Volunteer in Portugal

Noored Ühiskonna Heaks (NYH) is promoting a call for participant for European Solidarity Corps (ESC) long-term volunteering project in Santarém, Portugal.

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About the Project

“Sustainability and Participation for People”: opportunity with ASSOCIAÇÃO MENTALIDADE X, 1 place, for 4 months, starting from April or May 2025. ‍

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About the organization

Associação Mentalidade X is a non-profit association created in 2015 and based in the municipality of Santarém.

• Since 2021 we have begun to explore funding opportunities from the European Union, through various applications to the Erasmus+ and CERV programmes. More recently, in 2023, we applied for the European Solidarity Corps quality label, which was approved. In 2024 we will start individual volunteering projects.
• We believe it is essential to promote EU Youth programs in a way that allows young people to participate in activities that allow them to demonstrate their interest and work for the benefit of communities, while at the same time acquiring experience and skills useful for their personal, educational, social, cultural, civic and professional, thus improving their employability.
• Because only young people can be idealists, fighting for a better world and, most importantly, knowing that it is never too late to make a change happen.
• We believe in youth because we believe in ourselves.

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Goal

Project Aim: We're here to create an inclusive and intercultural community in Santarém. By uniting young people from different European countries, our aim is to foster tolerance and peace within our local community.

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Pre-departure training offered by supporting organisation. On-arrival training and Mid-term Evaluation offered by Portuguese National Agency. On the job training Online Linguistic Support.

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Objectives:

1. To build a wall using traditional and eco-sustainable construction techniques and rebuild a support shed for the future community garden.
2. To support cultural and community activities in the city of Santarém.

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Volunteer Tasks:

Participating in and organising various activities that promote the environment and sustainability, cultural, social and recreational development, such as:

1. Cultural events (such as shows, exhibitions, film screenings,etc);
2. Supporting the local community (organising workshops, ateliers, themed meetings, debates, intercultural dinners, etc);
3. Recreational and sporting activities (tournaments, video games, board games, dance classes, etc);
4. Communication and publicity (helping to publicise activities, managing social networks, photographing events, creating promotional content, etc);
5. Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Spaces (collaborating on projects to maintain and improve the association's space, such as small works, painting or gardening);

6. Support for Educational Programmes (Collaborating in the development of recreational and pedagogical activities, using non-formal methodologies to promote critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving among young people);

7. Administrative and Logistics Support (Helping the Mentalidade X team organise and execute social inclusion and education projects; providing support with logistical and administrative tasks; helping to identify funding opportunities for social projects and preparing applications for European or national funds; collaborating in the logistical preparation of events, etc);
8. Development of International Projects (Participating in the development and coordination of youth exchange and international cooperation projects with other European organisations; organising cultural sharing activities and diversity workshops in partnership with young people from other countries, promoting intercultural dialogue, etc);
9. Promoting environmental and sustainable practices (Creating a community ecological garden, ordering and preparing the soil, maintaining and rehabilitating spaces using traditional and sustainable construction techniques).

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Accommodation, Food and Pocket Money (volunteers' living conditions)

Volunteers will stay in the city of Santarém, at the headquarters of the Sociedade Recreativa Operária. We ask volunteers to be responsible and careful. The headquarters has a kitchen, 1 bar with a lounge, 1 bedroom (2 volunteers on a bunk bed), 1 bathroom, 1 shower room, several multifunctional spaces and a
courtyard.

All materials such as plates, cutlery, towels, sheets and blankets are provided by the association. The kitchen is fully equipped and volunteers will have to share it and cook for themselves. The volunteers are responsible for looking after the facilities at the association's headquarters, as well as their cleanliness
and hygiene. Cleaning and hygiene, always with an ecological attitude. Separating rubbish is essential at home to promote recycling.

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We will go with the participants to the local hypermarket to get the necessary products. In any case, when buying food, you should pay attention and buy the cheapest products. Some meals can be catered for in institutions. For each month, the host organisation gives ‘pocket money’ and ‘food money’ to each volunteer, according to the financial statement of the ESC programme.

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Participants profile:

❑ Between 18 and 30 years old;
❑ Motivated to work as part of a team, proactive and flexible;
❑ Prepared to develop socio-cultural, environmental and sporting activities and develop their own activities;
❑ Have an interest or experience in environmental issues, sustainable buildings and take part in activities for the community;
❑ Every participant should speak at least basic English and stay open to other people, respect their culture and habits;
❑ Participants will learn Portuguese according to their motivation;
❑ The project has a clear structure, but we are also totally open to ideas that may arise before and during the project, and we are also able to adapt the volunteers' motivations to our reality in order to better manage their motivations and get the most out of their experience and perspectives.