Introducing

'Introducing your new volunteer'. That was the title of the email I sent to several European organizations by the end of September, looking for an EVS (European Voluntary Service) related to communication media or/and youth leisure and policies. And finally I made it. INEX Slovakia picked me to be their volunteer in Bratislava, starting next month. But who am I?

My name is Alicia García Sánchez -we Spanish people have two surnames. I come from a little town in the top south of Spain called Conil, but I spent my last 4 years studying Advertising and PR in the University of Seville, and my very last academic course (2011/2012) in the north of Portugal, Braga, in the Erasmus exchange programme.

I've also experienced some activities related to volunteering before, but for very short time. I was part of a caravan team for one week, promoting Braga as European Youth Capital 2012 in few high-schools in Portugal. It was a really nice experience and it gave me the opportunity to get to know a little bit closer portuguese youngsters. You can see some pictures here, I'm the one with the red stockings.

Besides, I had a minor part in the promotion of an activity in University of Minho -my hosting university in Erasmus. They wanted to make a little spot for Mobility week, when there were some conferences about exchanges programmes. So I played my part and had my little sentence in Spanish here. (I know it's not really a great volunteering experience, but anyway, I had great fun making this with my friends).

Appart from that, I've participated as well in some of the activities from the Youth in Action programme of the EU. I was recently -last November- in Italy for ten days in a Youth Exchange with youngsters from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Italy, Spain and Turkey. We were the 'Youth in Radio', and we created some podcasts in different teams. Here you have a little sum-up and a sample of one radio session.

Previously, last May, I took part in a Training Course in Godollo, Hungary, named 'Volunteers have rights'. Here I learnt many things about the Youth in Action programme deeper aim, about the cultural diversity and the importance of being aware of it. I don't remember we had a memo-video, so I'll just post this 'family picture' with our trainers and coordinators. We were people from Portugal, Greece, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Lithuania, Italy, Spain and UK -quite a lot, yeah.

At this point, you may have noticed one of my many motivations to go on this experience of EVS. I'm really comfortable in international frameworks. I love learning from different people's cultures and habits, I'm quite curious about the different values that run our lifestyles and I like getting the inner essence of a culture or a region -if that's even possible to do, but at least I have to try!

In addition of this enriching atmosphere, working in a youth organization as INEX Slovakia means for me the challenge of making the youngsters aware of how many opportunities the world has nowadays for them. Since I come from a little village and I sense young people there are somehow disappointed or bored about their futures, I believe it's fundamental to open their eyes and show them they're able to do whatever they want if they're willing to go for it. I don't know what my specificall tasks will be yet, but this will be my personal one.

In any case, I'm going to Bratislava to develop myself as a person, and I expect to work hard and obtain knowledge, friends and laughs. And I'm sure in the meantime I'll be getting so many things they would be difficult to tell, but I'll use this blog as a diary and try to write them all down -hope you enjoy them with me.

Hugs to the patient reader,

Alicia