| Short profile: | Europejskie Forum M³odzie¿y (EFM) is a body active at the European level organization from Bystrzyca K³odzka, focusing on youth projects. In our activities we work with a range of young people from all over the world, particularly with disadvantaged and those who have limited opportunities (e.g. caused by specifics of place they live in - small town and/or a rural area, disability). Our goal is to promote European awareness, passing on accurate and relevant information to youth groups and the local community about the EU integration process. EFM strives to develop local democracy and stimulate more involvement and desire to participate in the international activities and shaping up the future. Our activities include workshops and trainings, international youth exchanges, conferences, seminars, open air music events designed to effectively tackle the concerns of young people and the local communities. The target group of the organization's activity are generally young people from high schools and youngsters with fewer opportunities. The number of members of our organization is 100.
activities for EVS volunteers
Please explain:
- what you can offer to volunteers in terms of Service and learning opportunities,
- what will be the role of EVS volunteers in the Host Organisation,
- the activities in which the volunteers could be involved and the activities the volunteers could create in your organisation. Please give examples of typical activities for the volunteers.
There is a possibility for the volunteer to take part in a number of activities within our organisation, for example:
1) Offering non formal education opportunities in form of language conversations or discussions on actual themes for local people. Education of this sort provides an attractive alternative for youngsters to the rather formal school education, an opportunity to test out their acquired language skills in authentic conversations and to realize the importance of foreign language knowledge. For adults, these conversations will provide an opportunity to reactivate and improve long forgotten language skills and regain confidence in using them. Also, for the volunteer this will be an opportunity to practice his/her training skills. When it comes to offering language conversation in his/her mother tongue, this activity helps the volunteer reflect on the structure of its own language and see how foreigners react to it.
2) Visiting local schools as a guest to loosen up traditional language lessons (German, French, English) with a more personal and non formal approach, giving guest presentations about the volunteer`s home country or participating in European School Clubs. There are also various annual celebrations in our local schools ('European Day', summer fests, etc) that the volunteer can attend if he/she will be here during this time.
3) Participating in the monthly 'EuroWeek' camps for young people from all over Poland and leading presentations at these camps on various subjects (EU, stereotypes, the volunteer's country etc).
4) According to his/her interests and choice, the volunteer can work, from time to time, in organizing workshops on different topics (voluntary work, active citizenship, human rights, cultural awareness) in the schools from the region. As EFM cooperates since the beginning with the schools in the region, we can support partnerships between volunteers and teachers in order to implement these meetings.
5) Another example of a typical activity is the work in the kindergarten. The volunteer can join this activity by preparing and organizing different activities for the children in order to help them learn how to socialize, how to lose fears and how to play. There is also a request of basic English, German lessons for the children.
6) EFM is also cooperating with the Orphanage in Bystrzyca Klodzka. There the volunteers will organize meetings, workshops, and lessons for the children in order to show them what civic work means, that tolerance and human rights in general are values that must be respected. Also the volunteers will organize outside activities for the children, games, sports activities and walks in the forest. For the children it is very important to get in contact with our volunteers as they feel it a unique opportunity to learn about values in different countries.
7) DPS (house for old people) is another activity we support. There the volunteers can play bingo and other group games with the people hosted, can accompany them for a walk or help the staff in providing them with food. Other activities in the house can be: working together in the garden, assisting in therapy sessions.
8) Helping in the office with the sending of Polish young people to be volunteers through EVS, or with the writing of emails, making of phone calls or translation of texts which use the volunteer's language skills. Usually the volunteers participate in meetings with candidates for EVS in order to share their experience, to give advices, to promote their project. Volunteers are not required to work in the office but if they enjoy helping with these tasks or they require this experience they are welcome to help us in this way.
9) Writing for 'OKO', the monthly magazine published by volunteers for local young people. The articles included in the magazine concern different topics from film reviews to sports or world politics. For some volunteers this can be an opportunity to stay in touch with their favourite subject and express their feelings in certain concerns.
10) Working on up-dating the EFM website - designing the graphics, improving the layout or information, translating the texts.
11) Organising cultural events for local people using the skills or interests of the volunteer and the background of her/his country (e.g. concerts, exhibitions, theatre, dance or sport groups). The volunteer has the possibility to create any activities (in harmony with the project's aims) which they have enthusiasm to organise and they will have strong support from EFM to follow their initiative.
12) Taking part in the local initiatives - group EVS projects (for example: helping with the renovation of local park, helping to local schools organizing festivals for pupils, etc.)
13) Organizing events that aim at promoting cultural awareness and tolerance among the locals: European information campaigns, multicultural evenings, food festivals, etc.
The volunteers hosted in the project will chose to participate in different activities according to their skills and options. Therefore, the project is very flexible and the volunteer can combine three or four of the activities mentioned. This is also an opportunity for our volunteers to learn how to manage their own schedule according to the activities they chose.
Through this project, volunteers will have the opportunity to learn the following:
- how to create and manage youth projects,
- how to prepare and lead language classes,
- how to work with youngsters and children,
- how to work with old and disabled people,
- how to work with a group; methods of team building, communication and integration,
- an introduction to working with people from different cultures,
- how to organize local initiatives,
- how to cooperate with people with different backgrounds.
Most of the time, the volunteer will work in a group, sharing the work with volunteers from other countries. This atmosphere and task-sharing is aimed to promote common understanding among the group, and allow them to share their problems and also have fun together.
At the beginning of the volunteer's programme, he/she will be introduced to their duties by their coordinator of the activities, other volunteers, or a teacher (in the case of work within schools) but it is hoped that the volunteer will soon learn to carry out their activities alone and increasingly require less assistance.
All tasks performed by volunteers do not substitute professional work. The volunteer's tasks do not contain an administrative character because full-time employees of EFM perform these tasks. Tasks are not designed to achieve profit because EFM is a non-profit organisation with no aim to make financial gain from their activities.
Throughout their project, the volunteer will receive Polish lessons. There will be two 90 minute lessons provided a week.
Volunteers work five days a week, usually for 6 hours a day, with weekends free. When it is necessary for volunteers to work a day at the weekend they receive a free day in the week to compensate for this. All volunteers also receive two days holiday a month, which can be used anytime during the project with agreement from the mentor.
C. Volunteer profiles and recruitment process
Europejskie Forum Mlodziezy will work together with the future partner organizations to recruit young participants aged between 16 and 30, as the project includes, also, youngsters with fewer opportunities. For the activities, we will try to select an equal number of boys and girls as EFM wants to promote gender equality within its activities. The candidate for a place as a volunteer in the activities designed should be willing to integrate and socialize into a new culture and to show an open-minded behaviour. He/she will have to be ready to learn how to cooperate and work in an international group and how to accept people that are different and that might face problems. What is more, the participant should be prepared to communicate any kind of difficulties he/she faces, to discuss problems and to enter a new learning process. To constitute a good candidate for a volunteer the applicant has to be enthusiastic about working with people that find themselves in a difficult situation in life and also, the future volunteer should be flexible and willing to explore new challenges. The interests and skills of the volunteer candidate may vary. We will mainly concentrate on selecting youngsters that are willing to be innovative and to implement their own ideas. There is very important to mention that the profile mentioned above is just for orientation. Specific qualities and skills are not required for the candidate to be selected.
To ensure the quality of our projects, we will make sure that our partners are reliable and focused on the same main objectives as our organization. By establishing a strong partnership with our partners we will make sure that we provide a correct dissemination of information and a transparent selection process in all countries participating in our future project. All in all, our future partner organizations will work together with us as hosting organization, for making sure that the vacant places are available for a wide range of candidates and that the volunteers are well prepared and well integrated in the project.
For the selection process it is especially important for us to keep in constant contact with our partners. Together we will collect applications of possible candidates, select those who apply according to the profile of the volunteer and decide about choice of the volunteer. For that, EFM will make sure that all future partners will agree on the same profile and selection criteria for the future participants. Before submitting an application the candidate will be informed about all the selection criteria, as well as about all stages of the selection process in order to keep the selection process open and transparent. He/she can contact the sending organization for any further details concerning every stage of the process on the road to becoming a volunteer. Any other piece of information that he/she will request will be made available during the whole application process. If the organizations involved in the selection process will decide that the profile of the candidate is not suitable for any of the activities included in the project, he/she will be informed about the final decision and the reasons for the rejection. This does not mean that the candidate does not have another chance to apply for any other project. What is more, the sending organization will provide him/her with guidance for a new application.
D. Number of volunteers hosted at the same time
In order to keep the quality of our project at a certain level and have our volunteers satisfied to participate in activities within the frame of an international group, EFM has developed, in time, the capacity to host the following numbers of volunteers at the same time:
According to the activities and the capacity of the partner institutions that provide the frame for the hosting of the volunteers we can host:
- 9 volunteers at the same time in combined activities like: office work, up-dating the web-site, organizing language conversations, participating in Euroweek camps, writing for OKO magazine, preparing workshops for the pupils in the schools from the region. (the volunteers will be hosted in these activities for 6 to 12 months)
- 4 volunteers can participate at the same time in activities that aim at helping villages and small cities in the region by working in small environmental projects. (the volunteers will be hosted in these specific activities for maximum 2 months)
- 3 volunteers can work at the same time in activities prepared for the old people in the DPS house and in the Orphanage. (they will be hosted also for a short-term period - maximum 1 month)
In conclusion, Europejskie Forum Mlodziezy can host a number of 16 volunteers at the same time and offer them different activities. For hosting the long term volunteers, our organization has rented flats, with all the utilities, in the cities. For the short term volunteers we work together with hosting families that provide also the meals and mentor support.
E. Special needs
EVS projects that include youngsters with special needs have to pay special attention to the methods selected in the preparation and in the providing of support for those youngsters that will need it. Thus, EFM and other partner organizations will provide special mentorship and trainings to all volunteers involved. For dealing with their problems and to prepare them for the learning process that they will enter once they go abroad for a voluntary service, the organizations involved will prepare special meetings and workshops, using creative artistic and innovative methods to help them overcome their fears in the project and their problems in real life. Our staff members have special preparation and education for dealing with youngsters with special needs. We will provide also, psychological support and mentorship for those volunteers that face emotional problems.
To accommodate youngsters with fewer opportunities we cooperate with host families that have already experience in dealing with different situations of this sort. We have permanent contact with the families and we have worked together with them for a long time already. From our experience in working with young people that come from different backgrounds we have learned that giving them the opportunity to help the others is one of the most efficient therapies. Therefore, we try to involve them in all kinds of activities: educational, environmental, social, civic.
F. Risk prevention, protection and safety
In order to be able to supervise the volunteer properly we will offer him/her to live in a rented flat in the same city with his/her mentor. In any critical situation our staff is available for helping. The volunteer will have all necessary phone numbers and will receive instructions on the day oh his /her arrival. What is more, Bystrzyca K³odzka is small town with little criminality. This makes it easy for our staff to monitor the activities of the volunteer and it makes it safe for the volunteer to sped his/her free time in the city.
We will prevent risks and crisis by:
- offering support and guidance for the volunteer all the time before, during and after the Service
- actively integrating the volunteer in the local community (through language classes, activities and events organized within the community)
- providing the access to medical and psychological help if needed, always accompanied by a translator in case of language problems
- upon arrival the volunteer will be informed about his/her rights and duties and consequences put in action if his/her behavior is not acceptable
- informing the volunteer where to get the fastest help from (nearest police station, hospital etc.)
- providing the volunteer with close guidance how to behave within the new community
- offering conflict management with the help of a mentor
- offering accessibility to means of communication (telephone, Internet etc.)
For those volunteers who are younger than 18 or face special problems, we will offer a home with host familly and we will ensure special mentorship and guidance.
Motivation and EVS experience
Europejskie Forum Mlodziezy (EFM) has been involved in European Voluntary Service since the year 2001. Ever since that time we have been cooperating with the YOUTH and Youth in Action Programme, sending people on short- and long-term projects throughout Europe. Since 2002 we have hosted and coordinated long-term projects, have been working with three schools in K³odzko. One year later we started coordinating short-term projects, for which we work with the local municipality as well as with the Social Help Centre. We furthermore act as a hosting organisation ourselves. Our experience concerning EVS is given consequently.
By sending young people from our area abroad, we give them perspective and hope for their future. The region has poor infrastructure and little or no free time opportunities as well as no opportunities for higher education, all important things to give young people a goal and a duty. Many of them get experience during EVS, which means how to be responsible and how to truly care about a task. They broaden their horizons and carry their newly gained optimism back to their home. In coordinating various projects, we tighten the social structures of our areas and enrich our community's life. Also we give young people from other countries the chance to get to know Poland, a country often under estimated especially in Western Europe.
We contribute to international cooperation within the borders of Europe but also we support the coming together of European and non-European cultures, and we believe the all sides benefit from this exchange of knowledge, perspective and attitude. This is of especially great value in our region because it is fighting against high unemployment. Most young people we send (as well as some of those we host) come from backgrounds which grant them fewer opportunities. We want to give them the chance to step out of their environment and to achieve something, to believe in themselves, set goals and reach them. It is our aim to grant European integration to everyone alike. |
