Scott's Thoughts while Exploring Thessaloniki Through the PawsistiveParks Project

Scott Hickman, ESAI EN ROI Volunteer; Candidate Youth Worker   || French

ESC volunteering in teams  be SUSTAINABLE SPORTIVE & CULTURAL project  2/12 to 21/12 2025

2024-1-EL02-ESC51-VTJ-000200188

I had a brilliant time participating in the PawsistiveParks project. This was my first time in Thessaloniki, and Greece, so I was very excited to discover and engage with a new culture. From the moment I arrived, I was greeted with great food, beautiful views of the coastline and the White Tower, and I knew I was going to have a wonderful 3 weeks! This was made even easier thanks to the group of volunteers I was with. We all instantly got along, made plans to visit the city, and have left the project as a very close-knit group.

I’d say my main achievements center around my contribution to the manifesto as the Legal and Regulatory Frameworks Advisor. I conducted extensive research around Greek regulation of animal welfare, and through comparative analysis with France and the UK, I identified the gaps in the framework and suggested actionable solutions. I presented these findings in the manifesto, and during a symposium at the end of the project. I also took part in all the artistic initiatives to promote animal welfare in schools and to the public, and also spent an afternoon helping clean an animal shelter. I hope these contributions will drive the campaign for improving animal welfare in Thessaloniki forward. I hope to see engagement with our manifesto from the municipality and policymakers, and I hope our campaign will continue to work with schools to promote animal welfare education using some of the resources we created.

Stencil on the wall! Who did it?