Bona Fides Association in partnership with Strauss APS and Il Circo Pace e Bene APS – Sicily is searching for Polish volunteers (aged 18 – 30) for 6 months ESC project in Milena (Sicily), Italy from June to December 2024!
The main topics of the project are culture, inclusion, social innovation and nature.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Since 2021 “Il Circo Pace e Bene APS” hosts volunteers from the European Solidarity Corps, thanks to the cooperation with other organization accredited ESC organizations. Recently the organization strengthened the partnership with Strauss APS of Mussomeli.

In the frame of the ESC programme, the organization offers the following activities:

– Magazzino Culturale “ex oleificio” is a former an olive oil mill, totally renewed and requalified, nowadays a multifunctional centre in Milena. It is a space that aims to be a container of ideas and projects, a creator of opportunities for the people of the local community. It hosts Art workshops, cultural events, book and film presentations, sport events, music concerts, but also meetings and assemblies where to discuss, youth issues and find useful, effective and shared solutions together. Besides, are organised moments for youth gatherings and social inclusion for marginalised persons and integration for foreigner people. The Magazzino is also a residence for artists, a home for volunteers and a shelter for pilgrims on the Magna Via Francigena.

In the frame of this activity, ESC volunteers are entrusted, in cooperation with the local staff, to take care of the:

– General management
– Organization and realization of artistic and cultural activities for the community
– Logistics (space arrangement, organisation of activities, cleanings, etc.)
– Reception of Magna Via Francigena pilgrims
– Archive updating
– Social media management

– Magna Via Francigena is one of the historic routes in Sicily, developed under Roman control, passed from hand to hand until they became the cornerstone of the Norman road system. The expression Via Francigena thus emphasised the power of control, both administrative and political, exercised by the Franks. It covers more than 180 kilometres between the Cathedral of Palermo and the one of Agrigento, crossing the whole of Sicily from sea to sea in 9 stages. Milena is included in the 7th stage (Sutera ➔ Racalmuto / Grotte 25,3Km). The Via is entirely marked with conventional European signposts.

Volunteers’s task will be the care of the Milenese section of the Via: signposting, footpaths, cleaning, monitoring, and also reception and accommodation of the Pilgrims.

– Project “RabArt”, funded by the Italian Minister of Culture, will take place in the small town of Sutera, very nice and peculiar town and considered one of the most beautiful tows ofItaly. The project will take place in the Rabato of Sutera, the ancient Arabic quarter of the town. It aims to implement a regeneration process of the town through participatory art workshops, the creation of residencies for artists and the activation of tourist attraction processes.

Volunteers will collaborate in all the stages of the preparation of the event. In particular they will be assigned with the management of the artist residencies: reception of the artist, support in the artistic activities, community involvement, general organisation, etc.

– Cooperation with startups. “Il circo pace e bene” collaborates and supports several organizations and startups such as C&C, a very innovative project about experience tourism. Together with this organization we are going to coordinate a very important project titled “G.a.s. lab.”, Sicilian Ancient Grains Laboratory.

In the frame of this activity, ESC volunteers will be responsible of the creation and management of the micro-infrastructure of the G.a.s. Lab, such as: Grains Museum, tasting space, demonstration space, services, communication, etc.

– Recreational and cooperative activities with migrants hosted in Milena. The city of Milena hosts different groups of migrants. In particular, there are the centre for young migrants and the Family project.

ESC volunteers will organize recreational activities together with the young people hosted in the centre for migrants, and leisure time, sport, and after-school activities for the children of the families hosted in Milena.

– MifaSol – Milena Social Festival. It is called ‘Mi Fa Sol’ the social festival in Milena. A two-day event dedicated to food, culture, cinema, entertainment, music, theatre, and civic engagement, scheduled at the Magazzino Culturale ‘Ex Oleificio’ next summer, probably between July and September. Among the initiatives are conferences, round tables, debates, book presentations, social dinners and literary aperitifs, all with the aim of creating the basis for a competent and bottom-up rise, necessary for the Sicilian hinterland. The event will close with a final concert.

Volunteers will collaborate in all the stages of the preparation of the event. Volunteers will be assigned with the following tasks: promotion and dissemination, logistics organisation, bar management, guest reception, organisation of the events, space cleanings and settings, etc.

– Project Le Robbe The ‘Robbe’ are small settlements in the countryside of Milena (CL), from which the present village developed. At the end of the 19th century, farmland was rented out and, given the great distance from other towns and the difficulty of communication, farmers built modest rural settlements in the countryside, along the rural roads (called in Sicilian, trazzere) or near water sources. These were built in clusters called ‘Robbe’ (properties) so as not to be isolated and to have access to drinking water.

Volunteers will map the area of ‘Robbe’ by walking and taking photographs to eventually create a creative map of the area. Other activities related to urban regeneration in the municipality of Milena will be carried out by volunteers.

CHECK OUT THE INFOPACK FOR MORE DETAILS

ABOUT THE HOSTING ORGANIZATION

“Il Circo Pace e Bene APS” is an organization founded in 2015 in Milena (Sicily) which main scope of action is Social Development. Its members are young boys and girls of the local community who has a basis of common objectives, purposes and aims, and commit themselves to satisfy the needs and requests of the local community, by sharing knowledge, skills, and capacities of each individual. Since the beginning, thanks to their activism, the organization carried out diverse and numerous projects, events and activities with the purpose to:
– promote the values of equality and solidarity through social, artistic and cultural activities;
– support disadvantaged people;
– boost social inclusion process for people with less opportunities;
– promote the territory, which suffer deep social and economic problems;
– increase social community involvement of the young people

The organization runs social, art, cultural and touristic projects, collaborating especially with different municipalities of the territory. It coordinates the Organizations Working Groups in the towns of Sutera and Bompensiere and also the local Council of Entities for the municipality of Sutera.

HOW TO APPLY

If you are interested in this project please send your CV and a motivation letter in English (with a title: “ESC in Milena, Italy”) to mariachiara@bonafides.pl and anna@bonafides.pl or contact us for any further information!