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.

Brief description of the project:
Together with the project manager the EVS volunteer will be planning activities in the Youth Café and help to carry out different parts of the program. The primary task of the volunteers will be that of creating a good, warm and welcome atmosphere in the café. That includes talking a lot with the young people, getting to know their life situation and discussing
their dreams and problems. It can also mean other ways of contact such as playing games or sport with them to add to the purpose of creating an active link between the users on one hand, and the volunteers and staff on the other. If the volunteer has any special skills, he/she is encouraged to set up a weekly or monthly regular activity such as a painting workshop,
homework group, dancing group and run it for a longer period with guidance of the manager. Depending on the interest of the volunteer he/she is invited to work one day a week in the local children’s home of Velky Meder, or to deal with them inthe Youth Centre.

Description of the project in details:
• Two volunteers at the age of 18-25 would make a big diffence in creating good contact to the young people, who attend the youth centre. There is a a big interest in hosting 2 foreign volunteers, who would be an intercultural experience of great value for the staff, local volunteers as well as the users. The young people in Velky Meder havefew opportunities to
get international dimensions in their local environment and practice their language skills. The
great interest in using English with foreign volunteer would be interesting and on the same time makes the volunteer feel at home. The young people are very interested in other foreign countries and cultures, and a foreign volunteer is adding a new dimension to their daily life. Furthermore a foreigner would represent a neutral part in the present tensions between
the ethnic slovaks, hungarians and romas and could probably contribute to create better relations and improve dialogue between the three groups within the centre.

• Being in the youth centre the volunteers will be able to gain a lot from their stay. They will develop as responsible and independent individuals being involved in an active, enthusiastic and dynamic place, and get to know more about her/himself and about meeting youngsters with problems and in general and understand the social structures. The project will allow the volunteers to be able to improve their ability to communicate, implement small scale
projects, work together in teams, do many things at one time and learn how to coop in a flexible environment. The volunteers will get challenges and interesting tasks in very different fields allowing them to get technical experience in various areas, as well as being able to approach new things. At last being in a foreign country will help to reflect on their life at home and create greater intercultural sensitivity. Having 2 volunteers together would make them a
strong support for each other and help them to reflect on the siuation as a foreigner in a new country being in the same situation away from home. Living in a small town this could turn out very important, especially during free time.
The volunteers will be offered monthly evaluation-dialogues with the project manager as well as having close contact during the everyday life. During these meetings the development and tasks and roles of the volunteers will be clarified as well as privat/practical issues (arranging work hours and issues above). The manager will also be discuss social aspects making sure the volunteers are not alone with problems such feeling lonely, homesick, culture chock
etc. The project manager is always available to listen and discuss issues outside these meetings. Furthermore most of the tasks in the youth centre are being done in a teamwork, so the volunteers will have opportunities to discuss and seek advice with the other people participating in the project. Volunteers will receive language training in Slovak or Hungarian from a local teacher who will meet on a regular basis with the volunteers. In the beginning this will be more intensively with one or two meetings per week, but later adjusted to the needs of the volunteers.An external project supervisor with experience within EVS will do further supervision/evaluation with the volunteers on a quarterly basis, and the volunteers will have the opportunity to talk with about any problem of personal character or problems
related to the project and the tasks of the volunteers in the project. Any problems will be addressed and resolved with the manager and the volunteer.The volunteers will take part in courses and evaluations organised by EVS during the year. Furthermore the volunteers will take part in a yearly/twice a year training event focussing on team building and project making together will all volunteers and staff in Bratislava.

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.
• Together with the project manager and the group of local volunteers the EVS volunteer will be planning activities in the Youth Café and help to carry out different parts of the program. The primary task of the volunteers will be that of creating a good, warm and welcome atmosphere in the café. That includes talking a lot with the young people, getting to know their life situation and discussing their dreams and problems. It can also mean other ways of contact such as playing games or sport with them to add to the purpose of creating an active link between the users on one hand, and the volunteers and staff on the other. This will ensure a great dynamic and attitude among the users towards the Youth Centre.

• Activities/tasks are supervised by the project manager and assistant and organised within the big team of local and EVS volunteers, so the EVS volunteers will be an extra in the daily life of the youth centre and be able to add interesting new dimensions to the activities of the café. The EVS volunteers will be encouraged to take responsibility according their own
needs and capacities as well as they gradually get to know the working environment and culture better.
Activities include:
Events, tournaments and parties - This entails organising small and big events during the season for the young people such as day trips, theme weeks about various youth topics, decorating the café for special events such as Christmas or Halloween, table football and tennis tournaments, parties, discoes, painting a wall and many more. The task of the volunteers will be to help in getting ideas, plan and organise all aspects of such activities within the team.
Networking and PR tasks - The volunteer will take part in networking efforts trying to involve the local youth organisations,local schools and other NGO’s trying to increase the level of activities and encourage youth to get involved with the local youth organisations. This includes the task of encouraging ressource persons in the NGO’s and schools to run activities in
the facilities or start up new activities as individuals. This will be done by having meetings developing specific ideas (e.g. scout meetings in the café, exhibitions and leaflets about NGO’s etc.) and talking to people
Volunteer network - The volunteers will work together with the project manager to develop and rooten a network of around 10-15 local part-time volunteers, who will participate in the working tasks on shifts. Ideas and initiatives will be discussed in a network group, which has the main responsibility for what activities to have - and how to run the Youth Centre.
Workshops – If the volunteer has any special skills, he/she is encouraged to set up a weekly or monthly regular activity such as a painting workshop, homework group, dancing group and run it for a longer period with guidance of the manager.
Computer issues - Giving advices how to use the 20 computers and Internet, solving computer problems and running workshops on how to use computers and Internet. Another task could include developing the homepage of the Youth Centre, finding more links for young people about youth topics and activities.
Desk services – There is a counter in the youth centre, which needs to be served by staff and volunteers. Tasks include receiving money for Internet users, selling soft drinks, issuing membership cards, handing out games and other small tasks.
This is done together with the staff, while talking to the users and being in the Youth Centre.
Childrens home - Depending on the interest of the volunteer and the situation in the café during the year, the volunteer is invited to work one day a week in the local childrens home of Velky Meder. The children home has 60 children living there, and besides being there to play with the children, it would be a good idea to work actively to getting the oldest children
involved in the Youth Centre.
Having 2 volunteers in the project, the above tasks will be divided in two main profiles. One volunteer will work with communication as the main activity task working with the PR and networking of the Youth Centre. The second volunteer will be more involved in the homepage making and the technical aspects in the Youth Centre. Both volunteers will be involved in
event based activities. A high degree of flexibility is sought, so the volunteers will need get too many routines and be able to have great enthusiasm and pick new tasks. Therefore both will have the opportunity to rotate tasks and change responsibilities according to own interests and need of the Youth Centre. The volunteers will be working 35 hours per week and getting holidays of 2 days/month. In case of language training as well as courses arranged by EVS time will be given off. The volunteers will be expected to work during weekends sometimes, but he/she will always get continous 2 days off during the week.

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 volunteer must be accustomed to live in the country side or willing to adjust the situation in a town at the country side. The volunteer needs to be 18-30 years old, and be a mature and responsible youngster. It is preferable that the volunteer is interested in youth work and cultural events. The volunteer must have genuinely taken the decision to be
a volunteer, having decided to try life in another culture, and to commit to the work of the placement and work together in a team. The volunteer has to be rather independent. It is necessary to be able to do basic communication in English, since this is the primary foreign language of all: the staff, users and and the language teacher. Basic computer skills are helpful, but not required.

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.
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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.

• Before the volunteer arrives, we will be in touch with him/her, so we can prepare the volunteer for the facts, which are waiting him/her here in Slovakia, in Velky Meder, in the Youth Centre, etc.
• When the volunteer arrives, we will be waiting for him/her at the station, take her to his/her
accommodation, what is arranged before the arrival of the volunteer. Than in the Youth Centre we inform the volunteer about everything, what is important, we buy a telephone card for him/her, so the volunteer can contact us any time. From the beginning the volunteer will have a language course, so he/she can communicate easily. We also explain, how can he/she run in the town, what can be find where, etc.
• About meal: we do not give the volunteer only the pocket money, but also money for food, so the volunteer will be able to buy and cook the way he/she likes it. Of course we insure, that the volunteer gets an accommodation with kitchen.
• The workers of the Youth Centre will be in touch with the volunteer daily.
• There are discussion between the volunteer, the mentor and the supervisor on regular base.
• The volunteer can call the mentor and the supervisor any time, when there is a real need for it.
• When the volunteer arrives, we will organise model-situations, where we show the volunteer how tosolve different problems: e.g. in case of fire, etc.
• We tell the volunteer our principle at work, so he/she is well informed about it.
• If there will be too big problems in communication between the volunteer and the workers in the Youthcentre, we will ask a psychologist’s help.

Sending

A. Aims and motivation
• Clearly state your motivation and aim to send volunteers
- Our organisation would like to send volunteers, because EVS has very big positives for both side, for the volunteer and for the sending organisation too:
- Volunteering means a big benefit for young people. EVS improves their language skills, it also means a personal development. They can prepare for occupation. Volunteers also learn informally new abilities and skills. By the time spend abroad they last a multicultural experience, and learn about different countries.
- With sending volunteers our organisation could expand the abilities of the Youth centre, we could enlarge our activities, and also succour our partners.

B. Preparation of the volunteer
• How do you plan to recruit, approach the volunteers.
- We are in touch with the local schools, where we advertise our activities, so we would inform the youngsters that we are not only hosting, but also sending volunteers.

• If you already have a person responsible for the overall preparation/training of the volunteer,
describe his/her personality (professional knowledge, experience, language, name, surname,
age, sex).
- name: Judit Bial
- position: Director and project manager
- Telephone: +421 915 214 648
- skills: Ms. Bial has high school qualification, and she speaks very good English, so she can be
a reliable support for the volunteer. In last 18 months she was responsible for the
projects about hosting volunteers, participated SOHO seminar in Portugal, so she has
some experiences in fields of EVS.
- age: 31 year
- sex: female

• How do you plan to ensure active communication between SO, HO and V?
- via telephone and e-mail, on regular base

• List all possible ways and means by which you will actively involve the volunteer in the process of preparation?
- we would explain, why is the preparation needed
- the coming volunteer would spend some time in our youth centre, so he/she could see, how does it work in real, and could also talk with our volunteers about their experiences...
- we would inform the volunteer about the country of hosting place, about the cultural differences, etc.

• How do you plan to ensure volunteer’s insurance?
- we would ensure him/her in AXA, before the departure.

• The sending organization must ensure the participation of the volunteer on the pre-departure
training.
• Describe how do you plan to prepare the volunteer for a long-term stay abroad.
- we would discuss the possibilities, the differences between the sending and the hosting country. We would share our experiences with volunteering, and also introduce him/her to our volunteers, so they can share their experiences and expectations.
- we explain the differences between our culture and the culture of the hosting organisation, so the volunteer will not be shocked, when arrives.
- we would involve the volunteer to the writing of the project, so he/she knows the details, and maybe he/she comes to mind to ask more question about volunteering.
- we will talk a lot with the volunteer, so we can tell him/her everything, what is important.
- we ensure the potencial volunteer some meeting with volunteers, so they can talk about it, and can share their experiences.
-demonstration and explaining the volunteer the sight, aim of the Hosting Organisation
- we organise a language course for the potencial volunteer on regular base before the departure
- we will get the visa for the volunteer (if needed), also the contacts for the National Agency in the hosting country and for the embassy.
• You can face several problems when sending the volunteers. List the type of problems you
would suspect when sending volunteers and how these can be prevented.
- the volunteer does not fit in, where he/she goes - in this case we find an other possibility, an other organisation for the volunteer
- the volunteer does not speak any foreign languages - we give him/her some lessons
- the volunteer only wants a „language course“ - we explain the concept and the philosophy of EVS
- the hosting organisation is ignoring the mails, phone calls - we try to find the reason behind it, if needed: find another contact person, in worst case another hosting organisation

C. Profile, background and motivation of the volunteer
• What is your vision of a volunteer personal profile?
- a youngster, who would like to gain some experiences in the real life, before he/she finds out, which way is the best for him/her.
- one, who is open minded and motivated to learn about different people and culture...
• Has your organization potential to send also volunteers with special needs?
- Yes. We have the people for that too, and we think, that youngsters with special needs also need a possibility to prove their skills.
• Is your organization aware of the major priority of the program Yoth in Action, to work mainly with volunteers with limited opportunities?
- Since our organisation deals daily with children and youth with limited opportunities, we are aware of the major priority of the program Yoth in Action.
D. Contact with the volunteer
• Describe how do you plan to secure contact with the volunteer (technically, periodicity).
-via e-mail, telephone, and of course on regular base. At the beginning it can be 1-2 times per week, but after some weeks, when we see, that everything is fine, it can be more rarely. It also depends on the needs of the volunteer, and on the specific situation.
- problems will be solved by the project managers of the sending and hosting organisations, of course together with the volunteer.
E. Follow-up activities
• Describe your idea of the follow-up activities after project termination. Remember that these
activities involve also the preparation and submission of a final report with active participation of the voluneer.
- first of all together with the volunteer and the hosting organisation we would do the Final report.
- after the activity, we would evaluate the project, and inform the local youth about possibilities of EVS
(via local television, nad in the local schools)
- we also offer the volunteer different possibilities in our Youth Centre, so he/she can continue, what he/she learned in the hosting country, and help him/her with writing projects, if he/she has an interest

F. Experiences of SO
• Provide the experience of your organization with sending volunteers.
-we do not have experience with the sending yet, but our organisation is hosting volunteers since 2004.

G. Description of the organization
• Provide in the form EI, part II.- „Description of the organisation“, also the following information :
how many employees or persons will be engaged in the preparation of your sending projects.
- 2 persons: the project manager of our organisation, and also her assistant.
- Ms. Judit Bial Director and project manager F 03.11.1975
- Mr. Tibor Czajlik Project assistant M 26.07.1970

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=68000168001