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Hello everyone! I am Giulia, a final year student of MSc Strategic Communication at IULM university in Milan. In March 2022 I started, my experience as an IVY volunteer in my home country, and I have joined the communication team to support the VerdeVale project of the Interreg Italia – Svizzera. The VerdeVale’s general aim is the establishment of a cross-border community of good practices between small and medium enterprises (SMES) and local Authorities in order to create innovative methodologies for the management and planning of the urban green. The experiment was conducted between cities of Bolzano and Lugano, both characterized by a strong vulnerability to the effect of the climate change due to their position. They are both positioned in the valley, where rainfall flows and pollution of traffic is concentrated. In addition, to make the Alpine region more sustainable and attractive for people, the project wants to develop a cross-border relationship between companies, administrations and organizations that are active in the sector of urban green that can enhance the ecosystem services of urban green planning and find solutions for common problems. Finally, the fact of operating on the same IT platform makes the results easily replicable in other cities. At the moment, we are almost at the end of the project. So, the main activities are focused on collecting all the results concerning the researchers conducted in the two cities, writing the third best practice that can be useful to manage the urban green areas and organizing the final events to present results achieved. As a volunteer, I support several communication activities with the general aim of improving and implementing the communication strategy. The main ones are: Dissemination nature activities, the creation of Social Media and Website contents that are industry-relevant and connected with the project, the promotion of events through Direct Email Marketing and Social Media, Drafting content for Best Practices, Networking with other EU-funded projects which cover similar topics, and drafting the final communication Report. In my opinion, one of the strengths of the project is that it helps to develop an innovative way to simplify the urban green management. This is a very important aspect that helps cities to be more circular, sustainable, and smarter, and helps to mitigate the effects of climate change. Furthermore, it makes also possible to improve the quality of citizens’ lives and make cities more beautiful. – Giulia, IVY Project Partner at R3GIS srl for the Interreg IT-CH project VerdeVale

Hi! I’m Valeria, and I’m an IVY Project Partner supporting the implementation of an exciting project under the ENI-CBC Program, that promotes cooperation across the Mediterranean. What is unique about my experience is that I am actually volunteering outside the European Union, specifically in one of its neighbouring countries: Lebanon! The objectives of the SIRCLES project, notably the establishment of employment opportunities in the circular economy for NEETs and women, immediately sparked my curiosity. As an International Relations master’s student, I had the opportunity to study in Lebanon for a semester through the Erasmus+ program, so I was quite familiar with the context and aware of how problematic waste management and unemployment are in the country. Just in 2015, a real waste crisis prompted thousands of people to take the streets to protest against waste collection mismanagement; aside from these structural problems, I could see with my own eyes how little the population is used to – and has access to – proper recycling services or resusable, zero-waste alternatives. Furthermore, Lebanon is currently experiencing a terrible economic crisis, which has made it difficult for the most to find employment. My host organization, RMF, is providing capacity – building training on a variety of subjects, including biowaste composting, soft skills, and entrepreneurship, in order to improve beneficiaries’ ability to identify innovative solutions. As an IVY volunteer, I’m in charge of identifying potential stakeholders (hotels, farms, restaurants etc.) for the project’s next phase, known as the Green Label Campaign: businesses which adopt green practices (reusable materials, proper waste management, etc.) will be awarded a Green Label, hopefully inspiring others to follow their example and raising awareness about the need of making sustainability an habit. Valeria – IVY Project Partner for the ENI-CBC Project “SIRCLES” at “René Moawad Foundation”

Hello,everyone! My name is Nika and I am a final year student of Cultural management at Baltazar Polytechnic, Zaprešić. In February of this year, I got a wonderful opportunity to volunteer in my home country of Croatia for the Interreg project – ForHeritage. Through my studies, I gained a lot of theoretical and practical knowledge about heritage management and through this project I got the opportunity to apply the acquired knowledge and learn from the experts. The central Europe region is abundant in historical buildings which are neglected or abandoned and without specific purpose. Therefore, this is the moment where the adequate management should come in and repurpose these buildings. In a broader sense, it is important to be aware of the problems such as the lack of strategic planning, public funding and practical knowledge. The main goal of ForHeritage is to enhance heritage management in central Europe by providing heritage managers with innovative tools for integrated heritage management dealing with topics such as participatory management, public-private cooperation, innovative financial instruments, and impact assessment. The project benefits from the international cooperation of the involved countries: Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and Poland. IRMO, my host organization, is working with the City of Rijeka in order to transform the Rikard Benčić complex in Rijeka. As a volunteer, I am engaged in the preparation of the training workshops to be held for heritage managers and decision makers as well as promotional activities. What I love the most about culture and heritage management in general is the participatory approach promoted throughout the project. In order for a project to succeed, different stakeholders should be involved. This includes institutions, investors, consultants, civil society as well as local people and visitors. Excellence in heritage management is only achievable through considerate communication and cooperation between various stakeholders, which also resonates with the core values of the Interreg programmes. Nika – IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Project “ForHeritage” at “Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)”

Hello, everyone! My name is Dana and for a whole month I have been voluntering in the Estonia-Latvia programme project “Smart Living”. The main goal of this project is to raise public awareness about environmentally friendly lifestyle and smart use of energy resources in Latvia and Estonia, combining knowledge and competence of organization in both countries. Project lead partner is Green and Smart Technology Cluster and project partners are Vidzemes Planning Region and Tartu regional Energy Agency. In order to educate and encourage the society to change their daily routine in favour of energy efficiency, all three project partners together organize seminars and workshops for households and real estate managers, as well as for owners of industrial and commercial businesses. My task in the organization is related to public relations and communication management, meaning, administration of the social media, communication with the local media as well as informing people of the benefits and importance of environmentally friendly use of energy. Also I have been introducing people to the interactive “Smart Living” tool, that helps to understand the energy usage in one’s household and gives advices to make it more energy efficient. Last month I was able to participate in the Green Tech Cluster’s organized online event “The biggest challenges for increasing energy efficiency in apartment buildings”, that gave an insight into challenges in decision-making process to improve energy efficiency in apartment building such as home ventilation, renovation processes and creation of a pipeline for energy retrofitting. This was also a great opportunity for me to understand the concept of the interactive tool “Smart Living” as it was discussed and demonstrated during the webinar. In total, 75 participants registered for the event and 50 participants took part in it. During April both online and face to face activities are planned. I am very excited to participate in this project and to be a part of raising awareness of green thinking and sustainable living. I am improving my professional skills, getting to know quite a few inspiring and knowledgable people, gaining knowledge on environmentally-friendly lifestyle and learning about ways to save energy. Grateful to continue to give my contribution to the team and be a messenger of the benefits of sustainable living and energy effiecient living spaces. Dana Linina, IVY Project Partner at Green and Smart Technology Cluster Society for the Interreg Project “Smart Living”

My name is Lucie and I come from France. I am currently volunteering in Jaca in Spain and working for the Interreg program POCTEFA. I arrived in early November 2021. POCTEFA stands for Operational Program of Territorial Cooperation Spain-France-Andorra. It stands in the A category of Interreg program because it is a cross-border cooperation program. This program aims at developing, reinforcing cooperation and financing cross-border projects in the Pyrenean area between France, Andorra and Spain. Concerning life in Jaca, it is a small town in the north of Spain, in the autonomous community of Aragon, province of Huesca and located at the foot of the Pyrenean mountains. Living here is being surrounded by some nature and historical places. I am learning multiple things about cross-border cooperation, specifically about this territory. Indeed, cross-border cooperation in the Pyrenean has been existing for a long time, even long before the POCTEFA Program was created. There are traditional relations between Pyrenean collectivities since the Middle Ages. The Pyrenean is one of the oldest European borders. The Pyrenean border faces several challenges: a low population density, low workflow, isolated rural territories, environmental changes. However, the two sides of the Pyrenean also have things in common, such as regional languages. So, despite the border, some elements bring them together. Concerning the POCTEFA Program, it acts on different lines. The five main lines of the program are : Boosting innovation and competitiveness Promoting adjustment to climate change and prevention of risk management Promoting the protection, the enhancement and the use of local sustainable resources Support the mobility of goods and people Strengthen the skills and the inclusion within territories The areas of intervention of the programme include zones near the French-Spanish border and Andorra. On the French side, the cooperation area includes the French departments of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Pyrénées-Orientales from the regions Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie. On the Spanish side, the cooperation area includes the following areas : Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba/Alava, Navarra, La Rioja, Huesca, Zaragoza, Lleida, Girona, Barcelona and Tarragona. Andorra is also a member state of the program even if it is not part of the European Union. In this period, the Joint Secretariat is finishing the 2014-2020 period Program and preparing the next period. Projects are organizing their project closure day and presenting their results and accomplishments. I had the chance to virtually attend some of them and to see how the Program contributes to the different functional zones. Many of them were in the field of innovation in health. Some projects get rewarded. For example, The TESTACOS project got second place in the 2021 Triple Hélice Awards in December. I am currently volunteering and assisting the Joint Secretariat of the POCTEFA program as an Interreg reporter. I support my project manager colleagues in translating key documents such as meeting reports or documents needed for working groups. Sometimes I also help in some project management activities too. The Regiostar Awards is also another annual contest since 2008 that rewards the innovative and inclusive approach of projects in Cohesion Policy and in five different categories. Some POCTEFA projects have been selected as finalists at the last Regiostar Awards which took place on 2nd of December 2021 : they are the ORHI and TRAILS projects. The ORHI project has been selected in the “URBAN Europe: Promoting green, sustainable and circular food systems in functional urban areas” category, which is part of axis 1. It aims at using organic matter and plastic in a more efficient way in the agri-food value chain to reduce waste. The TRAILS project has been selected in the “THEME OF THE YEAR: Strengthening green mobility in the regions : European Year of the Train 2021” category, which is part of axis 4. Its objective is to strengthen the flow of goods by creating a cross-border digital single desk to bring together the multimodal offer of the two territories. Volunteering abroad is also about learning a new culture and a new language, which was also my goal. After five years of my academic schooling and thanks to this experience, I will be able to better understand the dynamics of a cross-border program. For the moment, this volunteering shows me that cross-border cooperation is essential and that cooperation has an impact on preserving the local culture, heritage and environment. Cross-border cooperation is even vital in some fields such as fires management, access to health and emergency interventions for the local population. It is therefore important to realize that cooperation in Europe is a real need and that it makes a real impact on the local scale. I am grateful and happy to be part of the POCTEFA Program. There are still many things to discover and learn. Lucie – Interreg Reporter at POCTEFA ES-FR-AD – Spain-France-Andorra Interreg Programme

Hi there! My name is Jana and I volunteer as an IVY Project Partner at the project REEgain in the Centre Algatech in Třeboň, Czech Republic. The project is focused on environmental-friendly recovery of scarce metals from electronic waste. And just imagine, they use microalgae for that! There are many problems happening on our planet, which need to be solved and one of them is limited sources of materials. We already started to recycle paper, plastic, glass, etc. but there are still so many materials we cannot recycle. Ones of these are precious metals mainly used in electronic devices. As mentioned above, the goal of the REEgain project is to recycle these elements. They are called Rare Earth Elements (REEs). The main scientific point is that some strains of microalgae bind these precious metals and with this could be metals then separated and reused. You can follow the progress of the whole project on our FB and Instagram. I joined IVY because I wanted to do something useful but also I wanted to broaden my horizons in different fields as well as improve my English. One of my good friends was working on the project REEgain as an IVY volunteer and she recommended me this experience. Today it’s been already two month since I joined REEgain project and I would like to share with you what I’ve learned so far. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about microalgae, but also I’ve learned about scientific work and laboratory devices. I’ve found out that there is a lot of paper work behind each small experiment happening in labs. However, to be a scientist is not my job as IVY volunteer. My job is to popularize the REEgain project, talk about IVY and spread it into the World. Therefore, I write posts on social media, sharing photos, papers, articles and all the interesting information about the REEgain project. We are trying to plan short talks mainly with students (at high schools and universities) and show them what the scientists from the Centre Algatech and their Austrian partners from Campus Krems do. The cooperation is a very important part of the Interreg program thus the REEgain project is also about the cooperation between Czech and Austrian research partners. Further, regional companies are involved as strategic partners too. At last I would like to express my thrill from the opportunity being the IVY volunteer! I’ve never thought about something like this, because I missed the information. It shows the importance of getting information, which is also the mission of IVY. It is important to realize that you don’t really need to have many titles before you can contribute to the effort making our World a better place. Being an IVY volunteer is something I am really proud of! Jana Šaková – IVY Project Partner at Institute of Microbiology, The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic for the REEgain project