Location: Kötschach-Mauthen, Austria
Duration: 1 week
Period: 6 – 13 March 2020
Deadline: 03 January 2020
Bona Fides Association and SCI Austria are looking for 2 participants to the seminar taking place in Kötschach-Mauthen (Austria) in project “Image Mapping: Engaging international volunteers and making an impact in rural communities. In order to apply send your CV and Application form to these e-mails: iryna@bonafides.pl, mariachiara@bonafides.pl
Background of the seminar
When we organize youth projects and volunteering camps in the countryside, it can sometimes feel like a parallel universe: Youth from all around Europe engages in an intense intercultural exchange, while there is not necessarily a lot of interaction with the local community. We want to change that and strengthen the local impact of international volunteering projects. We will organize first this seminar for youth workers in March in Ukraine and then a pilot youth exchange in July in Ukraine.
In this seminar, camp coordinators and youth workers from around Europe will gather to learn and exchange, among other topics:
- Non-formal education methods around making international volunteers interact with rural communities
- Best practices of engaging international volunteers in rural communities, among them the „Image Mapping“ project from Ukraine
- How to create intercultural events in villages
- How to reach rural youth to participate in international volunteering projects
- Group dynamics of international youth projects in the countryside
As an outcome, we will create a manual on how to create interaction between international volunteers and rural communities. The manual will include method descriptions and guidelines for youth and volunteering organisations to be used.
Participant’s profile
The participants will be staff, activists and volunteers from volunteerig organisations, youth organiations, municipalities and other institutions. All participants will be expected and stimulated to contribute to the activities and discussions. They are very welcome and invited to come up with their own ideas and present some methods or workshops they are experienced in and they want to share. Please contact us in advance to tell us about it and we will see how it can fit in the seminar agenda. :)
All participants selected for this project must meet the following criteria
- be 18 years old or older
- work with volunteer management or organising volunteering projects in their sending organization
- be able to work in English
- be interested in the seminar topics (rural development, international volunteering) and have a strong motivation to act as a multiplier
- commit to implement the learned knowledge and skills in practice back home
- commit to actively participate from the beginning to the end of the training
We explicitly encourage participants of all genders, sexual orientations, abilities and ethnic backgrounds to apply.
Please note that on some days, the seminar also foresees evening sessions. The seminar will take place in simple living conditions, rooms are shared between 2 to 4 people. Travel costs (up to a maximum amount, depending on country), accommodation, food and program are covered through a grant by Erasmus+.
Sustainable food: The food we provide will be vegetarian with vegan options. This is not just a practical decision, but also an ideological one: SCI believes in the values of sustainability and climate justice – and if we want to contribute to a more peaceful planet, we need to give up on animal agriculture and its destructive effects on our planet.
Sustainable travels?: This is also why we ask you to come to this seminar through more sustainable means of transport rather than flying (e.g. by train or bus), if somehow possible. We will give you more guidance on how you can reach the venue, once you are accepted to the seminar.
How to apply?
Applications should be sent to your sending organization, which will each select their own two participants and then forward the applications to SCI Austria. All those accepted will later receive a detailed infosheet (incl. info on how to get to the venue, how to book your travels, more info about the agenda of the project). Deadline for applying is 03.01.2020.
We are looking forward to your application :-)