Everyone Counts: Learning to Listen, Learning to Belong
For a few days, a group of young people from different countries came together to share space, time, and experience. They arrived with different backgrounds, communication styles, and ways of expressing themselves, but with a common willingness to engage, listen, and learn from one another.
Everyone Counts was a youth exchange rooted in inclusion, empathy, and dialogue. Rather than offering fixed definitions of these values, the project invited participants to explore what they mean in practice: in conversations, in teamwork, and in moments of misunderstanding as well as connection.
From the very beginning, the focus was not on performance or perfection, but on presence: being open to others and to oneself.
Building a Shared Space
The project unfolded through non-formal education methods that encouraged active participation and reflection. Group discussions, role plays, creative workshops, and guided reflection sessions created an environment where participants could engage beyond words alone.
Communication was approached as something layered and personal. Participants explored how emotions, cultural backgrounds, and individual experiences shape the way we express ourselves and interpret others. Learning to listen, attentively and without judgment, became a central practice throughout the mobility.
As trust gradually developed, the group dynamic shifted. Participants became more confident in sharing their perspectives, asking questions, and acknowledging differences without fear of exclusion.
Inclusion Through Experience
Inclusion was not treated as an abstract theme, but as something lived day by day. Working in diverse teams brought both challenges and opportunities, making visible the assumptions people carry into interactions.
When misunderstandings or tensions arose, they were addressed openly through dialogue. These moments became learning points, highlighting the importance of empathy, accountability, and respect in building inclusive communities. Participants discovered that inclusion is not about avoiding conflict, but about navigating it with care and openness.
Through these shared experiences, participants gained a deeper understanding of how small actions, such as listening, adjusting communication, and making space for others, can have a meaningful impact.
Creativity as a Common Language
Creative expression played a key role in the learning process. Through presentations, visual storytelling, and short videos, participants explored alternative ways of communicating ideas and emotions.
For many, creativity offered a way to connect beyond linguistic or cultural barriers. It became a shared language that allowed participants to collaborate, reflect, and express perspectives that might otherwise remain unspoken.
The tangible results of the project, including photos, videos, and presentations, captured not only activities, but moments of cooperation, curiosity, and mutual understanding.
Carrying the Experience Forward
As the mobility came to an end, participants reflected on how their perceptions of communication, inclusion, and diversity had evolved. Many expressed a stronger sense of empathy and a renewed motivation to act as inclusive, active members of their communities.
The impact of Everyone Counts extends beyond the project itself. Participants leave with enhanced emotional awareness, communication skills, and the confidence to engage with differences rather than withdraw from them.
By learning to listen more attentively and communicate more consciously, they carry forward a simple but powerful message: inclusion begins in everyday interactions, and everyone truly counts.
Results
During Everyone Counts, participants turned inclusion and diversity into tangible work. They built posters on the 8 Key Competences, dug into questions like why cultural appropriation happens and how we can better understand one another, and used creative formats, from a tarot-inspired deck to other forms of self-expression, to put into images the ideas that words alone could not carry.
Understanding others through Creativity
Photo Gallery
A few more moments from this activity :)
Check out the full photo album of this activity!
Dissemination Events
Our participants shared the knowledge, skills and experience gained during the activity through events for dissemination and exploitation of results within their communities.
Vysoke Myto, Czechia, Jan. 2026
Terezie wrote an article about the exchange for her school’s journalism-club newspaper at Gymnázium Vysoké Mýto, covering the activities and how to apply to a project with E29.
Online, Portugal, Jan. 2026
Several Portuguese participants shared their experience publicly on LinkedIn, reflecting on inclusion, diversity and the non-formal learning methods of the exchange while promoting Erasmus+ opportunities.
Teresa’s post · Ema’s post · Inês’ post · Joana’s post
Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 2026
Kristof and his former classmate Samu returned to Teleki Blanka Gimnazium to share their experience with Erasmus+ and the Everyone Counts youth exchange. They presented the project and explained how to apply, reaching around 160 students.
Bucharest, Romania, Jan. 2026
As part of Everyone Counts, Mihaela did street outreach in central Bucharest, approaching passers-by, sharing her Erasmus+ experience and handing out E29 flyers in busy public spaces. Other volunteers joined to help spread the message.
Zabali, Serbia, Jan. 2026
Arsenije shared his Everyone Counts experience with classmates at his school, presenting the project activities and explaining that it was funded through Erasmus+. He showed peers how to apply to similar international projects.
Constanta, Romania, Jan. 2026
Lucian shared his Everyone Counts experience with fellow students at Ovidius University’s dormitory, describing what the group did and created and encouraging them to join future Erasmus+ projects. About seven friends gathered to hear about it.
Marijampole, Lithuania, Jan. 2026
Ugne presented a photo-rich PowerPoint about her experience to classmates, explaining the context of the exchange, how to take part, and what to expect.
Toplita, Romania, Jan. 2026
Mihai, Roxana and Andrei presented the Everyone Counts project to around 27 students and teachers at Liceul Teoretic Octavian Codru Taslauanu, introducing Erasmus+ and E29, showing the project website, photos and recap video to encourage prospective applicants.
Presov, Slovakia, Jan. 2026
In Prešov, Kristina shared a presentation about her Everyone Counts experience, covering where she travelled, what she did, and her main impressions. She included a QR code linking to the E29 Instagram so classmates could follow the project.
Pardubice, Czechia, Jan. 2026
After class, Lukas gathered friends for a presentation of the Everyone Counts project, sharing a slideshow he made at home plus the official photos and video. Six of the roughly ten attendees said they would like to join a future Erasmus+ exchange.
Prague, Czechia, Jan. 2026
Maxmilian and Jakub presented their experience to their English class at Gymnázium Omská, covering the project’s aims, daily life on the mobility, the activities (poster-making, video and theatre) and how to apply to an Erasmus+ youth exchange.
Miskolc, Hungary, Jan. 2026
Kata shared her Everyone Counts experience by leading an interactive session at her school. Instead of a slideshow, she ran non-formal games and icebreakers like those used on the exchange. Wearing her Everyone Counts t-shirt, she guided classmates through hands-on activities that sparked conversation and connection.
Pancevo, Serbia, Jan. 2026
At ETS Nikola Tesla in Pancevo, Lazar shared the Erasmus+ opportunity with a class of around 30 students, showing photos and videos from the Everyone Counts project and pointing them to the E29 Instagram and how to apply.
Budapest, Hungary, Jan. 2026
Patricia and Attila presented the Everyone Counts project at BGSZC Pesterzsebeti Technikum using a presentation built in Canva, covering the project’s themes and how to take part.
Levoca, Slovakia, Jan. 2026
In Levoca, Noel and Zoe shared their Erasmus+ experience with a local class, explaining how youth exchange projects work and inviting classmates to follow the E29 Instagram for updates.
Litomysl, Czechia, Jan. 2026
Sara shared the Everyone Counts project with her class at Gymnazium Aloise Jiráska in Litomyšl, presenting a PowerPoint, introducing the exchange theme and walking around ten students through the sign-up process.
Online, Romania, Jan. 2026
Diana shared her Everyone Counts experience in an online Zoom presentation focused on inclusion and diversity, covering the project objectives, the non-formal activities such as interactive workshops and role plays, and her learning outcomes in communication, empathy and cultural awareness.
Litomysl, Czechia, Jan. 2026
Lucie designed a poster in Canva and put up copies around her hometown and school in Litomyšl to raise awareness about the exchange and Erasmus+ opportunities.
Vilnius, Lithuania, Jan. 2026
Antanas and Valentinas shared the Erasmus+ exchange programme and the E29 initiative with around 16 students at Vilniaus Žirmūnų Gymnasium in Vilnius.
Nachod, Czechia, Jan. 2026
Agata and Samuel presented Everyone Counts to two English classes at Jiraskovo Gymnasium in Nachod, covering the project’s goals and the international cooperation behind it. The students listened intently and responded warmly.
Belgrade, Serbia, Jan. 2026
Pedja and Jovana presented the Everyone Counts project at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, introducing Erasmus+ and E29, sharing their experience around inclusion and diversity, and explaining how to apply.
Pitesti, Romania, Feb. 2026
Marian-Alexandru held a session at Zinca Golescu National College, presenting the Everyone Counts project with photos and videos from the mobility, and explaining how non-formal education works and how to apply to Erasmus+ projects.
