WELCOME to ! Infopack ESC

Dear future volunteer(s)!

We are always open to all volunteers without any prejudice, giving them opportunity to work in team and individual. All our volunteers have space to create workshops for young people and participate in youth activities for which they are getting support all the time. We want to ensure that anyone who joins our team is feeling good, motivated and to ensure all possible support and help. As for you, this project is going to be a challenge for us as well, we will try to give our best to be here for you, but the most important for us is that you are honest, communicate with us and respect our association and also the local community you will be part of. Motivation of young people to join ESC service is mostly to make new friends, acquire new skills, learn new things, learn more about our and other cultures and after all to have fun. Working together we can achieve all of this and much more, but we have to be open minded, ready for new challenges and not to be afraid of new things, asking for help or any questions that you may have.

In the following pages you will find some information about our association, about our town, region and in general, as well as some additional things we thought it can be useful for you

About ESC in general

So, I will start by giving you few advices about how to deal with ESC and the different types of issues you could have during that experience. First would probably be the cultural shock. ht. You will arrive and get involve in a new community and face a different culture, with different state of mind than yours, different habits and so on. In the country where you go, but also if you are involved with volunteers from other parts of Europe, the advice I can give you is to be patient, be curious about others and respect their differences as much as you can. Second important point is the good communication with you hosting association. Don’t be afraid to say it if you encounter any kind of issues, with your accommodation, your work, or something else. When you go for a long term period outside of your country to do an ESC, like most of the volunteers around Europe, you can encounter something called “The moral curve of volunteering”: it means that every 2-3 months, there is a possibility that you feel a little bit homesick, or you have some blues. You need to stay strong and talk with a confident, to a friend there, the mentor of your association, a friend at home or even your responsible in your sending association.

Last thing that we can recommend is to live your experience AT THE FULLEST. I mean that you shouldn’t waste time caring to much about meaningless things and obstacles. If you had totally different expectation and that the reality hits you, you should always

find something that makes you happy, and find every positive thing that you like in your project and in the new environment. Always remember the reasons that pushed you to do such a human experience.

About APS La Fenice

APS LA FENICE was born in July 2012, after a journey of about 6 years that brought some young people with common experiences (European exchanges, national voluntary service, volunteering and work at educational facilities and at the Youth Center OFF) to meet and work together. Specifically, the association pursues: - Research and promotion of culture, its expressive forms, creativity and spaces for expression, training, creation and cultural enjoyment - Recognition of cultural rights and promotion of access to knowledge, education and communication tools - Promotion of volunteering as democratic participation, both locally and internationally, for actions of solidarity, cooperation and citizenship - Promotion of social and sustainable tourism as a form of cultural exchange and deepening of knowledge between people and their territories, in particular the promotion of European mobility and exchanges, of actions within the European Voluntary Service/European Solidarity Corps and of the programs promoted by the European Commission - To aggregate citizens on the problems of civil, social and cultural life; education for civil liability and citizenship; promotion of citizenship, participation, social inclusion, democracy and rights at European Union and international level

- Commitment to build national, community and international relations and networks and for building international solidarity and cooperation practices, linked to the promotion of association networks at European and world level, to the implementation of cooperation initiatives and projects development education and globalization - The educational and lifelong learning activities (long life learning), informal and non-formal, of a professional nature, addressed to volunteers, operators and associative leaders, as well as to citizens and citizens, Italians and foreigners - Promotion of the culture of civil coexistence, equal opportunities, rights, religious and gender ethnic cultural differences, the protection of diversity and personal liberties and therefore the promotion of an open and multicultural society - Commitment to an eco-friendly society that promotes the defense and protection of the environment, the ecosystem, justice and a sustainable economy; promotion of renewable energy sources and support for the formation of an environmental awareness - The promotion and expansion of places and recreational, sporting and social opportunities and the promotion of activities and cultural expressions, entertainment, information and civil growth, also organized within the educational and educational facilities

Our mission Keywords and objectives of the association are:

CULTURE - Promoting young people's access to culture; support actions oriented to the development of culture, innovation and creativity as vital elements of participation and citizenship.

EDUCATION - Develop non-formal and peer-to-peer education opportunities, offer quality educational opportunities (at local, national and European level).

PARTICIPATION - Involve young people in decision-making processes to contribute to the development of sustainable policies focused on young people's opinions and decisions; fostering dialogue, including through web 2.0 technologies; activate participation actions through schools; encouraging voluntary work and social inclusion.

To know more about APS La Fenice: www.lafenicetortona.org https://www.facebook.com/LaFeniceAps/

About the Project

The volunteers will play an active role in the everyday activities of our organization; they will fully cooperate and support the staff and the national volunteers normally acting in the youth centre. They will develop life skills such as listening, communication and capacity to relate to others with an intercultural approach, empathy, availability to be active and get involved.

Part of the activities will be the organization of different workshops like artistic ones (music, hip-hop, poetry, graffiti), workshops of English- Danish-Irish language and culture and activities for young people on topics like inclusion, gender equality, tolerance, participation and active citizenship. In particular they will develop specific activities for schools about the topic of the European Identity, implementing laboratories and group activities to increase in young people the awareness of the European values, of the Erasmus+ Programme and of ESC Programme.

Over the last two years La Fenice worked with students from the local high schools on the themes of intercultural learning and inclusion, implementing workshops with classes and informal groups. The ESC volunteers will be involved in activities that promote wellbeing, empathy and solidarity among young people, contrasting violence, bullying and cyberbullying and Hate Speech using artistic and positive means.

One of the tasks of the volunteers will be to document the project, the activities implemented and to contribute to spread the results of it, through the page LaFeniceVolunteers on social media (Instagram and Facebook). The volunteers will be encouraged to bring their own ideas, creativity and experiences to the development of the project and of the specific activities for young people. The work will be aligned with the volunteers’ abilities and interests and they will participate in workshops according to their skills and attitudes.

The volunteers will participate in regular meetings with the staff of La Fenice and will receive ongoing support, also to get integrated into the local culture and language.

They will have the opportunity to attend a regular class of at the local school, according to their level of Italian. We consider very important to give them the linguistic support to allow them to be active, fully involved and able to communicate during the activities and in everyday life.

The volunteers’ activity will mainly take place at the local youth centre Chalet Castello, which is run by La Fenice staff together with the volunteers of the National Voluntary Service; the ESC volunteers will be complementary to this organization and will give support in order to implement the project.

To know more about the Youth Centre and La Fenice volunteers: https://www.facebook.com/ChaletYoutHub https://www.facebook.com/LaFeniceVolunteers/

About Tortona

Tortona is a rather small town situated in the North west of Italy! Tortona is a municipality in the southern part of the region , in the Province of , Italy.

Known in ancient times as Derthona, the city was probably the oldest colony under Roman rule in the westernmost section of the Valley of the , on the road leading from Genova to . The city was founded c. 123–118 BC at the junction of two great ( and Via Emilia).

The site made Derthona an important military station under the Romans. A bishopric was early founded at Tortona, but its first bishops are purely legendary, like Saint Marcianus of Tortona. Until the 9th century, the city was under the rule of its bishop; in 1090 it became a free commune with the name of Terdona. In 1155 Frederick Barbarossa leveled Tortona to the ground, leaving not one stone upon another. From 1260 to 1347 the city was dominated by a series of different Italian noble families and adventurers. In 1347, Tortona was incorporated into the territories of the . In 1735 the city was occupied by the King of Sardinia, and "count of Tortona" was added to the titles of the . The city was destroyed one more time by order of Napoleon in 1801.

Today, the area referring to Tortona covers up to 40 municipalities for a total of 600km (approximately one fifth of the whole province). Half of the area is flat, one third is hilly and the rest is mountainous (with mountains reaching 1700mt of height).

Tortona is in a strategic area, being in between of 4 different regions (Piemonte, Lombardia, and Emilia Romagna) and well connected to big cities such as: - Milano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan - Genova https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genoa - Torino https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turin

Some of the most typical products of our area are: the so-called “Lady’s kisses” (baci di dama) and “Golden kisses” (baci dorati), the unique biscuits made with nuts and chocolate; the “agnolotto”, a typical kind of “ravioli” filled with beef and usually served with a beef sauce or a wine sauce; the truffles, found in the local valleys in some of its finest varieties; the “little strawberries” of Tortona, known for their great scent and taste; the wine, produced by local families and cooperatives.

The city is also surrounded by beautiful and peaceful hills and countryside, the so called “Colli Tortonesi” (https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colli_tortonesi), with tons of tiny villages spread over the hills that are definitely worth exploring!

To know more about Tortona: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortona https://it.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Tortona http://www.vivitortona.it/

About your accommodation

The volunteers will have their own apartment, in the centre of Tortona. They will be hosted in a duplex apartment rented by the Association since May 2018 and consisting of: - 1 equipped kitchen with terrace and dining corner - 1 furnished living room, with a sofa bed and a 2-seater sofa and TV corner - 2 fully equipped bedrooms, on the first floor, with 2 single beds each and wardrobes - 1 bathroom with shower - 1 bedroom, on the second floor, furnished with a double bed and wardrobe and with private bathroom - Wifi throughout the apartment - Washing machine

The apartment is located in a typical two-story house in the city center, just 2 minutes away by foot from the main square, Piazza del Duomo, in Via Fracchia 11. The living environment is pleasant, informal and safe. The landlady lives in the same building, in the apartment opposite to that of the volunteers and is always available and present to help, to give information, and to also facilitate relations with other neighbors (who often do not speak English). Be careful, this also means that in case of troubles or non-agreed hosts and parties, we will be immediately informed ☺! For this reason, detailed rules about the use of the apartment and its commodities will be shared with volunteers at their arrival.

Practical management of the apartment (bills, problem solving, small interventions of maintenance, etc.) is provided by some of our volunteers, who will be available and as a reference for every issue, problem or need on a daily basis. General items for the house such as cleaning materials, toilet paper etc. are also provided by the association. Relations with the landlady for more significant questions and issues are generally managed directly by the board of La Fenice.

To facilitate the acquisition of autonomy and ownership, the volunteers are therefore substantially independent in their everyday life (expenses, meals management, cleaning, etc.), but always supported by our volunteers for any eventuality and need.

Tortona does not have a public transport network such as to require subscriptions or monthly tickets. The whole city can be crossed on foot within about 30-40 minutes, the Youth Centre and the city's high schools (main places of activity for the volunteers) are at a distance of about 10-15 minutes on foot from the apartment. The nearest supermarket is 15 minutes away on foot, but in the center there are also several small shops (grocery store, butcher, mini market, bars, etc.) useful for daily purchases. The

train station is about 10-15 minutes on foot. The hospital and the emergency room too. The Municipality is approx. 10 minutes away. Moreover, to facilitate the movements in the city, the Association can make bikes available to the volunteers, upon request.

What to bring for your stay in Tortona

All your personal items Remember to bring and stuff … of course some comfortable you can buy everything shoes and clothes: in Italy, if you have there are many doubts you can’t find outdoor activities and something here, let us projects at the Youth know and we can give Centre that will require

you some hints ☺! them! Bring something typical! We’d like to organize typical Don’t forget to bring dinners and evenings warm clothes, winter at the Youth Centre so can be pretty cold…e that you can share ven we’re in Italy ☺!! your culture with us

and with the local youth ☺!

We’re providing 1 set Water bottle… we’re of bed linens and trying to be as towels, but we advise sustainable as possible you to bring at least a at the youth centre, 2nd set of each (there’s and tap water is 100% no drying machine in safe and drinkable ☺! the apartment!)

Medical prescriptions, if you need to take any specific medication … or bring your own Valid ID documents (please, inform us in and your European advance about any Health Card… !!! possible medical condition we should be aware of!)

BASIC WORDS TO SURVIVE IN ITALY :)

USEFUL CONTACTS

Main Staff

Giulia Annibaletti Silvia Borgarelli Projects Coordinator Volunteers Mentor +39 3293933111 +39 3489376260

Laura Tomic Dejvi Glina Youth Centre Manager & Logistics Logistics +39 3462112224 +39 389 479 6696

Associazione di Promozione Sociale “LA FENICE” Emergency numbers Viale degli Olmi 1 112 - EU emergency number 15057, Tortona (AL) - Italy 113 - Police [email protected] 115 - Fire brigade www.lafenicetortona.org 118 - First Aid