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Organising cultural, environmental and media-related workshops for young people, sailing and hosting a radio show on a Greek Island – this is what this 9 month ESC volunteering project has in store for you!
Location: Chios Island, Greece
Dates: September 2020 – June 2021 (we are closely monitoring the development of Covid-19 and will adjust the dates accordingly if needed)
About the project
Whether it’s the single-use plastic ban, Fridays for Future, or the EU Green New Deal – environmental topics are moving into the focus of European politics and young people’s lives. To support this development, we collaborate with organisations that are actively making a positive change in the environmental field. This voluntary service opportunity on Chios Island with TES-Hienet is part of a bigger project we are coordinating across 5 different European countries: “Volunteers for a Green Future”.
Your hosting organisation
The project is hosted by the organisation Experimental-TES-HIENET, an organisation that involves youngsters with fewer opportunities in their daily work and aims to provide meaningful activities to enhance their skills and competencies. The main areas of their work involve the organisation of cultural and social events, a radio programme, sailing courses on their yacht, and courses about technology and media use. Chios island is a rural area and the society, especially in the schools, has clear rules and conceptions – so you can expect a bit of a tough, but very rewarding and life-changing experience.
Your tasks as a Volunteer
As an ESC volunteer with Experimental-TES-HIENET, you are expected to contribute your time and energy towards the aims and objectives of the project, and attend regular meetings and workshops.
You will be involved in the daily work of local schools and help the educators with their tasks. You will have an active role during the preparations of all the celebrations and learn, together with the children, about the festivities, the local customs and culture. You will have the chance to propose your own activities, particularly with a focus on environmental topics, and engage the local youngsters in discussions around sustainability and green lifestyles.
You will also support children, young people, teachers and parents to learn how to use computers, how to realize educational, cultural, youth, sports and touristic projects sustainably.
According to your competencies and needs and those of the hosting organisation, your tasks may involve:
- 70% of the time:
- Taking part as an assistant in the educational procedure, also realizing environmental, cultural and sports activities at the Day Nursery, Kindergarten or Primary schools of the Island
- Educational, Cultural, Sport and Touristic Projects within the organisation
- Offering help to the elderly and people with fewer opportunities on the island
- Organising seminars for educators, parents, youngsters and children on media and technology
- Learning by helping and teaching children and young people how to sail on the sailing yacht of the hosting organisation
- 20% of the time:
- Creation of new ideas and realisation of activities, texts’ translations, participation in environmental activities.
- Text translation tasks and promotion of the results of our activities on the web site http://www.4youth.eu/ and in many other web sites
- 0,5% of the time:
- Participating in the EVS Internet Radio – as the responsible person for the technical part, the sound and general management, development and realization of recordings, sound mixing, interviews, news to the Hosting organization’s on-line EVS internet radio station www.chiosradio.gr
- Our Place. Keeping the hosting and working place clean and in order (house, garden, yacht etc). Taking care of the common spaces of the organisation – house, garden, yacht.
To get a clearer idea of what volunteering with Experimental-TES-HIENET looks like, check out these links made by previous EVS/ESC volunteers:
- So far, we have sent 2 youngsters to Chios island in the past year, who gave very positive feedback on their voluntary service experience. Check out their reports in our Notes section on Facebook!
- We all had to adapt in the past few months – see how voluntary services continued despite Corona on Chios here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Da9f3KQKQ&feature=youtu.be
- Here you can find our more about the different activities http://www.4youth.gr/
- Listen to the volunteer’s Radio Station at http://www.chiosradio.gr
By becoming a volunteer on this project, you would have the chance to…
- develop social, intercultural and interpersonal skills by working with a lot of different people of all ages
- enhance your awareness of environmental topics and engage other young people to take action – politically and in their immediate surrounding
- get to know different kinds of computer software and technology for radio programmes and develop competencies in teaching others how to use them
- promote the safe and informed use of media and technology for young people
- organise educational, cultural and other projects to make a change in the local community
- promote volunteering and active engagement in society among Greek youngsters and German youngsters upon your return home
Support and Mentoring
Throughout your voluntary service, you will be guided by your mentor and coordinator. Your coordinator will discuss your tasks and ideas with you, provide you with assistance in developing those and discuss your learning development on a weekly basis. Your mentor will help you integrate with the local community, help you figure out life on a Greek island and discuss your learning process and development with you.
To enable you to fully participate in life on Chios, you will be enrolled in a Greek language course through the OLS portal, where you can improve your language skills throughout your ESC.
We are closely monitoring the situation with Covid-19 and are ready to adjust the dates if needed. To be up to date on travel restrictions and safety measurements, you can check the information provided by the Auswärtiges Amt.
Costs and Insurance
Your participation in the ESC programme is free.
Your hosting organisation will pay for and organise your accommodation in a shared flat with other volunteers. You will have to share a room with one other person of the same sex and share the kitchen, bathroom and common areas with other volunteers. The accommodation is very basic.
You will receive pocket money of 5€ per day. Each week, you provide a shopping list of food to the hosting organisation and they will buy it for you and pay for it.
You will receive health insurance for the duration of the project. Depending on your age, you may qualify for German Kindergeld, as the ESC is a recognised volunteering programme and we can issue a certificate that confirms your status as a volunteer.
Travel costs will be reimbursed up to 360€. As we want to lower the carbon footprint of our projects as much as possible, we encourage you to travel without using planes – we are happy to support you finding a route that uses trains, busses and, of course, a ship to the island!
If you have any other questions – just contact Irma: [email protected]
Selection process
You can apply, if the following criteria applies to you:
- You are between 18 and 30 years old on the first day of the voluntary service
- You are a resident of Germany
- You have at least basic competencies in English (understanding, speaking, writing)
- You are motivated to engage in the tasks listed above and committed to contributing with your experience, skills and sense of initiative
- You are curious to try new things, including life on a rather quiet island in simple living conditions in a foreign country
- You are a responsible person, able to work independently and within an international team
Application Deadline: 07.08.2020
To apply, please fill the form below! We will get back to you after the deadline and invite you for a Skype interview. Afterwards, you will also be interviewed by the current volunteers at the hosting organisation, who will take the final decision.
(Images: Lea von Mücke)
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