Greece – International Mobility for All

Country: Greece
Location: Athens
Our partner is looking for 1 ESC volunteer.
NAME OF THE PARTNER ORGANIZATION: ELIX – Conservation Volunteers Greece,
DATES: February 2020 – December 2020 (dates are flexible)
DURATION: 10 months

Project Description

ELIX is a Greek Non-Governmental Organisation committed to promote active participation in public life and the evolution of individuals as global citizens. Founded in 1987, ELIX has used innovation to support and educate more than 10,000 local agents of change, in Greece and more than 40 other countries around the world.
ELIX realizes international actions of voluntary participation with main targets the protection of the environment, the preservation of cultural heritage, the promotion of civilization and social service. In order to realize its actions, the organization cooperates with Local Authority Organizations, Government Bodies, Companies, Institutions as well as local environmental and cultural clubs and associations.

Through its actions, ELIX:
● Offers young people the possibility to work in a group, to acquire skills, to meet new places and
ways of living and become active citizens.
● Offers local societies the opportunity to show the natural and cultural wealth of their area, to
come in contact with young people from all around the world, to share with them their customs
and habits and also to familiarize with the idea of volunteerism.
● Offers the authorities the opportunity to take advantage, in a creative way, of the voluntary
work that is offered to them and at the same time to familiarize with the value of voluntary
service.

More specifically the objectives of the volunteering activities proposed are:

• To promote international mobility and freedom of movement,
• To promote international voluntary workcamps: 2-3 weeks long voluntary projects in which an international group of volunteers for a common cause,
• To support the preparation, support and implementation of workcamps in Greece:
• “This summer is ours!“: Implementation of a creative programme with children with disabilities in the summer of 2019 in Elefsina and Thessaloniki, both in the educational part with the support of competent teachers, and in the reporting part by covering it with video and photographs.
• “Summer in the City”: Organising creative activities for children aged 6 to 12 years old in the municipality of Athens and its surroundings, with the participation of volunteers from around the world.
• Other types of projects such as Environmental and Conservation.
• To support the preparation, promotion and implementation of other international mobility projects such as long and short term EVS, Erasmus+ funded Youth Exchanges, Training Courses, etc,
• To support the preparation, promotion of other international mobility projects such as Youth
• Exchanges funded by the Greek-German Youth Office,
• To the promotion of the programme «Erasmus +» – EVS: The volunteer will contribute to the promotion of the project, mainly through social media and by coming in contact with the Greek volunteers who daily visit the office ELIX,
• To develop concrete tools for awareness-raising on the values mentioned above,
• To make young people more aware of global issues such as migration and climate change,
• To empower young people in designing and implementing effective non-formal education workshops,
• To support the inclusion of participants with fewer opportunities in international mobility projects.

Tasks of the Volunteer

The project will involve volunteers focusing on and supporting 2 different areas:

The Incoming Placement Officer is responsible for the placement of volunteers in international
workcamps in Greece. Daily tasks will include:

1. Placing international volunteers in ELIX workcamps,
2. Communication with international partners,
3. Updating the workcamp catalogue with the projects running during the summer to be presented to the partners and volunteers,
4. Supporting and participating in the camp leaders training course,
5. Mentoring camp leaders before and after the camp,
6. Lead and/or participate in workcamps during the summer,
7. Supporting the organisation of local actions, their coordination and implementation,
8. Be encouraged and trained to develop and implement own ideas,
9. Support the daily activities of the office and participate in various actions of ELIX outside the office.
10. Updating/ creation of tools related to volunteering and non-formal education projects implemented by ELIX The Communication and Visibility Officer is responsible for the development of communication and visibility material for the organization and the projects that are implemented. Daily tasks will include:
11. Collecting and preparing promotional materials for workcamps abroad,
12. Preparing lists for promotion of workcamps,
13. Creation of audiovisual and web content to highlight the activity of the organisation (Press Releases, videos, photos, leaflets etc.),
14. Collecting the reports from the volunteers after the workcamp and publishing them on the website, Lead and/or participate in workcamps during the summer,
15. Supporting the organisation for local actions, their coordination and implementation,
16. Be encouraged and trained to develop and implement own ideas.

Each volunteer will be assigned with a tutor, a staff member of the organization, and will have the opportunity to be involved in all the necessary steps of the organization of several activities. This service enables the volunteer to have significant experience within an organization active in sectors of youth and lifelong learning, acquire new skills, get in touch with volunteers of all ages from Greece and around the world and last but not least live in a multicultural environment.
Volunteers will have the chance to develop his/her organizational skills by being involved in the preparation and implementation of different kinds of activities, improve his/her sense of responsibility and initiative towards the tasks undertaken, work in a team in a highly multicultural environment, meet different people and cultures. Besides that, he/she will have the opportunity to develop a social network and participate in seminars, training and other cultural actions of ELIX or partner organizations.

More information you can find here.

Profile of the Volunteer

Young people from 18 to 30 who are ready to move to Greece and are available for a period of 10
months with residence in one of the EVS/ESC programme countries.

The project involves a lot of administration work; therefore, volunteers should be ready and willing to work in the ELIX office together with other volunteers and staff of the organisation.

Each volunteer should possess the following:
● Strong interest in international mobility projects,
● Previous volunteering experience (preferably in workcamps or other volunteering activities)
and/or international Youth Exchanges,
● Good understanding of non-formal education and informal learning,
● Good computer skills (Internet, Microsoft Office, Google Doc),
● An adequate level of English,
● Embraces the values of sustainability, gender equality and social inclusion.

Once this pre-selection is done, candidates will be invited to a Skype interview, in which we will discuss with them their motivation and their possible personal contribution to this project.

How to Apply

Please fill in the application form and send your CV by email to Georgia Gkountani at g.gountanis@elix.org.gr with the subject “ESC_Im4ALL_YOUR NAME” and put evs@inexsda.cz in a copy.