Poland by AIESEC QUT

CONTENTS 4 Why Poland 6 Example Opportunities 8 Project Daily Breakdown 9 Project Activity Explanation 10 Cost Breakdown 11 My Experience In 2014, AIESEC has already provided 17,000 students worldwide with the opportunity to volunteer abroad. Will you join them?

Poland Information Booklet

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WHY POLAND? HIDDEN EUROPEAN GEM Despite not being one of the first countries to come to mind when you think about Europe, it definitely should be! Poland boasts beautiful scenery, a culture of warmth and openness and deliciously hearty food!

RICH HISTORY For those who wish to learn more about European history, you can visit Auschwitz and see for yourself the extent of the Holocaust atrocities. You will gain a deeper understanding of the personal tragedy of the countries affected by war and its people.

CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING 94% of the Polish population are of Polish ethnicity, with very little foreigners. Thus, Polish people different cultures. Undertaking an AIESEC exchange will enable more youths to have this opportunity to engage with and learn about different cultures.

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Global Citizen

Content

FUN FACTS

BATHROOMS

Polish bathroom signs for boys and girls are represented by a triangle and circle respectively

which one is which!

LANGUAGE Polish is one of the hardest languages to learn in the world. Since Poland is made up of 94% learn the language in order to communicate with the locals.

AUSTRALIA & POLAND The highest mountain in Australia was named in 1840 by Polish explorer Paul Edmund Strzeleck as Mount Kosciuszko because of the mountain's resemblance to the Kosciuszko Mound in Krakow.

CANDY GALORE The biggest section of any grocery store in Poland is the candy section.

Poland Information Booklet

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Global Citizen

PROJECT SNAPSHOT Project Name: Enter Your Future Location: Wroclaw, Poland Duration: 6 weeks Issue Segment: Culture, Education

PROJECT OVERVIEW Enter Your Future is a national project run in many different cities within Poland. It aims to develop cultural understanding and soft skills for junior to high school students in smaller towns. The project involved travelling to different towns each week and presenting workshops on your own culture, as well as an array of different soft skills depending on the needs of the selected schools. This often involved working your group to deliver engaging and useful sessions with tight deadlines. The host LC provides training before the project to ensure expectations are set and skills workshops to help EPs gain required skills.

Poland Information Booklet

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EXAMPLE OPPORTUNITIES

ENTER YOUR FUTURE

EXPLORE YOURSELF EXAMPLE OPPORTUNITIES

PROJECT SNAPSHOT Project Name: Explore Yourself Location: Poznan, Poland Duration: 6 weeks Issue Segment: Education, Culture

PROJECT OVERVIEW Project involves teaching children ages 3-6 years old about your culture. This can include language, lifestyles, foods, games, activities etc. These kids have often never been exposed to non-polish people and so spreading awareness of different cultures to such young minds can be very rewarding and effective. EPs will either stay and teach in kindergartens in Poznan or possibly travel to different towns (different small cities) to teach.

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Global Citizen

ENTER YOUR FUTURE

DAILY BREAKDOWN Below outlines the project timeline of Enter Your Future and maps out the day-to-day activities that can be expected to be undertaken in this project. Please note that this is only an example and the individual activities of each project will vary. Contact qut@aiesecaustralia.org if you want more information regarding what day-to-day activities in a specific project may encompass. View next page for explanation of individual activities.

Week/ day 1

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Arrival

City Tour

1st School: Workshops

Workshops

Welcome Party Workshops

2nd School: Workshops

Workshops

3rd School: Workshops

Workshops

Xmas Break/ Travel 4th School: Workshops

Xmas Break/ Travel Workshops

Xmas Break/ Travel

Xmas Break/ Travel Workshops

Preparation Conference Travel/ Spend time with host families Travel/ Spend time with host families Travel/ Spend time with host families Xmas Break/ Travel

Travel/ Spend time with host families

Workshops

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ENTER YOUR FUTURE ACTIVITY EXPLANATION 1 | CITY TOUR

4 | WORKSHOPS

For exchange participants who arrive prior to the scheduled EP Preparation Conference, local AIESECers often take them on tours around the city including useful places that they should familiarise themselves with, as well as cultural landmarks.

Workshops vary from school to school, however cultural workshops about your home country and your personal introduction are usually presented on the first day. After that, exchange participants facilitate workshops focused on soft skills. In Poland, schools usually begin at 8am and end around 3pm. After school, the host families usually take the EP around town, or arrange after school activities such as ice skating, dining out etc.

2 | WELCOME PARTY Welcome Party where all the exchange participants and AIESECers can meet and get to know each other. This is a great opportunity to interact with other exchange participants who they will be working with as well as experience

3 PREPARATION CONFERENCE Exchange Participant Preparation Conference is a two-day conference where EPs are equipped with the knowledge and skills to facilitate workshops and present sessions at local schools; as well as getting to know other exchange participants and local AIESECers.

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Global Citizen

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TRAVEL / TIME WITH HOST FAMILY

As exchange participants do not have to teach during weekends, they are free to stay with host families; otherwise, they may opt to travel instead either to Wroclaw and meet up with the local AIESECers or to different European countries as Poland is centrally located, thus travelling is very convenient.

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XMAS BREAK / TRAVEL

Polish schools have a Christmas break every year, thus exchange participants also have a break where they can choose to travel if they wish. However, they usually have to bear their own costs during this period.

COST BREAKDOWN The Global Citizen Program requires a $700 administration fee to be paid to AIESEC QUT once applicant has passed their interview and signed the contract. View below for an explanation as to what is included in the fee. The following is an example budget breakdown of minimum expenses that can be expected during a standard 6 week project in Poland. This does not include the administration fee, leisure and travel costs.

TIPS FOR CUTTING COSTS 1. Apply early to get $50-$100 discount off your admin fee 2. Get matched to a project quickly so that you can book cheaper flights well in advance 3. Look out for promotions from travel agencies 4. Get an ISIC card to get international student benefits

Budget for Poland Logistics Flights Visa Travel Insurance Vaccinations Subtotal:

$2000 $0 $200 $0 $2200

Living Expenses Accommodation Food (Lunch usually provided by school) Communications (sim, internet etc.) Subtotal: Core essentials:

$0 $750 $20 $760 $2970

WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY A FEE? You may be asking this breakdown of what the administration fee covers. AIESEC is a not-for-profit organisation so the administration fee goes towards the day-to-day operations and ensuring that our customers (YOU!) are provided with the best possible experience in terms of preparation, support and safety.

PRODUCT VALUE Poland Information Booklet

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MY EXPERIENCE

The polish host families I stayed with and the schools I worked with were some of the most hospitable, curious, excitable and memorable people I have ever encountered. They taught me everything from how to speak the language, how to navigate around, how to not get sick by listen to) and even how talk in a Polish accent. They say that the people you meet define the places you meet them in. Then certainly Poznan was one of my favourite places I have ever been to

Chris Chan 3rd Year, Commerce/Maths

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Global Citizen

My experience in Poznan was life changing to say the least. It seems clichĂŠ to say but my experiences overseas were really defined by the people I met and the friendships I formed along the way. Poland is such an excellent choice because when you pick a project, you are almost guaranteed to have a strong support system and many other EPs who are going through a similar but also very unique experience just like you.

APPLY NOW AT

http://bit.ly/ApplyGlobalCitizen

Email: qut@aiesecaustralia.org

Website: www.aiesecqut.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AIESECQUT