Seeds of Solidarity
A seven-month European Solidarity Corps placement supporting public communication, events, school outreach, and youth access to European opportunities.
The project
Seeds of Solidarity was an individual European Solidarity Corps placement in Åmål from 1 September 2022 to 4 April 2023. My work was based with the municipality and Europe Direct Fyrbodal, with Lunaria Volontariato Internazionale as the sending organisation. The project ID was 2021-1-SE02-ESC51-VTJ-000037392.
My contribution
I supported public information about the European Union through school presentations, social media, web content, events, games, quizzes, role-play, and podcasts. A central part of the host role was finding creative ways to reach young people: visiting upper-secondary schools, explaining European opportunities through lived experience, and turning institutional information into activities people could join. I also guided young people toward Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps opportunities and contributed to partner research, applications, and activity preparation.
The placement included communications and activities around the European Day of Languages, Europe Day, and Time to Move, as well as regular work with children at the local Family Centre. The role also gave me room to propose my own EU-related initiatives and experiment with digital communication, games, and informal learning formats.
The wider learning journey included on-arrival and mid-term training, activity in Stockholm, and a volunteer meet-up in Örebro. It also included work as a European Citizens’ Initiative ambassador, learning Swedish through study and everyday life in Åmål, contact-list development, and building a network around European information and mobility.
Community activities and public visibility
During the autumn school break, I joined other European volunteers in organising crafts, games, chess, and a treasure hunt for children and young people at Åmål Library. The activity was documented by Provinstidningen Dalsland; I have written more about the library programme and its local media coverage.
After returning to Italy, I shared the experience with a national audience in an International Volunteer Day interview on Rai Radio 1. Together, these two moments connect the local, everyday work of a solidarity placement with the wider task of explaining why European volunteering matters.
Documentation connected to this project.
Certificates and credentials provide a direct record of the learning, participation, and responsibilities connected to this work.
Seeds of Solidarity Youthpass
Youthpass for a seven-month European Solidarity Corps placement supporting EU communication, events, school outreach, and youth mobility information.
Sharing my European volunteering experience on Rai Radio 1
On International Volunteer Day, I joined Rai Radio 1's “Wannabe. Il futuro che vorrei” to discuss how young volunteers contribute their time and energy to the common good.
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Learning Swedish through everyday life in Åmål
During my seven-month European Solidarity Corps placement in Åmål, learning Swedish became part of understanding the community, participating in daily life, and making Sweden feel less like a temporary destination.
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Volunteering in Åmål: autumn-break activities at the library
Local media followed our European Solidarity Corps volunteering team as we created crafts, games, chess, and a treasure hunt for children and young people at Åmål Library.
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