Lee la experiencia de Miguel Ángel en esta organización de servicio voluntario europeo sobre medio ambiente
Place
Prato, Italy
Dates
Activity period: 05-01-2017 until 04-01-2018
Deadline for Application Forms and motivation letters:
Hosting organisation
description of organisation
→ Environmental Education:
Every year Prato runs out projects on environmental education for schools and citizenship. More then 50 students’ classes of Prato (age 10-14 y.o.) will attend a course consisting in 2 seminars and a final workshop about ENERGY. EVS volunteers will support the staff of educators of Prato in specific tasks: preparing equipment for schools seminars, preparing pictures & presentations, support staff during the lessons, support students during activities and games on energy. EVS volunteers according to their knowledge of italian language may lead also the seminars with support of educators. During the year, Prato is also involved in other educational projects for schools. In case of activation of the following projects, EVS volunteers will be involved with the same tasks described above, including all the aspects related to promotion- advertisement (social network-mailing list- local press) of the environmental education activities that schools and groups may join in. Environmental education may take place at: Natural science center of Prato (www.csn.prato.it), inside schools of Prato, in public gardens and parks of the town, in prato’s office and or other contexts. Here’s some contents of environmental education activities:
1) Laboratories for young students on Animal and Biodiversity contents: Nesting and Homing of Animals, Animal’s footprints, Water and Energy Experiments.
2) Outdoor activities: Hiking in the natural protected areas of Prato. Our province has one of the largest extension of green areas in Italy. Prato wants to promote the culture of environment by involving students and citizenship to visit these heritage that are under their eyes.
3) Projects on WATER-CLIMATE CHANGE-MOBILITY
4) Environmental Education in the provincial Natural Reserve of Acquerino Cantagallo where Prato manage the Mountain Hut Rifugio Le Cave → European and International Volunteering: Prato promotes among youngsters the opportunity of the new ERASMUS+ programme as well as those ones related to international environmental workcamps ran out by national department of Volunteerism.
EVS volunteers will be involved in the action related to:
1) Organization of at least 3-4 info-days/seminar during the year, on Erasmus+ opportunities for young people of Prato. These events will be organized in several contexts: local youth centers, high schools, local center for youth employment and in collaboration with other local realities that are engaged in volunteering and social inclusion.
2) Organization of meetings/ info-point on Erasmus+-Volunteering opportunities in the office of Prato where young participants can ask to our EVS volunteers suggestions and useful details about EVS abroad, how to prepare a good candidacy, how to find hosting organizations. These informal meeting will favour also the local integration of evs volunteers with people from Prato.
This integration process can be enhanced by coupling these meetings to recreational activities which are available in our office: TennisTable – Tea point – Language exchange (tandem) or any other recreational activities proposed by EVS volunteers! Before the organization and general planning of the above mentioned activities EVS volunteers will be involved in the preparation of leaflets, advertisement on social network, mailing lists, website, local press and so on.
→ International Workcamps:
Prato is one of the local group that hosts international workcamps in several structures of the Province of Prato. The workcamps are set-up thanks to the collaboration with local municipalities of Prato (Vaiano-Montemurlo-Carmignano ect..).
During the summer in the last decade, Prato hosted several international workcamps where youngsters coming from all over the world joined local communities of the Province of Prato for 2 weeks. The main objectives of a workcamp consist in recovering natural areas or green urban places (public gardens-cycling pathways ect..) while living in a local community favoring integration, cultural exchange and knowledge of cultural heritage of less-known places of Italy. The concrete tasks of working usually consists in cleaning pathways or naturalistic areas, wood collecting, grass cutting. During afternoon and evenings there will be the opportunity to visit places in the surroundings, organizing dinners, games and happenings with the local community. EVS volunteers , after having gained experience of italian culture and the local communities of Prato will act as campleader during these workcamps and they will be supervised by the prato’s coordinator of workcamps. 2-3 EVS volunteers will attend a workcamp (usually 3 workcamps every summer) with the following task: -working in natural areas and organize the work shifts of the participants, -organize the shifts and the work related to clean and cook in the hosting structure. -Planning free-time activities inside the local community or in the close town
→ Rifugio “Cascina Le Cave” Rifugio
Le Cave is a mountain hut in the middle of natural reserve Acquerino Cantagallo in the Province of Prato. From April to November Rifugio Cave hosts tourists and trekkers as well as families, students groups who want to eat or sleep inside a wonderful green area. Evs volunteers are involved in hostelling and housekeeping activities giving their support to Prato’s staff. Main actitivities of the Rifugio are: cleaning rooms preparing and washing linens help in the kitchen (managing simple food items, clean&wash dishes, clean the kitchen) preparing tables and deliver meals to hosts preparing and collecting wood from the sorrounding hood mantain the temperature of the heater help costumers with their needs The activities related to hosting tourist inside Rifugio will be mainly during the week-ends from April to mid November according to metereological conditions that has to be evaluated case by case Rifugio “Cascina Le Cave” hosts also these activities where EVS volunteers will be involved: 1) Environmental Education projects: Young students of Prato together with their teachers can spend their stay in Rifugio Le Cave and adding also some environmental education activities: hiking – workshops on: Gardening, Honeybees, Deer’s love call, animals of the reserve and so on EVS Volunteers’ tasks is to support ‘s trainers in the group working, in the preparation for didactical supports and games, advertisement and promotion of environmental education acitivities through social network – local press – website and creation of leaflets and brochures. 2) Hiking in Natural reserve: Natural reserve of Acquerino Cantagallo (where the Rifugio Le Cave is displaced) is a popular destination for hikers and tourists of Prato.
Prato’ thanks to its environmental guides can arrange day or night hiking to gather people and showing them the importance of this natural heritage. EVS volunteers tasks’ is to support local guide during the hiking, monitoring the group of people while they are walking and support for any needs. Before the excursions, EVS volunteers will support all the advertisement actions to promote these initiatives and increasing the numbers of visitors. 3) Summer Camps and Youth Exchange: During the summer period Prato hosts 5 children summer camps in Rifugio Le Cave. Every camp lasts 1 week and hosts 20-25 children (8-14 y.o). EVS volunteers are actively involved in the 2 main tasks of the summer camp: support for housekeeping (see up for description) of Rifugio le Cave and support to environmental education – outdoor and hiking activities that has to be run out everyday for the group of children. Togheter with EVS volunteers there will be 2-3 responsibles of camps. EVS volunteers may be involved also in the administative tasks: such as collection of Inscription to summer camps, activation of cards for children. In case of activation, during summer period Youth Exchanges will take places in Rifugio Le Cave. Youth exchanges will involve 20-25 particapants all over Europe (age 16-25) focused on specific topics . EVS volunteers will be involved in the general organization of Youth Exchange including some collateral administrative tasks (gathering inscriptions of particapants and so on) as well as all the above mentioned tasks of the Rifugio Le Cave.
→Campaigns and Festivals: “Clean up the world”- “Energy Festival”- “Volunteering Festival”- “Festa dell’albero”.
These are local happenings lasting 2 or 3 days in different period of the year, directed to citizenship, students, families and youngsters in order to actively participate in wardship of common environmental/social values. EVS volunteers will support local staff of us in all the promotion, advertisement, development of the campaingns
Another important tasks of volunteers it to acquire acknowledgment on several national/international days during the years where environmental/natural heritage is celebrated (i.e international day of Soil, international day of humid zones ect….). Prato can organize at local level, events and happening related to this important dates. → The Garden in the theatre: workshop such as “Bamboo … the changing Garden”.
“Bamboo” is a theather show followed by a workshop in the outside garden where old shoes boxes will gain a “second life” thanks to humus and paper flower that children can build from re-used items! The garden boxes will enrich the biodiversity of the little outside garden. EVS volunteers will be involved in the environmental workshop supporting little children in building their own “garden box”. This is one of the first up-cycling experiment involving theater and environment in town! Incoming ideas and activities for 2016/17:
Youngsters Platform: Prato wants to realize a platform, physical (the office of the association or a similar place given by the municipality) and web, where the youngsters of Prato can meet for an exchange of ideas and proposals about the improvement of their local environment, suggest them to the public administration of the city, realize active citizenship projects through the new methodologies of citizen science, sustainable mobility and make contact with similar realities and initiatives in Europe. All the activities of that platform will be guided and coordinated by EVS volunteers.
Local Action in Movement: Prato will realize new activities about environmental education and healthy life-style in others cities of Tuscany and their local offices. EVS volunteers will help the team of the association during the activities of comunication and cooperation with the others offices, proposing at the same time new activities and promoting during these events the topics of european citizenship and international mobility that are characteristic of the Erasmus+ programm.
Europe over65: Prato is partner of a local project in Prato where generational and cultural exchange is foreseen thank to non-formal meeting with elderly people and young volunteer of our organization. I.E Local food recipes can be “exchanged” with Internet/English or computer lesson. Prato want to favour an exchange in order to enhance integration in local life and push volunteers to give their expertice in modern competences
Garden in the Theatre: Prato has had a very stong tradition in textile industry. In a small ex-industrial district close to city center raises “Fabbrichino” a theater that was born by an old industry. In the last 2 years “Fabbrichino” saw its second transformation…Infact this theater is now connected to a renewed garden where children, families and students can enjoy environmental experimental theatre actions. Prato collaborates with this local theatre company supporting them, thanks to the EVS volunteers, in theater performance and eco-laboratories for children. These incoming ideas can/can’t be activated according to local partnership and official approvement of projects. EVS volunteers will be always informed in advance in case of activation of these projects. Fostering Initiatives: At any time of the year EVS volunteers are encouraged to create new events, and recreational activities (for example: photo/video exibition, vernissage, photo marathon, seminars and so on) to carry out in prato office and/or Rifugio Le Cave and/or in collaboration with other local associations that cooperate with prato. Arrangements for activities: To carry out all the activities described so far, especially those concerns projecting preparation and advertisement, evs volunteers will have open access to prato office and pc. Shifts for operning the office will be organized toghether with the staff of and also the volunteers of italian civil service.
Who we are looking for?
Requirements needed are:
Motivation and interest in environmental/educational/youth topics
Availability for 12 months project
Willing to live together, share and cooperate with other 5 evs volunteers
Good proficiency in English language (both written and spoken)
Good command of Microsoft Office (powerpoint-excel-word) -Internet- Social network Requirements desired (but not needed) are:
Knowledge of Italian language (basic level is ok)
Knowledge of specific software (Adobe InDesign or Photoshop, WordPress for Websites, GIS-GPS software)
Video/Photo editing Selection of potential volunteers will be based on
Motivation Letter
Curriculum Vitae
Skype Interview that has to show interest and motivation for activities of us
What can we offer to volunteers?
Pratical arrangements →
Working time:
The number of working hours per day may vary according to different period of the year. The mean number of working time is 5-6 hours per day. During Summer, several engagements like summer camps for children, international workcamps, Rifugio Le cave hostelling will require a permanent stay up to 14 days in the place where those activities will occur. During the week, except for summer period (especially june-july-september), 2 days will be provided to volunteers with previous accordance with the responsible of project. 2 days holiday every month will be also guaranteed with previous accordance with responsible of project. Days off and holidays are intended to be flexible and cumulative in accordance with volunteers.
→ Accommodation:
The volunteers will live together in shared accommodation (apartment) in the historical center of Prato, close to the main kind of facilities and amusements. The apartment has 3 independent double bed – rooms with shared cooking, washing, laundry and bathroom. Every volunteer is expected to live together with other 5 volunteers. Cleaning, basic hygienic conditions, energy saving strategies (gas, electricity and water) of the apartment are expected to accomplished by volunteers trough a well defined plan of “living together” rules.
→ Monthly Allowance and Food Budget:
Pocket money is 115 euro every month for volunteers. Every volunteers will have 145 euro monthly to spend in 2 supermarkets (www.esselunga.it) of Prato with a credit card that will be provided by the association. During summer (summer camp and international workcamps) and hostelling activities in Rifugio Cave, evs volunteers will have meals for free)
→ Local transport:
Every volunteer will receive a card for urban bus transportation. Exceptional public transportation for extraurban travel related to tasks of the evs projects, will be reimbursed →Training and support of volunteers: the host organisation provides task related support through the responsible of project which are the people designated by Prato. Every month there will be 2 meetings with the EVS volunteers to planning the calendar of activities on a daily basis together with the responsible of EVS project and when possible also with the specific educators for every single activities foreseen! For every activities foreseen in this EVS project, responsible and educators of Prato will deliver to EVS volunteers all the useful information, training and tools to carry out their tasks.
The host organization identifies a mentor responsible for providing personal support to the volunteers and for helping them to integrate into the association. Mentor can plan individual and group meeting with the evs volunteers. The mentor has also a role in discussing the learning achievements with the volunteer at the end of the Activity period. The volunteers can turn to the mentor in case of problems. The volunteers will be actively involved in all activities and decision making and will be supported and trained by Prato staff. → Language support: ITALIAN Language course will be delivered by our NATIONAL AGENCY with the new ERASMUS+ tool “On-line Linguistic support” which is compulsory for every evs volunteers. Prato may identifies potential opportunities to learn italian thanks to collaboration with other association of Prato that may provide for free italian lessons to evs volunteers and immigrant people living in prato.
→ Travel costs:
Travel costs will be calculated in accordance with the European Calculator available at this webpage http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/tools/distance_en.htm According to the range-distance, the amount indicated by the above-mentioned tool will include the eligible costs for round trip and return (the final destination of the Travel is the town of PRATO-TUSCANY) Travel costs will be paid to the sending organisation or to the volunteer between the end date of the activity and the end date of the project.
How to apply
Building Bridges members and/or long term unemployed (proved by scanned document) will have preference to this volunteer service.
We will study carefully all application and selected candidates will be invite for Skype interview. The selection of volunteers will take place in the coming weeks.
For the selection of the volunteers we will need:
– Europass CV with picture (made in the last month) with skype name included
– Motivational letter, writing that your sending organisation will be “Building Bridges”. We ask all candidates to send a specific letter of motivation – why they want to volunteer with us rather than just a general EVS one. The volunteer is chosen according to his/her motivation and interest to the project and to the activities. It will be paid special attention to cover letters.
Remember to write in the motivation letter that your sending institution is “Asociación Building Bridges”.
All documents written in English you can attach below with subject: “EVS Italia Prato Ilaria YOUR NAME. YOUR SURNAME” to asociacionbbARROBAgmail.com
Andrés Jesús Fajardo Sánchez
31 octubre, 2016 at 10:08 amHola, se siguen buscando voluntarios para este voluntariado??
Yes Europa
14 noviembre, 2016 at 5:48 pmHola, no se buscan más voluntarios para este proyecto, ha sido cubierto por uno de nuestros usuarios, por favor mira otras vacantes, suerte!
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