Let's start by explaining the very concept of crowdfunding. The existence of crowdfunding is closely related to universal access to the Internet. It consists in the fact that the originator of a given project asks for financial support from Internet users, in return offering specific benefits - e.g. a finished product or a discount when buying it, when it is already available for sale.

Why could it be the topic of an international youth project?

Data from November 2016 shows that there was 4.28 million (18.18%) unemployed young people under 25 in the European Union at that moment. The involvement of young people from Croatia, Poland, Romania, Turkey and Greece in a joint project, in which a crowdfunding campaign will be carried out, was aimed at strengthening their competences that are useful on the labor market.

Our Croatian partner, the organization Razvojna Udruga Ludbreg from the town of Ludbreg, has already visited the Zamojskie region several times. So we were glad that this time we were able to visit our friends and work with them in their local community.

The participants were accommodated in a hotel called 'PARADISE'. It cannot be denied that it was a name encouraging to come to the place ;-)

The main goal of the project was to get to know Crowdfudning from scratch and to learn how to achieve social effects through this method of financing. To start our cooperation, the project organizers made workshops that helped the participants remember names and break down language barriers - says Oskar Nowakowski, HEureka's volunteer and project participant.

We got to know the concept of crowdfunding through non-formal education methods (eg World Cafe) and thanks to presentations. Then the whole group started to create an idea that we could implement using the crowdfunding campaign - adds Oskar.

After two days of intense brainstorming, the idea was chosen to fund a start in the form of raising funds needed to publish an album for a local music band. A band called Hrmülja was chosen because, according to the participants, it had great potential. Hrmülja is a heavy metal band with a heavy and convincing sound - continues Oskar.

The next step was to prepare for the Crowdfunding campaign. The group has been divided into four sectors (PR, Content Creators, Social Media, Finance) to work more efficiently. After a few days of calculations and exhaustive work, we managed to create a campaign that was published on the Indiegogo platform.

In order to promote the entire campaign at the local level, a concert was organized to present the Hrmülja band. The event was a success. It was a great experience.

HEurekians who took part in the project: volunteer Oskar Nowakowski, member of the association Justyna Golecka (leader of the Polish group) and friends of our organization: Kinga Radomska, Karolina Blaszka, Agnieszka Kłos and Klaudia Wcisło.

Video material presenting the course of the meeting in Croatia: