Youth Haferland

Youth Haferland is an educational and cultural initiative developed by The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Romania Foundation, in partnership with the Michael Schmidt Foundation, within the Haferland Week Festival – the largest event dedicated to promoting Saxon culture in Transylvania.

In the 2024 and 2025 editions, Youth Haferland had a direct impact on over 50 young people and accompanying adults from the Award community across Romania.

Over several days spent in Saxon villages in Transylvania, participants were actively involved in supporting the organisation of the festival, interacting with local residents and taking part in traditional crafts workshops, folk dances, hikes between villages, and creative activities aimed at documenting and promoting their lived experience.

The programme enabled participants to complete either the Adventurous Journey section (Bronze) or the Residential Project (Gold), offering a safe, structured, and highly relevant framework for developing personal and social skills.

“I felt honored to have this role-to become a guardian of the memories of an entire community. I hope I will be worthy of carrying forward not only the culture and traditions, but also the deep emotions that still live in the hearts of the elderly people who shared everything with us.

I felt a strong sense of belonging, even though I am not part of the Saxon people.
Every person who contributed to making this experience possible did an extraordinary job, and I am deeply grateful for everything that was offered to me.”
Andriescu Kadar Edina, Gold Award participant at Youth Haferland, Compass by Turul Award Centre