Welcome dear listeners. You listen Radio PULSE, creative place for young people in Prilep, which provides opportunities and space to raise the capacity of young journalists and music artists.
Here you can find a variety of music, live shows, community news, remote broadcasts, educational segments and talk shows.
Welcome in today’s show. Today with us is our dear volunteer Beatrice Colnaghi who has been part of the Youth on the air project for 3 months. Today she will try to share her volunteering expirence here in Prilep, Macedonia.
Stay with us!
M: Hello Beatrice! How are you today?
B: Hello Marija! I’m great thank you! But I also have different feelings, opposing feelings because this is my last week here in Prilep
M: Yes, you’re right! Your volunteering experience in this project is coming to an end.
Can you tell us how long have you been here and give us short feedback of your experience?
B: Yes of course I can.
This is a three-months project, so I arrived in Prilep at the end of March and I’ll leave this weekend, around the 20th of June. The first thing that comes up to my mind now is: WOW! It’s already 3 months, I can’t believe it! The time has flied so fast, and the experience has been wonderful. For sure it has changed me a lot, most of all it has made me grown on a personal level. I am very satisfied of what I learned here, as general skills but also about this specific interesting country.
M: Nice, I am happy to hear all these things. I think If you remember on the first day when we talk about these challenges. I feel that like was yesterday. ha-haha. This period is past so fast.
Not only you, but I also have learned a lot of things about you, your country, your culture, in short, I grew up with you in personal and professional way. I need to say that you are good team player and you are such a responsible person and I appreciate your efforts, your hard work and your commitment that makes this project to be succussed and to achieve the results.
And Bea, explain a little to our listeners, how did you find this project and how you applied for it. It can be useful for some of them.
B: Well, the last year I’ve been searching everywhere on Internet for some experience and I found the platform of the European Solidarity Corps. This is “an EU funding programme for young people wishing to engage in solidary activities in a variety of areas.” On this platform, once you have easily registered, you can search all the projects in the database. When I discovered this project here in Macedonia, I became immediately really curious about it for different reasons, the main one is my desire to know new place and specifically in the Balkans region. So made the application, they accepted it, and after a few interviews I was chosen. It is really easy to apply with the European Solidarity Corps platform and there are so many proposals and choices!
M: Great, thank you. And getting into the project, what do you think you have learned with it?
B: I learned a lot of things, both on a personal and professional level. First, I learned to confront myself with another culture, communicate better in English and work in an organization. I became more independent and discovered the world of the web radio. I didn’t know nothing about it, but I was curious. It happened to be great! I loved the radio, writing articles and recording them. I learned how to write articles in English and how to speak with the microphone. Gain new skills from the technical ones connected with the radio activity to the general ones who made me grow as a person, made this volunteering experience really challenging but I can actually say that: I learned.
M: Just another question: which is the main thing you would like to suggest to the next volunteers who will come about the experience her?
B: I think it would be TO CREATE relations and connections with people around them. During the time at the office, try to find friends between the colleagues, try to speak with everyone and exchange thoughts, opinions, try to start everyday conversations and to participate in them. I t will create a great working environment. But also outside: go out, explore, be open-minded and try to speak with the local people. Be always respectful of course and smile to them, you can trust me: one of the main things I will remember are the people I met, not just the ones I became friends of, but also whoever I spoke with and exchange something during my everyday life here. This behavior and approach, I think, will enrich your experience even more.
M: I’m totally agree with you and I recommend to all young people to go outside of their countries and get out of their comfort zone, to face with new life challenges as a passion, accountability, independency and self-confidence. This is the best way to grow up!
So, Bea, if you want you can also ask something to me. As our volunteer, it is important to ask us or me whatever you want.
B: Thank you Marija, why not! Maybe I would like to know your point of view regarding these three months together. Don’t worry, not on a personal level (ahah), but, you know, which are your impressions and feedback about how it was. Also, if do you think that maybe it would have been better if something had gone differently.
M: More time hahahha!!! Working with the person like you, only missing thing was a lack of time to spend together. Everything was good, but there is always an opportunity to do things to be perfect. Maybe better management of the priority of activities. From my point of view, I’m only sorry that I missed the opportunities to spend a more time in the radio with you, to create more programmes and to have a fun.
B: I have also a curiosity: can I ask which are the plans for the future? I mean, about the project or the radio. We have talked a lot together and shared a lot of ideas. From the podcast to the interviews on the radio. You know I would have loved to start with these things during my stay here, but it was too early… so, can you tell me maybe which are your ideas or desires about the future of this activity? Thank you
M: Our general plans are to make the radio useful for young people, we would like to have as many as podcasts and topics as possible, that would be preparing young people from Prilep. We plan for the Pulse Radio website to be functional, to have very useful and interesting content for young people, as well as to place all shows as podcasts. Of course, we stay to work with ESC volunteers, because we realized that the help of foreign volunteers is necessary for us and the young people in Prilep.
B: to me this can be enough, if you Marija has something else to say or to ask, go on, don’t worry
M: I’m fine also!
Well, this was a great and interesting conversation with you, Beatrice. I wish you all the best for your future and we all hope to hear from you soon!
B: Thank you too very much Marija for this opportunity, it has been a pleasure to work with you and to discover your beautiful country! I will listen to Pulse Radio from Italy ahah
M: Well, thank you Bea! And thank you everybody! For today, It’s all.
Stay tuned!
