Hi everyone! I am Alejandro from Spain, and I wanna tell you a little bit about my experience volunteering in the Ljubljana Pride association. Since I have been working in the Youth Program, my main role has been implementing different kinds of events for young queer people. At the beginning, I was mainly working on the ‘Pride Connects’ project, where I implemented various activities with the aim of creating an open space for LGBTIQ+ young people through topics that are of interest to them. For this reason, I discussed topics such as Eurovision, the importance of drag in our community, or even created a collage about how we imagine a ‘Queertopia’!
After some months, I started to work on the ‘Rainbow Europe’ project, which focused on the importance of voting on the European Parliament elections that happened on 9th of June for LGBTIQ+ people. Thanks to this, I was able to hold different events in various places, even outside of Ljubljana! One of the most successful events took place in Koper, a beautiful city on the Slovenian coast. In short, thanks to developing this series of activities for 10 months, I have been able to connect with LGBTIQ+ young people, as well as acquire a series of skills that will help me continue working within the framework of youth work.
On the other hand, another of my main roles in this volunteering has been to coordinate the Ljubljana Pride merchandising at the Pride Festival, from June 8 to 15. While it meant an increase in my responsibility, it also meant that my coworkers trust me enough to let me take on more important tasks.
All in all, I have carried out tasks of all kinds, which has allowed me to learn from various aspects and trust that I can do it. Thanks to the support from my coordinator and my mentor, I was also able to carry out different types of tasks without fear of making mistakes, because I knew that I would always have their support.
If you are looking for an ESC opportunity, don’t think twice! Go and live one of the best years of your life!