European construction is a long process. European citizenship is built day after day and in particular thanks to local actions being part of the everyday life of the people. Above all, it is built with young people who are our european citizens of tomorrow.
Local authorities - Conseil général de Loire Atlantique and to a lesser extent the Conseil Régional des Pays de la Loire (elected local councils respectively at the level of the " département " and the " région ") - have realised what was at stake and decided to become partners in the project described below. The Conseil général de Loire-Atlantique, in its will to develop the éducation populaire (popular education : everyone can teach and learn from each other), wishes to include this project in its european youth programm that offers a financial support to the hosting organisations of Loire-Atlantique who are hosting young european volunteers (monthly lump sum of 690 € for each volunteer hosted). It is also the opportunity for the Conseil Régional des Pays de Loire to mobilize the other départements in the development of youth and popular education ; besides it positions itself as an example by hosting a young european volunteer in its Relais Europe Direct (information center on Europe)

¢ The common project run by the CRIJ and the association " Autour du Monde " (Around the World)

Aiming at stimulating exchanges amongst the youth, it is proposed to develop a common project favouring the discovery of local european specificities thus illustrating the european motto : " Unity in diversity ".
The fields to develop with this project have to form a body of principles serving Europe, namely :
- tourism
- environmental education
- voluntary service
- urban culture
- leisure in a big metropolis
- international aid
- human rights

Called " Unity in diversity ", the project aims at promoting the EVS and mark the 5Oth anniversary of the ECC Treaty signing (27th March, 1957). It will be structured around two main themes :
- the Day of Europe on the 9th May, 2007
- a thread by the cultural contribution of events marking the calendar of the countries represented by the volunteers (traditional celebrations …)

This common project will be coordinated by the CRIJ of Nantes and the foreign students association " Autour du Monde " .
- The CRIJ is a (non-profit making) association that works in the field of youth information. It is one of the 32 CRIJ in France. It is an information center on topics such as education, employment, health, leisure, holidays, life abroad …
By becoming a sending organisation and thanks to a first experience of hosting during the 98 football World cup, the CRIJ has noticed that the EVS was coming to the expectations of the people using the services of the youth information centers.

- " Autour du Monde " (non-profit making association) mobilizes more than 1000 students of various nationalities and enables the integration of the young foreigners in Nantes through contacts with French people and their involvment in the organisation of activities and crosscultural projects : polyglot cafés, meetings and nights out, visits, debates and exchanges about mobility, evenings devoted to a theme, theatre projects, photography and the " journées interculturelles " (crosscultural days).

Nantes is the 6th biggest city in France. Located in the Loire estuary, 50 kms from the Atlantic coast. The metropolis with its airport is close to many touristic destinations such as the Atlantic coast, Britanny, Anjou and Vendée. Nantes also is the administrative capital of the region " Pays de la Loire " and the " Préfecture " (main city) of the département of Loire-Atlantique. There are around 350 000 inhabitant in Nantes, 35 % of them aged under 25.

The european volunteers will have the opportunity to discover this urban environment and moreover to discover each hosting organisation through monthly meetings. It is important to say that the hosting organisations are organizing themselves all around the département of Loire-Atlantique as well in the rural areas as in the cities. List of the hosting organisations : Maison des Citoyens du Monde, La Pech', Office de Tourisme de Machecoul, Parc de la Brière, le Centre Régional Information Jeunesse, Unis-Cité, le Relais Europe Directe, l'ARPEJ de Rezé, l'Union Française des Œuvres Laïques d'Education Physique.

All the volunteers participating in this common project will meet regularly in the CRIJ. Nevertheless this common project is an integral part of the following local project.


¢ Local projcet/Le projet local

ARPEJ REZE is a community education association operating under the 1901 law, which organises youth activities in the town during young people's free time (Wednesday evenings and on Saturdays during term time and every day throughout the holidays).

The association's objectives are to:
organise social, educational and leisure activities for the young people of Rezé
act as a representative for young people's interests, with public organisations and the Government.
develop activities for young people and children.
enable young people to express their desires and their needs through constant dialogue and to provide assistance with their plans.
facilitate education and the assimilation of young people into the working environment.
provoke consideration of matters such as childhood and youth.
enable service users to participate in the design and running of their children's leisure activities.

The association subscribes to the principle of secularity as one of the cornerstones of its activity with a view to promoting and respecting Human and Children's Rights.
It also subscribes to the Francas national education project, with which it shares a common foundation and objective.

Decision making within the association and the approval of projects organised by the various organisations that make up the association (non-residential leisure centres, Youth Information Points, drop in centres, holiday centres, international exchanges etc.) are overseen by an administrative board made up of 40 volunteers.

The association has around 2000 members made up of young people, families and individuals.
Service users are essentially residents of Rezé, the children and young people of the town who take part in the activities on offer throughout the year.
These activities are open to children and young people between the ages of 3 - 25 years. Children between the ages of 3 - 12 years can, depending on the time of year, take part in cultural, scientific, technical and sports activities in non-residential leisure centres all year long or in residential holiday centres during the summer break.
Young people between the ages of 13 - 25 years old have access to drop-in centres throughout the year where, depending upon the centre, they can participate in sporting, scientific, technical, and multimedia activities as well as access information services to help them with research for personal or group projects.
Grants are available for collective or individual projects.
During the summer break, residential visits to other centres are organised and through international exchanges the young people can develop their sense of culture and broaden their knowledge of Europe.

The town of Rezé is part of the greater Nantes are and has 36000 inhabitants 25% of whom are young people.
It benefits from a good public transport network and various cultural and sports facilities including 6 sports halls, a swimming pool, a theatre, a music and dance school, a large multi-purpose function room and various open green areas.
With a large amount of social housing, the population of Rezé belongs to the middle classes.
It is an active town with a tightly-knit social network both from a sporting and cultural point of view, which offers a wide range of activities for the young people and adults of the town. The provision of social, cultural and joint activities is written into the town's political memorandum.
There is a range of shops, department stores and other businesses in an industrial area in the outskirts of the town.
The town is made up of various neighbourhoods, all of which were previously villages. Rezé is bordered by the Loire and Sèvre rivers and has a small picturesque port called Tentemoult, which was previously on an island before the river Seil was filled in.
Historically, the earliest artefacts found date the town the Gallo-Roman era and prove the existence of a large commercial and passenger port called Ratatium, which was on the river Seil.

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=14000513801