The path begins long before you arrive at the mountain. Different countries, different stories, one path ahead. On 6 and 7 August 2026, EKOLiTiKA met online with group leaders and partners from Croatia, Greece, Romania, Türkiye and Ukraine to prepare the Carve Your Path youth exchange, an Erasmus+ project on leadership, held at the Omanovac mountain lodge.

During the two-day Advance Planning Visit, the teams explored expectations, hopes and fears, walked through the venue virtually, discussed the role of group leaders, reviewed the programme and Infopack, and agreed on pre-arrival tasks. The meeting turned six separate national teams into one working group before anyone had even met in person.

Then came the people. A carpenter, a molecular biologist, a psychologist, a future air traffic controller, visual artists, translators, video editors, copywriters and organisation leaders, 42 participants arrived at Omanovac carrying very different degrees, professions and hobbies. Poets, photographers, dancers, a volleyball captain, someone with over 100 Erasmus+ projects behind them, and someone who believes in dragons. Only 42 Erasmus+ participants did not arrive at Omanovac, 42 souls arrived with their knowledge, talents, ideas and dreams.

The exchange unfolded across nine days, structured around a simple but powerful idea: leadership lives in the head, the heart and the hands.

Day two was about turning strangers into a community, co-creating group rules, sharing fears and expectations, and building trust before any conversation about leadership could begin. By evening, Romania hosted the first intercultural night, and six separate delegations already felt a little more like one group.

Day three went into the head, Youthpass reflection led by the Turkish team, "Examples from Home" videos from all six countries, a "Step Forward" privilege-walk role play, and a session on limiting beliefs. Sometimes the biggest obstacle on the path isn't ahead of us, it's the story in our head telling us we can't take the next step. Turkey closed the evening with its culture and cuisine.

Day four moved into the heart, the Empowerment Playground and the drama triangle, a silent forest walk to reconnect with personal values, SMARTER goal-setting paired with life vision work, and peer-to-peer coaching through "The Gift of Leadership." Ukraine brought the evening's music, food and tradition.

Day five put leadership into hands, a linocut workshop exploring patience and vision, followed by an Open Space session where participants taught each other guitar chords, chess strategy, self-defence basics, watercolour painting and dance. Greece closed the night with a Mediterranean-fuelled celebration.

Day six turned inspiration into strategy, teams built the action plan and logistics for a public Youth Festival, dividing into creative working groups to plan every detail. Macedonia brought Balkan tradition and warmth to the evening.

Day seven took the project into the local community: the Youth Festival at Lipik's Multicultural Centre, where participants ran their own stations, interviews, an Erasmus+ prize quiz, music, and the attempt to create the largest collaborative linocut in Croatia. The day closed with the opening of the "Carve Your Path" exhibition, and a surprise visit from partner organisation ASRA Romania.

Day eight looked at what comes after the exchange ends, a "Stories of Leadership" workshop, facilitated by EKOLiTiKA's Borjan, that became the seed of a joint e-book, the planting of a linden tree at Omanovac as a lasting mark of the project, and a session on Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps opportunities.

Day nine closed the exchange with Dissemination Bingo, formal and non-formal evaluation, the Youthpass ceremony, a Secret Friends reveal, and celebration. Nine days, six countries, one carved path.

Carrying the Practice Forward: Root & Blade

For EKOLiTiKA, Carve Your Path didn't end when the exchange did. The experience of exploring leadership through the head, the heart and the hands, and through the slow, deliberate act of linocut carving, became the seed for a new digital tool: Root & Blade.

Root & Blade is a short, private digital reflection tool designed to help you explore your own leadership in a more honest and practical way. Inspired by linocut carving, it invites you to "carve away" assumptions, expectations, or habits that may no longer fit, so you can make space for what genuinely matters to you.