My European Solidarity Corps year was a life growing experience that I couldn't imagine. During my volunteering in Poland, I had the chance to discover new places, new people, new dishes, new culture and much more! I have also been able to learn new skills and improve some. I wish I could describe it all!

I taught English, French and Italian. I am still learning Polish (I will probably need a few more years :-) ). I led cooking workshops with seniors, I did animation workshops in schools. I brainstormed. I helped to organise exhibitions and concerts. I did some gardening such as raking the leaves, preparing the soil, planting, watering - it is way more tiring than I could expect! I took initiative and created my own projects such as “cleaning walks”. I have been surprised. I played football and believe me, I am not a football guy. I have done crazy things. I hiked in the Tatras mountains and saw breathtaking landscapes. I danced and I sang. I laughed. I tried new dishes. I had stressful and scary times too. I had to step back, but I was helped and supported.  I learned and I adapted myself. I grew up...
I am convinced the European Solidarity Corps is a wonderful way to grow, learn about yourself and others. I still want to be part of it and that's why after my volunteering, I have chosen to be a project coordinator. Who knows... See you around! ;-)

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

As a scout, I have learned from a very early age how important it is to consider the needs of children and young people, for example when organising group meetings or planning camps. The best way to do this is to involve children and young people directly in the decision-making. Young people are experts of their own lives and, therefore, the best advisors when it comes to (political) decisions that touch their interests.

As a German EU youth representative (2017-2019), I have taken part in 6 EU Youth Conferences in order to give a voice to the results of the participation rounds of the EU Youth Dialogue. Here I learned that although the basic will to involve young people in politics exists in principle, there are still some problems in the concrete implementation. On the one hand, there is often a lack of knowledge of what "good youth participation" means in practice. On the other hand, unfortunately, there is often a lack of willingness on the part of politicians to involve young people seriously - because in the final consequence this means sharing power. 

As the topic of youth participation (at the European level) is very close to my heart, I have run for Vice President of the German Federal Youth Council (Deutscher Bundesjugendring) in 2019. Deutscher Bundesjugendring is the policy-shaping umbrella structure of youth organizations in Germany and represents the interests of over 6 million young people and 53 youth organisations. As Vice President, I have the privilege of chairing the European Steering Group for the EU Youth Dialogue together with the German Ministry of Youth during the German EU Council Presidency. Here we are planning and steering the 8th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue together with the National Youth Councils and Youth Ministries from Portugal and Slovenia, the European Youth Forum and the European Commission. It was important for me not only to criticise but to take responsibility and, therefore, to have the power of shaping the future EU Youth Dialogue in a joint effort. 
 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

I first got into contact with the EU Youth Dialogue 6 years ago. I was a participant, a consultation organizer, an EU Youth Delegate, the co-coordinator of the Romanian National Working Group and a member of the European Steering Group.

Basically, my development put me in every stage from every pillar of the EU Youth Dialogue. It is utmost important to bring together the youth, local administration, National and European decision-makers and youth organizations to act together. Let us all demonstrate that we are the generation that builds upon a constant dialogue and fruitful solutions. We must do more than engage, we must create the opportunity for dialogue and the most important: we must push an action plan forward. Our generation will do more than engage, we will create!

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

My first encounter with the EU Youth Dialogue was in 2015 when I started working at the Lithuanian Youth Council. At first it was hard to see how the things we discuss with young people will be heard at the European level but then in Malta in 2017 I was able to attend the EU Youth Conference. There, European politicians, ministry representatives and young people themselves were discussing ideas and suggestions coming from young people from all the different corners of Europe that would later input into the EU policy making processes. This is when I really started to understand what a big impact the EU Youth Dialogue can have on the lives of young people giving us an opportunity to be involved in shaping policies that affect us. 

Now when I work for the European Youth Forum in Brussels, that is a part of the European Steering Group governing the process on the EU level, I have a chance to even better understand and experience how this EU wide youth participation mechanism works and what is its true potential. I am super excited to be able to work with many different stakeholders on maximising this potential and hope to see even more concrete examples of the impact of the process on young people’s lives locally, nationally and at the European level. To truly show to all young people that our voice matters.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

I stumbled into the EU Youth Dialogue (back then Structured Dialogue) a bit by chance in 2015. Up until then I had already been working as a volunteer in the youth field as a guide in the Patromädchen St. Raphael Eupen (a local youth organization similar to a scouting group) and as member of the organizing committee of a student club in Brussels, but I had never worked on the policy side of things.

During my first employment, however, I was lucky to work in close contact with the Belgian German-speaking youth council (RDJ – Rat der deutschsprachigen Jugend), who introduced me to the EU Youth Dialogue. For around two years, I worked with our local national working group and could experience different aspects of the EU Youth Dialogue.

Two highlights stand out particularly from this time, one local and one on a European level. The local highlight was an appointment to present to our local parliament the results of an online survey the NWG had launched around the topic of mental health of young people in preparation of the EU Youth Conference in Amsterdam in April 2016. The other highlight was, of course, my participation in the EU Youth Conference in Amsterdam in 2016. It was enormously enriching to talk to other young people from all over Europe as well as decision makers from different EU countries. It showed that despite differences in country size, structure and political priorities, there are a lot of topics that still concern all young people in Europe.

Not only did the experience of the EU Youth Dialogue strengthen my believe in the next generation of Europeans, but it also inspired me on a personal level to continue to work in the European youth field, first as a volunteer and later on as a professional.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

The Urban Ecology project focused on attracting attention, raising awareness and offering sustainable models for environmental protection in the city of Varna, Bulgaria. Through its waste reduction and recycling programmes, civic awareness campaigns, and school outreach efforts, the project aimed to make locals aware of their ecological footprint.

At the centre of this project is volunteer Valentina Vagge, 28, from Italy. After graduating with a Master’s degree in Local and Global Development, she joined the Urban Ecology project to kickstart her career in the environmental NGO sector. As a foreigner, her participation has not only piqued the locals’ interest in the programme, but has also allowed her to highlight the international dimension of environmental sustainability and share good practices from her home country.

Every week, Valentina visited kindergartens and schools in support of the paper and waste recycling programme, providing information and getting children involved in paper recycling activities. She also worked in the urban ecolab, measuring pollution, noise and radiation levels in order to inform the public of the state of their environment and motivate them to take action.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Roberta, 18-year-old, took part in a project named “Wintertide” in February 2020. It was a solidarity project set up by young people themselves. The project aimed at restoring the shoreline’s former beauty in Trani, Italy. After years of abandonment, pieces of the shoreline have remained littered with industrial waste and garbage, but Roberta and her five friends were determined to change this.

Roberta studies at the local hotel management school. Since starting with the project, she says that her passion for the environment has awakened and, as a result, she has participated in several demonstrations in favour of environmental protection. Roberta and her fellow participants also joined the project to gain work experience, as they come from areas where jobs are scarce.

On a typical day, the group picked up their tools and trash bags and headed out to collect waste and recyclable materials. They worked on restoring vegetation and also monitored the area for any illegal dumping. Perhaps the most important work they did was dedicated to public education. Their ultimate goal was to re-convert the land into a usable public space, to show locals the importance of environmental reclamation and preservation.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

 ‘Special Place for Special People’ was a project designed specifically to introduce people with disabilities to the labour market. As part of the project, RB Café in Riga hired young people with physical disabilities and mental health conditions, defying stereotypes regarding their abilities.

One of the employees, 24-year-old Diana, requires a wheelchair for mobility but does not allow her physical disability to stop her. With a degree in marketing and a keen artistic eye, Diana was looking for a paid job opportunity to utilise her academic skills and talents. More importantly, she wanted to gain work experience to kickstart her future career.

On a typical day, Diana worked from morning to afternoon, taking care of communications and PR for the café, which included social media management and graphic design. She also provided expertise on how to price and present products as well as how to organise the café. Along with her behind the scenes work, she helped with the café’s day to day operations.

Updated on Wednesday, 25/02/2026

Slovenian traveller Neža Musar saw her DiscoverEU trip as an opportunity to challenge herself. “I have Asperger’s syndrome, so I wanted to experience what it’s like to travel on your own – to make your own decisions,” she said. “If there are any problems, you are the one who has to solve them. You can’t just call your mum – you have to figure it out yourself.”

This was Neža’s first time venturing alone, which gave her the opportunity to learn crucial skills in the process. “I’ve always wanted to travel around Europe because I come from a family who didn’t travel so much. DiscoverEU seemed like the perfect opportunity to start,” she said. “Now I’m more open to talk to new people because I know that if something goes wrong, I’m able to solve things on my own. I’ve become more mature in terms of things like organisation.”

Neža felt that her journey was made easier thanks to the help, advice and friendliness of the people she met along the way. “I realised that no matter if I was 2,000 kilometres away from home, I felt at home wherever I was because of the people and their kindness. I feel more European now than I did before,” she added.

Based on her experience, Neža offers some advice for people considering applying for their own DiscoverEU pass. “Simply apply. You have nothing to lose but so much to gain,” she said. “Go and enjoy the experience of a lifetime.”
 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Growing up in Budapest, German-Hungarian traveller János Székely has long admired the Hungarian Parliament Building, situated on the banks of the Danube river. “Since I was a child, our parliament has been very important to me. I’m proud of it’s neo-Renaissance building – I think it’s the most beautiful building in the European Union,” he said. This sentiment inspired János to use his DiscoverEU journey to fulfil a life-long ambition to visit as many national parliaments as he could. “I wanted to see what the parliaments of other countries looked like.”

Touring the Swedish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Hungarian and Austrian parliaments, János was surprised by what he learned. “It’s interesting to look at the national and political symbols of each parliament. The style, the national symbols and the flags are all incredibly different,” he said. “The guides who showed me around each parliament told me a lot of things about each country, such as how the president of Austria will be elected, or how the coalition government in Latvia is formed from 5 different parties. It was really exciting to know.”

János’ parliamentary odyssey cemented his feelings about the European Union. “Europe was already an important thing to me,” he said. “When someone asks me ‘what nationality are you?’, I will always say ‘I’m European, firstly’. I really loved the European Union before DiscoverEU, and now I love it more. It’s easier to love Europe if you know the different nations and people.”
 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026