Anna from Sweden at internship in EUSTAFOR

My name is Anna Östberg. I am 18 years old and live in Jämtland, a region in northern Sweden. I am attending my last year in upper secondary school and, before graduating, my school offers its students the chance to do a freely chosen internship abroad.

As the daughter of two forest officers working in the Swedish forest sector, I have always spent a lot of time outdoors in the forests and mountains. I learned about EUSTAFOR through my father, who works for the Swedish State Forest company Sveaskog, and wanted to learn more about how the EU forest sector works.

In Brussels I have been researching information which best describes sustainable forest management and EUSTAFOR within the forest sector, at both EU and international levels. I am also reviewing the EU’s decision-making procedure. The result will be a series of PowerPoint slides that can be used when presenting EUSTAFOR to new audiences.

This internship has given me a chance to see how the EU in general and, more specifically, how an advocating organization works from the inside. It has shown me the importance of the forestry sector for the environment, the economy and society in general and allowed me to see how the things I have read about in school are actually put into practice.

I’m grateful to have had the chance to do this internship which also allowed me to meet a lot of new and amazing people from different European countries. The past 2 weeks at the European Forestry House, where EUSTAFOR has its offices, were full of laughter and learning and they ended too quickly.

Anna Östberg

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