I had the chance to take part in the Quiet Quest Erasmus+ project, held in Bansko, Bulgaria, from 25 November to 4 December 2024. The project focused on noise pollution, which we are often exposed to in daily life without even noticing, and its effects on people, society and natural life.

For me, however, the project was not only an educational process where we explored noise pollution. While working with young people from different countries for eight days, I developed my communication skills, gained confidence in my English, experienced teamwork and, most importantly, stepped outside my comfort zone and discovered new things about myself.

Getting to know one another and taking the first steps

On the first day of the project, we did a creative introduction activity to learn each other’s names more easily. We drew pictures that would make our names easier to pronounce or remember and wrote our names on them. The works we prepared were displayed in the room where we held our activities throughout the project.

Later, we had five-minute conversations based on topics chosen by our coordinators. Every five minutes, we changed places and talked with different people. In this way, I had the chance to meet a large part of the group in a short time.

Discovering noise pollution

On the second day, we learned more about Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps. We got to know the aims of Youth Exchange projects, how they are implemented and the opportunities they offer to young people.

Then we focused on the main topic of our project: noise pollution. We tried to identify noise sources in our daily lives. We grouped entertainment activities, transportation vehicles, technological devices, construction works and many other sources under different headings. This activity helped me realize how much noise we are exposed to during the day.

Recording the sounds of Bansko

On the third day, we moved from theory to the field. We divided into groups, walked through the streets of Bansko and tried to measure and record the sounds around us through applications we had downloaded to our phones. We also noted the source of the noise and carried out a small field research activity.

After a few hours of walking, we turned the data we collected into a report and presented our results to the other participants. Later, we held debates on noise pollution. Defending different viewpoints and supporting our arguments helped me not only think about the topic, but also listen to a different opinion and defend my own.

Staging the effects of noise on nature

On the fourth day, we focused on the effects of noise pollution on natural life. In the first activity, we were asked to explain this topic through a three or four-minute theatre performance. Since I had never had such an experience before, it was quite different for me. Still, we prepared our performance in a short time and created an enjoyable piece.

We researched the effects of noise pollution on animals and other living beings. Then, in groups, we visualized these effects and prepared works about the physical, psychological and behavioral consequences for living beings. This activity showed me that explaining a problem does not always mean making a classical presentation.

Discovering Bansko

The fifth day was the free day in our project program. We used this day to rest and discover Bansko. We walked through the city center, visited its historical areas and had the chance to get to know the place we were staying in more closely, away from the intensity of the project.

Discovering a city with friends from different countries was a cultural experience in itself. Walking together, talking and getting to know the city were as valuable as the training sessions.

Raising awareness about noise pollution

On the sixth day, we continued our work intensively. We researched the physical, mental, behavioral and social effects of noise pollution. To raise awareness in society, we prepared posters and infographics.

We tried to make the information clearer and more attractive by using the statistics we had obtained from our research. Then we designed stickers and added QR codes to make our content accessible. Our aim was not only to share what we learned within the project, but also to develop creative ways to reach a wider audience.

Cultural nights and shared similarities

Throughout the project, cultural nights were among the most enjoyable spaces that helped us become closer with participants from different countries. During the Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Greece cultural nights, we tasted different foods, listened to music and danced together.

As the Turkish team, we introduced our culture by offering the food and drinks we had brought, giving out evil eye beads, offering cologne and preparing Turkish coffee. We performed folk dances, danced together and collected beautiful memories by the end of the evening.

Learning from one another

On the seventh day, we came together with young people who were participating in the Quiet Quest project, held at the same hotel during the same dates. Our friends from the Quiet Quest group shared their research on sustainable tourism in Bansko and the videos they had prepared. I found their presentations both enjoyable and instructive.

Later, six people selected from our project made a presentation to the other group to introduce Quiet Quest and explain what we had been doing. In this way, participants from two different Erasmus+ projects became aware of each other’s work.

Taking what we learned with us

On the final day, we received the first pages of our Youthpass certificates. But we also talked about how the project should not end there for us. We planned how we could share what we had learned with more people.

Then we all came together and shared what we had experienced, learned and felt throughout the project. It was a very emotional moment for me. Eight days earlier, we had come together as people who did not know one another. Now, we did not want the time we had spent together to end.

What did this project give me?

Quiet Quest became much more than an Erasmus+ project where I learned about noise pollution. Thanks to this project, I realized that my self-confidence had increased. I saw that I could communicate with people much better than I had thought.

I gained more confidence in speaking English and gained important teamwork experience by working in the same team with people from different countries. I also saw how much stepping outside my comfort zone could give me.

When I left Bansko, I had not only a Youthpass certificate with me, but also new friendships, beautiful memories of different cultures, skills I had developed and new sides of myself that I had discovered.