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On the 26th of June 2020 we hosted our first virtual Anti-Racism Event “Hear Our Voices, Racism is Our Experience” that was prompted by our social media campaign.

Eva is originally from Brazil. She came to Ireland in 2013 to study English. Eva worked in the hospitality sector when she first came to Ireland, working in Restaurants in Dublin. Eva move to Navan in 2017 but struggled to get a job.

‘I would go to the library every day. I would send lots of CVs. I must have sent over 200 CVs while I was looking for a job. From March 2018 to October 2018 I was looking for work. It felt like such a long time’.  

I started the Cambridge Business English classes with Cultúr in September 2018 and started working with Pauline the Job Coach around that time. First, I want to thank Joanna, who was my first contact and was always helpful and made me feel welcome.

Second, I want to thank Pauline for her help. When I started the course in Cultur I had been looking for a job for a while, and my meetings with Pauline helped me to improve my CV, and gave me confidence in my skills. At first, I found a temporary 3 months job, that now has been renewed for the third time and will lead me to a permanent position.  I want to thank all the teachers. With their guidance I approved the Vantage test of Cambridge Business English.

Thanks to all of you! You made a big difference in my life.

Eva is now really happy with her position and looks forward to what the future holds for her.

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My name is Zkriat  and I have been a member of Cultúr for seven years now. I first found out about Cultúr through one of my friends who referred me to their women’s group in 2013. In 2014 I became the leader of the women’s group but I stepped down as leader in September last year due to personal reasons. The women’s group is a safe place for women to go to talk about their issues and struggles with people who can empathise and help them with some of their issues. It is a place where women feel empowered and make new friendships.

Other than being a part of the women’s group I have also taken part in many other courses and events with Cultúr such as a jewelry making course in march 2018, integration training in june 2018, and a personal development course in 2019. I also participate in Cultúr`s monthly  migrant forum. These courses were very beneficial to me as I picked up many skills that I now use in my everyday life. I have also met many of my friends through these courses and find all the teachers to be very helpful.

In the beginning I found these courses to be especially hard for me as English is my second language. I had struggled greatly with English but through Cultúr I joined some English courses. English courses which I have taken part in included Cambridge Business English commenced in August 2017 and Cambridge English attended by me in 2018 and 2019. I feel these courses have really helped me to improve my English. Possibility to continuously attend consecutive course levels assures students progression in learning English.

Through Cultúr I have also been given many opportunities to further my education. Through Cultúr I have started a community development course at LMETB and I am now on level 5. In the future I hope to continue on with my education and find a place of employment.

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I participated in Cambridge Business English Course Vantage Level (B2) that took place from August to November 2019. This course took place twice a week over twelve weeks. The classes prepared me for the Cambridge Business English (BEC) Vantage Exam that I took place on 30^th of November 2019.

During this period, I have had a chance to meet other adult professionals who wanted to improve their business language skills. This course was essential for me as I was between jobs at that time and carving social interactions. I met great fellow students and we had the opportunity to learn from each other as well.

Classes were not limited to grammar and vocabulary. We also had a chance to improve speaking, presentation and writing skills and get a good knowledge of several business topics. During this time, I also took part in a carrier planning session. Which gave me the chance to get help with developing my CV. I also had a tremendous mock interview session.

The overall atmosphere and very positive feedback from my tutor John and job coach Pauline helped me to be more confident at interviews. I could now apply a more strategic approach and get better prepared for job interviews. After several rounds of these sessions, I got job offers from two separate companies Microsoft and Kaseya.

I took the course quite seriously, and I studied at home a lot. As a dyslexic  person, writing poses the biggest challenge for me. Therefore, I created several texts for possible topics, and my tutor was happy to correct them and give me useful tips.

I feel the exam went really favourably for me, and I secured enough points to get an A mark and a Cambridge Business English Certificate BEC on a C1 level.

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My name is Svetlana  and I am from Lithuania .

I have been living in Ireland for 8 years

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Before I took part in Cambridge English at Cultúr I was nervous about speaking English, I would usually get stuck repeating the same sentence over and over again. I was afraid to say any words, I was afraid to open mouth, I was afraid to make a mistake. I would stand in the corner of the room just to avoid any questions or conversations.

I now speak English at the beginner level, but I rarely use it in my daily life. I work as a housekeeper in a large Hotel and most of my day-to-day work is with Polish or Lithuanian people. At home and with my friends I mostly speak Lithuanian.

I went to English classes in Navan twice a week because I really wanted to improve my English. I had a dream of getting a new job, but I know that my English level was not high enough. I wanted to enjoy my life, to became stronger and confident when speaking English.

Deciding to take the Cambridge courses, was my best decision. I am still a little nervous but now I am not afraid to speak. I have learned some strategies and I know that I can do it step by step.

After completing the Cambridge English course, I have participated in meetings and made presentations and now enjoy talking with others. I think the most important thing is I have stopped feeling shy.