In our project, “Ballads from the West”, we have set objectives for the Turkish young people to become volunteers who are equipped and beneficial for themselves and for their working environment. These are:
– Providing voluntary support: Voluntary support, which was not in the previous programs but it existed with our own efforts, is to carry out activities in a systematic program. Main topics in voluntary support: Personal development, intercultural sensitivity, work-related education, language support, active citizenship and EU values – Working on social problems: By meeting the voluntary needs of our partners working on their social problems, we will reduce the problems by supporting their activist efforts.
– Inclusion of disadvantaged young people: All of our volunteers in our project have fewer opportunities. They will be our volunteers who come from poor families, who are looking for jobs but cannot find, who live in urban and non-modern areas, have educational difficulties, have disabilities and have long-term health problems. By including these young people in our project, we will enable them to gain a volunteering experience in Europe, by providing them personal, social and professional competences.
– Working in solidarity with all actors in the project: As a support organization, we have identified the tasks and responsibilities to be undertaken by each actor in the project. We will work in solidarity as a whole by adhering to all our tasks and responsibilities in a connected and related manner.
– Provide more qualified employees to the business world: When our activities are completed, we will have provided our volunteers the qualifications that business world cannot refuse. There will be dazzling features in their CVs and they will have wonderful job opportunities with the experiences they will have in the hosting organisations and the voluntary support we will give.
– Promoting the European Solidarity Corps: We will promote ESC in all of our publications and disseminate it in our country and our partners’ environment. We will also mention that it is a light of hope for disadvantaged young people and it is the remedy for the social problems.
There are 3 activities in our project:
- Activity: 2 volunteers for 59 days in Zagreb, Croatia
- Activity: 2 volunteers for 59 days in Kocani, Macedonia
- Activity: 2 volunteers for 304 days in Oerias, Portugal
We think that our project will have positive effects on both the volunteers, partners and their target groups. With our project, our volunteers will have a lot of competences in personal, social and professional fields and new experiences that they have not even dreamed of. They will create such a profile that they can speak at least one foreign langauge fluently, will have a work experience, will know European standarts, are open to innovations, can use technological and digital devices which are necessary for the business world, can establish local and foreign partnerships and especially they will be so attractive for the employers. As for our partners, they will have a qualified volunteer working for their target people, their work will have a great impact and they will receive positive feedback from their target groups. The target groups that our partners work on will directly benefit from our project and will see that Turkish volunteers are helping them. They will also learn that Turkey is a part of this program. They will know that the EU is caring for them and the project is approved for their development and their needs. They will realize that their developments are due to this project.
1st Activity:
Volunteers in Centar za osobni i profesionalni razvoj Syncro – Synergy Croatia in Zagreb, Croatia:
Selin Süzen and Deniz Turan: 06 February – 5 April 2021
Selin Süzen and Deniz Turan, who went to Zagreb, Croatia with our European Solidarity Corps project “Ballads from the West”, have come back home. In the 2-month long activity, the young people participated in the activities and workshops for youth, boradcasted podcasts and produced content for social media of our Croat partner, Centar za osobni i profesionalni razvoj Syncro – Synergy Croatia. They made friends with the other volunteers who come from other countries. They developed English skills. The activity helped them improve their personal, social and occupational development.
2nd Activity: Volunteers in Zdruzenie na studenti po pravo i mladi pravnici Pavel Satev Kocani in Kocani, Macedonia:
Arzu Kaya and Sercan Esen: 10 January 2020 – 8 March 2020
Our volunteers, Arzu Kaya and Sercan Esen, took part in the youth activities of our Macedonian partner, Zdruzenie na studenti po pravo i mladi pravnici Pavel Satev Kocani, and made raising awareness activities for disabled people. They interviewed people on the streets in this direction.
3rd Activity: Volunteers in ProAtlântico – Associação Juvenil in Porto Salvo, Portugal:
Merve Buse Bal: 25 January 2020 – 23 November 2020
Merve Buse Bal, who went to Porto Salvo, Portugal with our European Solidarity Corps project “Ballads from the West”, completed her 10-month volunteering service. Merve, who volunteered at our Portuguese partner ProAtlântico – Associação Juvenil, took part in summer camps with disadvantaged children and helped their development with fun activities. After the summer was over, she participated in activities for the disabled and helped them develop cognitively and live autonomously. Then she took part in activities for the development of preschool children. She learned Portuguese. She made friends with volunteers from other countries in ProAtlântico. She learned both their language and their culture. She introduced Turkish culture to them.
Edip Küçük: 16 September 2020 – 14 July 2021
