In that sunny white winter, Alexander climbed the mountain for the last time. He’d had to leave soon. This was his good-bye to those such wonderful mountains and green forests, familiar places, friends and family… his old life and old thoughts.  After three months on the road, backpacking through all the Europe, he’d be on the road again, this time with a purpose. A purpose that will change his life…a purpose that will change the life of all the people which he will encounter.

   He had his first contact with volunteering activities exactly two years ago, when together with an unknown multinational group, decided to make a great hiking trip for a weekend in Carpathian Mountains. There is where those people all around the world talked about ideas, ways of living, ordinary people with simple lives, but with amazing ideas about freedom, most of them volunteers or nomads that ‘get lost’ in Romania, people that want to bring their contribution for the world to be a better place. In that moment he realized that he wants to be more, he wanted to be like them, the moment when he realized that in order to do that he will have to break the corporatist chains, and get out of the crowd, get out of the society with its strict and stupid rules and let himself evolve. That was the moment for a change. So right after that amazing experience, he got involved in some volunteering activities around Brasov city, together with seven European volunteers, who would later become his friends. Together with them he could rediscover his city, his country but more than this, he could rediscover himself among them.
Finally, when the time came, Alexander quit his job and left to the sunny island of Cyprus. For one month, together with volunteers from Romania, Italy, Slovenia, France and Cyprus they were helping the villagers to pick up their products in the fields, they were helping them to cook traditional Cypriot products, they were painting stables, but moreover, they were helping to develop themselves into better persons and to promote that further around them, to make the world a better place, for them and for the others. When he was back on Romanian soil, he understood how happy you can be when you are living a simple life and when you are enjoying the little things. So this is how he decided to get lost in the small Europe. With a small amount of money but with a big heart and lots of hope, with a backpack, a sleeping bag and a tent, he started the journey of more than 10 000 km…only by hitchhiking.

That was the begging of his new life, but the real story was just about to happen.

                                                  ………………………………………..

-I would have a croissant and a coffee please, he said, while he was starting the integration process in the French culture without knowing it.

-Can you please put your seatbelt monsieur! We are preparing for landing.

“God, those air-guardians they can see everything! “

  Although it was the beginning of March, the weather in Paris was warm, the fields were green, the people were nice and the french language it was tickling his ears. All of this was reminding him the beautiful adventures he had passed through in this marvelous country, not so long time ago.

    Dijon was even nicer, a place that fit perfectly to his needs. As it’s a medium size city, Dijon is one of the most appealing cities in France. Filled with elegant medieval and Renaissance buildings, the lively center is wonderful for strolling, especially if you like to leaven your cultural enrichment with excellent food, fine wine and shopping.

   “On va se voir plutôt just a côté de la boulangerie” was the message he just received on his phone, which in his translation was: “Probably we will see each other somewhere in an undetermined period of time in an unknown place for you”. This and the bomb alert that just happened in Gare Ville de Dijon while he was in the arriving  train it was what intrigued him even more. But the hope that in a very near future he could speak with some completely strangers in an unknown language, strangers that later they will become his new friends.

    This is how the beginning of Alexander’s adventures as an EVS volunteer for the City Hall of Dijon started.

 What is EVS thing, you might wonder!?  The acronym refers to the European Voluntary Service. This is a program set up by the European Union to promote youth mobility. Especially for this famous lost generation Y, who’s hanging on their smartphones all day long. If their flaws start from a foundation of truth, for Alexander was impossible to deny the effect of the meetings he was able to do across the continent, meetings that have given serious ass kicking to the prejudices that he had himself.

    Meetings, small projects, big projects, conferences and seminaries, unknown people that he will meet, all of this things will change Alexander’s perspective about the world, will change his life principles and his way of living.

  Finally meeting the coordinator of the project at the train station after one hour and a half delay of the train was the best thing that happened the all day. After a weird French-English conversation, he manage to find out the first things about Dijon.  Exhausted but really excited about the new city that will adopt him for the next seven months, finally he found the peace in his new bed, in his new house. A new day in a new city, in a new country was just about to start.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

   Six months passed like the wind and here he was, again, at the beginning of a new adventure. No fixed destination, just the road in front of him. Six months living a new life, with new friends, old friends and…future friends!

  You might wonder if it worth it!?  It totally did. He discovered within himself new skills that he had no idea before, skills that he could use and apply in a totally different language. He felt in love with an amazing girl…a happy story with a sad end, again! But they will meet for sure at some point in their life and they will rememorize their summer love. They lived!

 “It is amazing how this experience can change you” he’s saying. “If I would have the chance again I would totally do it one more time. Living alone or with other volunteers, being on the road traveling with friends or unknown people, all of this improve your social skills and your self-confidence. You get out of this experience a brand new person, richer, for sure not wealthier, but happier, that you brought your small contribution to the world, to make it a better place”

The bottom line of this story is: DO your own EVS project! Write your own EVS story!

By doing so, you will change people’s life without knowing it, and they will change yours. Take the challenges and use them in a constructive way, build something. Go above your limits and you will grow. Use your skills to do well, use other people’s skills for making yours better. Share and receive wisdom, share and receive kindness, that’s all about being a volunteer!!

That is the road…to another me! A better ME! 

*  Alexander :  Latinized form of the Greek name Αλεξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant “defending men” from Greek αλεξω (alexo) ”to defend, help” and ανηρ (aner) ”man” (genitive ανδρος). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris.

http://www.erasmusplus-jeunesse.fr/blog/192/17/La-chronique-d-Andrei-un-jeune-volontaire-europeen-a-Dijon.html

2015_The_Cineforum_Collection or click the image below

This useful activity resource was created by one of the international volunteers (Thomas van Uden) involved in the Inside Journey project. 
INSIDE JOURNEY project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects only the views of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained herein.

The “Inside Journey” project took place in Braşov, between 01.08.2014 and 31.11.2015, and involved 4 international volunteers coming from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain. The international volunteers were hosted by our organization in the frame of the European Voluntary Service.  

Maria from Germany, Thomas from the Netherlands, Mirco from Italy and Vero from Spain (Catalonia) worked together with the organization members, local volunteers and local youth workers to inspire an „inside” journey: in the local communities, and inside themselves, for self-development and self-awareness.

MAIN PROJECT AIMS
The project aims were stimulating personal resources of youngsters and design non-formal educational activities, which contribute to the personal and professional development of young people in Braşov, especially youngsters with fewer opportunities.

Moreover, the project aims were developing a proper environment for the international volunteers involved to learn and discover new things about themselves and about different cultures, and to integrate these elements in an individualised self-development process.

MAIN PROJECT ACTIVITIES & RESULTS
Project activities have been planned
a) to meet the needs identified within the project stakeholders;
b) to create various learning contexts, including different methods mainly focused on participation and direct experimentation;
c) to encourage intercultural communication and create awareness of active participation, tolerance, solidarity and social inclusion.

STAGE 1 - (October 1, 2014 – January 15, 2015) was a period of adjustment, adaptation and integration, during which the volunteers planed, prepared and implemented activities adapted to the specific target group and promoted them via digital and non-digital channels.

• Body-Percussion Workshops – Brașov, November-December 2014

In order to connect young people from Brașov through music, theatre and body, Maria Kohlenberg from Germany coordinated during November-December 2014 Body-percussion workshops. Participants were able to interact in a special way, overcome small fears of personal insecurities, coordinate themselves and gain more confidence.

•  Work-in Out Workshops – Brașov, November-January 2015

Starting with November 2014 Mirco from Italy started a weekly work out, in order to show young people from Brasov a healthy lifestyle, how funny training can be and also how self-confidence can be gained.

•  Playing Sessions in a German Afterschool (NGO Asociatia pentru Educatie Practica si Creativa) - Brașov, December-January 2015

Maria with other German-speaking volunteers from the other EVS projects organized games for children from the elementary school, in order to practice their German language skills in an active way.

• International Cooking Workshops  - Brașov, December-January 2015

Vero with other volunteers from the other EVS project RUP shared with other youngsters from Brașov international dishes and cooking skills.

• Promotion of project activities and EVS opportunities in High schools from Brașov - December-January 2015

All volunteers developed different promotional materials and presentations for youngsters from Brașov (Sport High School, Andrei Mureșanu High-School, Grigore Moisil High-School, Mircea Cristea School) in order to facilitate de access of youngsters to different free, non-formal activities.

STAGE 2 (15 January-May 2015) – was focused on implementing an educational program to develop emotional intelligence among youngsters from Braşov, especially young people with fewer opportunities, through different activities/workshops/events

• Cineforum Sessions – Brașov, February-June 2015

At the beginning of January  2015 Thomas from the Netherlands initiated with Pierre from RUP project Cineforum sessions, where participants were able to watch movies together in a safe and relaxing atmosphere and discus topics related to the watched movies. The idea was to broaden the horizons and new perspectives of youngsters from Brașov. The weekly sessions lasted until June 2015 with the help of Mirco and Vero. At the end Thomas developed a useful booklet about the projected movies, in order to show how they can or could  broaden the horizon of the youngsters’ minds (The Cineforum Collection).

•  Spanish Lessons – Brașov, February-June 2015

Vero coordinated Spanish Lessons for beginners in order to help youngsters from Brașov to be able to communicate with people around the world, to develop a deeper understanding of a different culture and to be aware and appreciate more cultural contributions. Moreover Vero aimed the development of critical thinking while learning to view things through a different lens.

• Personal development program – Playful activities and Workout in Grigore Moisil High school – February-June 2015

In order to contribute to the awareness of the youngsters of their emotions and those of others around them, Thomas and Vero developed an activity program of dynamic and playful activities, and Mirco a workout program. The activities stimulated the increase of self-trust, motivation

• Workout Workshops – Brașov, February-May 2015

Mirco continued his workout workshops during the whole year, contributing to the development of a healthy lifestyle, the self-confidence, self-awareness and ability of social interaction of youngsters from Brașov.

STAGE 3 (June- September 2015) – was focused on implementing together with the youngsters from the target groups personal projects of the volunteers, linked with the competences and abilities they developed until that stage

•  Afară în parc într-un Braşov de poveste- (Out in the park in a fairy tale Brasov) – Weekly outdoor activities between May and August 2015  – Slackline corner + Outdoor games

Mirco initiated the idea of promoting slackline as an active and healthy way of urban living. Vero intensively promoted the outdoor events and the upcoming adventure corner from the CEva de vară festival, by including in the events some outdoor games such as Lasers.

• Playing Sessions for children from a kindergarten from Brașov

In June volunteers promoted learning through playing, the project and the community event ”Afară în parc într-un Braşov de poveste” - (Out in the park in a fairy tale Brasov) to 40 children from a kindergarten in Brașov.

•  „Fest Camp”, - a youth camp for 26 youngsters from Întorsura Buzăului, Predeal, Brașov -14-18 July 2015, Acriş,  Braşov county;

In order to stimulate the exchange of ideas, dreams, competences and needs among youngsters from different regions and to strengthen the festival volunteers group, Vero initiated together with Egle from RUP-project a one week youth camp. After this experience Vero wanted to create a useful resource for other youngsters, who would like to organise a youth camp (Camp guide). She also decided to work together with our NGO stuff at a new project application (a youth exchange), which was applied at the Romanian National Agency in October 2015.

• „Ceva de Vară Festival”( Something of Summer), 2nd edition, 18-19 July 2015, Întorsura Buzăului, Covasna county

Besides promotional activities for the festival, Vero coordinated together with Marian Palu from the NGO GESt Predeal Adventure Area Games (such as Lasers) and Mirco coordinated the active corner of the festival  Workshop Area  (with exercises at the pull-up bar and slackline) and the face-painting sessions in the Relaxing Area.

Other achievements of the project:

• over 8000 hours of volunteering (local and international volunteers);
• stimulation of personal development of youngsters from Brașov and Covasna county through regular project activities such as workout exercises, playful activities, cooking sessions, linguistic exercises  and cultural events such as Cineforum;
• 3 personal projects:
  • Thomas: Cineforum Session and the mountainbike competition which was taking into responsibility by the NGO Carpathian MTB Trails and Pierre from RUP
  • Vero: the youth camp   „Fest Camp” , Spanish Lessons, several cooking workshops and writing a new project application for an international youth camp in 2016 ”Traditions Cross Borders”
  • Mirco: created a workout group of youngsters in Brașov and initiated regular Workout Workshops, motivating young people to have an active and healthy lifestyle
• personal development achievements:

”Looking backwards I realize that I did many things in the last twelve months, I’ve learned a lot about myself and also new skills, and I’ve met a lot of people from around the world (my “Brasovian” family, volunteers who were doing their EVS around Romania, people who were attending the CS meetings I was organizing, and the youngsters from Braşov, Întorsura Buzăului and Predeal who came to our events, the camps and the festival Ceva de Vara). Moreover, I had the chance to visit many places in Romania, to hike different hills and to enjoy the amazing landscapes that Romania offers. 
This is an experience that I’ll never forget and that I would repeat without hesitating. Because I fell in love of this country and its people, and I’m looking forward to come back again!” (Vero-Spain/Catalonia)

Beneficiaries:

• Direct beneficiaries of the project were the 4 European volunteers from  Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain
• approximately  20 youngsters from the Grigore Moisil High School in Brasov participating in the EQ program of personal development
• around 150 youngsters from Brasov that participated at the outdoor events ”Afară într-un Brașoiv de poveste” (May-October 2015);
• more then 1000 youngsters from different high schools from Brasov, who were informed about national and international volunteering opportunities as well  about activities offered by the Inside Journey project;
• 40 children and parents from a kindergarten in Brașov;
• 30 children from elementary school from the after-school of the NGO Asociatia pentru Educatie Practica si Creativa, Brasov;
• 50 youngsters from Brașov, who regularly took part at the project workshops;
• 25 youngsters from Întorsura Buzăului, Braşov and Predeal that participated in FestCamp;
• 115 festival volunteers: 38 volunteers from  Braşov, 27  volunteers from Întorsura Buzăului, 8 volunteers from Predeal, 10 from different Romanian places (Constanța, București, Zărnești, Ploiești, Tărlungeni, Săcele), 3 international volunteers and 29 people from partner organizations involved in preparing  the second edition of Ceva de Vară festival;
• over 750 visitors of all ages from Ceva de Vară festival.

INSIDE JOURNEY project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects only the views of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained herein.

2015_guide for organizing a youth camp or click below on the image

This useful activity resource was created by one of the international volunteers (Veronica Peral Galvez) involved in the Inside Journey project.
INSIDE JOURNEY project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects only the views of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained herein.

The second step was selecting the fitting ideas and search for a way to promote them; that field was fitting my graphic skills, so I had the chance to create poster, flyers, header events and of course set up the design of the brand new Mirakolix blog http://cdjmirakolix.blogspot.ro/.

We finally started our activities: I’ve been the master of two different work-out workshops per week (one high intensity interval training and another one based on strenght skills), and of course i helped with the other activities, that were:

-Cineforum (all year long)

-Spanish lessons

-Body percussions

-Board game nights (in team with the volunteers of the other Mirakolix’s projects)

-Slacklining workshops (just during summer)

-international cooking (with the Mirakolix’s group “Inside Reshape”)

Of course during that period we didn’t stop communication: at each event we took photos and posted them on FB, with a brief description of our adventures; another good experience was  when we went to several schools to have my workout workshops and promote EVS and our activities.

When spring arrived, we set up an outdoor event called Brasov De Poveste  in collaboration with the volunteers of the other Mirakolix projects; We had the chance to have slacklining, games and DOY workshops in parks, and these events granted us a big participation.

For the Main event of the Year (Ceva de Vara Festival) I did a huge communication work, passing by flyers, posters, email banners and of course facebook, with the Ceva De Vara page.

The 2 Ceva de Vara days (18-19 –July) were for sure the highest peak in my developing process; except helping with the organization of it, I had 2 workout workshops per day, integrating the help of  the teenagers of Brasov Street workout, and I also could have every days some face painting sessions: it was really nice to communicate with children while painting on there faces anymals and monsters!!!

For the dissemination part i couldn’t do a lot  -since I’m leaving before the EVS end-, but  i provided some descriptions of what I did for the website and I will of course write articles for my sending organization blog; i will also have chance to make some speech in Bologna for people interested in doing an EVS.

Overall it was a wonderful experience, and I feel that we fulfilled the main aims of the project.

Brasov,               12/08/2015

Although I was born in Barcelona, I feel a citizen of the world, perhaps because I have been living also in Belgium and China. I did an Erasmus programme in Antwerpen, Belgium for a semester, and an intensive 3-weeks English course in Dublin. I have also been living and working in China for almost 2 years, where I started to host a weekly CouchSurfing meeting with two friends, and where I met people from different countries and cultures.

I was monitor in a scout group for 4 years and a half, with children and teenagers from 5 to 16 years old, dynamising activities with educational background.

I consider myself a pro-active and responsible person, eager to learn and to help in everything I can, who enjoys working in an international and multicultural environment. My philosophy consist on trying to change the world and leave it better than how we found it.

I love travelling, hiking, reading, meeting people from different countries and discovering different cultures.

It’s only few days since I came back to Barcelona after my 12-months EVS project called “Inside Journey” which took place in Braşov. At the beginning we were 4 international volunteers from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Catalonia, although for different reasons we lost some members on the way.

To be honest, when I landed in Romania I didn’t know so much about the country, its traditions… (in 3 weeks I applied to the last call, did a Skype interview, got accepted to join the team, signed all the documents needed, packaged my luggage and flew to Dracula’s land). However, I guess it was better, as I didn’t have time to create expectations and I could enjoy better this amazing experience that the EVS is.

Besides “Inside Journey”, there were other 2 projects in Mirakolix: “Inside Ride”(IR) and “Reshape Urban Places”(RUP), with whom we collaborated in different activities and events. So suddenly you found 12 volunteers from 7 different nationalities, new in the city, with different expectations, backgrounds and habits, but willing to enjoy and take advantage of the 11 months of their EVS in Braşov. With the time passing, we became a family and we were spending more and more time together in the terrace, sharing nice dinners, hiking and travelling around Romania…

The beginning of our stage was a little unclear as we didn’t have a fixed target group, so we went to different high-schools to introduce Mirakolix and the activities we were planning to start. Maria mastered a body percussion workshop (with its Christmas flash mob) and Mirco trained us and other youngsters in his work’out. Also, played different board-games and traditional games from the different countries we are from and we learned new techniques of handicrafts within the “Sezatori Urbane” of RUP.

The new year came with lots of new activities: we watched movies and documentaries in the cineforum and discussed them with Thomas and Pierre; Mirco added a strength workout to the conditioning workin’out; we discovered the gastronomy and traditions of different countries in the International cooking workshop I was doing with RUP; I started to run Spanish lessons for beginners; Thomas and I did different team-building games and emotional intelligence activities with youngsters in Colegiul Grigore Moisil, and I collaborated with IR for the hiking day in Întorsura.

Also, when the warm of the spring arrived at Braşov, all three projets went to the park to do different activities and workshops, as well as to play some board-games and to walk on the slackline, as a previous step to the 2^nd edition of the festival Ceva de Vara.    

During 4 days, Eglé and I organized the Fest-camp in Acriş, in which local volunteers from Braşov, Întorsura Buzăului and Predeal took care of the decoration and the area of the festival while sharing a nice experience, building new friendships and enjoying the nights around a bonfire.

Just after the camp, it took place in Întorsura Buzăului the second edition of Ceva de Vara, a two-days alternative festival in which more than 750 guests had the chance to play board-games, do different handicrafts and active workshops, do an orienteering and bike contests, climb a tower of beer boxes and cross the area of the festival in a zip-line, relax in tires-seats or slack-line and enjoy different performances and concerts. It was a lot of preparation but the result was a success and many local volunteers were already asking for a next edition.

To sum up the three projects (IJ, IR and RUP) we adapted the idea of “Braşov de poveste” into “EVS de poveste: the story of international volunteers”, where we challenged our guests to experience different activities and workshops in the different lands that represented the different stages of our EVS and the projects. 

Finally, in September, when the other volunteers left Braşov, I wrote the youth exchange project “Traditions cross the borders” with the help of Alex. With that project I wanted to bring to Romania a space where young people from different European countries could experience outdoor activities to promote Cultural Identity, Multiculturality, Participation and Volunteering.

Looking backwards I realize that I did many things in the last twelve months, I’ve learned a lot about myself and also new skills, and I’ve met a lot of people from around the world (my “Brasovian” family, volunteers who were doing their EVS around Romania, people who were attending the CS meetings I was organizing, and the youngsters from Braşov, Întorsura Buzăului and Predeal who came to our events, the camps and the festival Ceva de Vara). Moreover, I had the chance to visit many places in Romania, to hike different hills and to enjoy the amazing landscapes that Romania offers.

This is an experience that I’ll never forget and that I would repeat without hesitating. Because I fell in love of this country and its people, and I’m looking forward to come back again!

My name is Thomas, I am 27 years old.

In the morning after brushing my teeth, checking my mail and playing some online chess, I refrain from having a breakfast because I seldom feel hungry in the morning.

In the shower I use a deep pore cleanser lotion and a honey almond body scrub. On the rare occasions I do shave my beard, I use a after shave lotion with little or no alcohol because alcohol dries the skin and makes you look older.

While I prepare the rest of my routine I listen to music, “Stabat Mater” by Pergolesi and parts of the “Mattheus Passion” by Bach are among my favorites.

Ideally after that I would cycle to work and enjoy the hot Romanian sun.

My passions are about:

-       Cycling

-       Music

-       Literature

-       History

-       Chess

Different non-formal education activities were offered by the volunteers of the project: from handicrafts to playful activities for children to workshops, hiking trips, and board games evenings for teenagers. The volunteers regularly visited different target groups for offering these activities: a Roma primary school, an orphanage/family house, and high schools.

Main project aims:

A. Increasing the access to diverse non-formal educational opportunities for children and youngsters from rural and urban communities;
B. Fighting stereotypes and exclusion based on socio-economic conditions, ethnicity, or geographical position;
C. Increasing active participation of youngsters from rural and urban areas;
D. Developing environmental friendly attitudes;
E. Developing a rural- urban partnership.

Main activities& results:
First period (October 2014 – March 2015) focused on exploring and discovering personal and common interests with the target groups, both in Intorsura Buzaului, and in Brasov. The methods that were used were adapted from adventure and experiential education, and were intended to help volunteers discover interests, ideas or community problems that they would like to be involved in.  Several activities had been carried out in this regard:

• presentation visits in Brasov highschools, and in schools, highschools and other institutions from Intorsura Buzaului;
• establishing regular activities in two highschools from Intorsura Buzaului, under the Inside Out concept;
• bi-monthly activities in Casa Familiala no.1 from Intorsura Buzaului;
• and in primary school from Floroaia Mica;
• boardgames evenings in Brasov, organized every second week by Maija.

The activities from this period focused also on the intercultural learning and exchange between the volunteers and different target groups. There were organized different events such as:

• Traditional Romanian gathering (Sezatoare traditionala) organized in Intorsura Buzaului together with local people of different ages, sharing traditional crafts, music, dances, food and different stories. The second Sezatoare was organized internally, among Mirakolix members, and it was focused on  sockets knitting technique.
• Non-formal education Day event, organized together with the volunteers from Inside Ride and Inside Journey project and focused on sharing childhood games and activities from volunteers’ countries and regions, as well as from Romania;
• Vrei sa fii europanar?, organized on the 1st of December in Brasov, and consisted in different funny and interesting activities related to our knowledge about different countries and cultures;

The activities intensified in the second part of the project (March – August 2015), together with the role and responsibilities of the volunteers. They integrated the environmental dimension more visible in their activities, as well as the interests and passions they discovered in common with the target groups. Besides the regular activities from the previous period, volunteers organized different events in this period:

• “Un weekend diferit” (A different weekend)- were events organized for and with the youngsters from Intorsura Buzaului. Each of this weekends started with a board games evening in a local bar, and continued next day with a hike on different routes from Intorsura Buzaului and surroundings.
• Theater workshops – initiated by Grytine, from the Netherlands and focused on increasing self confidence and self-esteem through theater for the teenagers in Intorsura Buzaului.
• Baltic party- organized by Maija (Latvia) and Egle (Lithuania, Reshape Urban Places project), as a two-sessions workshop about different traditional dances, food, interesting facts about the Baltic countries, and different ways of spending free time in these countries.
• Afară în parc într-un Braşov de poveste- (Out in the park in a fairy tale Brasov) – outdoor events organized in parks in Brasov between May – August 2015, aiming at promoting the activities of the project and building  a connection between activities from Intorsura Buzaului and activities from Brasov, and the different target groups.
• „Ceva de Vară Festival”, 2nd edition, 18-19 July 2015, Întorsura Buzăului, Covasna county.

Other achievements of the project:

• over 5500 hours of volunteering (local and international volunteers)
• 2 personal projects:

Maija:  boardgames activities in different forms and for different target groups during the volunteering stage (regular boardgames evenings in Intorsura Buzaului, bi-monthly boardgames evenings in Brasov, boardgames activities during outdoor events, including a games area in frame of Ceva de Vara festival 2015)
Grytine: theater workshops for teenagers in Intorsura Buzaului.

• personal development

„I became more aware of myself and others and I know better now what I like to do.  I also became more confident which gives me a lot of courage and energy for new ideas back in the Netherlands .” (Grytine, the Netherlands)
” Working here with teenagers and children of different age groups taught me a lot of flexibility and an open attitude. It was great for me to discover differences and similarities between the people and conditions in a big city like Brasov compared to a remote town..”  (Daniel, Germany) .

• professional development:

“EVS gave me an opportunity to work with youngsters and I discovered that I like it. I had work in the office and I had work with people, and I discovered that I like it.” (Maija, Latvia)

Beneficiaries:

• Direct beneficiaries of the project were the 4 European volunteers from Latvia, Germany and the Netherlands.
• Beneficiaries of the activities:

-  60 Rroma children for Floroaia Mica primary school, Intorsura Buzaului;
-  15 children and teenagers from the Orphange No.1 from Intorsura Buzaului;
-  70 teenagers from Mircea Eliade and Nicolae Balcescu highschools from Intorsura Buzaului;
-  approximately 100 youngsters from different highschools from Brasov that could find out about different volunteering opportunities and about activities offered by Mirakolix ;
- around 20 teenagers from Brasov participating at different board games events;
-  around 100 visitors and participants in the outdoor events organized in Brasov;
-  30 youngsters from Întorsura Buzăului, Braşov and Predeal that participated in FestCamp;
-  35 volunteers from  Braşov, 27  volunteers from Întorsura Buzăului, 9 volunteers from Predeal and 27 people from partner organizations involved in preparing   the second edition of Ceva de Vară festival;
-  over 750 visitors of all ages from Ceva de Vară festival.

INSIDE RIDE project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects only the views of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained herein

Main project aims:

1. to raise awareness regarding traditional values and products from communities around Brasov;
2. to increase tolerance between different communities and different social groups;
3. to encourage active participation of youngsters;
4. to develop entrepreneurial competences among local artists and artisans;
5. to promote the idea of sustainable development and environmental- friendly behavior.

Main activities& results

First part (October 2014 – January 2015) focused on offering different opportunities for the volunteers to get in contact and understand local culture and different traditional crafts. The activities implemented in this period offered an intense intercultural exchange between volunteers and different local communities:

• Non-formal education Day event, organized together with the volunteers from Inside Ride and Inside Journey project and focused on sharing childhood games and activities from volunteers’ countries and regions, as well as from Romania;
• A traditional Romanian gathering, Şezătoare tradiţională, organized in Întorsura Buzăului, not far from Brasov. The event gathered people of different ages eager to share parts of Romanian traditional culture through some traditional crafts, dances, music, food and different stories.
• Weekly gatherings, called Sezatori Urbane, based on the style of Romanian traditional gatherings, where youngsters from Brasov were invited to participate at different creative activities: printing on t-shirts, making bracelets, recycling pallets into furniture, decorating the walls by common paintings etc.
• presentations in different highschools from Brasov in order to promote different volunteering opportunities, as well as weekly activities offered by Mirakolix
• Cineforum – weekly movie evenings initiated by Pierre, from France, together with Thomas, from the Netherlands  (volunteer in frame of Inside Journey project);
• Regular activities in a German afterschool in Brasov.

The second part of the project (February – May 2015) focused on community-oriented events and activities, aiming to bring traditions in the urban space and to promote these traditions among youngsters from Brasov and around. Besides the regular activities from the previous period, volunteers organized different events in this period:

• Contemporary dance and theater performance “Viscol”, initiated by Egle, from Lithuania and based on an adaptation of old Romanian poem “Iarna pe ulita” to contemporary movement and theater interpretation. The performance combined different cultural elements and the talent of both international volunteers, and local teenagers.
• Non-formal activities developed for “Scoala Altfel” week in Sacele: creative recycling, international cooking and traditional dances.
• Collaboration with incubator107 Brasov to organize several workshops which were generated by community members and presented in a big event: “Nocturna cu palarie”. This offered a dynamic space for sharing creativity, knowledge and skills. A wide range of workshops has been offered by different members of the community: spanish cooking, jam session, body percussion, redecorating old clothes etc.
• Weekly non-formal activities in Grigore Moisil highschool from Brasov (creative recycling activities and discussions about volunteers’ countries and cultures)

The third period of the project (June – August) focused on integrating bjects and products realized  during different workshops into outdoor events organized in Brasov and around Brasov. These events aimed to promote playing and games as an effective and funny method of learning, as an alternative for free time and leisure activities, but also as an healthy and responsible behavior towards the environment. Some of the realized events were:

• Afară în parc într-un Braşov de poveste- (Out in the park in a fairy tale Brasov) – outdoor events organized in parks in Brasov between May – August 2015;
•  „Fest Camp”, 14-18 July 2015, Acriş,  Braşov county;
• „Ceva de Vară Festival”, 2nd edition, 18-19 July 2015, Întorsura Buzăului, Covasna county.

Other achievements of the project:

• over 6000 hours of volunteering (local and international volunteers);
• promotion of more than 10 local artists and artisans in Brasov community;
• 3 personal projects:

Egle: Contemporary dance performance „Viscol”
Ina: Mira’kologic campaign and a series of recycling workshops;
Egle, together with Vero („Inside Journey”) – „Fest Camp”.

• personal development

„I learned to embrace differences in culture, beliefs and opinions as they broaden my horizon and teach me tolerance.” (Ina, Germania)
” … the EVS opportunity itself let me understand that there is a possibility to realize ideas that I have in mind and those ideas are worth to realize.”  (Egle, Lituania)

• professional development:

“I did youth work before but EVS helped me, to gain new creativity and approches in the field of non-formal education and I am sure that the experience made here will be useful for my future working process.”  (Remi, Germany).
“I would say I did activities this year, a cinema forum for example, which for me were a way to develop and share some reflections or thoughts about the world and the society.” (Pierre, France).

Beneficiaries:

• Direct beneficiaries of the project were the 4 European volunteers from Lithuania, Germany and France.

• Beneficiaries of the activities:

-  approximately  20 youngsters from Brasov participating in the weekly activities  „Sezătoare Urbană”;
-  around 150 youngsters from Brasov that participated at “Nocturna cu palarie” event and the workshops that followed in May;
-  approximately 10 artists, young artisans and passionate youngsters from Brasov which could offer different workshops in frame of the activities organized by the volunteers;
-  25 highshool teenagers from Grigore Moisil highschool;
- aproximately 170 youngsters from different highschools from Brasov that could find out about different volunteering opportunities and about activities offered by Mirakolix ;
-  30 children from 1st grade from a German afterschool from Brasov;
-  25 youngsters from Gymnasium School No. 5, Sacele;
-  around 100 visitors and participants in the outdoor events organized in Brasov;
-  26 youngsters from Întorsura Buzăului, Braşov and Predeal that participated in FestCamp;
-  35 volunteers from  Braşov, 27  volunteers from Întorsura Buzăului, 9 volunteers from Predeal and 27 people from partner organizations involved in preparing   the second edition of Ceva de Vară festival;
-  over 750 visitors of all ages from Ceva de Vară festival.

RESHAPE URBAN PLACES project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects only the views of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained herein.