A. Project environment: profile of the organisation and local community
" 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.
Link operates in Puglia, and its headquarters is in Altamura. It is a local organization but sometimes it works at regional level, especially as a sending organization.
Altamura has 65,000 inhabitants and it's situated between Bari and Matera. It's a quite prosperous town thanks to furniture factories and for this reason there is a very low unemployment rate. Thus young people enter quite soon labour market and they neglect other experiences such as intercultural learning or formal and non-formal education.
Cultural life is quite interesting thanks to a few cultural associations and Altamura has many environmental and historical goods. Altamura has a well maintained historical town with a Cathedral from the XIII Century and recently the discover of dinosaur's footprints gave new impulse to the tourism. The town of Matera, with its old district called "Sassi" and protected by UNESCO, is only 30 km far away from Altamura. Bari, which is the main city of Puglia region (45 km), has a strategic role in the Euro-Mediterranean scenario.

B. Proposed activities for EVS volunteers
" Describe what you can offer to volunteers in terms of service and learning opportunities.
" Please, explain what will be the role of EVS volunteers in the host organisation.
" Describe the activities in which the volunteers could be involved and the activities the volunteers could create in your organisation. Give examples of typical activities for the volunteers.

The volunteer will be accommodated in an independent apartment with all the facilities. The house has independent heating and is in the centre of Altamura. A weekly sum will be provided to the volunteers so that they will provide on their own to shop and to prepare meals. During special events (youth exchanges, international meetings) the volunteer will shave meals with the groups. In this way the volunteers will learn to live independently and to share responsibilities while living with other people. More than this, they will have the chance to learn many things about the Italian culture and language thanks to the fact of living in Italy and through specific tasks they will have inside the organization. In order to facilitate their integration and to favour their learning process, the volunteers will attend a language course at their arrival.
Main field of intervention is "European Awareness" because of the mission of the organization. By this we mean a wide variety of activities that would enable local community - especially youth- to strengthen its relationship with Europe. Some concrete examples are: information campaigns on different issues, especially related with youth mobility, cultural events, intercultural activities.
Hosting volunteers is a concrete example of the meaning of common Europe and can be a model for local young people who approach these topics with fear and diffidence. The volunteers will play an important role in the daily work of the organization in schools and in town. Projects about topics like integration and fighting racism, protection of minorities and intercultural exchange will be the main sector of intervention of the volunteers who, together with the organization, will bring young people toward a culture of peace and friendship. The volunteers will be also involved in projects not connected with the above mentioned topics, but they will also work on topics related with official programmes in schools (such as history, languages....) but in any case the approach will be based on non formal learning and this will be a chance to grow both for the public and for the local and European volunteers.
Thanks to a wide local network that has been established by Link during the last 4 years, the volunteers will give their contribution to the local development also in other fields. We have created good relationships with some other organizations working on a daily basis for integration of young people with less opportunities. In all these cases the presence of international volunteers will facilitate the intercultural learning process and volunteers themselves will have the opportunity to gain new personal and professional skills. Some examples of possible working places are: integration of immigrated young people through sport, educational support for young people living in a correctional centre (runaway youth), leisure activities with young people with mental and physical disabilities. Tasks of the volunteers will be to help social workers and trainers to favour social integration and to introduce intercultural elements in daily activities. Volunteers will never work alone, until they have gained self-confidence enough and they will be involved in all the process included decision making. The volunteers will also have the chance to give their suggestions to implement ongoing activities and to settle down their own personal project, with the support of the mentor and of the organization.

C. 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 open to young people between 18 and 30 years old, without distinction of gender, religious or political belief. Volunteers younger than 18 may be hosted in some justified cases. The only requested characteristic are interest for the project and interest for intercultural dimension and intercultural learning. No specific language skill is required. Knowing English and having computers skills is welcome, as well as having social and interpersonal skills.
The selection procedure will be transparent and democratic and we will guarantee equal treatment to all the candidates regardless of their specific situation and favouring inclusion of young people with less opportunities. The recruitment process will be made through mailing and through the website.
We are open to work with any partner.

D. Special needs (if applicable)
If your placements are open to hosting volunteers with fewer opportunities, please provide information about the competence, experience and infrastructure and (human or other) resources available in your organisation to accommodate and support them.
We are open to host volunteers from less-privileged social or economic backgrounds, who could face problems connected with cultural differences, economic difficulties and minor disabilities. We ensure a tailor-made approach in every single project. Also a reinforced mentor-ship will be applied if necessary. Our permanent staff is experienced and can support people with fewer opportunities (we have already hosted such volunteers).
E. Risk prevention, safety and protection
Please describe how you will guarantee a safe living and working environment for the EVS volunteers, how you will prevent risks and crises and how - in the case of EVS volunteers aged 16 or 17 - you ensure appropriate supervision, child safety and protection.

Volunteers are supervised by a member of the permanent staff of the association. They take part in regular briefings of permanent staff and receive support to fulfill their specific tasks. Volunteers are given time to acquaint themselves with the historical background of the association's work and to enhance their command of Italian language. Efforts is made to help them integrate into the local community. A mentor will meet regularly with the volunteer to check on his/ her progress and help solve problems (if they occur). Volunteers will attend on-arrival and mid-term trainings organized by the National Agency of the "Youth In Action" Program or by the coordinating organization.