Food is an obsession of modern society. Each of us invests significant time of our daily lives preoccupied physically and mentally by organizing various sophisticated dining, our dreams frequently head towards preparing chosen meals, unusual lunches and dinners. Beyond being a simple – but pleasant – and sometimes fun human concern, we must recognize that eating has fundamental implications in terms of our health and our continuous sustainable development both on individual and communitarian level.

Moreover, our nutrition is one of the defining elements of how we relate to the great cultures of Europe which we are all part of. Each individual’s favorite food and nutrition is clearly defined both by what is found, grown in a particular territory – including the deficit and scarcity of some food – and the culture, traditions and rituals of locals and communities. For the We are what we eat! / Suntem ceea ce mâncăm! program promoters from Romania, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Lithuania and Slovakia it was important how we find and define ourselves in the food we consume and in our daily meals.

Using the methods of non-formal education we have introduced young people into various nutrition cultures – both modern and traditional from Europe – who during the program understood the need to assume a lifestyle based on healthy eating by emphasizing with the European multiculturalism and the need for intercultural dialogue in local communities EU.

The youth exchange program correlated the individual development of young people with the increase of their chances of self-affirmation and hence their motivation for active involvement in local communities’ development in Europe they represent. The program was a success, the guide Let’s eat intercultural! is a result of the activities, a useful tool for achieving other European initiatives of this kind.

You can see below our diary and a short movie about the project.