Capacity for Ecovillage Network Development (CEND2)
Volunteering for Global Ecovillage Network Europe – European Solidarity Corps (ESC). This ten-month long-term ESC project was designed for three enthusiastic young people age 17-30 who are interested in ecovillages and sustainable living, and who want to gain experience and participate in network activities such as communications, organising the European Ecovillage Conference, assisting the managing director and IT tasks as well as in community-building, self-development and work in intercultural teams. During the ten months, you will get to know the life of a Spanish ecovillage and the European network of ecovillages.
What is ESC?
The European Solidarity Corps is the new European Union initiative which creates opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe. It provides an opportunity to join meaningful work and experiential learning while your food, accommodation, travelling, pocket money, insurance and mentorship are fully covered.
A person can only do one short term (less than 59 days) and one long-term ESC.
You can register for the European Solidarity Corps when you are 17 years old, but you cannot start a project until you are over 18. European Solidarity Corps projects will be available to people up to the age of 30 years old.
When?
The ESC project will take place from 1 February 2020 to 1 February 2020. All participants will take part in a period of 10 months, the starting date can range between 1 February till the 1 May.
Where?
The Ecovillage that will host the volunteers is Arterra Bizimodu: www.arterrabizimodu.org
The living conditions will be simple with the focus on low ecological footprint. You may expect shared housing and common facilities, natural rural environment and diverse social activities together with the group.
Who?
Young people in the age range of 17-30, who have not participated in an EVS or ESC project before. We are looking for motivated candidates with a pro-active, creative and problem- solving attitude, with a wish to learn about GEN Europe and ecovillage living.
What?
The participants will work as part of the international team formed of GEN Europe volunteers and staff. Supervisors will help the volunteers define and work
towards their personal development objectives. The project coordinator will facilitate dailyฬstand-up ฬ meetings to deal with issues that might arise and find fast-track solutions to deal with them, and at the same time gauge and manage the energy levels of team members.
There are several activities proposed for the volunteers from which you may apply for one or two of the tasks depending on your interest. See below the different activities and their in depth description of each of the activities.
Communications
This is a volunteering activity with the aim to improve and develop information flows through updating the website and social media channels, writing blogs, articles and newsletters, creating and archiving photo, video and other media content, graphic design, website development.
- External communications assistance (flyers, brochures, videos)
- Creation of communications material (social media, photos, articles, press releases,
presentations, newsletters); - Website management (website content creation, editing and proofreading,
performing updates); - Graphic Design tasks
- Support in the joint development of GEN and GEN Europe websites
Event Management
This is a volunteering activity to assist in the event management of the organisation, specifically focused on the yearly preparation and realisation of a European-wide
conference.
- Assisting conference organisation, including logistics, accommodation and transport of keynote speakers.
- ย Facilitating information between council and staff and the on-ground conference team.
- ย Supporting the materialisation of the conference programme.
IT Assistance
Is a volunteering activity that is designed to provide ICT assistance through developing effective and well-working ICT systems and administrative processes. Although it is not expected that the applicant would have extensive experience in ICT, a general interest in open-source development environments and website development tools such as php, WordPress and WordPress plugins would help.
- Develop WordPress plugins to enhance the functionality of GEN EU’s website
- Support with GEN Europe server and system administration
- Setup and maintenance of existing open-source cloud-based services
- Analysis and development of new open-source cloud-based services
- GEN Europe’s IT office support
- Provide end-user support for software and hardware related to ICT tools for the visually impaired
- Assistance to the visually impaired
Is a volunteering activity that is designed to offer support to those with challenges to access information flows, in particular, the visually impaired and those with linguistic barriers.
Support those with challenges to access information flows in the form of reading, writing and organising information, household assistance and moral support.
Assisting the visually impaired in preparing agendas for staff, council and working group meetings
- Supporting the visually impaired in organising personal agenda, including travel and accommodation bookings
CONTACT DETAILS
If you are interested in this ESC project, please send your CV and motivational letter to:
secretariat@gen-europe.org
The selection will be done after interviews with the candidates.
Relevant websites
Global Ecovillage Network of Europe: www.gen-europe.org
Global Ecovillage Network: www.gen.ecovillage.org
Arterra Bizimodu: www.arterrabizimodu.org
More ESC opportunities: here.
For more volunteering opportunities in Spain, click here.
