What is Unplug to Reconnect?
Unplug to Reconnect is an Erasmus+ youth exchange in Czechia bringing together 36 young people from Lithuania, Czechia and Hungary.
Each country takes part with 12 young people and 2 group leaders. Participants are aged 13–17, with priority given to young people with fewer opportunities, particularly those living in remote areas.
The project is coordinated by the Czech organisation Víkend z.s., with AKS participating as the Lithuanian partner and sending organisation.
Unplugging from routine, reconnecting with people
The name Unplug to Reconnect is about more than phones.
The project invites young people to step away from their everyday environment, routines and usual social circles and pay more attention to real-life connection – with other people, nature and themselves.
Phone time is deliberately limited, but these rules are not simply imposed by adults. Young people themselves contribute during the planning stage to deciding how much daily phone time makes sense and what could replace screen time. One of their own suggestions is dedicated letter-writing time.
The aim is therefore not to “ban phones”, but to discover what becomes possible when more attention is available for the people and environment around us.
A first international experience
One of the central aims of Unplug to Reconnect is to make international opportunities accessible to young people who might otherwise struggle to reach them.
The project focuses particularly on teenagers from rural, remote, socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. For many participants, this will be their first international experience of this kind.
The programme is designed to help them move beyond their comfort zones while staying within a safe and supportive “stretch zone” rather than being pushed into a panic zone.
Learning through nature and experience
The exchange takes place in Vítězná Hájemství, a rural Czech setting surrounded by forest and meadows. Participants stay in two-person wooden tents with beds, making outdoor living part of the project experience itself.
A large part of the programme happens outside and uses non-formal education methods: team challenges, practical tasks, intercultural activities, reflection, creative workshops, role play and nature-based experiential learning.
Activities include Mission Impossible, trust games, Diversity & Rescue Boat, a DIY T-shirt workshop, Food Chain, Secret Friend, intercultural evenings, a bonfire and a full-day trip to Sněžka.
Three countries, one community
During the exchange, Lithuanian, Czech and Hungarian participants do much more than stay within their national groups.
Many activities take place in mixed international teams, making communication, cooperation and intercultural learning part of everyday life.
Participants discover one another’s cultures through intercultural evenings, food, music and traditions, but even more importantly through simply living and doing things together.
English is not treated as a school subject. It becomes a practical tool for making friends, solving problems and taking part in an international community.
Inclusion and a supportive environment
The project is deliberately designed for young people who may have fewer opportunities to take part in international activities because of where they live, their financial situation, social circumstances or other barriers.
The aim is not simply to take young people abroad, but to create an environment where they feel secure enough to participate, experiment and be themselves.
Inclusion, tolerance, intercultural understanding, emotional well-being and self-confidence are therefore integrated throughout the programme.
Daily reflection, support from group leaders and a buddy system help ensure that participants are not left alone when a new international environment or unfamiliar experience feels challenging.
Young people as co-creators
Unplug to Reconnect is created together with young people rather than simply delivered to them.
Before the project begins, participants contribute through surveys and discussions about the challenges and needs they want the exchange to address. They help shape parts of the programme and continue to take active roles during activities, cultural evenings, reflection and shared decision-making.
The project therefore provides not only international experience, but opportunities to develop initiative, confidence, leadership, communication and teamwork.
Nature, movement and well-being
Spending time in nature is an important part of the exchange.
Outdoor activities, team challenges and hiking encourage participants to move more, slow down and experience a different relationship with their surroundings.
One of the major programme experiences is a trip to Sněžka, the highest mountain in Czechia. The surrounding forest, meadows and hiking routes also become part of the project's learning environment.
Nature is connected not only with physical activity but also with emotional well-being, mindfulness and more sustainable everyday choices.
Project partnership
The project is coordinated and hosted by:
🇨🇿 Víkend z.s. – Czechia
Partners:
🇱🇹 Anglų kalbos studija – Lithuania
🇭🇺 YOPA – Hungary
Víkend z.s. brings extensive experience in organising camps for children and young people from rural areas, while the partnership combines the experience of three organisations working with rural and disadvantaged youth.
The partnership originated when the organisations met during the SALTO “Youth Exchanges for ALL” training in Finland in 2024. Their shared understanding that young people in different countries face remarkably similar geographical, social and economic barriers became the basis for creating Unplug to Reconnect.
The project is funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ programme.