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Regional Youth Contact
Regional Youth Contact
Start date: Jun 1, 2016,
End date: Nov 30, 2017
PROJECT
FINISHED
The Regional Youth Contact (RYC) is an activity and information platform through which youth from different cultures, religions/ church denominations and ethnic groups meet, become acquainted with each other and learn to appreciate each other as they participate in a variety of bridgebuilding activities. EVS volunteers help organize these activities and participate in them; building bridges of friendship, faith and understanding and breaking down walls of prejudice, ignorance and indifference.The RYC is a long-term individual 11 month EVS project during which we want to host 5 participants. Two participants are positioned at the Atlantic Bridge center (The Vierslag), where they will assist in the running of a local youth club (Koffiebar) while also helping with the care taking of groups at the center, administration, housekeeping, caring for guests, gardening, etc. The remaining three participants are positioned in the town of Goes, the central town of the region of Beveland. In this town and region they will be involved in youth culture research projects, visiting youth clubs and schools to build contacts with students, assist in language lessons, doing presentations about their own culture and heritage and promoting the activities of building bridges in the region and abroad.The themes of the project are European Awareness, Youth work & participation, and Creativy and Culture. The objective is building bridges across the many polarisations and walls in our world. Atlantic Bridge will host these five volunteers and five Sending Organisations from Programme countries will be our partners.Central to the success of the RYC is a local support network in the region where a RYC is established. Youth work becomes a community effort with various groups complementing each other and with a special role for the older generation to initiate and participate in building these bridges.The potential long term benefit of this project is found in the building of exemplary positive communities of which young people need to be part as they are our future. Connecting them with each other, helping them find their personal, cultural and historic value will establish a bridge to future generations as good experiences spread also back to their own countries. It could mean the increase also on a European scale, no matter how small and insignificant the point of departure may seem.