LIFE+ | Outline of week 31/2021

This week was the follow up of the Shvistov event we organised last week about environmental issues as part of Begreen+.

First, I had to gather some photos from the different activities and pick up the best ones in order to include them in an article to give an account of what we did in Shvistov and Vardim, with or without the volunteers. Since our project proposal could not be fully realized on site for various reasons, I found it difficult to really make the link between our realized actions and our initial objectives set in the framework of Begreen+. Still, the article is an effort to demonstrate that we have been able as a team

Then, the week was also intended as a break and a means to focus on reflection. Since we are officially halfway through the internship, it was important to be able to understand what this experience has allowed us to achieve both personally and collectively, whether it be for the association, the team or the community in general. In that sense, Throughout the week I completed the various tasks required in the midterm session.

Loic Perreau

INTERN@ Project Development Department

WIDE+N | Luic for his expirience as INTERN@ICDET

LIFE+ | Kayaking, Biking and Conversation - An intercultural and challenging experience in Svishtov

I’m Giulia, an intern at ICDET. The intern Katia and I went to Svishtov with the aim of meeting the interns of the Institute Perspectives, to share with them a day of adventure and mutual knowledge. The day started with the kayaking experience: we with all the other participants crossed the Danube in two or alone, according to a free choice. Participants who decided to collaborate faced different challenges: firstly, it was the first time kayaking for the majority of them so the experience required a necessary collaboration.

I found myself collaborating with a Spanish guy; initially finding the balance was not easy but later we coordinated and we succeeded, especially thanks to the use of English as a common language that allowed us to communicate. After 3 hours of kayaking, we arrived at Vardim by biking. The biking experience lasted also 3 hours and in my opinion it has been the hardest one: the gears didn’t work and my bike was quite old. Furthermore, a long bike ride is not properly indicated for my delicate complexion!

Of course I learned my face needs a sunscreen with higher protection! In Vardim, before saying goodbye, we had a moment of reflection held by Ahmed Kuytov, the responsible for the Danube Survivor project. He asked the group which word we would have used to describe the entire experience. He defined this experience “challenging” but he concluded saying that we are all winners from this experience and that the satisfactions allow us to test ourselves newly in future.

This has been a unique experience to improve communication skills, to enjoy the beautiful nature of Bulgaria and to prove yourself.

Thanks to this experience, it is also possible to get in touch with new cultures while having a challenging sport experience surrounded by nature. For me it was also an opportunity to receive information concerning the education in Bulgaria, which is a topic I am interested in for my project with ICDET.

I talked with some interns and volunteers of the Institute Perspectives and I discovered that they are dealing with projects about education: someone is going in the schools raising awareness on important issues such as respect for nature, with children this can be done through the teaching for example of how to plant a flower. Other volunteers spend their time playing with children left to themselves, making a relevant contribution to their quality of life.

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Giulia Ciccarelli, intern@ICDET