Volunteering with YEE? Read what our volunteers say about us

Our ESC volunteers play an essential role in supporting the work of YEE. “European solidarity corps” is a European program that allows young people under 30 to become a volunteer abroad. Each volunteer of the YEE team gets real-life, hands-on experience in the field of project management, communications, and climate action. Curious about what our volunteers thought of their work with us? Who better to tell you about it than the interns themselves? Read impressions of Juanan and Camille, former YEE volunteers who have been working with us since February 2021.

Juan Antonio Pérez Lopez

Hi there!

My name is Juanan, I am 23 years old and I come from Spain. I have been living in Prague since February doing a European Solidarity Corps project with Youth and Environment Europe, and I will stay here until the end of July.

Our experience started being marked by the Covid-19 situation in the Czech Republic, as at the beginning, most services were closed and there were very few things to do as it was quite cold in the city. However, we bonded a lot at home with our flatmates by playing so many board games, and we created a deep friendship and support network that lasts until now.

The first months at YEE were characterized by many pieces of training. I focused more on project management and I took over organizing thematic workshops for a project called “Franco-Russian Dialogue on Climate Change”, leading a team of young people on writing proposals on how to make cities more sustainable in both Russia and France, and arranging meetings with experts on the matter. Now, we are putting the proposals together in a document that will be sent out to policy-makers in their regions.

We also did two great Erasmus+ online training courses on the structure of environmental organizations and on campaigning and advocacy. Not only I learned a lot about the topic of the courses, but also, I greatly improved my knowledge on how to organize them and facilitate them. It was something that I really wanted to improve before coming here. At YEE, I have also been in charge of Twitter and it has been great to see how the account has been growing in the last months.

One of the things that I have liked the most about the project is all the incredible people you meet! We are a very diverse team who is spread everywhere across Europe (and the world) and this gives you the opportunity of making valuable connections. Apart from that, everybody is very supportive and I felt listened to and that my needs were understood at all moments.

My expectations of this volunteering project were to 1) gain personal and professional experience in the area of environmental protection as this is what I want to work at in the future, and 2) learn more about the Erasmus+ processes and how to organize activities. I feel that I have reached both of them and I believe this ESC is a great fit for a person looking to improve in these two aspects!

 

Camille Gasnier

My name is Camille Gasnier, I am 22 years old and I come from France. After completing a degree in History with a focus on Political Science, I have been working for Young and Environment and Europe since November 2020 as a volunteer in charge of digital communication and project management.

Due to the global pandemic, our Youth solidarity corps contract only officially started in Prague, Czech Republic in February 2021.

Due to the global pandemic, our contract could only officially start in Prague, the Czech Republic in February 2021. So, having been informed about the work with this NGO from a distance, it was quite easy for me to get acquainted with the expected expectations. Unfortunately, my tasks and daily life have fluctuated according to the restrictions imposed on the management of Covid 19 within the country. Since March, Juanan and I have been carrying out our assignments remotely from our accommodation. The latter, although not very well furnished at first, is very pleasant to live in! The location is ideal and living in the Czech Republic is very pleasant indeed! We sharing it with wonderful flatmates and friends where we are fully happy as we are respectful with each other  The language barrier is certainly a break, but since at first most services were closed, my involvement in learning the language was and is not rigorous. Indeed, my circle of acquaintances extends only to Erasmus students. This social life has been very rich since May, which also corresponds with the government’s relief from the pandemic. So my days are punctuated between working remotely during the day and going out/visiting and traveling in/out of the country.

Every day we keep up to date with our tasks through regular meetings with Karolina, Tanya, and Nathan the three YEE employees. This makes it very easy to keep up to date, interact and support an ongoing project. I am in charge of main visuals, and external communication, so I am very flexible as there are many posts and projects on a regular basis. I also take care of the website maintenance and recently, I focus on my personal project = a podcast channel to explain the projects done at YEE, present the team and support small businesses in Europe, which advocate ethical and environmentally friendly projects. The work done at YEE is very pleasant, although it is true that I have decided to focus more on culture and art, as I have missed the social contact and the fact that I can’t really see the results of each project. But thanks to this opportunity, I had the chance to live in Prague for a few months, to discover what European volunteering was, and to acquire professional skills in communication. It’s for sure the best decision I had to come to Prague, my head and heart are full of memories and I appreciate all the work we have done with YEE!

Camille