Bona Fides Association is looking for last 2 volunteers (from EU countries only), to join our international team in Katowice, Poland! Main activities include community building and organizing, ecological tasks, working with children and people with disabilities and ESC project promotion.

Location: Katowice, Poland
Start: ASAP
Duration: 6 – 12 months

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MAIN ACTIVITIES:

1. Katowice Community Building and Organizing

  • 🔵 Supporting local events and workshops organized by Bona Fides, such as social gatherings, educational initiatives, art workshops, cooking workshops, urban monitoring sessions, research walks, and others.
  • 🔵 Cultural Presentations in local schools, addressed to students of different ages and backgrounds.
  • 🔵 Organizing speaking clubs or language lessons to help people practice languages and connect.

  • 🔵 Weekly assistance to students of the Szkoła Socjokratyczna (Sociocratic School) in Katowice, an alternative primary school that operates according to the principles of sociocracy as a model of shared governance where all members of the school community (students, teachers, and parents) take part in decision-making through consensus-based “circles.”
  • 🔵 Participation in city council meetings, creating photo and video reports, assisting with press coverage, and informing the local community about ongoing decisions and changes.

  • 🔵 If a volunteer has a personal idea for a new activity or project, Bona Fides fully supports them in developing, organizing, and implementing it — providing guidance, resources, and help at every step.

2. Healthification and Beautification of Katowice

Speaking of healthy, clean and eco-friendly cities in Europe, Katowice is trying to improve. However, topics related to the protection and preservation haven’t developed sufficient responsible behavior nor environmental friendly approaches. In this negative scenario, we hope to start bringing up change to sensitize people on the need for personal and community action.

The tasks in which our volunteers will be involved are:

  • 🔵 Cleaning initiatives in public spaces and activities promoting broader environmental awareness and responsibility, including outreach via social media, press, and other media channels (for example, trash and litter collection, beautification initiatives like cleaning up of parks, streets, squares, and forest cleanups, etc.)  
  • 🔵 Urban monitoring sessions, covering offensive graffiti, illegal dumping, pollution hotspots, neglected public spaces, the Katowice Modernism Trail, and other heritage sites — these activities can be expanded to document relevant issues, guide local actions, and engage citizens in improving their environment.

  • 🔵 Organization and participation in workshops about different topics such as healthy diets and foods, home planting and gardening, consequences of pollution, recycling, climate change and affection, environmental practices, harmless tourism, alternative energy resources and energy saving, etc. Volunteers will be free to implement any workshop they may want to propose and share with the local community.
  • 🔵 Implementation of sport and game events at local level (such as the Silesian Marathon, Yearly Katowice Football World Cup, treasure hunts, city games, etc.) to spread good sport practices and as a visibility tool to attract people’s attention on environmental issues and healthier lifestyles.
  • 🔵 Organize “healthy excursions” with and for local people to explore the green places of the Silesian region and contribute to integrating people of all ages and provenience. This is a combined activity with the running of our “Ability Route” website.

3. Sensorial Inclusive City Campaign

The idea of this activity derives from our inclusive approach to fight all barriers that are still present in Katowice and in Silesia. The base of this idea was born from the need for intervention identified during a long process of research and action that, in 2017-2019, led us to monitor the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 54 public administration units in our region and to the implementation of the “Silesian Voivodeship friendly to people with sensory disabilities” in 2019-2021, consisting in a series of training courses for local authorities and officers together with the monitoring of buildings and public spaces in 36 provinces and cities.

The tasks in which our volunteers will be involved are:

  • 🔵 Urban accessibility monitoring, evaluating public spaces, public transport, bus stops, and key urban routes for mobility, sensory, and visual accessibility. The findings inform community advocacy and complement broader city monitoring, helping volunteers identify areas for improvement and to promote an inclusive environment.
  • 🔵 Collaboration with Zespół Szkół Specjalnych no. 4 in Sosnowiec, a modern special school for students with various disabilities, supporting inclusive learning and student participation in community life. Volunteers assist in activities designed to promote interaction, skill-sharing, and social inclusion.
  • 🔵 Cooperation with Fundacja Transgresja, a charitable Foundation based in Katowice, whose mission centres on supporting people with sensory disabilities, especially those who are deafblind.
  • 🔵 Engagement in Living Libraries and similar programs, offering opportunities for direct dialogue and personal storytelling. These interactions help participants better understand the diverse obstacles faced by people with disabilities, socially excluded groups, and others with fewer opportunities, fostering empathy and practical awareness.
  • 🔵 Assistance to informal groups of people with sensorial disabilities in their participation in social events, such as forest walks, trips, excursions, parties, etc.

  • 🔵 Organisation of White Cane Day and participation in other initiatives highlighting life without barriers and experiences of people with diverse disabilities. These activities allow volunteers and community members to engage directly with accessibility challenges and raise public awareness.
  • 🔵 Organization of awareness campaigns and workshops, live or on social media about the concept of “barriers”, “obstacles”, “accessibility” and “inaccessibility” to sensitize people commonly not facing any problem in the city about all the difficulties we generally don’t see, but that are huge obstacles for our people with fewer opportunities. The concept of barrier is different for every person: a place that is accessible to a person with motor disability isn’t necessarily accessible to a person with motor or mental disability. We need people to understand that every disability implies a certain kind of barrier and a specific need for accessibility. 
  • 🔵 Volunteers are encouraged to propose additional initiatives or campaigns that promote inclusion, accessibility, and awareness of daily challenges faced by people with disabilities, ensuring that the project remains responsive to community needs (as an example: chess tournaments, theatre improvisation, music concerts, karaoke, etc.)

Check out what our volunteers do here

Facebook Page
Instagram Page

Accommodation and finances

The main working place is the Bona Fides office, located in the heart of Katowice, but volunteers also participate in events all around the city and nearby cities. To move around Katowice, volunteers are given a travel card. Trips outside Katowice are covered, if connected to voluntary work.

Our volunteers live in four-bedroom apartments close to the city center. Each volunteer has their own bedroom and shares kitchen, bathrooms and common areas. The costs of accommodation, rent, bills, internet are covered by the organisation. 

Generally, volunteers open Polish bank accounts and receive monthly transfers of food allowance and pocket money there.

Volunteers have a free weekly Polish language course provided at Bona Fides by a native speaker qualified Teacher.

The cost of travel to Poland and back to the country of origin is reimbursed according to ESC guidelines.

Volunteers are covered by the Henner Insurance Program for the whole duration of their stay.

Team Support: Weekly team meetings are held to plan and discuss activities. Volunteers receive continuous guidance from coordinators and mentors in a friendly, family-like atmosphere.

Trainings: Volunteers attend two ESC trainings (On-Arrival and Mid-Term) and have many chances to meet other volunteers all across Poland, connect, and develop new skills.

Important Formalities 

Volunteers must: 

• Obtain a PESEL number in Poland
• Request a criminal record certificate
• Open a Polish bank account
• Obtain a Polish SIM card (recommended)
• Bring ID AND Passport to Poland.
• Sign and respect a General Rules and Deposit Condition Document.

All steps are supported by the hosting team.

Volunteers’ profile

Citizens or residents of EU countries, between 18 and 30 years old.
Open, motivated, solution oriented, team player, sharing European values.

Application

To apply for this opportunity please send your CV and a motivation letter (in English) to: mariachiara@bonafides.pl and anna@bonafides.pl

Check out all the projects we’re currently recruiting for

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Website: https://evs.bonafides.pl/category/aktualne-nabory/