EVS in Hungary

– Project title: Slow, green design and environmental education
– Eight months EVS project in Hungary between
– 1 March – 31 October 2019 for 3 volunteers from Italy, Turkey and Romania
– Project Starting Date: 01.03.2019
– Deadline for application: 12.02.2019
– For to apply, send your CV and Motivation Letter in English to koza.agh@gmail.com . Please write “EVS in Hungary” as a subject.

Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south- west of the country, close to its border with Croatia. It is the administrative and economic centre of Baranya County. In 2010, Pécs was selected to be the European Capital of Culture sharing the title together with Essen and Istanbul. The city’s motto is: “The Borderless City”. After receiving the title major renewal started in the city. Renewed public places, streets, squares and neighbourhoods, new cultural centres, a concert hall, a new library and centre and a cultural quarter were designed. Pécs is a very active city, partially because of its educational base. The University of Pécs offers wide range of programs including Arts, Economics and Business Administration, Health Sciences, Law, Medicine, Music, Pharmacy, Life Sciences and Education. Throughout the year students from all around Hungary and around the world come here to study.

The city also has a wide range of high school programs, most of which are highly specialized in areas such as humanities, sciences and engineering and more.

Ökográf Egyesület has a community place next to the city centre called LÉTRA. We organise here contemporary art exhibitions, discussions, presentations, concerts, webradio, workshops, graphic and photo studio, trainings, showroom.

Ökográf Association team
The project coordinator is Erika Pataki. She is a Leader of Association, Cultural project manager, recycling designer and artist. The project coordinators and professional supporters are lead and organise the everyday activities of the volunteers and provide learning development during the working hours. The mentor is not taking part of the everyday work; the volunteers meet with her/him 2 times a month, do reflection group and aware the learning process.

Idea of our EVS project
We would like to receive 3 volunteers in the project, in Pécs in the LÉTRA community and creative space. Volunteers spend 8 months in Hungary between 1 March 2018 and 31 October 2019.
The long-term goal of the project is to raise awareness of the responsibility for natural capital in the younger generation and present these methods, techniques and technologies in their daily life.
Our direct goal is to provide our volunteers with alternative informal, practice-oriented methods of environmental education and revive creativity and creative force, and to ensure that these methods are disseminated on their way home – thus enabling the project to be valorized and multiplied. Another important topic is to educate and promote the environmentally conscious life required for the project at families, households and daily life. It is necessary to show positive examples of environmental protection in everyday life, examples of exemplary actions, so in the creative space of LÉTRA we give them the opportunity to present and educate them. In the project, therefore, our third most important goal is to teach traditional and / or tame technologies, to introduce innovations and start up businesses from all participating partner countries. We believe that these good patterns will have an incentive for our volunteers to start a business in one of these themes. It is important to us that our volunteers can use and disseminate knowledge. In addition to environmental education / lectures, lectures, presentations – which serve the credible transfer of knowledge – we give attention to actions and exhibitions in order to raise awareness and use media tools to achieve our goals.
Main topics are: environmental protection and education, cultural diversity, intercultural learning, green and contemporary design, eco-intelligent thinking, creative recycling, social enterprise,

Activities:
1. Slow, green design – 01.02.2018. -30.09.2018. 2019.03.01-2019.10.31
Methods non formal learning, practice orientated learning in a small group;
Techniques: sewing, knitting, weaving, textile painting techniques, traditional and gentle (eco- friendly) technologies, textile screen-printing techniques;
To create clothes and fashion accessories, jewelry – design planning and creating recycling techniques;

Knowledge- and experiences transfer – from product design to execution, from social enterprise to brand building, management and sales – knowledge transfer from professionals and local entrepreneurs;
Once a month we will visit designers and civil NGOs and social enterprises in Pécs;

2. Environmental Education
Methods non formal learning, practice orientated learning in a small group;
01.03-2019-31.03.2019 Finding alternatives to gentle energies, presenting domestic sample projects
01.03.2019-31.05.2019 Bicycle Mounting, Maintenance and Traffic Rules Course
01.06.2018-30.06.2018. Create a digital brochure for bicycle mounting and maintenance to encourage people that the use bicycles;
01.03.2019-31.08.2019 Eco- friendly household management workshop
01.09.2019-30.09 2019 Eco-friendly household management brochure in digital form 01.09.2019-30.09.2019 Creative recycling workshops and make good practice brochure in digital form
01.03.2019-30.06.2019 Leading creative recycling workshops for children and adult 01.03.2019-31.10.2019 Eco-friendly cosmetic workshop
01.06.2019-31.08.2019 Bookbinding workshops
01.09.2019-31.10.209 Leading bookbinding worshop for local people

Actions, events:
01.03.2019-31.10.2019 “Hanging clothes” – clothes change action for free and used things market for local people bimonthly
01.03.2019-31.10.2019 “Using renewable energies” – to visit local enterprises 01.03.2019-31.10.2019 Hungarian language course

What you can learn?
The volunteers learn through non formal learning methods. You learn through your activities, experiences, discovers. We lead your activities to gain new skills, knowledge by non formal learning. At the end of the project you will receive the Youthpass, which is a certificate about your learnt skills experiences according to the 8 keycompetences. Read more: youthpass.eu
What you will learn: discover a new country with its culture, working in groups, tolerance, cooperational skills, living together with people from different countries, creativity, entrepreneurship, marketing, project management, project communication, Hungarian language, sensibility to nature and environment, practical knowledge, self management, self sufficiency etc…
After the project the volunteers can use the knowledge in their communities. Volunteers can use all the practical knowledge they learn during the project.

Who we are looking for?
Do you speak a bit English? Are you open for new culture?
Can you live in a house with people who have different habits? Are you motivated and interested for the topic of this project? Do you like to learn new skills, methods, behaviours?
Are you enthusiastic to learn and use the Hungarian language which one of the most difficult languages in Europe?
If yes, this can be a perfect project for you!

Working hours
The volunteers take part minimum 30, maximum 35 hours a week in the activities offered by the receiving organization. They work 5 days a week, mostly weekdays but if the organization has program on the weekend, they work during the weekend.

Free time
The volunteers get 2 days free in a week, moreover 2 extra free days in a month. Therefore you have during 8 month 16 free days plus the weekends. Volunteers discuss with project coordinator before they use the free days.
Moreover there are also official holiday (national days, celebrations), long weekends in Hungary. They are automatically free:
15. 03.2019.
09.04.2019
22.04.2019
01.05.2019
10.06.2019
19-20.08.2019
23.10.31.2019
The volunteers can spend their food money during the free time only in Hungary (because of the invoices). The volunteer covers the cost of the free time activity (travel cost, accommodation, entrance fees etc) from their pocket money. The volunteers can spend their free time in the accommodation provided for the project in Pécs.

PRACTICAL ISSUES
TRAVEL
Receiving organisation will cover the travel costs up to the maximum amount available for each volunteer including coming to Hungary at the beginning of the project and leaving Hungary at the end of the project.
Receiving organisation reimburse the cost of the ticket only if the volunteer give the original tickets, boarding passes AND invoices about the travel cost addressed to the Ökográf Egyesület 7843 Pécs, Vince utca 5.
Travel by car is possible, copy of the driving licence and original papers of the car are needed for reimbursement. The fuel cost is reimbursable, but only according to fuel price provided by the Hungarian TAX office.
Country Maximum travel support per volunteer TURKEY 275 euro
ITALY 275 euro
SPAIN 275 euro
The volunteers can book the flight ticket after the receiving organisation confirmed it. The flight ticket can be bought after 1st February in 2018. We reimburse 1 big luggage.

By plane
Hungarian airport is Liszt Ferenc airport in Budapest. From Budapest Airport you can come with Airport Shuttle to Pécs. It cost approx. 35 euro to Pécs. After when you send to us your airport ticket we will reserve your shuttle. You can also come by train from Budapest to Pécs. The last train leaves from Budapest each day at 19.45 pm. It can be also an option that the member of the receiving organisation will pick you up from the airport. The travel details will be discussed before the arrival.

Accommodation
3 volunteers will live in the urban area in a flat close to the city centre in Pécs. The volunteers have separated rooms. There is internet connection in the house and all equipment in kitchen, washing machine, oven, fridge, hair dryer, beds, bed sheets, bed clothes and towels. Each volunteer get one set of key to the house.
The volunteers are responsible for the flat; they have to sign the house rules. The renting fee is paid by the receiving organisation. Public utility fee (electricity, gas, water) is paid by the receiving organisation, too much using of electricity; gas and water are not acceptable. Responsible, environmental friendly and value-driven using of the houses are required for all volunteer.

Food
The volunteers food related costs is covered until 120 euro in each month. The volunteers have to ask invoices about the food in the shops, supermarkets for the Ökográf Egyesület address. We pay the volunteers according to the invoices on the last working day of each month. The money can be spent only food or non alcoholic drink. Receiving organisation can provide cooked food also for the volunteers. The volunteers can cook or buy cooked food. In Pécs you can find menus in the centre for approximately 3-4 euro. Supermarkets are close to the city centre, can be reached by local bus or by car with the project coordinator.

Insurance
The sending organisation will arrange the volunteers CIGNA health insurance. The volunteers must have to have a blue EU card. This health card is free for EU citizens and acceptable everywhere in the EU. If the volunteer is ill and need a doctor, the mentor or the project coordinator goes with the volunteer to the doctor. The doctors in Hungary mostly accept the EU blue card and do the examination for free. In other case the volunteer can pay for the examination and the Cigna Health Insurance reimburse the money to the bank account of the volunteer.

Visa
We cover the cost of the visa cost for the volunteers from Turkey.

Pocket money
Each volunteer gets 90 euro pocket in each month. You can spend as you wish this money, receiving organization is not asking for invoice about this amount. „The volunteer must respect the rules and the organizational structure of the Receiving Organization. The volunteer must also abide by the laws in force in the host country. The volunteer must keep the Receiving Organization informed about her/his whereabouts during the period of service.”(European Commission: What to expect from EVS?)