Project environment: profile of the organisation and local community

Atlantic Bridge has three projects in Zeeland, the southwestern province of the Netherlands. Zeeland is a province made up of fingers and islands of land that extend into the North Sea. The landscape has been drastically altered by floods throughout the centuries. As a whole, the province is not overly friendly towards outsiders, but that is gradually changing as people become more interested in cross-cultural issues. Zeeland is typically Protestant, with pockets of Catholicism, mostly in the south and east.

EVS volunteers are hosted in three areas in this province: South Beveland in a village called Kruiningen - the headquarters and office of Atlantic Bridge; Zeeuws Vlaanderen in and around the town of Terneuzen - land that lies between the Netherlands and Belgium; Walcheren in and around the city of Middelburg - the capital city for the province of Zeeland. These three regions are very different from each other.

- South Beveland is a mostly rural and agricultural area where many potatoes and onions are grown and prepared for the rest of the Netherlands. The village of Kruiningen has about 3.500 inhabitants. Together with six other towns, it forms the township of Reimerswaal. The town hall and other government offices of Reimerswaal are located in Kruiningen. It is typcially a conservative Protestant area. Kruiningen lies about a 20-minute walk from the Westerschelde. The closest city, Goes, is about 10 minutes away (by train) with a population of 35.000.

- Zeeuws Vlaanderen is a very mixed region. It is the piece of land between the Netherlands and Belgium. It was agricultural, but industry has been growing at a great rate. It is a blend of laid-back farmers and multi-national companies. It is predominately Catholic, but there are very strong Protestant areas as well. Zeeuws Vlaanderen is also a mix of Dutch and Belgian influences. Since it is cut off from the Netherlands by water, people in this area have strong ties to Belgium. There are many multi-cultural issues in this area. The main city is Terneuzen, with a population of 24.000.

- Walcheren is a very old region of Zeeland. The main city of Middelburg (population 46.000) dates back to at least the 9th century. It is the most multi-cultural area of Zeeland with an English-speaking university in Middelburg (Roosevelt Academy) and a large port in Vlissingen, a stop on the shipping route between Antwerpen and Rotterdam. Walcheren is predominately Protestant.

Atlantic Bridge has a fourth project in the area of Tholen/Bergen op Zoom. While these two towns are geographically close together, in most other ways they are very different. Tholen is an island, mostly rural, joined to Zeeland by dikes and causeways. Bergen op Zoom is in the province of West Brabant and is a very multi-cultural city with two international companies having a base there. Tholen is home to 25.000 inhabitants, spread over seven villages. Bergen op Zoom is a thriving city with a population of 66.000. Tholen is a very conservative Protestant area while Bergen op Zoom is predominately Catholic and one of the few cities in the Netherlands that celebrates Carnaval.

Atlantic Bridge has a fifth project in Houten, in the province of Utrecht. Houten is a city of about 45.000 inhabitants and was designed as a suburb to Utrecht (about 10 minutes away by train). However, it is a unique city in itself. Houten has a varied demography: professionals, craftsmen and artisans, 'hang' youth, etc. These 'hang' youth have little connection to school and some already have a job. Because of the rapidly changing demography of the city, these (youth) groups change quite often. Houten is a green city with parks and sport fields and is known for its bicycle paths. The centre is a 'green-zone' where bicycles and pedestrians are given priority. Because of its closeness to Utrecht, there is not much industry or agriculture in Houten. Religiously, it is mostly Protestant, although because it is so close to Utrecht, Catholicism and other religions also exist.

For the three projects in Zeeland, volunteers will be hosted in a local guest family and in an apartment in our center. For the projects in Tholen and Houten, volunteers will live almost exclusively in guest families although they will come to our center once or twice a month to meet the other volunteers and receive on-going training. At first volunteers may stay with different guest families so as to find the best match for them. The details of the guest families are worked out in each region depending on the volunteer and the people in that region. Initially all volunteers will spend two to three weeks at our center where they receive training. Some rules and conditions apply at our center: volunteers help clean, eat meals together and no smoking is permitted inside

Proposed activities for EVS volunteers

The Regional Youth Contact (RYC) is an activity-and-information platform through which youth from different cultures, ethnic groups and religions have a chance to meet and become friends as they participate in a variety of 'bridgebuilding' activities. The volunteers participate and coordinate activities in the RYC, together with a regional support team of volunteers. By participating in these activites, the volunteers promote respect and understanding between young people as well as develop personally and learn how to apply bridgebuilding in their own lives.

The first phase of the project involves a 3-5 week Training Phase to prepare the volunteer for the tasks related to the Regional Youth Contact. Key elements of this training are: language and culture learning, training in promotional activities, creative presentations of programs and the philosophy and methodology of Atlantic Bridge. The training is done together with all new EVS volunteers so they all learn together and support each other. Much of the language and culture learning will be through experience: meeting young people; actively participating in the youth culture; observing and discussing Dutch culture and practicing the language through regular interaction with Dutch people.

After the training phase the volunteers start a 2-3 month Research and Promotion Phase where they visit schools, youth clubs, town halls, churches and other places where young people are found. These visits include: presentations of their cultural background, European awareness topics, culture learning topics related to building bridges (volunteers present themes for discussion and consideration) and promotional presentations to mobilise interest in Bridgebuilders Clubs and EVS (volunteers build relationships with young people to encourage them to become global citizens and be interested in other cultures).

In the presentations each volunteer has a specific task, depending on his/her talents and skills. This research can also take the form of a youth research project where volunteers learn about the lifestyle, culture and mindset of youth in one particular area and then present their findings in a report (Marco Polo Project).

During (or at the end of) the promotional phase, the volunteer settles into a town or region to discover and get acquainted with one local community. During this 3-6 month "Stranger in Town" Phase, the volunteer builds deeper friendships with youth and learns about various aspects of community life. This is also the time when the volunteer is involved in a Bridgebuilders Club and begins to prepare the participants for exchange activities in the summer. During the Bridgebuilders Clubs meetings, the volunteers and local youth will exchange their culture and background as a way of preparing for the summer exchange, using Atlantic Bridge's cross-cultural training program.

The activities of the volunteer end with the Summer Activity Phase in July and August. The volunteers are actively involved in an exchange with their Bridgebuilders Club. This club either hosts a group from another country or travels to another country where they are hosted by a local youth group. The volunteers also participate in a week-long International Youth Festival at the end of the summer.

September OR February training phase
October-December OR March-April discovery / promotion phase
January-June OR April-June local community phase
July-August summer activity phase
The specific methods of how each phase will be carried out in each region will vary, depending on that region.

Within the projects, there are three specific tasks: a) Bridgebuilders Coordinator - helps to coordinate the Bridgebuilders program by: creating publicity materials for the recruitment of team members, coordinating presentations and meetings with groups and planning activities. b) Expression Coordinator - helps to coordinate a form of expression (drama, theatre, dance, street-dance, music) that enables the Bridgebuilders Clubs to make a presentation about their area that they present to others. c) Events Coordinator - helps to coordinate and organise special events, such as a montly Meetpoint where various groups come together.

One element of the project is the administration and planning tasks. Planning for Bridgebuilders Clubs, the Youth Research Project and other youth activities involves making phone calls, co-ordinating promotional activities, organising youth events, processing research information, etc. These various tasks are divided among the EVS volunteers and other local volunteers and staff, depending on their talents and skills.

Volunteers are also encouraged to use their own talents and interests to develop their own project or activity(s) within their region.

The volunteers are supported in their activities by a Regional Support Team - a group of local volunteers in each region who are the 'bridge' to the Dutch culture and people. The EVS coordinator, mentor and Atlantic Bridge staff also support the volunteers in their tasks.

Time schedule of a typical week:
Monday: Free day
Tuesday: Planning/training day, administrative work, activities preparation, self study OR Free day
Wednesday: Language lesson, planning/training day, administrative work, activities preparation
Thursday: Day at schools, sometimes evening meeting with regional support team (max 8 hour day)
Friday: After-school activities, evening with youth, activities with a host family, possibly partial day in school
Saturday: Youth activities, activities with host family, self study, language learning
Sunday: Free day OR church / youth group activity

Volunteer profiles and recruitment process

Because Atlantic Bridge does a variety of youth work, we look for a variety of volunteers. We look for volunteers of different ages, experiences, cultures, religious backgrounds and ethnic groups. But most important are volunteers who are: motivated; take initiative; flexible; friendly; want to volunteer and serve; enjoy meeting people;, want to work with young people; able to verbalise and present their culture, background and beliefs; can adapt to a cross-cultural setting; work well in a team; have a good level of English; help organise activities; accept Atlantic Bridge's methodology of relational youth work. Experience in volunteering is a plus. Atlantic Bridge is a Christian organisation and we require respect and openness towards this aspect of our activities as many of the bridges we build involve young people from different churches.

We will select volunteers based on the above criteria as well as how the skills, interests, experiences and education of the volunteer match the goals and needs of the project. Each project needs its own particular type of volunteer and we try to match volunteer and project as well as we can. We can also explain to volunteers why we do or do not accept them to our project.

Special needs

Atlantic Bridge has an international team of trainers and mentors who support all volunteers. They are trained and have experience in supporting volunteers from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as: cultural obstacles, geographical disadvantages, social or economic hardships, physical disabilities or educational limitations. Hosting volunteers with fewer opportunities is part of our "building bridges" concept.

Risk prevention, safety and protection

Atlantic Bridge will provide safe living and working environments for volunteers by doing the following: we will ensure that the buildings where the volunteers live and work conform to the local requirements (first aid kit, fire extinguisher, emergency numbers, etc); we will make sure the volunteers know what to do in case of an emergency; we will provide training and leadership so the volunteers know how to perform their tasks and who to talk to if they experience difficulties. Specifically, we will provide training about conflict management, culture shock, personal development and the structure of Atlantic Bridge to hopefully prevent misunderstandings and miscommunication. Each volunteer will receive a personal mentor whom they meet regularly and with whom they can discuss any issues or problems.

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=54000252454