"Hello! My name is Dorota and I am a volunteer at World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023. Being a volunteer at WYD is such an amazing adventure and I want to share a day in my life as a volunteer at WYD.  Please have a look at what it´s like to be a part of World Youth Day Lisbon 2023!

First things first, every volunteer needs a proper breakfast. So let's head out to Padaria Portuguesa - the best spot for having breakfast or a quick espresso. 

Just look at all these pastries - I need to try them all! Maybe another day, today I only went for a Portuguese classic – the pastel de nata cream cupcake. It's a typical pastry from Portugal, and you can choose between Pastel de Nata or Pastel de Belém. It's up to you to choose which one is better! Every Portuguese drinks coffee in the morning so ordering one is a must. Usually an espresso is the way to go, but I went for a coffee from the expresso machine with milk in a tall glass – called galão.

After breakfast, I need to catch the metro to arrive at the Local Organization Committee (LOC). That's my place of work. Usually I start my working day at around 9 am. Lisbon has an excellent transportation system so I can get there by metro or by bus. Here the volunteers from all around the world are working, to ensure World Youth Day is an unforgettable event.

My job description at the LOC is social media creator, in the Communications department. My team consists of people working as graphic designers and content creators. People here come from all over the world: Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Bangladesh, Portugal and Poland. I am very happy to be able to collaborate with such talented people!

At noon, the volunteers from all departments meet at the staircase for the Angelus prayer. It's a special part of the day, where all of us can come together and pray. 

At. 12:30 we have a holy mass because, believe it or not, we have a chapel in our office building. It's a time for us to reset, and spend some time with the Lord.

Following this, all the volunteers head down to the canteen, where we have lunch. Every day we can have some delicious, traditional Portuguese dishes. Usually, I grab a plate and go outside to have lunch with my friends. Today we´re having croquets de carne (meat savoury sausages) for lunch, yum!

Next up, fun time! Let's play some football, or badminton. Volunteers are eager and they like to compete with each other. Let's see if my team wins today….fingers crossed!

Then it's time to head back to work. World Youth Day is approaching, it's less than 100 days away!!! All of us are doing our best so that people from all around the world can celebrate this event with us and with Pope Francis.

And the working day has finished. Tonight, I am going out with my host family to see a musical - Jesus Christ Super Star. I am so impressed, there was live music and the actors did an amazing job.

Thank you so much for following me in the day in the life of a volunteer!". 

You too can be a volunteer for WYD Lisbon 2023! Sign up here.

The second phase of registration for Central Volunteers will be open until the 20th of May. All Central Volunteers who have paid before this date will receive information about their volunteer assignment by the 20th of June. Find out more here.