Last Saturday, the 11th of July, we conducted activities in the IB Polska garden with the intention of combining cultures from various European countries. Our idea was to work together as a team in order to show our cultures to local children. At first, we began mapping out our plan, doing a brainstorm about possible games for children to play. We were quite impressed that most of our traditional games were identical to others – we had already played them, just with different names or slightly different rules.

While looking for inspiration, our volunteer from Spain suggested a traditional competition from Catalonia called Gincana, which is similar to a scavenger hunt. Because of the context of our trip to Poland, we decided to make a “cultural passport” based on our different countries of origin. This passport was the idea we used as the basis for conducting the activities of the day. Inside the passport, we created infocards about our countries. Also, we had flag stickers and stamps to add when the kids finished the games. The passport was a success both for us as a team and for the kids that were happy with their day.

Once we agreed on the passport idea, we selected the games to play:
● Fauna & flora: a nature-spotting game where kids
hunted for birds and plants hidden around the garden.
● Apple: a game chosen by the Greek volunteers.
This game consisted of dodging a soft ball.
● Traffic lights: a color choosing game from
Lithuania that the kids loved.
● Church rat: a hiding game from Finland.
● Scarf: a game that children would fight for their countries by running and getting the
scarf before the other.

Beside these games we also prepared some typical snacks from our countries so that everyone could try something even from the garden in front of their houses. Additionally, there was a painting area where everyone, from the youngest kids to their parents, could express their creativity inspired by the garden. Despite the stress that the entire team had, everything went as great as planned: the children enjoyed every minute of the day, the team did a great job, the parents were proud of our work… As part of the team, I felt very proud of my colleagues and with the children’s involvement.

This day would not have been possible if it was not for the collaborative work of the entire team. For this reason, I want to share some thoughts the team had after the day, starting with me: “At the moment the first kid came and until the very last moment, I enjoyed the experience as if I was one of these children”.

“I was worried that not many kids would show up to our workshop or that they might not like it. However, it was a grateful surprise to realize that we didn’t need a large group of kids to make the day special, we just needed the ones who were willing and eager to participate and have fun”. – Bet

“It was a very positive experience, for me and for the children. The children really enjoyed the games and were enthusiastic with the activities, seeing how much they enjoyed the activities we had planned brought me a great sense of joy and satisfaction. It was rewarding to know that our efforts helped create a fun and engaging experience for them.” – Adriana

“It has been a while since I last played those games, but it was nice to see how all the people even if from different age group, had fun together” – Fabienne

In sum, it has been a lovely sunny day in IB Polska garden, sharing our cultures through games, art and food: the perfect combination for a saturday in good company.

Article by Hermes Vazdekis

European Solidarity Corps volunteer

Workshops from European Solidarity Corps volunteer of 11/07/2026