Project environment:

Imagina, the Youth House of Alcobendas, promotes and organises training and information activities for youth in the town aged between 14 and 30 years. As part of our policy of providing opportunities of participation in international programmes, we have been hosting EVS volunteers who support us in our work for several years. This project includes hosting 6 volunteers for 9 months (October/2008 - June2009). Volunteers will mainly participate in activities in the Youth House, but also in related institutions (Library, Refugee Hosting Centre) in Alcobendas. This gives us the opportunity of giving organistions and youth collectives and individuals first hand information and a living model of the virtues of such a training and vital experience as this one. Volunteers will, therefore, integrate in the day-to-day activities of the Youth House to collaborate in the promotion, diffusion and organisation of activities, directed mainly to youth.

Alcobendas is located to about 15 km to the north of Madrid, counts on a population of 100,000 inhabitants and a very dynamic social and economic structure. It has an important industrial and business centre which employs a lot of people of Alcobendas. Regarding services, the City Council of Alcobendas is one of most outstanding ones of the Community of Madrid, with over 1,000 public employees and a large number of social, cultural and sport services for the citizens.

The youth population of Alcobendas is undergoing a fast transformation since the past years. When we began to receive volunteers EVS, in 1997, there were very few young immigrants, and therefore, their impact upon the local population was very little. Nowadays that situation has changed. The presence of immigrants is important among youth. It is important to have this into consideration when planning intervention activities for youth. We want to take advantage of the presence in Alcobendas of EVS volunteers to promote the integration of young immigrants.

PROJECT’S DESCRIPTION

CAR is a centre sited in Alcobendas where asylum seekers live while waiting for a legal and
social conditions. Our volunteer wil work in a very intercultural enviroment and will have the
opportunity to contact people from all over the world. As their situation as refugees is quite
difficult and sad our volunteer is mean to help them to make their lifes a little bit happier.

OBJECTIVES

• Bring into the CAR a new and fresh energy coming from an European volunteer which may help the residents in their daily life.

• Motivate and invigorate the CAR residents by organizing activities for involve them as much as possible in the local community.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

• Working in the library of C.A.R. (doing lecture activities, lendig books and controling whether residents return them back, etc...)

• Accompanying people from C.A.R. to the city hall, to Social Security Department and to the medical Centre to help them obtain their documents(empadronamiento, number of social insurance, medical card)

• Organising visits with the residents to go for the leisure activities which are taken place in Alcobendas or Madrid ( museums, sport activities, games activities, lecture activities in libraries, etc...)

• When necessary accompanying residents to the doctor

*Activities for leisure time:
music workshop, any kind of dance, theatre workshop, visit to Science Museum or any
other, Halloween party, movies, sports, etc...

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=30001023952