Hey!! We are Concha, Alba, Keren and Estel, the Spanish participants in the “Smarter together: emotional intelligence supporting diversity and intercultural learning” project. From the 1st to the 10th of November, we participated in an intercultural experience in Streatley, United Kingdom. The aim of our Training Course, funded by the Erasmus+ program, was to support the development of emotional intelligence competencies, with a focus on young and multicultural groups. Therefore, youth workers from 7 different European countries took part in the project: Hungary, Türkiye, Greece, Italy, Finland,United Kingdom and Spain.

We feel very fortunate to have participated in such an interesting and intense project. With this post we want to talk about our experience and especially to encourage European citizens to discover the world with mobility projects like ours. Our journey started at the airport, where we met each other. Once we landed in London, we decided to visit some of the most popular places before heading to Streatley, the little village where the project would take place. In Streatley, we stayed at a very comfortable hostel where all the participants and the organisers lived together. We settled in our rooms and started to get to know the other members of the project. We connected so well from the very first beginning!

During the first few days getting to know each other activities were carried out and the topic, emotional intelligence, was introduced. Based on the author Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise emotions (in ourselves and others) and
to manage our response to them, also defined as the set of skills that allow a person to
be more adaptable to changes. Next, we delve deeper into the subject by defining all
the concepts involved in emotional intelligence:

During the first few days getting to know each other activities were carried out and the topic, emotional intelligence, was introduced. Based on the author Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise emotions (in ourselves and others) and to manage our response to them, also defined as the set of skills that allow a person to be more adaptable to changes. Next, we delve deeper into the subject by defining all the concepts involved in emotional intelligence:

• Self-awareness: to know how you feel, know
  how your emotion and actions can affect other
  people, know how to react in a certain
  situation, have a clear picture of your strengths
  and weaknesses, behave with humility.
• Self-regulation: to be committed to personal
  accountability, know your values, be flexible,
  manage triggers, stay in control, practice being
  calm, stress management.
• Motivation: to work continuously towards your
  goals, strive to do quality work, re-examine and
  monitor your actions, be hopeful and positive.
• Empathy: to put yourself into the shoes of
  others, support people’s development,
  challenge others, give constructive feedback,
  listen to people, respond to feelings,
  acknowledge, pay attention to body language.
• Social skills: communication skills, conflict
  resolution, personal space, cooperation and
  inclusion, use of manners, flexibility, sharing.