Diletta is a 20 year-old student from Italy, specialised in Political Sciences, International Relations, and Human Rights. Due to her strong passion for traveling and meeting people from different cultures, Diletta hastened to take part in the “Erasmus+Virtual Exchange” project.
“I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, develop new skills and knowledge. I already had experience with Erasmus+ projects and a Young Citizens’ Dialogue, organised by the European Commission. These experiences triggered my interest towards international topics", highlights Diletta.
"Before participating in Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange I had mixed feelings of fear and curiosity, I was afraid of the upcoming steps of the project, but at the same time, I was curious to start the journey and to express myself. After all, I am always ready to try new opportunities" Diletta expressed,
Diletta enjoyed the meetings with the other participants. Every time she got the chance to speak up, she thought this opportunity was unique, gathering participants from different cultures and backgrounds.
"My favorite memory was surely our last meeting when everyone realised that an indescribable relationship was created over the past 10 weeks. We all had changed since the first day of the programme and we shared a piece of our heart with each other".
Diletta believes that Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange project has boosted her confidence when discussing controversial and complex issues in a cross-cultural environment. She has also ddeveloped trust, empathy and respect for other contrasting perspectives.
"The project has provided new communication techniques and advanced digital tools for dialogue, such as: “Videologue” project, which demonstrated the importance of community engagement and diversity of voices across Europe and the Southern Mediterranean towards social and policy change".
"The Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange experience was completely different from school/university. A single course was enough to develop my language skills and express myself confidently. For this reason I became an ambassador of the project, in order to contribute to spreading such interesting international experience."
Dilettas concludes with a quote from Joseph Addison: ”Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed."
