Youth Exchange - Philippines
The biggest project in the history of BAIS part II.
How did we end up in the Philippines?
After the training course in Peru and the job shadowing in Kenya, BAIS headed to the eastern part of the world. The youth exchange within the framework of the Play for Sustainable Environment (P4SE) project was held in the capital of the Philippines between the 7-11 of November. 36 participants from the 6 partner countries: Slovakia, UK, Kenya, Philippines, Peru and Hungary, travelled to Manila in order to learn about sustainability and increase their knowledge about environmental education while using our beloved tool: sport.
During the youth exchange, the participants got an insight into the P4SE project and its goals, and how sport can be a useful tool to implement those. The UK participants held an amazing eco-anxiety workshop and later the partner countries also had a chance to share their good practices and ideas in the topic. We also introduced the games we created in Peru to the local kids, and we had an opportunity to edit them for further use, too. We picked up the trash on the way to the seashore of Manila, which we also cleaned up. On the last day of the project, we showed off the flash mob we created before and tried it in a park of Manila. The last part of the youth exchange was the intercultural night, where all the participating countries presented theirnational dances, traditions, and meals.
Day 1
We kicked off the youth exchange with name and ice breaker games in order to bond with each other and to get to know the participants from other partner organisations. Later we got an insight into the P4SE project, its goals and the implemented activities. 
In the afternoon we used sport games for team building, such as seated volleyball and tug of war.
We finished the day with an open discussion to get to know the impression of the participants of the youth exchange after the first day of activities.
Day 2
On the second day we intorduced the games that were developed in Peru and Kenya during our P4SE activities 
Eco flag, Mindful monkeys, RE score, Casa del Papel and Tag the trash! 
(you will find them in our manual)
Eco flag, Mindful monkeys, RE score, Casa del Papel and Tag the trash! (you will find them in our manual)Then we formed groups and held the activities at the school Jose Rizal in Calamba in the afternoon, only two hours away from Manila. 
This day was a total success, we enjoyed the games as much as the local kids and both the participants and the children learned about trash segregation through sports activities.
We had an absolute blast!
Day 3
Third day went by so fast. 
In the morning after a quick energizer 
( thank you for hug) Radha and Sasha took over and introduced us Eco – anxiety following with a workshop. 
( thank you for hug) Radha and Sasha took over and introduced us Eco – anxiety following with a workshop. Once we have talked about the topic and understood it we moved forward to another workshop. 
We have been working on ides 
and best practices 
which we know from each country and make a presentation so everyone can implement it at home.
and best practices which we know from each country and make a presentation so everyone can implement it at home.After a delicious lunch 
We had amazing break and after this our group had a surprise – we have been introduced with local bio mosquito products which we get as a gift. 
There was time for next workshop. 
It was about how to combine sport with sustainability in PE, big or small events, E+ etc. During the workshop president of the Technology university stop by to introduce himself and the work he has done so far regarding the environment. 
After that we get to practice dance. 
Perfect outside activity. Who’s dance was better? I would say both were very impressive..
Perfect outside activity. Who’s dance was better? I would say both were very impressive.. We had so much time and as the time went by all of the sudden it was dinner time. 
After the dinner, later in the evening we were playing some Philippines games which was so much fun. 
We finished with a high volleyball
We finished with a high volleyballDay 4
The early bird catches the worm, as we say in the UK. This time, it also caught a lot of litter from a Manila beach.
Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach is an artificial beach, created through the process of beach nourishment, that also happens to be full of rubbish due to typhoons and waste from the sea that is blown inshore during certain parts of the year.
The volunteers met Joe who is the founder of Manila Bay Beach who gather volunteers to aid the cleanup. Joe explained the seasonal issues of the winds which impact the rubbish flow. The heat and sweat charged the team up as they collected more than thirty bags of rubbish!
Proud of their achievement but tired and mildly sunburnt, the participants returned to have lunch. With a day under the sun the group earned some much needed rest and explored the city of Manila. Many of them visited key historical sites such as intramuros and the Manila cathedral, and learnt about the Philippine’s hero Jose Rizal and the war torn history of the Phillipines.
Day 5
„Walking the Talk”
Without concrete plans, we may fail to implement best practices learnt. The need for sustainable development is dependent on a collective call for action around sustainable initiatives. As implementing partners in various countries we are currently laying out action points around how we intend on disseminating the shared knowledge from this particular exercise.
All good things do have an end sometimes…
And the most perfect way to wrapping up such interesting conversations under #P4SE is having an intimate reflection moment with each other to share our experiences during the project and gratification towards each other.
It has been wonderful !
The largest transnational project of BAIS is funded by the European Union and aims to raise awareness of the importance of using sport as a tool for promoting environmentally friendly lifestyle. With the participation of 6 organizations: ADEL Slovakia, BTG Philippines, Youth Innovation Brigada De Voluntarios Bolivarianos del Perú – BVBP ICA, Resource Hub for Development – RHD Kenya and the Budapest Association for International Sports, we already
implemented a kick-off meeting, a training course, a job shadowing, and many local activities in the past months. Our next stop is Slovakia, where we will finalize the P4SE project and hold the final conference!
