Project ACT together - report from Romania part.1

ACT Together project is already underway.

The project started in the beginning of March with only 4 volunteers and we complete the team the first week of April. In that moment we count on 10 internationals volunteers.

For all of them, the part of community discovery is done. The volunteers met the management team and with the mentor help, they got to know the city better. Also, at the institutional level they were involved in the meetings to arrange the activities. In this moment they establish directly with the teachers and with the students in charge of the activities the weekly schedule. That has provided them an added responsibility and a higher involvement in the project.

The first part of the team was in charge to create all the materials that we need to make the promotions and the presentations in the schools:
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/acttogethercraiova/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acttogethercraiova/?hl=en

They also designed their poster, logo, flyers and a presentation model based on non- formal education. During one week they worked alongside our other project Action Changes Things, that started in January. In this week they took part in the activities of this project getting a better understanding of how non formal education works and what can provide to the students and then adapted this knowledge to their own activities and objectives.

Once they had their promotional material ready, it was time to start with the presentation of the project, in four high schools in Craiova and another one in the surroundings of the city. The results of this first interaction were even better than expected and the volunteers not only presented their project in the centres but also met with the most involved students in our office since they manifested a true interest in taking part in volunteering projects and Youth Exchanges during this summer. This has increased the energy of the volunteers that now see possible to involve even more youngsters than predicted at the beginning of the project.

The first group volunteers also took part the On Arrival Training in Bucharest during this month. In this training they participated in sessions that gave them a more clear picture of what volunteering means, of how to approach their beneficiaries and their communities and provided them really useful tools to accomplish their goals during this six months such new kinds of activities, improving their social skills and become more self-confident. The training has been also a great opportunity for them to learn new kinds of activities and meet with other volunteers which allowed them to share their experience and learn from others.

In this month has also taken place the volunteering festival in Craiova. This huge event involved several associations based in Craiova that work with international volunteers from the European Solidarity Corps. During the whole day they promoted their projects providing the public with information about their projects, samples of their activities and different shows such us concerts or flash mobs. In this day managed to reach to a lot of people that didn't had a clue about volunteering and Erasmus+ and opened the door for further collaboration between the associations of the city.

During the last week before holidays the volunteers participated in several events in different sorts of centers, sometimes doing their regular activities and other times helping the centers and the teachers to do their own. Finally, the whole team participated in the Capacity Building Program. In this program the volunteers participated in sessions given by the managing team of the organization. In these sessions they received new information and guidance about the meaning and the goals of the project, the volunteering itself, the way the project can be an excellent opportunity to develop their skills and learn new things and how to deal with the difficulties that will find in their way during this six months. They also learnt how to use the flexibility of the project for their advantage having the chance to think about new kinds of activities and events that can help them accomplish their goals while providing them with new experiences.