No Borders Citizens, Iratxe: "I am grateful for the opportunity I had, I will always remember the people I have met"

I’ve always wanted to volunteer abroad, but it’s not always easy to find projects. That’s when I discovered the existence of the European Solidarity Corps, one of the easiest and best ways for youngsters to participate in a volunteering project in Europe.  After several months of looking for projects, I found the project that best fitted what I wanted to do: social and cultural integration of asylum seekers, refugees and international students in the Entropia association, at the University of Calabria, Italy. 

Going alone to a new country where you don’t know anyone it’s not easy, but the people who work at the association and the volunteers made everything very easy. I felt welcomed and comfortable from the very first minute and Rende became my home really fast. 

The first months were different from what I expected because due to covid restrictions we were not able to do many of the planned activities. However, we learned a lot of things about the ESC, we learned how a radio programme worked and we collaborated helping in the social room, we started Italian classes and we had the opportunity to meet people thanks to the language exchanges (tandem), which were essential for the improvement in the learning of the language. In addition, I had the opportunity to record a podcast with my project partner about the international protection system and the recognition process in Italy, Spain and Germany.

When we arrived in February, they were running the project "Solidarity Tour", written and coordinated by volunteers from the association in which they organised activities with the asylum seekers and refugees of the reception centre. This was definitely one of my favourite parts of my work in the association. Having the opportunity to work with refugees and asylum seekers and to help make their stay in Italy more pleasant and easier was very gratifying. 

As the pandemic situation was improving and the restrictions were disappearing, we were able to reopen the association to students and start organising activities: babel tea, karaoke, movie nights, public viewings, jam sessions, Italian courses for refugees and international students, etc. In addition to organising and participating in the association's activities, we took care of its promotion by designing flyers with Illustrator and writing posts on social media. 

The project had a duration of 6 months, but the experience was so good and so enriching that we asked to stay for the second part of the project, as due to covid restrictions we had not been able to carry out some of the activities that were part of our project. In the end I was able to enjoy being there for 10 months and it was the best decision. 

In the second part of the project, we continued with the daily activities of the association such as the front office and promotion and organisation of activities. We started the preparation of the two projects that were going to take place in September. The first one was a youth exchange on radio in which I took part as a participant. The second was a short-term ESC project on the preparation of a multicultural festival, in which I helped with the selection of candidates, organisation of activities, implementation of the festival and its subsequent evaluation. 

One of the biggest challenges for me was being the speaker for the NoBorders Radio broadcast. Even though I had been learning Italian for several months, I wasn't fluent enough to do a radio show. I am grateful for the opportunity I had. I learned a lot about radio and it helped me to overcome my fears about public speaking, as well as helping me to improve my Italian.

But not everything was about working, we were in Calabria and we had to take advantage of that opportunity. As the good weather arrived and the restrictions disappeared, we were able to start travelling around the region. Calabria is not a known place, but it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to and the people have always been friendly and helpful to us. 

All in all, thanks to this experience I had the opportunity to learn things that I wouldn't have been able to learn otherwise: running a radio broadcast, picture and video editing tools, social media promotion, youth work, activity organisation and implementation, etc. But of the whole experience, I will always remember the people I have met who have made my experience in Italy unforgettable.

Iratxe De Huerta Gozalo - European Solidarity Corps Volunteer

No Borders Citizens, Timo: " A crazy and beautiful experience in which I learned an incredible amount of things"

To put it briefly: It's been a crazy and beautiful experience in which I learned an incredible amount of things. During these 10 months I felt like no week was like the one before. I met a lot of people, faced new challenges and gained a ton of experience. The project took place at the cultural association Entropia, which is located inside the University of Calabria in the south of Italy. The project was about the integration and inclusion of international students, asylum seekers and refugees.

Over the course of my time at Entropia I was involved in a large variety of activities and projects. Since the restrictions at the beginning of our project due to the Covid-19 situation were quite severe, the opportunities to conduct social activities were strongly limited. However, we were still able to meet some new people for language exchanges and perform outdoor activities with refugees and asylum seekers at a local refugee center. During this time, I also recorded a podcast about the international protection system and the refugee arrival and recognition process in Germany, Italy and Spain, together with my partner in the project. Towards the summer, as the pandemic situation calmed down a bit, we could finally reopen the association for students and some social activities. From this point on, part of my work consisted of receiving and assisting students, refugees, artists or other visitors to our space. Also, we were finally able to fully start enjoying Calabria by traveling around it's beautiful little villages and beaches. 

Our weekly program at the association included a range of activities open for internationals as well as locals. These activities included karaoke nights, public viewings, babel tea (language exchange & socialisation), jam sessions, music and art labs, movie nights and italian courses. Apart from participating, part of my duties were to promote these activities by creating flyers, speaking to people and writing social media posts. I was also involved in the promotion of our festivals and the association in general. Furthermore, we also worked on weekly live radio broadcasts. During the first period of the live shows I assisted by taking care of the social room, which includes operating the social media page, answering comments and passing the comments on to the speakers. In the second period of the live broadcasts towards the end of the project, I worked inside the studio with the speakers as sound director, a role that I really enjoyed.

One of my personal highlights and one of the big parts of my project was the European project “No Borders Festival” in which 40 young people from different backgrounds came together to organise a festival promoting social inclusion. I was involved from the interview process of the participants through to the organisation, the final implementation of the festival and the conclusion period. It was amazing for me to see how people from all over the world came together to work towards the same goal, overcoming any differences that may exist between them.

My biggest challenge during the project was learning a new language from zero, since I didn't have any previous knowledge of Italian. Many people in my environment didn't speak much English, which made it hard to communicate sometimes, but it was also beneficial for my progress in the language. Despite the difficulties I sometimes faced, I was very lucky to have many supportive people around me willing to teach me patiently and help me out in many ways. With their support I ended up being able to communicate decently in Italian. 

All in all, I gained a lot of knowledge about European projects and opportunities, refugees and asylum seekers, radio broadcasts, picture and video editing tools, youth work, festivals, social media, and most of all, about people from all over the world and their culture. I also learned a lot about the problems that exist in Calabria, especially for young people. However, I was proud to be part of an association that tries to make a positive change to this reality. 

During this year I had the chance to work with some amazing people from various origins. I really loved working on this multicultural team and managed to make some great friends along the way. I feel very privileged to have been able to be part of this project and I feel very thankful towards everybody involved in having made it possible. Overall, this experience was one of the best I ever had and I feel that it impacted my life and me as a person immensely. 

Timo Knoferl - European Solidarity Corps Volunteer

Il videoreport del NoBorders Festival

Senza confini, senza limiti, senza barriere. La comunità che abbiamo in mente e che stiamo costruendo passo dopo passo, giorno dopo giorno, grazie al supporto dei programmi europei destinati ai giovani e con il coinvolgimento attivo dei destinatari, è una comunità multiculturale senza frontiere. 
NoBorders Festival ha usato i diversi linguaggi dell'arte per includere tutti e tutte, aldilà delle provenienze, delle differenze linguistiche, della condizione sociale o economica. 
40 partecipanti selezionati attraverso il Portale del Corpo Europeo di Solidarietà hanno vissuto un'esperienza forte e intensa di socialità e apprendimento. Si chiama "apprendimento non formale e informale" ed è certificato e riconosciuto in Europa attraverso lo Youthpass.
Le opportunità sono tante, anche nel nostro territorio: cercatele! E intanto godetevi il videoreport del Festival.

Babel Tea ogni mercoledì al DAM con i volontari del SCU e del Corpo Europeo

 

NoBorders Festival, volunteers become actors and musicians for solidarity and inclusion

The 1st of October took place the NoBorders Festival, a multicultural and inclusive event involving young people, languages and cultures from all over the world, that filled with colour the Amphitheatre of the University of Calabria. The Festival, organised by the Cultural Association Entropia, was part of a European Solidarity Corps volunteering project that involved more than 40 volunteers from Italy, Spain, Portugal and non-EU countries (Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Uruguay, Afghanistan, Burkina, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Syria, Guinea, Guinea Bissau). In just two weeks, the volunteers organized the festival through their participation in four diverse workshops: theatre, art, communication and music, characterised by linguistic and cultural diversity.

The event started with the NoBorders Food stand where Afghan, Ecuadorian and Spanish dishes were prepared and offered by volunteers. The first performance of the Festival showed the migrants' journey: the conflicts and threat, but also the beauty and strength of diversity. The performance, which involved the volunteers themselves, was the outcome of the theatre workshop led by Paolo Spinelli. The second performance, led by the orchestra director Checco Pallone, was a jam session with a mix of styles, talents and rhythms from around the world. Closing the event was the eagerly awaited concert by Moti Rivoluzionari, an emerging music group from Acri, which brought to the Campus the energy that had been missing for months.

Daniela Ielasi, president of the Entropia association, thanked the team of volunteers of the European Solidarity Corps for their commitment and enthusiasm in promoting and building together the multicultural festival of inclusion, inviting all young people present to follow the example of the volunteers, to commit themselves, to be active citizens and to develop a critical conscience. The festival's message was also one of solidarity with Mimmo Lucano, who a few hours earlier had received a harsh and controversial sentence, and who in Calabria has become the symbol of resistance to a system that excludes and leaves the last ones behind. Marta Petrusewicz, culture councilor of the city of Rende also thanked the association, the volunteers and the participants, expressing the pleasure of being in a varied and international environment from a linguistic and cultural point of view.

The NoBorders Festival project gave the young participants the opportunity not only to get out of their comfort zones, but to return to social environments after more than a year of isolation. The opportunity to share their life stories, create new ones, forge new bonds and work side by side to build a community without borders. Anna, a Spanish participant who said after this experience: "For a long time I was trying to understand what I should do with my life. Now I can say that I have understood: I want to work with migrants and refugees, and help them on their path to integration". Or Lassina, a young refugee from the Ivory Coast, who has been in Italy for less than a year, who said: "For the first time since I left my country, I felt part of a group. I felt welcomed and understood, despite the difficulties due to the language".

No Borders Festival, call for participants

Parte il 15 settembre una nuova attività di gruppo del progetto "No Borders Citizens” realizzato dalla nostra Associazione nell'ambito del Corpo Europeo di Solidarietà. 

L'attività consiste nell'organizzazione di un Festival che coinvolgerà volontari provenienti da Italia, Portogallo e Spagna, oltre a rifugiati e richiedenti asilo. 

L'obiettivo principale del progetto è promuovere una società più inclusiva e multiculturale attraverso l'organizzazione e la realizzazione di un festival culturale nel campus dell'Università della Calabria. Il festival è incentrato su attività non formali, workshop e learning by doing, lavorando insieme in un ambiente internazionale e multilingue. 

Il periodo di tempo sarà suddiviso in 3 fasi, che includono una fase di organizzazione, implementazione e valutazione durante le quali sarà incentivata la conoscenza reciproca e lo scambio di culture e lingue. 

I recapiti per ulteriori informazioni sono disponibili sulla locandina. 

Se vuoi partecipare, registrati al portale del Corpo europeo di solidarietà. 

Se sei già registrato applica ora a questo LINK. 

"Let's talk!", impara le lingue con i volontari ESC

 

European Solidarity Corps, welcome "No Borders" volunteers Timo and Iratxe

A warm welcoming to the volunteers of the European Solidarity Corps Timo (Germany) and Iratxe (Spain) who will stay with us for six months joining the activities of  No Borders Citizens' project.

Un caloroso benvenuto ai due volontari del Corpo Europeo di Solidarietà Timo (Germania) e Iratxe (Spagna) che rimarranno con noi per sei mesi partecipando alle attività del progetto "No Borders Citizens". 

"No Borders Citizens", call for participants from Spain and Portugal

No Borders Citizens is a project that aims to welcome, include, guide and integrate the international communities in Calabria and, particularly, international students enrolled in the University of Calabria and young refugees in the Hospitality Centers (Centri di Accoglienza Straordinaria - CAS), through the organization of intercultural activities and with help from partners.

Through the involvement of European volunteers and the organization of individual and group activities, the Association aims to implement the solidarity work started in recent years through cooperation between young people and train new young people to volunteer and to the European value of solidarity, stimulating activism and participation. 

No Borders Citizens è un progetto di volontariato dell'Associazione Culturale Entropia sostenuto dall'Unione Europea nell'ambito del programma Corpo Europeo di Solidarietà (ESC). Il progetto mira ad accogliere, includere, guidare e integrare le comunità internazionali in Calabria e, in particolare, gli studenti internazionali iscritti all'Università della Calabria e i giovani rifugiati nei Centri di Accoglienza Straordinaria - CAS presenti sul territorio, attraverso l'organizzazione di attività interculturali e con l'aiuto dei partners. Grazie al coinvolgimento di volontari europei e per mezzo di attività individuali e di gruppo, l'Associazione si propone di implementare il lavoro di solidarietà avviato negli ultimi anni attraverso la cooperazione tra i giovani e di formare nuovi giovani al volontariato e al valore europeo della solidarietà, stimolando l'attivismo e la partecipazione. 

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