European Voluntary Service

CALL FOR PARTNERS

European Voluntary Service

Europe at your door

Duration: 7 months

Location: Amiens, Somme, Picardie, FRANCE

Number of participants: 2 volunteers, including one volunteer with fewer opportunities

Language: English and French

Background of the project:

Concordia is non-formal organization which promotes intercultural exchanges. Our traditional activities are the international workcamps, and one of its main goals is to allow participants to get open-minded and develop non-formal skills as autonomy and self-confidence, by meeting and living during few weeks with people from all over the world with different cultural and social background.

The themes contained within our volunteering projects and reflected in the activities proposed are very broad but all are colored by the intercultural context. Themes may include:

- Citizenship (local, national, european, international),

- Volunteering

- The notion of service and giving to society, inclusion and social dialogue (solidarity with disadvantaged or excluded populations, the young, unemployed, the elderly…),

- Local development (useful help to local communities - a fresh point of view and new ideas)

- Fight against discrimination and racism: education for tolerance between people from different process of life.

- The value of intercultural encounters

- Avoiding and dealing with intercultural misunderstanding or conflict

- Non-formal education for children and adults

- Cultural activities as social bridges

- Environmental protection

- Protecting and valorizing local heritage sites and customs

- Fair trade and sustainable development

- Human rights.

- Collective living

Objectives of the project:

- To represent their sending organization (its philosophy and values) with others volunteers and staff member

- To present their country, their culture through intercultural activities or meals for example

- To present the Erasmus+ program and especially the European Voluntary Service

Activities:

From March 2016, we’ll be located in a priority neighbourhood of the city policy and we want to bring European mobility to disfavoured youngsters. The EVS missions will be linked with this territorial context and will allow to:

- The volunteer will be involved in the activities of the business and Concordia will be asked to participate in community life of the association according to the desires (seminars, training)

- To bring a European dimension to the activities of the structure and to the local community

- To communicate about Concordia and workcamps locally

- To give a hand to Concordia in communication, information and animation area

- To bring a fresh and external view and ideas

- The volunteer will have the opportunity to develop a personal project and teams will be open and attentive to their needs and initiatives.

The volunteer will contribute to the every day’s life organization with his cultural and personal specifications (talking about his country, bringing some examples (pictures, recipes…). He can also contribute to our associative life participating to our local intercultural events like " café des langues ".

The volunteers will participate in the work of the Youth Information office in Concordia Picardie NPDC, which provides information about the Erasmus + program and the ways of mobility explaining his own experience. It will make the voluntary service more attractive for the French youngsters giving live example.

Profile of participants: Young people from 17 to 30 years old, motivated

Methodology:

The methodology (non-formal education, meetings with professionals, discussions) and the structure of the exchange will encourage an active involvement of each participant in order to develop competences and new tools for a personal and social development. Hosting two EVS volunteers at the same time will encourage team work and team spirit.