YOUTHink Different
Start date: Mar 2, 2016,
End date: Jan 1, 2017
PROJECT
FINISHED
The project aims to enhance the voluntary and active participation of young people as a tool for revitalization of small towns in the Mediterranean areas which are at risk depopulation, through actions of mobility of young volunteers in Mediterranean Countries and activities of digital storytelling for communication / story experiences of youth and associations in non-urban contexts.The name of the project emphasizes the possibility that we want to offer young volunteers to experiment with new lifestyles and aggregation to reinvent life in small towns, which especially in the Mediterranean Region, which suffers a relentless and risky process of depopulation.Countries involved: Italy, Spain and Greece.There are two mobility activities of the European Voluntary Service which will involve a total of 8 Italian volunteers (18-30 years). Digital future will coordinate the entire project, acting in both cases by one Sending Organisation (support and preparation). Hospitality organizations are Imágenes y Palabras (Spain) and KEAN - Cell of Alternative Youth Activities (Greece)4 volunteers will be accommodated, when mobility, in La Aldea del Portillo de Busto, from 03/07/2016 to 07/06/2016 at "El Hacedor", home to Imágenes y Palabras, involved in recovery activities in creative and social development of the rural village host.4 volunteers will operate instead from 04.04.2016 to 04.10.2016 in Skala, Evrotas - Laconia, home of KEAN, involved in the revitalization of the area through actions of environmental preservation, social events with the community and projects networking with government agencies.Aims:1. To encourage the active participation of young people and proactivity.2. Increase skills and practical skills of the volunteers about the retraining of small towns and rural areas.3. To promote the values, the importance and benefits of volunteering and of EU citizenship in local communities.4. To encourage the exchange of best practices with respect to the local impact of the European Voluntary Service.Activities in Spain:- Creating art installations and creative, in multidisciplinary teams;- Art workshops with different manual arts (sculpture, painting, upgrading buildings, materials recycling, reuse);- Planning of various cultural and social events;- Support material and theoretical development of personal projects;- Specific training on planning policies sustainable regeneration;- Management of cultural, artistic and social;- Care of the green spaces, the surrounding rural areas and activities for the exploitation of local resources (eg. Sunflowers, alternative tourism);- Testing of life in a rural setting and with limited services, using non-formal activities (games) that stimulate reflection on the different lifestyles.Activities in Greece:- Planning with other agencies to work with the local community;- Development of personal projects;- Environmental projects in partnership with the Municipality of Skala.- Eco-gardening in the Park regional education and recycling;- Research on techniques of heritage;- Design of new environmental programs for the community.Planned activities at both locations:- Meetings with experts and leaders of other projects;- Activities with children aged 3 to 15 years;- Meetings with institutions, associations and local small businesses;- Comparison with the local community, aiming to perceive the impact of mobility projects in European contexts small;- Promotion of intercultural activities, such as events with local and foreign artists, working in a group with volunteers from other countries;- Classes of Spanish and use of English as a language bridge to acquire new language skills;- During follow-up, with meetings at institutions, schools and citizens;- Development of digital storytelling activities (social and web) for the dissemination of the experience of "youthink Different";- Group meetings with mentor and informal meetings to stimulate discussion within the group of volunteers, to bring forth new ideas;- Development of new partnerships with European organizations.