Voices from around the world III
CESIE – European Centre of Studies and Initiatives – has opened applications for the project “Voices from around the world III” (application deadline: 15 October 2011). This project is about voluntary service in several non-European countries and focuses on topics such as sustainable development in communities, intercultural dialogue and creative non-formal learning.
A group made up of 12 volunteers coming from Austria, France, Estonia, Hungary and Italy will be involved in development projects in Nepal (7 months) and in Senegal (6 months).
A life experience leaves its mark on both the volunteer and the local community, and this is why Voices from around the world III gives everyone the opportunity to personally contribute to community development, and to know and experience a new culture, completely different from one’s own.
Programme
Final selection will take place on 24 October 2011 at CESIE, Palermo
Start of the projects: end of November for Nepal, end of December for Senegal
Duration: 6 months in Senegal, 7 months in Nepal
Return: April 2012 from Senegal, May 2012 from Nepal
Group: 2 Italian volunteers for Senegal and 2 Italian volunteers for Nepal will leave together with an international group of volunteers coming from Austria, France, Hungary and Estonia. Each group will be made up of 6 volunteers from these countries.
What is European Voluntary Service (EVS)?
European Voluntary Service aims at developing solidarity and promoting tolerance among young people, mainly to strengthen social cohesion in the EU, to promote active citizenship and to improve mutual understanding among young people.
European Voluntary Service (EVS) is one of the most interesting opportunities that European Commission gives to young people aged from 18 to 30 to have a significant life experience in a foreign country for a limited period of time. Its primary aim is to give them the opportunity to live an intercultural learning experience in non-formal contexts. Through the experiences of non-formal learning, young volunteers improve and acquire new competences for their personal, formative and professional development and also for their social integration.
If compared to other activities, European Voluntary Service offers many more advantages, as young people can travel to a foreign country and experience interculturalism and active citizenship. All this will be done under the new perspective of the “traveller looking for new experiences and personal challenges”, giving a personal contribution and enriching himself/herself from a human and relational point of view.
EVS covers the activities organized by the partnership of legally founded organizations which send or host volunteers to operate in a different nation. In fact, he/she will move to another country (nowadays it is possible to do European voluntary work in every country of the world) to work in the host association. All the expenses are covered (food, lodging, insurance, travel, language course) and the volunteer will also have a monthly allowance (that may vary depending on the host country) for personal needs. EVS may last from a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 12 months.
For further information, visit the website of Agenzia Nazionale per i Giovani (National Agency for Young people) or the database of the European Commission.
European Voluntary Service in Senegal
Two Italian volunteers can apply for an EVS project in Sedhiou, in the region of Casamance, Senegal. They will do educational activities with children, adolescents and adults, animation activities in schools, awareness-raising campaigns and activities for the valorisation of the territory. The project will last 6 months, starting from December 2011.
The host organization is “Enfance et paix” (Childhood and peace), an NGO active since 1992 and based in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, in West Africa.
It also works in Casamance, a region in the south of Senegal, mainly in the small city of Sedhiou. It focuses on school education for children, local and regional entrepreneurship and dissemination of knowledge about nutrition, food security, health and wellness.
Profile of the volunteer: age: 18-30. Openness and interest in other cultures, strong adaptability to different social and cultural contexts. Motivation in spending 6 months in a country that is completely different from one’s own. Interest in the activities proposed by the organization. Creativity and curiosity, independence and autonomy, resistance to frustration, knowledge of the French language, interest in team work.
Topics of the project: youth participation, intercultural dialogue, sustainable development of the community, environmental and health education/awareness.
Activities and role of the volunteers: educational activities with children and adults: giving classes at school, doing activities in a nursery school, doing intercultural and linguistic workshops. Activities regarding health: promoting awareness-raising campaigns for diseases such as malaria. Activities regarding micro-credit: training on micro-credit for local cooperatives. Activities regarding environment and agriculture: raising awareness and motivating farmers to let them use available resources, improving the systems while respecting their knowledge and their cultural opinions; collaborating in organic farming; doing creative workshops on environment and recycling. They will also take part to activities regarding social development and public health, education, animation for children, valorisation of the territory.
Practical information
Working hours: 6 hours a day, from Monday to Friday
Days off: every national holiday and two days a month. The volunteer can also choose to accumulate his/her days off and use them in a specific period.
Lodging: the volunteer will live with a local family that will make his/her integration in local community easier.
Food: the host family will provide the volunteer with 3 meals a day. He/she will also have some ‘pocket money’ and a little ‘food money’ to buy bottles of water and other food.
Insurance: the volunteer will have a medical insurance with AXA, which will refund any medical cost (after having showed a certificate).
Local transport: “Enfance et paix” will pay for any transport required by the activities done.
For further information, visit the site of our volunteers who are currently in Senegal.
European Voluntary Service in Nepal
Applications for the selection of 2 Italian volunteers for an EVS in Kathmandu, Nepal, are opened. The project will last 7 months, from November 2011 to May 2012, and volunteers will be engaged in educational activities for children, adolescents and adults, animation activities in schools, awareness-raising campaigns and activities for the valorisation of the territory.
The host organization is CCN Nepal, committed in the promotion of awareness-raising campaigns on human rights and democracy, peacekeeping, initiatives for social inclusion for people of different gender, castes and disadvantaged groups at a regional level (projects with landless communities in different areas of the country). The organization is very active in schools for children with disabilities.
Profile of the volunteer: age: 18-30. Openness and interest in other cultures, strong adaptability to different social and cultural contexts. Motivation in spending 7 months in a country that is completely different from one’s own. Interest in the activities proposed by the organization. Creativity and curiosity, independence and autonomy, resistance to frustration, knowledge of the English language, interest in team work. Moreover, volunteers have to be interested and experienced in dealing with children with disabilities, in education, music and art, to share them with students.
Topics of the project: youth participation, intercultural dialogue, sustainable development of the community, education.
Activities and role of the volunteers: creating the website and some publications, creating and coordinating relations with local and international organizations, raising community awareness on peace, transformation of conflicts, human rights and social justice, raising awareness and training on health and environment. Doing educational activities in structures for children with disabilities. Teaching English, social studies, the culture of the country of origin, mathematics and science in schools. Organizing classes for music, dancing, drawing and acting to young people and in schools. Studying the Nepalese culture, documenting on religious celebrations and disseminating such information to foreigners who are interested in it.
Practical information
Working hours: 6 hours a day, from Monday to Friday
Days off: every national holiday and two days a month. The volunteer can also choose to accumulate his/her days off and use them in a specific period.
Food and lodging: the volunteer will share a house with other volunteers and receive a budget to buy food and some ‘pocket money’ for personal needs.
Insurance: the volunteer will have a medical insurance with AXA, which will refund any medical cost (after having showed a certificate).
Local transport: CCN Nepal will pay for any transport required by the activities done.
For further information, visit the site of an Italian volunteer in Kathmandu.
How to apply
If you want to apply, first take some time to think about the reasons why you want to leave and your interest in the project. Only then, you will be ready to apply. This is necessary because it is an extremely hard experience in a context that is completely different from the one you come from. Send your CV with your motivation letter, both in English, choosing the project you prefer, to: sve@cesie.org
Deadline: 15 October 2011
Selection: the first selection will be based on CVs and motivation letters (CVs and motivation letters written in Italian won’t be taken into consideration); those who pass the selection, will participate to a group interview (that is obligatory) on Monday 24 October in Palermo.
For further information, contact Roberta Lo Bianco at mobility@cesie.org or Andrea Vacha sve@cesie.org
What is a motivation letter and what should I write?
A good motivation letter can help you during the selection process. But what is it about? Associations/organizations looking for volunteers want them to be motivated and interested in the activities of the project. Moreover, during a selection, it is very important to give associations/organizations some more details about the candidates. The motivation letter should then include the reasons why you want to do an experience as a volunteer abroad, the reasons why you have chosen one specific project (why you are interested in its activities and objectives), your personal information about who you are and what your interests and free-time activities are, and further information you find relevant for the project.
Your motivation letter has to be written in a simple and clear language, and it doesn’t have to be longer than half an A4 page.
