« My job, my skills, mu future » - Feedback after an intercultural exchange
Interview of Aaron, Auguste, Flora, Paul, Malik, Sofiane participants to the intercultural exchange organized during the summer 2022 in Poland on the theme: “My job, my skills, my future”.
This summer Eurocircle sent 6 participants to Poland in Wroclaw for an intercultural youth exchange entitled “My job, my skills, my future” from July 9 to 24. The Polish association Stowarzyszenie “ŻYJ KOLOROWO!” organized this 21-day exchange in order to accompany participants aged 16 to 22 from Poland, Greece, France, Estonia and Portugal in their reflections on their future professional life, starting from the observation that young graduates often encounter difficulties in choosing and then obtaining a satisfying and attractive job due to a lack of experience and opportunities to put their theoretical knowledge into practice.
During this exchange, the participants were able to discuss the particularities of the labor markets in the different European countries, to learn about the specificities and the possibilities offered by the different economic sectors to help them choose and prepare themselves for their professional life through meetings, visits, simulation games.
Here is an interview of the French participants upon their return:
Can you introduce yourself?
Aaron : My name is Aaron I’m 18 years old I work as an animator with children I currently live in Brignoles.
Flora : My name is Flora. I am 21 years old and I am a student in computer science and I live in Paris.
Auguste : My name is Auguste, I am 23 years old and I live in Antibes
Paul : My name is Paul, I am 21 years old and I live in Tunsia for a voluntary work. I am a student in a business school in Paris and I will resume my studies in a master in Paris next year.
Malik : My name is Malik, I am 20 years old and I live in Marseille.
Sofiane : I’m Sofiane Verlay, I’m 23 years old, I’m from Paris and I’m studying fashion design in Marseille.
How did you hear about Eurocircle?
Aaron: I found out about Eurocircle through the local mission in Brignoles because my counsellor, Ms. Berne, told me that I could travel and learn at the same time thanks to you.
Flora: The local mission of La Ciotat put me in contact with Eurocircle.
Paul: I got to know Eurocircle in 2021 during my first volunteering in Hungary. I did my research on the internet to find out which organization I could volunteer with and I found Eurocircle.
Auguste: I got to know Eurocircle through the local mission in Antibes during a workshop on international mobility.
Malik: I knew about Eurocircle in 2021 through the Mission Locale after I asked to explore abroad.
Sofiane: At the local mission, I was able to attend an intervention of the association which allowed me to discover the missions and the intercultural exchange with Eurocircle.
Have you ever volunteered before? If so, for what project and where?
Paul: Yes, I went to Hungary for a 1-month European Solidarity Corps volunteer program in 2021.
What made you want to do an intercultural exchange and why this one in particular?
Aaron: I have always wanted to discover and learn while traveling and when I heard that Eurocircle offered European exchanges through the Erasmus + program it gave me the opportunity to participate.
Flora: I wanted to improve my English while discovering a new culture and meeting new people.
Auguste: For personal reasons, I needed to discover something else because it was the earliest departure and Poland is a country that interested me and the theme was employability and at the time I was looking for a job, so I wanted to participate.
Malik : I wanted to discover Europe because they are my neighboring countries and I am part of the European Union, to discover myself, to have human contact more than ever.
Paul : I always wanted to discover Poland because my country is culturally linked with it and this was a golden opportunity for me to realize this desire. Also, the theme of this exchange was interesting because I am in business school and I wanted to keep up to date with the discussions of business projects and their orientations (sectors of activity, etc.)
Sofiane: I am curious and open to new adventures with meeting new people and culture. Previously, I was very intrigued by Poland.
In which country did you go and for how long?
We went to Poland in Wroclaw for the project “my skill, my jobs, my future” for a 21 days exchange.
What did you learn during this exchange?
Aaron : I learned a new culture, I improved my English and learned Polish words, I also realized that in Europe some countries still don’t have the euro like Poland with the Zlowty or I had to take my calculator to convert
Flora : During this exchange, I was able to improve my English. Moreover, I was able to learn more about the history of Poland. The theme of the exchange was “my skill, my jobs, my future”, so I learned how to write a CV in English, how to do a job interview and other activities necessary to get my future job.
Auguste: I learned to open up to others and improve my English by communicating every day in English. I also learned how to write a resume and cover letter in English, learn about a new culture and have a new vision of life.
Paul : I worked on my foreign language skills and I discovered the Polish culture as well as the different cultures represented during this exchange through the other participants.
Malik: I learned about new cultures, I had to speak English all the time so it taught me to express myself much more orally, I learned more about Europe and their culture. I learned to have confidence in myself and not to give up!
Sofiane: I was able to improve my English and discover the country as a whole and its environment. I really enjoyed being with new people from different countries.
How did you live this experience?
Aaron: Yes, of course I plan to go back as soon as the next offer that interests me and discover another culture.
Flora : If one day I can go back, I will do it in another country to discover another culture.
Auguste : As I said above, I would like to go back and as I am writing these lines I am in Athens, Greece, for a two-month ESC (European Solidarity Corps).
Paul : Yes, I am currently in Tunisia for 6 months with the European Solidarity Corps, my mission is to improve the daily life of young Tunisians in the city of Medenine by animating the city culturally as well as accompanying the inhabitants in their search for jobs and studies.
Malik: As soon as possible, yes! Discovering Europe is not a gift for everyone, so we must take advantage of it while we can!
Sofiane : Exactly, I was accepted to do a CES with children in Taroudant in Morocco for 8 months.
Contact
interculturel@eurocircle.info