Study on the Impact of Transnational Volunteering Through the European Voluntary Service
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Study on the Impact of Transnational Volunteering through the European Voluntary Service Annex 1 – Case Studies April 2017 1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Study on the Impact of Transnational Volunteering through the European Voluntary Service Annex 1 – Case Studies EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Directorate Youth, Education and Erasmus+ Unit Youth, Volunteer Solidarity and Traineeship Office E-mail: [email protected] European Commission B-1049 Brussels 2 Disclaimer This document has been prepared for the European Commission. However, it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017 Catalogue number NC-01-17-313-EN-N ISBN 978-92-79-67780-9 doi: 10.2766/19212 © European Union, 2017 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 3 HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS Free publications: • one copy: via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu); • more than one copy or posters/maps: from the European Union’s representations (http://ec.europa.eu/represent_en.htm); from the delegations in non-EU countries (http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/index_en.htm); by contacting the Europe Direct service (http://europa.eu/europedirect/index_en.htm) or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) (*). (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). Priced publications: • via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu). 4 Table of Contents Table of Contents 5 Impact of EVS in Kohila, Estonia 6 Impact of EVS in Lahti, Finland 18 Impact of EVS in Roubaix, France 29 Impact of EVS in Berlin, Germany 42 Impact of EVS in Nagyvázsony, Hungary 52 Impact of EVS in Pordenone, Italy 60 Impact of EVS in Rotterdam, The Netherlands 73 Impact of EVS in Warsaw, Poland 83 Impact of EVS in Faro, Portugal 94 Impact of EVS in Baia Mare, Romania 112 Impact of EVS in Belgrade, Serbia 125 Impact of EVS in Murcia, Spain 136 Impact of EVS in Istanbul, Turkey 145 Impact of EVS in Lviv, Ukraine 154 Impact of EVS in the UK 164 5 Impact of EVS in Kohila, Estonia Basic facts . Name of EVS organisation: Kohila Open Youth Centre (of the Kohila municipality) . Size of organisation: 4 members of staff (2 full-time and 2 part-time) and 2 volunteers . Location: Kohila is a borough in Rapla County in northern Estonia. It has a population of 3,505 and is the administrative centre of Kohila Parish. Implementing EVS projects since: 2007 . The organisation is accredited for: Receiving volunteers. They have sent one volunteer to Macedonia this year for the first time, and are planning to send more in the future. Volunteering sector: Youth sector . The recurrent theme(s) of EVS projects organised by the organisation: Art, culture, education, sport and outdoor activities . Target groups of the organisation’s activities: Children and youth . Previously received EVS volunteers with fewer opportunities: No . Size of international contacts of the organisation: The organisation has no other international networks outside of the EVS. They took part in some youth exchanges in Estonia but did not organise this themselves. EVS is typically implemented in collaboration with: Kohila Kindergarten (Kindergarten Sipsik). Some volunteers also spend one day per week in a youth centre in the nearby town of Hageri (Hageri Open Youth Centre). Background of EVS in Kohila Open Youth Centre Kohila Open Youth Centre is located in the Kohila Municipality in northern Estonia. It first started to implement EVS projects in 2007 in order to gain new knowledge through volunteers and open up young people and the local community to different cultures. According to the interviewed former head of the Kohila Open Youth Centre, ‘with these projects we want to give the children and our community a new understanding and introduce them to new people who have different cultures and languages’. The youth centre also wanted to show young people the possibilities they have to see Europe, such as through EVS, youth exchanges or Erasmus+. For its first seven years of implementing EVS project, the Kohila Open Youth Centre only used to take on one volunteer per year. However, in the last few years they have started to take on two volunteers. This encouraged the youth centre to start looking for a partner and therefore they asked the Kohila Kindergarten. The kindergarten has now been involved in EVS for two years. Language skills was also a very important aspect for the youth centre which they aimed to address through the EVS projects, especially English. The interviewed former head of the youth centre explained that both young people and adults in the local community are too shy to speak English, whereas speaking it every day with someone would make them feel more confident. Nevertheless, the youth centre has had volunteers from a range of countries – including Spain, France, Italy, Ukraine and Russia. They have not previously hosted volunteers with fewer opportunities. The types of tasks that EVS volunteers perform during their EVS include helping with the day to day running of the youth centre, for example by organising events for different occasions such as Halloween, and doing crafts such as a Valentine’s Day card competition. Volunteers also help in the Kohila Kindergarten, for instance by doing exercises with the children. In addition, volunteers provide support to the Hageri Open Youth Centre, which is located in a 6 town near Kohila. The interviewed former head of the host organisation reported that they try to find something new and different to do every year with each new volunteer. EVS volunteers have also helped with different community events, for example at the local school or the Kohila local government. Impact on volunteers Perspective of ex-EVS volunteer from Ukraine who volunteered in Estonia in Dec 2015 – Dec 2016 A. is a young 22 year-old woman from Ukraine who is currently studying a Master’s in Mathematics in Kiev, Ukraine. She returned from her EVS in December 2016, after having done an 11 month mobility in Kohila, Estonia, with the Kohila Open Youth Centre. A. does not consider herself to be at a disadvantage compared to her peers, but recognises that she comes from a poorer country. However, she explained that everyone during her EVS knew about the volatile situation in Ukraine and this presented no problem; people were polite, kind and she had very high living conditions in Estonia. A. described that for her, coming on EVS was ‘destiny’. She had previously done volunteering in her home town for two years during the summer, where she worked with children from the first and second grades. This involved activities such as taking the children to the cinema, the zoo and playing games with them. A. enjoyed this experience of working with children very much, so she decided as a ‘new year’s resolution’ to work more with children. Initially, she wanted to find something in Kiev, Ukraine, as that is where she is going to university. However, she accidentally found an article about EVS in Kohila on a social network group, which posts opportunities for youngsters, such as internships and job postings around Ukraine and abroad. Previous to this she did not know anything about EVS, but decided to apply for it. From then on, A. explained that ‘everything happened very quickly – they called me in two days and then asked me to come straight away’. The whole process took just a couple of weeks. She explained that she felt lucky to have experienced such a fast process, as usually EVS volunteers (such as her co-volunteers) have to wait almost one year to go on their projects. A. explained that her EVS situation was a special case, as a former volunteer from her host organisation had left her EVS before finishing the mobility, which meant that the youth centre was looking for another volunteer to replace her as soon as possible. During her EVS, A. did a variety of tasks and activities - she was an assistant in the Kohila Kindergarten for two days per week, and was an art class assistant for one day per week in another youth centre (Hageri Open Youth Centre). For the remaining two days, she assisted the workers in the Kohila Open Youth Centre with any tasks which they required support with. For instance, she helped them organise different events such as children’s holiday parties. In addition, A. also helped with different community events, for example at the local school or the Kohila government, and led information technology workshops and Russian lessons in the school. As a result of doing EVS, A. explained that the most significant change she experienced was being more confident in herself. The experience enabled her to trust herself more, and to not be afraid of implementing her own ideas and making mistakes. This was very important for her as she explained that ‘I am an easy going person, but I was not so open before the programme. EVS enabled me to become more confident and braver’. She also learnt to not be afraid to make mistakes. EVS gave her opportunities to make mistakes and to learn from them, as ‘non-one judges you’.