ESC Volunteering "Mountain Futurescape" for 3 weeks in Turin, Italy (Fully Funded)

Open call for participants for 3 weeks Volunteering project "MOUNTAIN FUTURESCAPE: Youth Cooperation and Cultural Enhancement" in Rora, Italy. It is a unique chance to discover non touristy Italy, becoming part of an art community and learning new skills. The project is organised by Stone Oven House and funded by European Solidarity Corps programme.

About European Solidarity Corps

The European Solidarity Corps is an EU funding programme for young people wishing to engage in solidarity activities in a variety of areas. These range from helping the disadvantaged to humanitarian aid, as well as contributing to health and environmental action across the EU and beyond. If you want to volunteer abroad without paying any fee, then you have to search for volunteering program abroad.

About the project

"Mountain Futurescape" is a 3-week volunteering program for young people in Rorà, Turin, Italy. The project is open to 15 young volunteers, aged between 18 and 30, both Italian and international. The experience involves participating in the international art community of Stone Oven House, an organisation that runs the art residency located in the small mountain town of Rorà, in the verdant and charming Val Pellice, at the foot of the Alps. In the volunteer project you will work closely with artists, studying and practicing the re-functionalisation of interior spaces through the sustainable use of resources and materials and the regeneration of exterior spaces. You will contribute to artistic initiatives aimed at positive social change and at the same time learn the importance of caring for the land and nature and the actions this requires. Furthermore, and not least, you will contribute to communicating the social change generated by these collective actions.

Volunteer's tasks and program

The volunteer will be involved in both theoretical and practical activities focused on the connection between art, environment and community living practices.

- Theoretical activities will include the elaboration and study of local architectural heritage, the study of up-cycling, recycling and material reuse techniques for the re-functionalisation of interior spaces and the surrounding area, artistic communication practices, focus on transformative communication practices around contemporary social challenges.

- Practical activities will include the enhancement of local architectural heritage, with particular attention to the promotion of the rural dimension, woods and vegetable garden maintenance and care, different workshops with local people and artists will be organised as well as a visit to to the local Waldensian Museum to discover the Waldensian cultural heritage of the rural context. 

Project impact and results

- The project requires the transfer and assimilation of a number of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that can effectively improve the lives and work of all project participants (volunteers, organisations, and target group), or they can serve as a catalyst for the paradigm shift that the world's population is increasingly demanding, as well as an end to the political-environmental dramas that the planet is still unreservedly suffering from. Specifically, this Volunteering Teams project's huge community lifestyle, cohabitation, and experience sharing allow for the development of highly empathic processes and emotional training.

- The project's fundamental motivation is a deep global dimension that fosters the development and redemption of the affected communities. This is made possible by the European dimension, which gains from value growth, the acquisition of methodological tools related to volunteerism and non-formal education, and visibility in terms of the need for needs and community involvement in larger decision-making processes. Simultaneously, the experience of a targeted intervention aimed at revitalising a marginal area through youth cooperation through art and community living permits the development of positive role models that serve as a catalyst for a sustained paradigm shift and as well as a stimulus for future imagination.

Finance and Benefits

The project is funded by European Solidarity Corps program:

- No participation or application fee.

- Food and accommodation will be provided by the host organisation. Each volunteer will have a shared room, with a shared bathroom in a traditional farm house.

- Each Volunteer will be provided three meals a day, wi-fi connection, sheets and towels. Meals will be managed in a collective way and all volunteers will be involved, this is because we believe that conviviality linked to meals is an important factor of sociability.

- Any food allergies or intolerances will be taken into account and must be communicated to the host organisation when filling in the application form.

- Each volunteer will receive a pocket money of 5 euro per day, for a total of 105 euro. Pocket money will be splitted into two tranches which are going to be given at the beginning of the first and second week of the volunteering period.

- Travel expenses from your home country to project venue will be reimbursed after participation in the project according to the distance between your  travelling place to the volunteering venue as follows:

• for travel distance between 100 and 499 km: 180 EUR / person, +30 EUR extra for Green travel.
• for travel distance between 500 and 1999 km: 275 EUR / person, +45 EUR extra for Green travel.
• for travel distance between 2000 and 2999 km: 360 EUR / person, +50 EUR extra for Green travel.
• Calculate your budget from HERE

• IMPORTANT: keep all your travel documents! Online boarding passes and tickets for reimbursements. No documents = No reimbursement!
• IMPORTANT: Please send your travel proposition per e-mail to the organisers and wait for their confirmation before purchasing your tickets!

- Visa costs are not included in the project’s budget. However, if the candidate would like to ask for the coverage of these costs, he/she can write it explicitly in the application.

- YouthPass Certificate will be granted for all participants at the end of the project.

Insurance

Volunteers that are entitled for the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) should bring it with them, as it will provide first coverage in case of any health issue. Second coverage for them and first coverage for those who are not entitled for EHIC, is freely provided by Henner company as established by the European Solidarity Corps programme. Once selected, the volunteers will be automatically insured by accepting the project offer.

Read Also: Study Visit "Learning Through Sports" in Ankara, Türkiye (Funded)

Eligibility

Volunteers will be selected according to their interest in the project’s topic and especially the desire to get involved to bring their personal contribution to the project and the life of the Residence.

- Young people aged between 18 - 30 years old

- You are a legal resident in one of the European Solidarity Corps program countries.

- A minimum level of English is required in order for volunteers to be able to connect with each other and participate actively in the project’s activities.

- No specific qualification is needed to collaborate in the program

- Versatile young people, able to take advantage of existing resources, communicative, adaptable and with initiative.

Timeline

Application deadline: 10 December 2023 at 21:00 

Selection result: as soon as possible after filling the application

Arrival day: 07 May 20224

Departure day: 27 May 2024

Note: Volunteers must arrive before the start of the activities scheduled for 7 May. They can travel a maximum of 2 days before the start date and return a maximum of 2 days after the end of the project.

Selection process

Applications are going to be evaluated as soon as they arrive, so the selection process is going to start as soon as the candidate will submit the application form. The selection process will not foresee an individual interview but the request to fill a form with some personal and motivational questions.

How to apply?

To apply you need to fill out the application form before the deadline

More Details

For more details, you can check the info-letter about the project or visit the opportunity website from HERE

Have a Question?

Contact us for any questions about the educational travel opportunities

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Email: info@opportunit4u.com