Atzavares Hall at the UMH drew over 40 students from the Dual Bachelor in Audiovisual Communication and Journalism for the latest edition of ‘Snippets of Volunteering by Programs.’ Representatives from the UMH Service of International Relations and Cooperation, in conjunction with the Valencian Coordinator of ONGD (Valencian Coordinator of NGOs and Development; CVONGD), were also present, and they informed these students about the benefits of volunteering.

These representatives included Gara Pulido, from the CVONGD, along with Luis Torres, a technician at the UMH Service of International Relations and Cooperation. Together, they informed the second-year dual bachelor program students about how they can get involved in their respective organizations through collaboration, and they detailed the services that they provide society as well as the people with whom they work.

For his part, Service of International Relations and Cooperation technician, Luis Torrús, outlined the volunteer programs offered by the UMH, such as the programs in Rwanda and #LaUMHteAcompaña (UMH Accompanies You). While doing so, he emphasized and raised the students’ awareness regarding the levels of commitment required when participating in any of these initiatives.

Furthermore, communication technician at the CVONGD, Gara Pulido, highlighted the importance of the work done by her organization, and she shed light on the tasks and roles of NGOs. This she accomplished by running two practical workshops framed within a new campaign featuring tarot as protagonist and transformative communication as vehicle.

This session afforded an opportunity for the undergrads to examine their concerns and to reflect on global programs, such as climate change, high housing prices, bullying, and pollution. During the workshop, the creative process led to the creation of tarot cards on these topics, which were then adapted to transmedia formats.

Given the interest and involvement exhibited by these students, Pulido invited them to participate in a card reading, at an immersive experience with volunteers from a theater group, on the morning of December 3 in front of the Altabix Hall cafeteria to commemorate International Volunteer Day.

Both representatives agreed on the benefits of volunteering, both personally and professionally, for the students, and they encouraged them to participate in various initiatives.

The CVONGD is a platform comprised of 105 entities that are dedicated to the defense of human rights through various causes, such as responding to climate change, ensuring basic and vital resources for all people, providing medical supplies to people impacted by conflict and natural disasters, and they also advise young people on starting their own businesses. The Unit of Cooperation at the UMH, for its part, promotes the organization and creation of these spaces as part of a week of activities, which occur during the first week of December, for International Volunteer Day.