Tag: faenza

Call for a Greek volunteer in Faenza!

1 commento

Are you looking around for opportunities to travel in Europe? Do you want to visit and stay to another country for almost a year? Then we are here to offer you this amazing opportunity!

We are looking for a Greek participant to join our ESC project and to come live and volunteer for 11 months in Faenza, in Italy. SE.M.I association (Seeds for More Interculture) is a non-profit association working with European mobility projects and has as main objective the introduction of the multicultural element in the local community of Faenza.  It aims at offering an empowering experience that will open the minds, and change the lives of the volunteers and the young people in close contact with them.

YOUR HOUSE

You will live in the beautiful apartment in the city center that we call ”Casa Europa”, because our volunteers live there. You will have the chance to make new friends from all around Europe and get in touch with so many new cultures!  The accommodations are double rooms in city center to be shared with a volunteer or student of the same gender. The volunteers will get pocket money + food money, €280 per month.

Casa Europa

YOUR ACTIVITIES

From writing European mobility projects to blogging and courses to asylum seekers, as a volunteer near to us you will have the chance to experiment and try new activities, but also learn a lot! You will have Italian lessons  for foreigners in school and Online linguistic platform. You will get in touch with WordPress, Canvas, Salto Youth and other IT Tools and of course a lot of activities to boost your creativity.

Activities

YOUR PROFILE

Aged 18-30, from Greece, male or female (LGBT welcome!). Speaking a bit of English and/or Italian and/or Spanish and/or Lithuanian. Open minded, creative, willing to get in touch with the Italian culture, to share knowledge, to show initiative and implement own projects! To apply, please send a motivational letter to info@associazionesemifaenza.com stating your country of residence and your birth date!

Your colleagues

Please take a look here: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/placement/24695_en and send us your application on Google form: https://forms.gle/QAbUGiTekvinU7Sv6 !

We will be happy to meet you!

Enjoying the nature after Covid-19

Lascia un commento

Hello my beautiful readers,

Another week passed by and the everyday routine before Corona virus comes closer and closer to us. Regarding the ESC routine, we started our activities and adding more each week if it’s allowed but the part of travelling is still a bitter story, At this point, you’re allowed to transport away from your region, but still the fear of using the train is making me postpone my travels. That’s why I’m choosing local and go for little trips and adventures in the city or near by.

This week I decided to speak about the nature. The same nature that we all missed this spring and we’re like craaaazy every time that the weather was perfect and sunny but still we couldn’t go out and enjoyed it. So now that we can enjoy it, are we actually doing it?

To respond to my part- rhetorical question, I’m trying to visit the nature and enjoy it as much as possible. In any case, we have to consider also the general mood of ”I don’t want to do anything” that have followed the lock-down.

This week the weather was awesome -until today that it’s raining and the mood has transformed from ”sunny, joyful and spring” to ”grey, moody and autumn”. I took this chance of good weather to move around the city and a bit further. First I visited Parco Bucci one of my favorite parts in the city. After almost three months I was back there and it was amazing. The last time that I was there it was winter and the nature had a whole different palette of colors. Keeping in mind my last image of the park I can easily see the huge transformation that happens to the nature with the change of seasons. Another thing that I observed and enjoyed was the sound of the animals. Being used to the city sounds closed in my apartment, it made me so happy when I first heard the ducks and the other birds singing in almost total silence. It was magical.

My other small trip near by Faenza was in Rio Cozzi . It is a small outdoor area that people go to do outdoor sports riding your bicycle and climbing. I was the least sportive person there and took a long walk around the park with the big trees and the beautiful flowers blossoming in every corner.

Until the next time,

Danai, Greece

Quarantine Diaries: Second phase and EVS.

3 commenti

Hello again my beloved readers and I’m sorry for my disappearance. It’s been hard for everyone and hard for me too. After almost two months I can try eventually to be productive and active again…

We are happily moving to phase 2 of this lock down situation and the atmosphere here in Italy is certainly better. This week finally we can move easier around the city, drink our coffees, see our friends, go to the beauty salon-it’s a necessity- and try to enjoy the last days of spring until summer comes. In all of these activities of course we can add the use of face mask in everything we do from now on.

Let’s start from the begging and talk a bit about EVS in Faenza and the lock down. I wrote various articles in the past for the EVS experience and the amazing opportunity that I had, coming to Italy for a year. The true sense of EVS and all the similar European Union funded projects for young people is the chance to visit a new country for an amount of time and explore it. ”Travel” is the key word and I was ready to travel a lot this year. I did it also as much as I could before the lock down, but now everything stopped. Of course, life goes on and I will continue traveling if I’ll be patience and wait until the situation calms down. IN an case, the lost of these two months of my EVS experience is a bitter piece in my mind, all the travels that I could do, all the new places of Italy that I could see… thinking of all that is making me a bit sad and angry.

From my last trip before the lock down in Dozza…

But we will always have to think the bride side of life and there is one now; our chance to go outside again. This week our EVS activities have started and we went back to the office in the morning. Only this small step is enough to give you some confidence after all these months locked into your house. This week I had the chance to go outside and understand better how important is to take a walk sometimes and socialize with people in your life. Without these the past months I felt lonely and stuffed even though I could grown myself in many ways.

So this week I walked every morning in the office and enjoyed it so much. I had a coffee, a lunch. an aperitivo and a dinner and again I really enjoyed them. It’s been so long and now it seems the best…

Until the next time,

Danai, Greece

Call for Partners- “United in Music”

Lascia un commento

Five (5) days training course in Italy which will end with a study visit and dissemination event during MEI (independent music festival in Faenza)

Fight euro-sceptic feelings by contributing to the cultural and musical substrate that unites us!
With the training United in Music we want to reflect on the values at the origin of the European Union through the music, supporting participants (youth workers) in mapping events and opportunities that start from their local communities. This mapping will result in a network of g-local reference points, providing youth workers with tools and knowledge to understand better the music values and environment aimed at supporting participation of European youth in the musical European culture. Their young users will find here opportunities for growth, active citizenship, volunteering and an opportunity for a concrete international exchange in the musical context.

Link to the Form to fill: https://forms.gle/vnhMGVinLiAA4QPf6

Screen Shot 2020-08-10 at 10.44.07

Quarantine diaries: What to watch now?

Lascia un commento

And the ”Quarantine diaries” project continues…

Last week I wrote about ”What to do” during this lock-down and I added to each particular activity a chilling atmosphere and a slower way to live your everyday life inside the house. Today, first I forgot that I have to write a blog- sorry, I’m so influenced from the chill way to live- and then I couldn’t find a subject. Finally, it came to me… What I do like a boss? What am I good at?

The answer is easy, I’m really good at watching movies, series, documentaries, all kinds of stuff that you can take the opportunity of the lock-down and watch now that you have plenty of time. So, for this week I decided to recommend you some TV series that you can start watching during this quarantine and who knows (?) maybe you’ll manage to finish them until the summer that maybe we’ll be out again.

*For the story, I decided to share with you some series and not movies simply because I prefer them. Usually I’m tired to stay and watch a whole movie and I’m falling asleep at the middle of it.

  1. ”When They See Us” (2019)

One of my personal favorites of all times. ”When They See Us” it’s a Netflix production -even though usually I don’t like Netflix productions- and it’s an American drama mini-series based on a true story.  It is based on events of the 1989 ”Central Park jogger case” and explores the lives and families of the five male suspects who were falsely accused then prosecuted on charges related to the rape and assault of a woman in Central Park, New York City. The five suspects were children of color that were wrongfully accused for a crime that they never did. The TV series is following the trials and the stories of each particular protagonist and it successfully makes you a part of the events. The ’80s atmosphere, the discrimination of people in color and the poverty of the American society of these times are visible and well displayed.

P.S: Grab some tissues if you easily get emotional and watch this masterpiece ASAP…

2. ”This is Us” (2016-…)

Ready for some family time? ”This is Us” it’s a diversity series even for its category, it’s a drama/ comedy family series. How is it possible, right? The story follows three siblings (known as the ”Big Three”), two brothers and one sister, all born in the same day. One of the most interesting parts of the series is the changing of the timeline once in a while; you see the protagonists in various ages and aspects of their lives. Each one of them has its own problems, joys and obstacles to overcome, but they are all connected with a family drama that follows them the most of their lives. The variety of the protagonists and the diversity of each particular life and story keeps your interest in high levels in every episode.

P.S: In this series you’ll find the best father figure ever played in TV. I love him!

3. ”Shameless” (2011-…)

**Providing this last -for today- TV series I wanted to highlight the difference between ”This is Us” and ”Shameless” and it has to do with the father figures. On the first one you see an emotional father figure, a made for family guy that loves his wife and its perfect in its own, realistic and particular way that makes you fall in love with him instantly. But in ”Shameless” you have a totally different person…

The series depicts the poor, dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a single father raising six children. He spends his days drunk or in search of misadventures, and his children learn to take care of themselves. The show’s producers sought to distinguish this production from previous American working-class shows by highlighting how Frank’s alcoholism affects his family. Through the season of the series you’ll see the children growing up and changing while they’re becoming more responsible than their own father or sometimes irresponsible throwing the blame to the difficulty growing up in this family.

P.S: It might seems depressing as a concept, but the american black comedy atmosphere that follows the series is making everything more entertaining and realistic.

So, that’s it for this week, I might share with some more next week if I find a difficulty thinking of a different subject.

Danai, Greece

ESC experience, the Pandemic and some ”blue” thoughts…

Lascia un commento

The subject of this week’s article is pretty obvious and easy to think about it. CoronaVirus, Covid-19 or SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that influenced millions of people worldwide, killed a lot of them, closed borders and set the world in a Quarantine mood. I’m not going to give you general information about the virus, to present you the current situation or give you numbers of cases and deaths. I’m only here, blogging and speaking about my EVS experience in Italy as always…

So, I stayed… It’s over a month now that the situation in Italy became serious. First, the schools closed and with them our EVS activities that were pretty much related to schools and kids, as I described in my previous blogs. For around two weeks I had almost nothing to do and I had to stay in the house as much as possible. I can say that at this point I hadn’t really realized the seriousness of the situation; the numbers were still low and the people seemed cool, even though they were staying more at home and bars and restaurants weren’t so full as usual. At this point I had the chance to go back in Greece and spend some time in quarantine, but yet I would be with my family and it would be easier. I decided to stay in Faenza for several reasons, but the main one was that I didn’t want to risk get infected neither infect other people without even knowing it. Also, I didn’t know when this situation will end…

Supermarket reality the first days…

The next week the association start giving as activities to do from home and helping us to deal with the quarantine situation. I didn’t realize before now that it is really hard to live a global crisis like that so far from home and from people that you’re counting on. So, as you could easily understand I had my ”blue” moments, too. Actually the majority of the moments at this point are ”blue” given that each time that I open articles to see the numbers of cases always are bigger and bigger and you’re just feeling far and far from home.

Leaving a bit apart the plethora of thoughts that I have, I manage to feel better through work and activities that the organization gave me. I started some yoga lessons and I did workout from YouTube -like everybody at this point- and I tried to study a bit for my exams. Of course, the house like any other house in the world is cleaner that has ever been and I am cooking like crazy, because I’m running out of things to do in the house pretty easy.

Supermarket lines with 1 meter distance from each other

The latest lock-down found me in the position that I already was, it wasn’t for me a big surprise that we should stay home, we should stop going to the supermarket every day and we should be careful. The only change was that I stopped cooking so much and start a diet for the 5th or 6th time this year.

Reading again all these that I wrote above I just realized that I wasn’t funny at all at this new blog -eh, it doesn’t matter, we aren’t always funny.

Two of the reasons that I miss Greece…

I want to leave you with some food for though this time. I read a lot about solidarity, social awareness and new profound respects for human lives and I strongly believe that everybody should take a moment and think about all of these regarding what’s happening in the world and the new needs and issues that are created. Anyway, one of my results and I really want to spread the word about it, is to cancel 2020 and start using 2021, it will just take the stress out of my shoulders…

Until the next time-that I promise I will be funnier-,

Danai, Greece

Another Week, Another Story

Lascia un commento

Ciao a tutti,

Sono Danai venuta da Grecia e come ogni settimana, sono qui anche questa Venerdì per raccontarvi le mie nuove esperienze!

And continuing in English, because it’s easier…

The truth is that this week I didn’t do a lot of new things. After my mini trip in Brussels, for which I talked in the previous blog of mine, I back in Faenza and back to work. I continue being poor, because I’m spending all my money to travels and aperitivos, but I’m having a good time regardless the money in my pockets.

I decided to talk to this blog about a new activity of mine -association activity- for which I didn’t talk enough, I think. So, after the Christmas vacation and when I finally came back to Faenza, my coordinator asked me if I want to do a new activity and of course I told yes! Before holidays I was pretty focused on writing a youth exchange and with International projects in general, but after finishing my work and send it to the National Agency, the thing that left me to do was to waiting for their answer -and that reacquires time-. In that moment, when they asked me to start something new, I ran fast to answer ”yes, yes and yes”.

My new activity takes place every Thursday from 14.30 o’clock until 19.30 and is something I was already familiar with, after-school. I’m doing some after-school also here in Faenza, every Wednesday and Friday, but after the new year, the organization started an after-school also in Brisighella. Brisighella is a small city near to Faenza- only 10 min away with the train- and is really beautiful. The after-school there has kids in the first classes of high school, which we help to study for the next day in school- and after them we have younger kids around 7 years old, with whom we do creative activities in English.

 

 

To continue we have to talk a little bit about my relationship with kids. Four years ago, I couldn’t even be in the same place with a little kid, I mean I couldn’t stand the screaming, the curiosity and the unstoppable urge of playing, I was tired even thinking about it. But the time passed, I grew up and I had to make some money. I have a degree as a teacher of the Italian language so it was easier to find a job as one. I started doing private lessons, to adults and after the kids came looking for me. Last year I rebuild my opinion about the small people, the kids. I did private lessons to some of them and I enjoyed it. Yes, I’m still tired every time after 1 or 2 hours with them, they are so active that they can take all your energy at once, but I’m having fun and I’m feeling useful.

 

 

Knowing all that, you can assume two things about me and about the new activity of mine. First, I enjoy it and second every Thursday I’m sleeping really early, because I’m so tired every time. In Brisighella’s after-school with the younger kids we are doing a so many creative and fun activities. Every Thursday we are planning new ones and we are focusing in the English language. We’ve done already the clothes, the body parts and the seasons. As you can easily guess the next should be carnival related.

And briefly I’m saying you goodbye, my lucky readers…

Soon you next week…

Danai, Greece

Screen Shot 2020-03-10 at 14.23.14

Carnevale nel Mondo

Lascia un commento

We are official a step before Carnival and me, from the lovely Italy, I couldn’t be more excited to live this period in the country of one of the most famous Carnivals worldwide; Carnival of Venice.

Of course, except the famous Italian Carnival there are also a lot of particular and popular celebrations all over the world, that I hope I could visit some day. Let’s take a look to some of this places…

NEW ORLEANS- MARDI GRAS

One famous and particular celebration is the Mardi Gras of New Orleans. The parades and masquerade balls are organized by krewes, social clubs that date back hundreds of years in New Orleans. This carnival celebration is popular known as one of the most debauched celebrations in the traditionally Puritanical United States. This masquerade tradition is accompanied by another particular one, the King Cake, in the colors of justice (purple), faith (green), and power (gold). 

RIO DE JANEIRO- CARNIVAL OF RIO

Who doesn’t know the most famous Carnival of all? If think there is nobody that never heard of the Carnival of Rio De Janeiro. This celebration is full of colors, feathers, parades and samba dance for days and days. The first Carnival in Rio started in 1723, and today it is held to celebrate the gods and honor the the great waters. Over 200 samba schools, or communities who decide to attend Carnival together, parade the street with colorful floats, dancing, and decorations.

TRINIDAD- CARNIVAL OF TRINIDAD

And continuing with the famous carnivals all over the world, in the second place you can find the Port of Spain, Trinidad. After the Carnival of Rio is the second most colorful and popular one. Performers and dancers prepare their costume all year for the celebration, with giant feather headdresses and sequins. The main attraction is the music and dancing, with Soca music being traditionally featured, as well as music from cultures around the world, including Calypso, chutney, steelpan, claves, and drums. 

LONDON- A CARNIVAL IN AUGUST

It’s sounds a bit weird after all there exotic places that London -with all its seriousness- hosts a famous Carnival, too. London’s Caribbean Notting Hill hosts a carnival with influences of Jamaica, Trinidad and other West Indian Cultures, every August. Given that is rooted in Caribbean Traditions is also plenty with colors, dances and exotic music.

BELGIUM- BINCHE

Moving to the central Europe, you can find a really interesting carnival tradition in Belgium and in particular in the city of Ghent. Ghent is home  to one of the strangest carnival celebrations in the world, Binche. Only Ghent natives are allowed to dress in the whimsical masks, called Les Gilles during the Binche festival.

INDIA- GOA CARNIVAL

This festival is a MUST- meaning that I have to, I need to, go there once in my life-. Originated to Portugal, the Portuguese people brought their Catholic traditions and festivals to their colony of Goa, India, which has morphed into a spectacle that’s a fascinating blend of Hindu and Catholic customs. This Carnival is considered one of the most famous and beautiful in India and millions of people visit it every year.

That’s it for now, folks…

I hope you will enjoy your Carnival!

Danai, Greece

Screen Shot 2020-03-10 at 14.23.14

 

Destinazioni Ideali per il 2020

Lascia un commento

Ciao a tutti per ancora una volta,

and continuing with English as usual. So, I am Danai from Greece currently based in Faenza, doing my EVS and trying to figure out what life is going to bring me this new year. I ran out of themes to write -usually I am writing about my life and my experiences, but these past weeks I haven’t done something new and exciting- and I decided to write where I will go this year and where I am hoping to go.

 

Belgium, Brussels

My first trip for 2020 will be in Belgium and it will be soon. I am planing to go to Brussels this weekend, from Saturday 8th of February until Monday 10th of February. It is actually not ideal. One month ago I was searching a cheap destination to go with a friend that comes to visit me. At first, we wanted to go to Paris, but the tickets for a weekend were really expensive. After, we said to go to Berlin, but again the tickets were expensive and my EVS pocket money can’t afford them. Third option was London, but my friend had already been there and she wanted something new. So finally, we decided to go to Brussels. Everybody was like ”What there is to see in Brussels?” or ”It is not worth it!” but it doesn’t bother me. I’m going on a trip, I’m in trip mode and after all we have always to believe in the mainstream motto ”It doesn’t matter the destination, but the trip”. I’m 100% ready to survive with waffles and french fries for 2 days and to see all the nice places there.

 

Spain, Malaga & Granada

OK, this is most certainly ideal! I’m pretty sure that I talked to you a lot about the pros and the cons of my ESC experience and in general of this European opportunity for young people. So, my organization except of writing European mobility projects and a lot of other activities, is accompanying schools to trips abroad. In this way, I’m going in Malaga and Granada this March. My role there isn’t going to be responsible for the kids of course, but to help the teachers to communicate – the majority of them aren’t speaking in English-. From the first announcement of this trip I was absolutely excited and I’m looking forward to visit the beautiful Andalusia for another time. I was there a year ago, in Cordoba and Seville, but I didn’t have the time to visit Malaga and Granada. I really can’t wait!

 

Germany, Berlin

Another ideal destination is Berlin. I always wanted to travel in Berlin, is a capital full of history, so beautiful and with one of the most famous and amazing nightlife. I remember that the first time I started think about a travel to Germany was 3 years ago when I did my first visit to Prague. I said at that point with my friends that we have to go, but as usual we never did. This year I decided to visit Berlin even without my friends. I am planing to use a weekend in this summer to move a little bit northern and visit this beautiful capital.

 

Italy, Cinque Terre

And I’m moving back to the country that I am currently living. I surely want to visit the whole Europe, but also as long I’m staying in Italy, I will try to go to as many places as I can. Cinque Terre, is a part of Liguria and it’s one of the most popular summer destinations not only in Italy, but for the whole Europe. The colorful small houses up on the hills and the breathtaking sea view from above it makes this place irresistible. I am planing to do there at the end of April or early May and I’m hoping that the touristic period will start after this months, so I can find some peace and quiet in this wonderful environment.

 

Portugal, Lisbon

This is a destination that I MUST visit this year. I planned a trip two years ago, but it got canceled and until this day I’ m frustrated for that. This year, I hope the things will be better and I will have the chance to travel to Lisbon. I’ m dreaming to move around to this full of colors capital and use the most beautiful tram of the whole Europe to transfer. I also have a friend that lives in Galicia -an autonomous country of Spain, near to Portugal- and we can make this trip together.

That’s it for now, folks… I don’t want to continue writing destinations because: 1) I don’t have that much money to move around Italy and Europe and 2) if I start I will never stop -don’t even let me started with my ideal destinations in Asia-.

Until the next time…

Danai, Greece

Screen Shot 2020-03-10 at 14.23.14

”Quality label for ESC volunteering” – Call for participants

Lascia un commento

Hello everyone!

Are you ready for our training? Our training project is finally on the European Union official website!

Click this link (https://forms.gle/Aq2ukBjKjTpDmNFB9) and apply to come to Faenza this September.

We are waiting for you!

Here the infopack (due to the Coronavirus situation is was moved to 1-7 September 2020): infopack how to…Quality label (NEW)

Objectives

We want to carry out this project to help youth associations who want to work with ESC volunteering to get their Quality label and move the first steps in this field.

The goal of this project is to have, in 2021, more European organizations working with ESC volunteering, proposing quality projects.

More specifically, the objectives of the training activity are:
– to help the participants to get a quality label to host/support ESC volunteers for their organizations;
– to build a net of reliable potential ESC partners;
– to share knowledge about practical arrangements and budget;
– to discuss potential problems that might occour during ESC projects and propose solutions;
– to share management/digital tools.

– Participants: improved competences linked to youth work and project management; increased support for and promotion of mobility activities; increased opportunities for professional and career development; increased motivation and satisfaction in their daily work; equipping youth workers with competences and methods for their professional development, including for digital youth work (digital project management tools e.g. google drives, sharing folders and calendars etc.).

– Organizations: increased capacity to operate at EU/international level; improved management skills and internationalisation strategies; reinforced cooperation with partners from other countries.

– Youth (volunteers of future projects implemented by the organizations of the participants): enhanced employability and improved career prospects; increased self-empowerment and self-esteem; improved foreign language competences; enhanced intercultural awareness; more active participation in society; better awareness of the European project and the EU values.

Activities

This project foresees 1 activity, a 5 days (+2 travel days) training course to be held in Faenza (Italy).
We want to carry out this activity to help the participants to get a quality label to host/support ESC volunteers for their organizations; to build a net of reliable potential ESC partners; to share knowledge about practical arrangements and budget; to discuss potential problems that might occour during ESC projects and propose solutions; to share management/digital tools.
Being SE.M.I. an association which started to work with EVS in a town where there were no other EVS accredited associations, being able to count only on official trainings, the Erasmus+ guide and a few personal contacts of the staff members, we know that organizations willing to start their journey with ESC could use some extra help.
The potential issues that we want to takle are, for newcomers, the difficulty to understand the burocracy linked to Erasmus+ and ESC; understanding the application form for the ESC quality label (and the linked matters in the implementation of real projects); the management of the first project (partnership; selection process; training cycle etc.) and foreseeing potential problems in the implementation of the first project; the difficulty in finding reliable partners when moving the first step.
These issues are connected to the need of finding specific guidance to get a PIC, upload on URF the necessary documents etc.; guidance to fill the application; partners to share experiences with; of having a clear idea of the requirements, timescales, receive advice on best practices; the opportunity to count on a net of organizations in Europe, starting their experience with ESC or more experienced ones; for a network of personal contacts and potential partner organizations to count on.

We will involve 20 youth workers actively involved in the life of the partner organizations (or close stakeholders), willing to improve theirselves by acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to work in the field of ESC volunteering. They will be mainly newcomers in the field of ESC volunteering, but also 2 facilitators from the hosting association and 2 experienced youth workers from Greece.

Impact

Through this activity, the participants will acquire knowledge about the European Solidarity Corps and will help their organizations to get a quality label to participate in the program. Therefore, the impact will be strong because thanks to the training new doors will open for the participating organizations and youth workers, but also to young people who will apply to volunteer with the partner organizations.
Ideally, the participants are already working in the international department of their associations, so they will go back to their daily work with the knowledge and the international contacts to start a new international area related to the European Solidarity Corps.
Hopefully, in one year they will be able to host and/or send the first ESC volunteers.
 
Screen Shot 2020-08-10 at 10.44.07