The participatory podcast shares multilingual stories from people of all ages and corners of the world. This edition features contributions on "Covid-19 as a Chance?!". We hope to navigate the complexity of the current change process together and encourage some critical optimists along the way. Find us on social media through the #ParticipatoryPodcastProject and share your story to be featured.

Trailer Participatory Podcast Project

Hi! My name is Prisca, I am 27 years old, I am a Tanzanian. Well, the Corona crisis has affected me as an individual but also my business because a lot of people have stopped spending but also we cant go in some places the way we used to. Actually, in Tanzania, we have not stopped our activities, we do business, we do all that. Public transport is a bit difficult though. But then, on the other side, it has got me an opportunity, because I am a designer, I make bags and clothes, but right now I make a lot of masks, and people buy a lot of masks. So on the one side it has affected me, but on the other side I also got an opportunity to get a new product on the market and earn something. So at least for me, I can not say that it is very bad. We have 20 cases in Tanzania.

(EN) Prisca from Tanzania designs opportunities

Hi, my name is Flora and I'm almost 9 years old. I prepared this message with my mom during the virus shut-down. This virus, Covid-19, causes a very serious disease. We can't go outside to avoid catching it. No school, no more horse riding. I'm so disappointed about not seeing my friends and the horses. I am doing school work at home every morning, and in the afternoon we do activities to keep us busy: baking, playmobil, video games, ping-pong, sports challenges.

(FR) Flora from France on new playing routines

My name is Daniela, I am 66 years old, I live in Rome. In these days of forced stay in house I read a lot, cook a lot, listen to music, and talk on the phone with friends. I am savoring the pleasure of not having to schedule my day by schedules and commitments, so I let my mind wander, free and aimlessly. Sometimes it brings me memories of places, people and events that I thought were forgotten. An infinite number of emotions, sensations that I experienced and that I now understand how important they have been for my personal growth. I realise now that I am learning to give more value to things that I previously underestimated. I'm sure we'll get through this terrible moment, all together. Here is the magic word, which this tragedy has made us rediscover, the meaning of the word "together". Gabriele D'Annunzio wrote, "we will be happy or we will be sad, who cares, we will be next to each other, and this must be, this is the essential".

(IT) Daniela from Italy on the meaning of "together"

For me Easter this year will be a completely different one. Normally I would have gone home to my family and friends, but this year it is not possible. Of course it's better that way and you can be close with people keeping physical distance. Now I'm going to create some Easter cards and send them to my loved ones.

(DE) Tanja from Germany sends you an Easter card

Hello my name is Patricia and I am in my second year of college and this is my Erasmus semester. I arrived in Vienna on the 1st of February and during the month of February, I had an intensive German course and the opportunity to travel to several European capitals. Like Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, I visited Vienna. The month of February was all very peaceful because the virus stayed mainly in Asia and was appearing in some places in Europe. However, when I started my face-to-face classes at the beginning of March, right in the second week we found out that we were not going to have any more face-to-face classes and we didn't have any indications from anyone, neither from the University of Lisbon nor from the University of Vienna about what we should do as international students. So, the girls and I - from my Lisbon college, we were there together - we decided to stay. We were there in isolation for three weeks. What we noticed there was that there was not that "panic buying" like here in Portugal about food and everything. People were calm, there was just a rush to the supermarkets for a day or two but it was all very peaceful. People were careful, nobody walked around, safety distance all the time. But after three weeks we realised that this would last long so we decided to plan our return to Portugal. Right now, the three of us are away from our family and we are in quarantine. It's not at all the semester that we hoped for but... It's being a different experience, so to speak.

(PT) Patrícia from Portugal on her Erasmus experience

I am 33 years old and I am currently living in Lisbon, Portugal. What impact has this had on my life? Well, with the comfort of having a home and the chance to quarantine in this place while having food, I think it led me to reexamine priorities. Both in terms of interpersonal relations but also regarding leisure, consumption and the everyday life, the good and bad habits we had and wanted to leave behind. Deep down, rethinking what is it that we truly need in our lives, in every sense. This basically created a moment of restructuring habits and routines that were imposed by me, nobody but me was imposing them. And, for me, this was something that, in the system we lived in, was not possible due to a constant lack of time or resources.  How am I dealing with this? I try to keep a well-balanced routine of sports, leisure and cooking. I communicate a lot of what I think and feel, whether it's a pain, something physical or, I don't know, an idea of a conspiracy theory. But I try to communicate, I try to talk and dialogue, not to close myself to avoid becoming distressed. I have built new communication routines with my family who is in another country so that I can also be present at this moment, that is still an important moment of change. In the past, due to time zones and work routines, conversations were reduced to a few minutes a week. I also try to maintain a structured time to consume information online, regarding COVID-19. Being careful about what I read, when I read it and how I assimilate it as well.

(ES) Ian from Portugal on the importance of communication

I started a new adventure in my life on February 29th. I arrived in India positive and determined to collect cultural experiences in this country. I came to work but my fundamental motivation, like in most challenges I accept, was to explore and develop myself. I worked for two weeks in the office. Insufficient time to get to know your colleagues, the way they collaborate, let alone to start building a friendship with them. New country, new people. Always a challenge that, with time, one conquers. On March 15, the company heads, anticipating the government, made the decision to cancel the work in the workplace and choose the home office. I couldn't go out anymore. Instead, my apartment has been my home, my office, my refuge, my prison, my calvary, my school and so many other things that these 22 days of isolation have brought me. If I had to sum it up, I would say that this pandemic has changed everything I planned, felt, it blurred the Carla that arrived this February 29th, to start creating another person, guaranteeing one thing only: the constant impermanence that is life. In challenging moments, like the present one, you are either your best friend or your worst nightmare, that is clear to me. So, to overcome my most recurrent visitor, anxiety, I disciplined myself to practice yoga every day, I meditate in the morning and at night, I started a diary and establish schedules. I keep my mind active and as full of joy as possible and, most importantly, I remember that if, in theory, I am okay alone, in practice, I am not. From this, we all come out together, without any distinctions. We are in this boat together. Inside the storm, there are always glimpses of light that we have to take to continue breathing.