Two volunteers from AKWEDUKT had been proposed to attend a special event in Gdansk on International Volunteer Day. Every year, International Volunteer Day is observed on December 5 to encourage the role of volunteers at the national and international levels for achieving sustainable development goals. Here Nino shares her memories from this trip which was held on the 4th of December.


We went to Gdansk where we met other ESC volunteers from Gdynia and Gdansk and took part in a meeting organized by the Regional Center of Volunteers in Gdansk. The event took place in Gdansk, in the Museum of World War II.


It was my first visit to Gdansk. The train arrived early in the morning, so I had a chance to see almost empty streets in the Centre of Gdansk. It was so special for me to have a cozy breakfast in one of the main streets in Gdansk where you can feel Christmas vibes from almost every element.

The meeting started at 10:00 in the Museum of World War II. All the volunteers played games like Kahoot and Bingo. The participants were involved in different integrative activities. It was about Polish culture and life in Poland what was useful for me as for new volunteer here.

The Museum staff organized a coffee break for all of us and we had a chance to talk to each other and explore volunteering in different cities of Poland. We explored where to go if we want to dance to Techno music in Gdansk, also where to go if we want to see the seaside in Gdansk.
After coffee, we visited the working office of the volunteers from the Regional Center of Volunteering in Gdansk. The building turned out to have a very beautiful garden inside, also a library and a wonderful view of Gdansk from the top floor.

In the end, we walked around Gdansk city and the Christmas market. We explored one Monastery, which had a café on the down floor. In the café, everyone could have coffee, tea and different sweets, but there were no fixed prices for them, everyone could pay as much as they wished. It was a wonderful, peaceful place, where we warmed up after walking in the cold.

The host volunteers from Gdansk were waiting for our train with us. It was a very warm meeting for me and I am sure I will meet these wonderful volunteers again.