The ANM from the host side

This year the EuroPeers ‘’Annual Network Meeting’’ took place in Latvia and it was a true honor to be a part of an organizing team. Last year at the ANM in Poland, I was a participant and now I can compare these two positions- I can tell for sure that there are a lot of differences. The whole length of the ANM I had that ‘’worrying feeling’’ to make things go well, to make everyone enjoy the event, to make everyone integrate and feel good and safe in Latvia.

What we did:

My team consisted of 4 volunteers and our coordinator, and our task was to organize the ‘’Cultural Evening of Latvia’’, which took place on the evening of the first day, to organize a small “city tour”, as well as to be, throughout the ANM, supportive persons for foreign participants who can safely approach to us, locals, on any issues or simply for advice.

How it made feel everyone:

Hopefully, everyone learned and got something new because both, we- local EuroPeers, and the organizers tried hard to make the experience meaningful and enjoyable for everyone. I was really pleased that after the cultural evening and the whole ANM people came over and said they loved this very much and the fact that everything was very well planned, said thank you for thinking about the details, so I want to say thanks to everyone who came over or wrote and shared their feedback!

How we felt:

Of course, we had a lot of jobs before this ANM, we met at least once a week in ZOOM, there were harder and easier stretches, but I believe we coped brilliantly because we split equal duties, pinned down, and noticed deadlines and regularly asked each other and helped if needed. Also during the event, we felt proud to welcome guests to us, Latvia, to tell about our country and to see interest in the faces of other participants.

Conclusions:

I would like to say that, despite the fact that there was a lot of work, a lot of responsibility, also tension at times, I enjoyed the process and would certainly do it again. We each learned something new, for example, what it’s like to schedule the international cultural event snacks and drinks for 70 people, what it’s like to call and talk guide tours, how to trade with refusals, and what to do in substandard situations.