EVS vacancy in Madrid for cultural&youth information activities
EVS ACCREDITATION DETAILS
EVS accreditation type: Sending, Receiving, Coordinating
EVS accreditation expiry date: 31/07/2014 (accreditation on renewal process with the National Agency)
Location: Madrid, Spain
Organisation topics: European awareness, Art and culture, Inclusion topics
EVS accreditation number: 2010-ES-120
Project environment
This project is a unique occasion for volunteers who want to participate in the field of culture, arts and heritage.
The EVS will include many of our field areas: Bookcrossing events (releasing books), management information about cultural opportunities, database and mapping of heritage in our region, social networks, web tools 2.0 for culture, cultural documentation and research, etc. Most of our activities are done through the Internet. No previous knowledge is needed, we will be grateful show its possibilities in the field of culture.
Our projects will allow volunteers to learn Spanish, carry out a project, live in a new country, increase professional chances in the field of culture,…
Geographic context
The project will take place in the city of Madrid, in the areas of Fuencarral and Chamberi.
Madrid is the capital of Spain, it has almost 5,000,000 inhabitants. It is the communication’s centre of Spain, with the largest airport.
It is a very attractive city, from many points of view: cultural (museums, theatres, cinemas), economic (dynamic structure), tourism (restaurants, attractions, social premises),… There are many towns around Madrid which complement this offer (Ávila, El Escorial, Toledo, Alcalá de Henares, Aranjuez, Segovia, etc…). Volunteers will receive complete information about Madrid.
Proposed activities for EVS volunteers
All activities are related to reading (releasing books in Bookcrossing), information about cultural opportunities (grans, support, prizes, contests,…), social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Tuenti), new technologies (Isssu), training (e-learning with Moodle), research, information and interactive cultural platforms.
No previous knowledge is needed. Interest and motivation to innovate and participate in the field of culture are the only things needed. We also plan to provide extra training to volunteers regarding new technologies and non-formal learning. The less volunteers know, the more they will learn about new technologies.
Summary of some activities of volunteers:
-Organistion of massive book releases with Bookcrossing.
-Planning, management and implementation of cultural events
Development, design and implementation of programmes and cultural activities
-Cultural information search with new technologies.
-Internet research tasks: statistics, books, library materials, electronic resources, etc …
– Youth information, maintainance of databases, blogs and other channels of cultural communication.
– Editing of both electronic and printed material (brochures, posters, videos, etc …).
– Research, documentation and dissemination of cultural policy
– Space management and web tools
There will be no job substitution. All members are volunteers. They will be asked to be responsible as collaborators of the organisation.
They will also participate preparing projects and collaborating with other entities so they can give a new point of view and develop new EVS experiences. The latter are only punctual collaborations.
Volunteers are free to suggest activities, actions,… they consider interesting for the organisation. We will promote creativity of volunteers. The specific working plan will be established when the projects are approved.
Training course: 1 or 2 months (depending on the length of the project).
Project: final report and end of the EVS: 3 weeks before finishing the project.
Time-table:
Maximum: 30 h/week. Full-time, from Monday to Friday. Exceptionally, activities will take place on weekends, though volunteers will be told in advance and they will get a free day the week after.
ACCOMMODATION
In a flat shared with young people to support their integration in the city. Well communicated area.
Services for volunteers
We can provide first hand information and our experience around the world.
Our team is multidisciplinary, so volunteers have access to many services. We count on work counsellors, intermediation experts, educators, trainers, technicians of European projects, translators, technicians in risks at work,…
We also offer individual counselling if needed (e-mail, phone, presential). We already carry this out, as many people want to live abroad.
We also offer excellent specific training. For example, we continuously offer counselling regarding improvement of cvs, motivation letters, professional and studying opportunities,…
Due to our experience, we can also give personal experience about many countries in Europe.
The EVS as an employability tool
The EVS provides many skills and abilities and thus, increases employability. Reasons for this:
– EVS volunteers develop language, social, technical, artistic,… skills and learn about themselves and their expectations in life.
– It is very useful for our organisation when supporting employment in the cultural field.
– We can support volunteers when looking for a job, in or outside Spain, due to the amount of information we have.
Profile of the volunteer(s) and selection process:
Recruitment process:
Apart from what we have mentioned in other sections, we will give priority to young people who have had no other international mobility opportunities, especially those with fewer opportunities. We will try to balance nationalities, so cultures are mixed.
Selection process: open to any young person who commits to participate in the project and is very motivated to do so. Motivation is very important and will have to be proved. Response to our communications will show us the motivation. Profile of volunteers:
-Concerned about cultural matters
-Aware about their responsibilities and involvement as EVS volunteers.
-Capacity to contribute positively to the EVS project.
-Open to the new way of life.
-Independent, flexible and with team working skills.
-With initiative to carry out a personal project.
-With social and organisational skills, able to work with other young people and organisations.
The recruitment will be done taking those characteristics into account by, at least, 2 people of the organisation. The opinion of the EVS volunteers in the project at the moment will also be taken into account. We will adapt to the needs, motivation and concerns of the volunteers showing interest to carry out their EVS project with us.
-People interested in cultures, art and European topics. There is a lack of information for people interested in these topics in Europe. We’ve seen this in our talks about European chances. Many of them are interested in the EVS.
The process will be open, participative and transparent: volunteers will define their project (we will not define a project to which volunteers have to adapt). Thus, volunteers need to be active and express their concerns, motivations and preferences, shall actively participate creating the project and looking for an organisation and destination of their interest.
Number of volunteers hosted:
2
Prevention of risks, security and protection:
Volunteers will be covered with the same measures as all the other collaborators of the organisation.
Volunteers will receive specific training, information and rules about health and welfare, as well as emergency phone numbers. Rules and responsibilities will be set from the beginning. Thus, continuous communication between mentor and volunteers is essential.
The mentor will support them and guide them continuously. They will be covered with the AXA insurance.
When solving problems and conflicts we will take into account the recommendations we received at the EVS mentor course. In case of a serious conflict, we will follow the different steps:
-Prepare the situation
-Define the problems
-Provide alternatives
-Take a decision
-Evaluate the results
The mentor participates in the attention, monitoring, mentoship, training and planning of activities of volunteers. They will also write a monthly report with evaluation about the activities carried out, expressing their opinion about them.
MOTIVATION AND EVS EXPERIENCE
BB was founded in 2008 to favour the feeling of belonging to Madrid of its citizens and to make Europe accessible to them. Thus, we provide information about European opportunities for young people. Many people ask us about mobility possibilities in Europe. Many of them deal with volunteering, not only in Europe, but also in developing countries.
There are many opportunities to travel abroad, but there is not enough information. Most of our members (from the city area of Fuencarral) don’t know about those opportunities.
We have no EVS experience but we want to cover that mobility need with it and offer new resources to local people.Our motivations to participate in the EVS: -Our main aim is to promote the construction of Europe with more solidarity. We consider the EVS promotes solidarity, intercultural dialogue, creativity, learning new cultures and social and professional skills,…One of our members has participated in an online EVS course for mentors. (number of hours of the course 40; dates: from 1.12.2008 to 28.2.2009). He wants to apply what he has learnt and become a mentor.-We want to contribute with the European Year of Volunteering 2011 sending and hosting volunteers.-We want to encourage an alternative to an employment or to studies which offers better chances after the EVS is finished. We want to promote the active participation of unemployed youth.-In Madrid there are only 2 organisations dedicated to «Art and Culture» and no one dedicated to «Protection of the Heritage», our themes for the project. -We want to contribute to the EU’s political strategy «Youth: investing and empowering». We share its aims to provide more education and employment opportunities and promote participation and solidarity.Experience with European projects and programmesWe are new in the EVS but we know how to apply for it and manage it. We have ample experience providing youth information, especially with European programmes and initiatives. We also collaborate with a free site of cultural information (FábricaCultural.com). In it we promote youth mobility through grants, support, employment, contests, news, documents,…We collaborate with communication entities such as YouTube, Flickr, Tuenti, Facebook,… We are in direct contact with young people to let them know about all possible mobility chances.Foreseen EVS participation
As a sending organisations we commit to carry out pre-departure training, language training, monitoring of the project and coverage with AXA insurance. All activities of volunteers will be supervised (before, during and after the project). We will also provide training to prepare for the service (non-formal learning): empathy, intercultural dialogue, respect differences, adapting skills, resolution of conflicts,…
At the end of the service we will support volunteers adapting to their professional and personal life.As a coordinating organisation we are in charge of all management and administrative tasks of the project: contact NAs and management of applications, payments to volunteers and partner organisations and costs.As a host organisation we will be in charge of all tasks regarding arrival of volunteers and their integration in Madrid, as well as of the coordination of all procedures and contact with the sending organisation.Furthermore, to ensure the co-financing of the EVS projects, we will support them with our resources covering such costs as material, office, meeting places, Internet costs, telephone, fax, post, light,…Approximate starting date and frequency of activitiesWe will meet every 6 months to establish hosting and sending periods.Hosting: We suggest to host volunteers in September, applying for the call in June. As we can host a maximum of 2 volunteers/period, we can host a long and a short-term volunteer.Sending: There are no specific hosting dates.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANISATION
We are a new organisation founded to attend the information demands regarding Europe and interculturality. Our aims are:-To build bridges and promote the social construction of Europe
-To build bridges and promote intercultural dialogue and favour understanding of foreign cultures.
-Plan bridges using European projects to promote participation.
-Step on bridges to support any cultural, educative and/or artistic expression based on the previous values.Our organisation is formed by people with different backgrounds.Team and collaborationOur members have lived different experiences. Some of them live in other cities and countries.
A managing team is in charge of the management, monitoring and implementation of the EVS projects, as well as of mentorship. We will also receive support from private entities we work with, counting with their experience, resources and commitment.
TARGET GROUPWe work with organisations in the fields of culture, education and youth, so we have an ample target group. In general: anyone interested in art, culture, heritage, Europe,…
This group involves people of all ages and backgrounds.
ACTIVITIESAll our activities pursue our aim: provide information and counselling to young people according to the following principles:» Promote intercultural dialogue and favour understanding of foreign cultures.» Educate young people towards an active European citizenship.» Support any cultural, educative and/or artistic expression based on the previous values.» Promote the social construction of EuropeOur activities include:
1. Youth informationOur members include people who have participated in different programmes: EVS, Leonardo, Erasmus,… and we want to offer other young people such chances.
2. Employment for graduates: Counselling and InformationOur aim is to support, inform and guide graduates so they continue their qualifications and access the working market.We are specialised in employment information and guidance in Europe, especially in the UK. There is a high demand in this sense, often not covered. There are many grants and traineeships, unknown for students. We believe that paying an agency is not the only way of travelling abroad…
3. Youth cultural resourcesWe have recently created communication channels (Tuenti, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Issuu y Bookcrossing) including information about grants, support, festivals,… related to culture and arts. Although there is a lot of information, people not always find what they are looking for. 4. TRAININGWe offer training courses in the field of cultural management, for example:
» Creation of cultural companies
» Strategies to search information in the web
» Cultural English
» Search of professional opportunities in the UK (culture).
5. CULTURAL ACTIVITIESWe actively collaborate with Bookcrossing. This is a free exchange of books world-wide, with over 34,000 members in Spain. We have released over 300 books for it all over Spain.
Send your CV and motivation letter to: asociacionbb@gmail.com
Contact:
Asociación Building Bridges.
C/Alonso Cano 76
Madrid 28006
Spain
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