From 17 to 26 October 2026, Youth for Change participated in "PLAN U: Play to Lead And Normalize the Unexpected", an Erasmus+ Training Course in Forio di Ischia, Italy. Hosted by Noi@Europe, the project brought together youth workers from 10 European countries to learn how to respond when unexpected situations happen during youth activities and international projects.
Over 10 days, we discussed real challenges, tested different approaches and worked together on something we had never created before.
The final result was a fully functional and playable educational board game designed to help youth workers practise managing unexpected situations.
What started as an idea became a game with eight locations, dozens of activities, different characters and scenarios inspired by real experiences in youth work.
What was the PLAN U project about?
PLAN U focused on preparing youth workers to handle unexpected situations during youth mobility projects and educational activities.
Anyone who has organised an international project knows that things do not always go according to plan.
A participant might become ill. Transport might be cancelled. Someone might get lost during an activity. A conflict could develop between participants, or the accommodation might not have enough space for everyone.
These situations require youth workers to make decisions, communicate with others and respond under pressure.
During the Training Course, we explored these challenges through simulations, discussions and play-based learning.
We also shared real experiences from youth work. Before arriving in Italy, national teams collected examples of unexpected situations through interviews and discussions with youth workers.
These experiences helped us develop the scenarios that would later become part of our board game.
How did we create a board game in just 10 days?
We developed a playable educational board game from scratch during the 10-day programme.
The idea was to create something that youth workers could use to practise decision-making in situations they might face during their work.
The game includes:
- 8 different locations where youth work activities can take place.
- 10 activities per location, giving players 80 possible activities across the game.
- 2 unexpected situations for each activity, creating 160 scenarios that challenge players to respond.
- Multiple playable characters, each with different abilities and coping mechanisms that influence how they approach challenges.
Players can choose a character and encounter situations connected to different youth work environments.
The unexpected situations require them to consider what they would do, how they would react and which decisions might help resolve the problem.
The different character abilities and coping mechanisms add another element to the experience. They encourage players to think about how people respond differently when facing pressure or difficult circumstances.
By the end of the Training Course, we had developed a complete, functional game that could actually be played.
For our group, seeing the final result was one of the most rewarding moments of the project.
What was it like to participate in PLAN U?
The experience was filled with laughter, learning and moments that we will remember long after returning home.
One of our participants reflected on how surprising the final result was.
"I honestly didn't expect it to turn out so professional and well-developed, and I'm really happy I got to be part of the entire process."
Creating the game required us to work together, share ideas and try things we had never done before.
There were also unexpected situations outside the game itself.
During one treasure hunt activity, a group got completely lost while trying to find the final clue. Another memorable moment involved one participant attempting to draw despite admitting to having almost no artistic skills.
These small moments became some of the funniest stories from the Training Course.
They also reminded us that unexpected situations are part of almost every group experience.
And sometimes, they become the memories we laugh about most.
Who participated in the Training Course?
PLAN U brought together participants from 10 countries: Italy, Croatia, Slovakia, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Estonia, North Macedonia, France and Poland.
The project was hosted by Noi@Europe, an Italian organisation based in Naples that works with youth mobility, European citizenship and international cooperation.
Youth for Change participated as the partner organisation from North Macedonia.
The participants stayed at Ring Hostel in Forio di Ischia.
The Training Course was supported through the Erasmus+ programme and followed the relevant Erasmus+ guidance. Travel costs were eligible for reimbursement according to the Erasmus+ distance calculator and the applicable project rules.
What did we bring home from Italy?
We returned with new friendships, shared memories and a board game that did not exist before the project began.
The game was the result of ideas, discussions and contributions from participants who came from different countries and had different experiences in youth work.
But perhaps the most important part was seeing what we could create together in such a short time.
As one participant described it:
"In just 10 days, an idea turned into something real, and seeing the final result made me genuinely proud of our whole group."
For us, PLAN U showed how learning through play can help youth workers explore difficult situations before they encounter them in real life.
It also gave us a practical result that goes beyond the Training Course itself.
We arrived in Italy ready to learn how to manage the unexpected.
We left having created a game that allows other youth workers to practise doing exactly that.
Want to take part in an Erasmus+ project yourself? Visit Youth for Change to discover our opportunities and upcoming open calls.
Co-funded by the European Union