“Every human being is endowed with inherent potentialities that can be revealed through adequate education.” is one of the principles of Unity Foundation. 

I was lucky enough to be able to do a 1-week-long internship with their team in June 2022 where they showed me different aspects of what it takes to be part of such an organization. 

Living in a country where a significant portion of the population is made up of immigrants and being a student of the European School in which we are in constant contact with people from different European nations and different values, has really opened my eyes as to how human beings really treat each-other and how society expects us to follow the (rather old) social norms. It gave me the passion to share and care for others, regardless of their skin colour, sex or religion, to be aware of social happenings and to strive to break stereotypes.

Considering that Unity foundation and I have a lot of values and principles in common, working together wasn’t hard. They had me do a little bit of everything: research, logistics for future workshops and events, articles, photo sorting and workshops in Luxembourgish schools. Furthermore, they let me create my own project and they introduced me to new people and other NGOs. They gave me a little glimpse of the world I possibly want to work in later. 

I truly encourage people, especially students, to be more active, be more sharing, be more considerate and be part of something – something that you are passionate about, something that brings you joy, something that empowers you. 

Article written by Mariana Cristóvam Mesquita, high school intern at Unity Foundation.