Project environment

With a population of about 115,000 inhabitants (2009), Bremerhaven is the biggest German city at the North Sea coast. It is located at the mouth of the River Weser and one of the biggest European seaports and an important centre of export trade in Germany. In addition to the container terminal, the car port and fish processing companies, there is still a small number of shipyards left. As port for arriving and departing cruise ships heading to the North and Baltic Sea, Bremerhaven has today one of the most modern and safe terminals in the world and as such gains increasingly more importance. Historically, Bremerhaven was known as the main exit point for European emigrants to North America. Their journey is documented in the award-winning "German Emigration Centre". Other tourist attractions and recreational facilities ("Havenwelten"), which are all located around the old harbour, include the "Climate House Bremerhaven", old museum boots, and the hotel and congress centre "Atlantic Hotel Sail City". The University of Applied Sciences and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Oceanography can also be found in this area. Despite efforts to create new jobs in the field of tourism and research, the rate of unemployment in Bremerhaven is still higher-than-average (16 %) and many people rely on social benefits.

Proposed activities for EVS volunteers:

Depending on the volunteers' interests and skills, there are a number of different work possibilities at the ZAQ: They may take on manual tasks such as renovation and construction work, bike repair, gardening, the café, distribution of food and clothes, and sewing. These activities consist of routine work but at the same time allow volunteers to integrate their own creative ideas. They could also support the work of our tutors by organising courses and seminars, working as teaching assistants or even by developing their own small programmes. If interested, volunteers can also participate in a number of events and seminars (e.g. computer lessons, first aid course, application training) to complement their own education. They can also attend the German language classes offered in our house. Furthermore, they could perform administrative tasks or work in the field of media, public relations and event management. It would also be possible to do a small research project that is related to our work, to identify new volunteer opportunities and locate volunteers for our organisation. Since a large number of our participants is of immigrant origin, volunteers could also support them in their integration efforts and, depending on the volunteers' mother tongue, do some translation work. Apart from these possibilities, we are open to own ideas that volunteers might have and will try to consider them as far as possible.

Volunteer profiles and recruitment process:

Young people who would like to do their EVS at the ZAQ should be interested in educational and social work, be open-minded about our target group and the problems they face in their daily life. Furthermore, volunteers should be able to work both independently and as part of a team. Basic knowledge in German would be of advantage, but this is not a prerequisite. Basic knowledge (or even mother tongue) of other languages (especially Turkish or Russian) could also be helpful for the communication with our target group. If interested in practical work (garden, bike repair shop, renovation and construction work,…), volunteers should enjoy manual labour. For the field of media and public relations, volunteers should be computer literate.
Applications will be collected and read by all colleagues involved in the EVS. Together, we will discuss which applicants fit best into our organisation. We consider motivation and interests of the applicants as the most important criteria and will ensure that they correspond with the requirements in our organisation.

Risk prevention, protection and safety:

The ZAQ provides accommodation in a safe residential area, probably in a shared apartment with other Eurpopean volunteers (with single rooms). Furthermore, all involved colleagues are aware of their duty to assure the volunteers` protection at the workplace. The volunteers will have a tutor who is responsible for them and with whom they can discuss work-related but also private matters during regular meetings. These meetings also have a preventive character as they help to solve small problems before they lead to serious conflicts. The tutor will also indermediate in case of potential problems with the host organisation. In case of conflict, we can also ask for the help of professionals, such as psychologists or social pedagogues, who work for co-operating organisations of the ZAQ. If necessary, the sending organisation will be consulted as well.

Motivation and EVS experience

Over the past few years, the Centre for Work and Qualification (ZAQ) has successfully worked together with a large number of German volunteers. Becoming recognised as host organisation for the European Voluntary Service (EVS) will offer us the unique opportunity to integrate European volunteers into our work and enable them to get familiar with life and work in a different country, gain valuable experiences and learn a new language. At the same time, European volunteers can - where applicable - capitalize on their own language skills and cultural background to gain better access to our linguistically and culturally diverse group of beneficiaries. We are also looking forward to the volunteers and the new ideas they bring into the organisation as well as into the team, enriching our own work through intercultural learning and potentially helping us to improve certain aspects of our work.

Description of the organisation

The ZAQ aims to promote the integration of socially disadvantaged persons and people with disabilities into the labour market. In co-operation with other welfare and charity organisations, the ZAQ therefore provides a number of different services: On the one hand, we offer concrete help including counselling services for persons in distressful situations (e.g. debt, addiction, disease and disability), a food and clothing bank, a bike repair shop, a second-hand furniture shop and a project for renovation and construction work. On the other hand, we place individuals in voluntary jobs and offer different types of programmes, courses and activities that teach necessary skills for working life and prepare our target group for their labour market "re-entry" (e.g. computer and language courses, application trainings, other forms of qualification). We also offer further trainings for employees of welfare and other charity organisations. Furthermore, we regularly organise public events and lectures on current topics in health and social policy. The overall number of employees (full-time, part-time and voluntary) at the ZAQ is about one hundred.