Project environment:
Outline the project environment for the suggested voluntary activities, including the local community where the project will take place (e.g. geographical, social and economical environment). If the host placement is located in a live-in community, please include the rules and conditions that apply also for the volunteer.

Pianoro is a calm place of Bologna (Emilia Romagna region), in the northern Italy, standing at the feet of Bolognese Apennines.
It count almost 16.600 inhabitants (of which about 1000 between 12-25 years old). Its geographic placement, the railway and highway net are very useful and give a significantly contribution to its economic development. Pianoro is a rich village and even if it is near to a big provincial capital, Pianoro offers to its inhabitants many services and infrastructures (swimming pool, cinema, theatre, buses and trains that enable people to easily move to Bologna). The strong presence of little and medium companies characterizes the economical local field (there are about 2.800 companies for an amount of 8.160 attendant).
The general well-being has made, especially in the last years, the public-social dimension not so necessary. However the young people of Pianoro tend to move to other territories searching for setting able to satisfy their needs and they react with passiveness, economically and culturally powerless to be at the core and owner of projects.
To handle this situation, the Municipality of Pianoro has found, for the first time in 2004, the Youth Policies Local Authority. It aims at solving this situation and intends to rediscover public spaces as everyone's places and Local Authority as a means at citizen and community service. The attempt to turn this policies in daily use it means build cultural and political places, spaces of delineation and responsibility. Since 2004 there have been enabled on the territory many projects that brought to the activation of the Eurodesk counter in 2005 and the realization of a Youth Cultural Centre in 2006.

The Youth Cultural Centre aims to be a place where can be promoted paths and active citizenship experiences, diffusion of values as tolerance and respect for other cultures. The Youth Cultural Centre is part of a bigger range of initiatives that the Youth Policies is creating. The Youth Policies Councillor and all the operators on the territory dealing with youth, are young people. All the actions activated by the Local Authority leads to the promotion of active citizenship and involvement. To this purpose youth is directly involved in the organization of the activities, in the promotion of the activities addressed to them, in the ideation and realization of the projects.
Since two years now the Municipality is the owner of the Eurodesk counter of Bologna, and it has 15 local Eurodesk relays. Since the opening of the Youth Cultural Centre the counter opened to the public has been moved into the Youth Cultural Centre. There is a strong partnership with the youth associations of the territory. The Youth Policies Councillor is opened ad looks out for proposals of activities for the young people that can come from Italy or Europe. For an example last year during springtime, the Youth Cultural Centre hosted the regional Youthsummit, welcoming young people from all the region. The Municipality hosts the volunteers of the National Civil Service, who collaborate with the activities of Eurodesk project and of the Youth Cultural Centre.

The activities that characterise the operators' work inside the Youth Cultural Centre can be grouped in areas:

Ideative area: to this area belong all the activities of conception and programming of the activities realized in the Youth Cultural Centre. The operators meet the young people, the associations and the representative of external reality to put together ideas and proposals, to schedule the cultural activities and the events, to choose what kind of classes and workshops to realise, which concerts to organise. As an example there can be meetings with the partisan association to organise the 25th April memorial day, with the representative of the Erasmus of the territory to organise a multicultural party, with the local young people to choose the concerts, etc.

Organizational area: to this area belong all the activities headed to the organization of the Youth Cultural Centre and the realization of the events and cultural activities, to the managing of the budget and for the coordination of the people who will cooperate during the different moments of the event. For an example, for the organization of a workshop we have to choose and contact a teacher, define the appointment schedule, check the availability of the spaces and instrument required, to note the registrations, etc. To organise a concert, we have to contact the group, understand what kind of payment they require, check the availability of the instrumentation required, etc. For the organization of dedicate weeks (example: Africa's week) we need to coordinate the work of many people and different realities.
To this area also belong the activities of working side by side with young people to use the spaces of the Youth Cultural Centre. For an example the computer room is available in certain timetable, for the free use of internet and computers.
The operators work side by side with young people with informal modalities and they propose to them to take part to workshop and simple activities connected to the use of computers. The same thing happens for musical workshops and music practice room, etc.

Promotional Area: on the occasion of any event, the operator give many attention for its promotion. It is needed to think about flyers, realise them and hand them out, promote the event using internet and sending email. Depending on the event, announcements can be spread through local radios and journals.

Educational Area: on a daily basis the operators, with the use of informal methodology, work for the aim of:
- involving the young people in the management of the Youth Cultural Centre, in order to make the Youth Cultural Centre a reference point for the young people of the territory
- being an open channel for communication between young people and Institution
- encouraging and promoting initiatives and path of young people's self-management
- improving and encouraging youth creativity

Multicultural Area and European Mobility: to this area belong all the activities to promote multicultural integration and promote different European mobility opportunities. Two afternoons per week the Eurodesk counter is opened to young people. Periodically the operator of the counter organises meetings to introduce opportunities of European mobility, also with the support of young people who already had this kind of experience.

Proposed activities for EVS volunteers:
Please explain:
" what you can offer to volunteers in terms of Service and learning opportunities,
" what will be the role of EVS volunteers in the Host Organisation,
" the activities in which the volunteers could be involved and the activities the volunteers could create in your organisation. Please give examples of typical activities for the volunteers.

We want to offer to the volunteer an environment that will enable the volunteer to carry out a path of personal and professional growth. The volunteer will daily work side by side with the operators of the Youth Cultural Centre and in particular with the cultural operator, that will be his/her supervisor. The experience of learning "on the job", will take place through this constant full time mentoring and comparison thanks to the moment of thinking over organized by the tutor.
The permanence in Italy for a long period, the introduction in a new social contest and the meeting with people from a different culture (both during working and in his/her free time) will give the volunteer the chance to know directly a different reality and to develop some intercultural skills (being conscious of the ways of thinking, feeling, acting and own values, creating comparisons and similarities, thinking on stereotypes, breaking down prejudices, accepting differences, valuing the possibilities of mediation and integration between different aspects).
The experience will allow the volunteer to mature his/her skills in the organization of cultural events (finding initiatives and contents; scheduling the event: planning, finding places, coordinating the people involved in the organization, realization of the promotional initiatives, deciding the price of the tickets; managing the negotiations with other people involved in the organization, fundraising). The volunteer will daily work side by side the supervisor and the other operators that will help him/her, especially during the first days, to learn how to act in the contest, what to do and how to do it.
The volunteer will have the possibility to learn new ways to promote young people active citizenship (listening and observing their needs, ability to catch their interests and stimulating their creativity, ability to organize activities in line with their interests). The volunteer will observe how the operators interact with young people and will have the chance to measure and comparing with them.
This experience will enable him/her to know how a Youth Cultural Centre can be managed and in general how a territory can deal with youth policies.
The volunteer will have the opportunity to develop and improve his/her potentialities, skills and technical abilities (informatics, artistic, musical abilities) collaborating to the management of the activities and workshops and using the instrumentations available at the Youth Cultural Centre.
During his/her staying, he/she will have the chance to deepen his/her knowledge of Italian culture and language; during the first months he/she will be given the possibility to attend a Italian course in order to make easier his/her path of understanding the language and his/her inclusion in the local reality.
Depending on his level of knowledge of Italian, it will be decided how the volunteer will use the course. For example he/she can take part to courses organized by the Permanent Territorial Centre for the education and training of adult people. The course will be included in the work time. Also, the volunteer will have the chance to practice his/her English, that will be defined as the language for the first months and if the volunteer has problems with Italian to communicate with the operators.

During his/her first days of presence at the Youth Cultural Centre the volunteer will have the chance to pose himself/herself in a of sort of "participated observation".
He/she will work together with the operators and watch their work. He/she can dedicate his/her time to build relationships with young people that already hang out at the Youth Cultural Centre and to understand the contest in which he/she will work. Being introduced in a place attended by the young people of the territory will encourage his/her introduction in the local contest, giving him/her the occasion to build useful relationships to the managing of his/her free time.
As time passes by, the role of the volunteer will be less observing and more of participation/collaboration, always side by side with the operators, until the last period in witch he/she can improve him/herself in the managing of a some activities, in line with his/her skills and interests.
During the whole project he/she will be given spaces during which he/she can think, propose and express his/her point of view. In this way his/her presence will be an occasion of growth and enrichment for him/her but also for the young people of the Youth Cultural Centre; expressing his/her way of thinking he/she can activate occasions of intercultural knowledge and exchange.
The volunteer won't occupy empty roles, he/she won't have decisional responsibilities. He/she can make proposals and express his/her opinion, give his/her precious help to the realization of the activities. The constant comparison with the operators will be the motivation force for his path of personal and professional growth.
Even in occasion of events opened to the whole citizenry, his/her presence will be encouraged so that he/she can bring his/her experience to the community and enhance the intercultural sensibility.
His/her presence will be emphasized as experience of the opportunity of European mobility and as motivation for the civic sense and active citizenship growth of local young people.
We hope that the being in touch with him/her will be an occasion for building other projects, maybe a youth exchange with people of the same nationality of the volunteer.
The Youth Centre cultural operator will be his/her supervisor, and will daily stand by his/her side during his/her work, she will listen to his/her difficulties and will give advices on the things she/he could do and how to do them.
An operator of the Youth Policies office will be the tutor of the volunteer. The tutor will encourage the integration of the volunteer not only at the Youth Cultural Centre but also in the whole local community, will support him during his stay in Italy and assure that the occasions of learning. For this purpose, every fifteen days the tutor will meet the volunteer to better understand his/her needs, expectations, difficulties and help him/her ponder on the path he/she is doing and on what he/she is learning from his working experience and from the social contest. The tutor will solve with him/her the problems for example the managing of the pocket money and the lodging. The volunteer him/herself can contact the tutor at any time.

The volunteer will work side by side with the operators at the Youth Cultural Centre and in particular with the cultural operator.
With each volunteer will be defined how he will dedicate him/herself to the various activities, minding his/her interest, attitudes and studies. For example the volunteer interested in cultural activities can take part to the organization of the events, a volunteer interested in the educational purpose can take part to informal activities and involvement of young people.

In particular:

Creative Area: the volunteer will join the operator during the meetings, he/she will express his/her opinion and give a contribution. Most of all, he/she will be involved during the meetings connected to the conception of the activities and he/she will be involved in the meeting with the young people of the territory.
Organizational Area:
According to his attitudes the volunteer will cooperate with the operators for the organization of classes and workshops, or concerts and other cultural events that will be organized during his/her stay. He/she can help the young people during their activities.
Promoting Area:
According to his/her skills the volunteer will co-work to the realization of the leaflet and their delivery on the territory, the insert of advertisement in websites, editing of radio announces.
Educational Area:
According with the initial project, the volunteer will work with the educational operators that act at the Youth Cultural Centre to promote paths of involvement and interest of young people.
Multicultural Area:
The volunteer will cooperate with the Eurodesk Counter activities, supporting the operator in the promotion of the European mobility programs for young people and in the realization of promotional materials.
During the last months the volunteer will have the chance to conceive an activity and manage it autonomously. The volunteer will keep track of the project during the different steps, starting from the conception to the realization and a final report. He/she will have the responsibility but he/she will be always side by side and supported by the operators in the Youth Cultural Centre.
For example the other volunteers organized the Europe festival and the Youth Summit and they managed a theatre workshop.
In general the volunteer will work 5 days a week during the Youth Cultural Centre timetable, for about 6/7 hours a day for an amount of 30/35 hours a week. The timetable and the days will be accorded between the volunteer and the operator of the Youth Cultural Centre in accord with the calendar and the needs of the volunteer.
In occasion of particular occasion it could be proposed to the volunteer to take part at meetings during the morning or during the afternoon, or to dedicate him/herself to activities when the Youth Cultural Centre is not open for people, but always according to the total amount of his timetable (30 hours)

Possible timetable:

Tuesday 16.00-22.00 6 Hours Welcoming of the young people, taking part to meetings, support events organization, promotion, informal relationship with young people
Wednesday 16.00-22.00 6 Hours
Thursday 16.00-22.00 6 Hours
Friday 16.00-24.00 8 Hours Managing events
Saturday or Sunday 19.00-24.00 o
16.00-20.00 4/5 Hours Managing events


Occasionally his/her presence will be required during the morning to take part to meetings. In this case the hours will be subtract from the weekly amount.
The volunteer will be lodged in a single apartment in Pianoro that the Municipality will offer.
He/she will have a single room so that she/he can have privacy. The apartment will be furnished with a kitchen nook, furniture and all the necessary to live in. The volunteer will provide him/herself to prepare the lunch and to shop at the supermarket. The Municipality will provide to pay for it. If the apartment won't be next to the place of work, the volunteer will be given the money to buy bus tickets. At his/her arrival he/she will be given all the necessary information on means of transport, supermarket etc.
During the evening he/she can have dinner at the Youth Cultural Centre.
Volunteer profiles and recruitment process:
Please describe the profiles of volunteers you would like to receive in your organisation. Include information on how you ensure an open and transparent recruitment process as well as the overall accessibility of EVS to all young people. Consider further information about the type of Sending Organisation you want to cooperate with. This information can help the match-making between volunteer candidates, Sending Organisations and your organisation.

The project is opened to all the volunteers aged 18 years old and over. We haven't any preferences about nationality, age or educational qualification. We are looking for volunteers, who are well-motivated in taking part of the following project. His/Her predisposition to work with young people, interest in communication with other people, excitement and adaptation ability would help the volunteer to introduce himself/herself into the project. To this end we will send to all the applicants, a formulary to understand better (realize) their motivation to the project and their characteristics. We believe that, to help the volunteer's inclusion, a basic knowledge of Italian or English is necessary.
We hope that the relationship with the volunteer and the sending organization could help the fulfilment of other events (such as, youth exchanges) but the volunteer can be sent by any sending organization.

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=42000525001