My name is Amelia and I’m originally from Romania, though I have been living in Belgium for the past couple of years. I discovered the world of documentary filmmaking in high school and since then, I’ve been exploring new ways and formats to tell stories. As an aspiring journalist, I’m mainly interested in topics related to education, youth engagement, media literacy, arts and culture. In my free time, you can find me at the seaside, strolling around the city taking pictures or at the cinema.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

I am from Spain, and I study Journalism and International Relations. I have always been interested in knowing in depth about the current affairs that surround our society. Over the last year, I have published several articles in newspapers in my country, I have interviewed prominent Spanish personalities, and I have hosted a programme on my university’s radio. I speak fluent English, French and Spanish. In my spare time, I enjoy finding out about new issues in geopolitics. When I finish my degree, I would like to specialise in European Union politics. That is my paramount goal in the future: to tell Europeans why they should be proud to be Europeans.     

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Patiño Martín Nieves (27) is from Spain and worked for a year as a volunteer at the Oxfam World Shop in Ghent. She studied international development and dreams of working for the European Union.

What does your work as a volunteer at Oxfam look like?
"As a project officer, I organize campaigns and events. Fashion Week and Fair Fashion Fest were on my agenda. Participating in those events was one of the best experiences I've had. It gives enormous satisfaction to be able to see the results of my work. Fair Trade Week is the last event I'm participating in, which is also going to be fantastic!"

What motivates you to do this kind of volunteer work?
"I always wanted to live abroad and go on an exchange. I studied international development so found it important to gain foreign experience. In addition, I find ecological sustainability essential. Fairtrade fits perfectly with that and gives me the opportunity to engage in sustainability issues. And at the same time, I learn a lot."

Why the passion for climate?
"The world is in danger. It's crazy to me how so few people address it. That worries me. It is our role as young people in Europe, and by extension around the world, to fight for our future. It is up to us to bring about change. As a European, I am convinced that we need to get more involved and take more responsibility."

What climate-friendly things do you do in your daily life?
"I eat little meat, buy all my clothes second-hand and prefer public transport. By the way, did you know that having a child is just about the most polluting thing you can do as an individual? That's why I'm considering not having children."

Were you the Climate Minister, what would you do?
"I would turn to companies. How they handle the environment, waste management and recycling should be more regulated by policy. Currently, I think there is too much focus on the role of the individual in fighting climate change. To make real change, the biggest polluters must also adapt. Our personal efforts are insufficient if large multinationals do not take action."

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Marie Filippovits (22) from Austria is working for a year as a volunteer with IFOAM, International Federation of Organic Movements, in Brussels. She studied sociology and has been an activist for many years. IFOAM is committed to sustainability in agriculture.

How did you end up at IFOAM?
"Through my volunteer work, I get the chance to work in a sector I wouldn't otherwise get into right away. In recent years, I have been doing actions around migration, feminism and climate. All these themes are connected and go hand in hand with policy. In addition to actions from below, I now see the policy and lobbying side. Lobbying and activism can support and strengthen each other. So fascinating to discover this world. I am certainly not saying goodbye to life as an activist. Soon there will be another climate march where you will definitely see me."

What is the best thing about your volunteer work?
"All colleagues are passionate about what they do. Everyone believes that a climate transition is possible and necessary. I get insight into policy work and follow up on different research projects around innovation that NGOs from all over Europe are collaborating on. So I meet many different and fascinating people both online and offline, all very interesting."

What would you do as Climate Minister?
"In the area of agriculture, I would immediately make concrete changes. Now, for example, farms are financed based on their size. I can't get my head around that. I would give local and organic farmers extra support and, on the contrary, tax the larger ones more."

What advice do you have for other young people?
"Work together and never underestimate yourself! Form networks, that way you will have more impact and meet great people. The connections I make give me the drive to keep going. There really is a great sense of community. Furthermore, I am convinced that you can always do something. Experience is not so important, your opinion and ideas about the climate are. So go for it!"

Photo copyright: Kaja Gutzen & IFOAM Organics Europe

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Eva Ehmann (18) from Germany is taking a gap year after high school. She will work for nine months as a volunteer at Horizon Educatief in Ostend in Belgium. She is giving workshops about the sea and the climate.

How did you end up at Horizon Educatief?
"In Germany it is tradition to take a gap year after high school. I knew for a long time that I definitely wanted to go abroad to learn a new language and culture. Online I came across the European Solidarity Corps and out of the many options I finally ended up here. Horizon Education suits me perfectly, because children and the climate are close to my heart. Those passions come together in the workshops, an ideal combination."

What does an average workday look like?
"Every day is different. I support where I can and help prepare the workshops. Meanwhile, I have already given a few workshops myself. These are very different: for children of all ages, adults or the whole family. In the course of the year I am going to develop and give my own workshop, that's exciting!"

What is the best thing about your volunteer work?
"I really like that at Horizon Educatief we always start from play and experience. In this way we make participants aware of the state of the climate without being pedantic. For example, one exercise in a workshop is to stop the flood with a sand wall, which of course fails. We then link that to climate change and the rising of the sea."

What message do you have for other young people?
"I would recommend volunteering to everyone! I was still living at home in Germany and went to cohousing here for the first time. I learn to go to the store and cook for myself, make new friends and discover Belgian culture. Everyone should go on such an adventure once in their life!"

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Hello everyone! My name is Mădălina, I'm 20 years old, I'm a student at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Craiova and I'm a volunteer at PROMINA Craiova.

Volunteering is one of my favourite activities and I am glad that through this association I could put my ideas and skills into practice. One of my greatest passions is to work with children, to be part of their world, to help, care and protect them, especially the vulnerable ones. Over the years of volunteering, I have cooked with children, planted flowers, took strolls in nature, taken photos, laughed with them, cried, rejoiced, frowned and enjoyed a wide range of feelings, emotions, activities, feelings and experiences. This was the only way I had the chance to discover myself and others, to know my limits and to push them. 

And here I would like to tell you about the solidarity project "Different but equal!", implemented through the European Solidarity Corps, in which I was involved during 2020 and in which we managed to face all the challenges, caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The main goal of this project was to provide children with disabilities with occupational therapies in the form of workshops, to spend part of their free time on weekends, some of them being accommodated in the school hostel, in a creative, educational and useful way, workshops organized by Promina Craiova Association. We have developed for children with special educational needs occupational activities of creation, gardening, gastronomy. 

During the project I had the chance to develop my passions and to teach others the little I know. I had the chance to get to know what a day in the life of children looks like, how they relate to the world around them, their vulnerabilities, their weaknesses and desires.

I learned a lot about myself and the world I live in, so I can only recommend all young people to get involved in such projects, it is a totally unforgettable experience!

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

I have different international experiences (CEEPUS student exchange, Erasmus+ student exchange, Erasmus trainings, Youth exchange), but to do an ESC was still on my “to do” list. Because I have some background in circus methods, I wanted to upgrade my circus knowledge. The perfect option was at Galway Community Circus, where I was selected with three other ESC volunteers among 104 applicants for 11 months. I was the first Slovene at that organization and I helped other tutors teach circus skills in classes in my role as an Assistant Tutor. 

The classes were an enormous culture shock at the beginning. Irish names are special, as you write them differently than you pronounce them, for example, “Aoife” is pronounced as “Ee·fuh”. Although it was a big challenge for me, I managed to learn all the names I needed for classes. The best encounter was with the project LifeLine, where 150 people from various circus organizations in Europe performed Europe’s largest highwire spectacle over the River Corrib. While preparing for the event, I also had an opportunity to cross the river on a wire with an 8-meter-long pole and a safety line, which I successfully did without help. 

I would like to add that this ESC experience has a special place in my heart because I have met so many wonderful people and also because Ireland is an amazing country to explore. So go for it and apply for ESC.

Preparation on 5 meters height to cross over the river. (Photo: Laura Marco)

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

On 8 March 2023, the SHEU Leads campaign came to an end. Check out the key message from Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innnovation, Research, Culture, Education & Youth, as well as inspiring extracts from young women's stories in this video.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

Alexandra is an Economics student from Tampere, Finland, currently studying in Madrid, Spain. 

President of the European Youth Parliament Finland (EYP Finland) she leads this non-profit youth organisation that practices peer-to-peer informal learning, specifically aiming to create the next generation of active European citizens, and this, primarily through hosting events simulating the work of the European Parliament.  

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026

19 years old and barely knew what to do, where to live, who to work and spend time with or how to speak the language. This fact seemed to sink in at first when I was sitting on the airplane on my way to Saint Denis, a suburb to Paris, where I was going to spend my following 6 months. Until this moment I had not been nervous at all, just excited for my coming volunteer service. I was going to do one of the things that I love the most, play tennis, and just next to one of my favorite cities, Paris.

My mission was about teaching English through tennis to the kids living in the troubled suburb Saint Denis. The suburb is known for widespread poverty, criminality and poor integration. The organization I worked for wanted to give the young people living here the same opportunities to a good English education as the young people living in Paris. By combining English education with sports, the kids got more motivated to learn.

The suburb was just next to Paris, but the differences were terrifying. It couldn’t become more obvious when I looked out of my window at my apartment. At the horizon I could see the Eiffel Tower. Every hour it glittered for five minutes and this kind of represented the glamorous, romantic and luxurious life of Paris. But if I just lowered my gaze I saw the reality for the people living in this suburb. It was poor people, rats on the street, trash outside of the houses and people searching through the garbage. The distance was not more than some few hundred meters, but the living conditions belonged to two entirely different worlds. This taught me a lot about how unfair the world can be outside of Sweden. 

Besides the fact that the volunteering service taught me a lot about inequality and about the challenges we face, it did at the same time gave me a lot of gratitude. Never before has it become this obvious how privileged I am to live in a safe place in Sweden, with loving friends and family, good education and a high living standard.  The time in Paris also gave me memories for life and some of my absolute best moments were during my time as a volunteer. I created lifelong friendships, I saw my idols Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic play tennis and I experienced amazing adventures. It was a bit like having holiday as a profession, while I also faced developmental challenges.

Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026