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Seminar Mountain spirit - Volunteering for Nature Conservation
Seminar
24-30 May 2019 | Blagoevgrad region, Bulgaria
Velebit Association Kuterevo and Vlahi Nature School are organizing the Seminar Mountain spirit – Volunteering for Nature Conservation. The seminar is within the Erasmus+ project Mountain spirit – Strategic EVS for Nature Conservation and aims at providing space for volunteers, volunteer coordinators and organizations hosting international volunteers to meet and work together for encouraging and improving the quality of volunteer work for nature conservation.
Main topics include:
- Nature conservation and volunteering – examples, needs, challenges, future cooperation possibilities
- Volunteer management – coordination and mentoring, needs of volunteers and organizations, conflicts, program developing, etc.
- European Solidarity Corps, Erasmus+ and other possibilities for cooperation
- Mountain spirit project – exchanges 2018 and feedback, possibilities for the future.
The specific objectives of the Seminar are to:
- create a space for exchange between coordinators and volunteers
- build the capacity of organizations for working with volunteers on nature protection topics
- encourage volunteers to initiate volunteer projects and become coordinators
- present possibilities for developing in the field of volunteering and nature protection – European Solidarity Corps, LIFE+, national programs, etc.
- provide space for feedback and evaluation of first year of Mountain spirit exchanges
- contribute to creating informal network of organizations working with international volunteers in nature protection topics
Within the Seminar we will be discussing and working on the following subjects:
- The role, needs, motivaiton and expectations of international volunteers for nature protection activities
- Development of international volunteer programs – resources, needs, training, challenges
- Successful stories, bad practices and recommendations how to improve volunteer management within an organization
- How to support each other, to exchange volunteers and coordinators
- The new philosophy and opportunities which the European Solidarity Corps provide especially with the focus on nature protection (volunteer project, volunteer teams, solidarity projects)
- Mountain spirit – Strategic EVS for Nature Conservation – presentation of 2018 activities and achievements, challenges, recommendation, next steps
- Volunteering activities for nature conservation – realities (Balkan region, Central and Western European countries), needs, challenges, possibilities
- Service Civil International and nature protection
- Erasmus+ and other programs
We are looking for 27 participants (age: 18+) from Erasmus+ program countries and partner countries from the Western Balkans (eligible ONLY for: EU countries, Macedonia, Turkey, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia). The participants should be representatives of youth or nature protection organizations, ex or future EVS/ESC volunteers in similar projects, who have interest, motivation and energy to work on the topic, who want to improve existing and to develop new volunteering activities for nature conservation.
Profile of suitbale organizations:
- Nature protection organizations who would like to explore the oppotunities to include international volunteers in their work
- Nature protection organizations interested to exchange experience and share knowledge
- Organizations already working with international volunteers in nature protection activities who would like to improve the process of volunteer management and to create new links
- Mountain spirit project partner organizations
- Members and partners of Service Civil International
Suitable participants could be:
- Volunteer coordinators
- Young people who took part in one or more of the volunteer exchanges within Mountain spirit in 2018
- Ex or future EVS/ESC volunteers in nature protection proejct who would like to develop in the field
- Activists and volunteers with some experience in the field of nature protection, voluntary and youth work
- Active members of the organizations with long-term project ideas involving volunteers
If you are interested to apply, fill in the following form until April 21st.
Available downloads:
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Training overview
http://trainings.salto-youth.net/7949
This activity has already happened!
This Seminar is
for 27 participants
from Erasmus+ Youth Programme countries 
, Western Balkan countries
and recommended for
Youth workers, Youth leaders, Youth project managers, Volunteering mentors, Nature protection activists, ex and future EVS/ESC volunteers
Working language(s):
English
Vlahi Nature School (Youth NGO)
Vlahi Nature School is concerned with environmental and social topics working with students and young people. It is a long-term initiative with the goal of establishing a working model for applied environmental education. Its purpose is to spread this idea and to motivate young people to participate in activities for learning about the environment. To achieve this objective Vlahi Nature School aims to organize short term visits of students from schools from the region of Blagoevgrad and Bulgaria, families with children, students, researchers and other visitors to meet nature and culture, customs and traditions of the local people.
Incorporating environmental education, voluntary work for the conservation of nature and knowledge of local culture and customs, the project provides an opportunity to actively participate in preserving the local heritage.
Velebit Association Kuterevo is a Croatian organization running Kuterevo Bear Refuge and working for preservation and promotion of local culture and traditions in the village of Kuterevo, Velebit Mountain.
Since 2018 VUK and Vlahi Nature School are working on the Mountain spirit - Strategic EVS for Nature Conservation Erasmus+ project. Mountain spirit is a project involving several EVS short and long-term volunteer exchanges in Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia and Bulgaria. It aims at combining efforts of international volunteers and local people from mountainious/rural areas for nature conservation activities in protected areas or species.
Co-organiser(s):
- Velebit Association Kuterevo (Youth NGO)
Contact for questions:
Miroslava Popova
E-Mail:
Phone: 00359888751684
Costs
Participation fee
No participation fee
Accommodation and food
The Seminar will happen in the the region of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
Accommodation and food is covered. The participants will be sharing rooms. Expect basic facilities.
Food will be seasonal and domestic as much as possible.
Travel reimbursement
Travel costs will be covered within the Erasmus+ limits of distance band (100-499 km = 180 euro, 500-1999 km = 275 euro, 2000-2999 km = 360 euro).
Be aware that we encourage environmental friendly means of transport (bus, train, etc.) therefore travelling by plane will be reimbursed only up to 80 % (unless really necessary).
Participants are expected to buy their own tickets and will be reimbursed once they sent the original tickets. The travel reimbursement could take up to few months.
Do not buy your tickets before you get a confirmation by the organizers!