Team Building 2024 – Unity is strength 

Unity. It’s impossible to discuss this team without recognizing the bond that ties us together. This word holds immense significance, and it stands as one of YITH’s most remarkable strengths: the authentic connection that flourishes among us.   

If anyone needs help in any context, they will always find steadfast support from the team; if someone has a reason to celebrate, there will always be a cake and a warm hug waiting to mark the occasion. It’s a relationship built on respect, admiration, and a genuine sense of affection that’s hard to put into words.   

A key factor behind this unity stems from our ‘Team Building’ events. Since 2018, and after six gatherings, people who accidentally crossed paths—shaped by the choices they made in the past—have managed to create something truly special and unique.  

Iván Sosa

Five years ago, we were in Catania, and this year we returned with new members in the team. You realise that nothing has changed, and it still holds the essence of being a close-knit team.

Before we continue and get carried away with emotion, we must pause for a moment. Just so you know, a ‘Team Building’ activity is designed for company members with the aim of bringing them together, improving interpersonal relationships, fostering a sense of teamwork, and making them aware that the collective is stronger than the sum of its parts. Because, as entrepreneur Ray Kroc famously stated, “none of us is as good as all of us.”    

It is a journey not only to a distant corner of the world but also an emotional odyssey. A rich tapestry of feelings that began to weave together during our earliest encounters, growing stronger with each passing day. It embodies a collection of values—empathy, friendship, camaraderie, unwavering support, and loyalty—passed down from experienced members to the rest of the team, creating a strong connection. As the writer Lailah Akita beautifully expressed, “It’s wonderful to do what you love, but it becomes even more extraordinary when you share it with a good team.”    

Alessio Torrisi

Team Building is the highlight of the year, a week where you get to share your days with colleagues you used to only speak to and see through a screen. This experience has played a vital role in nurturing the team spirit at YITH.

Sara Presenti

Team Building is the most cherished tradition we cultivate at YITH. This time, we’ve shared countless moments of laughter, but even more significantly, we’ve opened our hearts to share our fears, discuss our dreams for the future, apologise for our missteps, and remind each other just how much we care.

These words are written in the emotional haze following Sicily 2024, the latest Team Building event for YITH. This time, the ash of Mount Etna paved our way through the ancient streets of Acireale, leading us to a beautiful office that became the backdrop for dearly held moments, bursts of laughter, warm embraces, and a true spirit of teamwork. They were days brimming with emotion—filled with joy, shared efforts, explorations of new cities, wonderful meals, and the lively buzz of a bustling office.  

Antonio La Rocca

A Team Building is much more than what meets the eye; it’s more than a group of people wearing the same shirt, doing activities together. It’s an opportunity to connect on a deeper level, to share life beyond the daily grind. It’s a chance to create lasting memories that will fuel the months of work ahead. This is the true magic of teamwork: you come together as colleagues, and you leave as friends.

If you’ve never experienced it, you might question the value of investing resources in a team retreat. But it’s more beneficial than you’d imagine. Numerous studies (and our own experience) show that it enhances productivity, encourages the open exchange of concerns, facilitates smoother project coordination, and most importantly, brings us closer as a team. It’s not just about working in the same space—it’s about sharing meaningful moments together. In fact, a glance at the quotes in this article will make that abundantly clear.  

Tania González

Team Building is a date marked on the calendar, a countdown that promises some of the most unforgettable moments you will treasure. It’s about sharing time and experiences with colleagues who have grown into friends. It’s the ideal moment to come together, both in work and in laughter, to bridge the gap of all those interactions we’ve had through a screen over the year, and to deepen a connection that has thrived despite the distance.

Team Building Sicily 2024 was truly special. It was a long-awaited reunion. It was face-to-face meetings that are usually confined to video calls. It was a grand mural on the wall, filled with pictures from past years, each one capturing smiles that lit up our faces. It was nights of good food and endless laughter. It was the joy of sharing moments together. It was family. It welcomed the birth of two new members to our growing community (congratulations to Francesco Leanza and his family). Though some were physically absent, they were still present in spirit. There were moments of rain and storm, but also sunshine and happiness. For many, it was their first time, while for others, it was another valued experience to add to the collection. It left our hearts overflowing with joy.   

Sara Michieli

For me, the Team Building was an opportunity to finally meet in person the colleagues I had been working with for years but had never seen face to face, and to experience different traditions, languages, and cultures that, despite their differences, share many common threads. It was a way to build bonds with my colleagues and get to know them on a more personal level.

Ausilia Arrigo

In Sicily 2024, we shared wonderful moments together, spending an entire week strengthening our relationships, both during work and after. I’ll never forget these moments with each of them, because in the end, that’s what matters most—each one of us <3

We spend 12 months a year working apart, with the exception of Team Building. So, imagine what it means to finally receive a hug from the person you talk to daily but never see, to share those jokes that were once typed in chats but can now be told in person, and to enjoy those long-promised beers that were always saved for “someday” and are now, at last, a reality. Those families we’ve often spoken of are now able to meet in person. Nephews and heart uncles embracing for the first time. It’s that friend you don’t see throughout the year but gather with just once every 12 months. Because while the Aperol Spritz soothed our throats and the pizza and pistachios filled our bellies, being together nourished our souls. As you can see, it encompasses so much more than just working side by side.  

Many people are taken aback when we describe YITH as a group of friends or family, but that’s precisely what we are: a collection of individuals who met by chance, shaped by the choices we’ve made along our journeys, and who have shared countless values and meaningful moments that have cultivated a profound affection for one another.   

Alexis Salazar

I will never forget the memories we’ve created during this Team Building, and I am very grateful to all my colleagues for making us feel right at home.

Athena Kiourka

On a personal level, this team-building experience has been truly enlightening. I had the chance to share both the highs and lows, the challenges and the joys. But, above all, I came to appreciate the immense privilege of calling some of my colleagues my friends.

Hopefully, we can meet again soon, as these are moments we will undoubtedly cherish forever. Hopefully, we’ll gather with the same smiles we’ve always shared. Hopefully, we’ll be even happier this time around.   

This team serves as the finest example of how “strength resides in unity.”  

With love.