I'm Nika from Slovenia and I'm the IVY volunteer at National institut of Biology (NIB). I've been here for 4 months now and i can tell that was one great decision. I am working on project «Innovative Ecological Assesment and Water Management Strategy for the Protection of Ecosystem Services in Alpine Lakes and Rivers» (Eco-AlpsWater). The aim of the project is to improve the traditional monitoring approaches by using advanced DNA sequencing techniques such as metabarcoding. The new approach will make use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to analyze environmental DNA in waterbodies (which allow rapid species identification at low costs, from fish to bacteria). We cooperate with Slovenian e

Greetings from Latvia! My name is Elīna and I am from Latvia! I currently am an Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY) volunteer in the city of Ventspils, Latvia at Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (VIRAC). This is my third month being an IVY volunteer! Last year I graduated from the Faculty of Translation Studies of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences. After my studies, I was determined to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself – for this reason, I decided to become an IVY volunteer! I started my volunteering on the 23rd of October – my birthday! My new colleagues could not have welcomed me better! Over the next few days some unexpected things happened in our building,

Hello hello, As promised in my previous post, I am back to present you another project from EUCC-D’s NGO: DUNC. This project which is part of the Interreg South Baltic Programme, has started in 2017 and will officially end in 2020. DUNC stands for “Development of UNESCO Natural and Cultural assets”. The purpose of this project is to: “Unlock the potential of the region’s assets by developing an effective, sustainable tourism strategy for its UNESCO sites. (…)[to create] quality touristic activities that help to prolong the tourist season, promote economic growth and bring about a real connection of tourism with the outstanding value of the Baltic Sea’s heritage.” Source It is a cross-border

My name is Konstantinos and I am from Greece, from Komotini, a small town near to the borders of Turkey and Bulgaria. I was interested participating in a creative and challenging environment and when I heard about the potentials that IVY program offers, I applied right away! Following my voluntary work for almost two months now in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Drama, I would like to stress that cooperation and integration of states due to cross-border communication are in favor of the EU and against the euro-skepticism. Interreg provides an opportunity for young people to be heard through state institutions other than the university, which in my opinion is extremely vital compari

I spent great part of my childhood in the countryside. I remember those sunny and warm summer days when I was playing with my sister and cousins in the garden or when we helped our grandparents with garden jobs. After active games or work, we would always sate our hunger with fruits and vegetables which we picked from the garden. Therefore, I was very pleased when Lithuanian countryside tourism association (LCTA) invited me to join Interreg program as a volunteer in the project “Revival of old traditional fruit, vegetable and ornamental plants and their products: Heritage Gardens Tour” (Heritage Gardens). Through my volunteering time, I broadened my knowledge about heritage gardens. It was