Following the tradition, MOVIT organized an on-arrival training in the thermal complex Čatež, from 07th to 11th of October, for the volunteers who have just arrived in Slovenia or have already spent a month or two of their volunteering journeys.

What is a volunteer? How do you create a project?  Why did you choose to do an ESC?  

With questions like these, our volunteers Markus, Milia and Jan were confronted on their on-arrival training in Čatež ob Savi. Through various activities, ESC volunteers from all around Europe learned valuable skills and were challenged to reflect on their experience. It was a week full of excitement, interaction, and introspection. 

Although the on-arrival training was not just there for amusement, having fun and connecting to other volunteers was still one of the core aspects of the training. The fact that all participants were going through a very similar experience truly gave them many levels to connect on: not only do they share values and ambitions but also struggles and worries. This was felt during the activities but especially after the sessions, when the volunteers gathered in large groups to play games or chat.

It especially helped that the group was very diverse and accepting, which quickly established a safe space driven forward by pomoč (support).

Germans are cold and direct, Italians are very expressive, and the French are lazy. Stereotypes like these are unavoidable, but they often have some truth to them. Different cultures can lead to misunderstandings and bring with them habits that might be unusual or even uncomfortable to others. Especially for ESC volunteers from different backgrounds, it is important to be aware of intercultural communication. Because of this, intercultural communication played a big role throughout the training and was brought to the volunteers with the help of challenging activities, such as building cities out of clay.

Several groups of volunteers got to work together on a challenging project for 24 hours. An inspiring task since each group started from one of the four priorities of the Erasmus+ program (Inclusion and diversity, digital transformation, environment and youth participation). The volunteers initially thought that this task was almost impossible, in fact, some French volunteers tried starting a strike against this unrealistic timeline. Fortunately, the German punctuality helped to stay on track. On the other hand, one group was lucky enough to have a French chef to cook some recipes to encourage youth participation.

Finally, the participants were asked to reflect on their motivations to volunteer in Slovenia and to think about how they will contribute to their local communities. This was a great opportunity to take a step back and see the bigger picture. It ended with different reflections about what the volunteers learnt during the week and how the differences between them actually represent a major strength. In the end, they shared one common element: a strong bond unifying them as a multicultural community ready to put their energy into keeping European values alive.

This training was supported by the National Agency of the EU Programmes and the Erasmus+: Youth and European Solidarity Corps. We would like to thank MOVIT, the Institute for the development of youth mobility, that coordinates ESC missions within their hosting organizations, for their dedication and the work they put in throughout the whole week to give our three volunteers such a memorable welcome to Slovenia.

European Solidarity Corps (ESC; former European Voluntary Service - EVS) opportunities with EUSA are possible because of the support from the European Union and Movit, the National Agency in Slovenia. EUSA Institute is an accredited organisation, with the European Solidarity Corps quality label.