Four young Dominicans are seeking funding to represent their country at a festival in Norway.
Four young Dominicans are seeking to raise around RD$700,000 to participate in the Trondheim International Student Festival (ISFIT 2027) in Norway, after being selected for the event, which will bring together university students from around the world from February 11 to 21.
To that end, they are requesting financial support to cover the travel and preparation costs they need for their participation in the festival.
The estimated budget for the four members is around RD$700,000 pesos and includes air tickets, visa procedures, travel insurance, transportation, and materials needed to prepare a space dedicated to showcasing representative elements of Dominican culture.
The students who aspire to represent the Dominican Republic on this international stage are: Alejandra Montero Luis, a student of diplomacy and international services at the Catholic University of Santo Domingo (UCSD); José Luis Rodríguez Metivier, an architecture student at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD); Franchesca Mabel Del Orbe, a science student at UASD; and Johanny Karina Ruiz Villanueva, an architecture student at UASD.
According to José Luis Rodríguez, one of the delegation’s representatives, airline tickets are the top priority, as they need the ticket information to confirm attendance and process visa applications.
“We must clarify that this figure corresponds to the four of us together and not to an individual budget. It is an approximate amount, which we continue to adjust as we receive quotes and define the expenses of our participation,” Rodríguez stated.
According to reports, the festival’s organizing committee set January 10, 2027, as the deadline for providing flight details, so the young people are seeking to secure financial backing “as soon as possible”.
How to collaborate?
The young people have been seeking support to finance their participation. To this end, they launched a fundraising campaign on the Whydonate platform under the name “Dominican Youth on the Road to Norway” and have established banking options to receive donations from those interested in contributing.
Those who wish to collaborate can contact José Luis Rodríguez Metivier by phone at 829-919-4617 or by email at [email protected].
Agents of change
For the delegation, this selection represents a step towards their aspiration to become agents of change in the country and the world.
They also believe this participation is an opportunity to show that youths in the country are interested in preparing themselves, developing projects, and seeking solutions to different social problems.
“This opportunity shows that our youth is not completely lost and continues to seek alternatives to have a better country,” he said.
ISFiT 2027 will have “Changing Winds” as its motto, a theme that addresses the political, climatic, technological, and social transformations the world faces and invites participants to reflect on and propose solutions to these challenges.
In that scenario, the four Dominicans hope to share their perspectives based on the country’s social realities and learn from the experiences of young people from other nations.
