Enquanto organização de acolhimento do programa de mobilidade ERASMUS+/Corpo Europeu de Solidariedade, a ADADÉMICA DA MADEIRA acolhe todos os anos dezenas de voluntários de vários países da Europa.
Estes jovens juntam-se à grande família da ACADÉMICA DA MADEIRA para trabalhar principalmente em dois programas promovidos em prol da comunidade académica da UMa: a HERANÇA MADEIRENSE e o YOU PRINT, WE PLANT (YPWP).
Natalie Wille, Vincent Bloéb e Louise le Bec são os novos voluntários da Áustria
Natalie, Vincent e Louise vieram das frias serras do Tirol, na Áustria, e começaram recentemente a descobrir mais sobre a nossa história e cultura.
Do Luxemburgo para a Madeira
Stéphanie Loos e Claire Bodry são duas luxemburguesas voluntárias na ACADÉMICA DA MADEIRA. Tal como milhares de outros jovens de toda
Dentro da nossa política de responsabilidade ambiental, todos os meses os voluntários integram iniciativas de requalificação do Parque Ecológico do Funchal, uma área protegida do Parque Ecológico do Funchal, através do YOU PRINT, WE PLANT, uma iniciativa que permite à UMa reduzir a sua pegada ecológica.
Luana Santinho, Greta Feik e Natascha Winter são três jovens alemãs que, por estes dias, chegam à Madeira para iniciarem as suas experiências de mobilidade na ACADÉMICA.
How joining the European Solidarity Corps can be useful in your future?
L.S.: We all want to reach something. We have dreams and expectation of how we want our future to look like. Sometimes we need a little support to start following our dreams and create our future the way we want it to be. I firmly believe the European Solidarity Corps project will help me reach my goals and grow as a person. Thanks to the EU funding program game, I will have the opportunity to engage in a solidarity activity in Madeira.
It will give me the possibility to travel and to make memories that I will learn from. It can always be useful to know various cultures, languages and perspectives. At the end of your project, we will receive a certificate that documents of participation. The European Solidarity Corps not only gives you the opportunity of living an amazing and inspiring experience, it also helps you to connect with people with similar dreams and goals. You can improve and even learn new skills that can be useful when applying for a job or further learning in your future.
G.F.: First of all, since I have not experienced my European Solidarity Corps project yet, I now mention hopes and expectations on how joining the ESC can be useful in my future. Taking everything in consideration, I feel like joining the ESC will bring me valuable experiences for my personal as well as my professional life path.
Firstly to the personal Aspects. I am glad that the voluntary service demands more independence and self-organisation. I am looking forward to expanding my skills and strengthen my self confidence. Besides, I am going to meet new people from different countries, which in my opinion is always useful and valuable because we can learn from each other and share our cultures and beliefs. Moreover I will get the Chance to get to know a foreign country and it’s inhabitants with its culture, history and landscape. In doing so, I collect impressions and memories that I will definitely like to remember later.
Secondly to the aspects that are professional-wise useful for my future. I am convinced that the language Skills I am going to learn are meaningful and helpful no matter what profession I am going to choose in my future. Since I have just finished School and now intend to start studying directly after my stay abroad it seems to me that joining the ESC brings me freedom again before University starts.
Furthermore I suppose that the youth pass will be very useful for my future, since it will help me to better assess my abilities and plan further learning Processes. I think that the youth pass can also be of great use in future applications.
N.W.: Volunteering for the European Solidarity Corps benefits you in many ways. You might not realize it beforehand or during the project sometimes, but when you reflect what you’re doing and what you have done, it usually turns out to be a great experience. The first thing that comes to my mind, when I ask myself how an ESC can be useful for my future, is the wide-ranging work experience you gain. Volunteering in the ESC covers a lot of different aspects, e.g. education, sustainability, cultural awareness etc.
Having some experience in all of these different aspects makes you a great asset to every company/team, no matter the profession. Also, regarding job prospects, volunteering in your CV usually makes you stand out and diversifies your CV from others. But these are only the benefits regarding your professional/working future. In my opinion the most important thing you gain is personal growth and an expanded horizon. You get to meet different people and get to know different cultural/social/… backgrounds, which helps you understand people and the way they act, which leads to being more aware in general and supports you in being a respectful human being. In addition to that you earn a lot of ‘soft skills’, which are much needed for human interaction. You also get to strengthen your language skills with a lot of people from different countries speaking different languages.
Volunteering for no matter what project means supporting sustainable, educational, cultural and social processes, which influence and change the present and the future, while also getting to know yourself better, your strengths, weaknesses, your preferences.
Many people from your country choose Portugal and Madeira to work or spend their holidays and vice versa. What do you know about us?
L.S.: I have already been to Portugal, so I know that it is a beautiful country with an interesting history and an inspiring culture. But did I see everything? Not even close! Madeira has so much to offer, starting with its history and with its majestic landscape. There is so much to learn and explore.
I think that many Germans choose Portugal and Madeira to work or spend their holidays and vice versa out of interest and curiosity for the “unknown” country. Lots of people want to discover and also be part of, or at least experience, different cultures.
G.F.: When I though of Portugal, I honestly always thought of a beautiful vacation spot with beach, sun and sea. And, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Also when I told my friends and relatives that I was going to Madeira, their first reaction was immediately: can I please come along? All in all I don’t know much about Portugal and Madeira, but I’ll wait and can’t wait to make my own impressions.
N.W.: Going to school in Germany, you don’t learn a lot about countries besides Germany. You learn that Portugal belongs to the European Union and that you share a currency, the Euro, but not much more. The main thing I knew about Portugal was that a lot of people go there for vacation, because of its’ weather and climate, as well as the beautiful cities (mostly Lisbon and Porto) and the beaches, where you can surf.
Madeira is often described as Europe’s most beautiful island and a lot of tourists go there for different types of vacation (hiking, beach and/or sightseeing). I didn’t know a lot about traditions, culture, politics, history or the people in general. The only thing that stuck in my head was that Portugal had a lot of colonies/ was a big empire due to colonialism. Everything else I know about Madeira and Portugal now, I actually looked up after I knew I was doing the ESC.
Entrevista conduzida por Carlos Diogo Pereira.
ET AL.
Com fotografia de Maheshkumar Painam.
