A. Project environment: profile of the organisation and local community
The Town Council of Avila works in the following fields: economy, culture, education, employment, urbanism and local development, among other. These services are very important for the quality of life, environment and social and economic development. It covers 6 action fields: youth promotion, youth information, education, youth participation, emancipation and institutional cooperation.
The Town Council of Avila is the public corporation of the City of Avila (50,000 inhabitants). It has all local competences in the youth, employment and sport fields.
Avila is known for its architectonic characteristics: its centenary walls (12th Cent.) which made Avila a fortified middle ages city.
Avilas monuments, churches, convents, buildings,… talk about a glorious past. It is located near everywhere, it has a privileged situation (near the Sierra de Gredos), with a mosaic of different landscapes, cultural and artistic expression, places full of history, art, folk architecture, customs, good people,… a very enriching mixture.
Avila is located 115 km. away from Madrid, communicated with it by several roads within a little over an hour:
-Road: A-6 highway
-Train: various combinations and trains
-Bus: Company Larrea
The cultural offer of Avila is wide and varied; during the winter there are always talks or conferences, concerts, theatre,… The distance university (UNED) provides important events, especially in July, and courses with important personalities. The Summer Feasts are also important. From June to September there are many events: poetry around the walls, legends, Middle Age sessions (related to the Horse fair),…
The cultural offer is active during the whole year.
For sport funs, there is the Complejo Naturavila, 3 km. away from the city, with open air nature activities.
Gastronomy: Avila has numerous corners with excellent tapas and typical dishes (where price and quality go together). By night, there is a lot of activity and opportunities to have fun.
The staff at the Town council is a multidisciplinary team used to work in a team and carry out collaboration programmes with other teams. It has enough resources for the needs of its projects.
Currently they are carrying out a renewal which includes a quality plan of the Town Council which improves and optimises the services offered to the citizens. Avila works with Europe in several projects: ABYLA (community initiative EQUAL of the Social European Fund), DECIDE (Youth European Programme), HERMYONE (Equal), SENECA (Joint actions), Town Twinning,… This has lead to an approximation and involvement of good practices from other European countries in Avila.
The project DECIDE is linked to the creation of a transnational network of local governments involved in the idea of promoting active democratic participation of youth in society when taking local level decisions and in the integration process of the UE. It also aims the transmission of European values such as intergenerational cooperation of people of all ages. One of the members of DECIDE is the German Folks Uniersity, which has established good relationships with the Town Council of Avila and will be a good candidate to carry out the project SPORTCOMMUNITY, as it has four years experience sending and receiving European volunteers.
The Youth and Sport Council carries out activities related to the participation, promotion, training and emancipation through the current Youth Plan (2004-2007), which tries to cover the current needs of youth. The consequence of this social demand is a promotion of political, social, economic and cultural development and growth.
Youth Programmes are a priority for the Town council. It promotes collaboration boosting activities between local and European youth, favouring interculturalism, mobility and information about the existing tourist options concerning sports and leisure.
Avila is Heritage of Humanity, has an interesting history and cultural richness (recognised by the UNESCO) and offers participation and collaboration in new change and improvement activities in the city. The participation of an EVS volunteer will report benefits for the volunteer and the city, as it will benefit from the motivation, interest and expectations of the volunteers and they will enrich the current and future projects.
The volunteer will live in Avila in order to carry out his/her tasks and participate in language classes. The Town Council will provide the needed contacts to enable him/her with accommodation (in a residence or with a family) and any information needed to move in the city.


B. Proposed activities for EVS volunteers
OBJECTIVE:
The Youth and Sport Council wants to promote the exchange of sport experiences between youth from Avila and Europe through municipal championships (SPORTCOMMUNITY LEAGUES)
These local leagues (SPORTCOMMUNITY LEAGUES) will lead with the creation of sport (or leisure) events between different European regions with the aim of learning about the different autochthonous sports, as well as about the leisure culture. All this will include an exchange of transnational values linked to the information about the traditions of the neighbouring EU countries.
Leisure is an important field of the life of any individual. The establishment of a leisure culture linked to sports and healthy activities will be promoted.
TASKS OF VOLUNTEER:
The volunteer will have a mentor who will support him with the development of the following activities:
" Gather documents and research about the folk sports/activities of Avila and the regions where leagues take place
" Search of partners interested in participating in the community leagues: visit sport centres and organisations, sport clubs, schools,… Search of European partners using the Internet, telephone, mail,… with the aim of establishing the SPORTCOMMUNITY LEAGUES.
" The volunteer will be in all SPORTCOMMUNITY LEAGUES to coordinate activities, give information and encourage youth to participate. He/she will also diffuse information about the autochthonous sports/activities of each area by practicing them.
" Search of cultural references of the host country to increase his/her knowledge and transmit values of origin to the youth participating in the project. Learning the language and culture of the community.
" Elaboration of files which help participants in this kind of meetings, with information (previous research by the volunteer) about boarding, planning sport meeting activities, information about the city where the event is celebrated, places of interest, contacts,…
" Animation of the relation of different groups creating a spirit of team and cooperation, proposing socio-cultural activities from the country where the event takes place (previous research), so diffusing the values of the culture of the country.
" Participation in the decision taking system (as representatives from youth organisations in Avila do) providing new ideas and proposals which promote an open, dynamic youth policy which is near youth.
Through this Youth Sport Tourism it will be possible to establish networks of European youth interested in creating events and meetings in any region in Europe where they can share traditional and non-traditional sports from their country of origin and, at the same time, spread and increase the understanding of cultural diversity and, therefore, contributing to the promotion of the respect of human rights.


C. Volunteer profiles and recruitment process
-Someone interested in sports, leisure and international relations
-Someone who has participated in group activities (as user or animator): sports, leisure,… or who is very interested and motivated to participate in the subject of the project. Search and research of autochthonous sports will increase European knowledge and will help the volunteer to understand and diffuse cultural traditions.
-Interested in cooperation with European youth to share leisure experiences as a new way of youth tourism.
Needed abilities to carry out the project:
" Interest for team work
" Ability with human relations
" Interest for sports
" Spirit of initiative
" Open to people from other countries and cultures
Special needs

D. Special needs (if applicable)
Not Applicable
E. Risk prevention, safety and protection

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=30000866901