Why?

Hi, I'm Ieva, and I am from Latvia. I moved to Košice just recently to start a new career and join the fantastic team of Youthfully Yours SK. Here goes Why:

My role here will be mostly related to project coordination and working with local volunteers. I will help out with educational resources as well as the management of educational activities. I feel like I'm in the right place at the right time, doing the right things.

Here, at Youthfully Yours SK, I work with people who have the same urge to improve themselves and inspire others as I do. For me, it's all about the spark inside of us - we want to be changemakers. During my life, I've noticed various issues that, in my opinion, could be addressed or resolved. My way to do it is by assisting young people in unleashing and exploring their full potential so that WE, together with THEM, can make the world a little better place to live in. I am very grateful to find like-minded associates through this adventure in Youthfully Yours SK. I have been working with youth since 2013, but I have never dedicated myself entirely to the "youth worker" position. Now, I am super excited about this new chapter of my life!

My professional path has started with a bit of a different occupation. I have a Professional Bachelor's degree in Health Care qualification as a Speech – Therapist/Pathologist. I worked in this field for six years. I knew that this was not the correct path for me already back then. Hence I engaged myself in all sorts of non-formal education experiences. And I fell in love with it. I found non-formal education and experiential learning as highly effective approaches in all educational systems. For this reason, I started working in the International School of Latvia as a Teaching Assistant, where I could experiment with combining non-formal and formal education. Throughout my career, I was always passionate about delivering information and building competences. I took part in establishing the NGO "Open Sense" back in 2016. Through "Open Sense," I have gained experience working as a trainer, facilitator, project manager, and project coordinator in different international or local projects and activities.

Being here is a fantastic opportunity to improve my game, learn new skills and boost international/intercultural learning competencies. In return, I offer my experience, creativity, openness to changes, and willingness to listen.