Friday, May 11, 2007

Claire is currently on an EVS project in Germany. She is volunteering for a European music organisation for young people in Munich. Claire has also taken part on other Concordia short term international projects in France, Croatia and the Czech Republic. She also co-ordinated a project in Iceland last year.




My EVS Experience:

My EVS isn’t exactly a typical project, but then again, I’m not sure what is! I am spending a year working for a European music organisation for young people in Munich, Germany. Throughout my time at university I took part in many different short term volunteer projects in France to help my French studies, but also in Croatia, the Czech Republic, England and Iceland. I had some amazing experiences and wanted to have the chance to volunteer for a longer period of time when I had finished at university. At the same time, I wanted to get valuable work experience to kick start my career in European Cultural Management. There’s a huge variety of projects on the EVS database and I found a project which was exactly what I wanted!

I work in the office of the music organisation where I organise various projects. These include concerts and tours for young musicians and European conferences. So far, this has taken me to Russia, Poland and Liechtenstein and trips to Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria are lined up for the next few months! In St Petersburg I was helping to organise a European conference which was really interesting and brought me into contact with many people from all over Europe. And of course we all had some time to do some sightseeing!

In the office with me are 2 German volunteers and we also spend quite a lot of our free time together. I’ve been on 2 seminars for EVS volunteers in Germany which have been good fun and have enabled me to meet other volunteers and see new parts of Germany. There are quite a few European volunteers in Munich and we meet up quite often. My placement organised my accommodation for me: I have my own flat which is part of a beautiful big chalet owned by a friendly couple. It’s on the edge of the city centre and only 10 minutes walk to the office.

I love living in Munich: it’s a beautiful city and there’s so much going on. What’s more, it’s not far to the Alps and I can see them from my office window! At the weekends I meet up with friends, go to concerts and the cinema and generally explore the city. And I’ve been on quite a few day trips into the mountains and to towns nearby. Aside from work trips, I’ve also been on weekend trips to Salzburg and Bratislava and I’m planning to go to Italy and Slovenia in the summer – it’s great to live somewhere where you can just sit on a train for a few hours to go on holiday! - Claire


Click here for more pictures of projects in Germany

Click here for a country profile of Germany

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