Venus Martín left his home in Torrijos with a backpack full of illusions, and also of uncertainty, straight to Austria. Then it was the end of 2017 and countless passed through his head. A year later, he has returned from his volunteer with more weight in his backpack, but not from those initial fears ... It turns out that he brings back a family! Keep reading to know your full experience.

Mediation and conflict resolution are key aspects in many of our work. Therefore, in the training course "Let's mediate", which was held at the end of last year in the United Kingdom, focused on it. Our partner Abril Olmedo and Maite Aguirrezabal were the representatives of Mundus in this formation. On the way back, they have told us how the experience has been, what they have learned and what it will do for their work and daily life. Let's mediate!

At the end of the year, Mundus was one of the sponsors of the annual Ideas for Zaragoza debate, in which he presented a pilot project that will be carried out during the year 2019. Through this project, it is intended to enhance international knowledge of the city of Zaragoza, while seeking to engage its young people to be European ambassadors and ambassadors of the city.

EVS experiences. The volunteer Camila Bocca, sent by Mundus to Lisbon, tells us what her first weeks of Portuguese adventure have been like. Camila is participating in the "Together We Can" project, in the CED Santa Clara, a shelter for children, which is managed by the Portuguese association Proatlântico thanks to the European funds of the Erasmus + program.

Francesc and Ana are the two volunteers we have sent to carry out a European Voluntary Service in Romania. They participate in the second edition of the Second ACT project, in which they collaborate with different social groups on the themes of sport, culture, languages ​​and active citizenship. Do you want to know how our participants are doing? In this testimony, the host association, ACT, tells us the experience of volunteers in Bailesti during the months of November and December.

Ten months in Lisbon, collaborating in a foster home for boys and girls and with all expenses covered thanks to the Erasmus + program. This has been the plan of Jara and Lucia, two volunteers sent by Mundus to the "Volunteers for Inclusion" project, managed by the Proatlântico association and financed by funds from the European Commission. This was "Volunteers for Inclusion".

VET practices. Asociación Mundus collaborates with Cankook, a restaurant in Zaragoza, which has welcomed foreign students who come to Spain to carry out the practices of their training cycle. From Mundus we want to congratulate you since you have been given your first Michelin Star.

Sara and Luis have been at the seminar "Volunteering: Step forward to Entrepreneurship and Employability", which was held at the end of November in Struga (Macedonia). This mobility was the second part of a project that aimed to generate support tools for European volunteers in the field of entrepreneurship and youth employability. On the way back, Sara, one of our friends with more experience in youth projects with the Erasmus + program has shared with us her experience.

Sharing our KnEULedge. During the training course "Sharing our KnEUledge" funded by Erasmus+ that took place in Girona, the participants created this quick guide on the steps to follow to do an Erasmus+ projects from an organisations point of view. 

Training course in Girona. From November 10 to 16, Mundus organized the Erasmus + "Sharing our KnEUledge" training course, a project for youth workers from around Europe to learn about the Erasmus + program and how to apply it to their local organizations and projects.

This is a project co-financed by the European Commission through the Erasmus + program and with the support of the City Council of Girona and the Xarxa d'Albergs de Catalunya (XANASCAT).

The students of the La Purísima center for deaf children in Zaragoza who had previously submitted their application to participate in the Erasmus + VET program have attended the round of interviews in the center to decide who will finally live an experience of professional practices abroad.

The third meeting of partners of the "My Story Maps" project is held in Vienna (Austria), a strategic alliance for innovation in which Mundus collaborates with other European organizations. This is a meeting of partners where the objective was to plan and specify the activities that will be carried out with the target groups at the local level. In this work session the project website has also been presented with the study modules that will be launched in this bi-annual project.

Our trotamndus Alvaro has just returned from Thessaloniki with many things to tell. He was there from 18th to 25th November in an Erasmus+ training course called "Together on Refugees Highway", for youth workers to learn inclusion tools to work with young migrants. The team seems to be very satisfied. Have a look on their testimony!

During the month of November and at the beginning of December, interview sessions have been completed for middle-level vocational students who want to go on Erasmus + VET internships in Europe with the Catalonia Mobility Platform consortium. This consortium is formed by fifteen centers throughout Catalonia and is coordinated by the Escola Pia Santa Anna de Mataró.

Mundus has been in Madrid as a guest at the European Solidarity Corps event: volunteering and solidarity employment, organized by the Office of the Representation of the European Commission in Spain together with the Minister of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare, María Luisa Carcedo. Our partner Ruth Palacios, Mundus volunteer coordinator, has participated in the My Experience in the European Solidarity Corps round table, together with young former participants in volunteer projects.