature-connected practices, alongside relevant activities offered by the participants themselves:
🫂 Trauma Healing as a foundation for wellbeing and resilience
💗 EmotionAid® as a practical tool for emotional regulation
🌲 Nature Connection as a way to ground and restore
🌍 Deep Time Walk to widen perspective on our place in the living world
👥 Participant Profile
🎂 Age limit is 18 to 30 for participants, with no age limit for group leaders
👥 Each country group consists of 8 people: 6 participants and 2 group leaders
🌐 The total group is 34 people, including group leaders and 2 facilitators
📆 Dates
Travel days are 5 and 12 October 2026, and the working days run from 6 to 11 October 2026.
🏔️ Location and Weather
The venue is in the Apuseni Mountains near Cluj-Napoca, in Transylvania, Romania. The area enjoys a pleasant balance of sun and overcast skies, with mild temperatures.
🌡️ Average maximum temperatures around 14°C to 17°C
🌙 Nighttime temperatures around 3°C to 5°C
🌧️ Chances of rain about 20 to 23%, roughly 1 day in 5
✈️ Travel
🛬 Non-Romanian participants arrive at Cluj-Napoca airport (CLJ) on 5 October and depart from the same airport on 12 October 2026
🚌 The organisers provide a bus that picks participants up from Cluj-Napoca and drives them to the venue on the evening of 5 October, and takes them back to Cluj-Napoca on 12 October
💶 Money and Insurance
💳 The local currency is the Romanian Leu (RON), with about 5.20 RON to €1. Most businesses in Cluj-Napoca, including public transport, accept international cards, but it is worth carrying some cash in local currency for villages and remote areas
🛡️ Apart from the general insurance coverage of the venue and the transport companies, participants should make sure they have adequate personal health and travel insurance for the entire duration of the activity
🎒 What to Bring
🪪 ID or passport (and a photocopy), insurance policy details and any emergency card, and your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) if eligible
💊 Any prescription medicines in their original packaging (with a doctor's note if needed) and basic first-aid items you prefer
🧥 Everyday clothes for mixed weather, 1 to 2 warmer items, a light raincoat, a hat, comfortable hiking shoes, and indoor shoes or slippers
🧴 Toiletries, a reusable water bottle, and a power bank or phone charger
📓 A notebook and pen, a meaningful cultural item from home, and traditional food or drinks to share
📜 Learning, Certificate and Youthpass
Participants receive a certificate recognising what they have gained from the experience, focusing on learning outcomes and personal development, including skills, competencies, and reflections on what was learned. As part of the project deliverables, photos and videos document the activities; any participant who wishes to be excluded from the documentation can let the organisers know at the start of the exchange. Participants also provide anonymous feedback before, during, and after the exchange to help evaluate and improve the project's tools and methods, and receive Youthpass recognition.
🌳 Also drawn to Romania and to hands-on time in nature? This Youth Exchange turns that into real environmental action: Erasmus+ Youth Exchange in 🇷🇴 Romania 🌳 Reforestation and Digital Tools for Environmental Action 🌱 → https://youthworkshub.org/21362
🌍 Eligible Countries
🇷🇴 Romania, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇵🇸 Palestine
🌻 If nature-based living speaks to you, this exchange takes it into the garden: Erasmus+ Youth Exchange in 🇫🇷 France 🌱 Agroecology, Permaculture and Sustainable Living at an Educational Garden 🌻 → https://youthworkshub.org/21336
📩 How to Apply
Complete the online registration form to apply. The infopack contains all essential information about participation, and further details are shared with participants after selection.
⏰ Deadline
As soon as possible!
🔗 Links
📄 Infopack: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19zIz7Y7lsMhIo46q-j16NUBRzRVuo0zb/view
📝 Application form: https://forms.gle/h3mwr5WRZcH9XuREA
⚠️ Important Notice
Youth Works Hub is not the organiser, partner, or representative of the listed projects. This listing is shared for information only, based on details from the source. Deadlines, eligible countries, dates, and other details may change or be withdrawn at any time, and all funding, reimbursements, and allowances are set by the project coordinator or National Agency. Applications go directly to the coordinator or hosting organisation through the official link. Listings may include third-party links (ESC Portal, infopacks, forms) that Youth Works Hub does not control. Always verify the details on the official project page before applying.
