By youth exchange ‘Volunteering: Changing Lives, Changing Communities’ we aim to contribute to promotion of volunteerism and voluntary work by encouraging young people including young people with fewer opportunities to take part in volunteering activities at local, national or international level (European Solidarity Corps). We believe that volunteering has a significant impact on youth development. It increases self-confidence, self-esteem. It gives an opportunity to develop soft skills (communication, teamwork, problem solving) and competences in different fields and make young people ready for the job market. Moreover, through volunteering young people increase their understanding on the issues in their communities and countries. They become more emphatic towards groups that lack opportunities, face social exclusion and discrimination and realize the need of being actively involved in community life.

Starting with energizers, ice breaking, team building, presentation of Erasmus+ continuing with presentation of countries, we created intercultural spirit and pleasant learning experience for participants, we reflected on different cultural expressions, and created a bridge between cultures for a better mutual comprehension.

-to equip the participants by knowledge on the concept of volunteering and its impact on young people’s development;

-to explore volunteering as way of promoting social cohesion and social inclusion;

-to discuss the impact of volunteering on future career possibilities of young people and their active involvement in their societies;

-to create series of media products (videos, interviews and articles) encouraging young people to volunteer;

-to develop digital competences of the participants needed to create and to share media content (videos, articles);

-to provide the participants an space to develop their soft skills such as teamwork, communication and problem solving in intercultural settings;

-to increase participants’ knowledge on Erasmus + Programme and to facilitate creating new project ideas supporting active involvement of young people in their communities and the societies;

– to equip the participants with knowledge on European Solidarity Corps Programme and to encourage them to take part in the programme.

Youth exchange ‘Volunteering: Changing Lives, Changing Communities’ reflects the priorities of Erasmus + Programme, KA 1. It strongly promotes a sense of initiative of young people, diversity and it reaches marginalized groups of young people because it will involve young people with fewer opportunities facing economic, social and/or geographical obstacles.

– motivated to take part in this youth exchange and to be personally interested in the topic of the project;
– motivated to implement the experience gained on the YE in their communities;
– motivated to build and support international partnerships that will be created during the YE for future Erasmus+ projects;
– 18-25 years old who didn’t participate in more than 3 Erasmus + projects, who are willing to spend 8 days together and take the challenge to create unforgettable memories, and to participate in workshops in nature;
– people who are willing to learn more about other cultures by sharing rooms with 3-5 other people from different countries;
– people who will be dedicated during the activities, willing to take active participation and be part in creating the final project results.

Profile of group leaders:

– youth workers, leaders with experiences in international youth field, with non- formal education based methodology;
– with previous experiences in the field of youth engagement, project management, Erasmus+ Programme, KA 1 – youth exchanges;
– being able to support the participants during project: to organize and implement preparatory meetings, to communicate with other group leaders in the process of preparation of programme, to assist participants with arranging practicalities for YE, to support participants during YE, especially to support their learning process and active participation, to organize and to implement evaluation meetings with participants, to support development follow-up activities. There will be no age limit set for group leaders.

NOTE TO PARTNERS: Partners must send 5 participants with fewer opportunities per country, clearly informing us who and what fewer opportunities they face so we can prepare accordingly. Also, we kindly ask our partners to send equal number of participants from both genders and introduce the participants with the project venue and conditions described in the info pack!

– Learning by doing method.
– Ice-breakers and team building games to get to know each other.
– Workshops will leave room for moderated but controversial discussions.
– Simulation games will allow us to identify current challenges of non-formal education and show possible measures that strengthen them.
– These sessions will provide the participants with concrete ideas that can be implemented in their local communities, thus ensuring an important multiplier effect.

Accommodation and food are 100% covered by the Erasmus+ programme. The participants will be lodged in the Lakeside Hostel Floda, near Floda, Sweden (https://www.calm.estate/floda). Lakeside Hostel Floda is an open-air facility located very beautifully at Lake Uspen, about 10 kilometres east of Floda and about 33 kilometers from Gothenburg. The facility is rented out to schools, associations, organizations and private individuals, primarily with a focus on children and youth. Lakeside Hostel Floda is surrounded by forest and lake.

– During the activity participants will be accommodated in a room with 3-5 other people from different countries.

– Each participant will have a roommate from a different country and we can’t make exceptions to accommodate people from the same country in the same room. The rooms will be gender divided.

– We can’t arrange separate rooms for couples or make additional changes in the room match.

– The rooms have bunk beds. Mattress, duvet and pillows are provided (bed linen included). The participants must bring their own towels.

– The bathrooms are shared.

Food:

There will be 3 meals per day provided, prepared by a cook. Participants will have a responsibility to help with food preparation, and learn more about international cuisine. Each participant will be responsible to wash their dishes and silverware after eating.
During the official part of the event, and in the territory of the whole campsite alcohol and drugs are strictly forbidden! Smoking is not recommended and in case of urgency only permitted outdoors in a designated space.
Everyone is welcome with these restrictions. Violation of this entitles the caretaker to immediately dismiss the person(s) concerned. No refund on travel costs will be guaranteed in case of dismissal.
Please, inform us in the application form about your food needs (vegetarian, vegan, food allergies).
The accommodation is covered at Lakeside Hostel Floda, near Floda, only for the days of the activity (28.04 – 06.05.2022). In case of a longer stay there is no chance of reimbursement of travel costs. You are not allowed to arrive after 28th of April, or leave earlier than 6th of May.
Please keep in mind when booking the tickets. For any other questions consult with the group leaders form sending NGO.

PARTICIPANTS SHOULD BE SELECTED LATEST BY 20th March
TICKETS SHOULD BE PURCHASED AND SENT TO US LATEST BY 28th March

We are not able to reimburse missing tickets!!!

IMPORTANT: Traveling sometimes requires an additional day for catching a flight and staying for an additional night at the city, where the airport is situated. We are aware of such situations, but organizers can’t cover this cost, it is participants own cost. For that reason, we recommend you to use hostels (http://www.hostelworld.com/) or friends https://www.couchsurfing.org/).

An invitation to try to travel mindfully – with no excess luggage and extra effort to store it.
Welcome to use tips from EC: https://bit.ly/3r23I00

1. Fly to Gothenburg Landvetter Airport
It is the closest airport to the venue. Flying to Oslo, Malmo, Copenhagen and Stockholm airports is an alternative. If landing in these airports, you will have to take a Flixbus, Nettbuss or a train to Gothenburg Central Station (check timetables carefully).

2. Take a bus to Gothenburg Central Station
Please, buy a roundtrip ticket Landvetter Airport – Gothenburg from https://www.flygbussarna.se/ in advance. Ticket is valid for all Flygbuss buses. Calculate 45 mins for the ride.

3. AT 19:00 Jump on a Private Bus to the LAKEHOSTEL Floda.
There will be a private bus named BUSSBOKNING waiting for you in front of Hotel Clarion Post right next to the station (https://goo.gl/maps/zJo1TE5MfztAeaaA6). The same bus will drop you off in Central Station at 9am on the departure day.

NOTE: bus will leave at 19:00 sharp so make sure you are there on time. There is no other way to reach the venue. Same bus will drop you off at 9am in the Central Station.

Please note that only most economic travel and only public transport is subject to reimbursement. Taxi is not covered. Please consult us before buying!

YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO LEAVE PROJECT ONE DAY EARLY TO CATCH YOUR FLIGHT OR BUS. PLEASE BUY YOUR TICKETS ACCORDING TO PROJECT’S DATE.

We need you to buy economy class tickets, and upload them in designated google drive ASAP. 07th March latest here, so our accountant knows, and adjust the budget. We advise you to buy your tickets as soon as possible, so that it fits in our limited budget for 100% reimbursement.

We kindly ask you to save all documents (original tickets, boarding passes, invoices or bills with the ticket price) which are related to your travel, since the documentation background is obligatory for reimbursement. We kindly ask you to buy all the tickets for the travel for both directions – return tickets (plane tickets, train tickets, bus tickets and etc.), because we will be able to reimburse only REAL EXPENSES (made expenses). IMPORTANT: We cannot refund any travel costs done by taxi.

After sending your original tickets and boarding cards, participants will receive the reimbursement of their travel costs. Travel (flights, other means of transport) expenses are compensated (up to 100%), based on the actual expenses incurred and the distance from your location of residence to the location of the project – Floda, Sweden. These distances must be calculated using the distance calculator supported by the European Commission. We send money to your sending organization and sending organization will pay participants for the duration from 1 to max 2- months after the project ends.

Please note if you buy your tickets in a currency other than EUR, we will convert to EUR according to the exchange rates from the official European Commission web-site: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/inforeuro/index.cfm?Language=en

Participants must travel from the country of the sending organization, and back. Following the guidelines of the Erasmus + programme the travel back must be realized by the participants in a direct way within a maximum of 2 days.

Country:
Spain

Max Amount Per Participant (EUROS):
320

NOTE:

• The cost given is a limit in total PER PERSON, for both ways.
• PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ACCORDING TO ERASMUS+ RULES MONEY FOR TRAVEL WILL BE REIMBURSED ACCORDING TO THE REAL COST YOU SPENT, up to the amount given above per country, but not more (which means that if you spend less – you will be reimbursed the money you actually spent or if you spend more – you will get only limit)
• Before buying your ticket, please remember your cost limits, EVERYTHING THAT WILL BE MORE THAN THE LIMIT WILL BE YOUR OWN COST.
• Before booking the flight, please, make travel arrangements CONFIRMATION with us!

– Passport or ID
– Comfortable clothes for the activities.
– Please bring WARM clothes as well and check the weather channels.
– Towels, flip flops, raincoat and personal care products: shampoo, toothpaste etc.
– Camera, laptop etc.
– Pills and medicines
– Positive attitude

Health and travel insurance

PLEASE, WHEN COMING TO SWEDEN, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A VALID EUROPEAN HEALTH INSURANCE CARD WITH YOU OR PRIVATE INSURANCE. ALSO, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU NOTIFY US OF ANY HEALTH RISK OR POSSIBLY NECESSARY MEDICINES, SPECIAL FOOD
ARRANGEMENTS (AS VEGETARIANS, VEGANS, INTOLERANCES), ETC.

All the participants will be expected to be present and active in all the activities, unless being ill. Unauthorized absence from the activities and workshops won’t be tolerated. Stress, nerves and bad mood is prohibited everywhere. Bring your best mood and a big smile with you and keep it through the exchange! Prepare for fun! ☺

Participants Task: It’s very important to care for the schedule time, be kind, respect, be positive, destroy the borders, have maximum fun, be cheerful and try to be part of the solution.

Money exchange:

Sweden’s official currency is Swedish Krona. There are several exchange offices and ATM machines where you can withdraw money in Floda, but not around the place of the venue. Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere.