Working as project Assistant at Active Citizenship Network (ACN) was a very enriching experience. During my time there, I was mostly in charge of dealing with healthcare and patients’ rights at the European level. More specifically, I worked on different projects on patients’ safety and empowerment, e-health, vaccination, sustainable healthcare, and cross-border healthcare rights. Since the very first moment I was given numerous responsibilities, which allowed me to develop my organizational and management skills. The various tasks I was assigned included helping in the organization of public events, writing articles and content for the website, drafting the minutes of public events, preparing memoranda of understanding and partnership proposals, among others. Moreover, I was able to assist my colleagues in the organization of the 13th edition of the European Patients' Rights Day as well as to attend public debates at the European Commission. Above all, I was mainly responsible for carrying out the second edition of the bi-annual research-project at the European level “EU Civic Prize on Chronic Pain - Collection of good practices”, which seeks to highlight existing good practices addressing the struggle against pain in several European countries.

While working, I had the chance to cooperate with a multitude of different stakeholders, including EU institutions, NGOs, professional associations, pharmaceutical corporations and universities. This also allowed me to take advantage of my language skills to get in contact with people from all over Europe and consequently expand my network. I believe that this working experience has been fundamental for my personal and professional growth. Indeed, it allowed me not only to improve my research and analytical skills, but also to be actively involved in the international arena, cooperating with a multitude of international stakeholders and understanding how social and political interactions take place at both the national and international level.

This internship helped me understand what I wanted to study in my master’s degree and in what field I would like to work in the future. Taking into account my whole experience at ACN, I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in this field. I really enjoyed working with Mariano and Daniela and I am confident that every experience at ACN will be as positive as mine.

Manuela