nyh esc solidarity corps greece esc

Noored Ühiskonna Heaks (NYH) is promoting calls for participants for European Solidarity Corps (ESC) Volunteering Teams project “Health and Heritage, Opportunities for a Life Change (H2O)”, which will be implemented in the period May-September of 2023 and means volunteering in Thessaloniki and the villages of Aristotelis municipality in Halkidiki. Greece.

DATES and TOPICS:

3^rdof May – 1^st of July: Preservation of cultural heritage, Stratoni, Halkidiki, Greece;
30^th of May – 28^th of July: Preservation of cultural heritage, Thessaloniki, Greece;
1^st of August – 29^th of September: Work with the Roma community and children, Thessaloniki, Greece;
5^th of July – 2^nd of September: Mediterranean diet – Health, sports and wellbeing, Stratoni, Halkidiki, Greece;
5^th of July – 2^nd of September: Mediterranean diet – Health, sports and wellbeing, Arnaia, Halkidiki, Greece.

About the Hosting Organisation: UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS

UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS (U.S.B.) is a non-profit, non governmental organization based in Thessaloniki, Greece, working in the field of youth mobility, participation and promotion of youth awareness on social issues. It was founded in 2008 by the initiative of a group of active young people, who wanted to address social issues that affect young people in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

The goal of the organisation is the promotion of youth mobility, youth involvement and participation, voluntarism and human rights.

The organisation makes it through:

Promoting the values of non formal learning, voluntiarism, active citizenship and democracy for the creation of a better future for the European youth;
Involving minorities and immigrants into youth activities;
Building healthy cooperation bridges between countries in the area of the Balkans and Eastern Europe with the rest of Europe;
Using New Media and Citizens’ Journalism methodologies to encourage youth expression, to raise awareness of Human Rights and to promote intercultural dialogue;
Utilizing arts as a tool for the cultivation and expression of youth;
Breaking down prejudices and stereotypes among the European countries and amongst youth.

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

The program is Volunteer Teams and doesn’t exclude you for individual ESC long term or short term.

3^rdof May – 1^st of July: Preservation of cultural heritage, Stratoni, Halkidiki, Greece

This volunteering activity will be implemented in Stratoni, a village in the Aristotelis Municipality(Halkidiki), in the context of preserving tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Volunteers will need to organize events with music, traditional food recipes and traditional dances from the countries of the volunteers involved, create outputs such as videos, photo galleries or articles related to migrations and cultural heritage, a specific focus is going to be on the common cultural heritage between Greece and Turkey. As part of their activities they will also organize non-formal education workshops with methods to offer an in-depth look in the subject of migrations and cultural heritage to children. They will participate in physically demanding activities to help improve the village’s spaces, such as painting sidewalks and local buildings, etc.

To know more you can check here.

30^th of May – 28^th of July: Preservation of cultural heritage, Thessaloniki, Greece

This volunteering activity will be implemented in Thessaloniki, the second biggest city of Greece in the context of preserving tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Volunteers will need to organize events with music, traditional food recipes and traditional dances from the countries of the volunteers involved, create outputs such as videos, photo galleries or articles related to migrations and cultural heritage, a specific focus is going to be on the common cultural heritage between Greece and Turkey. Volunteers will also have the opportunity
to create and edit a special edition of the “Balkan Beats” magazine dedicated to the subject, as part of their activities they will also organize two non-formal education workshops with methods to offer an in-depth look in the subject of migrations and cultural heritage.

To know more you can check here.

1^st of August – 29^th of September: Work with the Roma community and children, Thessaloniki, Greece

This volunteering activity will be implemented in Thessaloniki, the second biggest city of Greece and the volunteers will work side by side with the Roma community of Thessaloniki, an ethnic minority present for hundreds of years in Greek territory but which has suf fered cultural and religious discrimination, to promote their cultural heritage and foster their inclusion.

It will involve 20 volunteers and will be supported by United Societies of Balkans and partner organization Faros tou Kosmou. In this way, not only the Roma and the local Greek volunteers will have an opportunity to be agents of change in their own country, but also the international volunteers will be able to address the same societal challenge in their countries, tackling stereotypes and overcoming prejudice still really present in the society.

To know more here.

5^th of July – 2^nd of September: Mediterranean diet – Health, sports and wellbeing, Stratoni, Halkidiki, Greece

This volunteering activity will be implemented in Stratoni, a village in the Aristotelis Municipality(Halkidiki), in the context of the
promotion of healthy lifestyle and sports. The group will get to know better the Mediterranean traditions, regarding way of living, food, local products and folklore to get in touch with the Greek cultural heritage which is a fundamental part of the Mediterranean as well as dedicating time to the promotion and organisation of sporting events open to all, in collaboration with the local community. The volunteers will organize events to promote the local food production since Halkidiki is Halkidiki is credited as one of the main producers of olives, olive oil and honey in Greece. They will participate in physically demanding activities to help improve the village’s spaces, such as painting sidewalks and local buildings, etc.

To know more you can check here.

5^th of July – 2^nd of September: Mediterranean diet – Health, sports and wellbeing, Arnaia, Halkidiki, Greece

To know more you can check here.

ACCOMODATION:

Stratoni: During the project, the support organization will provide accommodation at a two-floor seaside community center in Stratoni, which is designed for hosting training teams and furnished with the relevant equipment. It includes common spaces, a kitchen, bathrooms, internet connection, all electronic machines and a spacious green space, and it is a 1-minute walk to the beach.At the ground floor there is also a big recreational room. Each volunteer will share their bedroom with 5-6 more ESC volunteers on the ground floor and the volunteers will be responsible for their own meals. The second floor of the building will be occupied by other young participatingwho implement short term training and youth exchanges.
Thessaloniki: Volunteers are going to be accommodated in a fully equipped building located in the city centre near the main bus and train station of the city. It is an autonomous 5 floored building of 150m2 per floor and a terrace on the 6th floor. There are two living rooms and a big kitchen, showers in the common floors and toilets in every floor. In the building, there are also accommodated other volunteers, who participate in other projects in the city coordinated by our organisation. Each volunteer will share their room with up to three more people of the same gender. Up to 35 volunteers are living in the building.There are also single rooms for people with special needs. Wireless internet is available in the whole building. The volunteers are responsible for the daily cleaning of their own spaces as well as the common spaces.
Arnaia: During the project the support organization will provide a f lat at the environmental centre of Arnaia, which includes common spaces, a dining room and a spacious green space. Each volunteer will share their bedroom with 2-3 more ESC volunteers. The flat includes three bedrooms with air-conditions, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, Internet and all electronic machines. The volunteers will be responsible for their own meals. The main building, where the common spaces are located, will also accommodate volunteers from other youth exchanges and trainings.

COSTS, FOOD AND INSURANCE:

The organisation will provide pocket and food money. They will also be able to cook in the provided kitchen. The travel costs are covered by the project until a limit based on the distance between Thessaloniki and the hometown of the volunteer.

The participants will have a private insurance by HENNER, which covers all their needs for the whole duration of their project.

VOLUNTEER`S PROFILE:

The participants will have to be between 18 and 30 years old and be genuinely interested in the project. The knowledge
of the English language is going to be considered since English is going to be the language of communication between the participant and the organisation, but it won’t represent a pre-requisite, especially for the participants with fewer opportunities. A very basic knowledge of Greek
or English is though required, for them to have at least one communication language to be used in the field and in case of need or emergency. Volunteers’ interests preferable need to include history and research, social media content production, video making, photography and writing, working with children.

The working program will be 6 hours per day, normally from Monday to Friday. It might be possible that the participants will be asked to work on weekends in case specific events are going to be organised. In that case volunteers will have extra free days within the week.

How to apply for the project:

To apply for the project, candidates have to send their CV & MOTIVATION LETTER to marco@nyh.ee.