Co Erika robi w naszym kraju? Erika jest Włoszką, która przyjechała do nas pracować jako stażystka w organizacji pozarządowej. Program Leonardo da Vinci umożliwił jej pobyt w Polsce oraz stworzył warunki do zdobywania nowych umiejętności, nowych doświadczeń. Erika jest dobrą obserwatorką. Pomiędzy własną drogą do rozwoju a czasem na refleksję pisze o współpracy pomiędzy nami – Polakami z organizacji pozarządowych.
When they’ve told me I was going to be involved in a 14 weeks training programme in Poland I was excited and surprised because I didn’t know what to expect, with a lot of curiosity and a bit of fear on the 28th of April my experience in Poland had started!
My name is Erika, I’m from Italy and I’ve decided to write about me to let you know something more about Italian associations, Leonardo Project and my experience in Poland.
I’m here from almost two months and the time is really flying.
It was the middle of December when I decided to apply to take part to a trainee abroad trough Leonardo Project. After my Master Degree in Political Science (European and International Studies) I’ve decided to make some formatives and working experience in Italy and abroad, I didn’t expected to be chosen for the programme so I’ve decided to leave for London anyway in January to improve my English, get a Certificate in “Management of Events” and to find a temporary job. It was really a surprise to be called in February for the selections.
The selection steps
The programme was activated by Kara Bobowski a social cooperative based in Modigliana (Forli) a little city at the North of Italy.
The application form was including a CV and a motivational letter in Italian and English, the second stage of the selection was an aptitude oral interview and as well an English interview. It was a great opportunity so I came back daily to Italy and fortunately it worth it, on the first days of March I’ve received the e-mail telling me that I was selected to work in Poland.
As every Leonardo project there are two days of preparation where the sending organisation provides to the selected candidate all the information they need. Especially about insurance, trainee in general, contracts, travel, etc. It’s a nice experience as well to know the other people that are leaving for the same project but for other countries, that in this case where England, Spain, Malta, France, Germany, Belgium and Sweden.
On the first day of the meeting for the training in Forli we also had the possibility of meeting Cooperatives and Associations of the area as the Leonardo project activated in this case was aimed on working abroad in what in Italy we call “third field”, that corresponds to the voluntary sector and community sector (So the sphere of social activity undertaken by organisation that are non-profit and non-governmental. That’s why we call it third sector, as we can consider as first and second sector the public and the private ones).
The second day we discovered on which association or institute we were going to carry out our trainee, all the work placements were strictly chosen based on the characteristics of the candidates, our skills and previous experience.
Kara Bobowski has many partners around Europe and one of them is Semper Avanti, in Wroclaw. Everything was really well planned, the Polish associations was the intermediate one with the tasks of looking for the job for me and Anna, the other Italian trainee that is taking part at the project here in Poland with me and working right in Semper Avanti.
This Association, also provides a flat for us and give us support before and during the period in Poland, through cultural and language preparation as well as general support for everything.
The trainee office they’ve found for me, based on what I wrote on the motivational letter of what were my desire during my work experience in Wroclaw, is RCWIP.
My experience at RCWIP
RCWIP - Regionalnego Centrum Wspierania Inicjatyw Pozarządowych (RCWIP), is the Regional Centrum that gives support to the non-governmental initiatives of the area.
Their mission is to support social sector in the field of public benefits for developing the civil society in the region of Lower Silesia. They do it in many ways, by promoting the projects, helping for fundraising, giving consulting on how to set up an NGO, how to develop local partnership and what are the financial sources for the functioning of it.
The way they achieve this difficult objects by organising training courses, conduct seminars and conferences as well as provide advices and consultations straight in the central office, with all the services are free of charge.
I started my trainee in RCWIP the second week on May, is a great opportunity to work with this big team and to feel every day the love for this special aims on the society.
My tasks have been mostly researches about Social Economy, Ethical Finance, Italian system of public/private sources giving financial support to No Profit Organisation and Loan funds for Social enterprises. It has been especially interesting studying the English model as it is developing so much.
I also had the possibility to see how they create partnership end continuous meetings with other associations through conferences out of the city and in other places such as University.
Really interesting were the two days of FIO Conference in Polanica Sdrój where many Associations where participating and creating groups to develop the job of Social Animator.
Thanks to the connection they have with other association I’ve been participating as a Volunteer in Survival Art festival and Żółty Parasol European Picnic (III Rodzinny Festyn Osiedlowy) by helping especially in the work-shops for kids.
I would love in the future to work for a social or cultural cooperative and the office work as well as the voluntary work for this event was fundamental to have a wider idea of what I would like to do and as well what it could be feasible in Italy as well.
I found very important the fact that they organise a weekly meeting to talk about their work, and this is the cooperation that you don’t normally see in the classic offices but that should be important for everyone to work in a relaxed atmosphere.
With Semper Avanti too I’ve had the possibility of participating to festival for children and to do a work shop for a school about European Citizenship. Thanks to them I’ve also been participating to a CEI Conference (Centre of European Integration) giving me another great example on how many Associations could cooperate beyond the boundaries and give great opportunities to young people trough Eur5opean Programmes.
About Kara Bobowski
Kara Bobowski is a Social Co-operative founded in 1992. It’s a non-profit organisation mainly involved in daily home assistance to minors and youngster with and without disability, educational activities with children and school assistance. They have a Mountain Community “Acquacheta” where they manages services and interventions aimed at children and young adults in collaboration with public power.
At a local level they offer consultancy and technical support to the public powers and the organisations of the Third Sector aid for the realisation of projects for youngsters in context of the European Programmes Youth, Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci, developing a culture of peace, solidarity, European consciousness and promoting social integration and inter-cultural.
Kara Bobowski offers also a monthly newsletter rely important for young people to get to know the possibilities to go abroad for EVS, Leonardo Project, Scholar ships and interesting information concerning proposal from all over the world.
Is really nice to see how a big group of mostly women can cooperate for a social aim and be a real team. And this is a big similarity there are between them and RCWIP, the commitment of women is leading in this sector in both of the Countries.
About Semper Avanti
What is Leonardo Project
Leonardo da Vinci Programme is one of the levels of Education and Training initiatives created by the European Commission trough the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) to enable people to have an important learning and work experience.
The Life Learning Programme (LLP) includes four sub-programmes which fund projects at different levels of education and training:
Leonardo da Vinci programme was established in the year 1995 in the Copenhagen Declaration and was integrated in the LLP since 2007. It aims at increasing knowledge, skills and qualifications of persons in the field of Vocational Education and Training (VET) and supporting quality and innovation in Europe. It enable people through a mobility initiative to be trained in another country for a period that is normally of tree months. Those able to benefit from the programme range from trainees in initial vocational training, to people who have already graduated, as well as VET professionals and anyone from organisations active in this field.
The programme allows organisations to work with Cooperatives and Associations from all over Europe, exchange best practices, and increase their staff’s expertise.
The programme is central in the increasing of the competitiveness of the European labour market as helps people to gain new skills, knowledge and qualifications, making vocational education more attractive to young people.
The positive side effect of this mobility is that it contributes to the mutual understanding of the different education and training systems and to an increased transparency of these systems. It favours the modernisation of training systems and thus contributes to the overarching strategy of the European Union to become one of the most competitive economies in the world.
Apart from the sections for training, Leonardo Programme can be a tool to create Partnerships and Multilateral projects between Organisations workingin the vocational education and training sector from different European countries as well as Multilateral projects.
What was for me Leonardo da Vinci experience
In the beginning I didn’t know what to expect from this experience but I was very excited for the discovering of a new country and as well for the new working experience that I was going to have.
I was a bit scared about Polish language because I knew that is completely different from Latin languages but at the end this has not being a problem as almost everybody at work and around is able to talk in English,
After two month here I can firmly say that this experience has been really important for me form many reasons.
After my Master degree I had the need of looking for my own route and I think my ideas now are definitely more clear. Having the possibility of working with RCWIP, Semper Avanti and other Association give me more confidence in the fact that is possible to make something socially and culturally important and making it your work and not only a casual job.
In Italy this is a really hard sector to work in, but I still think there are possibilities for nice ideas and thanks to the importance given to the Third sector from the European Community maybe it will get better in the years coming.
I’ve found Wroclaw really socially and culturally active and is nice to see the different association working together and cooperate when they can to make something bigger and with more impact.
So thanks to RCWIP, Semper Avanti and all the Association I’ve been Volunteering event for a small period to give me this possibility, I will treasure all I’ve learned in this great experience for all my life.
Źródło: informacja wlasna serwisu wroclaw.ngo.pl
