{"id":33921,"date":"2025-08-07T00:59:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T22:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/?p=33921"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T15:28:10","slug":"from-paris-to-split-first-hand-ess-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/news\/from-paris-to-split-first-hand-ess-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"From Paris to Split: first-hand ESS Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meet Jeanne Dournel<\/strong>, a young woman from Paris who decided to take a break after university and make the most of her gap year \u2013 by volunteering in the city of Split through the European Solidarity Corps (ESC)<\/a> programme. Jeanne has always been drawn to learning through hands-on experience<\/strong>, discovering new cultures, and making a positive impact in the community along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u00a0 I graduated in urban planning, and before that I completed a bachelor\u2019s degree in sociology and geography. I wanted to take a break before starting a full-time job, and instead of simply resting, I chose to volunteer, \u2013\u00a0 said Jeanne, who met two other ESC volunteers at Sunce: Sanja Mirceva<\/strong><\/a> and Martina Cekova<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A French lifestyle in Croatia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As she explains, taking a gap year to volunteer or travel is quite common in France. She found volunteer projects through the official European platform and began searching for the ideal opportunity; one that combined her interests in the environment, urban spaces, and social issues<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u2013\u00a0I didn\u2019t have one specific destination in mind, I was searching by topic. My priority was projects related to the environment and urbanism<\/strong> \u2013 something connected to my field of study. I applied to several projects, including this one in Croatia. I had visited the country a few years ago and remembered it very fondly, \u2013\u00a0 she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteering and exploring Croatia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, she volunteers at Sunce, where she takes part in a wide range of activities<\/strong> (such as the Exchange Fair<\/a>) that vary from week to week. She has also enjoyed exploring the country: from Zagreb to Dubrovnik, as well as smaller towns like Orahovica<\/a> and Trogir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u00a0I really like Split, and I especially enjoy going to the seaside and travelling around Croatia<\/strong>. I\u2019ve managed to see so much, and every place has its own charm, \u2013\u00a0 Jeanne points out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming from one of the largest and fastest-paced cities in Europe, Jeanne admits that the change of rhythm has been refreshing. While there are no major cultural differences, she has noticed certain nuances in everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u00a0 Of course, not everything is the same, but there\u2019s no big difference that caught me off guard. I would say the pace of life here is slower and more relaxed, which actually suits me, \u2013 she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She particularly highlights the working atmosphere at Sunce as dynamic, diverse, and motivating<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u2013\u00a0 It\u2019s really interesting at Sunce. We\u2019re constantly doing something new, with different events and learning opportunities<\/strong>. Every week is different, and that\u2019s what keeps me motivated, \u2013 Jeanne emphasizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A message to young people: Just go for it!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Through her experience, Jeanne shows how much a single year can mean in terms of broadening perspectives, building confidence, and discovering personal interests. Her message to young people considering volunteering through the European Solidarity Corps is clear and inspiring:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013\u00a0My advice is very simple: just go for it. And most importantly, enjoy every single moment!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jeanne from Paris is an ESC volunteer who combines her professional background with hands-on experience, travel, and work on socially responsible projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":33372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,975],"tags":[663,741],"class_list":["post-33921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-volunteers","tag-esc-2","tag-volunteering"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33921"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37545,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33921\/revisions\/37545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunce-st.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}