Project environment

Project 1: EVS FOR CONNECTING CULTURES

We would like to invite 2 volunteers for 5 months to work in our organization. It is located in Bialystok, the region of Podlaskie, so called 'Green Lungs' of Poland. The volunteers will live in a dormitory, each will get a room of one's own. They will cooperate with other volunteers coordinated by the Foundation, working with refugees. There are many tasks for the volunteers, but they will not have to work more than 4-5 hours a day (unless they're willing to do so). In all tasks he/she will be assisted and supported by the coordinator. They will also get a professional's support if necessary

EVS volunteers will be accomodated in flats and dormitories. Each of them will be offered a room of his/her own. In Czerwony Bór they will have a 3-bedroom flat. They will spend 3 days in Czerwony Bór and the rest of the week in Bia³ystok

B. Proposed activities for EVS volunteers:

Project 1: EVS FOR CONNECTING CULTURES

1) PROMOTING EVS
EVS volunteers will prepare and distribute informative materials (e.g. posters, leaflets).
They will prepare. presentations and workshops to be run in schools, universities, clubs, with the aim of providing information about the European Voluntary Service. They will organize special events (e.g. culture evenings) where EVS and other voluntary activities could be promoted
The European volunteers' task will be also opening and running EVS Info Point/European Area at the Foundation. During the opening hours of the Info Point the volunteers will give information about programs for youth mobility, especially about EVS and collect CVs of possible candidates. He/She will help young people interested in EVS to understand what it is, explain procedures for participating in it and step by step help the possible candidates in all activities related to the EVS program ( e.g.: looking for a project in the European database, writing CV, etc).The volunteers could also offer consultancy about EVS experience.

2)OUR WEBSITE, OUR CHRONICLE
The volunteers could help us translate our Polish website and update it. They could also write a diary/chronicle of the main events happening in the Foundation. The diary/chronicle, a traditional paper book with text and photos, will be available to all guests visiting our Foundation. Besides, they can also write a blog/forum to share the news with anyone who visits our website.

3) TANDEM LANGUAGE LEARNING
Volunteer's responsibility would be to organize meetings of tandems (or meetings of more than two), where people interested in learning some particular language could meet at the office of Foundation of Education and Creativity on a weekly basis to exchange their knowledge. Volunteer's tasks would include: informing about time and place of the meetings; planing future meetings.

4) MOVIE DISCUSSION CLUB - CINEFORUM
Since cinema is a direct and effective means, it can be successfully used as a quick way to go deep into different aspects of a culture and language.
The volunteers, with the support of Polish people working in our Foundation, will organize projections of movies from different countries, dealing with various social and culture issues. After the movie, the audience will have a discussion. The language of discussions can be changed according to the participants' and volunteers' needs and possibilities.

5) BIG BROTHER BIG SISTER
BBBS is a programme in which volunteers are matched with children from dysfunctional families. They learn and spend time together. The task of the European volunteers will be to organise special events to promote this programme in Bia³ystok and integration events for volunteers and children/teenagers taking part in the BBBS programme. They will do this in cooperation with the BBBS coordinator.

6) FACING DISABILITY
The task will be to promote EVS for disable people and help them search for and prepare for the projects. . EVS will also design and run the integration meetings where the disabled can make friends, build social contacts and get active and involved. (e.g. tandem language learning, preparing EVS informative materials, etc)

7) OUR LANGUAGE SCHOOL
The Foundation runs a non-profit language schools where at low price we try to offer high quality of teaching. Volunteers and underprivilleged groups (refugees, families that cannot afford to pay a market price for language courses) are given extra discounts and all income from the school is put into the Foundation's projects. The task of EVS volunteers will be to promote the school, to help coordinate the groups, add 'social' dimension to the courses, by presenting workshops about important social and global issues. These presentations will be a part of the course programmes and will encourage students to get involved in other activities at the Foundation, e.g. working with the disabled, BBBS, etc. Learning a language by doing something together with EVS volunteers will benefit all sides.
If it is compatible with the volunteer's interests, they will be invited to teach their languages to groups of students. The volunteers, with teachers' support, will prepare lessons and run them, getting a professional teaching practice and advice.

EVS volunteers' education will take place both through organised training and individual research.

They will actively take part in preparing the strategy, plan and activities concerning their work. After introductory training they will start working in reception centres. Meanwhile, together with the coordinator from our Foundation, they will prepare lessons, presentations and tasks (including 'passages' game) connected with the topics of human rights and refugees to be used with Polish pupils. They will present the prepared classes to pupils in the Podlaskie region. Their presentations at schools will be combined with visiting different parts of the region and meeting the local people. They will also discuss the topics in the language students in our language schools.

Each EVS volunteer will get their own Polish mentor, whose task will be to introduce a volunteer to the Polish reality, culture and social life. Each EVS volunteer will be also offered the possibility of intensive Polish language learning in exchange for his/her native tongue.

With the assistance of the coordinator, EVS volunteers will have the possibility of carrying out their individual research and pursue their own personal interests and hobbies.

If they are willing, they will be invited to our Big Brother Big Sister programme and will get a 'brother' or 'sister' from a dysfunctional family to take care of.

C. Volunteer profiles and recruitment process

EVS volunteers we would like to receive in our organisation should be interested in the topic of refugees and asylum seekers. As our work demands mature attitude, we are looking for people above 18 years old. They should be keen on learning about foreign cultures, sharing experiences and cooperating in a team. They should be open, friendly and willing to help people who suffered a lot in the past and currently have problems with adapting to the society. As our work involves working with children, a volunteer should be patient and try to understand the needs of those who he/she will be working with. We are looking for people interested in gaining teaching and pedagogical experience. Refugees communicate in Russian, Chechen and often Polish, so volunteers working with them will be provided with training in one of the languages mentioned. Our Foundation is open to all EVS volunteers intersted in the kind of activities we offer.

We would like to cooperate especially with sending organisations dealing with problems of anti-discrimination, xenophobia, post-conflict rehabilitation, social integration and social exclusion. However, we are open and willing to cooperate with any organisations if that could help other people.

E. Risk prevention, protection and safety

We will guarantee a safe living and working environment for the EVS volunteers through close and systematic supervision of their work and environment. At an introductory meeting the volunteers will get clear information who they should contact in case of emergency or other problematic situations. Each EVS volunteer will get a personal mentor whose task will be to help him/her adapt to the society, deal with administrative issues and be a person to whom a volunteer can turn for support and advice. Furthermore, the project coordinator will be also in touch with both volunteers and their mentors and will act if the need arises. To prevent crises, we will introduce the volunteers to their work and environment in detail. At regular meetings we will discuss all current problems, connected both with their work and personal condition (emotional crises, adapting to the new environment, etc.)
Because of the nature of work, we would like to invite volunteers of 18 years old or above.

Motivation and EVS experience

One of the main aims of our organization is the education of the Polish society in the topics of refugees and asylum seekers. For the last 3 years we have been trying to raise the awareness of the problem and help the integration of asylum seekers and immigrants with the society. At the moment, as the partner of the Schuman Foundation, we are preparing and coordinating EVS activities in the region of Podlaskie voivodship. This includes their work in reception centres, language training and mentoring, preparing lesson plans on human rights, refugee law and 'passages' game. We are gathering experience to become a host organization in the near future. We have found that EVS volunteers ideally fit in the scope of our activities which, apart from working with asylum seekers, are aimed at increasing the level of European cooperation, breaking the stereotypes and promoting different cultures among our society. Hence, EVS volunteers would contribute a lot to our work and mission. At the same time, we are able to offer a very friendly environment and extensive learning opportunities to EVS volunteers cooperating with us.

As a mentoring and volunteering centre , every year we train new volunteers. If we become a sending organisation in the future, we will be able to extend our activities and offer our volunteers the possibility of travelling, getting to know foreign cultures and do volunteer work abroad.

Since the Foundation was started, we have been constantly cooperating with a number of other organisations. If we could get more experience in EVS, we would like to become a coordinating organisation in the future and facilitate the cooperation between our partners.

Description of the organisation

Foundation of Education and Creativity was established in 2001. As a non-profit organisation, our mission is to educate, help and support individuals, groups and the whole society. Since the beginning of the Foundation we have been coordinating the Big Brother Big Sister programme which aims at social integration of children and teenagers with fewer opportunities (health, learning, emotional problems, difficult family situation). Our Foundation is also the Mentoring and Volunteering Centre, cooperating with Municipal Office of Family Assistance (MOPR). For the last 3 years our regular activities are also aimed at improving the situation of refugees and asylum seekers in the region of Podlasie. We have organised language training, legal advice and activities for children. We have also involved the local media in our campaign to educate the society on the refugee topic, the part of which was a conference held in Higher School of Public Administration (WSAP) in Bialystok (among the participants were the Mayor of Bialystok and the Voivod of Podlaskie). Our Foundation is also a language learning centre, with a non-profit language school, a media library and Montessori learning centres. We have successfully carried out a number of projects, all of them aimed at improving the situation of individuals and groups with fewer opportunities. We have always ensured that the beneficiaries are selected irrespective of their race, religion, nationality, gender and political opinion.

Our main target group are children and teenagers. However, we have also designed numerous courses and training sessions for adults.

At the moment our staff consist of 10 people who deal with projects coordination, promotion and website, the library, accountancy and teaching. In addition there are 8 members of the Board and the Council (supervisory organ).