It’s time to cooperate and be active
Since the beginning of October I’m involved at Local Action Group (LAG) Valli di Lanzo Ceronda Casternone where I’m following the project DAC (developing active citizenship), financed by the cooperation programme Interreg France-Italy Alcotra. The project focuses on the close cooperation between Italian and French partners, who strongly believe that by promoting active citizenship at the local and territorial level increase awareness of global challenges. Starting from the importance of being active citizens and the awareness of the impact that citizens action can have at different level, the overall objective of the project is to promote an active and conscious citizenship of the European Green Deal. All the on-going and to be implemented activities are aimed to optimizing the skills needed and actively contribute to the pursuit of the goals of the Green Deal for Europe. In addition to the promotion of active citizenship, the main outputs of the project are the creation of a platform to follow MOOCs, and the delivery of in-person courses or seminars and the creation of a cross-border co-working space. A territorial reference point for the citizens of the areas involved and a symbol of durability and continuity of the project. On the 2nd and the 2rd of December in Vetan, Saint-Pierre (AO) the partners received 15 young people for the DAC Winter School. We carried out this activity to promote inclusiveness and dialogue between young people from the cross-border territories where the project is implementing activities (Savoia, Piemonte e Valle d’Aosta). The goal of the winter school was to raise awareness of climate change in alpine and mountainous areas; several activities related to the issues were proposed with the help of experts and facilitators. – Maria Eleonora, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Italy-France ALCOTRA project “DAC” at Local Action Group (LAG) Valli di Lanzo Ceronda Casternone Discover more about the Interreg project DAC Click Here Discover more about our host organisation GAL Valli di Lanzo, Ceronda e Casternone Click Here
My IVY experience as a Project Partner
Hello everyone! My name is Maria Komporozou, I am from Greece, and it has been one month since I started my IVY experience as a Project Partner for the ENI CBC MED project “GREENLAND: GREEN-skiLls for a sustAiNable Development” at European Regional Framework for Co-operation (ERFC) in Athens. ERFC is a bottom up Institution Building NGO, contributing in the implementation of EU Regulations, through its participation in EU funded networks & projects, at interregional level. The aim of GREENLAND is to increase employability of NEETs (young people not in education, employment or training) and women by providing them with skills suitable for skill-based jobs within Green and Circular Economy sectors, while also reducing the gap between jobs needed and offered in rural areas affected by climate change. The participating countries of the project are Italy, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Portugal and Greece. The project is expected to benefit to: • NEETs and women • local SMEs in the Green and Blue Economy sectors • regional and local authorities • Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions (TVET) As an IVY Project Partner, I mainly support communication activities. More specifically, I create and translate content for social media channels, press releases, websites etc. I also support with the market analysis for the target group in Greece, focusing on the Green and Circular Economy sector. In addition, I have participated in B2B meetings and contributed to the organization of trainings, seminars and workshops for the project’s target group. As a person who always seeks out EU opportunities for young people, the moment I read about IVY, I knew I had to apply. The experience has been enormously rewarding so far, just as I expected. It is really surprising how much I have learned in such a short period of time. I have expanded my knowledge in cross-border cooperation, Circular Economy and EU project management, sectors that I am very interested in. My role gives me almost every day the opportunity to meet and talk with new people, learn more about myself as a team member and communicator and come up with my own ideas for community engagement. All in all, I am very happy to contribute to a real life project with impact and I can’t wait to see what the next 5 months of my IVY bring! – Maria, IVY Project Partner for the ENI CBC MED project “GREENLAND” at the European Regional Framework for Co-operation For more information on the GREENLAND project Click Here
How volunteering gives another taste to work, broadens one’s perspectives and surprises you with unexpected outcomes.
Hello there! I’m Paty and since September 2022 I have been an Interreg Project partner of the Interreg SUDOE project “MONTCLIMA” at the Observatorio Pirenaico del Cambio Climatico (OPCC) in Jaca Spain. This project means a lot to me because I truly believe that actions speak louder than words, and it is exactly what MONTCLIMA promotes by targeting actions plans to strengthen the resilience of the SUDOE mountain areas. In fact, these mountain areas are among the territories most affected by natural hazards which are expected to increase due to the effects of climate change. It is well known that these risks do not respect administrative boundaries like the wildfires that cross borders in continuous forest areas, and therefore transnational coordination is urgently needed. One of the strengths of this project is its partnership, which brings together the relevant national and research centers, and representatives of regional and local authorities from 4 countries: France, Spain, Portugal and Andorra. Through 6 concrete action plans, MONTCLIMA aims to address the natural and climatic challenges through the prevention and management of natural risks (fires, droughts, flooding and erosion) in SUDOE mountains. As an Interreg project partner, I volunteer within a wonderful team where I am involved in the project execution and communication. My daily tasks are very diverse and broad. On one hand, I help in the organization of seminars, events and communication materials to diffuse the project results. On the other hand, I also assist in the review process of technical documents, coordination meetings, and write news about the recent extreme climatic events in the region. Through this experience, I am learning a lot about how European transnational cooperation works, the main challenges within a project framework, the funding and coordination structures and meeting several key actors addressing climate change issues in the mountain areas. This experience gave me a practical overview of a European project planning, coordination, execution and diffusion. As an IVY volunteer I was invited to several events like the European Youth Event in Santander and Interreg Annual Event where I interacted with many interesting people in intellectually stimulating environments. On a side note, living in Jaca is a great opportunity to connect with nature and explore the nearby Pyrenees and all the possible outdoor activities. At last, I greatly recommend such experiences to young people willing to invest their time and energy on a meaningful cause dear to their hearts. Volunteering gives another taste to work, broadens one’s perspectives and surprises you with unexpected outcomes. Give it a chance 😊 – Paty, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg SUDOE project “MONTCLIMA” at the Observatorio Pirenaico del Cambio Climatico (OPCC) Discover the Interreg SUDOE MONTCLIMA project Click Here If you are curious about OPCC actions
A meaningful experience
Almost a month and a half after we started our volunteer experience, we are very happy to observe how impactful our actions are. Since the beginning of our mission, we’ve been in charge of very interesting projects involving a wide variety of people. Whether it is Céline who is in charge of organising the arrival and the programme of Chief Executive Officers from the most active organisation in the Caribbean, the OECS or Rafaèle who sets up this year’s edition of the Caribmun project which aims to help make Caribbean students from Secondary schools to work on resolutions to tackle climate change, it is wonderful to see how much autonomy we are given to work. We’re not only happy to witness how much the EU helps us working on our projects. We are also amazed by how existing European funds are in the Martinican landscape. From the fish market to the unique large bus driving at the centre of the island, the EU is present everywhere in the territory and it’s reassuring to see that overseas lands are not forgotten! It reinforces in us the feeling that what we’re doing and what we are engaged for is useful and matters because we can actually observe the results of it. This project is even more interesting because, at first, we thought it was only about helping young people study abroad and now we realise it is so much more than that! – Celine and Rafaele, IVY Project Partners for the Interreg Caraibes project “ELAN” Discover the Interreg ELAN project Click Here
Supporting my region with my IVY experience
Since mid-August I’m helping the Azienda Autonoma di< Soggiorno e Turismo of Termoli (AAST), Molise Region, Southern Italy, with “FRAMESPORT: Framework initiative fostering the sustainable development of Adriatic small ports” financed by the programme CBC V A Interreg Italy–Croatia.
My 1st month as an IVY Project Partner for the Interreg project EMOTIONWay
My name is Rosita Balducci, I am Italian and I am an IVY volunteer at the GECT-Euregio Senza Confini in Trieste, the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC). Founded by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, the Veneto Region and the Land Carinthia, it aims to favor, facilitate and promote cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation in the European Union (EU) among its components, implementing common projects for the development of the territories. “Economic and social cohesion” and “economic, social and cultural ties between populations” are thus strengthened, contributing to the development of the respective territories. It’s been a month since I started my experience here and I am already very happy and satisfied of my contributions and tasks carried out. The project I volunteer with is “EMOTIONWay”, the main aim of which is preserving, protecting, promoting and developing the natural and cultural heritage through the creation of a cross-border network of cycle routes and paths of the Eastern Alps (ReCAO), integrated with the local public transport of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Carinthia and the Autonomous Province of Bolzano. The project aims to address two problems in the cross-border area: difficult accessibility to some sites of natural and cultural interest by cyclists and tourists on foot due to insufficient links between cycling routes and sites of interest and poor inter-modality bike-bus bike-train service for cycling routes and paths; poor visibility of some sites due to lack of information on how to reach them, inadequate services, unvalued nature sites. In pursuit of the objective of creating a cross-border network of cycle routes and routes in the area of the Eastern Alps by improving their connection through the inter-modality bike-bus bike train, new cross-border local public transport services have been activated. The missing links have been identified and pilot actions have been launched for the inter-modal connection of bike-buses and bike-trains to create the Cycle Network 2.1 Eastern Alps. In this regard, the experience is very interesting and helpful in order to learn a lot about cross-border cooperation, since I am in contact almost every day with different regions and realities and to acquire information on how public authorities work. Moreover, I do many other things with my host organization, supporting my colleagues in their activities and I am learning a lot of new skills and better understanding the world of work and of European projects. It is a great opportunity to meet new people and understand the different dynamics of collaboration, but also to contribute in order to increasingly strengthen cooperation and new relationships. I have already learnt so much and I can’t wait to keep going with my experience, which I would recommend to anyone who would like to learn about cross-border cooperation. Moreover, Trieste is a beautiful city by the sea, which always makes me feel good! Rosita, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Italy-Austria project “EMOTIONWay” at the GECT-Euregio Senza Confini
