Meet Maria !
Volunteer at EIC Tourcoing, in Tourcoing, France.
While being a volunteer of the European Solidarity Corps in Tourcoing, Maria put in place her own initiative of solidarity with the European week !
Maria organized two days of information on Europe for the school’s students, through an exhibition and a round table discussion with other ESC volunteers hosted by Concordia in the region Hauts-de-France. A total of 9 volunteers took part in the event, sharing their mobility experiences and answering questions from the 70 students who were attending.
“This action took place at the school where I volunteered. I was in charge of the whole event : contacts with partners, contacts with volunteers to organize the round table, communication to promote the event, gathering material for logistics, preparation of the room… with the help of my tutor on site and the regional officer of Concordia Picardie NPDC who took care of expenses (volunteers’ travel, food, purchase of educational material…)
It helped to inform and raise awareness among the students present, some of whom went on to share their desire for mobility, and it provided a link with other ESC volunteers in the region.
Mobility and volunteering are not necessarily opportunities presented as part of formal education, and
students have no information about possibilities outside the school curriculum. I myself was the first
European volunteer at this school. So this event opened up other opportunities for students, showcasing the learning benefits of such mobility and explaining that volunteering has a positive impact on both young people and the community.The number of participants in the event (around 70 people, both students and teachers) indicates its success and the interest young people have in mobility.“
This initiative was supported along the CLIC project. C.L.I.C. for “Coordinating Locally in order to Increase More Changes with the European solidarity Corps” is a cooperation partnership we participate in with 9 other like-minded organisations from 9 European countries. Together, we want to increase the impact and the visibility of the European Solidarity Corps in our communities, while providing young people with a strong educational value along their volunteering projects.