Open Call for ACT for CHANGE project – ESC

Through this Open Call the organization Association Communities for Youth – ACT is looking for Volunteers for the ACT for CHANGE project.

Type of project: Mobility for youth – European Solidarity Corps
Venue: City of Craiova, Dolj County, South West part of Romania.
ESC Stage Duration: 6 months – 2 vacant positions

Profile of the Volunteer we seek:
– Aged between 18 to 30 years
– The volunteers who apply for this project need to like and be willing to work with youth.
– Active, open-minded, creative, innovative, responsible and motivated volunteers;
– The volunteers of this project should, above all else, show willingness to learn and see their experience as a learning process.
– Basic level of English (being able to make herself/himself understood by the others – able to communicate).

What will I DO in the ACT for CHANGE project?
The activity aims to respond to the need of diversifying the range of opportunities for personal and professional development, resulting in increased knowledge, skills and competences for the target group and volunteers. We aim to provide opportunities for the personal and professional development of volunteers and target group using volunteering and non-formal education by implementing activities that integrate positive youth development principles into the formal education system and to promote an increased volunteering awareness.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE
ACT is committing to ensuring that young people have the knowledge, skills, and motivation to be effective civic participants who bring their values to public decision-making. To do this we are partnering with schools and local administration from Craiova to bring non-formal education to their beneficiaries.
The general objective of the project is to provide personal and professional opportunities for 300 students in Craiova by implementing non-formal development programmes and workshops centered around 3 interweaving topics: solidarity and social inclusion, active citizenship and eco-friendly behaviours.

Concretely, as a volunteer in our project you will be involved in the following:
 Beneficiary/institutions needs analysis – we will implement several needs analysis methods such as surveys, panel and round table discussions with staff and students of the partner institutions, non-formal games, role play etc.
 Leadership Development programme – workshops using non-formal methods to transmit information, knowledge and develop skills competencies(Facilitation; Negotiation; Public speaking; Decision; Dealing with changes; Dealing with crisis; Working with difficult/challenging people; Communication techniques; Team work, Motivation etc. ) and attitudes(Motivation to work for better results; Self-confidence; Being organized; Tolerance; Valuing diversity) related to leadership.
 Implement facilitation and consensus building activities – workshops aimed at encouraging the youth to aggregate around common issues. These range from non-formal games that encourage youth to discuss and debate issues, games to help with problem tree analysis, to games designed to inspire and call to action to simple meetings that are run with facilitation methods and principles such as “The Spokes council” or similar methods.
 Designing solidarity initiatives/projects – the volunteers shall plan, organize and implement non-formal workshops with the beneficiaries to: a)rise the beneficiaries knowledge and skills in project planning/writing b) brainstorm/generate/identify solutions for issues identified in earlier stages, c)design a plan of action(chose
activities, define timeframes, identify resources needed);
 Promotion of Active Citizenship – non-formal workshops, games, events that aim at the development of pro-EU, pro-democratic and civic skills, competences and attitudes, Increased awareness and knowledge; about EU institutions and topics and issues of EU importance; Increased level of European Active citizenship and civic
engagement. These can be debates about EU topics, simulation of EU parliament, role-play, local news agency game, etc.
 Stimulating creativity and cultural awareness programme: will capitalize on cultural diversity among volunteer will contain activities such as presentations of volunteers cultures, non-formal workshops on traditional arts & crafts, traditional dances and music, arts workshops (painting, clay modeling, singing, handicrafts), theatre, role
play, creative play (use familiar materials in a new or unusual ways), problem solving (application of knowledge and imagination to a given situation). This also will be used to build self-esteem and self-confidence.
 Learning languages programme: under the form of language clubs that use non-formal methods(games, workshops, movies, songs, role-plays, handcrafts, flash cards etc.) to help the participant learn or strengthen their ability to speak other languages
 Environmental awareness and skill development workshops – this activities will utilize various non-formal methods, some developed internally in past project, others collected from partners and online handbook while new ones will be developed with the volunteers during the planning meetings.
 Promotion of volunteering and the Solidarity Corps – running volunteering promotion campaigns and activities at local level. These activities will include designing awareness building messages and materials (flyers, posters, brochures), organizing presentations, distributing materials, online promotion, organizing a final project
conference on the topic of volunteering and social inclusion. The main target groups for the campaign will be young people in terminal years of high school, university students and unemployed young people.

Have we caught your attention? Here`s how to apply!
1. Prepare a CV (preferably using the Europass model: https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/documents/curriculum-vitae ) and a motivational letter and send them to officengo.act@gmail.com
2. We will have an online interview with you
3. We announce if you have been selected and we prepare the paperwork;

What will I learn in ACT for CHANGE project?
Our methodology of learning by doing or experiential learning places the volunteer at the center of his/her learning process and encourage commitment to it. Each volunteer will have a personalized development plan that targets personal skills as well as professional skills, a mentor to help guide the volunteer and a counterpart to guide him in working with the target group in the working institutions.
In the project we will be employing a Learning by doing methodology based on a 4 cyclical stages model:
1. Concrete Experience – going out and engaging with the activity;
2. Reflection on that experience on a personal basis – self-reflection and guided reflection assisted by the mentor which aims at derivation of general rules describing the experience, or the application of previous experiences and knowledge to it;
3. Abstract Conceptualization – supported by the participatory planning model and dynamic role distribution practiced the management team. In this stage the management helps the volunteer in the of ways of modifying the next occurrence of the experience;
4. Active Experimentation – turning the abstract into concrete activities and restarting the
cycle at no.1
All throughout the learning process and the project you will be assisted by the ACT team and a personal mentor in managing what, when and how you learn all these skills. At the end you will receive a Youthpass certificate which is a
European Instrument for recognition and certification of skills acquired in ESC.
Practical Arrangements & Financial aspects
Travel: ACT will purchase flight tickets while the Sending Organisation will to make sure that the volunteer is well informed, has all documents and gets safely on board.
Local transport: will be covered by ACT, upon arrival they will receive info on how to use public transport, a map of the transit lines etc.
Accommodation: ACT will host the volunteers in rented apartments in the city of Craiova. Each accommodation will assure good living conditions (private beds, equipped kitchen and bathroom, heating system, running cold/ hot water, Wi-Fi). Please note that you will share the room (2 volunteers per room, separate single beds).
Working programme: working hours are flexible and adapted to the schedule of the target institutions and is usually 3-4 hours/day in with the youngsters and 1-2 hours/day for preparing the activities. Each volunteer is entitled to receiving 2 free days/week (typically weekends but in case that an activity requires work on the weekend the volunteer will be free in the next days) and a total of 12 days of vacation in the project that you can use as you want.
Language support: The volunteers receive Romanian language lessons 2 sessions per week for the first 5 months and 1 session per week for the rest of the project.
Communication: each volunteer will receive a Romanian SIM cards for mobile phones which will be recharged monthly.
Financial aspects: International travel, local transport, accommodation and utility fees, monthly communication costs, costs related to activities are covered directly by ACT.
Monthly food allowance: 150 euro/month
Pocket money: 90 euro/month
What support will be available during your mobility?
The mentor will be responsible for the general personal support of the volunteer. They are in charge of solving practical problems arising being the “first line of support” available. They will be the volunteer’s go-to person for any personal problems as well as being responsible for guiding the volunteer through the learning process. The mentor will be there to help you identify learning needs and opportunities help you plan your learning process and help in
the self-evaluation. The counterparts (staff from the schools – teachers/professionals)-that will be supporting the volunteers in the actual implementation process of the activities. They will provide the volunteers with professional support in delivering their activities.
Additional support will be offered by ACT in the form Preparation, Adaptation and Training programme which is a programme designed to transmit all the necessary skill and abilities for the project focusing on skills and abilities building programme, providing them with methods, tools and materials that will support and facilitate their activities in the project.