“Lords of the books” was the project funded by the Erasmus + Programme, implemented between 9th of May and 15th of May 2019, by the non-governmental organization from Slawkow (Poland) – Stowarzyszenie – Porozumienie Pokolen. It was a trilateral youth exchange with the participation of 36 people (participants and group leaders). Except Polish group, which is involved in the activities of Association, the project was attended by young people from the Latvian school „Rigas Sergeja Zoltoka Vidusskola” and from the Turkish organisation „Bilgi ve Beceri Dernegi”.
Main activities of the project took place in Poronin. The honorary patron of the project “Lords of the books” was taken by the Mayor of Slawkow – Rafał Adamczyk.
The aim of the youth exchange was to gain new knowledge about the culture of Latvia, Poland, and Turkey by analyzing and getting familiar with native literature, which is a part of the cultural heritage of our countries and to become more aware of the cultural heritage and our history. The international meeting was an idea to restore the popularity of reading books when the tradition of reading book disappears. The youth exchange showed also that literature and books are not only a source of knowledge about history, cultural heritage, cultures, but also about positive attitudes, and important values such as tolerance, empathy, and openness. Books are also a great idea for a more creative way of spending time.
The project was implemented in English using non-formal education methods (meetings, discussions, games and team building activities, thematic activities, city games, museum lessons, evaluations, national evenings).
Participants prepared and took part in many creative activities that allowed them to broaden their knowledge and competencies in the field of the project’s topic.
As part of a city game, inspired by the literature of writers who were associated with Zakopane such as Stefan Zeromski, Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, Jan Kasprowicz and Kornel Makuszynski, the participants of the project visited the Museum of Kornel Makuszynski and the Tatra Museum.
Within the youth exchange, each of the participating groups prepared their national evening, during which, in a creative way, was presented culture, traditions, dances, traditional cuisine, and regional costumes.
Bilgi ve Beceri Derneği 