Unica Radio Raccontiamo la città che cambia
Irina is a 26-year-old Spanish journalist, who is currently in the last few weeks of her 1-year European Solidarity Corps (ESC) voluntary Service in Sardinia. She worked especially in the fields of social media and non-formal education and led her own workshops. In this interview we talk about her time, experiences, and personal development in Sardinia.
Although Irina had initially planned to stay with the local association “TDM 2000” for 7 months, she extended her volunteering to 12 months. That´s because she realised that she was not yet through with the project and the island. Over time, her tasks in the project varied and she took on more and more tasks and responsibilities, for which she was predestined through her masters in journalism. She started by creating social media content on volunteering and human rights, then became the project’s editor-in-chief and led her own workshops, e.g., on media literacy.
This proximity of the project to her field of study was also decisive for her decision to apply precisely for the LIVE project. She emphasises that the tasks and not the country must always play the primary role in the selection of the ESC project.
Fun, amazing people and food, challenges and obstacles, but even more solutions- that´s how Irina would sum up her year of ESC volunteering in Sardinia!
The year of voluntary service has brought Irina further in many areas, she reflects. She has learned about the cultural peculiarities of the country, like no cappuccino after 12 o’clock, has become more open herself, has met many different people and has had a positive influence on the local youth. She also says this volunteer service will allow her to be even more flexible in the future when she goes to other countries.
Of course, not everything was always easy, especially in the beginning Irina had to overcome some problems on her own. Among other things, the language barrier or building up a new circle of friends can cause difficulties at first. But in the end, Irina had an incredible time with many new, wonderful friends and experiences.
The ESC voluntary service has also had an impact on her future, as she plans to continue working in the field of project management and non-formal education, which she got to know during this year.
If you´re interested in volunteering locally or internationally, check out our other podcast episodes, e.g., LIVE with Stella: Experience in ESC and Erasmus+ projects (unicaradio.it)!
