My name is Emma, and I am a youth worker in The Future Now Association, next in line to share a fraction of our work. In this case, I will give you more details about a recent event on one of our long-term projects – Digital Advocacy for Youth (DAY).
Besides supporting our own community, we also try to bring the NGO sector together for mutual support and sharing good practices. With the DAY Intern Fest, we shot two rabbits with one gun – we gathered various organizations looking for interns and matched them with participants based on their goals and interests, using a speed-dating format.
On 11 November, on Zoom, we opened several breakout rooms where young people and the participating organizations talked about their expectations, requirements, and their short- and long-term goals to see if they aligned. We had colleagues working in youth empowerment and events, civic engagement, agriculture and sustainability, entrepreneurship and finance, data analysis, and mentorship. The idea was to cover many fields to match young people’s passions or even help them discover new possibilities. Based on the feedback, both sides are hoping for more events like this, highlighting the hopefulness of the active atmosphere, the concept of the initiative, and the clear structure.
To me, the Intern fest proved once again that people are not passive beings, especially if we understand their interests and truly try to help them develop them. And that is what we did.