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c e s i et h e w o r l d i s o n l y o n e c r e a t u r e
Project Number: 2014-3-IT03-KA105-004393
Learning experiences from EVS volunteers within the project
“Many Opportunities Real Equality”
c e s i et h e w o r l d i s o n l y o n e c r e a t u r e
Project Number: 2014-3-IT03-KA105-004393
Learning experiences from EVS volunteers within the project
“Many Opportunities Real Equality”
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible
for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
c e s i et h e w o r l d i s o n l y o n e c r e a t u r e
INDEX
I. EVS MORE project in brief
II. Six months of continue growth: Francesca’s experience in Portugal
III. Widen your horizons: Laura’s experience in Turkey
IV. Get out of the normal life: Giada’s experience in France
V. Inside a border free bunker: Emanuele’s experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina
VI. After climbing this big mountain the skyline is breathless: Tim’s experience in Germany
VII. EVS as a powerful instrument of personal development: Ludovica’s experience in Slovenia
Annex I: What is European Volunteering Service?
Annex II: useful links
Contacts
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IEVSMOREprojectinbrief
Many Opportunities Real Equality (MORE) has been a 24-month project co-funded by theErasmus+programme(KA1–Youthmobility),coordinatedbyCESIE.FromFebruary2015 to January2017,20youngpeople living in Italyhad theopportunity tocarryoutanEuropeanVoluntaryServiceinsomeEuropeancountries:BosniaandHerzegovina,France,Germany,Portugal,Slovenia,Turkey.Theprojecthadtwodifferenttypeofservice:shortterm(2months)involvingyoungsterswithfewer opportunities and long term (6 months) involving young NEET (not involved ineducation,employmentortraining).MOREallowedbothtargetgroupsto:
• increasepersonal, social andprofessional skills through theactivities in the receivingorganisations
• improve intercultural, social and civic competences through the contactwith peoplefromotherculturesandbackgrounds
• foster solidarity and tolerance and active citizenship through the relationships withothervolunteersandlocalstaff
• developautonomy,independence,self-confidenceandEuropeanawarenessthankstoliving in different contexts than their own, with new people, conditions andresponsibilities.
Belowyouhaveanoverviewofallthemobilities:HOSTINGCOUNTRY
HOSTINGORGANISATION N°OFVOLUNTEERS
DURATION OF THEMOBILITY
BosniaandHerzegovina
CARPEDIEM"DOBOJ 2 6months
France PISTES-SOLIDAIRES 2 6monthsGermany Gesellschaftfür
Europabildunge.V.2 6months
Portugal ProAtlântico - AssociaçãoJuvenil
2 6months
Slovenia Kulturno izobrazevalnodrustvoPiNA
2 6months
France SOLIDARITESJEUNESSESMCP 4 2monthsPortugal Espírito de Mudança -
AssociaçãoJuvenil4 2months
Turkey SistemveJenerasyonDernegi 2 2monthsInthefollowingpages,youhavetheopportunitytodiscoveralittlebittheseexperiencesthroughtestimoniesofthesomeEVSvolunteers.
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IISixmonthsofcontinuegrowthFrancesca’sexperienceinPortugal
“ItisaroundamonthIhavejustcamebacktoItalyafter6monthsofthemostbeautifuladventureofmylifetillnow.MynameisFrancesca,I’m25andIhavebeenaEuropeanvolunteerinPortugal.Myprojectwasdividedintotwoparts:takingpart inactivitieswithelderly inadiurnalcentreinthe morning while with children and guys in the afternoon.Sometimes I’mworked togetherwith the local food bank andonce aweekwithmy hosting organisation’s office job. It hasbeen a continuous fun: despitemy inexperiencewith elderly Ifoundinallofthemgrandparents!Morethanmetothem,theyhavegiventome,justsharingwithmeevenonlyalook,fullofexperienceandhistorieswhich I startedunderstandingstepbystep, as time goes by. Furthermore they taught me sewing,that’s an impossible thing to do forme till now. Together wetriedtosewthegreatestcoveroftheworld.Everydaywewerecommittedtounite in linesof9woolsquares fromallpartsofPortugal… The day of the cover exposition has been amagnificent party. With children and guys, despite my initialdifficultywith the language, it has been a bit easier, givenmyexperienceasvolunteerinacentreofmycity.Isupportedthemdoinghomeworkafterschool,playing,visitingmuseums,takingabathinthefrozenoceanandspendingdaysatthepark.Theseare someof theactivitieshappened in these6months together.And then, theyhavebeen thebestmasters:theirpatienceintoexplainingeachnewwordforme,I’llremembereverytimeI’mlosingmytemper.Andthenthereisthebestpart:knowingalotofpeoplefromeachpartoftheworld.Livinginahousewithboysandgirlsneverseenbefore,withadifferentculturethanyours(inparticular fromTogo,Poland,TurkeyandUruguay)and learningtoget toknowthemdaybyday; themanagersandthevolunteersof thecentres;elderly thesameandguys,everyonewithdifferentstories.Therefore,EVSisalsobuildingrelationshipswhichwilllastforthewholelife.Yesbecauseduringthatmonthstheyaren’tsharedonlyspacesbuttheyhavebeensharedemotions,experiences, habits, moments of loneliness and moments of pure happiness, travels, parties,drunksafterparties,concerts,eveningthè,moviesandrecipes;momentsthatwillstayindelibleinthe memory. In conclusion, they have been six months of continue growth and discovery ofmyself.AnexperiencethatIwouldrepeatotherthousandtimes”.
Francesca,EVSvolunteerhostedinPortugalbyProAtlânticofor6months
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IIIWidenyourhorizons
Laura’sexperienceinTurkey“EVS is a great experience that everyone should enjoy at least once in life. It is an uniquepossibilitytogetintouchwithanewculture,toknowdifferentpointofviewsandtomeetmanynewpeople fromverydifferentbackgrounds,withdifferentreligionsandtraditions. Itgivesyouthechancetowidenyourhorizonsandstretchyourmindtonewrealitiesandatthesametimeyouhavetheoccasiontovolunteer,beingusefulandhelpfulforotherpeople.My arrival in Turkey couldn’t have been better. Turkish people are extremely friendly andhospitableandmyhostingorganization(SystemGeneration)hasanamazingteamofpeople,whodideverythingwaspossibletomakevolunteersfeelingcomfortableandwelcomeandwhotookreally good care of all of us. They provided us an introductionwhere they explained us all thedetails about EVS project and our tasks and they provided us Turkish classes once per week.DuringmystayinTurkeyIalsohadthepossibilitytotakepartinanincrediblyinterestingtrainingcourse inKayseri about theyouthemployment challenges,whichvolunteers fromeverypartofTurkeyattended.DuringmyEVSprojectinAnkaramytaskwastoraiseawarenessoftheErasmus+projectsamongyoung people and encourage youth mobility. In order to do that we went to visit severaluniversitieswherewe toldour stories to the students, telling themhow to find theseprojects,howtoapplyandhowwewerefeelingaboutourexperiences.Evenmore,we opened an info point in our officewhere young peoplewere
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alwayswelcometocomeandlearnsomethingmoreaboutvolunteering.Besidethistask,whenIarrivedinAnkaraImetseveralvolunteers,eitherfrommysameorganizationandfromotherones,togetherwehadtheideatoopenaschoolforrefugeechildreninKeçiören(aneighbourhoodinAnkarawere thenumberof refugees in incredibly high). In twoweeks,without any sponsor ordonation, only with the support of my hosting organization and Keçiören municipality, wemanagedtofindsomerooms,whichwecoulduseasclassrooms,somedidacticmaterialsandabustopickupthechildrenfromtheirhomes.Westartedthisprojectwith25childrenandnow,afterlessthantwomonths,wehost60children.Manyofthemcouldneverattendanyeducation,theotherhadtoquittheirstudiesandnoneofthem could speak Turkish. In this school we provide them Turkish, English, Arabic and mathsclasses, in parallelwith someworkshops and educative games. At the same timewe have alsoorganizedsomeTurkishclassesforthechildren’sfamilies.Our aim is to contribute to the reduction of vulnerability of refugees by improving the level ofeducation of children and increasing awareness, cohesion and mutual understanding betweenrefugees,localpopulationandEuropeancitizens.EVS has been for sure the best experience ofmy life, it taughtmemany things, increasedmyvocationaltraininganddevelopedmypersonality”.
Laura,EVSvolunteerhostedinTurkeybySistemveJenerasyonDernegifor2months
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IVGetoutofthenormallifeGiada’sexperienceinFrance
“I decided to apply for an EVS opportunity in France after two years of working experiencewhichtakesmetoaperiodthatcouldbeconsideredas"interiorcrises".IthoughtthattheEVSprojectcouldbeagoodopportunitytomakenewexperiencestowardsvolunteering,totravelandgetprofessionalskills.EVScangivethechancetogetoutofthenormallife,furthermore,the involvement in volunteering activities and in amulticultural environment can enrich ourcultural baggage and influence ourway of thinking. Threemonths ago I left from Sicilywithspecificgoals:workwithpeopleofdifferentnationalities,understandtheNGO'swork,acquireprofessionalskillsandimprovemyFrench.DefinitelyIwantedtodothatbyfindingoutanewcountry:France!
IarrivedinPau,whichiscalledthe“PortedesPyrénées”,inacoldandrainyeveningofMarch.PistesSolidaires,myhostorganization,isano-profitassociation,NGOandEuropeDirectwhichaimstopromotetheknowledge,skillsandattitudeofjusticeandequalitynecessarytoliveinaintercultural society and interdependent world. Education is the heart of their associativeproject which is promoted through some main actions: non-formal education, educationalmobility, socio-cultural development and European cooperation. My EVS,“More: ManyOpportunities Real Equality”, consists of different duties such as to deal communication,assisting the project manager,managing and implementing projects already
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approved but also to promote the knowledge of European Union in primary school. Inthemonth of May, in addition to the normal activities,we have madeelaboration, promotion,implementationandevaluationofdifferentactivitiesaimingtopromoteEuropewithinEuropeDirectactivitiesinsecondaryschoolsandotherplacessuchassquares,shoppingcentersetc.During theEuropeanmonthourdaily activitiesmainly consisted inplanningand carryingoutmeetings, training andevents for selectedgroupsof youths,with theaim tounderstand theimpactof theEuropeanUnion inourdaily life and improve knowledge throughnon-formalactivitiessuchasfreediscussions,quizzes,sketches,gamesetc..Everydaywasanewchallenge;lifeischaracterizedbythesuccessionofopportunitiesofeducativediscussionsandboringandangrymoments,atworkaswellasathome.Icansaythatthesefirstfourmonthshavebeenquitepositive.EachdayIlearntsomethingnewand I usedmy creativity to plan and organise activitieswith the other volunteers. I had thechancetotravelalotaroundFranceandSpain,asforworkaswellforholiday.ThemostsignificantthingaboutmyfirstmonthsofEVSisthatI learnthowtowork, interactandcooperatewithpeoplecomingfromdifferentcountrieswithacompletelydifferentsocialandeducationalbackground”.
Giada,
EVSvolunteerhostedinFrancebyPISTES-SOLIDAIRESfor6months
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VInsideaborderfreebunkerEmanuele’sexperienceinBosnia
“Beforemyarrival inDoboj Ididnotknowa lotaboutBosniaandHerzegovinaandeverything Iknew was from television during the conflicts in 90s. In addition, I did not know about theexistence of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina where Doboj is located. I was quiteconfusedabouttheBalkanhistorywhenImovedinDoboj,andItriedtobemoreopenminded,soIaskedlocalpeopleandheardtheirstoriestohaveabiggerpictureofthesituation.I listened at the “contradictions” to better understand the environment. I call them“contradictions”becauseitcouldhappenthatpeoplewhogotinvolvedinextremesituationslikewar they refused to agree with the historical facts by focusing more on their own personalexperience, their victim statusoroften reporting somethingdifferent comparingwithbooksorarticleIfound.Iunderstoodthatpoint.ItwasnoteasyformebeasimplelistenerespeciallywhenIheardstoriesaboutthecivilwarhappenedbetween1990and1995,becausewarbroughtabigchangeineveryfamilyofthetown.IadmitthatduringtheseepisodesIfeltuncomfortable.IreceivedareallywarmwelcomefromthelocalsandIfeltaconnectionwiththemsincetheverybeginning.Ilikedthetown,inparticularthemedievalfortressandtheviewfromtheriverBosna.Atfirst,Inoticedmanytracesofwarlikebulletholes,damagedrooforminefieldsighs;aftertwomonths,Istartedignoringsuchaestheticpresenceconsideringitsomesortofdecorativepattern.Ienjoyed the kaphana, pubs, and the traditionalmusic, andas I amvegan, krompiruša (piewithpotatoes)andticvica(zucchini)mademydayseveraltimes.
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I worked six months in the Youth Center as EVS volunteer in cooperation with Carpe Diemorganizationthatgavemethechancetoimplementmyinitiatives.TheYouthCenterissituatedinaBunkerwhohasbeendamagedbythefloodin2014andrecoveredwiththeeconomicalsupportoftheNorwegianEmbassy.DuringmyEVS,Iorganizedmanyeventstopromotehumanrights,peaceandculturalexchanges.The contrast between the place (bunker) and the topics we dealt have been quite interesting.Sometimes it has not been really easy to cooperate with the local organization, e.g. when Iorganized an event to support LGBT rights (http://doboj.news/doboj-protiv-diskriminacije/). Itturnedoutthatitwasthefirsttimelocalpeoplegettoknowthistopic,andIhavetoconfessthatbesidesstereotypesandprejudices,Ihadtofaceinsultsandthreats.Living intheBalkans hasbeen important formebecause IwantedtogettoknowmoreontheEuropeanmigrantcrisis,especiallythroughtheBalkanroute.Ihavealwaysbeeninterestedinthistopic,andIfeltpowerlesssomanytimes.Inaddition,Ileftmyhometown,Palermo,wheremanypeople were arrived after being rescued at the Sicily Channel therefore I needed to clarify tomyselfthiscomplextopic.ItriedtochangemypointofviewandIfocusedonmyselfasastrangerinaforeigncountry,Iwasthe“migrant”The explanation has come at first as a doubt. I wondered if privileges are the consequence ofabsenceof privileges for someoneelse. I thought about Europe, and I thought again about theword“contradictions”.MyexperienceinDobojendedthefirstofMarch,andwhatIhavelearnedisthatIdidn’tchoosetobornasItalianbutIgotsomeprivilegesinanycase,andIcanbeamigrant,ifIwant.Ihavemoreopportunities, freedom, and I can choose to move to a European country that suits memoreaccordingtomy interestsor jobopportunities. I thoughtaboutall thosepeople thatdon’thavethe same freedom as I do, the one escaping from violence, the ones how died on theway toEurope piled up inside trucks through the Balkan route or among the waves of hope in theMediterraneansea.That’swhatIreallylearned.TheEuropeanVoluntaryServicethoughtmethatFreedomcannotbeaprivilegebutarightthathastobeextendedtoeveryonewithoutconditions,fromnowon.Iamoutsidethebunkernow”.
Emanuele,EVSvolunteerhostedinBosniaandHerzegovinabyCARPEDIEM"DOBOJfor6months
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VIAfterclimbingthisbigmountaintheskylineisbreathless
Tim’sexperienceinGermany
“I´mwritingthisreportafter13daysfromtheendofmyfantasticexperienceasavolunteerwiththefeelingofmelancholy,becausenowallthememoriesarescrollingdowninmybrainandImissthat time. In thissixmonth Ihadwhat Iexpectedwhen Idecidedtoapply fora EVS. The firstgoodthingwasBerlin:itissuchabeautifulandcosmopolitancity,whereispossibletofindeverykindofpersons,andthepeopleisreallyopen-minded,soItiseasyheretocreatenewfriendships.Thesecondreason is theGEBTeam, is likea family, theysupportedmeandstilldoingwith theGermanbureaucracy,duringandaftermyEvs.When I applied todoEVS I alreadyknew that itwouldbe a challenge forme, towritenewpagesofmy life. I alwayshavebeenopen tootherpeopleofdifferentcountriesanddifferentbackgroundsandsoIwasboredlivinginasmalltownwhere life seems the same everyday andletme say that in Italy the conditions foryoungsters to finda jobarenoteasy.Mylifechangedforthegood.IlearnedthingsthatIdidn´tknowIwasabletodo,suchasseek and find home, managing differentgroups from different countries withdifferent language and background. I gotused to live by my own, I becomemoreresponsiblebecauseIdidn´tfeelanymoretheprotectionthatIfeltwhenIlivedwithmymotherandfather,eveniftheysupportedme,butnowindifferentway.Ihadtheamazingfeelingtotestmyabilities,tounderstandwhatIamabletodoandtosolvemyproblemsbymyself.ThankstothisindependenceIwasabletodiscovermyskills,forexamplethelanguage.NowinBerlinIusedtospeakstandardfourtongues:Albanian,Italian,EnglishandGerman.AnotherreasonwhyIdidmyEVSisthatIstronglybelieveinErasmusPlusProgram.IwasreallyhappywhenIreceivedthenewsthattheyselectedmeandIwasreallyhappyeverytimeIsawhappinessonthefaceoftheyoungsters when they finished their stage. The goal of this program is to make peopleindependent,justlikewhenIheardfromtheBelgianstudentsthatafterfewdays,theywereabletomoveinBerlinbetterthantheirteachers.ThatwasMagnificenttohearit,andalsoIwasableafterfewweekstogivedirections(mixedGermanwithEnglish)tothepeople.IreallysuggesttoallyoungstersthatliveeverywheretodoEVSinEuropeandallovertheWorldbecauseit’sanamazingexperience.LikeeverybeginIcansaythatitsnoteasybutafterclimbingthisbigmountaintheskylineisbreathless”.
Tim,EVSvolunteerhostedinGermanybyGesellschaftfürEuropabildunge.V.for6months
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VIIEVSasapowerfulinstrumentofpersonaldevelopment
Ludovica’sexperienceinSlovenia“I’dliketopresentmyself:mynameisLudovica,I’m23andatthebeginningof2015IdecidedtotakeparttoaEuropeanVoluntaryService’sproject.After a degree in Applied Interlinguistic Communication andmore or less short experiences ofstudyandvolunteering in Italyandabroad, I lookedforanewchallengewhichwouldallowmenot only to travel but also to learn and to contribute to the community of another Europeancountry.ThankstoCESIEIfoundEVSM.O.R.E.projectwhichtookmetoliveandworkatPiNA,aculturalassociationinthecityofKoper,inSlovenia,fromthebeginningofApriltotheendofSeptember2015:fatestoodonmysidebecauseIdiscoveredthisopportunityexactlyintheafternoonofthelastdaytoapplyfor!
So out of hand, finding a project there in Koper, afterthreeyearsofstudyinTriesteandanErasmusprojectinCroatia, it almost made me laugh: between manydestinationsIstriaandEaststillcalledme!Inshort,itwasanironicsignofdestiny.WhenIarrivedinKoperIjustknewthattheprojecttopicswould be European planning and non-formal education,butactually ithasbeenmuchmore: Iwas involved inamyriadof activities, from theparticipation to themediaarts festival Invisible Cities to the organisation of theEuropeanDayofLanguages;fromtheselectionofyoungadults like me for training experiences abroad to thecreation ofmy project Erasmus+ proposal; fromwritingarticles in English to the participation to a workshopwithin an intercontinental capacity building project andmuchmore.Evenmorethinkingbackondifficultiesmetalongtheway
(andtherehavebeensomuch!)nowthattheprojectisfinishedandthatIdon’tcomeanymoreinthatreddooreverymorning,IknowEVSallowedmetomeetpeople-colleagues,volunteersandfriends-Iwillalwaysbringwithme,itmademeevenmoreindependentanditputmetothetestinthemostdisparatesettings.NowadaysIcanseeEVSasapowerfulinstrumentofpersonaldevelopment,ofcourse,butalsoasan unmissable opportunity to reinforce connections among European citizens and having, asyoungpeople,aconcretesocialimpact…so,whatareyouwaitingfor!?”.
Ludovica,EVSvolunteerhostedinSloveniabyKulturnoizobrazevalnodrustvoPiNAfor6
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months
ANNEXI
WhatisEuropeanVolunteeringService?
Description EVS (European Voluntary Service), a programme of internationalvolunteering funded by European Commission, allow young peoplefrom 17 to 30 years old to complete a voluntary experience in anorganisationinEUandthirdcountriesforminimumof2weeksandamaximum of 12 months. EVS volunteer has the opportunity tosupport the daily work of the hosting organisation working ineducational, social and cultural field and targeting different groups(children, migrants, youngsters, disabled people etc.). Meanwhile,EVSvolunteersfollowalearningpathinnon-formaleducationaimingto acquire and strengthen transversal competences. Finally EVSpromotes solidarity and a deep cultural and relational exchangeamongEVSvolunteerandlocalcommunity.
Duration From2weeksto12monthsHowmanytimes? It ispossibletotakepartonlyin1EVSproject; ifthevolunteertook
part inashort-termEVS(maximum59days), it ispossibletotakeinanadditionalEVSproject.
Costs Expensesofboardandlodgingarefullycoveredbytheprojectaswellaseventual localtransportsusedforEVSactivities.Thereturntravelcostsarecoveredbyamaximumdependingondistancebetweenthedeparture and arrival place(http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources_en#tab-1-4 ). EVS volunteers get also a free chargemedical insurance andlocallinguisticsupport.
Whocanparticipate Peoplefrom17to30yearsold.Participantsmustberesident inthecountryoftheirsendingorganisation.
Moreinformation Erasmus + Programme Guide, pag. 78https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/sites/erasmusplus/files/files/resources/erasmus-plus-programme-guide_en.pdf
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ANNEXII
Usefullinks
• Erasmus+programme:http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus_en
• Education,AudiovisualandCultureExecutiveAgency(EACEA):http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/index_en.php
• ItalianAgencyforyouth:http://www.agenziagiovani.it/
• ListofotherNationalAgencies:http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/contact_en
• EVSinformation:https://europa.eu/youth/EU/voluntary-activities/european-voluntary-service_en
• EVSorganisationsdatabase:https://europa.eu/youth/volunteering/evs-organisation_en
Contacts
[email protected],9490133–Palermo,ItalyTel:+390916164224Fax:+390915640816www.cesie.org
c e s i et h e w o r l d i s o n l y o n e c r e a t u r e
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible
for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
CESIEVia Roma, 94
90133 – Palermo, ItalyTel: +39 0916164224 Fax: +39 0915640816
www.cesie.org
Learning experiences from EVS volunteers within the project
“Many Opportunities Real Equality”
