My first volunteer experience was staying at FNT, and I can say with a certain degree of confidence that this particular place had the atmosphere, people, and activities that I considered necessary for the beginning of my volunteer journey.
I spent this time in Bucharest, on Calea Victoriei, and my first impression upon arrival was that our apartment was located in the center of Bucharest - it was a 10-minute walk to FNT, and all the necessary places in the city were right nearby - such accessibility gave many advantages for getting around the city, and it made my stay in the capital much easier.
Our tasks as volunteers involved interacting with Romanian and Ukrainian youth at the center. We went through a week of training, during which we were given lectures on how to work in a multicultural team, how to conduct interviews and podcasts, how to organize a successful advertising campaign for the center, and how to consider the needs of Ukrainian refugees. An important part was ethics and respect - even considering that we, as volunteers, understood these principles, the center considered it a major task to warn and reiterate this for us. Especially considering that we had to interact with Ukrainian youth who had experienced war - these ethical rules had to be learned by heart to avoid triggering anyone, and the center handled this excellently, as they devoted a considerable amount of time to our preparation and to analyzing frequently occurring situations.
My tasks at the center included organizing European Youth Week, conducting consultations with Ukrainian youth aged 14 to 30, organizing a model European Parliament, holding European Day on May 9th, as well as working with posters, interviews, and conducting introductory lectures for newly arrived volunteers.
During European Youth Week, we organized a large number of activities, primarily related to intercultural exchange and youth support. Particularly notable were activities involving discussions on the implementation of the principles of direct democracy and the participation of youth in the process of shaping a democratic society. The main thesis was that young people should show interest in politics, because this way they can protect their rights and guarantee the development of their country in the direction in which they see its future.
Activities with Ukrainian youth were focused on identifying their needs and finding solutions to the problems they face as refugees. Many Ukrainians had already been in Romania for several years but were still confused about their rights and obligations as beneficiaries of temporary protection. Another problem was the language barrier, which did not allow them to thoroughly understand legal language, so our center took on the responsibility of thoroughly asking them about the problems they were experiencing. After formulating precise and short questions, they were able to clearly define the problem, which allowed us to move from an abstract “everything” to precisely identified problems. The center defined our task as helping to solve at least one of these problems. We chose the task of compiling a complete database of Romanian legislation related to the status of temporary protection. Since this status does not have its own code and is found in scattered articles of various laws, we decided to simultaneously gather all the legislation on issues related to this status and contact the municipality for clarification on various questions. Having received a detailed response and done considerable work, we were able to solve one of the main problems - we clearly listed all rights and obligations in a single document for Ukrainian refugees, which allowed them to find answers to some questions and subsequently exercise rights they had not known about before.
The organization of the model European Parliament was carried out for Romanian youth. We arranged the event's scenario, determined the parties that would participate, and managed to ensure that the two-day activity was well-organized, with clear timeframes and expected outcomes. This experience showed participants the practical workings of Parliament, and they also gained experience in public speaking and the ability to defend their position in a two-minute speech format.
After spending a month at this center, I felt enormous support from the center's staff, made friends with other volunteers, and gained invaluable experience working with youth and in a team. My days were fully occupied with work, for which I am immensely grateful, and on weekends we had the opportunity to explore Bucharest and visit different cities in Romania. Having been at the center, I truly participated in solving complex problems that cannot be solved alone, so I also gained experience in teambuilding and teamwork. Additionally, for each task it was necessary to create a structure, explaining step by step how to solve it, which gave me excellent experience in logical work distribution.
Volunteering brought a huge amount of positive emotions, practical skills, and abilities that I will certainly use in the future. I can confidently say that this month helped me intensively develop those skills that were previously in an undefined state.
