EVS Festival 2016
Start date: May 1, 2016,
End date: Mar 31, 2017
PROJECT
FINISHED
The EVS Festival 2016 project consists of short-term EVS activity addressed to young people with fewer opportunities and based on culture and the creative use of public spaces. It will take place in Kalamata, Greece, from the 16th of June to the 29th of July 2016 and will include 5 young volunteers from Sweden, the City of Gothenburg/ Administration for allocation of Social Welfare – Iter, who will act as coordinating and sending organisation and Social Youth Development, K.A.NE. who will act as hosting organisation.The main theme of the activity is culture and the creative use of open public spaces. The idea is to gather young volunteers that will support cultural activities taking place in the city of Kalamata during their EVS, with the peak being the 9th International Kalamata Street Festival, taking part in a structured programme with clear learning objectives.The role of volunteers is to undertake, together with Greek volunteers and immigrants, tasks that support cultural activities that are taking place in the city during their EVS. They will help prepare the material and promote the various cultural and social events and activities, and also they will be encouraged to create and organize their own activities.More specifically, the tasks of the volunteers in this short-term EVS include:- the promotion of Kalamata Street Festival and other cultural and social activities of the city- preparation of the material- supporting the organisation of the Kalamata Street Festival (preparation of the place, contact with artists and visitors)- assist in parallel activities- organize their workshops and activities- Digital recording (photos, video)- Creation of articles and promotional material for the events, and for the European Voluntary Service and the ERASMUS+ programmeVolunteers will give added value to activities bringing their own fresh ideas, proposals and views. Volunteers will undertake work that is complementary to the implementation of the events and in no way replaces the work of paid staff. The activities are structured so as through a combination of formal education methods and non-formal and informal learning volunteers have the best possible learning outcomes. The activities will include experiential learning, intensive language courses, courses on how to use electronic and digital equipment, activities that facilitate the development of social skills and more.We believe that the young people who will take part in this project will have the opportunity to experiment and engage in various kinds of activities and art that will help them get inspiration to undertake similar initiatives in their own community and to develop intercultural skills and the sense of active participation in Civil Society activities.What is more, this project is expected to have a great impact on both the young volunteers as well as the young people from the local community they will be working with, as it will allow them to develop skills and competences that will lead to their personal and professional development, making them more self-assured, allow them to become more creative and innovative and able to take their own initiatives, thus giving them a competitive advantage in the labour market. Finally, we expect that the young volunteers, after the end of their service, will act as multipliers for the project and its values, as well as for the Erasmus+ programme, contributing to a wider and long-term impact of this project.