IVY volunteers share their experience of #EURegionsWeek

Patrick Horst, or ‘Pat’ as he prefers, is of Dutch/US nationality and currently volunteers with the Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland programme in Antwerp.  He was pleasantly surprised by the vibrancy of the #EURegionsWeek event which he attended for the first time.  Being a social butterfly, he enjoyed the atmosphere with the other volunteers and as an advocate of the European ideal, he engaged enthusiastically with many of the attendees.  Pat particularly enjoyed networking in the evenings and is an advocate of the adage that food and wine bring people together!

Jules Striffer enjoyed attending the many different conferences dealing with a wide variety of subjects.  Jules is currently involved in INTER-RELIGIO, a project managed by the University of Strasbourg focusing on fostering academic reflection on interfaith dialogue. 

Karolina Hamerszmidt is a volunteer with the Joint Technical Secretariat of the Interreg Poland-Slovakia programme.  Her main duty is managing social media, the website and the creation of audio-visual materials.  Participating at #EURegionsWeek was a great opportunity to make new contacts, exchange experience and increase knowledge of EU cohesion policy.  She particularly appreciated the chance to participate actively at the event by sharing her knowledge and experiences during a workshop.  She also enjoyed promoting the IVY initiative at the event.

Rebecca Hollely volunteers with the Interreg Project BEECH POWER in Eberswalde, Germany, which focuses on the protection of beech forests across Europe through improving management and connecting the forests to communities.  Rebecca states that as an IVY volunteer, she has had an "eye-opening experience into the wider world of European projects" and enjoys learning and supporting project communication, reporting and events.   Rebecca found #EURegionsWeek to be an inspiration as she had the opportunity to attend many workshops and to meet a large number of people who are passionate about the future of Europe.  Rebecca enjoyed attending the IVY workshop where she spoke about her Citizens engagement activity.