It might
not be a coincidence, that my EVS project in Portugal has the same message as
it was my mission when I was actively working with youths in my home country.
My sending organisation PiNA from Slovenia made a great introduction for me
with Associação Juvenil Rota Jovem in Cascais, where I spend the most of my
portuguese days for 6 months (until July).
Since the
arrival in Portugal was quite a quick decision, I let the project to happen in
its natural pace. I had a brief picture about the whole experience, since many
friends of mine already finished their volunteering abroad but no particular
expectations besides discovering the country, nature and culture. Coming to
youth organisation, which provides an open space for new ideas for young
generations, was a nice surprise with support in the office by answering all my
questions which were not very few.
In Rota
Jovem I helped to organize the communication plan for this year and so I got a
clear picture about the organisation’s annual programme as much as about new
events, which are also popping up all the time. Flexibility is crucial for
healthy collaboration and I enjoy new points of view or little skills that I
gain during the daily office life. I frequently use all my skills of graphic
design and in help to prepare the building for the renovation with my
architecture experiences. It’s quite rewarding to visit educational institutions
where we promote the European mobility and its opportunities for youth. When we
share the informations and personal experience to ones, who hear that
opportunities are available around the corner, it’s nice to follow the process
of discovering and deciding about the future plans. I’m very grateful for the possibility
to organise my own events. So far I’ve been trying to gather the running enthusiasts
and in next days I want to inspire people for help at beach clean ups and
youngsters in creative industries to start their own businesses.
Besides
the work occupation it’s the biggest advantage to explore the surroundings and
visit all that famous buildings, which I’ve been always observing only in the
books during the architecture studies. Since I’m a huge thalassophile (*someone
who loves the sea/ocean), it’s amazing for me to get in touch with the ocean
and do all kind of outdoor activities with people, who grow up in this
environment and conditions. To understand culture itself for me it’s very
crucial to meet people with diverse backgrounds, interests and ages.
Living in
Lisbon and working in Cascais I found as a privilege, even though I spent a
part of the time at the transportation. I can observe the situations in two
quite different places and also better understand how the society works. The
city of Lisbon itself is very intense and I really love to get in touch with
nature every now and then. I’m impressed by all the possibilities which one can
find in the city and also sometimes sad, when I observe the impact of massive
tourism on local community. It makes me think about my daily decisions as much
as future plans. We all have a lot of impact on our surroundings and the least
step we can do is that we don’t take them for granted.
Marta
