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Campus life
Bridging generations
From July 14 to July 27 NCU will run its first volunteering initiative under the European Solidarity Corps. Seven young people from seven different European countries came to Toruń to connect and exchange experiences with seniors from the region.
The two-week volunteering project Bridging Generations takes place at the Copernican Integration Centre in July. Its goal is to build relationships between young people from abroad and older residents of the region. Volunteers from Cyprus, France, Spain, Ireland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Italy came to Toruń to spend active time with a group of local seniors.
As we get older, spontaneous intercultural contact becomes more difficult, there are simply fewer opportunities – says Małgorzata Błaszczak, Director of KOI and coordinator of the ESC volunteering programme at NCU. – That's why we wanted to create a space where such interaction would be possible. We hope our guests will feel at home in Toruń, and that all participants will gain new skills and leave with beautiful memories.
The programme includes language classes, art and ecology workshops, and shared care of the community garden at CIC. Social and environmental engagement were among the main motivations mentioned by the volunteers for joining the project. Participants will also explore Toruń together and take part in sessions where seniors share their knowledge and life experience, while the younger group contributes their digital skills.
The project is made possible thanks to the Quality Label awarded to NCU by the National Agency of the European Solidarity Corps. At the end of last year, the university received the Quality Label as a leading, hosting, and supporting organisation in international volunteering projects. Now, it's time to launch the first initiative.
