Resources for Young Travellers
Carefully curated links and guides across Erasmus, volunteering, youth projects, and learning — all vetted for real value.
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🎓 Erasmus & Youth Mobility
The Erasmus+ programme has transformed youth mobility across Europe. These resources help you understand what's available, how to apply, and how to get the most from the experience.
Erasmus Malta — National Agency
The official Maltese national agency for Erasmus+ programmes. If you're based in Malta — or want to run a project with Maltese partners — this is your starting point. They manage funding applications for youth exchanges, training courses, and student mobility, and provide personalised guidance for both organisations and individuals.
Visit Erasmus Malta ↗Projekta Malta — Youth Projects & Training
Projekta is a Maltese organisation specialising in non-formal education, Erasmus projects, and youth worker training. They coordinate international youth exchanges, send and host young people across Europe, and run professional development programmes for youth workers. An excellent partner for organisations looking to enter the Erasmus ecosystem.
Visit Projekta Malta ↗🌱 Volunteering Opportunities
Meaningful volunteer placements are out there — but finding legitimate ones takes some navigation. These platforms and organisations offer real opportunities with proper support structures.
Volunteers Malta — Community Volunteering
Volunteers Malta is a well-established platform connecting individuals and organisations with volunteering opportunities across Malta and Gozo. They work with NGOs, community groups, and international organisations to match volunteers with placements that suit their skills and interests. A great starting point for anyone wanting to contribute meaningfully during a stay in Malta.
Find Opportunities ↗European Solidarity Corps
The EU's flagship volunteer programme for people aged 18–30. Placements run from 2 weeks to 12 months across Europe, covering everything from environmental conservation to social work and youth projects. Accommodation, food, and a small pocket money allowance are provided. Access through the official European Youth Portal (europa.eu).
Read Our Volunteer Guide⚠️ Avoiding voluntourism traps
Not all volunteer programmes are created equal. Watch out for placements that:
- Charge high fees with no clear breakdown of where the money goes
- Promise unrealistic outcomes ("build a school in two weeks")
- Involve working with vulnerable children without proper safeguarding
- Offer no skills matching — any warm body will do
Stick to EU-backed programmes, established local NGOs, or well-reviewed platforms. Our full volunteer guide covers this in detail.
🤝 Youth Projects & Exchanges
Youth exchanges, training courses, and collaborative cross-border projects that build skills, friendships, and professional networks — often with costs largely covered.
Youth Exchanges via Projekta
Projekta Malta regularly coordinates and participates in international youth exchanges — week-long projects where young people from across Europe gather to work on shared themes. Topics have included media literacy, environmental action, entrepreneurship, and intercultural dialogue. Participation is largely funded through Erasmus+.
Learn More ↗Training Courses for Youth Workers
If you work with young people — as a youth worker, educator, or community organiser — Erasmus+ training courses are designed for you. They cover facilitation skills, non-formal education methods, project management, and intercultural competence. Projekta Malta hosts and sends youth workers on these programmes throughout the year.
Erasmus Tips Guide🎲 Learning Through Play
Non-formal learning and game-based education are increasingly recognised as powerful tools for youth development. These resources explore how play, creativity, and board games create spaces for connection, skill-building, and entrepreneurial thinking.
GameOn — Board Games for Youth & Organisations
GameOn is an Erasmus+ project with a genuinely creative premise: using board games as a vehicle for youth engagement, entrepreneurship education, and community building. The project operates a board game library that youth organisations can subscribe to, with curated sets of games available on loan for workshops, youth nights, and community events.
But it goes further than lending. GameOn also encourages young people to design their own board games — including using AI tools to generate mechanics, rules, and artwork — as a hands-on exercise in creativity, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial thinking.
Explore GameOn ↗Why Board Games for Youth Work?
Board games create a uniquely levelled social environment. Unlike digital games, they require face-to-face interaction, negotiation, strategy, and — sometimes — the ability to handle losing gracefully. For youth workers, they're an accessible and flexible tool for ice-breaking, teamwork, and even conflict resolution.
Designing Games with AI
One of GameOn's most innovative elements is helping young people design original board games using AI tools. This isn't just fun — it teaches design thinking, iterative prototyping, and entrepreneurship through a medium young people actually enjoy. Read more about how this works at gameon.mt.
Further Reading
Our full article on board games and youth mobility explores why play is taken seriously in the Erasmus world, and how organisations across Europe are using game-based learning to engage participants in meaningful ways.
🎒 Budget Travel Tools & Guides
The practical side of travel. From booking to packing, these resources help you travel smarter and spend less.
How to Find Cheap Hostels
The big booking platforms are fine for comparison, but also check the hostel's direct website — many offer a discount for direct bookings. For longer stays, always ask about weekly rates.
Budget Travel Guide →Interrail & Rail Passes
An Interrail Global Pass lets you travel across 33 European countries. For young travellers (under 28), discounted Youth passes make extensive train travel very affordable compared to flying when you factor in time and baggage costs.
Train Travel Tips →Malta on a Budget
Malta is more affordable than most Western European destinations, especially outside summer. Our full Malta guide covers budget accommodation, free sights, cheap eats, and ferry connections.
Malta Budget Guide →Common questions about youth opportunities
Erasmus+ is the European Union's programme for education, training, youth, and sport. It provides funding for student exchanges, internships, volunteer placements, youth exchanges, and training courses across Europe and beyond. Over 3 million students have participated since 1987, and the programme now supports individuals in over 30 countries. In Malta, Erasmus Malta manages the national programme.
The best places to start are the European Solidarity Corps (the EU's volunteer programme for under-30s), national volunteer centres in your country, and platforms like Volunteers Malta for Malta-based placements. Look for projects that offer accommodation and a small stipend in exchange for your work, and always verify the organisation's legitimacy before committing.
A youth exchange is a project where groups of young people from different countries meet for a period of typically 6–21 days to explore a topic together through non-formal learning — workshops, outdoor activities, intercultural dialogue, and creative sessions. Costs are largely covered by Erasmus+ funding, including travel, accommodation, and food. Youth exchanges are open to people aged 18–30 and are coordinated by youth organisations.
GameOn is an Erasmus+ project that operates a board game library for youth organisations. Member organisations can subscribe to access curated sets of board games, borrow them for events and workshops, and participate in a programme that uses game design — including AI tools — to build entrepreneurial skills among young people. It's a fantastic resource for any youth organisation looking to add engaging, non-digital programming to their offer.
Ready to take the first step?
Whether you want to travel, volunteer, study, or get involved in youth projects — the opportunities are there. Let us help you find the right one.