Beyond Boundaries: Kercem Ajax youths off to Scotland on Erasmus+ Programme

The Erasmus+ programme – Beyond Boundaries – is aimed at enhancing youth mobility between two organisations in different European countries.

The Kercem Ajax Football Club from Gozo, along with New College Lanarkshire from Scotland, will be working on a joint programme of activities that promote a healthier lifestyle through sports. This programme is co founded by the European Union.

The programme offers ten youths from Gozo the opportunity to interact with another group of ten young people from a different country to meet together at the chosen country and learn about each other’s cultures, share experiences, work as a team and share and accept each other’s ideas through the sports medium.

Through this intercultural exchange, and by travelling to a larger country, Gozitan youths will meet peers with different social and cultural background. By organising joint activities all the youths will share common interests, thus allowing them to experience Europe and gain a deeper understanding of what life is like for other young European citizens.

As European participants the project aims to involve the youths in shaping the Union’s future and provide a sense of belonging to an active European citizenship.

The youths will communicate and share their experiences and activities through a Facebook page. These include preparatory activities such as the First Aid course, voluntary works, fundraising activities and other meetings.

In the meantime, the youths from Lanarkshire will also prepare an activity programme for the ten days spent in Scotland. Eventually both groups will work together and organise further activities as one whole team – ‘Beyond Boundaries.’

So far the youths have undertaken:

– A required First Aid course with the Emergency Response and Rescue Corp Gozo, and granted with a certificate for successfully passing the course

– Voluntary Work with the club in their activities including the opening of the new Kercem Ajax stadium

– Voluntary Work at ‘Dar Guzeppa Debono’ by going for a day helping the organisation in its needs

– Fundraising activity by preparing a Raffle during a Pasta Night organised by Kercem Ajax Nursery

– Fundraising activity by organising a 5-a-side game taking place in the Kercem Ajax stadium

The Gozitan participants will depart to Scotland on the 4th of December to meet the Scottish youths at New College Lanarkshire.

The groups will spend ten days interacting with each other and taking part in activities. These include traditional Maltese and Scottish nights giving the students a peak into the other group’s culture.

To keep updated with Beyond Boundaries activities like their Facebook page ^[1].

Photo: Beyond Boundaries team members from Kercem Ajax