At Youth Works Hub, we love sharing the real journeys of our community. Ziad, a biotechnology student from Alexandria, Egypt, has taken part in 3 European Solidarity Corps (ESC) projects, and one of his favourites was a one-month volunteering project in Brașov, Romania. The European Solidarity Corps is the European Union programme that brings young people together to build a more inclusive society, support vulnerable people and respond to societal and humanitarian challenges. Volunteering is a full-time unpaid activity that has a duration of up to 12 months. Here is his story, in his own words.
Last updated: November 2026.
I'm Ziad Ahmed from Alexandria Egypt senior student at faculty of agriculture Saba Basha Alexandria University department of Biotechnology I have 3 projects with ESC one of my favourites is a project in Brașov Romania.
This project was a one-month volunteering experience in Brașov, Romania. We were a diverse group of people from many different countries, and that made the whole experience even more interesting. Our main focus was to organize workshops and sessions for people of all ages, aiming to create something useful and fun for the local community.
As for me, I had the chance to prepare and lead a session about success, where I explained some ideas and shared stories to motivate others. We also worked together to organize a public event in the Public Garden. During that event, we ran many creative activities like painting workshops for kids and a treasure hunt for everyone.
Each activity helped us connect with local people in a friendly and joyful way. I was really happy to see how our small actions could make others smile and enjoy their time.
From this experience, I learned a lot about teamwork and how to cooperate with people from different cultural backgrounds. It was challenging at first, but we quickly became a real team that supported each other. I also got to know more about new cultures and made friends from several countries. It was inspiring to meet people who were doing amazing things in their own communities.
Above all, this project helped me improve my English skills because I had to speak a foreign language every day for an entire month. That was a big personal achievement for me.
Young people from third countries not associated to the Programme neighbouring the EU (regions 1 to 4) can apply to the European Solidarity Corps, but there are fewer places and more competition. Our guide on which countries can apply for Erasmus+ and ESC lists the countries, how long an ESC project lasts compares the formats, and ESC Volunteering Teams explains volunteering together in a group.
Thank you, Ziad, for sharing your story 💚 Have your own Erasmus+ or ESC story? Send it to Youth Works Hub and we will feature it here, so other young people can see what is possible.
More stories from our community: Samet's ESC year in Poland · Mariam's ESC story in Tallinn · Luca's ESC project in France
👉 ESC projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=esc-projects
