Carnaval Plus
Start date: Jun 17, 2014,
End date: Oct 16, 2015
PROJECT
FINISHED
The project “Carnaval Plus” was born from the desire of the coordinating organization to ensure continuity to some of the most popular activities implemented by the EVS volunteers hosted so far by T4UTH. Taking into consideration the success of the Intercultural Evenings at the Museum, the Language Clubs and the first edition of the carnival of non-formal methods, the project team has designed two sets of activities, that incorporate the afore mentioned smaller activities. The project will involve 20 participants, coming from 8 countries: Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Tunisia, Austria, and New Caledonia, who will be hosted in Baia Mare for a period of 8 months.
The project aims at creating a frame in which the volunteers will develop on both a personal and a professional level. It will foster a more tolerant and inclusive behaviour towards other cultures and ethnic groups for the 20 participants, as well as for the target groups they will work with. The activities implemented by the 20 volunteers will have a considerable impact on the communities from Baia Mare and the surrounding villages.
Activity 1 is centered on promoting and implementing different methods of non-formal education in the local community. The carnival itself and the workshops on the methods, aim specifically at raising the level of knowledge about non-formal learning and stressing its importance in the developing process of the individuals. Another objective of Activity 1 is to strongly promote EVS and volunteering to the youngsters in Baia Mare. This will be done by organizing info-desk in the high schools and universities from the city, where the 8 participants will hold presentations about the European Voluntary Service and their experience as international volunteers.
Activity 2 aims at developing teaching and communication competences in 12 volunteers by having them organize Language Clubs and attending the language lessons of their native tongue, in high schools from Baia Mare and schools from the city and the surrounding rural areas. The Language Clubs are meant for youngsters that cannot afford private tutoring, thus giving them the chance to improve their competences in a foreign language. The participants in Activity 2 will also be involved in activities in kindergartens and the Roma Center.
The project offers a rich intercultural learning experience, first of all by the diversity of the participants, and second of all through the Intercultural Evenings at the Museum, event enrolled in both activities.
The profile of the participants was promoted as quite general, but the description of activities was very explicit, therefore people with interests and some experience in the areas of the activities, have sent their applications. A first round of selection had been made, and 11 of the participants are already known. Their needs match the learning opportunities offered by the project, and their motivation the expectations of the coordinator.
The impact of the Activities on the participants, the organizations involved and the target groups will be multiple. The participants will acquire and develop competences that will further benefit them in both their personal and professional aspects of their lives. They will gain experience in working with children, teenagers, using non-formal methods, talking in front of people. They will have a rich intercultural experience, which will make them more open, more tolerant, and more aware of diversity.
The hosting organization and the sending organizations will improve their procedures in managing and implementing EVS projects, in communicating with the partners, in dealing with EVS volunteers. The community from Baia Mare and the communities from the surrounding areas will maintain/get in contact with international volunteers, will become more and more open towards diversity. The target groups the volunteers will work with, depending on the activities, will gain knowledge on and have the chance to implement non-formal methods of education, will improve their competences in certain foreign languages, will gain new social skills, and become more confident in themselves.
Each of the two activities has tangible results, as well. The volunteers from Activity 1 will make a how-to-do video, in which all the 8 methods implemented by them during the carnival, will be thoroughly explained. The 12 volunteers from Activity 2 will each make a postcard promoting a human right. The results will be disseminated with the efforts of the coordinating organization, the volunteers, and the sending organizations.