A. Project environment: profile of the organisation and local community

SCI Hellas is the Greek Branch of Service Civil International, the international volunteer peace movement that runs volunteer activities since 1920. The activities include (a) international workcamps (b) long term volunteering services (c) trainings / seminars on volunteering and related issues (d) international awareness campaigns. In relation to the workcamps, which is the principal action of SCI Hellas, thematic areas include: Peace, Antiracism, antifascism, Third world issues, people with special needs, youth issues, ecology, artistic activities, social and ethnic minorities. In the summer of 2006, SCI Hellas organised 4 workcamps. One of them was organised in KAAPV in Voula near Athens, (people with special needs), and has a long tradition of success and continuity (11 years). The workcamp in Elefsina in cooperation with the NGO "Happy children happy youth" ran for the fourth year in 2006 (children). In addition to the above two new workcamps were organised in 2006. Those were: Lavrion Refugee Center in cooperation with the Greek Red Cross (children), and in the city of Rhodes in cooperation with KAFKA Center (Disabilities). Volunteers stay in the local community, usually in the school or other community building and work as a team.
During the year we organise conflict resolution and workcamp coordination / management trainings.
Also we organise all year activites in cooperation with groups of students of schools in Athens on Human Rights, team bulding, communication etc.
The headquarters of SCI Hellas are in Athens, Greece, but its projects run all over Greece. Athens is the capital of Greece, with a rich cultural and historical heritage. The office of SCI Hellas is in the centre of the city with easy access to services and events in the city. The position of the office makes the work of the volunteers more effective.
B. Proposed activities for EVS volunteers
SCI Hellas has been working by and for volunteers since its establishment in 1984. We would like to host volunteers because we believe in their impetus as energetic and motivated people into achieving the aims of our project. Promoting volunteering can best be done by volunteers. EVS offers a unique opportunity for us to host two international volunteers who in co-operation with the local team will form a long term team which will be dedicated into organising a series of activities for the promotion of volunteering at local and national level.
The work of the Promovolu volunteers will be divided into three phases. The first one will be the 4 months (February - May) (winter phase), the second one the next 3 months (June-August) (summer phase) and the third one the last 2 months (September-October) (autumn phase).

It is a fundamental intention of SCI Hellas to provide adequate preparation training to all volunteers, both local and international, before embarking in the realisation of volunteer tasks within the organisations' aims. In addition, it is SCI Hellas modus operandi to divide and share volunteer tasks among small groups of volunteers that would support each other and learn group work in practice in the materialisation of those tasks. In such a way it is a mutual enrichment in knowledge and practice from/by the organisation from/by the local volunteers and from/by the Promovolus. During the years we run PROMOVOLU project a series of specialised trainings have been developed. These are:

a Organisation of open day events
a Edition and running of SCI Hellas e-newsletter
a Organisation of EVS presentation events
a Organisation of SCI presentations to possible cooperating organisations
a Publicising international volunteering to NGOs, Networks and the public

Those trainings are addressed to local SCI Hellas volunteers AND Promovolu volunteers and are organised by experienced SCI Hellas members. Following the realisation of the training, mixed local and Promovolu working groups are formed to materialise the tasks. Those working groups are supervised by experienced SCI Hellas members and the Promovolu Coordinator to provide guidance and assistance when needed. Working groups' work is bi-weekly evaluated and monitored collectively by the SCI Hellas meeting.

Responsibilities of the EVS volunteers will be always shared by at least another SCI volunteer.

The five days of the week in the winter phase will be divided as follows:

Day 1: (20% of time) promotion of SCI and voluntary work to the public via open days, seminars, presentations etc. The volunteers will assist local volunteers in organising such activities. Includes help in the edition of SCI's e-newsletter.

Day 2 (20% of time) Volunteers will assist local volunteers in promoting the EVS Sending programme in the following way: SCI Hellas organises half day EVS presentation events, addressed to interested youth. The Promovolu volunteers will assist in the events with the aim of sharing experience with local EVS candidates and providing them with first hand knowledge of the reality of being a long term EVS volunteer.

Day 3 (20% of time) promotion co-operating organisations. SCI works with local communities, or other associations for the organisation of volunteer programmes. The volunteers will assist in contacting municipalities and organisations with the aim of finding co-operating organisations. Presentations and visits in situ are included.
Day 4. (20% of time) promotion to NGOs and Networks. The volunteers will assist local volunteers in establishing links with other NGOs active in field of SCI interest. They will also follow developments nationwide, in relation to networks of voluntary and peace organisations and other networks of interest.

Day 5. (20% of time) Service Civil International trains volunteers and runs projects all over the year and throughout the world. A variety of issues e.g. Refugees, Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, social exclusion, gender issues, peace education etc, are developed every year within SCI's international working groups. Volunteers are encouraged to develop personal voluntary projects in relation to the above-mentioned or any other relevant issues depending on their interest. Former Promovolus have developed so far projects on conflict resolution education, history of international volunteering in Greece, inclusion of socially disadvantaged volunteers in international volunteering, awareness campaign on visa and international volunteering, cataloguing and setting up a library and a permanent exhibition, living library activities, promotional leaflet of SCI-Hellas, on volunteering principal and criteria.

The above comprise the activities that should ideally be developed during a week of the volunteer throughout the winter phase, by way of demonstration. In practice, the division of time is quite flexible and Promovolus will arrange with other SCI volunteers how the work is going to be divided and done and when. It is possible that one day they will be at the SCI office having a meeting or preparing presentation material, another day they could arrange meetings with organisations, media etc outside the office, etc. The only fixed arrangement is the monthly meeting of SCI volunteers that takes place in the office and the EVS volunteers will assist. There, the working plan for the following week will be arranged, and the work of the previous week evaluated. Note that all SCI work is done by working groups or teams of volunteers.

In the summer phase, the volunteers will participate in SCI summer workcamps and assist in the preparation and follow up of those camps. The first month (June), the volunteers will receive

a workcamp management training,
a co-ordinator training,
a will learn group dynamics and
a conflict resolution techniques.

It is not known at this moment, how many and which are the workcamps that SCI Hellas will organise next summer. Nevertheless, experience indicates that there will be some five workcamps at least with a total duration of 10 weeks. (From 15 June to end of August). However, the workcamp is not only the two weeks of its running. Some time before the workcamp (early June) visits in situ are needed to check the conditions and agree with the co-operating organisation on the facilities that should be provided for the smooth running of the project. The volunteers will participate in those visits too. In relation to work in the summer camps, following the breakfast, there is a four-five hour work followed by lunch and some rest. In the afternoon the study part is arranged and/or other group activities, followed by dinner. The weekend in the camp is free.

During the autumn phase (September-October) the volunteer will be involved in Reporting and evaluating the workcamps s/he has participated and the whole project. Will assist in compiling the statistics of SCI Hellas for the annual report of SCI, will assist for the organisation of the meeting of Greek volunteers who participated in SCI workcamps during the summer, proposals for follow up and prepare the 'first' edition of the e-newsletter of SCI Hellas following the exchange season where there is quite some information to be shared.

In relation to holidays the volunteers will be off for Xmas, Easter, National Holidays and a week in September.
SCI Hellas is a voluntary and international organisation by nature. It believes that its aims are materialised through international exchanges and living in a multicultural climate where there is constant intercultural exchange and learning. The importance of the Promovolus is crucial to the communication by SCI of the spirit of international volunteering and it has (ever since promovolu began in 2001) characterised the identity of SCI Hellas as an international organisation. The added value of PROMOVOLU is that SCI Hellas work in addition to a voluntary, has also an international dimension all over the year and not only during the workcamp season. People that are acquainted with SCI Hellas meet an international voluntary organisation both in proposed projects and in everyday practice.

C. Volunteer profiles and recruitment process
Enjoy communicating with people, have basic computer knowledge, like travelling, flexible in living with other people, some local or international voluntary work experience will be appreciated but it is not necessary, dedicated to the value of international volunteering.
E. Risk prevention, safety and protection
Please describe how you will guarantee a safe living and working environment for the EVS.

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=34000145618