SKY IS THE LIMIT

Short term European Voluntary Service

Service in a group
HOST ORGANISATION
Foundation EBU
ul. Warszawska 128
05-300 Minsk Mazowiecki
POLAND
www.ebu.org.pl
https://www.facebook.com/fundacjaebu
Dates of the project
25 June 23 August 2015
Service and the role in the Host Organisation
The volunteers will play a vital role in the regular intercultural event, organised annually by the
foundation: Intercultural Summer. They will become intercultural animators during the summer
camp for children. They will have the opportunity to create and implement their own ideas for
creative and educative free time activities for local kids including intercultural education and
communication in foreign language. The volunteers will work in small international teams with the
Polish volunteers from Minsk Mazowiecki. The whole group will be supported, trained and monitored
by the activity coordinator.
Learning opportunities
We offer a deep and intensive intercultural learning by the means of direct and daily contact with
Polish youth and children. At the beginning of the service the volunteers will attend the adaptation
training allowing them to discover the local environment and traditions, cultural differences, social
relations and attitudes. There will be also several cultural visits organised by the local Polish
volunteers with the objective of providing a chance to discover Polish architecture, nature, cuisine,
art, music etc. The volunteers will receive language support throughout the whole duration of the
project depending on their needs and interest.
We offer non-formal trainings on cultural animation, communication methods, volunteering, team
work, time management, intercultural dialogue. The volunteers will have the opportunity to learn
how to cooperate in the international team, how to animate children of different age groups and how
to implement a big intercultural project. They will be able to improve communication skills, also in

foreign language, social competences and some digital skills (photo documentation, managing the
website). They will have the opportunity to develop their sense of initiative and management by
designing and organising their individual projects. They will get a chance to share elements of their
cultures and develop the cultural awareness and expression.
The tasks in which the volunteers will be involved:
- developing and implementing free time activities for children,
- designing and implementing cultural workshops for children,
- presenting and promoting the volunteers culture at the intercultural evenings open for the local
community,
- assisting in the process of preparation prior to the events (promotion activities, organising
materials, logistical arrangements),
- attending the training on intercultural animation and team building workshops along with the Polish
volunteers,
- working in the international team on the preparation of the activities,
- designing, coordinating and actively participating in various social actions realised in the town,
- working on the dissemination of the effects and visibility of the event,
- preparing photo and video documentation of the activities,
- managing the website and the fanpage of the event.
Working structure
The volunteers will work 5 days a week, 7h per day (35 hours per week in total). The volunteers will
have 2 days free per week, most likely Saturdays and Sundays. If any of the activities happen on
the weekend - the volunteer is entitled to have another day of the week free. There will be regular
team meetings with the project coordinator, volunteers and their mentors at least once a week.
During such meetings the team will evaluate the process of the project, plan the following activities
and tackle any issues that might appear.
25 28 June: adaptation to the Polish culture, integration with the Polish team and the local
community, team building activities, preparation of the summer camp, developing the program of the
camp, Polish language classes, trainings on intercultural animation.
29 June 12 August: developing and implementing intercultural free time activities for children,
presenting and promoting the volunteers culture at the intercultural evenings open for the local
community, attending the training on intercultural animation and team building workshops along with
the Polish volunteers, designing, coordinating and actively participating in various social actions
realised in the town, working on the visibility and promotion of the events.
13 15 August: evaluation of the project, working on the dissemination of the effects, filling out
Youthpass and reflecting on the learning points of the project.
16 23 August: flexible time for cultural discovery, possibility to visit Poland along with other
volunteers or experience Polish daily life with host families.
Location
The project is located in Minsk Mazowiecki - an average town situated 40 km east from Warsaws
Center (the capital of Poland). Minsk Mazowiecki is a calm, small town, where everything is within
walking distance of maximum 30-40 min. It is a middle class place, called bedroom of Warsaw,
because a significant part of inhabitants works or studies in Warsaw and lives in Minsk Mazowiecki.
Public and private transport to Warsaw is very well-developed (regular train and bus services each
day to and from Warsaw). In our town exists the cultural-social life as well. There is a House of
Culture, School of Art, 2 libraries, 2 museums, a stadium, an ice rink, sports clubs, a swimming pool,
many pubs and restaurants. The House of Culture arranges often exhibitions and recitals, the Minsk
Music Association organizes concerts, the Sport Union sets up sport events.
Local Community
Minsk Mazowiecki, with about 39 000 inhabitants, is a place with a great variety of educational
institutions. At present, there are over 10 preschools (6 public), 6 public elementary schools,

3 public upper-schools, 6 high-schools and the University of Third Age. Yet it is still rather a small,
very monocultural and monolingual town, quite unfamiliar with different cultures. The children and
youngsters from Minsk Mazowiecki invest a lot of time into studying foreign languages, taking part in
extracurricular activities and internships. However, all of those are organised within formal education
and official structure. Local youth has no chance to put their theoretical knowledge into practice,
hardly a bit of space to develop their social skills, not to mention the lack of contact with other
cultures. Thanks to the activities implemented by our foundation we observe a growing interest in
intercultural events of all kinds, volunteering, international dialogue and possibilities of personal
development. Since 2006 every summer we organise a summer camp for the local children. The
activities during the camp are run by the intercultural group of volunteers. We invite young
animators from other countries to join our team. Although this program lasts only a few weeks we
observe a growing interest in such event. It attracts not only the kids who are the main target group.
Parents keep asking us about other possibilities to interact with other cultures. Every year there are
more youngsters and young adults interested in becoming part of the project. Already such a short
contact with foreigners brings into our small community a lot of changes. All of the schools which
cooperated with us see the results of that joint venture. Moreover they want to be involved in the
future actions and projects with volunteers. Any local intercultural meeting we organise has a very
high attendance.
Accommodation
The volunteers will be accommodated in a rented house in big shared rooms. The volunteers will
have full access to all the necessary facilities (washing machine, stove, oven, fridge, internet) either
in the house or in the nearby locations. The accommodation venues will be located within walking
distance from the working place and in close proximity to the stores, entertainment, church etc.
Local transport
There is no public transport in the town but theres no need for one as everything is within a walking
distance.
Food and board
Each volunteer will receive monthly food allowance in order to be able to have some flexibility as for
the menu and to follow their individual diet needs. Additionally, each volunteer will receive a coupon
for a certain number of meals at one of the local restaurants. During the working days of the
summer camp the volunteers will have lunch at school with the whole group involved in the
activities. Along with the food allowance the volunteers will receive pocket money (according to the
rates established each year on the Users Guide for the Erasmus+ Programme).
Travel cost
The travel expenses from the origin country to the project venue will be reimbursed based on real
expenses, up to the limit for the country established by the distance calculator for the Erasmus+
Programme. The travel reimbursement will be paid in cash by the middle of August.
Coordinator:
Eliza Bujalska
eliza.bujalska@ebu.org.pl
+48 694 789 694