Halloween in Transylvania: do you dare?

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to spend your Halloween in Transylvania? Wander around the never-ending corridors of castles you keep hearing about in vampire stories, discover Romanian history and culture and meet people from all over the world? What if I told you this was all possible?

Halloween in Transylvania is one of ESN Romania`s trademark events, that brings hundreds of international students together each year to celebrate Halloween in Transylvanian style and get a glimpse into Romania`s history and culture.

This October, over 800 young people from 32 countries reunited in the historical region of Brasov for the 10th edition of the event. For an entire weekend, participants had the chance to discover the places that inspired some of the greatest vampire stories of all time, learn about local and national history and connect with peers from all around the world. They wandered around the majestic chambers and corridors of the castles in the area of Brasov, including Bran castle, the inspiration for Bram Stoker's novel, proudly represented their countries at the Flag Parade, tested their detective skills in a Treasure Hunt and put their creativity to work to find the best outfits for the event`s theme parties.

But we shall, of course, not forget that the spookiest stories of them all are sometimes real-life challenges we can not run away from. Biodiversity, sustainability, democracy & active citizenship, culture and multiculturality, and mental health were all on the agenda of the Erasmus Generation Summit, organised in collaboration with Europe Direct Rasnov and one of the highlights of this year's edition, as the event also took place in the context of the European Year of Youth and the 35th anniversary of the Erasmus+ programme.

„We are thrilled to once again organise Halloween in Transylvania, after being forced to take a 2-year break due to the pandemic. Besides the already traditional activities we include each year, for this edition we also wanted to create a safe space for participants to interact with each other and debate relevant topics, thus the Erasmus Generation Summit”, said Cristian Constantin Pașka, the Project Manager. „There were young people from 32 countries, mainly from Europe, but also from Japan, South Korea, USA, Canada, Brasil, Peru, Kazakhstan and Algeria. We believe that the event was a great opportunity for young people to create connections, thus encouraging intercultural dialogue and cooperation”, he added.