CIRCUS PROJECT in 2019 and 2020

NEW: Submission Deadline: 26-04-2018 12:00:00 (Brussels Time)

Pétur Thorsteinsson – [email protected] +4915730638384 Skype: petur.thorsteinsson

Overview

 Five sending organisations  10 volunteers for eight weeks around August 2019 (activity 1)  10 volunteers for eight weeks around August 2020 (activity 2)  Each activity consists of one week acclimatisation, one week on-arrival training, two weeks preparation, two weeks circus project, one week evaluation, reflection and cleaning up and one week time for travel at the end.  At the end of week 6 in each activity representatives from all sending organisations 1 are invited to participate in an evaluation meeting in Reutlingen  The project takes place in Reutlingen  The hosting organisation is the Protestant Youth Association of District Reutlingen (ejr – Evangelisches Jugendwerk in Bezirk Reutlingen)

Selection of volunteers

 Once the project has been accepted by the National Agency in an open call for application will be sent via all participating sending organisations to preselected / interested volunteers. (October 2018 the latest)  Due to the new format within ESC this call will also be online and visible for everyone in the new ESC database: http://europa.eu/youth/solidarity  Interested volunteers have to register in the new ESC database, search this project and send a contact request to ejr.  The sending organisation should send at the same time letter of support directly to [email protected] for the volunteer, stating his/her username in the ESC database.  All applications supported from the partner organisations will be viewed within ten days and a common list of priorities (if needed) agreed upon between the organisations.

Profile of volunteers

 Nine out of ten volunteers will be circus-workshop directors. For this position no language knowledge is needed, but the person should be able to held a daily workshop (twice a day for ten days, 90 minutes each) in one circus activity: o At least two out of nine volunteers should have circus skills in the category “Vaulting” able to train youngsters in jumping, turning the body along its long, medium and short axes and by doing catapults. o At least two out of nine volunteers should have circus skills in the category “Equilibristics” able to train youngsters in headstand and hand balancing, also balancing on rolling objects, on “stilting” objects and human columns. o At least two out of nine volunteers should have circus skills in the category “Juggling” able to train youngsters in balancing objects, toss juggling and gyroscopic juggling. o At least one out of nine volunteers should have circus skills in the category “Clowning” able to train youngsters on their path towards stepping into the role of a clown, for instance as whiteface, auguste, character, tramp or hobo clown. o At least one out of nine volunteers should have basic knowledge in how to use make up art to support the work in the circus school and to be able to teach youngsters to use some basic methods, especially on how to prepare a clown for a show. 2 o This project is also open for new innovative methods for the circus school, using music or other creative ways of exploring the reality of the circus world.  One volunteer (nr. 10) will be responsible for documenting the process and disseminating results. He/she will also lead the “press workshop” open for youngsters that want to take pictures and publish small stories from the circus world of the ejr circus school. He/she should have basic knowledge in .

Support of volunteers

Volunteers will live in German homes or in small flats. At this moment it is foreseen that four volunteers live together in one flat and that six are hosted in German speaking families. Depending on living situation they will have meals together with the hosting family or become fee for food. All volunteers are insured according to EU rules and get pocket money accordingly.

Each volunteer will have his/her own mentor. The mentor will participate with the volunteer in a dialogue around all tasks and challenges during the eight weeks as well as the Youthpass process.

The volunteers will be trained and prepared for their activity by the sending organisation and especially upon arrival by the hosting organisation. During the whole eight weeks there

will be special learning process meetings, focusing on the individual learning and the Youthpass process.

Volunteers will have an emergency number they can call 24/7 and will be informed upon arrival how to reach medical and emergency services.

If volunteers do not afford to buy train tickets for their arrival this can be arranged by the hosting organisation. Travel costs within a certain limit will be reimbursed upon arrival.

For the time in Reutlingen all volunteers will have a bus ticket for Reutlingen (on a monthly basis) or get work related bus travels within Reutlingen refunded (for single days within a month).

Free internet access for volunteers will be provided at the ejr office.

Training of volunteers

During the two first weeks of the project, the focus will be on training and supporting the volunteers. The first week has a special focus on "arriving and acclimatising” in Reutlingen:

 Move into flat / German home  Learn to find your way in Reutlingen 3  First meetings with teams of ejr-volunteers and youth workers  During first week every working day will include group activities for volunteers to grow as a group.  During first week every working day will include a session in basic German language spiced with topics around German culture.  During first week volunteers will have space and time to work on their circus skills.

The on-arrival training, organised by ejr will take place from Monday to Friday in the second week:

 Monday: Introduction of the programme, sharing of expectations and challenges, evaluation of the process during the first week, sharing experiences and knowledge, learning about the Agenda behind Erasmus+ and the actual processes around volunteering in Europe. There will also be time for circus skills training.  Tuesday: Workshop on the Youthpass and learning to learn with focus on the eight key competences. Each participant will start his/her own learning diary. After lunch there will be time for circus skills training. In the evening there will be a meeting with the mentors.  Wednesday: Excursion to Mariaberg, a diaconal institution working with people with disabilities. Here the volunteers will learn about the special German vocational training system, called “duale Ausbildung” and visit a sheltered workshop. Further topics during the day will be: National volunteer services (BFD and FSJ), volunteer services in Europe, own motivation for being a volunteer and writing the own learning diary. At the end of the day there will be time for circus skills training.  Thursday: Intercultural learning day

 Friday: Self-directed learning: Each volunteer uses this day to explore further the topics he/she got especially interested in during the On-Arrival training. Every volunteer is also supposed to have a chat, a call or write an email to the own sending organisation to give feedback on the first two weeks. In the evening there will be a dinner with the mentors.

During week 3 and 4 the group of volunteers will be focusing on preparing the project, exploring existing material, repairing old, buying some new, designing programme, preparing workshops, finding ways for different workshop group to cooperate, allow new ideas to grow and to set objectives for each workshop and each day of the project. Every day will have a common start in the day, including a short German language lesson with some facts around young people in Reutlingen and Germany. Every week will also include a talk with the own mentor.

In week 5 and 6 the project will be executed together with a team of local volunteers. Every day there will be different team meetings as well as one meeting for the foreign volunteers to evaluate own experience and reflect on open questions and new ideas. Every week will also include a talk with mentor. During these two weeks volunteers will work in shifts as the programme will also be offered on weekends. In all other weeks the volunteers have the weekends off.

Week 7 will start with a reflection meeting. Here representatives from all sending organisations are invited to participate for three days. The main aim is to reflect on the 4 success of this project and to find out how it should be organised next year (2020). This week will also be full with cleaning duties, bringing material back to places where they were lent from and finishing all post processing tasks. Here there will also be time to finish own Youthpass.

Week 8 is the “good bye” week. Here volunteers will have the possibility to take some time off for travelling, clean and pack their things, say good bye, have a last talk with the own mentor and get their own Youthpass handed out during a farewell evening.

The ejr-circus school

Together with a group of local volunteers, the European volunteers will be responsible for a two week long programme that will be open for children and youth age 8 to 15. It will content a mix of learning, exercise, character building and just fun, aiming towards a show / performance for parents and friends on the last evening. An important part of the daily programme will also to sing Christian songs, pray and hear stories from the bible (this will be a responsibility of local volunteers). This ejr-circus school project aims at helping participants to develop patience and persistence and to learn that challenges can be fun.

We expect a broad variety of participants for the children and youth circus programme, both in age and background, also children from refugee families. For several years ejr has been offering 0-Euro summer programme during school vacations in Reutlingen. With the circus school ejr is aiming at keeping on offering programme for this broad group of children and youngsters. The new thing about this programme is that we will be using

circus methods and that we will have a group of foreign volunteers working with local volunteers. During the last years we did not have a group of foreign volunteers – we had one! The hosting organisation

The Protestant Youth Association of District Reutlingen (ejr - Evangelisches Jugendwerk in Reutlingen) is an association of various church based member organisations and YMCAs. It acts independently on behalf of the Regional Church (Landeskirche) of Württemberg within the district of Reutlingen. In a close cooperation with more than 30 parishes, ejr supports the youth work in the different towns, cities and villages in the region of Reutlingen. Through projects, professional support and weekly group meetings as well as seminars for youth workers and volunteers, ejr is reaching out for youth of different age and origin. Young people are invited to participate with their competences and (dis)abilities.

Projects during the summer time and within school holidays are an important part of the regular work of ejr. European youth exchanges (supported by Erasmus+) are an important part of ejr´s youth work as well as tradition summer vacation camps, daily programmes within the city and other action and projects, depending on needs of the youngsters, ideas of the team and manpower of the volunteers. During school time ejr is active in different school settings, offering children and youngster to participate in different projects and activities. The biggest event every year is the confirmation camp. With 350 participants or 5 more and 150 volunteers’ it´s success story goes back almost 20 years. As a hosting, sending and coordinating organisation for volunteers in Europe, ejr supports the idea behind volunteering across borders and has gathered various experiences in this field. As a member of the Erasmus+ Network NeckarAlb, ejr is actively promoting European youth work within the region of Reutlingen. Further ejr offers seminars and trainings for youth workers and volunteers from all over Württemberg who are interested in starting to work within Erasmus+ or to support volunteering across boarders in Europe.

In their statements of commitment youth workers and volunteers within ejr define their will to invite every young person to develop forms and content for their individual way of forming own belief, true to the protestant conviction that God loves every person. Within ejr an atmosphere is created in which every person should feel accepted and listened to, regardless what cultural or religious background they have. Ejr gives a platform for youth participation; Young people are invited to find new ways to develop the church and the youth work within the church. Special attention is given to new ways in which they can give their talents and skills expression. As a learning community ejr wants to offer discussion forums where traditions can be questioned and new traditions can be born. Young people are motivated to work in teams of volunteers and youth workers, to express their opinions and secure a transparent flow of information to ensure participation of all on one level. Youth work should be fun, give ideas for new perspectives, be a place to unfold own creativeness and to take over responsibilities as we grow together to a more meaningful live. That is what ejr is, a community of more than 600 volunteers, 10 people in the office (youth workers, office clerks and interns) and over 3.000 children, youngsters and young people participating in weekly groups and different activities.

The Protestant Youth Association of District Reutlingen (ejr) is a member of the Protestant Youth Association of Württemberg (EJW), the Protestant Youth Association of Germany and an indirect member of the YMCA: YMCA Germany (CVJM-Gesamtverband in Deutschland e.V.) is an association of 13 independent member organizations. The Protestant Youth Association of Württemberg (EJW – Evangelisches Jugendwerk in Württemberg) is one of them. In the territory of the Protestant Church of Württemberg (Evangelische Landeskirche von Württemberg) all local YMCA belong to EJW.

EJW was created after the Second World War as a legally dependent organization within the Protestant Church of Württemberg. It acts independently on behalf of the Protestant Church of Württemberg. CVJM (YMCA) Württemberg is a subdivision of EJW that unites local YMCAs in Württemberg. The head of EJW is responsible for all tasks usually carried out by the general secretary of a regional YMCA member organization. YMCA Germany is a member of YMCA Europe and the World Alliance of YMCAs (World YMCA).

The international youth work of ejr is also supported by:

 Karl Danzer Reutlingen  Lechler Stiftung  Evangelisches Jugendwerk in Württemberg  Evangelisches Landesjugendpfarramt

Kontakt person and responsible for the project management is Pétur Thorsteinsson 6

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Evangelisches Jugendwerk Bezirk ejr.de Diakon Pétur Thorsteinsson, Reutlingen Bezirksjugendreferent

Oferdinger Str. 56, M.A. Europawissenschaften

DE- 72768 Reutlingen Erasmus+ JiA Trainer

Deutschland / Germany TEL: +49 (0) 7121 9499615

TEL: +49 (0) 7121 949960 MOBIL: +49 (0) 1573 0638384

FAX: +49 (0) 7121 9499619 SKYPE: petur.thorsteinsson

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