OVERCOMING BORDERS
Start date: May 1, 2016,
End date: Jan 31, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
The project OVERCOMING BORDERS will support young people from Europe and partner countries in their personal development, getting to know other cultures and gaining new skills and knowledge. We believe, that European Voluntary Service (EVS) is a unique opportunity to self-development, which is open to all young people and in this sense we help also to Czech young people to live this experience. In 2016 we celebrate in SVC Luzanky 10 years of cooperation in the field of EVS. With the project OVERCOMING BORDERS we want to continue with the line of successful projects of EVS. The hosting of EVS volunteers we broadened with sending and as time passed, with gained experience, we also coordinate hosting of volunteers in Alliance Francaise and Siska Forest Kindergarten. This year we include these organisations into this big common project with volunteers for SVC Luzanky again, mainly because of our good experience and high-quality cooperation in last year. Main objective of the project is exchange of experience between foreign volunteers and the diverse group of people which they will meet during their EVS. The volunteers will be supported in exploring their own potential and space for proffesional and personal growth. They will set their learning goals, which they will fullfil through activities in their hosting organisations. Their contribution during the project appart from their work directly in the hosting organisations will be presentation and promotion of EVS both in Brno and in the region - through time-proven, in common team organized activities for public or schools. In the project OVERCOMING BORDERS as another objective we want to, in cooperation with volunteers, boost the discussion and offer different points of view on the current theme of migration. The presence of EVS volunteers in SVC Luzanky is positively perceived and apreciated by our clients and partners (Brno´s city parts local governments, coooperating organisations). Work of volunteers from abroad is based on work with youth and children through programs for schools, afterschool activities, clubs for unorganised youth and public events. Project OVERCOMING BORDERS will allow to six young people in the age between 18 - 26 from Egypt, France, Germany, Russia and Spain to be part of the team of Centre of leisure time Luzanky. Turkish volunteer (22 years old) will be assisting to the teachers of Šiška Forest Kindergarten. She will get known the practical management and running of the organization. She will be encouraged to implement her ideas and organize her own activities for children, their parents and the public. French volunteer (25 years old) will help employees of Alliance Francaise with regular activities and operations, update web pages, assist in cultural events (taking photographs, installations and exhibitions etc.). She will organize also her own activities.All 8 volunteers will stay with the EVS in Czech Republic 12 months from October 2016 to the end of September 2017. We believe that the contact which not only young people start with volunteers from abroad is broadening their horizons, strengthening the sense of belonging to European community, leading to intercultural understanding and contributing to the elimination of racism and xenophobia in the local community. In the meantime the presence of a young person from abroad is an example of mobility as a natural part of EU policy. The project OVERCOMING BORDERS will give eight volunteers opportunities for personal development and the acquisition of practical skills that will improve their chances in the labor market and the potential of their own initiative.