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Offene Projekte

Serbien ist ein tolles Land mit einer sehr abwechslungsreichen Geschichte. Die Menschen sind sehr freundlich, innovativ und unglaublich motiviert. Wir freuen uns, mit unserem langjährigen Partner Young Researchers of Serbia (YRS) anbieten zu können. Der Antrag soll zum 1.9.2011 eingereicht werden. Sendet uns daher bitte bis zum 1.8.2011 eure Motivationsschreiben und Lebenslauf (bitte beides auf Englisch) als pdf (evs[at]vjf.de) oder per Post (siehe kontakt) zu. Hier die Projektbeschreibung:

 Do your EVS in Young

　Researches of Serbia!

 Motivation and EVS experience of our organisation:

VSS has been accredited as the sending and hosting organisation for the European Voluntary Service since 2002. We have sent more then 30 long-term EVS volunteers abroad and 20 volunteers on other long-term projects (LTV/MTV programme, Long-Term and Medium-Term Volunteering). Since 2002 nine volunteers did their EVS projects in our office (from France, Austria, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Hungary, Holland and Romania) and ten volunteers were there as well, but following different long-term projects (from Denmark, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Switzerland and France).

Summary of the EVS hosting project in our office:

During the 121 months service (01/02/2012-30/01/2013), the volunteer takes part in different activities and campaigns done by Young Researchers of Serbia, in order to increase awareness of the local population in Belgrade and suburbs on the problems of the Serbian youth by using voluntary service (on international and local level; in environmental protection and social protection sphere) as a tool to encourage youth participation and involvement. This EVS project named PROMOTE VOLUNTARISM FOR ALL will be set mainly in Belgrade and host one volunteer engaged in:

1 The duration can be shorter and the starting date can change, all in agreement with the volunteer

the international volunteers exchange programme between more then 90 partner organisations all over the world on more then 3000 short term projects in the world – workcamps (01/03-01/09); this period is called "the season" as it is more intense

and

the local exchange programme matching volunteers and young people with light physical or mental disabilities on the territory of Belgrade within a special programme of Voluntary Service of Serbia (01/10/2010 – 31/09/2011). During the "season" this programme is going to take less time, weather out of the season there is going to be more time for it, as well for developing personal projects. (the main role of the EVS volunteer is to be actively involved in communication and coordination of the activities with the volunteers in this programme, not neccesserily be in contact with young people with dissabilities involved in this project).

Depending on the volunteer’s interest and capacity, he/she will be encouraged to develop personal ideas with YRS and our programmes. This aspect of EVS is the crucial one, because it may bring an important added value to YRS work, depending on the volunteer’s capacities.

As 2011 is the European Year of Volunteering we plan many activities on the local and national level that will be coloured by the theme. The volunteer will be involved in planing and/or coordinating these activities as well.

Project environment:

The volunteer will be immersed in a very powerful intercultural dimention that will show the importance of living in another country. It will show him/her the differences and similitiarities of the EVS experience and the life back home. It will make him/her conscious of the richness of other culture, not just Serbian, but his/her own as well and other cultures and nations he/she will get in touch in various international workcamps and activities of YRS. He/she will have the possibility to learn about team work and express himself/herself in the team, as a leader or participant. He/She would have the chance to learn a new language, Serbian, and use it to get in touch with young Serbs, and use English as the working language with partners all over the world. He/She will gain more knowledge abouth voluntarism through his/her personal involment in volunteer exchange. As well, he/she will learn and gain experience and friends among young people with a light mental handicap. In the past 35 years YRS is active in the field of voluntarism, reseach, youth work and, moreover, in stimulating creativity among young people who would like to participate in the activities related to promotion of active citizenship. Having long term volunteers involved in our work, their legacy is passed from one to another as they see the results left by the previous vounteers, it brings them a strong motivation to overcome those results and leave their personal print in the work of the organisation. This added value has always been linked to the personal capacities of each volunteer. The local community will have numerous benefits from the volunteer’s presence. From the very start of the project, the volunteer will be in contact with local community being hosted by a local family, then during the international workcamps in Serbia, during meetings with local volunteers from the programme with young people with dissabilities, then during various promotions and events organised in different Serbian towns. He/She will have the chance to explain about his/her presence, his/her EVS service, voluntarism, to different target groups, from his/her oun point of view. Many local young people, after lisening to someone that had taken the decision to go abroad and do voluntary service, decide to go themselves. That is why it is very important to have an interantional volunteer in our office as to provide a direct face to face contact with local youth and the EVS volunteer and to leave them to learn from each other. At the end, the volunteer could gain important instruments in terms of knowledge of cultural diversity, field work, voluntarism, social protection and yputh with disabilities, project menagement and promotions of activities. The project would be placed mainly in Belgrade, in our office, but also will be visiting many towns in Serbia, as a part of the promotional campaign we conduct every year in order to give information about workcamps and other voluntary activities offered to young people. It is possible that the volunteer would represent YRS in various international meetings, but that depends on the volunteer’s capacities and wishes.

Proposed activities for EVS volunteers:

EVS volunteers in our office will be responsible for the placement of the incoming and outgoing volunteers (on the international voluntary workcamps abroad and in Serbia from 01/03-01/09); on the local voluntary programme with young people with dissabilities (all year round), but have also completed many other tasks in the office with the scope of stimulating intercultural dialogue, including:

• introducing an international aspect of the existing YRS voluntary activities, local and national; •

encouraging Serbian young people to travel, explore and meet other countries and cultures, by actively meeting and understanding their right to mobility, which is very important to them, being from a country needing visa to travel until last year (for 20 years until December 2009), hence, suffering still from sometime very strong xenophobia;

• giving a possibility to Serbian young people to get to know different cultural backgrounds through EVS programme or other YRS voluntary programmes in or outside the country; • highlighting

the importance of voluntarism as a form of active citizenship – through various events, workshops, promotions and other ideas volunteers are encourage to develop; • stimulating reflection upon common things and differences between organisations in other European countries, stimulating to learn from other – through various international meetings with partner organisations from all over the world through the Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations, Social Civil International, Youth Action for Peace, Coordination Committee of International Voluntary Service and other partners.

• helping the local YRS volunteers come over the fear and prejudges against people with disabilities (the main role of the EVS volunteer is to be actively involved in communication with the volunteers in this programme, not neccesserily be in contact with young people with dissabilities involved in this project)

Volunteering in the YRS – VSS office is introducing one wider positive effect – we are becoming a strong educational centre for volunteers and EVS volunteers in our office bring a very important value to it, being a part of the educational cycle and introducing the multiplying effect.

The opinion of our ex EVS volunteers:

EVS volunteers are incouraged to come and get in touch with the ex-EVS volunteers in our office and have a better and more objective overview of the programme in our office. The volunteer is usually involved in the promotion of YRS’ activities and we stress the need for the EVS volunteers to have an active role in presenting his/her own project, country and sending organisation during various events and ad hoc organised initiatives, in media, newspapers or periodical builtens of the host organisation. Moreover, the volunteer provides visibility to Youth in Action Programme and all the initiatives in the Programme, starting with the European Voluntary Service related to which he/she organises promotion and orientation directed to the local youth.

Volunteer profile and recruitment process:

Volunteers would be selected because of his/her diverse abilities, his/her experience and interest in the world of voluntarism and because of his/her wish to integrate and get better knowledge of the work of youth organisations and the meaning of being active citizen. During the selection fase no particulair abilities or competences would be asked, excluding strong motivation for participating in the proposed activities and for understanding diverse faces of dissabilities, mental, phisical, social or cultural. It is preferable to have an international volunteer workcamp experience, but is not a must. For those reasons it has always been held essential to indentify a person willing to immerse himself/herself in a culturally different background then his/her own, with a foreign language that in many ways is difficult to comprehend, as Serbian is. Volunteers would be selected after having presented his/her CV and a motivation letter. Volunteer would be asked to be active in all the preparatory fases of the project and partnership. In the selection process the volunteer should preferably have an ability to communicate effectively in both spoken and written English, be able to use a computer and familiar with Microsoft Office. The volunteer should have independence in daily life, good communication skills, sense of humor, be confident and of flexible nature. Gender, national, religious, political or sexual orientation is not important.

A bit more about our EVS:

Yearly YRS exchange approx. 1000 volunteers with international and local partners . Those volunteers need proper preparation and follow-up. EVS volunteers are there to follow the whole cycle of volunteers exchange during the year, with the help of placement officers and their supervisor. They design, organise and implement promotional campaign of all YRS activities in Serbian towns in order to give more information of various possibilities offered to young people. Other then that, YRS office is an info center for young people and EVS volunteers assist them in their needs and wishes, which makes EVS volunteers better understand the real life situations in Serbia. With the young people frequenting the YRS office, the volunteer will have the possibility to get to know the Serbian culture from the local point of view, but in the same time he/she will bring the values and tipicalities of his/her own culture. Thanks to the fact that he/she will be participating in international voluntary workcamps in Serbia, the volunteer will have the possibility to meet and interact with people coming from many different culuters and countries and different nations and this will without any doubt brothen the intercultural dimention of the project. This project will promote tolerance and respect towards different cultures and lifestiles and will give space for a better understanding between young people from different European countries, but also between young people with and without dissabilities. The project will underline the similiarities, interdipendence and existing bonds between West and East European cultures, trying to immerse the volunteer in Serbian traditions, architecture, design, media, art in all its forms (painting, music, theatre, litterature, cinema, etc.).

In this way, volunteer will be brought to a point of reflection upon the importance of diversity and upon

the importance of dissemination of this fact once he/she gets back to his/her country of origin. The volunteer will be involved in the promotion of YRS’ activities will have an active role in presenting her own project, country and sending organisation during various events and ad hoc organised initiatives, in media, newspapers or periodical builtens of the host organisation. Moreover, the volunteer will provide visibility to Youth in Action Programme and all the initiatives in the Programme, starting with the European Voluntary Service related to which she will organise promotion and orientation directed to the local youth. The volunteer’s activities in Belgrade will be promoted on local media and throughout the network of YRS partner organisations (Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations, Social Civil International, Youth Action for Peace). Being surrounded by local young people interested in diverse programmes of YRS, the volunteer will get in direct contact with great number of young Serbs, and in that way they could obtain knowlegde about Youth in Action Programme directly from volunteer's personal experience. Think big, do little – start an avalanche!

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