The European University Sports Association (EUSA) with the EUSA Institute have received two new volunteers who have joined for a 10-month internship at our office and partner organisations in Ljubljana, Slovenia, supported by the national civil service in Italy in cooperation with the Italian Organisation for Sports Education (OPES).

The programme is designed for young male and female Italian citizens and helps provide them with opportunities to work in the non-profit sector in Italy as well as selected organisations abroad.

Following a rigorous application process, Giacomo Mori and Simone De Luca were selected as the two volunteers to join EUSA and the partner organisations in Slovenia, based on their passion for sport and their drive to work in the field of sport.

After a couple of months’ training in Rome, the new volunteers arrived in Ljubljana with OPES EU Project Manager Assistant Valentina Di Carlantonio and are this week officially welcomed into the EUSA Office.

Here is a bit more about each of the new volunteers:

Giacomo Mori
My name is Giacomo. I am 29 years old, coming form Italy. I have an academic background in political science and international relations, with previous study and internship experiences in France and Switzerland. I have been living abroad in Europe for the last two years and now I look forward to start a new chapter in Slovenia. Sport has been a fundamental part of my educational background, and sporting activities have mediated my very first steps in life since I was only a child. My favorite team sport is basketball, and I have been playing it at youth level for all of my childhood and adolescence. My favorite individual sport is alpine skiing, and I have been practicing it since I was 6 years old. During my university years, I also have been competing in volleyball for the university team. On the leisure level I love hiking and cycling in the nature, I also like to use the bicycle to discover new places, as well as for daily transport. My passion for sport and experiencing new things in life are two of the main reasons I chose to challenge myself by taking part in this new adventure. I am very happy to be join EUSA and I want to bring my contribution to its mission in the field of university sport.

Simone De Luca
My name is Simone and I am 26 years old from Pesaro, from Marche region, and I have always been a very sporty person since I was a child. In my life I have practised various sports such as judo, swimming, basketball, football, and I have always liked to take care of my body in general through various activities in the gym. Throughout my life I have tried to alternate between sport and academic life. Recently on April 2023 I graduated in International Relations at the University of Perugia, where I had the opportunity to increase my propensity for the world of international cooperation and volunteering in general. Thanks also to my Erasmus and the various experiences I had abroad, I was able to develop a real passion for travelling due to my huge curiosity about exploring new languages and cultures. I am currently convinced about my choice here with EUSA and my academic path and I am sure that this period will give me a lot of satisfaction both on a human and professional level.

The italian "Universal Civil Service" program provides young people aged between 18 and 29 years old with the chance to spend up to one year of their lives in non-armed service to the country, and gives them the opportunity to work for the purpose of education and peace among peoples operating in Italy as well as in selected organisations abroad. The Universal Civil Service is a voluntary choice, aimed at fostering the promotion of core italian and european values, by working in the non-profit sector through actions in support of local communities and territories in the same spirit of international cooperation.

Applications for the program are open to all young people living in Italy, including foreign residents. Once in service, each group of volunteers take participation into a specific sub-program coordinated by an italian voluntary association; in the case of service abroad, the program is managed jointly by both an italian sending organisation and a partner host institution. Volunteers who carry out this training path are able to achieve personal and professional growth, facilitating their transition from the years of study to the working life.

Giacomo and Simone's program is run out by EUSA in collaboration with the Italian Organisation for Sports Education (OPES). OPES is a non-profit association working in the field of grassroots sport for the purpose of social and human empowerment. Its action is well supported by a network of international affiliations and partner institutions that share the same values and principles.

For more information about the Italian Civil Service and OPES, please visit politichegiovanili.gov.it and international.opesitalia.it.