Find oursel-EVS
Training course in Lorca (Spain) 26th-10 to 3rd-11 2015
About the project
Youth unemployment is one of the biggest challenge of 21st century Europe. The skills required from the employment context are not always assured by the formal education system. Non-formal education, and European Voluntary Service in particular, is a useful tool to develop these skills and it’s an option increasingly more sought by young unemployed to live an experience that can open the doors to their professional career. That’s why we have to connect EVS projects with volunteers professional future and create quality volunteer projects, balancing the impact in the host organization, society and the volunteer himself/herself. The mentor is very important to achieve this, but he has to have the right tools to support the volunteer planning his learning path, facing his future career as well. It is also essential that the skills developed during the EVS learning cycle are clearly visible and recognizable.
Therefor this project will work on the quality of EVS projects, on the roles within the process, on the tools that the mentors can use for a proper professional coaching of volunteers and on the learning badges as a motivational tool to achieve learning objectives and make them visible and recognizable to the employers.
The partners of the project come from 12 countries, both in the program and associated with less experience in EVS projects: Egypt, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece, Armenia, Romania, Morocco, Italy, Jordan, Macedonia, Tunisia and Spain. A total of 30 people will take part in the project with different profiles: mentors, former EVS volunteers interested to become EVS mentors and coordinators. Moreover, we will have 3 trainers and 1 support person. As a final result, a guide for EVS mentors will be published, with coaching techniques and strategies to support the learning cycle and learning badges representing the most wanted skills in the labour market.
The training course will last 8 days and will have an approach based on non-formal learning which uses different participatory methods such as simulation games, visualizations, debates, group work, etc., making the participants slowly discover concepts and processes. This is a horizontal method, in which everyone has an active role, that uses the group as a learning resource.
A direct impact on participants is expected, since they will be able to design quality EVS projects and also use professional coaching techniques to connect volunteers with their future career. The next level of impact will be on the volunteers, who will benefit from a considerable support to maximize the chances offered by EVS. Finally there will be an impact on the Erasmus + program itself, as tools for volunteer projects’ mentors will be defined and non-formal learning will be make visible through learning badges, which will provide recognition of this type of learning.
In the long term this project will lay the foundations to develop the work of mentors in a more systematic way, with the objective of supporting the employability of the volunteers.
FIND OURSEL-EVS
3rd November departure day
Monday, Oct 26, 2015, 09:00 PM
Avenida de las Fuerzas Armadas, 1, Lorca, Spain
Participants and budget
Poland: 2 participants, 360€ per participant
Bulgaria: 3 participants, 360€ per participant
Greece: 2 participants, 360€ per participant
Armenia: 2 participants, 530€ per participant
Romania: 2 participants, 360€ per participant
Marocco: 2 participants, 275€ per participant
Italy: 3 participants, 275€ per partipant
Jordania: 2 participants, 530€ per participant
Macedonia: 2 participants, 360€ per participant
Tunisia: 2 participants, 275€ per participant
PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS
1. Ex-volonteers SVE working as youth workers or SVE mentors.
2. SVE mentors
3. SVE coordinators SVE
THE VENUE OF THE TRAINING COURSE
LODGING
The participants will be accommodated in rooms for 4 to 6 people. There are 2 bathrooms, one for women and one for men. Please don't expect private bathroom in you room. The hostels provides linens but NO TOWELS so don't forget to take them! There is NO WIFI in the hostel, but in the first floor there are computers that you can use at certain hours to check for e-mails and book online for your flights.
HOW TO GET THE VENUE
Option 1:
Take a bus from the station just in front of the airport to Murcia, on the top level: there are busses every 2 hours from 7:15 to 21:15 – the trip takes 45 minutes and costs around 6€
Once in Murcia go from the bus station to the train station by bus no.26A.
Then take a train from Murcia to Lorca San Diego (it is the first station of Lorca comming from Murcia): there are trains every hour from 7:45 to 22:05 – the trip takes one hour and costs around 6€ or you can take a bus from the bus station of Murcia and it will bring you to bus station, which is next to the train station(Lorca Sutullena) which is 2 km away from the hostel.
If you want to check the schedule go to www.renfe.es, then Cercanias: Murcia/Alicante
Option 2:
Take a bus to Saint Gabriel train station – the bus station is in front of the airport at the top level, please ask the driver to drop you in the station. Sant Gabriel station is 5 minutes far from the airport.
From Saint Gabriel take a train to Murcia and from Murcia to Lorca – you will buy your ticket from the automat in the station directly to Lorca San Diego (it is the first station of Lorca comming from Murcia) – and then when you change the train in Murcia - you don´t need to buy another ticket.
If you want to check the schedule go to www.renfe.es, then Cercanias: Murcia/Alicante.
Please keep in mind that in order to arrive to Lorca THE SAME DAY, you should be in the airport by 20h, not later (since there is still a bus at 21:45 from the bus stop).
From MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT
BY BUS: There are direct busses (ca. twice a day) from Terminal 4 to Lorca. The ticket costs around €35 and the trip takes 6,5-7h. You can also catch a bus from one of the bus stations, Estación de Autobuses – Estación Sur. In order to get there take metro (pink line) until the end (Nuevos Ministerios) and then change to the grey line going to Mendez Alvaro. To check the bus schedule go to www.alsa.es. You can also purchase tickets online in www.movelia.com.
BY TRAIN: Take metro from the airport to Madrid Chamartín train station (you will have to change the lines twice or three times). Then take a train to Murcia. In Murcia you can get the ticket to Lorca San Diego for free in the ticket machines with the code written on the ticket from Madrid to Murcia (“Combinado Cercanías”). The ticket costs between €38 and €47. To check actual train schedule go to www.renfe.es. If you decide to travel by train, we advise you to buy the ticket in advance (online) as the Madrid-Murcia connection is very popular and trains are usually full!
You can download the Madrid metro plan from here www.metromadrid.es.
Please keep in mind that in order to arrive to Lorca THE SAME DAY, you should be in the airport by 15h, not later, to catch the train at 16:30
From VALENCIA AIRPORT
BY TRAIN: Take metro from the airport to Valencia Estació del Nord train station (ticket costs around €4,90) and take a train to Murcia del Carmen (tickets between €20-40). The trip takes 3-3,5h. After arriving to Murcia, you will have to buy a ticket to Lorca San Diego (first train station). You can get it in the ticket machines inside the train station (“Cercanías”) and it costs €5,60. The train ride takes ca. 50 minutes. To check train schedule go to www.renfe.com.
BY BUS: Take metro from the airport to Valencia bus station and take a bus to Murcia (€17,59). The trip taikes 3-5,5h. To check the bus schedule go to www.alsa.es. You can also purchase tickets online.
FROM BARCELONA AIRPORT
Take a bus from the airport wich goes to the Plaza de España. It costs 2€. Then, in the same place you need to change the bus which goes to the Barcelona Sants station (Sants Estacio), which also costs 2€. Also, you can take metro, which is very near the bus station. The bus (and metro also) will take you straitly to the train station.
The train ticket, directly to Lorca, costs 58€. There is a possibility to book it before and it should be a bit more cheaper.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
BUYING LOCAL TRANSPORT TICKETS
You need to buy train/bus tickets in advance (except for renfe cercanías). Usually tickets are sold out very fast (specially from the Madrid Airport to Lorca). Please buy the tickets through MOVELIA www.movelia.es, as other websites sometimes don't accept international cards.
VISA AND INSURANCE
We kindly ask the european participants to take care of the insurance for both the travel and the duration of the Training Course. Otherwise any expense raising from medical care in Spain will be considered personal costs of the participants. The insurance costs will not be reimbursed for the European participants. Anyway we strongly recommend to bring with you your european health insurance card (more info here:http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=559)For participants from countries neighboring the UE we will cover their visa and insurance costs –if it was need it to get the visas– till 80 € per participant .
Please check with your embassy what documents (like invitation letter) do you need and if they have to be originals, in which language and everything you need from our side.
REIMBURSEMENT
All the partners will receive by transfer that total travel cost amount (even if the travel costs are cheaper) at the end of the project after coordinator organization receive invoices, tickets, receipts, boarding passes (in case) and original signed reimbursement sheets. Please scan your documents before sending us by post at the end of the project. As soon as we receive everything we will transfer you the money. Please bring with you your bank details!!!
HOW TO GET THE REIMBURSEMENT
Only participants who attend at least 80% of the programme of the Training Course are entitled to reimbursement of their expenses.