1 Plaza de voluntariado europeo en centro juvenil de Polonia

Te traemos este interesante voluntariado europeo en Polonia en una de las ciudades más bellas de Polonia, Gdansk, con un proyecto sobre juventud en cooperación con el centro juvenil de la ciudad.

project dates

Application Deadline: 15 th of March 2017

From June 2017 for 303 days (10 months)

project location

Gdansk, Poland

The city is located on the Baltic coast and is the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is Poland's principal seaport and the centre of the country fourth-largest metropolitan area. The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay (of the Baltic Sea), in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia,  Sopot and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a population approaching 1.4 million.

Gdańsk itself has a population of 460,427, making it the largest city in the Pomerania region of Northern Poland. The city's history is complex, with periods of Polish rule, periods of Prusso-German rule and periods of autonomy or self-rule as a "free city". Between the world wars, the Free City of Danzig was in a customs union with Poland and was located between German East Prussia and the so-called Polish Corridor.

Gdańsk was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement, formed in 1980, which played a major role in bringing an end to Communist rule in Poland and helped precipitate the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

project description

The volunteer will work with different target groups: local community, seniors, kids, young people, scouts, volunteers. The weekly work schedule of 35-40 hours of activity includes Polish language lessons, meetings with a mentor, time to prepare their classes and evaluation, too, besides the following tasks:

 to support in managing the daily tasks and events of Stowarzyszenie;

 to support in coordinating the activities that will take place in the Gdańsk Youth Center;

 the organization of workshops for the local community;

 carrying out simple forms of art/sport with children or seniors;

 providing help for teachers in the kindergarten and community center;

 writing blog articles and updating EVS Facebook page by telling his/her own stories, the stories of volunteers and projects from the area;

 to provide support in short, specific tasks/projects for our local partner organizations;

 to support in organizing and handling European lessons in schools (presenting their countries and promote EVS and volunteering);

 providing help in finding youth exchange partnerships for schools;

 to provide language lessons (English and the native language of the volunteer);

 the organization of evaluation materials for the participants of his/her activities;

 cooperating with other volunteers;

 suggesting and realizing his/her own ideas.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

Through the service the volunteer will be able to improve/acquire:

 skills to adapt to different environments, situations;

 skills to manage people from different age groups

 skills to project, implement and manage his/her own projects;

 skills to work in an international team;

 social skills and interpersonal communication;

 knowledge on different methods of non-formal education like discussion moderator, energizers or team building;

 knowledge of basic Polish language

 communication skills in English, Polish and other languages;

 knowledge about Polish culture;

 entrepreneurial attitude by proposing and implementing their own ideas;

 basic knowledge on managing an NGO and how to use a project to create a positive impact on society.

ABOUT YOU

We look for volunteers who are dynamic, creative, social, patient, innovative and determined about what they want to do. The volunteer has to be interested in working with seniors and children from different age groups. S/he needs to have some knowledge on youth policies in the EU (especially in his/her home country) and on the EU in general. Knowledge on social media is an advantage, too.

The volunteer should be motivated, willing to learn Polish, able to work in a team, be flexible and creative. We would like to host people who are able to present their own ideas, have a willingness to see and to do something new, and curious about the world and other cultures.

 training during the project

pre-departure training provided by Building Bridges

on-arrival training
mid-term training
trainings privided by coordinating oranisation

SELECTION CRITERIA

The volunteer needs to be minimum 18 years old, maximum 30 years old, coming from Portugal, Spain, France or Germany.

We are looking for someone who is aware of the meaning of volunteering, has knowledge on EVS and a positive attitude towards life. Having experience of working with kids/teaching is an advantage. The volunteer is required to have basic knowledge and communication skills in English.

ABOUT US

Established in 2002, Association is a non-profit non-governmental organization in Gdansk that focuses mainly on young people and youth leaders from the Pomeranian region. We have different aims for our activities:

1) increasing the activism in social and civic life of children, youth and youth leaders (e.g. by organizing meetings with youth in their schools).

2) encouraging young people to develop their creativity and to build respect for traditions (e.g. regional center of ”Youth in Action” Program).

3) providing promotion of youth information – since 2005 we have been developing our regional European Youth Information Network called “Eurodesk ” (at this moment it is the biggest Eurodesk Net in Europe – actually we have 32 points in Pomerania region). Moreover we also run European Commission information point – Europe Direct Gdansk.

In both information points we hold consultation for young people and for those who are looking for information on the EU (eg. about European funds).

4) providing complex support to youth leaders and youth organizations by information, financial support (Pomeranian Youth Found) and trainings.

Our organization also:

 helps unemployed people by running the Center of Social Integration in Osówek;

 supports non-formal groups organizing different kind of activities for scouts movement – working next to our association;

 provides learning opportunities for the elderly since 2013;

 runs the Neighborhood House project, where we offer a range of activities from arts classes to sport to the local community.

Weather

Gdańsk has a temperate climate, with cold, cloudy, moderate winters and mild summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms. Average temperatures range from −1.0 to 17.2 °C and average rainfall varies from 17.9 mm/month to 66.7 mm/month. In general it is a maritime climate and therefore damp, variable and mild.

Don`t forget to bring warm clothes and waterproof shoes with you. Also, an umbrella or raincoat can come in handy!

Workplace and accommodation

The project will take part in various places of Gdańsk, including the building of Association and the European Solidarity Center downtown (where our association has two offices).

The volunteers will be both working and living in the association building that is located at at Jaskowa Dolina 7, in Wrzeszcz, the economic district of Gdańsk, very well connected with other parts of the city (bus and tram stops are 4 mins on foot; bus and train station are 8 mins, public connections with the near cities or the airport).

Near our building there are a lot of different shops including supermarkets and clothes shops, there are shopping malls, banks, a public library and plenty of natural environments (you can easily reach the forest located behind our building or visit other parks by tram. The seashore is also convenient to go to: 20 mins by tram).

All EVS volunteers in our association are currently been hosted in a flat on the second floor of the association building at Jaskowa Dolina 7 (offices are located on the ground and first floor). The volunteers will be hosted here in their own single rooms, shared bathroom and full equipped kitchen.

How to apply