Volunteering in Split has become a valuable experience for a group of French students from Lille, who spent two weeks collaborating with the environmental organization Sunce as part of the Foreign Challenge project. During their stay, they participated in educational, ecological, and socially meaningful activities, developing their skills while raising awareness about sustainability. Volunteering allowed them not only to grow personally and professionally but also to strengthen their sense of community and environmental responsibility. Their experiences, impressions, and reflections are shared below.
The idea started in Lille
We are Eco Students, a group of four French students: Charlotte, Léane, Nicolas, and Léo. We come from Lille, a city in northern France, and are currently in our second year at IAE Lille, a business school where we study subjects such as accounting, management, law, marketing, and related fields.
This year, we had the opportunity to choose a project, and we selected the Foreign Challenge. The goal of the project was to go abroad and support an European organization. Throughout the academic year, we organized various fundraising activities to cover travel and accommodation costs: selling cakes, clothes, books, chocolates, hosting a FIFA video game tournament, and organizing a raffle. At the same time, we were looking for an international organization aligned with our interests. Because we are particularly drawn to the sea and nature, we focused on coastal countries. While researching organizations in Croatia, we came across Sunce. We saw that it was a certified, well-established organization, one of the most prominent in Croatia. We were impressed by what we saw on their social media, especially Instagram, and decided to reach out.
Marija responded quickly and warmly welcomed us from the very beginning. We presented our project, and they accepted it. Our first day was full of warmth and support, helping us feel at ease. We discussed our fears, the challenges we might face, and our expectations for the next two weeks. We decided to face our fears, embrace the challenge, and make the most of this opportunity.
Activities during Fast Revolution Day
One of the main activities we participated in was the film night “Play perspective changing films in your mind!”. Together with members of the SoleSTerra volunteer club, we watched the documentary The True Cost. The film revealed the harsh realities and consequences of fast fashion. We saw how major fast-fashion brands in countries like Cambodia and Bangladesh exploit workers and fail to provide adequate working conditions. The documentary was shocking, exposing the violence and oppression faced by workers, often from the Cambodian government and police. It made us reflect deeply on our own consumption habits and question the entire fast-fashion system.
After the film, ESS volunteer Sanja led a group discussion. The film’s brutal realities were necessary for us to truly understand the workers’ situation. Following the discussion, volunteer Vesna conducted an art therapy workshop called “The Ball of Yarn” using old clothes, allowing us to express our thoughts and feelings creatively. We really enjoyed this – it was an emotional and inventive way to process what we had seen.
To promote sustainable practices, Sunce organized a clothing and shoe Swap Fair for Fashion Revolution Day, allowing people to exchange clothes instead of buying new ones. We helped organize the event by designing coupons and posters, and we distributed informational flyers in Croatian and English to educate passersby about fast fashion’s environmental impact.
Cleaning Pantan beach
During our first week of volunteering, we focused on learning so that we could apply our knowledge in the second week. One of the activities we were most excited about was the beach clean-up action – a tangible action where we could feel truly useful. We went to Pantan Beach with a local school group and began cleaning. We were shocked by the amount of waste we found, especially glass. There wasn’t much, but it was difficult to collect due to small, sharp pieces. This made us realize how careless and selfish people can be. Beaches are not trash bins. We found lots of plastic, glass, and even large items like car parts. These things clearly do not belong on the beach or anywhere in nature.
After collecting many bags of waste, we sorted everything into categories: plastic, glass, metal, etc. We then weighed and counted the items. This process, called waste monitoring, is conducted after every clean-up action. Seeing the numbers and statistics left a strong impression on us. We believe that when people see such data, it helps them understand the real consequences of their actions on the environment.
‘Sustainability is my vibe’ festival
On our last day of volunteering, we participated in the “Sustainability is my vibe” festival in the center of Split. Famous chefs and various organizations, including Sunce, promoted sustainable development, waste reduction, and recycling – both in waste management and food preparation. We helped set up booths, particularly the Kitchen supplies swap stand. Similar to the clothing Swap Fair, this concept applied the same idea to kitchen items, perfectly aligning with the festival’s theme and promoting recycling and zero-waste living. Before the event, we prepared cloth bags with seeds and jars of compost to distribute to participants, introducing new audiences to Sunce. We discovered creative initiatives like glasses made from bottle caps, which were surprisingly inspiring.
We had no idea such events existed in Split, so it was a real discovery. The Festival attracted a large crowd, and the atmosphere was very friendly. It was a wonderful way to end our volunteering experience on a positive note.
Volunteering in an environmental organization: an exciting experience
It was our first time participating in such an organization, and we truly enjoyed it. It was a very interesting experience, and we learned a lot by participating in meaningful, fun, and original activities. It had a significant positive impact on us. As we mentioned, we are French, so volunteering at Sunce helped us improve our English and communication skills. Sunce also taught us many practical things we can apply in France! One of the first things we will continue doing is making and using beeswax wraps, taught to us by volunteer Lina. We made them once at Sunce, and we will keep using them instead of aluminum foil. We also plan to make more ourselves, as they are quite easy to make. In France, we don’t have events like the kitchen supplies Swap Fair, but we will continue using platforms like Vinted to promote second-hand goods and reduce waste in our own way. These two weeks were incredibly enriching.
Although our time in Croatia has ended, the lessons we’ve taken home will continue to shape how we live, and we will always remember our time there warmly. A huge thank you to the entire Sunce team, especially Marija, Mihaela, Sanja, Martina, Jeanne, Vesna, Lina, Dalka, and Tihana.