This week, we organized a fundraising event called Suenos Festival (Dream Festival) at Suenos y Huellas, where we invited five volunteers from UPB to design teaching and cooking activities for 5-11-year-old kids. We live-streamed the whole event on YouTube to engage a broader audience, hoping to attract more attention to the organization. It went with flying colours and I'm thrilled to reflect on the experience.

For our volunteers from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, it was a fantastic opportunity to develop their organizational skills, many of whom were participating in an event like this for the first time. I was so impressed by their ability to design and implement engaging activities for the children, and their enthusiasm. They thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the kids, and it was heartwarming to see them form connections and make a positive impact.

As for us, organizing the event was a valuable learning experience. We assisted them by providing guidance and support throughout the project, from planning to execution, and ensuring that they had the necessary resources and information to deliver a successful event. We also improved our communication skills, working closely with both volunteers and the organization to bring everything together.

For the organization, this pilot fundraising event, with a mixed mode of on-site and online live streaming, provided a proof-of-concept for future fundraising initiatives. The hybrid fundraising approach could become an annual template, and we're excited to see where this takes us. The kids, of course, were the stars of the festival. They loved the Kahoot game, which deepened their understanding of Colombia, Medellín, and the organization. Their prizes – notebooks and colour pens – were a hit, and it was wonderful to see them beaming with joy.

Looking back, there are areas where we can improve. Promotion is one of them – starting earlier would have helped us get more attention and views. We also need to provide better safety instructions to the kids, ensuring they're aware of potential hazards and know how to respond. Balancing fun and learning is a delicate art, and we learned that mixing games with education requires skill. For instance, a volunteer named Laura designed an interesting science show on non-Newtonian fluids (a mixture of flour and water - their viscosity changes depending on the force you apply, i.e., it gets thicker under pressure! In contrast, the viscosity of Newtonian fluids is relatively constant regardless of the force applied.), but the kids were too engaged with the texture to focus on the scientific explanation for the phenomena. Finally, we want to encourage sustainability by inviting volunteers to return and bring friends, creating a lasting impact.

On a personal level, these six weeks have been transformative. I've developed my teamwork, event organization, and communication skills, which will be invaluable as I aim to lead a diverse and inclusive research team in the future. Understanding different needs and maintaining clear communication is key, and I've learned to appreciate the importance of adaptability and creative problem-solving. I was particularly impressed with the usage of Notion as a project management tool. I found it to be highly organized and intuitive, making it easy to stay on top of our daily schedule and navigate to relevant documents. The way Notion allowed us to centralize all our project information, including meeting notes, task assignments, and deadlines, was incredibly helpful in keeping everyone on the same page. I'm grateful for this experience and look forward to applying these lessons in my future endeavours.