The place of the project

How do I search for leisure centers?

After all, your exchange must take place somewhere – and ideally it should be a perfect place that fully meets the needs of the entire group. When looking for a center offering accommodation and meals for participants of your exchange, we recommend creating a database in Excel, containing information collected on the Internet about as many centers as possible, along with their name, city, link to the website and e-mail address. When you find a large number of centers (e.g. 40), you should write an inquiry and send an e-mail to each of them. 

How to choose a place for a project?

When deciding where we want to organize a project, we should be guided by many criteria. First of all, we need to find a facility that has a space conducive to workshops or activities that we plan. The basis in this matter will probably be a conference room or a common room. It is important that it should be spacious, have at least as many places to sit as we have participants, be equipped with tables, and have the possibility of basic rearrangement according to our needs. It is also good when it is possible to set the projector or turn on the sound system.

Another important thing is the accommodation of the participants. Very often there are also other groups in the center. It is important to ensure that the entire project group is accommodated in one area and not spread over the entire place. For example, in the case of houses, let it be 8 houses next to each other, and in the case of a hotel – one floor or one pavilion. Remember that most often there is a large group of adults, or almost adults, so it is worth finding a place where the activities which are intended for the evening will not disturb other guests.

The issue of food is also extremely important – our center must have a canteen or a restaurant that offers the purchase of all meals.

What should the contract with the center look like?

The preparation of the contract is the responsibility of the managers of the center, but most often they are open to your comments and are ready to accept them. So what is worth paying attention to when negotiating a contract?

• The subject of the contract is not to organize a camp, summer camp or green school, but an international Youth Exchange – this is a small provision, but it is important that the contract is correctly formulated.
• It is worth proposing a provision that the Contractor is obliged to provide wholesome vegan and vegetarian meals to the indicated participants. You, as the Principal, should provide the information about the number of vegan and vegetarian meals no later than 14 days before the start of the stay.
• Remember that, as the Principal, you do not have to (at least in Poland) report this form of trip to the school board, as it is in the case of colonies – Erasmus+ projects are treated as training.
• Protect yourself in the event of force majeure and ask for a record that in the event of its operation, the date and number of participants may change (it is a matter of your negotiating skills;)),
• It is also worth to add a provision stating that the Principal is entitled to inspect the facility and the quality of services provided by representatives, and in the event of deviations from the contract, demand their immediate removal.

What to pay attention to in the subject of food?

A well-fed participant is a productive participant. Meals are extremely important and play a huge role during the project. At the stage of choosing a center, it is worth finding out what a typical menu in the dining room looks like and checking the ratings of a given place in terms of food (e.g. in Google). When contacting with the center, it should be emphasized that it will not be a colony or a school trip, and the participants are adults who usually need solid portions of food. At the stage of project preparation, it is also necessary to find out how many vegetarians, vegans or people with different dietary preferences are in the group and report it to the center in advance. It should also be emphasized that you expect the same nutritional and caloric intake for vegans or vegetarians as for people on a regular diet.