Our Slovak participants joined a group from seven countries in the mountains above Rokytnice nad Jizerou for a youth exchange called Vibe Check. Ten days, one chalet in Czechia, and a single question running underneath all of it: what does it actually take to feel well? This was part of E29’s Accreditation, co-funded by the European Union through Erasmus+, and our group went into it ready to find out.
Finding Our Footing
The week opened with the work of becoming a group. Icebreakers got people talking, and together everyone drew up a Code of Conduct so the days ahead would run on rules the participants had chosen themselves. Our young people, sharing a room with strangers who spoke six other languages, were trading fun facts and learning names by the end of the first evening. The international groups formed quickly, and the rest of the programme was built on that footing.
Four Sides of Feeling Well
Midweek the exchange turned to its central theme. Working in mixed teams, the participants separated wellbeing into mental, emotional, physical, and social parts and worked out how tightly the four are tied together. Building Bridges set them cooperating before they had the full picture, and a session out among the trees, Nature and Wellbeing, made the point that the surroundings matter as much as the mindset. The lesson our participants took to heart was a plain one: feeling well is less a state you reach than a habit you keep up.
None of this stayed in theory. In The Oz Principle the teams built short pieces of theatre around taking ownership of a problem, and Picture Your Path had them map where they wanted to head next, the kind of hands-on work where the most honest talk happens while everyone is busy.
Telling a Story in Silence
The session that surprised our group most was Silent 60. In teams, the participants made a short film about wellbeing with no dialogue at all, relying entirely on movement, expression, and how each scene was framed. Showing something as personal as how a person feels, without a single word, is no small task. Our young people took to the filming and editing eagerly and built genuine skills in visual storytelling, and the finished pieces spoke clearly without ever speaking.
Bringing Slovakia to the Table
The evenings belonged to the cultural nights. Each country took a turn to share its food, music, and customs, and when Slovakia’s night arrived our participants put a piece of home in front of a room from six other countries. On every other evening they were the audience, learning how young people elsewhere live and celebrate. Those nights did as much for intercultural understanding as any structured session, and they were where many of the week’s friendships were sealed.
What Our Group Took Home
By the Youthpass ceremony on the final day, our participants had more than a record of attendance. They left the mountains with a working sense of how to care for their own wellbeing, stronger communication and teamwork, and a wider view of Europe gained from living alongside it. Back in Slovakia, that is what they carry into the conversations and presentations they share with classmates who have never tried an exchange of their own.
Photo Gallery
A few more moments from this activity :)
Check these and more photos in the activity’s photo album.
