From 29 to 31 July 2024, the ESC Mid-Term Evaluation Meeting was held in Sofia, organized by the Bulgarian National Agency (HRDC). The event took place at the Metropolitan Hotel Sofia, where 40 volunteers, both international and local, gathered. The hotel was the perfect place for participants to reflect and collaborate during this Evaluation meeting.

In this Mid-Term Evaluation meeting, two ESC volunteers from Podobri Foundation participated, Carolina Pinheiro and Süeda Emir. Participants were divided into two groups for most of the sessions, with only one joint session held. Trainers Zahari Vaklinov and Stefani Roshkova led the sessions for Süeda Emir’s group, while Atanas Genkov and Dilyana Gyurova facilitated the sessions for Carolina Pinheiro’s group.

The agenda included a variety of activities designed to enhance the volunteers’ experiences and help solving some questions. The event kicked off with introductions and ice-breaking activities to help participants get to know each other and establish the rules for the training. Over the three days, volunteers engaged in discussions about their projects, the meaning of volunteering, and the challenges they faced in this couple of months. They participated in workshops on skills-building, how to improve communication between volunteers and organizations, conflict management and future collaborations between volunteers and associations. Additionally, practical sessions covered important topics such as health insurance and Youthpass certification, ensuring that volunteers were well-informed during their program and about their entitlements and recognition of their skills and experiences gained during their service.

The tree-day meeting concluded with an evaluation and closing session, where participants shared their experiences and feedback. While the overall evaluation of the meeting was very positive, many attendees felt that a similar training session should have been conducted at the beginning of the ESC project, as some crucial information was delivered late. Nonetheless, the meeting fostered new friendships and provided valuable opportunities to compare projects and share experiences.

All these sessions were a valuable opportunity for Carolina and Süeda to connect with others facing similar realities and understand that the issues they encountered were shared by their peers.

Carolina and Süeda found it incredible to meet people close to their reality and to see that others had similar problems, which reinforced the sense of community and shared purpose among the volunteers. The knowledge they gained about the processes involved in long-term volunteering further enhanced their ability to contribute effectively to their projects and communities.