EVS ODYSSEY IN EUROMED - Report

The report is available to download
(see below)

WHY DEPARTING FOR AN EVS ODYSSEY IN EUROMED?

The Euromed cooperation has been developing and enriching constantly since its beginning. EU and Meda countries have been bridging both sides of the Mediterranean sea, youth organisations have been contributing to create links and to make out of this cooperation between states a reality of common projects.
Now, Euromed Youth Programme is looking at the future. From 2007 on, a new generation of programmes is coming with Youth in Action and with a new structure for Euromed Youth. A lot of young people are eager to experience this Euromed spirit and looking forward to get an opportunity of enriching their own individual educational pathway by starting with the Odyssey of Euromed cooperation. A lot of youth organisations are looking forward to turn these individual wills into an exciting local hosting project, which could give them the opportunity to develop new projects, new ways of working.
This is the meaning of European Voluntary Service in EuroMed: Making links, between individual projects of young people, and strategies of Euromed cooperation between youth organisations from both sides of the Mediterranean sea.

WHO PROPOSED THE JOURNEY?

SALTO Euromed Resource Centre is used to propose actions but such "journeys" require a strong political motivation and a solid cooperation: the Nordic National Agencies of the Youth Programme took the challenge and proposed to organise this Contact Making Seminar: the Danish (who proposed to host the event), the Finnish and the Swedish National Agencies of the Youth Programme are the stakeholders of the journey.
"The EVS Odyssey in Euromed" was ready to start in Høje Taastrup, Denmark, from 5th to 9th September 2007.

WHAT WAS TO EXPECT?

An opportunity to meet Nordic-European and Mediterranean partners in EVS, to get a common understanding of the meaning of voluntary work, to develop common sending and hosting projects, while discovering the richness of cultural and educational differences.

OUR DESTINATIONS

Receive information about the political background for cooperation between MEDA and EU countries (Barcelona process etc.)
Get a common understanding of the voluntary work, of the responsibilities and of the various educational perspectives.
Get acquainted with the future Programme "Youth in Action "and the developments of EuroMed Youth III, especially within EVS.
Experience non formal learning methods and exchange experiences and good practices.
Facilitate the contact making between youth organisations active in EVS (or willing to become so) in Northern Europe and in Meda countries.
Create a space of Euromed cooperation and projects' start in the field of European Voluntary Service.

OUR TRAVELLING COMPANIONS

 24 participants representing 10 countries:
 7 Meda: Algeria, Morocco, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia
 3 EU: Denmark, Finland, Sweden
 23 different organisations, hosting and/or sending
 23 potential partners
 A very wide field of cooperation within organisations active in various fields of work:
 Art and culture, social youth work, women, youth information, youth forum, sciences, education, inter-religious dialogue, European mobility, intercultural learning, youth and sport, cultural exchange, student organisations, ...

"The richness of the voyage is already contained within its travellers"

ARRIVAL DAY : 5TH SEPTEMBER

"Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter"

From Copenhagen to Høje Taastrup
(1st contact evening)

Arriving at the venue in Høje Taastrup participants found a task: each of them was invited to concentrate a little and to prepare for tomorrow organisation market. A poster and an advertisement to invent...then it was time to meet for dinner.

Drawing together a map and knowing where all passengers are coming from

Participants were invited to draw a map of EuroMed on a white paper, Nordics starting to draw from the South and Southerns from the North.
The result was amazing, a creative-symbolic map without land! After each participant was invited to say the name and the country of provenience.

Guessing where is the lie?

Each participant was invited to write down on a piece of paper 4 sentences about him/herself, on of them being a lie. Then, while discussing and having a drink, participants were invited to interact and to try to guess each other's lie.
And later at night, sailors got a rest...

DAY 1, 6TH SEPTEMBER

"Traveller there is no travel, you make the travel during the way"

Official opening of the Odyssey

The Danish National Agency, on behalf of the Nordic National Agencies that are promoting the CMS, and the SALTO team opened officially the EVS Odyssey in Euromed, explaining why they decided to set out the road together, why they anchored in Copenhagen, what would be the challenges and difficulties to overcome in our common voyage.

Get to know and group dynamics

For getting to know each other and helping the group dynamics to initiate, participants were asked first to elaborate individual passports in a collective way. Following different steps and exchanging each time their paper, they had to: write down each other name, draw the face of the person, then the eyes, write down some information about the job of the person, etc...
At the end, each participant got back his/her own passport, elaborated by several persons from the group. A nice gallery of portraits !
After this exercise it was the turn of a group building activity: the magic carpet. Two groups of people was "flying" side by side on a magic carpet and during the flight they had to turn the carpet upside down without falling down from it. A good exercise to start to feel part of the group.

 

A travel through expectations

Which islands are we expecting to visit?

For addressing participants' hopes and fears toward the EVS Odyssey, different islands were available: Island of fear for anything they were afraid of during this seminar, the Nirvana island for all hopes and ideals, the Terra Incognita for all questions and doubts, the Bazaar harbour for all goods and wealth they were able or ready to exchange and share with others (competences, ideas,...) and in addition to them some tornados, dangerous rocks on the way for addressing all obstacles they see, which might make our voyage harder.



SEEN ON TERRA INCOGNITA : practicalities, partners' goals, "Sahara", how to find the right questions?

SEEN ON ISLAND OF FEAR : contacts disappear after this seminar, nothing happens, bad contacts, partner "lets us down", no reimbursement, misunderstandings, technical problems: visas, funding, paperwork

SEEN ON NIRVANA ISLAND: concrete outcomes, new project ideas and partnership, quality projects, valuable experiences, greater understanding / respect between Nordic countries & Middle East, harmony

SEEN ON BAZAAR HARBOUR: knowledge, experience, multiculturalism in own organisation

SEEN ON THE ICEBERG : different cultures

Programme presentation

The programme was presented session by session, displayed in a giant form on the floor and hung at the wall so that all passengers can know at least which directions we would take during the 3 next days!

Programme to download on the bottom of the page.

The group organise itself in evening committees

The EVS Odyssey foresaw 3 evenings in the North:

• Above the iceberg of Euronordic-Mediterranean culture
• Below the iceberg of Euronordic-Mediterranean culture
• Tour in Copenhagen and bye bye

Participants were invited to get organised in 3 committees in charge of organising each evening. They registered and had to plan their own meetings (including one with SALTO team) for sharing ideas and needs.

Organisation market

The market shows its richness

Each representative of organisation had to prepare a poster about his/her NGO with basic information (Name of NGO, country, contact person, 2 main aims, mission, target group, 1 or 2 key-activities, experience in EVS). They had the chance to advertise their Ngo and, in a second phase, carried this poster on themselves and could freely circulate and interact with each other for creating contacts and getting to know each other's work. A 1st step towards potential partnerships.

Voluntary work in EuroMed

Examples of interesting experiences as a base of discussion

By watching some videos presenting some EVS experiences realised in Morocco and in Israel, participants had the opportunity to confront their vision of volunteering, their idea of EVS in Euromed, the characteristics and what makes EVS in EuroMed so special.


Which are the characteristics of international voluntary work for you?
- done by young people (in EVS)
- commitment
- unpaid, not job-substitution
- adaptation to local life / respecting local lifestyle
- mutual benefit
- cultural clash
- "civism"
- curiosity
- clearness, safety (in EVS)
- accessible for all (in EVS)
- recognised

What makes EVS in EuroMed special?
- colours of cultures
- easily accessible & funded
- politically, culturally and geographically interesting
- Europe opening up - comes from a need
- helps to break stereotypes
- equality (young people with fewer opportunities)
- discover the origins of immigrants in Nordic countries

The Odyssey of volunteers

"When you sail to Ithaca, wish that your trip be long..."

After having gone through all introductive phases of the Odyssey, after we got to know each other, the time came for our first exploration. It started by reading the poem "Ithaca" from Kavafis as a source of inspiration, we proposed to go for a little travel through 6 different islands connected to EVS projects. Participants split into groups and got an itinerary with a minimum of 4 islands to visit. On each island they would find a question to answer and debate and on each island they would be requested to produce something different.

Island "Actors"

Question: Who are the actors in EVS and the connections among them.
Production: Draw a scheme,

Island "Trainings"

Question: Why having two trainings (pre departure and on arrival)?
Production: Identify and note down on the common flip chart the relevant elements of each of them.

Island "Before EVS"

Question: Why should I apply as EVS volunteer? (answer that young person)
Production: Prepare a max 2 lines advertisement for EVS.

Island "The hosting project"

Question: Finally isn't EVS a job?
Production: Make a human picture which symbolize what is a real EVS hosting project

Island "After EVS"

Question: And what happens two years later?
Production: Prepare a 1 minutes scene to be presented later on in plenary

Island "Euromed dimension and local impact"

Question: how to make them both happy?
Production: Chat and debate on the common flipchart.

Compulsory island for every group "Critical issues"
Write down all problems encountered in your EVS projects, all obstacles, difficulties, unanswered questions (which could be addressed in some workshops)

Ithaca
by Konstantinos Kavafis

When you sail for Ithaca, wish that your trip be long, full of adventures, full of knowledge.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclopes, angry Poseidon do not fear; things like these on your trip you'll never find if your thoughts are pure, if eclectic emotions fill your heart and your mind. The Laistrygonians and the Cyclopes, angry Poseidon you will not meet if you do not carry them in your heart, if your mind is not filled with them.

Wish that your trip be long. Many a summer morns arrive that with joy and pleasure you enter into ports that you've never seen before; to stop by Phoenician trading posts and buy things of various sorts: mother of pearl and corals, ebony and amber, and hedonic perfumes of all sorts - as many as you can carry sensual perfumes; many an Egyptian city you must see, and from the experts learn and learn .

Forever Ithaca must be in your mind. To get there is the goal of your trip. But do not hurry your journey at all. It is better if it were to take many years; and you an old man to finally anchor there, rich with what you gathered from this trip, expecting no wealth that Ithaca will give you.

Ithaca already gave you that great trip without her, you would have never sailed at all. but she has nothing else to give you from now on. and if you find her poor, she didn't mislead you .so wise that you already are, so experienced, you now understand what Ithaca really is.

Sharing the results of Odyssey of volunteers

"...you now understand what Ithaca really means"

A gallery of written results (schemes, debates on flip chart, elements of training, advertisements, critical issues)
A presentation of the scenes and human pictures (After EVS, Hosting project)
We finalized the activity with a round of comments about "what I learnt about EVS process in EuroMed?"

Above the iceberg of Mediterranean culture

intercultural night in classic style

The committee of the first evening proposed to all participants a game with questions about the countries represented in the CMS: the currency, the capital and other main facts. Then a time was allocated for presenting food, songs and information on the countries. Each national group or individual prepared a stand with the material he brought and had no more than 1 minute to advertise their food and country in front of everybody. Then everybody could freely travel around the stands and interact with each other. Some participants proposed typical dances of their land. The night ended happily with good music, food and positive spirit.

DAY 2, 7TH SEPTEMBER

"Always keep Ithaca in your mind"

EuroMed partnership spirit

Deepening quality aspects in EuroMed cooperation

Participants were proposed a range of 4 workshops, repeated 2 times, so that everyone could visit 2 of them among:

• Actors in EVS (who are they, what are their links, roles and functions)
• Mentoring volunteers' needs (needs and problems of volunteers, what does it mean to be a mentor and a good mentor)
• Intercultural aspects in EuroMed cooperation (exploring the steps of the intercultural learning path with examples from the real EuroMed cooperation life).
• Euromed and visibility/impact on a local level (how to integrate the geo-political situation within a local project)

Those workshops were proposed according to critical issues addressed by the team members (including SALTO RC and National Agencies) during the preparation meeting. The 4 workshops were chosen from a large range of proposed topics.

SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE "ACTORS IN EVS" WORKSHOP

European Commission: political agenda
- European identity
- tolerance, anti-discrimination, common understanding
- openness to neighbouring countries
Sending organisation
- partner-finding & recruitment of volunteers
- preparation
- follow-up / support
- evaluation
- role of the sending has to be emphasized! (Database has already been changed.)
Host organisation
- mentor
- accommodation
- orientation / introduction
- tasks
- linguistic support
- introduction to the local community
- The SO and the HO need to build n equal partnership (seminars and feasibility visits help to strengthen partnerships); one of them acts as the coordinating organisation (ie. Applies for the money and is in contact with the NA)
Volunteer
- participation in finding the host project
- at least 18 years old
- open-minded and ready for the voluntary service
- learning experience
Training cycle provided by NAs
- pre-departure (sending country)
- on-arrival (host country)
- mid-term (host country)
- final evaluation (sending country)

FROM THE "MENTORING VOLUNTEERS' NEEDS" WORKSHOP

What is the role of mentor?
- To assure the (intercultural) learning process
- To support
- To be a friend - is it a friend?

What is a good mentor like?
- Available
- Experienced (intercultural experience)
- Open
- Flexible
- Patient
- Friendly but not too friendly
- Diplomatic
- Strong enough to set limits

What are the most common needs / problems during different phases of EVS?

Beginning:
- Linguistic problems > support in language learning
- Practicalities: shops, public transportation, emergencies, administrational steps > first weeks are very important, show the volunteer around and encourage to ask questions
- No contacts to the local community > introduce the volunteer to the community, explain what (s)he is doing and what is an EVS
- Homesickness > try to make the volunteer feel as much home as possible in the new environment / show the places where (s)he can find her own culture (ethnic mini-markets, churches / mosques)
- Wanting to go home immediately > set goals in the near future ("Let's see another two weeks...", try to find alternative solutions in "impossible cases" (eg. Host family accommodation could be changed to living in a student residence)

During:
- work-related problems > finding together different / new tasks, own projects
- culture shock > listening, understanding, explaining
- Finding real friends > helping to find hobbies, using ex-volunteers

After:
- Counselling in future-related questions > listen and advice but do not decide for the volunteer
- Keep in touch with the volunteer - you might need his/her help afterwards!

Key thought: "Putting oneself to the shoes of the other"

FROM "INTERCULTURAL ASPECTS IN EUROMED COOPERATION" WORKSHOP

Definitions:
- Multicultural (cultures living side by side) vs. intercultural (cultures mixing with one another)

Steps:
- empathy > awareness / knowledge > self-awareness > tolerance > understanding > sharing (similarities / differences) > cooperation > interdependence (profiting of differences) > integration

To take care of:
- Political situation
- Economic situation
- Life style (eg. Dressing code)
- Consept of time and space
- Nutritional habits
- Flirting
- Sexuality
- Taboos
- First approach
- ...etc....etc.

The Youth in Action Programme and EuroMed Youth, future developments

How is the picture and what we have to expect in the future?

A presentation was done of all institutional actors involved in the Youth in Action and Euromed Youth and their different connections and also a glance at the new structure RCBS, in charge of implementing the Euromed Youth Units in Meda countries.
Then the group has been split in two, on one side the participants interested in EuroMed Youth III procedures, on the other the ones interested in Youth in Action, with a focus on changes in the EVS action. About EuroMed Youth III procedures participants were presented the Euromed Youth Programme, the new application procedures and the developments of the new regional structures.

The island of non formal education

Educational attitudes

The idea of this short session was to understand that we all have different connection to education and to educational situations, according to our background, culture,...
The team proposed 4 cases of study to 4 mixed groups to analyze, discuss and make a proposal. Then the cases were presented to all the group and a debate on educational issues was raised.


CASES OF STUDY ON EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONING
Case 1 - Hiba is volunteering in a little town in the North of Sweden. She is Muslim and use to wear the veal. In the youth centre where she is realizing her EVS there is some young people that's bothering her some of them saying that she is a nun, some other that she is a terrorist. She is really suffering this situation.
What and how do you do?

Case 2 - Tapani is a young Finnish volunteer in Morocco. He has more and more pleasure to smoke joints. Considering the laws in your respective countries and your educational project, what and how do you do?

Case 3 - One Danish Ngo is hosting Ahmed, a volunteer from Egypt. One day he discovers in the newspaper the "caricatures" and he gets very upset and react very strongly.
What and how do you do?

Case 4 - Jan is a young from Denmark at the 5th month of EVS in Syria. He falls in love with a local girl and the family discovers that they have a sexual relationship. The reaction of the family is very violent and they want to go to the court. What and how do you do?

The Odyssey café

Nordic and Mediterranean Odysseus need a relaxing place to talk

The team used the method of the "world café" which consisted in setting a place like a real café (being in an hotel, it was easy!), with 6 tables, decoration, real drinks and food to be served. Participants entered and discovered a team of "trainers/waiters", who introduced with a power point the concept of the "Odyssey café": A place to discuss, exchange ideas, to share needs, resources and enter smoothly in the cooperation phase, while being served by the team.
The "Odyssey café" is simply a time and space for leading a large discussion in an elaborated but cosy way, following different steps:

• Volunteering in EuroMed means to me...
• Why my organisation wants to do EVS in EuroMed?
• Why EuroMEd cooperation is important for my local community?
• The profile of the volunteer/s that I'm looking for...
• The concrete EVS project/s I can offer...

After each step, participants were requested to produce notes of their discussion, to deliver them to the "cashier" (getting in exchange a ticket for goods) and to move tables and change discussion partners.
All written results were hung on respective flipcharts by the "waiters".
The café ended up with a short summary and input for the day after as the outcomes of it would be the start of partnership building.

VOLUNTEERING IN EUROMED MEANS TO ME...
learn, share, challenge, active in society, discover another world & culture, new dimension of the world, helping yourself and helping the world, breaking political stereotypes, showing solidarity, Christians, Muslims and Jews loving each other

WHY MY ORGANISATION WANTS TO DO EVS IN EUROMED?
Networking, exchange of ideas & experiences, money, added value (no former contacts in MEDA), complies with our mission: "promote peace through intercultural understanding", need to become more international

THE PROFILE OF THE VOLUNTEER/S I'M LOOKING FOR...
motivated, flexible, open-minded, female, realistic, most searched skills / experience / interests (communicational, sports, creative, children, environmental)

WHY EUROMED COOPERATION IS IMPORTANT FOR MY LOCAL COMMUNITY?
Local impact, citizenship, new inspiration, more information for my neighbourhood, cultural exchange, help from the volunteer(s), to show another face of our country, better understanding between peoples and less conflicts, build up own identity and develop as human beings, break stereotypes

THE EVS PROJECTS I CAN OFFER...
A lot of offers were done, most of them are reflected in the work of the following day with the discussions on project/action ideas.

Below the iceberg of Euronordic-Mediterranean culture

Bypassing stereotypes and deepening the knowledge of the different cultures

The committee of the 2nd evening proposed some activities in order to go deeper in the discovery of the different cultures present at the Contact Making Seminar. Participants were invited to come to the "below the iceberg" evening with their pillow and to find a relaxing place in the room.

First of all each participant was asked to draw the map of his/her country and after to explain something about it, especially something that it's not very known, to bypass the typical stereotyping about countries.

After it there was a more informal moment of story telling about surprising things in each country, trying to give a taste of the sense of humour and life style.

The evening carried on in an informal way, ending in the garden nearby the plenary room with stories, music and hubble bubble.

DAY 3, 8TH SEPTEMBER

The nicest voyage is the one you still haven't done

Work on EVS partnership strategy for hosting and sending organisations

Partner Matching

The outcomes of the Café are on the wall, the spirit of cooperation is there, all possible explorations have been made within the seminar, now it's time to plan together the next Odyssey, which is starting now, which will carry on in our Ithaca (back home) and go on till a point that we still don't know. This is the time to establish solid and sustainable partnerships, to reinforce all links, to plan, to put ideas into practice..
Participants had the whole morning to get organised, to appoint between each other, to work on their on common future, to develop projects and partnerships.
They were requested to come back with some short summary of their results.

SOME RESULTS OF PARTNERSHIP WORK

To download, see on the end

Last round of questions and doubts

Participants had the opportunity to ask all last questions they had on the Youth in Action and EuroMed Youth Programme. Some questions were answered by participants themselves, some by the members of SALTO team and of the National Agencies promoting the CMS.

Evaluation

Shall we have a look at the pathway we went through together?

Participants were first invited to take a position according to different statements about the seminar and its impact.
Then, they were distributed a questionnaire to fill into.

Statistics (from 1=bad to 10=excellent)
Fulfilment of Expectations	7,72
Programme elements
Welcome evening	7,36
Group dynamic	7,77
Expectations and programme	8,00
Open market of the organisations	7,87
Voluntary work in Euromed	8,13
The Odyssey of Volunteers	7,86
1st night : Above the iceberg of Mediterranean culture	7,78
Workshop 1 - The actors of EVS	8,13
Workshop 2 - Mentoring volunteers	8,17
Workshop 3 - Intercultural aspects in Euromed cooperation	8,31
Workshop 4 - Euromed and impact/ visibility in local community	7,82
Youth in Action and Euromed developments	7,53
The island of non formal education	7,95
Odyssey café	8,21
2nd night: Below the iceberg of Mediterranean Culture	7,17
Partner matching input	8,21
Partner matching self organized discussions	8,52
The synthesis of projects/ partnerships	8,16
Last questions and check up	7,86
Methodology	7,83
Work of the team	8,50
Contribution of group to seminar	8,08
Your contribution to seminar	7,65
Technicalities
Your preparation before the seminar	7,08
Relationship with your National Agency, EMYU, SALTO Euromed RC	7,50
The communication with the Danish NA	8,41
Working conditions	8,71
Living conditions	8,71
Support by NA and Salto RC	9,33

Some comments

• I have a good contact with Nordic partners.
• Positive: good possible partners, learnt a lot, will see things happening; negative: would have liked to have more Nordic partnerships.
• I got more than what expected and that encourages me to run EuroMed projects.
• EuroMed cooperation is all quite new to me, so I did not know exactly what to expect. However the Seminar gave new points of views and inspiration to future cooperation.
• To meet new partners and new projects.

 

Conclusions and perspectives

Some last words by the team...
Some perspectives of SALTO: future events and training strategies

On board through Copenhagen

(and farewell evening)

The Danish National Agency organized a tour by boat around Copenhagen channels and after the visit we hade a farewell dinner at the restaurant where the "evening committee" gave to the organizers and facilitators their "passports". A funny way to close the whole event.

Report by Davide Tonon
October 2007