Sex EVS/ESC verkefni í Afríku og Suður-Ameríku

Sjálfboðaverkefni í Afríku og Suður-Ameríku á fullum styrk.

AUS er með 6 verkefni á fullum EVS/ESC (European Solidarity Corps) styrk sem staðsett eru í suður Ameríku eða Afríku. Þar sem allt er innifalið, húsnæði, matur, tryggingar, vasapeningur tungumálakennsla, flugstyrkur og svo margt margt fleira!

Hver sem er á aldrinum 18-30 ára getur sótt um.

Lesa má um verkefnin og móttökusamtök hér að neðan.

To get started, fill out the application form in the link below and send it to icye@aus.is.

Youth Work Can Unite: International Volunteering to Enhance Solidarity and Fight Nationalism

Target Groups: EVS volunteers, host organisations, young people and the general public

Countries where campaigns, actions or projects will take place: 

• Africa: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa
• Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, Honduras

Duration: 8 months (15 Apr – 15 Dec 2020)

Background:The world is faced with an extremely difficult and complex situation today: Political and financial instability, the rise of nationalism in many nation-states, war and terrorism to name just a few have led large numbers of people to flee their countries and make their way to neighboring countries or to other countries in Europe and beyond. Fear, anxiety and resentment within communities is being fueled by political rhetoric and public discourse on asylum seekers and migrants in general is leading to minorities being targeted. We are living in interesting times, in times of collective amnesia, where the definitions of inclusiveness, justice, equality and peace are being rearranged to the convenience of those in power. It is now more important than ever to challenge a narrative in which asylum seekers, refugees and minorities are a danger to society, to act against hate and work towards a diverse and inclusive global society. Youth and voluntary work have the potential to make a difference: To change mind-sets, remind people that the answer to our problems is solidarity, not division, and to create awareness of populist narratives versus the facts of migration. Likewise, the need of the hour is the integration of refugees and support to local NGOs working with refugees.

General aims: 

• Raise awareness of the challenges faced by refugees by presenting facts on migration versus myths routinely spread by the mainstream media and politicians and by promoting inclusion and diversity
• Counter biased and racist attitudes among young people and in local communities
• Foster social inclusion, solidarity, and more respectful and welcoming communities in participating countries

Specific objectives: 

• Explore different perspectives on the situation of refugees and asylum seekers, examine facts on asylum and the gap between facts and media narrative
• Share best practice to provide counter-arguments to populist discourse against refugees and asylum seekers
• Launch campaigns against racism and in support of refugees in participating countries for a global anti-racism movement
• Focus on networking and establishing cross-sectoral partnerships for the campaigns (with businesses, government departments, other NGOs, foundations, etc.)
• Create an anti-racism toolkit for the youth volunteering sector

Profile of volunteers for the Volunteering Activities

• Open-mindedness and interest in learning, discovering and interacting with people of a different community, culture and background, and learning a new language;
• Emotionally and psychologically stable and sociable person;
• Interested in social entrepreneurship and motivated to do voluntary work;
• English language skills or the language of the host country are highly recommended so that the volunteer can actively participate in the social entrepreneurship workshop and carry out entrepreneurship campaigns, actions or projects effectively;
• Flexible and open to undertaking diverse tasks and to implementing entrepreneurial actions with the support of the host organisations;
• Young people with fewer opportunities (facing economic, educational, geographical obstacles) will be given preference, including those who are ready to build on previous volunteers’ and projects’ experiences;
• Ready to integrate not only into the local community but also into the host organisation;
• Between 18 to 30 years of age;
• Open to writing an article for the ICYE Federation newsletter on their experiences in volunteering and social entrepreneurship.

1. AFSO-WRAG for development (Ibadan, Nigeria)

Description
CAFSO-WRAG is a humanitarian, non-profit, non-governmental organisation established in 1994 in Ibadan, Nigeria. Its main task is to challenge the structures and institutions that perpetuate poverty, hunger and preventable diseases, and campaign for the fulfillment of all socio-economic and human rights for sustainable human and ecological development. Its target group cuts across migrants, diasporas, children in especially difficult circumstances, youth for self-fulfillment, women and gender with special interest in political and economic empowerment for the development of society. Its main activities focus on Research, Peace Education, Community Development, Migration, Refugee Relief and Empowerment Programme, Gender Rights, SDGs.

Towards sustainable ecological and human development, CAFSO’s aims are:
1. To promote human rights by thinking globally but acting locally
2. To facilitate transition from youth to responsible adulthood
3. To strengthen national development through migration and diaspora intervention
4. To challenge injustice and promote accountability and good governance

For ten years, CAFSO has worked directly with Oru Refugees in Ogun State of Nigeria, training and empowering them in peace and conflict resolution, human rights, counselling of war victims, environmental sanitation, micro-credit, and skills acquisition. It has provided training in acquiring skills in tailoring, cobbling (shoe repairing), cookery, basic computer knowledge and literacy. With funding from the EU, it implemented a project tagged “Irregular Migration: Filling the Information Gap”, which tried to discourage irregular migration that subjected young people to human rights abuses. CAFSO also collaborated in a research dealing with the situation of female migrants in the West African sub-region to enable stakeholders to develop an appropriate migrant-responsive policy.

Role of the volunteer
The volunteer will be supporting the Programme Officers. She/he will work with the training officers on skill acquisition programmes and support staff in the distribution of relief materials to refugees in the camps. There will be opportunity for the volunteer to work with the team on the Gender Rights Programme.

Tasks of the volunteer
• Helping to organise the community environmental sanitation.
• Supporting the skill acquisition programmes for the less privileged in the community. The volunteer will be part of these activities and will have the opportunity to share the knowledge he/she has.
• Supporting trainings and workshops for gender sensitization.
• Suggesting ideas that can improve the project’s quality.
• Working alongside the project manager and officers and visiting the communities where they are working.
• Working with professionals to that the volunteer can provide support in camps (distribution of relief material)
• Helping out at the regular informative session alongside the programme coordinator
• Giving a weekly report of activities.

Practical arrangements
Working Hours: The volunteer will work on weekdays between 10am-5pm, 30 hours a week.

Days off: Saturdays and Sundays, and all public holidays.

Holidays: The volunteers will have holiday during Christmas and other bank holidays. Moreover, the volunteer shall receive 2 days off per month, so for the 8-months volunteering period, the volunteer will have 16 days off, which can be taken in consultation with the host project.

Food: The host family will provide breakfast and dinner, and expenses for lunch will be reimbursed by the host organisation.

Accommodation:The volunteer will be accommodated in a host family.

Local Transport: The volunteer will be explained on using local transport during the on-arrival and orientation activities. The home of El Arca de Honduras in Tegucigalpa is located in an area accessible by local transport.

2. SCOHRA Society (Nairobi, Kenya)

Description
The aim of SCOHRA is to mobilize young people to actively participate and contribute to long-lasting human rights change through social activism on human rights issues. In order to have the best possible experience and create the most tangible change, SCOHRA has an enabling environment for human rights education and awareness. Every year it engages about 500 students in tertiary institutions through its annual Intervarsity Human Rights Debate Championship (IHRD) in partnership with other organisations including Amnesty International Kenya. The debates have tackled various topics since 2012 including housing rights, refugees’ rights and security and the right to education. The debate engages students as trainers through a Training for Trainers, regional workshops where the trainers facilitate workshops in different regions in Kenya and during the debate championship where the participants debate on a chosen theme.

There will be a follow up project based on the debate carried out in 2015 on refugee rights and security with least 10 volunteers engaged in implementing the project taking on different roles. The project aims to create a culture of empathy with regard to the lives of both camp and urban refugees. It will involve a camp simulation where the conditions in a refugee camp will be recreated. Volunteers will take on different roles and experience a day in the life of a refugee camp. It will comprise a presentation to show the realities of urban refugees followed by a symposium where resolutions will be drafted and shared with relevant government agencies and institutions.

Role of the volunteer
The volunteer will support SCOHRA’s activities in organising human rights education workshops, debates and simulations and other activities to sensitize young people to the situation of refugees in society.

Tasks of the volunteer

• Communicating with partners and participants of the project
• Event point for main symposium in September 2020
• Student Group Liaison Supporting social media activation
• Mapping partnerships
• Assisting with the planning, preparation and training for mini-debates focusing on the theme of Refugee Rights (Human Rights debates)
• Supporting the evaluation of the impact of the 2015 symposium on Refugee Rights and Security on students groups
• Supporting design and content management for SCOHRA online and offline communities by:
  1. Creating designs for event materials
  2. Securing a venue
  3. Taking photographs and videos
  4. Session planning
  5. Fundraising
  6. Monitoring and Evaluation
  7. Reporting
• Support the impact assessment after the event: Check impact of the symposium on the participants; ensure continuous flow of information and content post symposium.

Practical arrangements
Working Hours: 30 hours per week
Days off: Weekends
Holidays: The volunteer shall receive 2 days off per month, so for the 8-months volunteering period, the volunteer will have 16 days off, which can be taken in consultation with the host project. In addition, the volunteer will have days off on public/national holidays.
Food: The volunteer will be provided food by the host organisation and host family.
Accommodation: The volunteer will be hosted by a local family.

Local Transport: Public transport costs related to the tasks of the volunteer and for travel to the host organisation will be reimbursed.

3. Volunteer Centre & Africa Unite (Cape Town, South Africa)

Description
Volunteer Centre, a non-profit organization based in Cape Town, South Africa, has developed strong national and international partnerships over the past 32 years. South Africa’s first Volunteer Centre (originally Voluntary Aid Bureau) started in Cape Town in 1979 as a project of the International Year of the Child. This office opened in 1980 and was first organised by volunteers. The Volunteer Centre team includes a volunteer management committee, paid staff and local volunteers.

Volunteer Centre’s vision is “Helping Build a Nation that Cares”, toward which it believes that local and international volunteers can make a huge contribution by volunteering their time and skills in projects across all sectors –children and education, human rights and refugees, community development and environmental projects, etc.

Volunteer Centre will cooperate with Africa Unite in this project, a human rights and youth empowerment organisation working with citizens, refugees and migrants to prevent conflict, enhance social cohesion and promote socio-economic development. Africa Unite’s vision is a united, prosperous Africa in which all people live together harmoniously and peacefully. Its main programme is the Human Rights for Social Cohesion Programme that has 4 main components:
1. Human Rights Peer education Programme, which trains young people on human rights and the rights of vulnerable people in their communities.

2. Community Conflict Mediation, which trains young people to build capacity of their communities to solve social issues including xenophobic violence through dialogues.

3. Skills Sharing which creates opportunities for migrants and local communities to share skills that can enhance their socio-economic status.

4. Africa Unite School Clubs, which work in 8 disadvantaged high schools in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Western Cape to enable young people to mobilise local resources to address their community issues.

Africa Unite has two offices in Cape Town, the head office in Cape Town and the children’s programme in Gugulethu. It also has a human rights for social cohesion office in KwaZulu-Natal and a satellite office in Gauteng. Africa Unite has 20 workers and a huge network of youth interns and peer educators.

The volunteer hosted at Volunteer Centre will support the activities of Africa Unite, its ‘Human Rights for Social Cohesion Programme’.

Role of the volunteer
The volunteer will be a supportive role in the following activities:

• Strengthening partnerships between youth from various backgrounds
• Provide a comparative approach to the situation of human rights and migration in the host country and their country of origin

Tasks of the volunteer

• Support the regular human rights information sessions along with other local human rights peer educators in various communities
• Support awareness raising and public education on Human Rights
• Support the planning and running of meetings with different stakeholders
• Working with the learners in one of the Africa Unite school clubs in the township
• Maintain records of the activities undertaken during the volunteering period
• Undertake other tasks as assigned by the Youth Peer Educators Coordinator

Practical arrangements
Working Hours: The volunteer will work for a maximum of 30 hours during weekdays
Days off: Two days a week, usually weekends
Holidays: National and local holidays and other special non-working holidays. In addition, the volunteer shall receive 2 days off per month, so for the 8-months volunteering period, the volunteer will have 16 days off, which can be taken in consultation with the host project.
Food: Food will be provided by the host family or money will be provided for food.
Accommodation: The volunteer will be hosted by a local family.

Local Transport: If transportation is required to travel from host family to the workplace, these expenses will be covered by the host organisation.

4. Associação do Voluntariado e da Solidariedade – AVESOL (Porto Alegre, Brazil)

Description
Founded in 2002, AVESOL is a non-profit, social assistance organisation, with roots in popular education. It focuses on Solidarity Economy, Volunteering and Advice. The purpose of the entity is to promote human rights, a culture of solidarity, ethics, peace, justice, citizenship, encourage environmental education, and sustainable human development. It supports community initiatives to generate income and insertion into the labour market of families that are in a situation of vulnerability and social risk. It values equality, democracy and networking, encouraging the organisation of workers themselves within an associative and supportive perspective, based on the principles of cooperation, self-management, socio-economic and environmental sustainability, providing opportunities for the generation of work and income in communities urban and rural, through social projects.

The Human Rights Reference Centres (CRDH) of Porto Alegre, resulting from a partnership with the Secretariat of Human Rights – SDH / PR and AVESOL, acts in an articulated manner with inter-ministerial and intersectoral bodies for the promotion of human rights. CRDH’s role is to offer services aimed at the promotion and defense of Human Rights through legal, psychic and social orientation, follow up and forward complaints of violations of Human Rights. AVESOL also supports the Araguaney Project, which provides support to Venezuelan migrants with free services in the context of individual and collective demands.

Role of the volunteer
AVESOL supports and works with many different communities and target groups: the volunteer will be invited to participate in the local projects directed to people in situations of social vulnerability, such as immigrants, children, adolescents, adults, older people and people with special needs.

The volunteer will provide a supporting hand to the staff involved in the projects, who make visits and meet with people, are trainers and develop personal projects and workshops on racism, rights violations, interculturality, etc., as well being promoters of solidarity, peace, acceptance of “the other”, inclusion, and human rights.

Tasks of the volunteer
The volunteer’s tasks will depend on her/his interests and capacities and on AVESOL possibilities and requirements, but they will include:

● Araguaney Project and project with immigrants: reception and welcome (the arrival of many refugees and immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and some African countries in Brazil is a new phenomenon and the city is starting to face new problems), general information for refugees, refugee seekers and migrants in general.

● Assist and help the lawyer, the social worker and the social educator in the legal, psychic and social orientation of the immigrants (validation of documents, guidelines on rights and how to access them, preparation of curricula and preparation for interviews, support for inclusion in the public education system, etc.).

● Participate in talks to understand, direct and monitor the demands related to human rights and violations and to assist in the mediation of conflicts in the Reference Center on Human Rights.

● Prepare workshops, chats or training about matters such as Human Rights, racism, xenophobia, and Citizenship in the Reference Center on Human Rights

● Help AVESOL in the organisation of cultural events, campaigns and thematic days for social integration, as well as meeting emergency needs through punctual actions to donate food and clothing, and other referrals that may be necessary.

● Visit social project attended by AVESOL: these projects work with disadvantaged communities and try to fight the social exclusion through talks, professional workshops and different activities. The volunteer will observe the situation, participate in some activities and will later organise meetings and chats about relevant themes linked to human right and racism.

● The volunteer will participate in two meetings a week, with her/his mentor and the staff, in order to plan the work, to monitor the non-formal learning process, to evaluate and improve her/his actions and activities.

● She/he will prepare reports on his actions to present to AVESOL staff and to disseminate information.

● Help AVESOL staff to implement one or two day trainings on anti-racism, inviting other local and international volunteers, local youth and interested NGOs to participate.

Practical arrangements
Working Hours: The volunteer will work for 30 hours a week
Days off: Saturdays and Sundays.
Holidays: The volunteer will have two days off per month and public holidays.
Food: The volunteer will be provided with breakfast and dinner at the host family; lunch at AVESOL (possible to use the kitchen or restaurant close to the office) or at the social project in case of visit.
Accommodation: The volunteer will be accommodated by a host family.
Local Transport: Bus expenses will be reimbursed by ICYE Brazil.

5. Fundación Artística y Social La Familia Ayara (Bogotá, Colombia)

Description
The Social and Artistic Foundation La Familia Ayara is a young afro and mestizo Colombian organisation inspired by the hip-hop movement with a very strong social commitment. Its activists are young artists trained in Human Rights, youth policy, citizenship participation and artistic entrepreneurship.

La familia Ayara uses hip-hop, break dance, graffiti, rap, DJ, theater, capoeira and media to build society. It develops workshops and public programs in cultural centers in Bogotá using hip-hop as tool for personal development, direct participation of young people in the efforts to build a culture of no violence and solidarity, and to overcome attitudes and discriminatory practices in society. The foundation works in a participative, territorial approach to achieve fundamental ethnic rights from an artistic approach and methodology, which enables it to link territories with culture and identity. It also works to prevent the recruitment and the use of children and young people by armed and criminal groups through artistic activities such as tools of education, generating a project of life among the children and young people that the foundation works with.

Role of the volunteer
The volunteer will play a supportive in the following:

• Help the development of activities with the different population groups
• Represent the values of the organisation in the spaces where it conducts its activities
• Support the development of the organisation’s own activities

Tasks of the volunteer

• Represent La Familia Ayara in its mission, vision and objectives of the organization, and in all the spaces where the organisation develops community activities.
• Develop workshops such as against racism, peaceful resolution of conflicts and human rights, according to the demands of the area in which projects are being developed and in the spaces that are required to contribute to the achievement of its goals.
• Participate in the spaces for education, production, exposition and exchange for juveniles and their artistic expressions.
• Support the training artists in the development of activities with groups of children, adolescents and juveniles who benefit from the projects.
• Apply concepts in the context of life skills and children’s rights necessary for the development of activities with the community within the framework of the different projects that the organisation is implementing.
• Contribute to the improvement and documentation of its training methodology to achieve maximum impact among the different audiences covered by the Ayara Artistic and Social Family Foundation.
• Contribute actively to the training sessions on (psycho-) social topics offered by the artistic and social foundation La Familia Ayara.
• Participate actively in other trainings of the organisation with the aim of improving their personal growth and the construction of the organisation.
• Document the workshops carried out by evaluating the relevant aspects based on the indicators defined to enhance the impact of the workshops.

Practical arrangements
Working Hours: The volunteer will work for 30 hours a week.
Days off: Saturdays and Sundays. When special activities take place during the weekend, volunteer will have days off during the week.
Holidays: The volunteer will have two days off per month and public holidays.
Food: Food will be provided by the host family.
Accommodation: The volunteer will be accommodated by a host family.
Local Transport: Volunteer will receive monthly allowance for daily transport.

5. CIPRODEH – Centro de Investigación y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)

Description
CIPRODEH, Centre for Research and Promotion of Human Rights, is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation of Honduras founded in 1989 generating changes oriented to the formation of a state based on the rule of law, democracy, justice and respect of human rights and civil liberties. Its aims are research and management of knowledge on human rights, political advocacy, and the promotion and protection of human rights in synergy with different sectors of society for the design of proposals and models that provide alternative solutions to the different human rights issues in Honduras and the region. It currently has a team of 22 staff members who coordinate and implement different projects nationwide, supporting approximately 25,000+ direct and 418,000+ indirect beneficiaries who are indigenous and black people, women, children, youth, elderly, asylum seekers, refugees, migrants, internally displaced people, peasants, and LGBTIQ+ people.

The Human Mobility Area (HMA) of CIPRODEH provides special assistance to the population in situation and context of human mobility, which supports an average 200+ population of asylum seekers and migrants in transit in Honduras annually and a constantly varied number of population of migrants abroad, victims of human trafficking and stateless people. The HMA has 3 scopes: human rights advocacy, providing legal assistance to people with special protection needs; humanitarian assistance, managing shelters for the care of asylum seekers in accordance with the UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; and psychosocial and pedagogical assistance.

Role of the volunteer
The main role of the volunteer in CIPRODEH will be to support the staff members of the Human Mobility Area in its 3 scopes:

• human rights advocacy, which provides legal assistance to people with special protection needs;
• humanitarian assistance, which manages shelters for the care of asylum seekers in accordance with the UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;
• psycho-social and pedagogical assistance, which contributes to the restoration of emotional balance and adaptation to integrate into a new environment.

The volunteer will divide her/his time in supporting office-related activities and field-related activities especially in a shelter for asylum seekers and migrants in transit.

Tasks of the volunteer
During the period of adaptation, the volunteer will test the activities carried out in each of the 3 scopes of the Human Mobility Area. This phase is very important to implement the project’s goals and to overcome possible communication problems with the hosts. The volunteer will be assigned more concrete tasks which best suit her/his abilities and interests. In case the volunteer has knowhow which the organisation does not possess, the volunteer will be given the chance to put it into practice. According to this, any of the tasks described below will be open to suggestions of the volunteer:

• Documenting (taking photos, writing notes, gathering information, etc.), creating content and publishing/disseminating on the different activities carried out during human rights advocacy, humanitarian assistance, and psychosocial and pedagogical assistance. This includes fulfilling a role of a community manager, administering the main social media accounts of the Human Mobility Area of CIPRODEH.
• Supporting the organisation of different documents related to cases of displaced people, asylum seekers, migrants in transit, among others, such as incoming requests, profiles of current cases, quotes of different services/products needed, etc.
• Helping in the preparation of inter-institutional liaison spaces (i.e. meetings, trainings) between civil society organisations and governmental institutions.
• Assisting in the shelter for asylum seekers and migrants in transit, such as keeping an inventory of their needs, interacting with in-house members in order to get to know their cohabitation, playing with children, among others.
• Helping in the planning of monitoring visits to borders, and attending them in order to help with the documentation.

Practical arrangements
Working Hours: The volunteer will carry out her/his voluntary service from Monday to Friday, 6 hours every day, 30 hours per week.
Days off: Saturdays and Sundays off
Holidays: The volunteer will have two days off per month. Additionally, during the Volunteering Activity, the public holidays will be 15th September; 3rd, 12th and 21st of October.
Food + Accommodation: The volunteer will live with a host family who will provide three daily meals.
Local Transport: The volunteer will be taught how to use local transport during the On-arrival Training, and will be reimbursed expenses for the commute from the host family to CIPRODEH and vice versa.

What are you waiting for?

Send the application form to icye@aus.is and get ready for a life-changing experience!

Can’t wait to hear from you! 🙂