The Youth in Action Programme of the European Commission, action 4.3, aims at supporting youth workers’ mobility and exchange, with a view to promoting the acquisition of new skills and competences in order to enrich their professional profile.
My name is Aurelien and I started to work for CESIE in September 2012. I have been living and working in the city for nearly 4 months now… My sending organization in Marseilles (Pistes Solidaires) told me about the project at first, and then offered me to get involved in it, since I took part to so many different projects with them before. I took part to a European Volunteer Service in Rome in 2008/09, and then to a lot of youth exchanges throughout Europe, first as a participant, then as a youth leader. I also helped Pistes Solidaires in many local activities, while implementing European projects (for instance a Europe for Citizens project called CityZen) or supporting the preparation of future youth leaders or European volunteers.
In addition to transnational projects, I also worked in Marseilles with youth active citizenship, and education in disadvantaged areas. Finally, volunteering for 6 months in an NGO of southern Senegal was also a strong and enriching experience, with youth work used as a tool for local development.
Palermo is the biggest city of Sicily island, a Mediterranean jewel located between Europe and Africa. This strategic central position explains why it has been crossed by all possible Mediterranean influences and cultures, from the ancient Greeks to the Spanish bourbons, as well as the western and eastern Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, the French and even the Piedmont kingdom at the end of the 19th century… Even now Sicily is the subject of immigration and emigration, since a wide number of Sicilians constantly decide to move out of Sicily, perpetuating a long tradition of exile from the island to the continent. This is one of the many paradoxes of Sicily, a strong insularity though balanced by a constant movement of people, arrivals and departures, hellos and farewells.
I’ve always been passioned about intercultural environments, as well as about working and implementing projects abroad. This is why the idea of working for CESIE thrilled me from the moment I was told about it. I expected to take part to project writing and implementation in several fields. In this sense I can say my hopes were fulfilled. Another great thing here is the atmosphere in the organization, which is relaxed and highly professional at the same time.
Since I arrived here I have written projects and worked on a wide range of contents, in English, in Italian and even in French, related to the Youth in Action programme or to youth mobility and civic participation in general.
Among other things, I have written the contents in the website of “SOLE”, a project aiming at promoting and empowering new organizations in the framework of transnational cooperation, especially within the Europe for Citizens programme. I have also worked on a user’s guide to be edited within the same project. Then I have written parts of an Italian volunteering programme aiming at sending volunteers in Senegal and India. Currently I am working on some projects in the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy Instrument (ENPI) mainly within the Euro-Mediterranean area, with the goal of fostering youth abilities and job opportunities in the field of civil society organisations.
I believe that the future of our society can be fulfilled only if youth is seen as a resource, a promise and a tool for development. A better future for all can be imagined only considering an enlighten, active and committed youth. Supporting young people – especially in this moment – is an unavoidable part of developing our communities, at a local and transnational level. I believe CESIE is fully taking its share in this issue.
March 2012 will mark the end of this 6 months program. Although nothing is certain yet, I already know that I want to keep working in the field of European or transnational cooperation, since writing and conceiving different kinds of projects is what stimulates me the most.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.