09/10/2022
Italy
participants
Raise awareness of the importance of mental well-being and the contribution - general and specific - that volunteering can have in this regard.
Recognize the problems that the Venetian territory poses to students, in particular off-site and international students.
Make off-site and international students feel part of the local community.
During the three days, a series of different activities followed one another, united by the triple and chained thread of volunteering, mental well-being and relationship with the Venetian territory.
The first day we were hosted by the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, one of the universities of our city.
In the aula magna we were able to listen to the introductory lecture by prof. Nevio Del Longo on the psychological and physical importance of volunteering for youth's mental health.
Then, in the beautiful setting of the university cloister, ESN trainers Francesco Ferraro, Alice Serafini, Carla Stancanelli and Giovanni Telesca led the participating volunteers in an interactive workshop on volunteering, mental well-being and the student community in Venice.
Considering that one of the reasons that led us to talk about mental well-being in relation to the Venetian territory is the sense of exclusion that off-site and international students sometimes feel towards the local community, for the second day we organized activities that had the relationship with the city as a topical center.
Thanks to the collaboration with the Venezia Football Club, we were able to obtain over 150 free tickets to attend the Serie B match between Venice and Bari. Our members, newbies and international students were able to experience a day "as a local", reaching the suggestive Penzo stadium on the island of Sant'Elena walking along the Castello district or taking the Vaporetto to then support "I Leoni" singing and cheering from the stands.
Afterwards, we organized a yoga class at the gardens of the island, with our gaze directed towards the San Marco canal. A suggestive experience, aimed at making it clear that, very often, one cannot talk about mental well-being without talking about physical well-being.
To finish and conclude the event, on the third day we organized a round table at the premises of our partner, the ANDA Hostel in Mestre. Here, guided by the trainers, we focused on some points that emerged during the first day, circulating them to our section: how can we, ESN volunteers, be a factor in improving the psychological conditions of international students in Venice? This question led us to exchange ideas and discuss the obstacles our local reality poses and how we can help students in difficulty to overcome them.
