Student exchanges. Stories that Move connects!

26 Feb 2021 - by Mateusz Trojanski

My journey with Stories that Move started in 2013, as a student, helping organise the youth meetings that paved the way to the creation of the “toolbox against discrimination”. In the last eight years, I‘ve had a ringside seat watching the project grow. Every year, more and more teachers and educators across Europe have started using Stories that Move, and many more young people have been inspired to take action and stand up to discrimination, as I was. I am no longer a volunteer but coordinator of the project for Poland, which makes me doubly, trebly proud to introduce Stories that Move’s latest partner, the Krzyżowa Foundation – and the new international student exchange programmes being set up as part of Stories that Move 2.0.

With its multilingual focus on inclusivity and diversity, Stories that Move is a perfect fit for student exchanges. Many schools across Europe already use it, often working together – across borders. Projects include Social Inclusion 2day, which unites five schools from Belgium, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, exploring identity and media literacy. In times of pandemic, when travelling is limited and physical meetings of students are on hold, Stories that Move’s online offer has even greater value. It is an actual way of creating a meeting space for young people. The results of their work can be shared – the perfect online international exchange!

Mateusz Trojanski is a trainer and the coordinator of Stories that Move for Poland at the Anne Frank House, Amsterdam

The Krzyżowa Foundation was set up after the second world war to promote reconciliation between Poles and Germans. Its historical experience in organising international youth meetings builds on Stories that Move’s existing cooperation with the Polish-German Youth Office – through which we have already presented the tool to hundreds of educators since 2019, at face-to-face seminars as well as online meetings. Together, we will now tap into this rich wealth of knowledge and expertise to develop a new generation of Stories that Move lessons – geared to youth exchange programmes everywhere.

Welcome new partner!