Italiano
For the thousands of volunteers who took part in the 30th Summer Universiade Napoli 2019, today is the last day of work. Their contribution has been crucial for the success of the event. “It was a really beautiful experience – says Giusy, a young Neapolitan girl, graduated in Communication – I had the chance to put to use my skills and at the same time I felt useful for the organization of this event. My work consisted in creating contents for social medias – she adds – and it was very exciting for me to go to the sports venues, working only a few meters away from the competitions. Scandone swimming pool is a wonderful memory for me, because I had the privilege to interview Umberto Esposito of the Italian water polo team, who won the gold medal. Being at Mostra d’Oltremare swimming pool during the diving competitions and at San Paolo Stadium where we welcomed accredited staff and spectators was also great. I do not have a favorite moment in this Universiade, the entire experience was very interesting for me”. For Annachiara, 25 years old, born in Naples, participating in the event as a volunteer was very positive too. “I worked on social media as well – she says – putting into practice what I learned during my studies in Marketing and Communication. We lived these moments with joy and dedication. I have never worked in a sports event before – she adds – but after this experience I think I might continue in this sector”. Francesco, 38 years old, born in Naples as well, underlines that “this 15-days experience has been very interesting. The best thing – he declares – was the possibility we had to meet new people, many young men and women like me, with a lot of goodwill. The volunteers’ great energy immediately infected me. We have done a lot of different things. At the beginning we even assembled refrigerators and supervised a storage, then we started with other tasks related to communication and accreditation assistance. A real all-around experience. I can say we really applied the things you normally read in a CV: initiative, problem solving, etc. Those things are often just a matter of form, but here we put them into practice for real, both in the venues and in the different functional areas of the event. We did a great job”, he concludes.
Napoli 2019 received 10.500 applications; the accredited volunteers were 4.654, with a 45% of women. The average age was 28. The oldest volunteer was 80 years old. The majority of the volunteers were from Naples (67,68%), others came from Salerno, Caserta Avellino and Benevento. They worked in all 15 functional areas of the event, like sports, venue management, protocol and FISU relations. As planned, the Organizing Committee of Napoli 2019 guarantees to all volunteers the reimbursement of expenses by the end of August.