Laurus in Mersin, Turkey: Our First Experience as Invited Experts in an Erasmus+ Program

From September 29th to October 3rd, we had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Mersin, a vibrant city on the Mediterranean coast of eastern Turkey, as invited experts through the Erasmus+ Invited Expert Program.

For this visit, we designed a tailor-made course to meet the specific needs of local educators titled:
“Building Psychological Resilience and Wellbeing through Mindfulness for Educators.”

The course attracted great interest, and in the end, 20 secondary school teachers were selected to participate. Over the course of five immersive days, we explored how mindfulness and social-emotional learning (SEL) can be integrated into educational contexts, not only to enhance student engagement but also to nurture teachers’ own wellbeing.

We all know that teaching can be a deeply rewarding yet stressful profession. Until we collectively develop the wisdom and compassion to regenerate how we teach and learn, mindfulness offers practical tools to cope with daily challenges, find balance, and bring more joy, creativity, and motivation into our classrooms.

Cultivating Compassion, Empathy, and Kindness

A central theme of our work together was compassion; both for ourselves and others. Building compassion begins with empathy, which is essential for collaboration and effective communication in any classroom. We also explored the transformative power of gratitude and kindness, qualities that open the heart and strengthen our communities.

Speaking of kindness, I am deeply grateful for everything I received from the people in Mersin both professionally and personally. The Erasmus team and all participating teachers showed incredible warmth and generosity. I would wholeheartedly recommend them as partners for future Erasmus+ projects.

Cultural Exchange and Shared Learning

Beyond the classroom, I had the chance to discover so much about Turkish culture, food, history, and the education system; all of which I enjoyed immensely. This spirit of sharing and caring is at the heart of the Erasmus experience.

We look forward to continuing this collaboration. Our next joint project will hopefully take place in Tarragona, Spain, this coming spring, a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) project connecting schools in Spain, Turkey, and Italy.

If you’re interested in joining one of our future Erasmus+ KA1 training courses in Málaga, Spain, or Ireland, or would like to collaborate on KA2 projects, we’d be delighted to connect with you.

Reflections and Gratitude

Our final activity in Mersin was a short mindfulness meditation, followed by a creative writing exercise: each participant wrote a poem about an everyday object, expressing gratitude and appreciation for it. This simple yet profound exercise reminded us that beauty can be found in the smallest moments and ordinary things — a cup of tea, a pencil, a gentle word.

To sum up, our experience in Mersin was truly enriching. Working with such kind and committed educators reinforced our belief that we can make a difference, one mindful moment at a time.

With an open heart, a beginner’s mind, and the courage to step outside our comfort zones, we can be the change we wish to see in our schools.
From that place of presence and creativity, new possibilities emerge, and so does hope.

Thank you, Mersin, for your generosity, curiosity, and kindness. We will be back soon!