I was born in a small town in the northern coast of Portugal - Esposende -, from where it would take me about an hour (approximately 50 km) to cross the border to Spain. So, you could say that I have experienced the proximity and cooperation between Spain and Portugal in its purest way: living it and feeling it myself. Would I have ever imagined being a volunteer of the Interreg VA Spain-Portugal? Absolutely not! The fact is that the experience could not be better, and cooperation is real. Cross-border cooperation is a key element to the development of many European territories, enhancing the cooperation process for the purpose of the overall harmonious development of the European Union. “Ti

Two months ago, I arrived in “la dotta, la grassa, la rossa”, “the erudite, the fat, the red one”, in other words, the city of Bologna, in the north of Italy. Known for its historical universities -the very first one in Europe-, culinary tradition – from Bolognese dishes to parmesan, etc…-, and red bricks buildings (and also left-wing leanings), it is a beautiful and lively town, at the heart of the Emilia-Romagna region, hosting its administrative quarters. It is where I got the opportunity to assist the Region’s European Politics Office, which takes part in several INTERREG programs, and is in particular the National Contact Point for Italy in the INTERREG MED program. Linking 56 regions

Hello, my name is Eleni and I am an IVY volunteer at regional Development Agency of Rodopi S.A. since November 2018. Throughout my experience I have engaged in the implementation of the Interreg V-A Greece-Bulgaria 2014-2020 project ‘ReinFORCE SOCIAL Entrepreneurial Spirit through the setting up of innovative structures in the cross-border territory- Social Forces’. The activities in which I have so far been involved include the organization of an Info Day, and a Round Table. In this context, I have contributed to the implementation of the working packages regarding the Events Organization of Social Forces. Indeed, this experience has taught me how to cooperate with professionals from differ

I’m Aleksandra, another IVY Volunteer in Danube Transnational Programme. I am very lucky to be a volunteer in the Joint Secretariat. My adventure in Budapest started in November and is going to last until May. When I got an offer to become a volunteer in Join Secretariat of DTP, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to Budapest. I have visited this city before, so I was looking for different adventures. But I changed my mind after talking on Skype with Eloy Gomez, who is my mentor during my staying here. Already after 2 weeks I knew that I had been so wrong not wanting to come to Budapest. Because it seems like this city really likes me. Starting with a nice landlord and flatmate, through cool nig

When I heard for IVY (AEBR) organization, I didn’t have any expectations because I had no idea how it might look like. I heard for volunteering organization around the world but when I talk with older students who were abroad they advised me to be careful because this could be expensive, therefore I check a few of them and then stop thinking about that. But I am very glad that I’m a part of it at National Institute of Biology. They are a part of BID-REX interreg Europe from Biodiversity Data to Decisions: enhancing natural value through improved regional development policies since 2016. The main goal of this project in Slovenia is assembled by a few parts. First they want to connect and digi