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Hello everyone, my name is Thanos and it has been one month since I started volunteering as an IVY reporter for the Interreg IPA CBC Programme Greece – Republic of North Macedonia 2014-2020 at the Managing Authority/Joint Secretariat in Thessaloniki, Greece.  From the first moment, I felt very welcome. Exchanging emails with AEBR made me feel safe. The working environment in the Joint Secretariat is also amicable, everyone was very nice to me. During this month, I had the opportunity to participate in many tasks, such as creating content for social media and reviewing the projects’ communication outputs. In this way, I gained knowledge about several of the co-funded cross-border projects. For example, one of the articles I had to write was about the “wine-up” project, whose main goal is to attract tourists, develop the local economy and create new jobs in the cross-border area. Two of the project’s deliverables are the development of the public square of Archea Krini in Pella, Greece, and the redesign of the public square at the clock tower in Negotino, North Macedonia. In this way, the EU cohesion policy is achieved. I believe that IVY is an opportunity for young people to get to know and embrace the European Union. As the world evolves, the gap between generations grows, and therefore we need the perspective of young people. – Thanos Efthymiou, IVY Reporter for the Interreg IPA CBC Programme Greece – Republic of North Macedonia Discover more about the host organisation Managing Authority for the Interreg IPA CBC Programme Greece – Republic of North Macedonia Click Here

Hi! Krusha here, with an official update on my Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY) Reporter experience. I had just turned 23 when I started in November 2022, and it has been a little over a month since I had my first day at the office in Antwerp, Belgium, at Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland. So far I have joined a ton of events on a weekly basis, and I can say that it has been a very educational few weeks. Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland strives towards a greener, more social and smarter Europe without borders. The projects that are subsidized by Interreg are all relevant for the environment, labor mobility, innovation, energy and sustainable growth. The closing events I have joined so far were all very interesting, examples of these are the ‘GHLOBO project’ (a more practical education for logistics students and the highlighted role of internship allowances), ‘Lerend Netwerk Biobouwers’ (the use of biobased materials for biobuilding, targeted towards the construction sector and its students), and ‘GREENER’ (the making of microplastics that are sustainable and biodegradable, and for instance used for prostheses).     Some of the projects are definitely beyond my field of expertise and knowledge, but luckily I am not the only IVY Reporter at Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland. I am also accompanied by Klara Boghaert, who joined us one week after my start in Antwerp. Klara and I have gone to several events together, which made the writing of blog articles and the understanding of the projects easier and more fun. Our horizons have been broadened by working together.  This experience so far has clearly taught me the finer things about topics I was not very familiar with before, and I have also gained some new skills through being an IVY Reporter. I personally did my bachelor’s in political sciences (at the Catholic University of Leuven) and my master’s in international relations and diplomacy (at the University of Antwerp), and I really wanted to gain some more experience in communications and journalism, which Interreg has definitely given me the opportunity to do so. Everyone I work with has been extremely kind and welcoming, and I would highly recommend a volunteering experience like this one, since you make new connections and you learn a lot about topics you might not be familiar with. I am excited for 2023 and the new Interreg projects it will bring! Until then, – Krusha, IVY Reporter at Joint Secretariat Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland. Discover more about our host organisation Joint Secretariat Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland Click Here

Hello everyone!! My name is Mattia, I am Italian, and I am an IVY volunteer at the Managing Authority Interreg RO-BG – Romania-Bulgaria. It has been a month since I started my experience here in Romania, and I am already enthusiastic about my contribution and the tasks I am carrying on. The program I volunteer with is “Interreg VI-A Romania-Bulgaria,” which focuses on supporting the development of eligible border areas in Romania and Bulgaria. The program aims to create a “bridge” between the two countries to help border areas overcome similar development problems by encouraging people to cooperate, exchange information, and benefit from better access to the border. Previous Next As soon as I stepped foot inside the Managing Authority, I was welcomed into a warm and friendly working environment where employees work hard to ensure cross-border cooperation activities are successful. During this first month, I am learning a lot about cross-border cooperation since I do many things with the host organization, from supporting my colleagues in their activities to participating in conferences and communication workshops. By this point, I’ve found the experience exciting and beneficial, and I hope, in the coming months, to meet new people and face new challenges that will make me grow and allow me to enrich my personal and cultural background. – Mattia, IVY Reporter at the Managing Authority Interreg Romania-Bulgaria Discover more about our host organisation Interreg Programme Romania – Bulgaria Click Here

Hello! My name is Sara, I’m Italian and since the end of October 2022 I have been volunteering as an IVY Reporter at Interreg ALCOTRA. ALCOTRA stands for Alpes Latines COopération TRAnsfrontalière and is a European cross-border cooperation programme covering the Alpine territory between France and Italy. Endowed with €182,33 million from the European Regional Development Fund for the period 2021-2027, ALCOTRA supports projects and initiatives in line with these five main goals: revitalising the economy of the ALCOTRA area, tackling environmental challenges, addressing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, testing new ways of territorial cooperation and overcoming cross-border obstacles. Based at the Joint Secretariat in Turin, I support the Programme communication run by the Managing Authority, Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. During my first month, I mainly supported the team in the organisation of the ALCOTRA 2021-2027 Launch Event, which took place on the 28th and 29th of November in Courmayeur (Italy) and Chamonix (France). Around the same time, I had the chance to attend a three-day seminar in Lyon and Chambéry aimed at encouraging team building and networking among the personnel of the Managing Authority and the Joint Secretariat. It was a great opportunity for me to introduce myself to those working in Lyon and to become better acquainted with those from Turin. By the way, in this IVY adventure at ALCOTRA, I’m not alone: the programme is hosting another volunteer in Lyon, Lavinia, who is involved in the activities of the Youth Council. So far, this experience has been very enriching. In such a short time, I have learned a lot about Cohesion Policy, Interreg, cross-border cooperation and experimented how local communities are truly impacted by the projects implemented on both sides of the French-Italian border. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next few months! – Sara, IVY Reporter at the Joint Secretariat Interreg France-Italy ALCOTRA Discover More About Interreg Programme France-Italy ALCOTRA Click Here

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

Hello everyone! My name is Lavinia Agostinelli and a month ago I started my experience as an IVY volunteer at the Managing Authority of the Interreg ALCOTRA Program in Lyon. The ALCOTRA Program operates in the cross-border Alpine area between France and Italy and has five main objectives: to tackle environmental challenges, to respond to the consequences of the health crisis, to test new forms of territorial cooperation, to overcome cross-border obstacles and to make the economy of the ALCOTRA area more dynamic. The aspect that I find most interesting about this Interreg Program and which I am personally involved in is the Youth Council: this is a new cunsultative body, created in July 2022 and made up of some fifteen young representatives of the ALCOTRA territory, which was born out of the need to give a voice to the needs of the young generations. The Youth Council actively participates at each Monitoring Committee, make propositions to improve the development of the cross-border Alpine region and follow the projects funded by the Programme. In particular, I support the communication strategies through which the Council promotes and represents the Interreg ALCOTRA Program at the events in which the Council is invited. For example, on the occasion of the ALCOTRA 2021-2027 Program launch event, the ALCOTRA Youth Council was involved in several activities during the two days of 28 and 29 November in Courmayeur and Chamonix. On the 28th, the Youth Council participated in the Citizen’s Café at the Skyway in Courmayeur and was then involved in the selection of the three “coup de coeur” projects at the Forum held in the afternoon in Chamonix. During the day of 29 November, the Youth Council was the protagonist of the animation of the three round tables, during which the young people were able to ask a series of questions to the elected representatives and technicians present.   I think it was a very good opportunity for young people to get to grips with European policies and to understand how they work in practice on the ground. It was also a very formative experience for me in terms of both organisation and content because it allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and get involved in a big event.   – Lavinia, IVY Reporter for the Managing Authority Interreg France-Italy Alcotra Discover more about the ALCOTRA Youth Council Click Here