This space is for participants in the online course “create your sustainability youth exchange” to introduce themselves to the rest of the group. 
Please share with us a few lines about you. It is really up to you what you would like to share, but at least who you are, where you are living and something interesting/peculiar about you. You can also add links and images if you feel like!
Let’s get it started! 
Hello! I’m Mónica from Spain. I got involved in the ecovillage movement about 2 years ago through a YTS youth exchange. Now I would like to develop a youth exchange myself. I am currently (since a week) living in a small village in southern Italy but I’m very open to where the future will take me, not many plans ahead 
HI! I am Stefanie, also simply called Steffi. I will co facilitate this course. I am from Germany and I joined the first Youth Exchange by YTS in 2017 in Denmark wihtout knowing what a Youth Exchange is. Now I am a Youth Exchnage organizer and trainer and an active part in Yes to Sustainability! 2 years ago I moved from Berlin to thr countryside close to the ecovillage ZEGG. I love my village life here! =)
Hello! My name is Petra, coming from Slovenia and I will be facilitating this training course with Dario and Steffi - what a pleasure! Living a sustainable life (weel towards it doing the best) in different dimensions is a gift that I appreciate it and willing to share. Living in a sustainable init…
Hey! My name is Dario and I grew up in Italy, but then I lived in Spain for many years, where I became part of the Iberian Ecovillage Network and Yes to Sustainability. At the moment I’m spending some months in Vilnius, Lithuania and here everything is a bit different, but I like adventure and changes. I will be facilitating the course with Petra and Steffi and I’m looking forward to meeting you!
Hello everyone
My name is Avena. I am from the UK, but also a Dutch national (sadly I don’t speak Dutch). I am currently in the UK finishing my studies in creative writing. I have lived in the environmental project Sunseed in Spain and the ecovillage Embercombe in the UK. I love living and working in these environments, I love the joy and I love the challenges. I do some social media work for Yes To Sustainability.
I am a storyteller and a writer, a cook and a craftswoman, and I love bees, forests and swimming in the sea (or river, or lake… or puddle if it’s the only option).
I look forward to meeting you all and working together to create beautiful things!
Hi everyone! I am Polynikis from Greece 
and I am extremely excited about this course (even if I would love it to take place in an ecovillage) I am working as project manager for Erasmus projects with some organizations in Greece for the last couple of years and I am really into eco-communities, sustainability in project management and permaculture, visiting places throughout Eu, experimenting with gardens (moved in Crete 4 months before) and reading a lot these days. I can’t wait to meet you and start this journey (even without the hugging part)
Hello people! I am Ioanna, a student of Food Science and Technology, from Greece!
My journey in sustainability and ecovillages started some years ago in an eco-community in Sweden where I felt that magic happens. From then, I started visiting eco-communities with Erasmus Projects and I start working as a cook in Youth Exchanges. Also, I used to be a team member in a youth exchange about LGBTQI+ Activism.
My dream is to write a project and make it happen in a magical place in Greece!
Hello everyone! My name is Rosalinda, but everybody call me Rosa.
I was born in a village on the mountains in the central part of Italy, but from last four I have been living, travelling around Europe. Right now I’m in Spain, in a rural area close by Barcelona.
My challenge to follow a sustainability life began a few years ago while I was working in a luxury hotel, the experience was so strong that brought to decide to change my stylelife.
Also, I have been in European Solidarity Corps in the last year, that opened to me a lot of opportunities, and one of this is Yes to Sustainability.
So, I’m curious to began this new project with you!
Hello I am Federico from Sicily!
Thanks for accepting me in the course.
I have been very often an Erasmus (student, trainee, member of ESN section, participants in exchanges and training etc.
After doing it for learning, to share, to have fun… I started to do that to help my territory because I believe in the program and internationality in a balance way with our own cultural heritage. I am the president of an Organisation (here the pif if you like T.N.T.E.G. PIF 2021.10.31 - Google Docs ) that I contribute to found and I am here to get new experience about writing and new contacts to make projects. I really like the purpose of ecovillage and i would like to have one one day… To start would be amazing to see some during era exchanges!
Hola!
I am Marc from Vilassar de Mar, Barcelona, Spain. I have participated in some Erasmus + projects in my twenties (Youth Exchanges, Trainings for Trainers, EVS…), now I am 32 and I would like to learn more about creating meaningful projects and find the funds to make them happen.
I consider myself an artist and an educator. I use creativity and imagination to create community processes with different collectives and topics (mental health, youth, immigration, feminism…). I want to step up in these community processes and learn more about how and what I can do. I also would like to participate in team projects and learn from other perspectives and sectors.
I am very happy to be here, I can’t wait to meet you all!
Hello, I am Thomas from Germany. I am currently in the process of transforming the property of my grandma step by step into a community place. Last year I built a permaculture garden there and foster my connection to nature even more. I love movement, growth and community and by sharing my passion [now also by creating a YE:)] i want to inspire people to experience life.
Hello. I’m Anastasiya from Ukraine. I’m 39. I live with my husband in an ecovillage for the last 8 years. I coordinate the events of my ecovillage and run a Permaculture center here. I’m head of Permaculture Association of Ukraine and also part of the core team of Global Ecovillage Network Ukraine so I have experience in different grant projects. I’ve been to one YTS training in Spain and to different events of GEN Europe. My dream is to start holding Erasmus+ exchanges in my ecovillage. I have a daughter of 1 year old so I’m very limited in free time now but I hope that this course will push me toward the writing an application, if not for this year, at least for the next one.
There is a film about my ecovillage with English subtitles Екопоселення "Зелені Кручі" - YouTube
Hey, I am Tjaša from Slovenia. I am 29. I have experienced three months Erasmus+ programme in Portugal in 2015, long term ESC in a community Sweden , some youth exchanges and recently also a training. All this influenced of how my life is at the moment and I would love to do the same, by creating YE, based on using art therapy as a tool for self discovery, mindfulness, permaculture living and sustainability. I believe nature is our greatest teacher and we are supposed to live in harmony with each other in organic ecosystems.
Hi!
I am Arnout (32) from Belgium but living in Norway.
I have been on quite some trainings and youth exchanges before, mostly within outdoor education. I am a nature guide (took a bachelor in Norway in Outdoor Life Education).
Just bought a farm in Volda, where we are executing and planning to have more projects with youth. We are planning to have animals and just got a saw mill. We try to produce from our own woods, material that we use for repairing existing buildings, making new buildings, etc… Our aim with the farm is to become a place where people with different backgrounds (and also people with dissabilities) can feel home and connected with the nature around them. We would love to host eco projects, outdoor life projects.
We have some projects that got approved that we are going to host at the farm in the future, so we hope to widen the possibilities.
Hello everyone!
My name is Simone, I’m 27 next sunday, and I’m from Naples, Italy, though sometimes I’m also a little bit Spanish. Sometimes I make up words mixing languages…
After 2 lifechanging YEs, in Tempo di Vivere and ZEGG,(both from the YTS network 
) I landed in Valdepiélagos Ecohousing in Madrid, Spain, where I have lived for the past 2 years and a half first as a ESC volunteer and then as a ESC and Erasmus+ project coordinator and tutor. Since a few weeks I entered a new phase in my life for experimenting and getting to know a deeper way of community life, but also to create my own projects I’m curious to see what will come out! I love groups, all related to facilitation, inner work, working with feelings and NonViolent Communication, but I also love to work in contact with nature.
In 3 years, I dream to start en ecovillage project, don’t know where, with a network of people willing to embody the change they want to bring.
Hello everyone,
I’m Ana from Zagreb (Croatia), a passionate gardener, inspired by permaculture and biodynamic principles. My partner and I are designing and maintaining our non-till permacultural garden and converting “our” one-acre land into an abundant forest garden for the last 3 years.
I have a Master Engineering degree of Urban Forestry, Nature and Environment Protection from the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb. Currently, I’m in the final year of my Ph.D. at the same Faculty, and researcher at the Croatian forest research institute. My research is focused on cultural ecosystem services (CES), visitors perception, and the value of CES in the biggest urban forest in Zagreb (Maksimir).
Besides that, I am a Yoga teacher, Thai massage practitioner, longtime vegan, and vegan cook. Fluent in German, English, and Croatian (Serbian and Bosnian).
I don’t have experience in YTS, but that will be changed soon hopefully
I volunteered in different activities with people with physical disabilities in Zagreb and have a lot of experience in integration in “regular” life (as my brother is (and a lot of his friends are) in a wheelchair from birth). Besides that I have experience in working with groups of migrant women - I taught them how to ride a bike and integrate that skill into daily life (as an ADFC member in Bremen, Germany).
Once again
I am happy to be here with all of you, and I’m looking forward to participating in writing and conducting the Youth Exchange project.
Hello everyone,
my name is Kristina and I will be helping out on Thursday’s sessions.
I have been managing Erasmus+ projects for 4 years already, I am passionate about everything connected with Nature. Mountains are my home and where I feel alive the most.
Currently living in Portugal, born in Bulgaria, love discovering and exploring different cultures.
Looking forward to meeting you!
Hi Dario! Hi Everyone
I am Dr Aditi and stay in Govardhan ecovillage, 90 kms away from Mumbai, India. I have 21+ yrs of diverse experience, but felt most meaningfully engaged recently when as family we shifted to Govardhan our ecovillage 2.5 yrs back. Indebted with gratitude we held sacrosanct the gift of Mother Nature and contribute to ecosystem with several of our regenrative initiatives like 300 Kw solar energy, 90 mn ltrs RWH pond, 100% sustainable solid and liquid waste mgt, 100 cow family members, horses, sheeps, goats, donkeys, butterflies and birds. We have spotted migratory birds who fly from Sri Lanka to Himalyas chose to stop at our ecovillage. I also represent our ecovillage at policy dialogues in UN bodies like UNEP, UNECOSCO, CBD etc. Really excited to embark on this collaborative learning journey together.
Hi Aditi, I cannot figure out how to move your post, but it’s responding to another suggestion to introduce yourself, not related to the resilience project. Sorry for that confusion! Would you repost over here? https://forum.gen-europe.org/c/resilience/introductions/20