Druskininkai, Lithuania | Erasmus+ Youth Exchange | November 5-10, 2023

In the green and peaceful setting of Druskininkai, young people from Lithuania, Romania, Estonia, Greece, Turkey, and Portugal came together with one shared goal: to unpack the habits we’ve normalised around food and waste, and to challenge the systems that shape them. Unpack Your Habits was not a week of passive learning — it was a space for questioning, simulating, reflecting, and reimagining how our daily choices impact the world we inhabit.

At the heart of the project was a deep commitment to sustainability, explored through its three main pillars: environmental, social, and economic. Participants were encouraged to look beyond surface-level actions and critically examine the structures behind consumption and production. The discussion on weak vs. strong sustainability pushed us to consider whether small compromises are enough — or whether we need more transformative change to truly protect the planet and its people.

One of the most impactful sessions was a simulation of a local food economy, in which participants assumed roles in a food supply system and had to make real-time decisions. It quickly became evident how consumer choices, distribution models, and production methods are interlinked, and how easily sustainability can be compromised. The exercise highlighted the democratic dimension of everyday decisions: how we eat, buy, and discard is not neutral — it’s a political act.

A particularly eye-opening moment came through the exploration of greenwashing. Instead of simply defining the term, participants stepped into the role of marketers and companies to understand the deceptive strategies used to appear environmentally responsible. This activity sharpened our collective critical thinking and underscored the need for innovation, not just in technology, but in the way we evaluate and challenge information in a world saturated with branding and false sustainability claims.

We also travelled back to our roots through a session on traditional ecological knowledge, sharing ancestral practices from different cultures. Far from outdated, these practices proved deeply relevant to contemporary sustainability efforts. This moment was a reminder that inclusion is not only about people — it’s also about knowledge systems, and about honouring the wisdom carried by generations.

Our guided tour of Druskininkai, too, went beyond sightseeing. It offered a window into how a small city can integrate sustainable practices at the urban level, providing models for greener living that are practical and community-based. Seeing these ideas implemented locally reinforced that sustainability is not abstract — it’s tangible, visible, and replicable.

Finally, we took a deep dive into waste systems, mapping out the full cycle from production to disposal. Participants didn’t just talk about recycling — they explored systemic issues and asked difficult questions about consumption culture, accountability, and what it would really mean to move toward a zero-waste society. These conversations weren’t framed in guilt or blame but in shared responsibility and collective empowerment.

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Unpack Your Habits was more than a thematic exchange about food and waste. It was a collaborative journey to critically examine the habits we carry — the ones we’ve inherited, accepted, or never questioned — and to understand that change begins with awareness. Through collaborative learning, intercultural dialogue, and creative thinking, the group co-created a space that fostered agency, empathy, and a renewed sense of European solidarity.

Because in the end, changing the world starts with changing how we live in it — together.

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