Otto Eden, while fulfilling the silver level, began helping the Romani children he taught to play soccer. Through his volunteer activity, he was able to experience a new world that he would not have encountered otherwise. Through this experience he was able to better understand the inequalities in society and also found that helping others was fulfilling and something he would like to continue doing.
During his journey to silver level, Otto also improved his 3D modelling skills and completed an expedition in the Giant Mountains. The gold level motivated Otto to take on a new challenge. Soccer had been a part of his life since he was young and his goal was to be as good as his coach and to be able to help train younger soccer players. In the beginning, he was worried that the younger footballers would not accept him because of the small age difference. He overcame this concern by designating coaching younger soccer players as a volunteer activity. This was a dream come true. While fulfilling the gold level, Otto went on to earn his C1 certificate in German and successfully completed his residential project and expedition abroad.
The DOFE programme motivated Otto to take on challenges. One of these challenges was sleeping in the garden, where he got there on snowshoes. He also came third in a national German debate competition entered by his German teacher. His experience led him to become a DOFE ambassador. He visited schools where he motivated students to join the program as well. Participating in the DOFE program taught Otto not to be afraid and to overcome himself. A year ago, together with two other students from Brno, he successfully founded the interns.cz portal, which enables teenagers from high school onwards to gain relevant work experience in the form of internships, lectures and various events. Now he is also starting his studies in Vienna and, as he says, he owes his success and determination mainly to DOFE.
