Submitted by Involve Youth Meath Services
Our first youth exchange of 2026 kicked off in Slane Farm Hostel in March with our partners Inspira from Chaves, Portugal. The Portuguese group, consisting of 15 young people & 3 leaders, arrived late on Thursday evening and spent the Friday morning exploring Dublin before the full group came together in Slane on Friday afternoon. The Irish group included a mix of young people from Involve Meath & Involve Donegal, including 4 youth workers & 15 young people. 
The theme of the exchange was to focus on Inclusion & Diversity through creative means. Friday & Saturday were spent in Slane getting to know each other, building relationships & learning about the diverse cultures within 
the group. The group also got started on re-designing some benches owned by the hostel, playing sports and some creative workshops. The sun was shining in the afternoon, so a walk into the town to visit the local amenities was arranged, where we got to see Slane Castle from a distance, along with the wonderful landscape of the Boyne Valley area.
A cultural trip to further support and develop relationships was planned for Sunday. The group spent the day in Emerald Park with group tasks assigned to them in small groups. This prioritised team building, communication and getting to know each other in a very non-formal & fun way. It included photo tasks and challenges to work through during the day in the park. We then returned to the hostel & for the evening we had our Irish Cultural Night. This included trying different snacks, including brown bread, chocolates, crisps, sandwiches & spice bags! The crisp sandwiches were a firm favourite, with the spice bags being a little too spicy for some, but the onions were loved! We then made our way to the activity room, where Annie from Involve Donegal led the group in a workshop on paper flowers- a traditional Traveller craft from the past. This was thoroughly enjoyed by all & led us to having a number of paper flower bouquets in our activity room for the week.
Monday & Tuesday brought us to Trim, where the main task of the week was being created. Before the groups united together in person, some work was done in prepping the design for the mural that was being created in Trim. The young people were supported by the youth workers & the artist Denise (@compactivy) to make their vision and plan a reality. Denise shared her expertise with the young people with tips on mural design, sketching, mapping out and symmetry before we got the paint out. The groups were split into small teams based on the design, including flags, background, writing & the Irish tidal wave. This activity focused on communication, cooperation & teamwork again. We then headed back to Slane for the Portuguese Cultural Night. The Portuguese provided us with snacks to taste and a table quiz, before we got the dancing shoes on to 
learn some Portuguese dances.
On Tuesday, before they got stuck into day 2 of the mural, we had a cultural trip of a guided tour of Trim Castle. They got an aerial view of the town as well as learning about the origins of the castle, Hugh de Lacy & Braveheart. Then the afternoon was spent finishing the mural & sports. The mural was finished, and the pride filled the air with how they created the beautiful mural in such a short space of time to such a high standard. We had to realm in this feeling and take plenty of photos before it was time to go back to Slane for one of the favourite evening activities- KARAOKE!! The speaker was ready, mics plugged in, and everyone gathered around to sing their hearts out to a wide variety of songs in English & Portuguese.
Wednesday came, and it was coming to the end of our week in Slane. Evaluations were done, Youth Passes completed and reflections on the week too. It was then time to finish off the benches, while some of the group did some baking ahead of our party night- mini egg cookies & mars bar squares were on the menu, along with plenty of other snacks and another batch of spice bags with plenty of onions this time!
Before the party began, we completed one last activity- Fishing for compliments. This activity allows the young people to leave positive messages, memories & thanks on cards associated with every individual on the exchange. This left everyone feeling in high spirits before the party and our final farewell. In the early hours of Thursday morning, we waved farewell to our new friends from Inspira with excitement for what is to come when we travel to Chaves, Portugal, in July. 
