European Voluntary Service (EVS) is one of several actions within the Youth in Action program, funded by the European Union to increase the skills, experiences and overall participation of youth in community development projects. Our three volunteers from Germany, Spain and Hungary were keen on learning a foreign language, new skills and competencies in the civil society sector and sharing their experiences with youth in Croatia. We welcome them to our 6 month project “Multiculturemedium” in which they will promote volunteering as a value and a key to community solidarity, creatively develop short films, decorate our multimedia studio and participate in many more activities together with our local youth. Please take time to get to know them in the following interviews.
NAME: ALBA PIQUERAS NIETO
FROM WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?
Barcelona, Spain.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BECOME EVS VOLUNTEER?
To volunteer itself and share experiences and increase my background.The non-formal learning thought the EVS to obtain new knowledge’s.
DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN VOLUNTARY WORK? (DESCRIBE SOME EXAMPLES). IF YOU HAVE, WHY ARE A VOLUNTEER?
Yes, in two different experiences. Once in Argentina helping an NGO with kids projects because I wanted to experience and now how they managed to work there. The other has been this last years in Granada collaborating with an Ngo because I really like that kind of work and I want to do it professionally.
ARE YOUTH IN YOUR COUNTRY INTERESTED IN VOLUNTARY WORK IN COMMUNITY?
Yes, some of them does good community work, but others aren’t motivated enough, although they have enough information about how to volunteer.
WHEN SOMEONE SAY CROATIA WHAT IS YOUR FIRST THOUGHT? J
The coast, the sea and the beach…then I think on the Balkan conflict.
IS CROATIA THAT KIND OF COUNTRY THAT YOU EXPECTED?
I think no… because I didn’t know many thinks about Croatia before coming and I didn’t expect that people was so similar to the other Mediterranean cultures.
DID YOU NOTICED SOMETHING UNUSUAL IN CROATIA, SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T EXIST IN YOUR COUNTRY? (TRADITION, HUMAN BEHAVIOR ETC.)
Having Rakia before lunch 😉
YOU ARE LIVING HERE FOR FEW WEEKS. WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSION ABOUT PETRINJA AND PETRINIANS?
I only know the people of the association IKS and K.R.I.D. and I will say you are open minded, friendly and helpful; but I don’t really know about the others… maybe that they are reserved people…
HOW DO YOU COMMENT NIGHT LIFE IN PETRINJA?
Well I also don’t know about knight life yet, because I didn’t experienced at all in Petrinja so far. But we have a great time in Sisak and there is a good night life there!
YOU ARE IN ASSOCIATION IKS ALMOST EVERY DAY. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE IKS THE MOST?
The good working atmosphere that we all have there, you can feel it on the air J
HOW DO YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR FREE TIME WHILE YOU ARE IN PETRINJA?
I would like to do some Yoga classes, going out with youths, bike riding, walking by the river and the hills…
WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO SEE/VISIT THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WHILE YOU ARE IN CROATIA?
All that it can be possible in six months! Zagreb, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Pola, the Coast, the Islands, the Natural Parks and If I still have enough time Bosnia, Slovenia…
NAME: GIANNA GENZ
HOW OLD ARE YOU?
19 years old
FROM WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?
I come from Germany, Oldenburg.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BECOME EVS VOLUNTEER?
My motivation was to discover an other country and culture, to leave Germany and the beaten tracks in Germany in order to get to know myself better, to see whether my choice of my subjects for my studies are suitable for me and to gain new competences and to develop my personality. Also, I am very interested in working with multimedia and in working with youth. I would love to motivate them to do something interesting and useful , to encourage them to go abroad and discover more of our world than just their hometown or country.
DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN VOLUNTARY WORK? (DESCRIBE SOME EXAMPLES). IF YOU HAVE, WHY ARE A VOLUNTEER?
I have some little experiences, for example I took part in a mediation training, a video group and a theatre project at school. With the video group, we participated in a short film competitiondealing with prejudices and racism in our society. Also, I helped to organize and carry out a youth film festival at a local cinema.
The reason why I took part in the creation of the youth film festival was that I strongly believe in the importance of youth when it comes to any development. Therefore, I would like to give them an opportunity to express themselves in public (several local and international youth groups participated by sending films that we presented) so that anybody would realize their wishes, dreams and problems. I think that among other arts, films are perfect for presenting this, they have great power to transfer these things.
The motivation for supporting the video group was that I enjoy multimedia work and wanted to learn how to create my own films because as I said before, I believe that by films, you can transfer a lot of different topics to a huge audience. I also wanted to bring another point of view in this group and in the theatre project.
The reasons why I think that volunteering in general is essential for every society is that everyone should participate in building a democratic society.
ARE YOUTH IN YOUR COUNTRY INTERESTED IN VOLUNTARY WORK IN COMMUNITY?
From my point of view I would say that in Oldenburg, young people are interested in creative voluntary work like creating some activities for other young people (theatre, film festivals, music)and a few are also interested in taking part in and promotion of environment-friendly lifestyles and Fair Trade. For example, we have a Greenpeace youth group and several small groups and shops that support fair Trade.
Judging by the people I know, my colleagues from school and my sister`s friends, I would say that not a large number of youth is involved in voluntary work and when it comes to being in contact with elderly or disabled persons, the participation is quite low.
WHEN SOMEONE SAY CROATIA WHAT IS YOUR FIRST THOUGHT?
I firstly think of The Coast as a holiday destination and the war from 1991 until 1995.
IS CROATIA THAT KIND OF COUNTRY THAT YOU EXPECTED?
I cannot say yes or no, as I did not have a precise expectionof Croatia. I could say that I jumped into cold water. 😉
DID YOU NOTICED SOMETHING UNUSUAL IN CROATIA, SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T EXIST IN YOUR COUNTRY? (TRADITION, HUMAN BEHAVIOR ETC.)
I noticed much smoking everywhere which is forbidden in my country, no use of safety belts while driving cars which is also not allowed in Germany and much homemade rakija. Apart from this, I noticed that Croatians skip the breakfast and have a kind of brunch/coffee break instead and there are always two warm meals per day. And with every meal comes bread! This is fascinating, I have not experienced this before.
YOU ARE LIVING HERE FOR FEW WEEKS. WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSION ABOUT PETRINJA AND PETRINIANS?
To me, Petrinja seems to be a city of contrast, some houses look really old and destroyed, while others have been renovated and painted colourfully. Also, I like the mountains and the rivers very much, everything is beautifully green here.
In my opinion, Petrinja is quite small which is good on the one hand, as nothing is far away and you can`t get totally lost even if you don`t know the place, but suboptimal on the other hand, because there is not so much to do here as I am used to and the city is quieter than my hometown. I am impressed by how many people keep their dogs in their gardens, this is new for me because in Germany, the dogs mostly live inside of the houses.
My impression about Petrinjians is that they like to smoke and drink a lot, they are friendly and helpful although not always English-speakingand many of them drive madly and really fast without paying attention to zebra crossings or pedestrians beside the road.
And, of course, they are really relaxed, like long coffee breaks and live a polako lifestyle 😉
HOW DO YOU COMMENT NIGHT LIFE IN PETRINJA?
So far, I did not make many experiences with the night life in Petrinja, so I only know the bar in MIS. The other day we wanted to party and went to Sisak for that because we have been told that night life would be better there.
YOU ARE IN ASSOCIATION IKS ALMOST EVERY DAY. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE IKS THE MOST?
I really like the decoration of this place, especially the colourful kitchen and apart from that, I appreciate the friendly, warm and relaxed working atmosphere. There seems to be no quarrels and everything is relaxed, I would say.
HOW DO YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR FREE TIME WHILE YOU ARE IN PETRINJA?
I would like to meet some young people, to get to know popular places of Petrinja (cafés, outdoor places to hang around,…), discover more parts of the city, nightlife and the mountains, spend time at the theKupa and go swimming during summer.
WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO SEE/VISIT THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WHILE YOU ARE IN CROATIA?
I plan to visit some cities at the coast, such as Split, Rijeka and Dubrovnic if possible, Zagreb (again) and some nature parks. Also, I would like to visit the other EVS volunteers we met at the On-Arrival-Training and plan trips with them.
ANITA: ANITA IGNATH
HOW OLD ARE YOU?
25
FROM WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?
I come from Hungary, Sátoraljaújhely.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BECOME EVS VOLUNTEER?
After finishing my university studies, I wanted to try myself in working in NGOs, and I also wanted to get to know a new country, culture.
DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN VOLUNTARY WORK? (DESCRIBE SOME EXAMPLES). IF YOU HAVE, WHY IS A VOLUNTEER?
While I was studying at the University of Debrecen, I was a programme assistant in Debreceni Civilek, an organization for the youth of Debrecen, and there we organized workshops with blind, deaf and handicapped children and youth.
Later, I helped at ‘On the Way’ association, which is my sending EVS organization, where I was a group leader in Youth In Action exchange programmes. In both cases, I was interested in the topics, for example playing with children and experiencing multicultural learning.
ARE YOUTH IN YOUR COUNTRY INTERESTED IN VOLUNTARY WORK IN COMMUNITY?
As far as I know, I found a bit difficult to get the university students involved in volunteering, but the high school students were more enthusiastic.
WHEN SOMEONE SAY CROATIA WHAT IS YOUR FIRST THOUGHT? 🙂
coast and beach 🙂
IS CROATIA THAT KIND OF COUNTRY THAT YOU EXPECTED?
I read about the war and conflict in the ’90s, so in a way I experienced that, although some of the buildings were a bit shocking.
DID YOU NOTICE SOMETHING UNUSUAL IN CROATIA, SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T EXIST IN YOUR COUNTRY? (TRADITION, HUMAN BEHAVIOR ETC.)
A lot of smokers and smoking in public places.
YOU ARE LIVING HERE FOR FEW WEEKS. WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSION ABOUT PETRINJA AND PETRINIANS?
Basically, it is a nice town with the green park and the hills around Petrinja. If some of the buildings were renovated or restored, it would be much nicer. People in Petrinja are really friendly and helpful; you can have a really close relationship with them.
HOW DO YOU COMMENT NIGHT LIFE IN PETRINJA?
Since I’ve been here, I was only a few times out. Perhaps some concerts would be nice, but as far as I am concerned, it is OK.
YOU ARE IN ASSOCIATION IKS ALMOST EVERY DAY. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THE IKS THE MOST?
I like the friendly atmosphere!
HOW DO YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR FREE TIME WHILE YOU ARE IN PETRINJA?
I would like to do some sports, I have already started doing tae bo. And I’d like to ride a bike, and of course in the summer, swimming in Kupa would be great!
WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO SEE/VISIT THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WHILE YOU ARE IN CROATIA?
I’d like to see the coast of Croatia, cities like Rijeka, Pula, Zadar or Dubrovnik. I would also love to go to Sarajevo and Belgrade.
{fcomment}