Volunteering for Global Ecovillage Network Europe European Solidarity Corps (ESC)

Funded volunteering: Use your enthusiasm for ecovillages and skills and live in Arterra Bizimodu ecovillage, Spain, at the heart of the European Ecovillage Network!

Start date: between 1st March 2022 and 1st of April 2022

Duration: 9/10 months

Places: 4

ESC CEND: This long-term ESC project was designed for 4 enthusiastic young people age 17-30 who are interested in ecovillages and sustainable living, and who want to gain experience and participate in network activities such as communications, organising the European Ecovillage Gathering, and IT tasks as well as in community-building, self-development and work in intercultural teams. During your months of stay you will get to know the life of a Spanish ecovillage and the European network of ecovillages.

What is ESC? The European Solidarity Corps is the new European Union initiative which creates opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe. It provides an opportunity to join meaningful work and experiential learning while your food, accommodation, traveling, pocket money, insurance and mentorship are fully covered. A person can only do one short term (less than 59 days) and one long-term ESC. You can register for the European Solidarity Corps when you are 17 years old, but you cannot start a project until you are over 18. European Solidarity Corps projects will be available to people up to the age of 30 years old.

When? The starting date for this ESC is between the 1st of March and the 1st of April 2022.

Where? The Ecovillage that will host the volunteers is Arterra Bizimodu: www.arterrabizimodu.org The living conditions will be simple with the focus on low ecological footprint. You may expect shared housing and common facilities, natural rural environment and diverse social activities together with the group.

Who? Young people in the age range of 17-30, who have not participated in an EVS or ESC project before. We are looking for motivated candidates with a pro-active, creative and problem- solving attitude, with a wish to learn about GEN Europe and ecovillage living.

What? Like the staff members of our small team, volunteers are expected to pitch in with a variety of tasks as they arise, whether it’s logistics for an event, or administration and other tasks. The participants will work as part of the international team formed of GEN Europe volunteers and staff. Supervisors will help the volunteers define and work towards their personal development objectives. You can apply for different positions, or make a proposal on another topic you would like to suggest as a position:

Communications

Help to improve and develop information flows through updating website and social media channels, writing blogs, articles and newsletters, creating and archiving photo, video and other media content, graphic design, website development.

•     External communications assistance (content for flyers, brochures, videos)
•     Creation of communications material (social media, photos, articles, press releases, presentations, newsletters);
•     Website management (website content creation, editing and proofreading, performing updates);
•     writing blog posts and news
•     managing, maintaining and moderating our social media channels...and much more.

Event Management

Assist in the event management of the organisation, specifically focused on the yearly preparation and realisation of a European-wide ecovillage gathering.

    Assisting gathering organisation, including logistics, accommodation and transport of keynote speakers;

    Facilitating information between council and staff and the on-ground gathering team;

    Supporting the materialisation of the gathering programme.

IT Assistance

Provide ICT assistance through developing effective and well working ICT systems and administrative processes. Although it is not expected that the applicant would have extensive experience in ICT, a general interest in open source development environments and website development tools such as php, wordpress and wordpress plugins would help.

•     Develop wordpress plugins to enhance the functionality of GEN EU's website
•     Support with GEN Europe server and system administration
•     Setup and maintenance of existing open source cloud based services
•     Analysis and development of new open source cloud based services
•     GEN Europe's IT office support

Graphic Design

We especially value applicants with good written English and Canva or other graphic design tool skills.  If you enjoy graphic design, research and storytelling through visual means, this is the volunteer role for you!

•     Designing graphics, publications and social media posts;
•     Keeping our website fresh and attractive;
•     Creating systems to archive photos and documents;
•     Support in the joint development of GEN and GEN Europe websites

Projects

We are looking for candidates with project management profiles that look forward to working with project specific teams or in the development of new GEN Europe projects.

•     Assisting in writing project applications;
•     Participating in project specific meetings and deliverables;
•     Assisting in project reporting;
•     Assisting with project budget management;
•     Organising Project related events (trainings, meetings)

How? If you are interested in this ESC project, please Apply through our ESC application form. If you have any questions, you can write to applications@gen-europe.org

The selection will be done after interviews with the candidates.

Relevant websites  
Global Ecovillage Network of Europe: www.gen-europe.org  
Global Ecovillage Network: www.ecovillage.org  
Arterra Bizimodu: www.arterrabizimodu.org