Mehdi is 22 years old and a student at Sciences Po Paris studying for a Masters in Public Affairs. Passionate about the public sector, he is professionally and personally committed to serving the public interest. Convinced of the vital importance of social cohesion, he has been involved in a number of community projects, particularly in Saint-Denis, the town where he comes from and to which he is very attached.

Through a number of professional experiences in the field of children and young people, notably in the office of the Secretary of State for Children, Mehdi has become familiar with the technicalities of youth policies. While keeping a firm eye on the ground, in the leisure centres in Saint-Denis where he works as a youth worker, he has become aware of the need to strengthen social cohesion and take ambitious public action for young people.

Very sensitive to issues of poverty and exclusion, his civic commitment began early in this field. A member of secours populaire and co-founder of the association's branch at Sciences Po Paris, he sees the association's motto “everything human is ours” as a principle that should be applied across the board.

Convinced that tomorrow's inclusive societies can best be built at European level, with and for young Europeans, Mehdi wants to bring together the points of view of a wide range of players on the subject and thus help to break down the barriers between public policy-making by bringing it closer to the people most affected.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Mélissa is 24 and a student at Sciences Po Lyon. Full of enthusiasm, she began her commitment at the age of 17 as a municipal youth delegate, because she believes that consultation and citizen participation are the keys to enlightened governance. She was able to work on an application that listed all the good deals for students, because in her view, there is a need for information to be accessible, particularly for young people who are, or feel, marginalised. During an internship in the Department of Peace Operations at the UN, she confirmed her desire to work for the protection of vulnerable people, particularly children.

Mélissa is interested in public affairs because she is convinced that political decisions at national and European level are everybody's business! Passionate about theatre, she sees the stage as an outlet for self-assertion, an essential exercise in making your voice heard as a citizen.

As a member of an association that promotes the place of women in society, she remains very attentive to inequality between women and men. She believes that this 10th cycle of conferences is a further step towards systematically involving young people in the decisions that affect them, and a great opportunity to discuss and work together for greater inclusion. She believes that "young people, despite the climatic, political and economic context, aspire to better things and are brimming over with ideas".

For this campaign, she would like the time for discussion and reflection to be a time for sharing and solidarity!

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

With a suitcase full to the brim without so much as room for an extra sock I traveled from my everyday life at the University of Southern Denmark to Turkey's capital Istanbul to take a semester as an exchange student. My knowledge about Turkey was limited to charter holidays and youth trips on the country's south coast, but I had never before visited the 'real' Turkey.

I arrived a few days before I was to start the introduction week that the university had planned for all of the new exchange students. Before I left Denmark, the other students had already started to message everyone in a joint WhatsApp group chat that the university had set up for us. They wrote about when they would arrive and if anyone were interested in meeting. 

I quickly agreed to meet with other new students during the week before classes started. And although one could fear that misunderstandings and enmity could arise between people with different nationalities, it was very limited. The dominant mentality is that everyone should be involved and that we as a unit together should make experiences of a lifetime. 

The introduction week turned out to be a short affair. A massive earthquake had struck the southern part of Turkey, near the border to Syria, and it came to affect the rest of my stay in Istanbul. The day after the earthquake our classes at the University were postponed indefinitely. Therefore, I and a few fellow exchange students chose to spend the time traveling around Turkey. In total, I only ended up starting my classes at the university a month after I originally was supposed to. 

Everyday life begins

Fortunately, the semester was not cancelled, and the classes began in march. The semester was transformed into a hybrid solution in order for the student, from the earthquake affected areas could stay with their families. This made the classrooms less full, which was a pity when you come to Turkey as an exchange student and wanted to learn about a new culture. 

Most of my courses turned out to have incredibly committed teachers, and the workload was very similar, if not greater, than what I am used to back home in Denmark. 

My weeks were spend half the day studying, while the other half was spent socializing with the other students. We went to football matches at the stadium, exploring Istanbul as a tourist, eating at restaurants or meeting up at one of the countless bars in the city. The weekends were spent on trips around Turkey. During my stay I visited a large part Turkey from east to west. With various fellow students, we traveled with a night bus to Pamukkale, an area of white limestone terraces. We flew to Cappadocia, a valley in Turkey where hundreds of hot air balloons took off every morning at dawn. But we also visited ancient cities built by the Romans, the beaches I knew from my charter trips and other huge cities in Turkey. 

The journey home

Suddenly, my time in Istanbul were coming to an end. My time as a Erasmus+ student felt different than it does at home. Although 5 months had passed in no time, it was as if what had happened 2 weeks earlier was a lifetime ago. Sometimes I got the feeling that I had known my fellow students for a huge part of my life, even though we only met a few months ago. The hardest part was definitely saying goodbye to the other students with whom I had spent the most time with. But by saying that this is the hardest part, shows that it has been a completely unique thing to be an exchange student. And with a burning wish that it would continue a little longer, testifies that a semester at home can in no way measure up with the experiences of taking a semester abroad, regardless of the location. 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

The planning started immediately when I got this amazing opportunity to go on a Interrail-experience through DiscoverEU. It was something that I had always dreamt about. 

I started my journey in Greece where I met up with one of my good friends. From there on we went to Sofia in Bulgaria. 

It was two unforgettable weeks filled with spontaneity and unforeseen experiences. One of the things that I remember the best is all of the times when we took a nap or slept a whole night on the train - such as on our 17-hour long train ride through Romania. 

To fall asleep to the sound of wheels on rails, in a rumbling train compartment, is almost like getting tucked to bed like a child. To then wake up in a new country, or a new city and feeling like the day is just like a fairytale in a dream, which ends and begins when you fall asleep on the next train. 

A journey from Sofia and Bucharest's Orthodox churches to the great rivers of Budapest and Prague, ending with museums and food experiences in Berlin. A wild adventure. 

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

I wanted to go abroad to learn a new language after my education for teaching assistant. My grandmother is from Austria, so the choice was easy. Through the European Solidarity Corps, I found a European Volunteer Project that allowed me to gain experience in care and welfare in a new area of work for me; with mentally disabled adults.

The project allowed me to work a lot outdoors and with people. That sounded perfect to me! I also followed a German language course through the European Solidarity Corps and many expenses were reimbursed. Besides lunch and dinner, we got accommodation, travel expenses, insurance and pocket money.

I found it very exciting in the beginning, because I could not yet speak German very well and hardly anyone there spoke English. This was quite tiring with all the new impressions, but it was more than worth it. I enjoyed nature and space, because the farm is beautifully situated in the Alps. I did not hear cars in the morning, but donkeys!

My German got better and better and I can now get by well in that language. The work itself was also very nice. I came to work in the kitchen and in the café. Outside of work, I also learnt a lot. I am more independent now, because I was living on my own for the first time. You learn to solve your own problems if something goes wrong. 

I also made international friends. I lived with three other volunteers: a boy from Scotland, two girls from Spain and one from Germany. We took trips together, including to Vienna, and we went snowboarding, climbing and hiking. How I miss that now that I'm back in the Netherlands! Now I work as a teaching assistant in the Netherlands. I'm having a great time and am saving up to travel again. It's so cool to get to know people from other backgrounds.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

This exchange stemmed from six places in Europe with the same city name (Linden) in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, France, Spain and Germany. Ten young people from each country came to the Netherlands. I wanted to help with the organisation to do something in return for the countries that had made it such a beautiful experience for me in the past.

Because of the war in Ukraine, it became clear how important it is to have connections across borders. Therefore, the theme of the exchange became: together we are stronger, develop for Europe. One thing was certain: we will speak English. That is quite a step for someone aged 15, but one language ensures that everyone is equal. We wanted to create a group feeling and show that we can work together, whatever your nationality. People across borders can be your friends just as much as your neighbour.

The organisation consisted of ten young people. In the beginning, we didn't know what everyone’s strengths and weaknesses were, so we discovered it together. We made the programme together, a budget, wrote the funding application and arranged practical matters. We knew it was a lot of work, but in the end we thought it was super cool that we were given the responsibility and freedom to put something like this together.

All activities had a link to working together and to Europe. It was extraordinary to see that everyone approached the activities differently! Afterwards, we heard from the participants that they felt like one group and got to know another side of themselves. What I also really liked was that the participants were really a reflection of society. Yet everyone was equal. There were girls who liked each other and no one had any judgment on that. I thought that was so cool, because that really isn't possible everywhere.

I really enjoyed organising a youth exchange. It gave me a lot of satisfaction and self-confidence that things just work out!

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

During my bachelor, I went to Birmingham, England, for a semester. That was really cool and I had learnt so much from that, I wanted to do something like that again. I love Spain and during a holiday in Barcelona I got a certain feeling about that city. I thought: this is where I'm going to live.

During an introductory day, I immediately met other people. Many events and trips were organised for foreign students, but I mainly met the Spaniards from my master's programme. We often made field trips in the mountains for the study, spending a whole day together, so we got a bond that way.

I got to know different Spanish cultures, as I had friends from the Basque Country, Catalonia and Rioja and they each had their own customs. The way of living in Spain is wonderful. I had college from 2pm and I liked that, because I'm not really a morning person.

Going back to the Netherlands was terrible! Not only did I have to say goodbye to the city, but also to my friends. When I arrived in the Netherlands in winter, I immediately wanted to go back and so I did for a weekend a few months later.

I made many friends and memories, but also got to know myself. I now know that I like change in my life and cannot stay in one place for long, that I am good at being alone and that I make friends easily. I can also speak a little Spanish now. It causes a lot of stress in the beginning, but you get so much in return. It's really worth it! It was one of the best times of my life.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

A few years ago, I developed a passion for foreign languages that changed the course of my life. Before then, I had never really felt the need to leave my comfort zone or explore the world but all of a sudden, all I could think about was travelling abroad, discovering new cultures and practicing new languages. To the astonishment of my relatives, I turned my thoughts into actions and, thanks to exchange programs and internships, I left France to work and study in various countries. And I liked it. After I graduated, I started looking for new opportunities and that was when I first heard of the ESC programme from a friend. I started scrolling through the projects on the European Youth Portal. I had no specific destination in mind. I would either practice a language or learn a new one, so it didn’t really matter. The most important thing for me was to find a project that matched my personality and skills. One day, I came across a post from KASA, an organisation aiming at promoting the French language in Armenia. Curiosity instantly overwhelmed me. What could life be like in Armenia? Which alphabet do the Armenians use? What kind of landscapes can one see there? Is Armenia’s Soviet past still present? Now, I was sure. The only place I wanted to go to was Armenia. I applied without hesitation and a few weeks later, I was heading to the Caucasus region.

Once settled in Armenia, I joined KASA’s team in Yerevan. My main task was to take pictures during events. Doing so allowed me to travel through Armenia, meet various communities and understand much better Armenian society and the importance of KASA’s work. I could develop technical and artistic skills, but also work on photo editing. Simultaneously, I was teaching French to the staff through formal classes and conversation workshops. Occasionally, I was helping the team with punctual tasks: translating, proofreading, indexing, teaching English and even preparing crepes! Lastly, when I had free time at the office, I wrote a journal to talk about my experience as a volunteer, the projects in which I was involved and life in Armenia. The main purpose of this was to encourage potential new volunteers to join KASA.

Speaking of life in Armenia, there would be a lot of things I could say. First of all, I was pleasantly surprised by Yerevan’s city center, which really stands out from stereotypical Soviet cities, often depicted as bleak and ugly. On the contrary, with its numerous parks and fountains, colorful pink tuff buildings, museums and monuments, Yerevan is a very interesting, easy city to visit. Putting aside wild dogs and traffic, insecurity is quite low and the pace of life is rather slow. During my volunteering, I stayed with an Armenian family and was able to taste a wild range of traditional dishes from Armenia, but also from Georgia and Russia (how I miss my Armenian grandma’s pirojkis!). Talking with them, I discovered many aspects of Armenian culture and history (did you know that chess was a compulsory subject at school there?) and practiced Russian, still the second most important language in the country. What about Armenian people? They are very welcoming! They are very proud of their culture and they will be happy to share it with you. (Be ready to receive baskets filled with all kinds of fruits!)

And Armenian culture is extremely rich. Despite invasions and tragedies, Armenians have managed to keep alive their language, religion, traditions and identity. I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to dive into this culture so unique, at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. In only five months, I learned the basics of Armenian, tasted many Caucasian dishes, danced at an Armenian wedding, set foot in each of the 10 provinces of Armenia, met local and diaspora Armenians (but also Russians, Lebanese, Iranians, Syrians and even a French girl coming from my hometown!) and visited numerous places dear to Armenians. And interesting places in Armenia are indeed numerous! Whether you are looking for nature or culture, you will definitely get more than you bargained for! From pagan temples to monasteries so typical of the Armenian Apostolic Church, from the snowed-capped peaks of the Aragats to the green canyons in Lorri region to Lake Sevan in the East… In the end, the only thing Armenia doesn’t have is the ocean. About cultural shock, one thing that stroke me as a French person in Armenia is the local concept of time. If you plan a meeting with an Armenian, don’t be surprised if you have to wait half an hour or even a whole hour before they show up! (This is also true for professional meetings). After a while however, you get used to it.

I would say that I got used to living in Armenia pretty well. I have absolutely no regret about my decision to go there for my ESC. It was a lifetime opportunity to get to know this underrated country and its culture and I am happy I took it. I keep in touch with former colleagues, my host family and friends living in Yerevan. I keep learning Armenian and I hope that some day I will be visiting the country again!

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

It was the summer of 2022, when the ending of my short-term ESC volunteering was approaching. Boiling Sicilian summer led me to the conclusion that I want to direct more of my time towards spreading ideas and acts of solidarity, so I decided to apply for long-term volunteering. I sent a couple of applications to organizations in different countries and Zavod Nefiks was among the ones who replied the fastest. Not only was the response fast, but I was also really pleased with the interview, with the information I received and with the dear faces I saw. It didn’t take me long to make a decision that I will accept a 12 month long volunteering opportunity at Nefiks.

Colors of the dusk in Trnovo

My volunteering experience was primarily based in the youth center Vič, in Ljubljana. There, I had a chance to work with my dear coordinator Karmen, to interact with a lot of playful, smart and ambitious Ljubljana kids and young people, to play a bunch of board games, table tennis, football, billiard, my beloved darts, to draw and express myself creatively. I was also assisting with different events and activities, mainly educational, non formal workshops considering a spectrum of topics.

Other parts of volunteering revolved around participation in activities, panels and conferences related to youth work, to the protection of environment, human and workers rights (I was extremely inspired to actively participate in the discussion about prevention of precarious working practices, in the National assembly of Slovenia 💪) and to the prevention of sexual violence. I also had a chance to participate in Nefiks’s career day workshops, where I was able to share my educational, professional and international experiences with highschool students in and around the Ljubljana area, as well as to answer the questions about international opportunities (which I find very satisfactory 😀). Being in the process of creating and facilitating the escape room about international opportunities was also a really creative, educational and enriching experience. Likewise, the creation of the board game, which will help young people get more familiar with the possibilities they have when figuring out their education and career path, was also a useful experience.

Brain teasing game, whose name I forgot

It was a really interesting and challenging adventure to conduct an interview with a Slovenian speaking young artist and to see how resourceful I can be while writing reports and articles in the Slovenian language - Slovenian language and Croatian dialect I am using in my hometown have a lot of similarities, which, for me, was not always constructive, but for sure it was stimulating and entertaining. 😀
Moreover, I am glad to say that I used an opportunity to create and facilitate an online Croatian language course - it was my first time trying to help people willing to practice and learn at least some of Croatian in a more organized manner.

Picking what was suppose to be a burger from the floor

Volunteering at Nefiks also enabled me to make my few years old idea come true. I did it through my personal project “Cookueendom without cookies”. Participants of the project and I were cooking vegan dishes. We were using and developing our improvisational and culinary skills while hanging out and talking about mental health, together with everyday obstacles we (and people we know) either faced or are facing. Imperfections of that project, together with precious participants, made it perfect. I got experience in planning, preparing, organizing and facilitating a day and a half long event, which was way different from organizing and leading 45, 60, 90 minutes long workshops. It really was a dream come true, thanks to which I am able to prepare something similar or bigger, but with less of old and more of new imperfections. 😁

Yes, we also baked those bagels 😉

Volunteering at Nefiks enabled me to cooperate with two other youth work oriented NGOs in Ljubljana, as well as to join the volunteer crew on a few music festivals. Valuable part of my time in Slovenia was driving around with bicycles, visiting beautiful wonders of nature, absorbing sun rays and rain drops surrounded by picturesque seaside places, roaming the hills, mountains, forests, rivers and waterfalls. I am so grateful that I was able to spend my free days in Lucija, Piran and in the magical Soča river and to say “Goodbye” to dear Ana and Lea (thank you, girls!).

Soča river

Obviously, connections I was able to make with other ESC volunteers from different countries, as well as with residents of Slovenia, were and still are extremely valuable. Thanks to people on the other side of those connections, I was also able to see a panoramic view of the beautiful Slovenian coast. 😃

Part of the view from the plane

I also had an opportunity to share my living space with dear Valeriia, Alejandra and Ash.

I dare to say that one of the most enriching things in human life is feeling and being understood, appreciated, respected and accepted the way you are, while being aware that it is only natural to go through changes. To have an opportunity to change your point of view without judgment, to broaden your perspective and grow as a person for me is equivalent to being and living in a safe space. I definitely can say that my Slovenian experience was that - space full of understanding and support. At the same time, it was a challenging space, with its obstacles and difficulties, but they are an inevitable part of most spaces known to society (and yes, those are solvable, with proper support! 😁).   

Getting ready for b-day party in Idrija

I really have to direct my thanks to Nives, Viktorija and, again, Karmen and Martina - thank you for helping me through not so easy and challenging times. It really means a lot!

Thank you Nefiks for giving me the opportunity to get more familiar with youth work and myself; thank you for many opportunities to spend my time doing things which are valuable to me!

And for you, who are on your way to Nefiks and Slovenia - be confident, be YOURSELF, express and respect your needs, expect the unexpected of this wonderful nature and welcoming working environment and be sure - there are many opportunities for you to help around, to continue your life path after the ESC, but richer in experiences, broader in skills, competences and knowledge.

To spread solidarity truly is to act upon your compassion, understanding and respect towards people around you, but also, to be kind, accepting and in harmony with yourself.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Are you afraid of solo travelling and setting off on your journey on your own? I can understand you because I had the same worries before my trip too. Now I know that it is not such a big problem and it has many advantages which can make your life much better.

The main benefit which I can see is that you can meet so many people from all around the world but mainly from all around Europe. My best advice for you guys is to book your hostel through Hostelworld app. Because of the chat there you can make appointments with other travellers . I met so many people when I went for a picnic in Paris which was organized in this group chats. Second way how to meet new people is going on #DiscoverEU meetups in different cities. Luckily, I attended 2 meetups. One in Hamburg and the second one in Bratislava. There you can meet travellers who won interrail tickets as well and they are your age. I really enjoyed meet up in Hamburg because I was there for three days, and we were learning about sustainability in the big cities. We had fun with the guys who were there. For example, we went to the most famous Penny market in Hamburg, we bought some snacks and went to the bank of the Elb river. I made good and strong relationships with people on my journey and I plan to visit them in the future.

After your journey you will become a more independent and self – confident person. Because this trip made me a more extroverted person than I was before and now I know that meeting new people is not so hard. Of course, I got better in my English because I was talking in English for 3 weeks. It has a lot of benefits which I did not mention. I found out that I can make the laundry by myself in Ghent. I know that it looks really hard to go solo travelling in Europe but after your trip you will fall in love with it like I did. For me it was the best thing which I could do as a young person and I think you should use your interrail ticket too.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026