Kasia Szaida

:: Email: kasia.szajda@losonline.eu

My name is Kasia and I feel a part of LOS family since over 2 years, when the first edition of PolaCzek took place.
I come from Wroclaw (in Poland) where few years ago I set up an NGO: UNESCO Initiatives Centre, which works with non formal education, intercultural learning and promotes participation in general, just like LOS. At some point we started to discover that our Czech neighbours can be „exotic“ ;) and interesting as well and we started to do polish – czech projects and encourage people to cross the polish – czech border. When I moved to Czech Republic, it was quite natural to join the LOS team.
My role in LOS? I mainly work as a trainer, mostly in English – during international projects organised within Youth in Action programme. But only few weeks ago I had a chance to run my first workshop in Czech language – which was very interesting and of course a bit funny experience (both for me and for the group ;)). I as well help to describe the ideas and dreams of the LOS team in such a way so that the organisation can get financial support for the activities. You could simply call it fundrising, but I prefere to describe it in a bit more creative way – as I personally think it really IS a very creative work to visualise the ideas we have in our heads and to convince others that its worth to support them.
LOS for me means the team of people with very possitive energy, and the will to share this energy with others, this is most important.
LOS is the opportunity to think „out of our box“ in which we live for a while while meeting people from other countries.
LOS is a living example that its up to each of us – how colorful our reality around will be.
LOS gives opportunity to gain very practical skills and competences, from writing and coordinating project, speaking english or maybe polish, to snorkling or juggling.

Future of LOS? Happy people, active Liberec, colorful Euroregion Nisa, where the border with Poland and Germany is not an obstacle any more – neither in reality, nor in peoples heads.
Some of my small big adventures with LOS..
• Books 21 – www.thebooks21.eu – and being a living book in living library
• PolaCzek – http://polaczek.meetneighbours.eu/ – being a „mother“of the idea of the project, trainer of the first edition and supporter of next editions
• Mission possible, project management 4 intercultural learning – www.pm4icl.eu – trainer
• Sailors on the CitizenShip – www.sailorstraining.eu – trainer