PRESS - Periphery and Rural areas: European Solidarity and Social inclusion​

Johanna

Hey you all! I am Johanna from Berlin, Germany and am currently 19 years old. After graduating I decided, due to the covid situation, to not attend university yet and rather focus on growing as a person and gaining more experience in all kinds of fields that interest me. The ESC program is perfect because it combines a lot of my passions like traveling and getting to know other cultures while it might also help me to figure out what I want to do in the future. I am very grateful to be here and to experience the Italian life while also having a cultural exchange and getting to know inspiring people! I am looking forward to this new adventure and all it has to offer.

Ádám

Ciao a tutti. I am Adam, I am 24 years old and I am from Budapest, Hungary. I studied History of Art in London and after graduation, I moved back to Budapest where I acquired my city guide license. However, I always loved to travel to Italy and I always wondered how it could be to live together how it could be to live there. The culture, the atmosphere and the people have always charmed me. So when I saw the ESC opportunity I knew I wanted to be part of it. Since I worked as an intern/ volunteer before, applying to be a European volunteer appealed to me. I'm hoping to share my knowledge and passion with others as well as constantly learning during my time here. Also, I am looking forward to exploring life in Italy. I love to meet new people from around the world and get to know their culture. I believe being part of YouNet as an ESC member is a huge opportunity to grow professionally and a chance to have countless adventures in this fantastic country.

Marina

Ciao! I am Marina an ESC volunteer from Spain. I was born and raised in the city of Zaragoza but my curious spirit and strong interest in exploring new places led me to Madrid. There, I had the opportunity to study for a bachelor's degree in Film, TV, and Media studies and to familiarise myself more in dept with the artistic and cultural fields. Besides, during the course of my university years I had the great chance of participating in the Erasmus + programme and studying for one year in Nottingham (UK), an experience that changed my life. Living abroad made me leave my comfort zone, accept more risks and face new challenges as well as it brought me the possibility of immersing myself in a multicultural environment and get to know new realities and ways of living. Since then, my interest in other cultures has only grown and that is what drove me to participate in an ESC volunteering project here in Italy where I can develop both, my professional skills in media and digital communication and to satisfy my passion for languages and cultures.

Patrycja

I’m Patrycja and I’m from Poland. Last six years I lived in Cracow, where I studied management and international relations. For several years I had been working as a volunteer in many different non-governmental organisations – for example, Court Watch Poland, Social Integration Club, Caritas Poland. I chose the ESC project because I wanted to try something new. I associate my professional ambitions and plans for the future with work in an international environment. For me, participation in this project will be a very big opportunity to develop. It is a chance to check-in practices my knowledge and abilities, develop my language knowledge and meet new interest people. I believe I can learn many new things and, from the other side, share my skills with others.

Maria

Hey! My name is Maria Anastasova and i am from Sofia, Bulgaria. I did my bachelor's in International Relations in Madrid and also i spent 1 year living in Brno, Czech Republic, doing my Erasmus. I am currently doing an ESC with YouNet in the city of Bologna and I am having the greatest time. I decided to do a volunteering service, because i wanted to spend some time contributing to the european values and exploring more about myself and how i envision the future. I chose the city of Bologna because it's a wonderful place that carries a lot of history and very enjoyable vibes.

Marta

Ciao a tutti! My name is Marta. I'm 22 years old and I'm from Spain but I like to say that I'm a world citizen. I studied Social Work in Granada and I got my AID master degree in 2021.I had my Erasmus experience in Italy 3 years ago. That's why I'm really fond of this country and the reason why I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to work here in Younet.This is a journey for all of us. Let's start together!

Michelle

​My name is Michelle, and I am 22 years old. I come from the city of Pforzheim, a small city in the south of Germany, close to the black forest. Last year, I finished my bachelor’s in International Relations and in the future, I would like to work abroad and to combine my passion of traveling and exploring new places. In my free time, I enjoy spending time in the nature, for example by going on hikes and sailing. I enjoy being a volunteer, because I get to experience living and working together with other European young professionals and we can share our experiences and grow together. The ESC gives me the opportunity to widen my professional experience gaining insights into the work of an organization as YouNet and to learn about the structures inside such an organization.

Dori

Ciao a tutti! I'm Dori, I'm 23 years old and I come from Almería, Spain. I studied primary education with a specialisation in special education in Madrid, and after graduating, I came back to Almeria to do my master's degree in psychopedagogy. After finishing the master's degree I wanted to live new experiences that would allow me to grow as a person, get to know myself and gain work experience, so I decided to do a European volunteering project in Italy, as it is a country that I have always been passionate about. I am currently doing an ESC with Casa Santa Chiara, in the city of Bologna and I am having the greatest time, learning new things and broadening my experience as a special education teacher

Bora

Ciao a tutti! Or as we say in Germany: Joa guten Tach nh! My name is Bora and I'm a 19 year old German guy with Turkish roots. After graduating from high school this year I didn't really know what to do since I'm still unsure about everything and honestly, COVID did not help at all. So in order to do something that mixes my passion for other cultures and my desire to gain some experience I signed up for the ESC program. So far I've felt extremely welcome which I'm really grateful for and I'm also having the time of my life, meeting this new culture and language. I don't have a doubt in the world that my time here will be neat!

Antoine

Bonjour à tous! My name is Antoine Boudes and im French. I'm 24 years old and I'm just graduated from a master in cinema. I have many passions, I have been playing music for 10 years, I am passionate about cinema, especially western and gangster movies, and I am passionate about Italy and its culture. Having finished my studies I wanted to go and live abroad to create a new experience in my life, and being tired of my daily life in France I wanted to change my life and find new occupations. Not being very good in English and Italian, I learn every day new words, new sentences, and day by day I improve in my expression. I am a very social person, I like to party with my friends, to laugh, I like to discover new things, new people, and I do not regret at all to have left my country. ​salut !

Dominika

Ciao! My name is Dominika, I’m 22 years old. I just finished studying Communication at the University of Wrocław before coming here. I knew that I wanted to move to another country to volunteer ever since I was 14 and found out about ESC projects, and now I finally had the opportunity to do so. Deciding to stay in Bologna for a year was exactly what I needed when I finished my studies. I can’t wait to explore what the city has to offer, and to put my skills to good use whilst volunteering here. I think the most exciting thing is the feeling of not knowing what’s going to happen, and what my life is going to look like a year from now!

Kataryna

Ciao! My name is Katja, I'm 24 years old and I came from Wrocław, Poland. I am Ukrainian by origin, but I have lived in Poland since I was 13. I love Slavic countries, languages, traditions and everything related to it, but I love traveling even more. This is why I decided to go on a one-year Erasmus exchange to Bologna. While at Erasmus, I finished my master's degree in international relations. After living in Italy for a year, I realized that I need more time to immerse myself in the atmosphere of this country. That's why I took the opportunity to do volunteering and experience this unforgettable experience. In addition, I finished acting, I am studying my second master's in Russian Philology, so I like good literature over a cup of green tea and all types of board games. I really appreciate social interaction, getting to know the international environment, new people, cultures and languages.

Margarita

Ciao to everyone! My name is Margarita and I am 27 years old. I am from Greece, Athens. I studied theater as my first bachelor and then i continued my studies to primary education. I did my master on special education. I was working as a teacher back in Greece for a lot of years. I needed a break of my everyday life so I started to search for different opportunities. I always wanted to stay in Italy for a while, to improve my Italian, to meet new people, to travel and live a different everyday life. I'm currently doing an ESC with Casa Santa Chiara and I'm really happy about this experience. I'm working with disabled people everyday, spending time together doing a lot of different activities. Everyday is a new experience!

Elena

Ciao a tutti! My name is Elena, I am 25 years old and I am a human of the world. I was born in Russia, moved to Poland and graduated from university there, and now I have been living in beautiful Italy in Bologna for the second year. I have always been interested in pedagogy and education, so I graduated from university with a degree in Coaching and Career counseling, took various courses and participated in some projects in this field, as well as in the field of theater, art and European values. My decision to start volunteering in Bologna is to continue my studies and discover myself and my strengths in a new country and new field. I am very glad that I made this decision - every day I learn something new, meet interesting people and study Italian culture from the inside.

Ewelina

Ciao! My name is Ewelina, I am 25 and I am a volunteer in Reggio Emilia. I studied Finance and Accounting at Warsaw School of Economics. After few year of working in finance I discovered that this is not really my thing - then I decided to take a break to rethink my future plans and go to Italy as I always wanted to. As for now, I feel it was a really great decision! Reggio Emilia is a small, but wonderful city and I have already met a lot of interesting people there. Also, being in Italy made me a person who is more open, sociable and who appreciates little things in life. And I am sure that I would definitely not regret spending this year abroad.

Laura Ana

My name is Laura. I was born on January 18th, 1990 in Donostia/San Sebastian, the most beautiful city in the Basque Country, in the North of Spain, so I speak Spanish and Basque as my mother tongues. ​At the moment, I’m studying to be a teacher. Actually, I have never been a good student, but I have always been interested in the social field and more specifically in children. That’s why some years ago I started volunteering and working in non-formal education and in leisure time. Since I was young, I’ve carried out some different activities and worked with different volunteering entities. 8 years ago I met Kaebnai, they work in the human rights field, defending interculturality and promoting the importance of working together and what each can contribute. They also made me aware about all the opportunities the young have of European mobility and thanks to them I’ve participated in about ten different projects of mobility and exchange. Three years ago, I was given a grant to volunteer in Medellin, Colombia. It was an incredible experience, quite hard, but the most beautiful of my life too. There I worked with children in risk of social exclusion and some that were forced to participate in guerrillas. When I discovered Kaebnai, it also opened me up doors for long term European volunteering and it was an opportunity I couldn’t let go. Until now, I wasn’t able to carry it out, so it was time for it as time is not on my side, so, in spite of the pandemic here I am, in Italy. I think that these experiences make us grow up, see the world from a different point of view and open our mind. Getting out of our comfort zone makes us stronger and helps us know ourselves better. We are all different and that’s why working with and for others can make us aware about what we can each contribute to society and enhances the value of learning from others.

Laura

Sasha