VOLUNTAR PENTRU NATURA RO-21-005-2012-R1_EPW
“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”
Contents I. I. II. III. IV. V. VI.
Introduction Summary Of The Project Parteneriat Volunteers Local And European Traditions Non - Formal Education Methods Youth In Action Programme
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I.
Introduction
Why do we highlight environmental education? Because over 5.3 billion people nowadays use (and often abuse, willingly or unwillingly) the natural resources of earth. Everywhere on earth, people cut forests, perform mining and extraction activities, and in doing so, they erode the soil and pollute the water and air, creating dangerous waste and causing disruptions in natural areas in an unprecedented manner in Earth’s history. As the needs associated with growing population and developments increase, it is ever more difficult for humans to have their needs and desires met. It also becomes impossible to avoid the harmful consequences of environment degradation: extinction of species, desert expansion, pesticide contamination, health conditions and illnesses, hunger, poverty and even loss of human lives. Many experts are worried that we will witness the gradual destruction of life supporting
systems on Earth if the current pattern of degradation continues. Environmental education is a process that is meant to improve the quality of life and provide people with the “tools” necessary to solve and prevent environmental issues. Environmental education can help people acquire the knowledge, skills, motivations, values and commitment they need to better manage Earth’s resources and to take responsibility of maintaining environment quality. The purpose of this brochure, made entirely by the “Voluntar pentru natura” volunteers, is to determine “green” behaviours in the local community and to boost its participation in volunteering activities meant to promote environmental protection. The “Voluntarpentrunatura” volunteers performed a volunteering stage in the project “Voluntar pentru natura”, financed by the European Commission through Youth in Action Program, Action 2 – European Voluntary Service. The brochure is divided in three sections: presentation of the project, promoters and volunteers,
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description of the non-formal education methods used in the EVS stage activities and description of the Youth in Action Program. We hope that this document will be a didactic material of good practices useful in volunteering activities for environment protection and education.
(THE VOLUNTAR PENTRU NATURA TEAM)
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I.
Summary Of The Project
“Volunteer for nature” project aims at implementing an EVS placement in order to promote environmantal education and protection in rural comunities and Roma comunities in the area of Dragasani city. Project’s specific objectives: • Enhancing and acquring new skills for ten volunteers in the field of environmental education and protection • Acquiring skills by the volunteers in the field of intercultural education • Combating poverty and marginalization in Roma communities through active involvement of European volunteers to solve social problems. • Promoting volunteering within the local communities of promoters • Promoting non-formal learning through
outdoor activities and active participation of young people by involving volunteers and solving environmental problems in the city of Dragasani. • Strengthening the European dimension in partner organizations by providing examples of good practice in volunteering. • Promoting active citizenship of ten volunteers through their direct involvement in all phases of the project. • P r o m o t i n g environmental education and environmental protection in schools from Dragasani area, including schools attended by Roma students. During the implementation of EVS placement, volunteers were conduct several activities such as: “greening the city and rural areas surrounding
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Dragasani, administrating points of environmental information in Dragasani, workshops in schools, workshops with local authorities, etc. These activities were be achieved through nonformal education methods such as: debates, outdoor presentation, street animation, role playing, simulation games, theatre-forum, photo-voice, video-voice. The volunteering activities has a duration of 10 months , starting on 1 November 2012 and will involve six volunteers from Portugal,Turkey and Georgia.
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II. Parteneriat
• rural development • organising foreign languages classes • making activities that support art and culture • the development transnational partnership relations between institutions involved in this area www.fcasec.com
Forumul Cetățenesc pentru Acțiune Socială și Educație Civică The Association “Forumul Cetatenesc pentru Actiune Sociala si Educatie Civica”, made in December 2003, has a social, nonpolitic and non-profit character,and has no financial pourpose. The asociation’e goal is the promotion of the young ones in Romania, the givening offinancial support and the stimulation of activities in this area. There a taken in consideration the following activities: • making programmes in the social area • volunteer activities
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SIQA Founded in 1999, by various organizations and programs, Rustavi Parents and Teachers Association. It was registered by the court in 2000. Named SIQA – Georgian Association of Educational Initiatives was registered by the office of the state registration of Rustavi. Registration number 00522060025 Tax ID Number: 216 379 880 Goals: The main goals are: environmental, legal, economic, social, community, cultural, anti-corruption, youth and other matters of educational, civil society development in Georgia’s educational initiatives in the introduction, the principles of democracy promotion, healthy lifestyle promotion, comprehensive and continuing education.
Education system and worker’s professional development and quality of education increase, the European and global space of integration and maintaining support for its goals, the association carries out the following activities: Conducts and organizes training sessions, seminars, consultations, conferences, workshops, engages in publishing activities, organizing the mass and charity events, plans to initiate and implement the capabilities of national, regional and local partnership programs and projects engaged in business in a subsidiary character. Contact Information: Rustavi, Friendship Avenue, 12/56 Phone: 8 (341) 25 13 58 22 20 45 5 (55) 59 43 13; Fax: 8 (341) 222045 E – mail: siqaoffice@gmail. com Web – Page: http://www. siqa.org.ge/
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Asociacao Juvenil Proatlantico ProAtlântico – Associação Juvenil is a non-profit youth organisation, funded in 2001 in Oeiras Council (Porto Salvo), in Portugal. We develop projects with children, young people, elderly people, and disabled people. Most of the activities with children and young people take place during the school breaks, such as sport tournaments, National and International exchanges, and entertaining and cultural activities; and after school, as educational support. We try to help these young people to develop life skills, to be more independent. Along the year we have several projects with elder people,
as summer camps, Cultural Trips and New Year’s Eve. We work together with Children’s Homes and Support Centers for Mentally and Physically Challenged People (Cooperativa de São Pedro), in voluntary projects. With Children’s homes, the volunteers organise a set of cultural, pedagogical and leisure activities during the weekends, in order to provide a closer contact with the world around the children. In Support Centers for Mentally and Physically Challenged People, the volunteers try to keep them busy during the time that the Support Center isn’t able to develop activities (during the week days at night, and weekends). The main aim is to enable people mentally disabled to actively participate in the creation and development of civil society, by joining events and other activities, creating conditions to experience things that weren’t available for them before. In 2003, we started to work with Youth Program, and we took part in youth exchanges in (Estonia, Romania, Macedonia, Latvia, Germany, Italy, Portugal,
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Austria and France) and in several training courses and seminars around Europe. We are sending, hosting and coordinating organisation in EVS and hosted volunteers from several countries. In 2007 we started a project in schools to dinamize activities, informing youngsters about Youth in Action Program actions, mainly EVS and Youth Exchanges. We have a Meeting Point where our EVS volunteers are involved and play with children and do some activities, like games, workshops, parties, etc. Today ProAtlântico – Associação Juvenil with his 1000 members, gives special attention to needy people, and those with fewer opportunities and aims to give people the chance to establish contact with other cultures, in order to help them to find ways to deal with their own problems and to break the existing prejudices.
com/
Proatlantico http://www.proatlantico.
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Canakkale Koza Genclick Dernegi ÇanakkaleKoza Youth Association is an active, energetic youth organization in Çanakkale which is located in North-western part of Turkey. It was founded in March 2010 by a group of young people. Target group of organization is especially socially, economically disadvantaged children and young people aged between 7-30. Our mainworking areas are cultural, social, sportive activities and courses. We are also working onyouth policies and human rights education with young people by organizing workshops, training courses and other social activities. Besides, we as ÇanakkaleKoza Youth Association
not also takes part in nationalinternational projects and trainings but also arranges for development of project ideas addressing social, educational, environmental and economic changes. We are collaborating with Çanakkale Municipality, Çanakkale 18 Mart University, City Council and High Schools to reach youngsters and to improve our studies. Our main objectives are; -To help young people (especially agedfrom 17 to 25) to join social life in Çanakkale. -To support personal, social and culturaldevelopment of children and young people. -To raise awareness of community on social and environmental issues. -To make knowledgeraisingstudies on youth rights and human rights with young people. -To enable young people from diverse backgrounds in producing together. -To develop solutions on youth problems and foster their participation to social and
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democratic life. -To make specific studies on the subjects concerning youth of the city and country. -To foster young people’s involvement on decision-making and managing of city. Çanakkale Koza Youth Association provides following activities to achieve above mentioned objectives; -Training courses for personal development of young people -Seminars, training courses and conferences -Capacity building activities for University youth clubs and different youth groups -Art, Language and Cultural courses; such as ceramic, drama, painting, English speaking etc. -Youth festivals and workshops -Sportive activities; swimming, dance -Preparing summer and winter programs for children -Local and national networking among youth organizations. -Making questionnaires
about the needs of young people in local and national level and making evaluations for better youth politics. -Supporting national social campaigns in local level. Short description: Our association was founded on March 2010 in Çanakkale by a group of active and responsible young people. Although our association was founded recently, we have taken an important role of youth life in our local. Our target groups are children and young people. We have around 40 members and more than 100 volunteers. Activity Fields; Youth Politics, Human Rights, Art-Culture, Children, Young People, Sport, Environment
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III. Volunteers
through the work with people. But also I am a volunteer for 6 years, and recently I worked with homeless people, and scout for 3 year’s, so I think that I have important knowledge to give.”
Catarina Passos Portugal “I recently finished a degree in Social Work in University of
Madeira, and I want to develop Social Work and the environment, that’s why I choose this project. To learn more about environment but also to give my contribution as a Social Worker
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João Raposo Portugal “I am here because with this project I can work in my area, and specifically in the areas that most interest to me, that are Ecology, Conservation and Environmental Education. Also the fact that a large part of the project involve working directly with children and young people from rural and urban communities in the area appeals to me to much, because children and youth are the future, I think it is always possible to change the world throught them, so interest to much to me work with this particular age group and assist in education, in this case environment, of them, and the local population, of course. I like music, travel, know different people, places and cultures, help people…”
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Dilek Durkal Turkey “I finished faculty the food section five years ago. I was voluntary in Tema.Tema is foundation of natusa in Turkey. I worked on behalf of turkey, tree planting and forest protection. I will be in Dragasani during of ten months. I hope I can do good things in the name of the environment Dragasani.�
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Egemen Kutlu Yaman Turkey “I finished unıversity 2 years ago.Faculty- tourism and hotel management. I worked for television channel along 2 years. I volunteered for the Turkish Aeronautical Association since 2008 İ like Nature, Cinema , travel and i love football I will be in Dragaşani, during of 10 months. Our Project is about echology, we must to greening city. We have to make outdoor presentation, simulashion games.”
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Khatia Nikabadze Georgia “To be here and participate in this project for me it is very important. In Georgia I was a teacher of a Georgian language, I was teaching Georgian language to the minority people. Now I want my experience to be used in a different way, in the different country and with the different society, people, culture. I love nature, I always try to take care about it, I like music, films, photography and just to live in the different atmosphere.“
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Natia Pashurishvili Georgia “I have graduated University a faculty of tourism and business administration. I’m volunteer in ”Georgian Association of Educational Initiatives” since 2008. I love nature, hiking, bungee jumping, rafting. I’m mountain climber and generally- extremal adventuress. In my country i was working as an operator at the Travel Agency and my job was involved planning and organizing trips and tours. Also I am an activist member of the club concerning ecological and environmental issues. I am highly motivated individual who enjoys new chalanges. So I am convinced that my experience will benefit us all, because we want to share with you, our skills and experience and together greening this city.“
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IV. Local And European Traditions
TRADITIONS FROM DRĂGĂSANI Dragă Sani By Catarina Passos One day we went out to know more about Dragasani and it’s traditions. We spoke with locals and found out the beautiful and nice origin of city name - Dragasani. The story sounds such: In old times there was a woman, named Sani, who had a wine pub or who was making a wonderful wine and all people from this area were going to her to drink or buy a wine and feel happy themselves, so that the grateful people called her “dear”, “dear Sani”, in Romanian “Draga Sani”. It’s obvious, that the legend is connected with traditions of making, producing wine in Dragasani.We know that Dragasani is famous because of wine, there are several famous vineyards and an old, already renovated, wine museum in the city center.
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Boboteaza and Saint Ioan By Natia Pashurishvili Boboteaza (January 6) and Sfantul Ioan (January 7) mark the first week of January. It is the moment when Romanians go to the church to take holy water, used for curing and purification. It is the moment when waters are believed to be holy.
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Martisorul By Khatia Nikabadze Martisorul (March 1) is the celebration that brings hope, optimism and faith in a better future, year by year. Now, from the clash between cold and sun rays, between dark and light, life and spring break out in victory.
The festival is symbolised by a white and red lace with an amulet (a coin, a shell), that mens offered to girls as a sign of good luck and health. In Dragasani girls and women wear martisorul entire month of March, and then put it in a tree blossomed while they make a wish.
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Painted Eggs By Dilek Durkal Easter is the most important celebration of the Romanian people and it is preceded by numerous preparations and rituals.
The eggs in Dragasani, as other cities in Romania, are painted starting with Thursday. Initially the only accepted color was red, but in time other colors were also applied – yellow, green, blue and even black. Red eggs, are called “rosele”, or “rosetele”.
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Wine festival By Joao Raposo Celebration of vineyard and of the wine is the most important event that happens in Dragasani.
Annual people from here celebrate viticulture and usually occur after the harvest of the grapes which mainly is at the end of September until well into October. In the three-four days it takes festival, in town is great agitation, all the people are on the streets, eating or singing, happier than usual.
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Carols in winter holidays By Yaman Egemen Kutlu On Christmas and New Year’s Eve, children and young men go from house to house singings carols. They dance with folk masks on their faces and recite speeches. For their effort, they receive fruit and home-made cakes. The best known carols are Steaua, Plugusorul, Sorcova and Capra.
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TRADITIONS FROM GEORGIA Mekvle By Khatia Nikabadze One of the curious and interesting Christmas tradition, which is still common in Georgia is ”Mekvle”. ”Mekvle” is the man/ women who first cross the threshold of the house in the New Year. He/ she can bring happiness but also unhappiness and bad luck. People tend to know who the people with the ”happy feet” are and invite them into their houses in advance. The guests then present a basket with wine, sweets and other foods to the hosts, wishing them happiness in the coming New Year.
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Berikaoba By Natia Pashurishvili Georgian people, as every people with a long history and an old origin, have a lot of interesting traditions. Here, in Romania, to be more precise, in Sibiu I met one Austrian man, who was working in Georgia and who said to me: The first humans in Europe were Georgians; The first humans, who invented wine, were Georgians and after wine they needed to sing and for singing it was necessary to dance, and Georgians invented how to sing and dance! Of course these words are hyperbolical, but for me sounds still very nice, because in our life, does not matter, it is hard or no, wine, sing and dance are very important. Maybe because of wine, sing and dance, we are a very artistic people and like improvisations and our traditions are full of this artistic spirit. After this short preface, I want to tell you about one old tradition named Berikaoba. Berikaoba is a Georgian popular theater of masque and improvisation. The origin of berikaoba is associated with the agricultural cult of fertility and reproduction and the cult of the pagan gods Kviria and Telef. The name is derived from a common Georgian word «Ber”, that means “a child”.
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The traditional berikaoba masques are a groom, a bride, a matchmaker, a judge, a doctor, a priest, a hog, a goat, a bear, and so forth. The theater was played just by men. As usual, Berikaoba performances were given at Easter, during other religious holidays, at weddings, and so forth. The performance was beginning with a gathering of villagers who chose actors for the mystery. The procession of berikas (actors) – accompanied by sounds of bagpipes and during the performance actors were moving door-to-door to pick wine, honey, floor, meat and other victuals served by hosts. Berikaoba was anticlerical and opposed to serfdom and as generations were changing, the contents of performances were changing as well, but almost always they were expressing daily life and problems. If you are more interested, you can read about detailed description of berikaoba in 17th-century literary works. Berikaoba lasted until the end of the 19th century.
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TRADITIONS BY TURKEY Habits for social life By Yaman Egemen Kutlu
Turkish people use every day some “ingredients” to socialize with other people or in family. For that, drinks like black tea or coffee with traditional hookah (Turkish pipe) are part of our daily ritual. Tea (çay), is served-black, hot, sweet and strong in tulip shaped glasses, often sipped in harmony with a nargile (Turkish water pipe). Turkish tea, like the coffee, is something of an art form, and is made by stewing leaves in a double pot to produce a potent amber coloured brew. Tea is drunk all day, every day and is an integral part of Turkish culture.
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Turkish coffee, though not quite as popular as tea, is served as strong and sweet and downed with equal gusto. Many coffee shops will also offer to ‘read’ your coffee, a fortune telling ritual which goes back centuries. When the coffee has been drunk, the cup is tipped upside down on the saucer and allowed to cool. Once cooled, the shapes in both the cup and saucer are analysed and revelations are given about the past and future life of the person.
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Turkish Bridal Traditions By Dilek Durkal
Turkish Wedding Coins The color red is prominent at Turkish weddings. The traditional bridal gifts are gold coins that are attached to a red silk ribbon and pin. Wedding guests pin the coins to the bride’s gown and the groom’s clothing. Long Celebrations Traditionals Turkish weddings last for at least 3 days. In the past, affluent families would continue the celebration for up to 40 days. In some areas both the bride and groom were veiled and the veils would remain over their faces until they were led to the nuptial chamber. The actual marriage ceremony just involves the signing of the legal documents. Following this, the couple leads the guests in the first dance.
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Turkish Wedding Dinners During the dinner professional dancers may perform to entertain the guests. One unique custom is the dance of the fathers where the fathers of both bride and groom dance around each other while guests shower them with coins and banknotes. The wedding cake is cut at the end of the dinner and the bride and groom remain at the reception until the guests leave. Wedding Invitations It is an honor to be invited to a Turkish wedding and it is an insult to refuse the invitation. This is true whether the wedding takes place in Istanbul, London or New York.
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TRADITIONS FROM PORTUGAL Romarias By Catarina Passos Romarias (pilgrimages) are local religious festivals that honour the patron saint of a particular area throughout Portugal.
The Portuguese word ‘romaria’ can be defined as a trip or pilgrimage to a religious site or one of devotion, a centre of Christian pilgrimages or a meeting of devotees who participate in a religious festival. The person who takes part in a ‘romaria’ is called a ‘romeiro’. This tradition was brought to Brazil by the Portuguese. A pilgrimage is an event that has three phases: the travelling there, the arrival and the return of the pilgrim. It can be of a religious nature, and
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can have masses, processions and other activities coordinated by the Church. There are devotions organised by lay people and paraliturgical activities. When on foot, pilgrims call themselves walkers and proceed alone, in pairs or in groups. Among those that walk alone, some may bear crosses for distances over 100 kilometres. There are walkers who organise into groups that regularly make pilgrimages, some having decades of walking. Devotees make pilgrimages to pay promises or ‘ex-votos’ (an object donated to saints for a granted request). The promise may, or not, consist of the obligation to practice certain acts, abstain from using certain colours, serving only indicated food, letting hair or beards grow for men, or cutting their hair for women, wearing only one colour exclusively or fulfilling an infinite number of penitential duties offered at the moment of the affliction.
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The pilgrimage is also made up of other activities including markets, commerce, public fireworks, shows and festivals. After paying their promise through donations, delivering the ‘ex-voto’ and assisting the liturgical ceremony, pilgrims gather on the fringes of the pilgrimage, which transform into centres of folkloric interest due to the variety of the converging elements: dances, songs, food, costumes and religious syncretism, which in these movements find ideal conditions for the expression of various types of popular manifestations. Pilgrimages are undertaken by pilgrims, by the Church and also by the population of the place, by businessmen and by politicians, each group making their offerings and participating in the event with different interests.
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Portuguese Christmas By Joao Raposo At Christmas families get together for Ceia de Natal, which would be like american Thanksgiving. Dinner starts around 8 pm, the main dish is typically codfish with boiled potatoes and cabbage along with other foods. After dinner everyone talks until midnight when they begin to open their gifts. The celebration usually ends around 3am.
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V. Non - Formal Education Methods
1. Energizer
By Khatia Nikabadze We were often using at schools one of very important and useful instruments of non - formal educational method - Energizer. Energizer is an activity, that is used during classes, when the learning-teaching process is non-formal. That activity helps the class to be fresh, renovated, relaxed and energetic again. The most popular energizer, our students liked, was energizer, named “Rain�. The idea of energizer was to stand in the circle and by moving fingers, clapping hands, knocking feet on the ground make the sound of rain and recognize that sound.
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2. Role playing By Natia Pashurishvili Placing students into roles where they act out ideas and reactions can be rewarding.
By active involvement, students will retain more than if they merely sat and watched a skit or video performance. Each group differs in how the message is delivered and interpreted. *If the educator/teacher/volunteer is trying to make certain points in the exercise which are not obvious, then additional processing and discussion of the material may be required.
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3. Debate By Catarina Passos A way to create an exchange of ideas is to provide two way communication through discussion. The educator speaks directly to a learner, asks questions or makes comments, then waits for a response. This helps auditory learners retain the material.
Another setting may allow a group of learners to either take a stand on an issue or be assigned a position. The groups can then discuss their views with each other. Continuing this open conversation enables learners to express themselves and may provide new areas for learning.
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4. Treasure hunt By Dilek Durkal Treasure hunt is a game that we (the volunteers) use in school when we work with the childrens because it’s a good non-formal method by which they can learn very fast many things. Treasure hunt can have more than one player who try to find hidden articles, locations or places by using a series of clues.
Treasure hunt games may be an indoor or outdoor activity. We use indoor activity because it was winter and it was better for the childrens.
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5. Photo Voice By Joao Raposo Participating individuals express their own opinions through photos and these opinions have the power to change things for the better.
Photo Voice encourages personal development, participation, expression of opinion. At the same time, participants learn new skills: photographic technique, working with digital images, create artistic products.
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6. Competition between teams By Yaman Egemen Kutlu The purpose of this activity is to encourage teamwork. First of all children did formed a circle, then we divided them into teams using method 1, 2, 3 ... 1, 2, 3 in function of how many teams we wanted to form. 1 was a team 2 another team, and so we made all the groups who participated. We showed to the children some ecological videos and after we asked questions about them. All teams had to think / talk quietly with others in the group and had to decide on the final answer. They had 3 variants: a, b or c and all the teams had to wait the sign of the teacher/volunteer such that all the groups showed the response in the same time. The “method of competition” is very good for children because they will be very careful during activities because they want to win. Also they will be careful not to be disqualified or to lose points.(Yaman Egemen Kutlu).
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7. The Environment – what does it mean to us, what does it define? By Khatia Nikabadze Objectives: The pupils will find definitions of the environment and identify its importance in people’s lives. Level: 4-8 Duration: 50-55 minutes Materials: Drawing materials, markers, crayons, paper, drawing block sheets, chalk and a blackboard. Source: “And the leaves grow green”…by Kris Vagos and Retezat National Park Dicţionary: Environment Subject: Let’s learn about the environment Introduction: The environment can be defined as everything that is around us, all the creatures and objects. It is essential for all of us as it represents food, shelter, water and space, without which we could not live. It is the air we breathe, the sun that gives us warmth, the water and food that nourishes our bodies, it is the roof over our heads, the plants, the animals, the rocks and the streams, the oceans and the mountains, remote islands, all we can see, feel, smell, hear or taste. It represents life for us, without it we could not survive. This lesson is an introduction to environmental education and pupils will begin to think about the definition of “the environment” and its importance. Procedure: Ask pupils if they have ever heard the term “environment”. In what context was it used? Who uttered it and where? Try to get as much information as possible to form a definition of the term, but do not define
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it yet.
Form groups of 4-5 pupils. In groups, pupils define the “environment” based on the information shared with them. Allocate pupils five minutes for this activity. Each group elects a representative to read the definition, which is then written on the board. Starting from all these definitions, they define the environment as being “everything around us”. After defining the term, pupils continue working in groups, playing a game. Each group is a team for which pupils try to find a suitable name. Since this can take a long time, the teacher may choose to number the teams.
Each group makes a list of objects in the environment. This activity should last about 10 minutes. During this time, the teacher divides the blackboard is as many sections as there are teams. After this, a representative of each group writes the content of their list on
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the blackboard. The teacher collects the lists and underlines or strikes through the things that appear on other lists too. The winning team is that whose list includes the most words that do not appear on other lists. Each word is worth one point, the teacher makes the totals and announces the winner. Draw a diagram on the blackboard and write the word “environment� in it as well as its definition. Draw smaller circles around it and write the words the pupils came up with throughout the game in these circles. The smaller circles need to be joined with the circle at the centre through lines (fig. 1). By using this drawing, explain pupils that not only the circle at the centre is important, but also the things written in the smaller circles. Write the reasons for this on the blackboard. E a c h group will then receive a cardboard poster or drawing block sheets that are glued together. Each group will draw an image to reflect the diagram on the blackboard that contains objects within the environment and highlights its importance. The representative of each group will interpret the drawing for the rest of the classmates. Create an exhibition by displaying the posters in the classroom.
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8. Word collection By Catarina Passos Objectives: the pupils will collect words and phrases using the term “environment” and create a word collection to enrich their vocabulary on “environment” Level: 4-8 Duration: throughout the school year Materials: a big sheet of paper and a coloured marker Subject: Let’s learn about the environment Procedure: 1. At the beginning of the school year, pupils are explained that they will be learning many new things about the environment 2. They are told that the whole class is going to work together and they will learn new words about the environment. They will be shown a big sheet of paper on which they will all write down the new words. The sheet of paper will be displayed in front of the classroom so that all pupils can see it.
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3. Whenever the pupils learn about the environment, they will be reminded to write down the newly acquired words on the sheet of paper. On the same sheet, they will also write down the words they heard but whose meaning they did not know. 4. If there is not a large enough sheet of paper, each pupil will keep a personal notebook.
Evaluation The new words can be used in tests and games. At the end of the school year, when several words have been collected, the pupils are asked to choose a word and make a report on that word. For instance, if the chosen word is “recycle�, the pupil will make a report on how recycling changes cities and its role in the future. Pupils will choose the desired word and make a report on the aspects it refers to.
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9. Connections (Links) By Natia Pashurishvili Objectives: Pupils will identify the link between life needs and living beings. Level: 4-8 Duration: 55 minutes Materials: Drawing materials, paper, poster cardboard or 4 sheets of paper glued together, enough room for the activity to be conducted. Source: “And the leaves grow green”…by Kris Vagos and Retezat National Park Dictionary: ecosystem Subject: The life web Introduction: In which way are we connected to other living beings on the planet? Every breath we take connects us to the plants that produce the oxygen we inhale. When we drink a glass of milk, we are connected to the cow that produced it and the grass the cow grazed. We are connected to the plants and creatures around us in many ways, but most of the time we do not think about these connections. They are usually difficult to see. However, it is essential that we become aware that we need other living beings to survive and
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that these connections are vital. Throughout this lesson, the pupils will identify the connection between life needs and human beings. They will work in pairs and groups to observe how the food we eat and the place we live are connected to animals and plants and they will make a drawing about all the connections they discover. After this, they will participate in an activity that will demonstrate these connections. Procedure: The pupils exchange ideas about the needs of human beings: water, oxygen and shelter. In brief, the origin of water and air is discussed; water is found in large amounts on Earth, oxygen is found in air and is produced by green plants. The pupils work in pairs, each pair is assigned a symbol, either shelter or food. In pairs, they will make a list of connections between what we eat and where we live and plants and animals. For example, if they drink milk, they will write: “milk”-“cow”“grass” (10 minutes). Now form a group of 4-5 persons from a pair “shelter” and the other pair “food” and let the pupils exchange information for 5 minutes. Pupils are given a cardboard poster or 4 sheets of paper glued together on which they will draw the connections established so far. For instance, a
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cow chewing grass under a tree which provides oxygen for the cow and the man who lives in a house made of wood (the wood from the tree) and drinks the milk produced by the cow and so forth (15 minutes). Display the posters created by the pupils. Next, they will play a game which requires more room. This game will demonstrate that many times nature is very chaotic, with no sense of order. Yet, if you think about it, nature can also be very organized. Each pupil will receive a card with the name (fig.2) of a species of plant or animal. If they are studying a certain ecosystem at this time, you can choose plants and animals from that ecosystem. Create groups of 10, it is important that every group contain an even number of pupils. The members of the group stay close to one another, in a circle, there will probably be 2-3 circles depending on the number of pupils. The rules of the game are: Each pupil has to hold hands with two other classmates. Each pupil has to have one hand in the connection. It’s time to establish connections: a pupil says out loud the species of plant or animal that he/she represents and makes a specific gesture or sound. He looks for and grasps the hand of another pupil who represents something on which the life of the former pupil depends on. For example: the pupil represents the “grass�, he grasps the
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hand of the “cow” or “worm”. The grass needs the worm to aerate the soil and is also the food for the cow. The game goes on until every hand is in a connection. By holding hands, the pupils have formed a real web, with knots and tangles. Careful not to damage the connections and let go of their hands, they must form a circle again. Make sure no pupil gets hurt and tell them they will be able to disentangle the web only if they cooperate. If they were able to form a circle again, some of the pupils will be facing outwards the circle because this is the only way to form a circle without breaking the connections. Explain that this is the circle of the connections we encounter every day, but we do not even think about them. Once we are aware of their importance and understand them, things become plain and simple.
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10. Thanking the environment By Dilek Durkal Objectives: By creating their favourite objects, pupils will become aware of the importance of the resources of our environment. Level: 4-8 Duration: 50-55 minutes Materials: Copies of the material list of fig.3; if not possible, the list will be written on the blackboard, drawing materials, paper, enough room for the activity to be conducted. Source: “And the leaves grow green”…by Kris Vagos and Retezat National Park Dictionary: resource Subject: Natural resources Introduction: Everything around us comes from the resources of the environment. We would not be able to record or listen to music without the materials from the environment that are used to make CDs and musical instruments; we could not use internet, we
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could not speak with our friends over the phone, we would not have any homes, we would not be wearing clothes, we would have no objects or instruments if we did not use the resources from the surrounding environment. Through this lesson, pupils will learn more about the way natural resources are transformed into their favourite items. They will play a game to discover the favourite objects of their classmates. Procedure: Each pupil thinks about his/her favourite object, not including plants, animals, humans. Nobody discloses their secret until the game starts. The pupils spread throughout the classroom, and without picking at other pupils’ sheets, they draw their favourite object. Pupils can build barriers from books in order to ensure privacy. The drawing lasts about 15 minutes, during this time they have to indicate what the object is made from. B y using the list of materials of fig. 3, pupils choose the resources used to create their favourite object (10 minutes). P l a c e pupils in pairs and try to pair the pupils who were sitting far from one another. The aim of the game is to guess the favourite object by the person in the pair. By asking questions about the resources used to make
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the object, pupils will guess the favourite object of their classmates. Thus, they will discover the materials, the parts and finally the object itself. By using the list of materials, the guessing pupil may ask 20 Yes or No questions about the materials from which the object is made. Such questions may be: “Is this object made of wood?”- the other pupil will answer “yes” or “no”, thus the guessing pupil will know more and more details about the object. The guesser may ask no more than 20 questions, and if he/she is wrong, the game is over. Each pupil has to play both roles: that of the interrogator (guesser) and that of the one answering the questions (15 minutes) After the game is over, the pupils will show their classmates the favourite objects of their pairs, explaining what they are made of and what natural resources are used to make them (10 minutes). The pupils will write a big “Thank you” on the blackboard in order to show their gratitude towards Earth, which offers the resources necessary to obtain their favourite objects (5 minute). List of materials Materials from which your favourite object can be made of Where these materials come from Plastic Comes from oil and natural gases – they are found in the ground and are formed by decomposition of plant and
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animals for millions of years – which are brought to the surface by deep drilling through rocks and soil Metals- they include aluminium, gold, silver, bronze, copper, iron, zinc and others Metals are found in the ground and are brought to the surface by deep drilling Glass Glass is made up of various types of sand, in particular sand blocks, which are found in the ground, combined with limestone and soda ash (sodium carbonate) Polyester/ Nylon It comes from oil and natural gases - they are found in the ground and are formed by decomposition of plant and animals for millions of years – which are brought to the surface by deep drilling through rocks and soil Cotton Wool Leather Silk Paper Wood Cotton shrubs Sheep wool Ox hide Silkworms Trees
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11. The dilemma of the big „fish” By Yaman Egemen Kutlu Objectives: To demonstrate students that a continuous growth of the population is a great pressure on the natural resources To describe the results of a selfish management strategy of renewable resources and to explain that reducing excessive exploitation of the natural resources will prevent the depletion of the capacity of Earth. Level: 4-8 Duration: 50-55 minutes Materials: 2 kilograms of salted crackers or other small objects that can be easily held and a dish for each team of 4 pupils. Each team will have 16 crackers. Source: Education on Environment Protection in schools: Create a program that works! Dictionary: Public property, guardianship, cooperative strategy Subject: Natural resources Introduction: Is there a dilemma on public property that is about to be solved in your community? A public property or a shared resource is for instance a protected forest, an aquatic area or even the air we breathe. The dilemma stems from the fact that the excessive growth of the population jeopardizes life in these protected areas and leads to a reduction and destruction of natural resources. The growth of population in one area leads to excessive pollution of the air and deterioration in its quality, to the need of more parking lots, more waste and water pollution. Procedure: 1. The pupils will play a game, the rules and strictly necessary information for the game will be provided: 2. The purpose of the game is to catch as many “fish” in the sea while making sure to leave plenty of fish for future fishing
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3. In a big dish there are 16 „fish” (crackers), this being the capacity of the sea. For fishing 4 „fish” , the pupil will receive one point, the more he/she fishes, the more points he/she gets. 4. At the beginning of the game, you can catch all the “fish”, some of them or none. The groups can try to catch them only 4 times, in less than 20 seconds each time. The teacher will write down the time of the start and finish of each try.
5. For every fish left in the dish upon completion of the fishing rounds, another will be added. If 4 are left, as many will be added, so
that their number does not exceed 16. 6. If a team catches all the 16 „fish”, the game is over for them as they have depleted the sea capacity. 7. Teachers can generate other rules as well to make the game more realistic and interesting. Each pupil must have a living fish for at least 20 seconds. 8. Another option to add to the game is to give a point for each fish that is left alive at the end of the game. This will encourage them to maintain a healthy population in the dish instead of few or no fish during the game. 9 . Several tries to catch the fish can be allowed in order to give pupils more opportunities to apply their strategies.
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10. Divide the pupils in teams of 4 and give each team a dish with 16 “fish�. 11. Conduct the four fishing sessions of 20 seconds each, by writing down the results and points of the teams. If a team catches all 16 fish, the game is over for them. 12. Upon completion of the game, announce the results and have the pupils sit at their desks. 13. Ask them the following questions: What is the maximum number of points of the teams? Why is it that I replaced the fish you caught with others? What would be consequence of catching all the fish if no more fish hatched to replace the ones that were caught? 14. Further questions: What happens if a member of a team does not use the cooperative strategy? Which is the best fishing strategy? (8 fish can be caught so that the balance is not affected). Guardianship of a resource means using a cooperative strategy, a shared interest to preserve the resource. Write down on the blackboard a few resources that require joined responsibility. How will the constant growth of population affect natural resources?
15. If pupils ask for more information on this topic, tell them where to find them. Evaluation: Pupils have to analyse a matter of public property. They could think for instance about solving the following dilemmas:
the reduction in fish population
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because of excessive fishing; the use of motor boats and other recreational equipment in nearby wetland leads to water pollution and increases noise, destruction of fences in a park leads to overuse and destruction of public places. Once they have identified the problem and gathered data on the problem, pupils must determine what laws exist to protect the resource. If there are no such laws, pupils should try to find a solution to the situation. The central issue of the use of public property is its use given that natural resources are declining and must be preserved.
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12. We are building this town By Joao Raposo Objectives: Raising awareness of the need to respect to nature and natural resources. Applying this knowledge to create a “green” town”. Level: 5-6 Duration: 50 minutes or two sessions of 50 minutes each as the teacher sees fit Materials: Materials and drawing block sheets Source: The guide of the preschool teacher (Educator’s Reference Desk) Subject: Let’s think “green” Introduction: Before making an informed decision as to what a town should look like, architects must take into account the surrounding environment. They must consider issues such as how to deposit waste and the source of electricity. Unless attempts are made to protect nature and buildings are constructed without due consideration, spreading waste materials all over the town, water will become undrinkable and streets filthy. The environment has a huge impact on the living standards of urban areas and on the way architects design the town. The pupils will build a model of the “green” town based on their own design. Pupils will work in groups and the representative of each group will present their model to the rest of the classmates and justify his/ her choice. The designing work should have a positive, ecological effect on the town and the pupils. Procedure: The classmates discuss that a town must provide decent living conditions: there should be lodging spaces, central heating, electricity etc.
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Definitions of green thinking are given and ideas are exchanged on what a green town should offer to its citizens. The pupils are grouped in teams of 4. They are explained that each team will design a “green” town and draw it and at the end of the class will explain the different features of their town to their classmates. Each town must include: The name of the town Population The laws the make citizens act ecologically A river that crosses or surrounds the town A few methods for reusing waste material Two types of productive industries
Lodging facilities Plans for electricity sources, central heating and waste management The “green” look of the town as seen through a bird’s eyes, and the legend that defines the town Anything else that the teacher wishes to include in the town After each group has planned the design of its town, a representative will present it to their classmates. Drawings and plans may be displayed in the classroom to remind pupils that we should always take into account the environment and that our changes should not damage it. Evaluation: The pupils will gain new knowledge about planning a town; organize field trips to water purification centres, to places where waste is reuses, try and talk to town officials about the project plan of the town and how to consider the environment in the execution of works.
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VI. Youth In Action Programme Youth
in Action is the Programme the European Union has set up for young people. It aims to inspire a sense of active European citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future. It promotes mobility within and beyond the EU’s borders, non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue, and encourages the inclusion of all young people, regardless of their educational, social and cultural background: Youth in Action is a Programme for all. Every year, thousands of projects are submitted by promoters in order to get financial support from the Programme; a selection process aims at granting the best projects. The YOUTH IN ACTION programme is the EU’s mobility and non-formal education programme targeting young people aged between 13 and 30 years. Its general objectives are the following: • Promote young people’s active
citizenship in general and their European citizenship in particular; • Develop solidarity and promote tolerance among young people, in particular in order to foster social cohesion in the European Union; • Foster mutual understanding between young people in different countries; • Contribute to developing the quality of support systems for youth activities and the capabilities of civil society organizations in the youth field; • Promote European cooperation in the youth field. In order to achieve its objectives, the Youth in Action Programme foresees five operational Actions. Action 1 - Youth for Europe Action 2 - European Voluntary Service Action 3 - Youth in the World Action 4 - Youth Support
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Systems Action 5 - Support for European cooperation in the youth field Depending on the Programme Action, the selection process of projects is initiated in one of the following ways: • for most Actions, the Programme Guide acts as a permanent call for proposals. • for some Actions, specific calls for proposals are published. Who can participate ? Young people and youth workers naturally constitute the main target population of the Programme. However, the Programme reaches these individuals through promoters. Conditions for participation in the Programme therefore relate to these two actors: the ‘participants‘ (individuals participating in the Programme) and the ’promoters‘ (in most cases, legally established organisations). For both participants and promoters, conditions for participation depend on the country
in which they are based.
Eligible participants Are you young person aged between 13 and 30 years old or somebody active in youth work or youth organisations legally resident in one of the Programme or Partner Countries? If so, you can be a participant of a Youth in Action project, depending on the Action and sub-Action concerned. For the conditions for participation in specific Actions or sub-Actions, please consult Part B of the Guide. Check in particular: • lower age limits participants must have reached the minimum age at the application deadline. For example, if the lower age limit is 15 years, participants must have reached their 15th birthday by the application deadline. • upper age limits participants must not be older than the indicated maximum age at the
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application deadline. For sport or culture... example, if the upper • legally established in age limit is 28 years, one of the Programme or participants must not Partner Countries? have reached their 29th If so, you can be promoter of birthday by the application a Youth in Action project depending deadline. on the Action and sub-Action concerned. For the conditions for Eligible promoters participation in specific Actions or sub-Actions, please consult Part B Youth in Action projects are of the Guide. submitted and, if selected, managed If your project is selected, by promoters representing the you become a beneficiary‘ of the participants. Are you: Programme. A beneficiary is a • a non-profit or promoter who will be proposed a n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a l grant agreement for the realisation organisation; of the project (grant agreements • a local, regional public are not proposed to the participants body; themselves). • an informal group of A distinction is made young people; between Programme Countries and • a body active at European Partner Countries. level in the youth field Participants and promoters (ENGO), having member from Programme Countries can branches in at least 8 participate in all Actions of the Programme Countries; Youth in Action Programme. • an international Programme Countries governmental non-profit 27 Member States of the organisation; European Union • a profit-making Participating countries of organisation organising an the EFTA members of the EEA: event in the area of youth, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and
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Switzerland Candidate countries for accession to the European Union: Turkey, Croatia Participants and promoters from Neighbouring Partner Countries can participate in Action 2 and sub-Action 3.1 of the Youth in Action Programme. Neighbouring Partner Countries South East Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo (under UNSC Resolution 1244/1999). Eastern Europe and Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russian Federation, Ukraine. Mediterranean Partner Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Syria, Tunisia. ACTION 2-European Voluntary Service. The aim of the European Voluntary Service is to support young people’s participation in various forms of voluntary activities, both within and outside
the European Union. Under this Action, young people take part individually or in groups in nonprofit, unpaid activities. What is a European Voluntary Service project? The European Voluntary Service enables young people to carry out voluntary service for up to 12 months in a country other than their country of residence. It fosters solidarity among young people and is a true “learning service”. Beyond benefiting local communities, volunteers learn new skills and languages, and discover other cultures. Non-formal learning principles and practice are reflected throughout the project. An EVS project has three phases: • planning and preparation • implementation • evaluation (including reflection on a possible follow-up). An EVS project can focus on a variety of themes and areas, such as culture, youth, sports, social care, cultural heritage, arts, civil protection, environment, development cooperation,
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etc. High-risk interventions in immediate post-crisis situations (e.g. humanitarian aid, immediate disaster relief, etc.) are excluded. An EVS project has three essential components: • the Service: the volunteer(s) is/are hosted by a promoter in a country other than their country of residence and carry out voluntary service for the benefit of the local community. The service is unpaid, non profitmaking and full-time. An EVS project can include between 1 and 30 volunteers who can do their Service either individually or in a (or several) group(s). For any given group, volunteers carry out their Service in the same time-frame and the tasks they carry out are linked to a common thematic. Ongoing volunteer support: the promoters must provide personal, task-related, linguistic and
administrative support to each volunteer involved in the project. For further information, please consult section “What else should you know about EVS?” under this Action. EVS Training and Evaluation Cycle: besides the support provided to the volunteers by the promoters involved in the project, the National Agencies or regional SALTOs organise the following Training and Evaluation sessions to be attended by each volunteer: • on-arrival training • mid-term evaluation (for a Service lasting more than 6 months). For further information on the EVS Training and Evaluation Cycle, please consult section “What else should you know about EVS?” under this Action. What is the role of promoters in an EVS project? Promoters involved in the EVS project perform the following roles and tasks: • Coordinating Organisation (CO): the CO assumes the role of applicant
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and carries the financial and administrative responsibility for the entire project vis-à-vis the National or Executive Agency. The CO doesn’t necessarily have to be an SO or HO in the project (although it may be). In EVS projects involving only one volunteer, either the SO or the HO is CO. There can be only one CO in an EVS project. • Sending Organisation (SO): an SO recruits and sends one or more volunteers. There can be one or more SOs in an EVS project. • Host Organisation (HO): an HO receives one or more volunteers. There can be one ore more HOs in an EVS project. The EVS Charter The EVS Charter is part of the Youth in Action Programme Guide and highlights the roles of each promoter in an EVS project, as well as the main principles and quality standards of EVS. Each
EVS promoter must adhere to the provisions set out in this Charter. Promoters decide together in line with this Charter - how to share tasks and responsibilities and the grant of the EVS Project. For more information on the EVS Charter, please consult section “What else should you know about EVS?” under this Action. What EVS is not • occasional, unstructured, part-time volunteering • an internship in an enterprise • a paid job; it must not replace paid jobs • a recreation or tourist activity • a language course • exploitation of a cheap workforce • a period of study or vocational training abroad.
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Why do we highlight environmental education? Because over 5.3 billion people nowadays use (and often abuse, willingly or unwillingly) the natural resources of earth. Everywhere on earth, people cut forests, perform mining and extraction activities, and in doing so, they erode the soil and pollute the water and air, creating dangerous waste and causing disruptions in natural areas in an unprecedented manner in Earth’s history. It is necessary to emphasize that our project seeks to promote and to favor in the community the processes of Environmental Education, Ecological Education and activities outdoors. The purpose of this brochure, made entirely by the “Voluntar pentru natura” volunteers, is to determine “green” behaviours in the local community and to boost its participation in volunteering activities meant to promote environmental protection. The “Voluntar pentru natura” volunteers performed a volunteering stage in the project VOLUNTAR PENTRU NATURA, financed by the European Commission through Youth in Action Program, Action 2 – European Voluntary Service. (THE VOLUNTARPENTRU NATURA TEAM) www.voluntarpentrunatura.eu