EVS Realm: Masters of the Learning Path is a transnational project bringing together 4 organizations in Europe, experienced in implementing the EVS program as well as local and european European volunteering schemes, having had contact with the EVS program from all the different angles and perspectives, who also come from very different corners of Europe: Cyprus, Poland, Belgium and Romania. The
project aims to increase the quality of EVS experience and the EVS learning process of EVS volunteers and hosting organizations and it has 3 general objectives set out:
1.Build the capacity of beginner EVS hosting organizations to design meaningful projects that respond to community needs while providing valuable learning experiences for the volunteers
2.Increase the quality of the learning experience of the EVS volunteers by developing training and resources for the mentors engaged in EVS
3.Increase the awareness of relevant stakeholders about the challenges faced by organizations in ensuring the quality of the EVS experiences and the key role of mentors in enhancing the quality of the EVS experience for the volunteer,the organizations and the community. In the context of the EVS 20-year anniversary in 2016 and even before that time, the partner organizations analyzed the need for an increased quality in the management of the EVS learning process, placing in the middle of this process the key actors who can influence and impact the way the learning journey goes. Besides the project coordinator and the volunteer him/herself, the most important role lies in the hands of the mentor. Thus,a vast part of the present project focuses on improving and creating mentoring tools and a framework for development for mentors and project coordinators in different organizations across Europe. Throughout the project duration we plan to create 4 main intellectual outputs:
- Output 1 - EVS Strong Houses Mastery Class – a Training Design for EVS hosting organizations on organizational management in relation with quality EVS project design
- Output 2 – Mentors Initiation Journey Itinerary – a Training Kit for EVS mentors– to support their understanding of the mentoring process in a variety of EVS project types
- Output 3 – Mentors TreasureBox in EVS – a ToolBox for different phases in the mentoring relationship
- Output 4 – a Policy Paper on EVS Quality – with EVS fact sheets, a description of the EVS, especially in link with the new ESC - European Solidarity Corps program, as well as policy proposals regarding European volunteering. The project is implemented by Pro Vobis - National Resource Center for Volunteering - Romania (www.provobis.ro) in partnership with Politistiko Ergastiri Ayion Omoloyiton – Cyprus (www.politistiko-ergastiri.org), Stowarzyszenie ANAWOJ - Poland (www.anawoj.org) and the European Volunteer Centre – Belgium (www.cev.be), from March 1st 2017 until August 31th 2019, and it is funded by the European Union within the Erasmus+ Program, Youth Strategic Partnerships, under the contract number: 2016-3-RO01-KA205-035560.
